Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Evita stood in a corner of the fortress, somewhat regretting returning to the goblins' dwelling with them. Partly, she wasn't used to living underground, and partly...

I don't want to become a "rare object" that everyone wants to come up and take a look at.

She was surrounded by the entire goblin tribe, who came and went more than a hundred times. A lame goblin even passed by five times, initially pretending to glance over casually, but the last two times he simply "shamelessly" squatted down and watched.

Moreover, she was truly amazed. This goblin tribe not only had a large group of goblins, but also a 3-meter-tall troll that walked right in front of her. Later, a witch came up to her and looked her up and down.

Looking at this group, she wanted to say to herself, "Unicorn, blink if you're being coerced."

After being watched for a long time, Evita got used to it. These goblins were quite well-behaved, just hiding in the distance and pointing, without rushing up with sticks and chattering. This was completely different from her usual impression. Perhaps it was really as the leader said, "We are kind, not an evil race. Look, even the unicorns have chosen us."

But just a few seconds later, she yelled at the bald, green-skinned dwarf, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The reason was that a red-eyed goblin came to her carrying a brain-eating monster.

"Goblins are all evil after all." Evita gripped her short blade tightly, watching the red-eyed goblin laugh as it carried the brain-eating monster away. "They must be plotting something."

She thought this way because she saw many little fairies flying past her. As a kind race in the forest, they actually chose to live underground and even grow mushrooms for the goblins. "That goblin must have captured these little fairies, and may even have imprisoned their chieftain, in order to keep enslaving them. The fate of these little fairies is truly tragic."

"Hi, it's time to eat. Do you want to come with me?" Ciel walked up to Evita and greeted her in a friendly manner.

"Eat?" Evita frowned.

Goblin food is edible? It's full of bugs and dead rats, and it smells weird. It can make people faint from ten meters away. This morning they threw that black ball at the two-headed ogre. Could it have been their breakfast?

"I'm not hungry," Evita said stubbornly, raising her head.

"You were seriously injured before, you should eat something, it will help your body recover." After thinking for a moment, Charles still offered a few more words of advice.

"No, I will not eat anything from evil goblins," Evita refused firmly.

"Alright then." Charles shrugged and walked towards the platform of the underground river with the other goblins.

Evita wanted to continue refusing the evil bald goblin's invitation to a meal with her head held high, but soon, her stomach growled loudly, "Gurgle—"

She was indeed very hungry. After a night of fleeing and fighting, and having just recovered from serious injuries, she desperately needed to replenish her nutrition. She even felt that she could eat a whole roasted deer leg by herself.

There were hardly any goblins left around; they must have all gathered at that so-called "dining hall." Evita rubbed her constantly groaning stomach and muttered to herself, "Should we go check it out?"

Finally, as if possessed, she started walking and followed the goblins' path to the "dining hall".

As the chatter grew louder, Evita knew she was close to her destination. Surprisingly, there was no unpleasant smell; on the contrary, a subtle fragrance wafted through the air, enticing her to walk closer.

"It must be some kind of illusion or magic trick," Evita kept reminding herself. "Just one look, and I'll know what kind of evil ritual they're performing."

Ciel sat on the stool, chatting and laughing with the lame man next to him. The man kept asking whether the centaur was human or horse, and how it usually lived. Ciel simply told him that if he wanted to know these things, he should take some time to learn Common Tongue, so he could read books to find out.

Then, he caught a glimpse of Evita huddled at the entrance of the passageway. She was sneaking around, peeking out from behind the wall like a child tiptoeing to peek at the various dishes on the stove while preparing New Year's Eve dinner.

Ciel got up and went to the white-haired man, got a large lunch, and then walked up to Evita.

"Are you hungry? Want to try something?" he said with a smile, then pointed to the tables and chairs over there, "You can eat over there, it's more convenient."

The platform had already been set up with several long tables and benches, laid out like the university cafeteria in Xia Er's previous life, so that the goblins no longer had to sit on the ground to eat, but instead "squat" on the benches.

As for why they were squatting on the stool, Ciel didn't know why his subordinates chose that posture.

Upon being discovered, Evita's face flushed red, but she still raised her head and stubbornly said, "No, I won't eat this food."

Although her gaze was completely drawn to the wooden bowl, her reason told her not to be easily "deceived".

"Is that so?" Charles was taken aback for a moment, then he suddenly realized, "So you centaurs don't eat this."

