Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"I need some insect repellent." The person walked to the counter and looked at the various insect repellents on the shelf.

"Okay, how many bottles do you need? I'll get them for you," Mary said with a smile.

"Two or three bottles, I guess."

"Are you going into the forest soon?" Mary looked at the customer in front of her. The man had a clean face, a neat beard, and a well-groomed hairstyle. A black lion's head was carved on his shiny breastplate.

"Yes." The customer looked down and noticed the book Mary was reading.

"If you're going into the forest, I suggest bringing several bottles of insect repellent so you can stay longer." Mary took out the repellent and placed it on the counter.

"No need, three bottles are enough. It's just a few goblins." The customer said casually as he picked up the insect repellent and looked at the liquid inside.

"You're a guard from the Earl's manor, aren't you? Are you going to deal with those goblins?" Mary asked with a smile, her tone tinged with surprise.

"Yes, that's right." The guard smirked and admitted it directly.

"I heard that the goblins have gathered in large numbers, and some adventurers even say that the Storm Brotherhood was killed by them." Mary put her hands on her chest and let out a soft breath. "Thank goodness, someone has finally come to deal with them. I thought these goblins would break out of the forest."

"No, not those goblins, beautiful lady, we have another mission," the guard said, standing ramrod straight at the counter. "But the Storm Brotherhood is truly useless; they're dead."

"Is he really dead?" Mary gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.

"Yes, a group of monsters attacked them, leaving no trace of their bodies. Fortunately, some survived, which is how the Earl's mansion found out." The guard looked at the price and took out his purse. "As for the goblins you mentioned, we've heard about them too. If things go smoothly, we can indeed deal with them."

"That's wonderful." Mary then took out a bottle of insect repellent from under the counter. "This one is for you, as a thank you for what you've done for Giesecke & Giethoorn."

"Thank you, generous lady." The guard accepted the medicine and bowed slightly.

Soon after seeing off the Earl's guards, Mary immediately took out her notebook and wrote, "Many guards have come to the Earl's mansion for the fortress. Some members of the Storm Brotherhood have survived, and the Earl's mansion is already aware of this."

Then, she walked to the door, looked up at the already darkening sky, and decided to close the door now. "I need to get the message to the boss immediately."

Just as Mary was tidying up the shop, a "ding-a-ling" sounded, and another customer walked in.

"Excuse me, sir, I have to close the door now," Mary said apologetically to the person who had entered.

"No, I'm not here to buy medicine." The man took off his top hat and held it in front of him while looking at the counter and shelves.

"What do you need?" Mary asked, sounding slightly puzzled. The new guest was a man who looked to be a bit older, dressed in a well-made black tuxedo with intricate patterns, and wearing a long black cloak over it.

However, his complexion was somewhat too pale, his cheeks were thin, his pupils were a very light blue, and his long golden hair was casually tied back with a ribbon.

"This shop is still the same as before," he said, slowly taking off his silk gloves. He walked to the counter, casually leaning against it. "My name is Herbert. Virtini may have mentioned me. I am your glass bottle supplier."

"Ah, it's you, Mr. Herbert." Mary immediately realized that the boss had written to him beforehand to order a large number of medicine bottles, and she didn't expect them to arrive so quickly.

"The letter said a large number of bottles needed to be ordered, and I happened to have some business to attend to here, so I came in person." Herbert tapped the counter with a finger adorned with a ruby ​​ring. "Now you can talk to your boss about the order."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Herbert, my boss isn't here. If you trust me, you can talk to me..." Mary politely touched her chest and bowed slightly.

"No, beautiful lady, the order is very large, and the production and transportation of glass products are very troublesome. I need to talk to your boss in person." Herbert's tone left no room for argument.

"This..." Mary was in a dilemma. She knew that Charles was a goblin, and this was Goat Horn Town, a town where adventurers lived. It would be dangerous to talk to him in person, but judging from Herbert's tone, it was a must to talk face to face.

"If he's not here, I can wait for him to return; a few days won't hurt," Mr. Herbert said, tapping lightly on the counter. "But I can only see him in the evenings."

"Tonight?" Mary's mind raced. In the end, she decided to agree first, report to the boss, and if all else failed, have John impersonate him. "Okay, I'll pass on the message for you."

