Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'd like a smoked fish rice bowl," John put down the menu.

The Ear Cleaner's Tavern was bustling with noise; it was lunchtime, and the tables were almost full.

John deliberately chose to sit at a small round table in the corner.

The menu had many dishes, but he only chose the cheapest one: smoked fish rice bowl.

Farmers around Giethoorn grow three crops a year: rice, wheat, and soybeans. Locals prefer wheat bread and don't like rice as much.

Moreover, the Dalun River flows through the town, making it rich in fishery resources.

This resulted in a smoked fish rice bowl costing only 30 copper coins, making it a popular choice for many low-level laborers.

"What would you like to drink? Beer or ale?"

"Water is fine, thank you," Little John replied calmly. A light beer cost 1 silver coin, and he wanted to save money wherever possible.

The waitress glanced at John and said, "Just a moment."

Then I took the menu and went to the bar.

Little John sat in the corner, listening attentively to everyone's lively discussion.

"It's definitely goblins! Only these green-skinned dwarves would do something like that!" A dwarf slammed down his wooden goblet, wiped his red beard, and shouted.

"You saw it was dried by goblins?" someone nearby asked.

"This is all that's left at the edge of the forest," the dwarf said, turning his head; his face was flushed from drinking.

"No, it must be a monster." A slightly shrill voice rang out, and everyone looked over to see a green-haired, pointy-eared elf dipping a slice of bread into cream soup.

"Tch, you know nothing." The dwarf curled his lip when he saw that it was an elf who was refuting him.

Everyone knew that dwarves and elves didn't get along, and Little John knew it too, so he watched the show with amusement.

"Only a monster can kill four adventurers at once." The elf wiped his mouth with a napkin, not even glancing at the dwarf.

"Come on, tell me what kind of monster it is, a displacement leopard or a brain-eating monster?" the dwarf continued to call out.

The elf clearly understood that the other party was implying that he was brainless, but he still maintained basic politeness, "It's definitely not a goblin, everyone knows what kind of creatures those are."

"Long hair, short on brains," the red-bearded dwarf retorted. "If it's a magical beast, why are there no witnesses? Do you think they encountered a dragon?"

The elf was speechless for a moment, unable to find any grounds for rebuttal.

"It was goblins. Those adventurers encountered a large group of goblins, which is why they couldn't escape."

"A large group of goblins?" the elf scoffed. "At the edge of the forest, it's better to believe fish will come ashore than to believe goblins will form large groups."

"But you can't say it never happened; goblins have attacked villages before," the dwarf retorted.

John also believed that the disappearance of the entire adventurer party was the work of monsters, after all, goblins had such a bad reputation. But if it was Sharl with more than ten goblins, he would immediately side with Sharl.

"So you're saying that those with long hair have short minds, you'd better hurry back to the dome." The dwarf picked up his wine cup and took a big gulp of wine.

Little John knew that the elves often mentioned that they came from the Great Dome and wanted to return to it, but when others asked where the Great Dome was or what it was like, they remained tight-lipped. Over time, people jokingly said that everyone wanted to go to the Great Dome, and the place everyone wanted to go to was—the latrine.

"How dare you, a lowly earthenware potter, insult an elf?" The elf slammed down his napkin.

Upon hearing the elf's reply, the red-bearded dwarf spat out his wine with a "pfft," picked up his large axe, and cursed, "You green-haired hermaphrodite!"

Little John watched with amusement as the crowd pulled the dwarf back.

He knew that the dwarves came from the high mountain regions of the far north and had a particular fondness for strong liquor; in their words, they could go a day without salt but not a day without liquor.

They are stubborn and arrogant, believing themselves to be the children of ancient elemental gods.

In mythology, the creator god sealed away the four ancient elemental gods to maintain the stability of the world.

The term "earth jar" is also a derogatory term used by busybodies to insult dwarves. Little John had seen dwarves in full armor running around Goat's Horn, and they did indeed look like a small earthenware jar rolling by.

