Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Is anyone there?

Little John pressed the question-and-answer bell on the counter, "ding-a-ling".

"She's here." An old woman's voice rang out from behind the shop. Half a minute later, a hunchbacked old woman wearing a long black coat and smelling of medicine came to the counter.

"What kind of medicine do you need?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'm here to collect my prize money, Ms. Virtini." John pulled out the collection order form. "Twenty kilograms of tender red thorn branches."

This time, Charles gave him three packages, one small and two large. One of the large packages contained tender branches, and it took him a lot of effort to carry them all out of the forest.

"Here are two gold coins, take them." The shopkeeper placed the money on the counter.

John stared at the long, pale fingers protruding from the black sleeves, their dark blue nails giving him a sense of unease.

He tried his best to see the other person's face clearly, but the black hood covered most of the face, revealing only a pointed chin.

"Is there anything else you need?" Ms. Virtini asked.

The hoarse voice was like grit scraping against his eardrums. Little John frowned slightly and said, "Oh, that's all."

Although he had saved up 3 gold coins, he still dared not spend money to buy potions.

John grabbed the gold coins from the counter, said goodbye to the shopkeeper, and as he left, his gaze swept across a corner of the counter, where a book caught his attention.

The book's cover has some wear and tear, some pages are folded, and its title is marked on the spine: "The Aristocracy of Plantagenet City Behind the Bed Canopy".

Isn't Plantagenet City the capital of the Kingdom of Fran? Little John wondered, since his own Valentin Earldom was only a northwestern border territory of the Kingdom of Fran.

This old lady is really something... He smiled slightly and walked out of the shop.

Watching the other person leave, Ms. Virtini looked down and counted the goods on the counter. "So many twigs, great! Now the energizing potion only needs two more ingredients."

Her voice was clear and melodious, a stark contrast to her previous hoarseness.

She crossed out the tender shoots of Red Thorn on an ingredient list, and then dabbed a few dots on the core powder of Blue Thorn and Slime.

"Bluethorn grass is manageable, but the core powder of slimes is more troublesome. I don't know if we can make a large quantity of energizing potions in time."

After saying that, she put down the ingredient list, picked up "The Plantagenets Behind the Bed Canopy: Aristocrats of the City" from the counter, and moved to the back of the shop.

…………

"A plate of smoked fish over rice."

John put down the menu. "Another pale beer, please."

"Okay." The waitress looked at him, as if waiting for something.

Little John stared intently at the ear-cleaning professionals chatting and drinking in the distance, without moving his head.

"Just a moment." Seeing that the other party really didn't want to give a tip, the waitress gave a soft "humph," took the menu, and left.

"Sorry, I ordered the cheapest items, so don't expect a tip from me," John thought to himself, watching the other person walk away.

This feeling of the poor defeating the poor is like when you go to buy bread and successfully get the shopkeeper to give you a discount or round down the price.

"Have you heard? The association revealed that it was done by a magical beast," an adventurer said.

"The Terrorclaw Bear, a mid-level magical beast. It's said that only one member of the entire team managed to escape back," someone nearby chimed in.

"Just say it was done by a monster, but some people insist on arguing." The green-haired elf at the corner table wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I wonder how short his hair is."

The elf was clearly still holding a grudge against the dwarf for calling him short-sighted.

"#&~!%." The red-bearded dwarf muttered curses.

He had been claiming that the disappearance of the entire adventurer party was the work of goblins, but now he's been proven wrong.

"I heard that the association has offered a 1 gold coin reward for information on the Devilclaw Bear's abilities," someone said.

"This money isn't going to be made. Several teams have already gone missing, and we haven't seen Coulson and his group recently."

"Yes, they risked their lives to find out their abilities. Let whoever wants to earn the gold coins have them."

"Isn't someone so amazing that they're not going to claim the bounty?" the red-bearded dwarf teased.

"Don't worry, someone will come and collect it. Those teams that want to advance are itching to get started." The elf cut off a piece of steak, dipped it in sauce, and elegantly put it in his mouth. "Someone, however, boasts about his extensive knowledge. I wonder if his beard is just glued on."

"Hey, you freak, what are you saying?" The dwarf picked up a wine glass, ready to throw it, but then noticed there was still some ale left in it, so he threw a plate of grilled fish at his teammate instead.

"Snap!" The half-eaten grilled fish, coated with sticky sauce, stuck to the elf's hair before slowly sliding down.

The elf's hand, holding the knife and fork, froze in mid-air. He gasped for air, sitting motionless at the table.

Immediately afterwards, his eyes became visibly bloodshot, and his body sprang up like a spring that had been compressed to its limit. "You bastard, how dare you..."

He rushed over, but everyone held him back. Then the red-bearded dwarf came up to him with a grin and threw a napkin at him.

Then he looked at the other person with a smug expression, arms crossed, and said, "How about it? I'll make sure you have nowhere to go."

The elf was trembling with rage. He laughed in fury, "Fine, fine, you earth jar, I won't go back to the Great Dome until I stab you to death."

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'Holding your pee is easy, but diarrhea makes it hard to walk an inch'?" the dwarf said casually, still using the latrine analogy to provoke the other person.

"-*/+-*." The elf cursed in Elvish, broke free from the pull, drew his sword and thrust forward, and the two engaged in a fierce battle.

Little John sat in the corner, chuckling to himself. He loved watching the ear cleaners fight; it was much more entertaining than street stunts.

He even shouted "Good!" a few times.

However, he remembered that he had things to do in the afternoon.

Little John took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and realized he still had enough.

"Your smoked fish rice bowl."

The two-meter-tall tavern owner put down the dishes, then quietly watched him while holding a light beer.

Little John, holding his pocket watch, looked at the boss, waiting for him to put down his glass.

The two sides stared at each other for a few seconds, completely unaffected by the clanging and clattering sounds of fighting nearby.

Finally, the boss made the first move. He looked at John's pocket watch, then at John's face.

Little John immediately understood what the other party meant: You're someone who has dozens of gold coins in your possession, aren't you going to give me a tip?

Little John glanced into the boss's eyes, closed the lid, put it in his pocket, and then had to take out a silver coin and place it on the table.

When the shopkeeper put down his beer and took his hand off the table, the silver coin was gone.

"What a bizarre method," John thought to himself.

The boss, carrying his tray, turned to leave, but Little John called out to him, "Boss, can I ask you something?"

The boss held up one finger.

Unpleasant memories flooded back, and John immediately said, "Never mind, I'll go ask the association."

"Enjoy your meal." The owner turned and left.

Little John picked up a spoon and stirred the rice a few times. "Before, I wished you a pleasant meal; now I wish you a pleasant one."

He was overjoyed that his boss hadn't earned any information fees; he felt he had already reached the threshold of becoming an adventurer.

"I'll go to the association later and ask what the promotion means."

"We also need to tell Boss Shire about the Devilclaw Bear; we need to warn him to be careful."

"This smoked fish rice bowl is really awful."