"Alright, this is where I'm staying now." Herbert pulled a small notebook, no bigger than the palm of his hand, from his elegant black tuxedo, wrote down the address, tore it off with a "snap," and placed it on the counter. "If you have any news, have someone from the Moonlight Inn contact me."

Mary picked up the paper and looked at the words "Darren River West, Moonlight Hotel, VIP Room 8" written on it. She pursed her lips, knowing that the gentleman in front of her was probably quite wealthy.

"I understand, and I will inform you promptly." Mary bowed slightly.

Herbert glanced at Mary, clutching his gloves, and lightly waved his hat, saying with a smile, "Goodbye, beautiful lady."

After the other party left, Mary quickly cleaned up the workshop and locked the shop door. By then, it was completely dark. By the light of the candle, she wrote down a lot of information in her notebook and then ran towards the portal.

…………

"The young master of the Valentine family?" Charles grinned immediately as he held the intelligence report.

"What's wrong? Aren't the Valentine family earls of this territory?" Agatha looked at him with some curiosity.

"Yes, that's right." Charles's smile faded as he looked at the glowing mushrooms on the ceiling, trying to recall. "That guy's name seems to be Philip. He's Valentine's eldest and only son, and the heir to the Earl's mansion."

"Then the other party must be of very high status. They must have brought quite a few earl's guards with them to Gieshorn this time." Agatha's tone revealed a hint of worry.

"Yes, you're right. Although this guy is all bark and no bite, and he even wets the bed in his teens, we still can't let our guard down." Charles looked at the contents of the intelligence report. "The bigger problem now is that one of the Storm Brotherhood members has escaped, which is troublesome. Our location may have been exposed."

"When we were fighting the Brotherhood of Storms, I was trying to find a way to keep them all here, but one of them still managed to escape," he said, jumping off his chair and pacing around with his hands behind his back. "We need to speed up the fortress's defenses. We also have worker ants now, so we need to start digging tunnels immediately."

"Strengthen the defenses?" Agatha looked at Charles, who was deep in thought, and said, "Don't worry too much. After all, you control several areas now. If things get too difficult, you can leave here first."

"I know we absolutely cannot let that old bastard Valentine bring his troops over." Charles placed the intelligence report on the table. "We need to send Little John to Black Lion City to find out the specifics. I reckon there are already some rumors circulating there."

"Besides, we only have a few slimes and mind-eaters right now, which isn't enough to deal with those fully armed guards." He turned to Agatha, who was sitting in a chair. "The portal needs to be made faster."

"That's almost done, but are you really going to put them at the entrance?" Agatha asked.

"Yes, some will be placed at the entrance, and I've already decided where to put the other one." Charles chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips.

"However, I still have to remind you to be careful in your fight with that Philip. Be careful because he is very powerful, but also because he is a nobleman and definitely possesses mind-tracking magic," Agatha said seriously. "As far as I know, many nobles will ask the church to cast spells on their offspring to track the bodies of those who killed them and their own children."

"Don't worry, I know all this," Charles nodded and said. "My father also planned to pay for the magic to be cast on me, but the family's money was all used to build the deep-water port, so it wasn't done in the end."

"Alright then, I trust you can handle these things." Agatha picked up her teacup, finished the rest of her tea, and said, "I'll go and get the other portal."

"By the way, what do you think of Herbert?" Charles called out to him.

"He's my bottle supplier; I found him through the Alchemy Society," Agatha glanced at the intelligence report. "What, he replied?"

"He came to Giethoorn in person and said he wanted to meet with me to discuss placing an order."

"A face-to-face meeting?" Agatha exclaimed in surprise. "I used to communicate with him through letters and the Chamber of Commerce. Why did he come in person this time?"

"Well, in my letter to him I said I needed a lot of medicine bottles." Charles chuckled a few times.

"So they came in person? You should have ordered the goods in batches." Agatha shook her head and said, "So what are you planning to do now?"

"They said they'd meet in the evening, which seems reasonable. After all, if we move the candles further away and put on a cloak, they won't be able to tell anything," Charles said, looking at the information sheet. "Besides, I find this Mr. Herbert strange. He said he'd only see me at night, but aren't business discussions usually done during the day?"

"Maybe they have things to do during the day?" Agatha said.

"Then I'll have Mary inform the hotels in Giesorn and we can schedule a time."

Highly recommend "The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins"! Click to enter the story world.