Hermaphrodites are a derogatory term for elves. Elves are generally beautiful, and it is often difficult to distinguish between male and female. In the past, it was common for male adventurers to muster up the courage to propose to elven girls, only to be told, "Brother, mine is longer than yours."

After being called a hermaphrodite, the elf turned deathly pale with anger.

He stood up, walked up to the dwarf, and tossed the napkin down.

Upon seeing this, the Ear Cleaner's Tavern erupted in chaos. Some people cheered and watched the spectacle, while others tried to calm the two down, saying, "Let it go, we'll know the answer when winter comes. There's no need for that."

The dwarf stared at the napkin on the ground, his beard trembling. He knew it was the elves' signature insulting challenge to a duel.

While others throw gloves in duels, only elves and some arrogant people throw napkins, implying that you are not worthy to be at the table.

"#&~!%." He cursed in a dwarven language and rammed his head into the elf.

The elf nimbly dodged, then drew his swift sword from his waist to meet the attack.

The crowd in the tavern immediately dispersed into a circle, with almost everyone cheering loudly. Even the bard on the nearby table changed his battle song.

The soaring melody, combined with the sounds of weapons clashing and the shouts of "Poke him!" "Kick him down there!" "Don't be a coward!", creates a unique song for ear cleaners.

John was still sitting happily in the corner, but his view was completely blocked by the wall of onlookers. His round table was still a few meters away from the fighting zone, so he was safe.

These brawls happen frequently, almost every time I come here. The sides involved are different, but dwarves and elves are the most common, since these two races are the proudest.

However, after each fight, as long as it wasn't a fatal injury, medical personnel would provide immediate treatment, and there weren't many fatalities. The two sides would also jointly pay for the tavern's tables and chairs.

Little John knew this was a lifestyle unique to adventurers.

He even considered switching careers to become a carpenter, selling tables and chairs to taverns at low prices and making money by selling in large quantities.

"Your smoked fish rice bowl."

A muscular man, over two meters tall, came to the table and put down his food plate.

John smiled at the pub owner, who was wearing a white linen shirt, a black vest, and a colorful floral apron, and said, "Thank you."

"Where is Gunter?" The boss put down a glass of water.

"Uh, he's dead."

The shopkeeper stared into John's eyes, then took away the water a few seconds later.

Then he brought over a large glass of ale.

"This, I..." Little John hesitated.

"Special offer at the tavern, free tasting." With that, the owner turned to leave.

"Boss, can I ask you something?" Little John quickly called out to the other party.

The boss didn't say anything, but simply raised one finger.

Little John took out a silver coin and placed it on the table. "Why did they say we'd know the answer when winter came?"

"Because the Brotherhood of Storms is coming."

Who are the Storm Brotherhood?

The boss held up three fingers again.

"Alright." Little John took out three more silver coins.

The boss quickly swept across the table, and in an instant, the four silver coins on the table disappeared—a bizarre method.

"The Storm Brotherhood is an organization formed by adventurers."

"Then..." Little John felt a pang of regret. He tried to ask, "Where else can I find out this information?"

"Adventurers' Guild." This time, the boss didn't raise a finger.

"Association?" John paused for a moment.

Yes, it's free.

"What about the money I just paid?"

"Enjoy your meal." The owner bowed slightly and turned to leave.

…………

"Ha ha ha ha."

In a secluded corner of Giethoorn, a string of silvery laughter flowed from a tent.

"So you paid 4 silver coins like that," Mary said with a smile.

"Yes, do you think it's a loss or not?" Little John said, shrugging.

To save money, he didn't stay in a hotel but instead pitched a tent in a corner.

"Don't be sad, didn't you also win the lucky draw and get to drink ale? That wasn't cheap either." Mary tossed her chestnut braid behind her head and climbed into the tent to help John tidy up his blanket.