"Do you need me to find someone to help you pick some grass? Don't worry, I'll have someone pick whatever grass unicorns eat," he said sincerely. "It will definitely be fresh, pollution-free, and harmless."

"I am a centaur, not a horse," Evita said through gritted teeth, convinced that the goblin in front of her was doing it on purpose.

"Oh, I see," Charles wasn't angry at being rejected. He put the wooden bowl on the ground. "I'll leave it here for now. You can try it if you want. Today's dish is fried tree fruit cakes, and they taste pretty good."

After saying that, he turned and left without lingering for even a second.

Evita watched the goblins leave, then secretly raised her eyelids and scanned the goblins in the cafeteria, finding that no one was paying attention to her.

She hesitated as she looked at the wooden bowl in front of her. Reason kept telling her that she couldn't eat it, that if she did, she would be bewitched and might end up like those little demons. But the aroma of the food and the hunger in her stomach kept urging her to take a bite, just one bite. One bite couldn't possibly cause any problems.

Finally, she bent down and picked up the wooden bowl from the ground. "I was just testing the evil magic of these goblins for the centaur tribe, not trying to eat this food."

After saying that, she scooped up a spoonful of food and tentatively put it in her mouth.

"Mmm," she murmured involuntarily, savoring the aroma of the smoked meat, which was incredibly tender and flavorful, unlike anything she had ever tasted before. The fried fruit cake was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, leaving a lingering, delightful aftertaste.

"I," she hesitated for a moment, then scooped out a second spoonful, "can't test this evil magic in one go; it needs to be tested several times."

After a few spoonfuls, Evita let out a long sigh, "It smells so good!"

She quickly finished the food in the wooden bowl, but felt only half full. Holding the bowl, she craned her neck expectantly to look at the goblins in the canteen. No one paid attention to her, and some goblins would get up to get another bowl of food.

Evita hesitated, stamping her feet in place. A few seconds later, she mustered her courage, walked up to the cauldron, and held out the wooden bowl in her hand to the white-haired man.

"Snap!" Another large portion of food arrived. Evita immediately grabbed the wooden bowl with both hands, quickly and lightly returned to her previous position, and continued to enjoy her meal.

Ciel slowly ate what was in his mouth. He had been stealing glances at the centaur girl out of the corner of his eye, and he was finally relieved to see that she had finally succumbed to the temptation of the food.

"If they can eat, it means they can communicate. If they can communicate, we can get information about the north." He picked up a piece of fried tree fruit, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. "What exactly is in the north? What is the situation with those ogres? We need this centaur to find out."

…………

After lunch, Evita went to find the seemingly lively little fairy by herself.

"I am a centaur, my name is Evita," she said, getting straight to the point in her self-introduction.

"Ah, hello, hello, my name is Shan Xiao." Shan Xiao said with a smile. He was very cheerful when it came to socializing.

"I have something I'd like you to convey to your tribe's leader," Evita said, choosing her words carefully, her expression serious.

"Oh, what is it?" Seeing the other person's expression, Sansio realized that the following topic might be important, so he also put away his smile. "Go ahead and tell me, I've already relayed it for you."

"I want to help your goblin race escape while those goblins aren't paying attention," Evita said solemnly.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Sansio was stunned.

"Uh, weren't you enslaved by goblins?" Evita asked anxiously. "Did they imprison your chieftain? I can help you rescue him."

"My father just took a nap. He's going fishing by the river with the elders of the clan this afternoon. If you're free, you can go and cheer him on," Shan Xiao said, pursing his lips.

"Your father?" Evita didn't react for a moment.

"Yes, my father is the chief of our tribe. If he was imprisoned, it's probably because my mother wouldn't let him go fishing, since the fish are a bit big and might be dangerous." Sansio shrugged.

"Weren't you imprisoned and enslaved by that evil goblin?" Evita asked immediately. "You mean that short goblin with no hair on his head?"

"How dare you speak of my older brother like that!" Sansio retorted loudly. "What do you mean by short? What do you mean by evil goblin? Is my older brother, Ciel, like that?"

"I can tell you have no idea what amazing things my older brother has done. Do you know how Furu and the ants call my older brother?" Shan Xiao proudly raised his head, "Hero."

"Hero?" Evita stood there, stunned. She simply couldn't equate that word with goblin.

"Come here, let me tell you about my brother's exploits." Sansio flew to the centaur with a cheeky grin.

Enjoy reading "The Forest Doesn't Support Idle Goblins".