"We still lost 4 silver coins." Little John also took off his short sword and put it aside. He didn't tell Mary about Gaunt; he didn't want such dirty things to taint his girlfriend's memory.

"It's alright, Jack." Mary finished tidying up, sat down next to little John, and pulled a cloth bag out of her skirt pocket.

She opened the two layers of cloth, took out the coins inside, and pushed them to Little John. "This is the money I've saved over the years, all earned by washing clothes for people. It's 53 silver coins and 87 copper coins in total. Here you go."

"No, Mary, I can't have it."

"Jack, listen to me." Mary preferred to call him by his nickname, Jack, rather than by his real name, John.

"We can't disobey our father, so we can only work together now." Mary tucked her hair behind her ear. "I believe in you, and I'm sure you'll succeed."

"But this money..."

"I feel more at ease leaving it with you." Mary picked up the cloth bag and placed it in John's hand. "There's less than a month left."

"Mary, I will try my best." Little John grabbed the cloth bag and held Mary's hands at the same time.

"It's all thanks to our joint efforts. I'm going back soon, and before I leave, I need to go to the tax official's residence to pick up my dirty clothes."

"You've had a hard time." Little John stroked Mary's hands, and he could feel that her delicate little hands had become quite rough.

"It's just washing clothes. But you, you really need to be careful. Run if you can. Your life is the most important thing."

"Oh, not at all. Don't you know how good I am?" John's voice immediately rose.

"Jack, I'm not an idiot."

"Okay, Mary, I know," John said with a forced smile, looking at Mary's serious face.

"I can run away to church and become a nun, vowing never to marry, but you absolutely must not get into trouble," Mary said firmly.

She sighed again after speaking. She knew the reason for this situation, but there was really nothing she could do.

"Uh, Mary," John said, a little anxious seeing his girlfriend's sullen expression, "you see, we still have a chance."

He took out the gold coins from selling equipment and showed them to Mary, wanting to see her happy.

"You earned so much money?" Mary asked in surprise.

"Hmm," John answered instinctively.

Mary picked up each gold coin and held it up to the sunlight; its golden reflection made her very happy.

A few minutes later, she put down the gold coins and looked at Little John with delight: "Adventurers earn this much?"

"Of course," John mumbled, while pinching and swinging Mary's long braid to hide his guilty conscience.

He was considering whether to intercept the money, as doing so would indeed significantly improve the progress.

"Jack, do you know what?" Mary gazed at her lover, "you always have something on your hands when you lie."

"No, how could that be, Mary?"

"Do you know what I like most about you?" Mary sat up straight and pulled her braid back from her lover's hand.

"I like your integrity, courage, and fearlessness in the face of difficulties. You are different from the men in the village."

"Okay, Mary," John raised his hands in surrender. "This money is for goods that a boss entrusted me to purchase."

"A boss?"

"Yes, a boss you wouldn't expect. I'll get a commission of around 50 silver coins if the deal goes through."

"50 silver coins? You're amazing. I can only earn 5 silver coins a day washing clothes."

Mary picked up the gold coins again and examined them: "Jack, is this job dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous, not dangerous at all," Little John waved his hand. "I'll go see him tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

"Hmm." John nodded, and according to Charles, the deal had great potential.

"I really want to save up enough money quickly," Mary said, clutching the gold coins and resting her head on John's shoulder. "If I succeed, there'll be a surprise!"

"What surprise?" Little John chuckled.

"I'll make you smoked fish rice bowl every day from now on."

"No way!" John's face immediately fell. He didn't like that stuff at all. There was nothing in the world that tasted worse than smoked fish rice bowls. Nobody would like to eat that.

"I heard you order that every day."

"Hehe, isn't that cheap?"

"But speaking of which, Jack, you really did win a big prize," Mary said, holding up the gold coin.

"Yes." Little John gently stroked Mary's hair.

Mary, you are my lucky jackpot.