"Yes, those goblins throw fruit that explodes," Ricardo said between several quick gasps.
"So, I’ve finally found a lead on you goblins." A smirk played on Elma’s lips, and her voice sounded positively gleeful. She then urged him on with a smile, "And then? What did the goblins do?"
Ricardo continued to recount what happened next. Compared to his last interrogation with Philip, he discovered he could now speak of the memory without sadness.
"Wait, you’re saying a blue Star Realm Giant Dog attacked your Mage?" Elma interrupted him again, her expression suddenly turning serious. "Was there a Ghost Witch there as well?"
"Yes, how did you know?" Ricardo was puzzled. The cloaked figure before him had somehow guessed what had happened.
’Sister, so you’ve been hiding here all along,’ Elma thought, covering her face as she chuckled. She sounded even happier than before. ’So you’re the one raising these goblins. Quite the plan, targeting my Fearsome Claw Bear from the very start.’
"Sister? Fearsome Claw Bear?" Ricardo overheard Elma’s muttering, a panicked look crossing his face. He felt like he had been caught up in a conspiracy.
"Draw a map," Elma ordered, tossing a sheet of parchment to him.
Under the giant python’s watchful glare, Ricardo quickly drew the route map. "It’s all here. I’ve told you everything I know."
"You’ve done well." Elma looked at the parchment in her hand. Just as she was about to wave her hand and finish Ricardo off, footsteps sounded from the alley entrance, and someone shouted, "Did that damn squirrel run in here?"
"I’m the escaped prisoner you’re looking for!" Ricardo yelled. The city guard had finally arrived. When Elma had captured him, he knew his chances were slim, so he had immediately sent his red squirrel to attack the patrolling guards on the street.
’Sister, I’ve finally found you,’ Elma thought, ignoring her surroundings and just chuckling to herself.
"Who goes there?" Three guardsmen approached cautiously, drawing the weapons at their waists.
"Magic Energy Burst." Elma was still staring at the parchment, as if completely lost in the joy of meeting her sister in the Fortress.
At the same time, a series of explosions erupted around the guardsmen. Green flashes burst one after another, blasting them to the ground.
Elma, who had unleashed the barrage of Magic Energy Bursts, never even glanced at the guards. She just kept laughing, the sound sporadic at first, then growing louder and more maniacal.
Meanwhile, Ricardo had only run a few steps before the giant python coiled around him once more. Amidst Elma’s crazed laughter, his cries grew weaker until they were choked back into his throat, leaving only gargling, gasping sounds. His arms were bent at unnatural angles, and he no longer had the strength to struggle.
A few minutes later, Elma’s laughter gradually subsided. She pulled back her hood, revealing a fair face with black hair and purple eyes. "Today is truly the luckiest day I’ve had in a while."
On either side of her lay the dead guardsmen of Black Lion City and Ricardo, all his bones twisted and broken, as limp as a ragdoll.
’Still, I can’t get careless.’ Her smile vanished, her expression turning sinister. ’These goblins look quite capable. Sister must have trained them well. They’ll be perfect for helping me find that eye.’
The thought of how Scarface had deceived and used her filled her with an exceptional Anger. A mere goblin daring to think he could kill her—how absurd.
’I need to find a way to Control this band of goblins. Once I kill their leader, the rest should be easy.’ Elma reached out, stroking the head of her Star Realm Python. Her tone was casual as she said aloud, "Agatha Sebastian, to think I’d end up benefiting from your ’care’ after all. How wonderful, my dear sister."
"And just whose care are you receiving, Elma?" a voice abruptly sounded. Elma frowned slightly. She looked down to see her own reflection in a small puddle beside her, speaking.
"Have you found any leads on the thing I want?" the reflection said languidly, its tone tinged with resentment.
"Master, I will soon. I’ve already figured out a way," Elma said earnestly.
"That’s wonderful. You’re such a clever child. It seems you’re every bit your sister’s equal." The reflection chuckled, completely ignoring the slight twitch at the corner of Elma’s mouth and brow.
"I will find that eye for you as soon as possible," Elma said with determination after a few seconds of silence, staring at the reflection.
"Very well. Don’t forget the contract you signed." The reflection chuckled a few more times, and the small puddle rippled before returning to calm.
Elma pulled her hood back on, turned, and walked out of the alley. The noise from earlier had already attracted attention, and sounds of inquiry were rising from the surrounding area.
Not long after she left, a red squirrel jumped down from a wall and scurried to Ricardo’s side. With practiced ease, it took a few nuts from its master’s pocket and began to eat. It even nudged its master with its paw, but Ricardo, long dead, gave no response. The only sound in the alley was the CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH of the squirrel eating nuts.
...
"Is this all you eat?" Evita asked, watching Buck Teeth cast Wind of Nature on a Tree-man before her. Her gaze shifted upward to the Tree-man’s canopy, where two goblins were quickly picking fruit.
They gently gripped a fruit, slowly twisted it twice, and detached it from the branch. The surrounding bark quickly closed up, completely covering the break.
"Yeah, didn’t you eat some before?" After finishing the Magic, Buck Teeth turned to the Centaur. He didn’t know why she would ask that.
"I just thought you ate other things, like those..." Evita trailed off. She felt it would be impolite to mention those ingredients in front of him.
"Rats, insects, or frogs, right?" Buck Teeth reached out and pulled a vine from the Tree-man. "We did used to eat that stuff."
"I used to fight with lots of other goblins for food from the pot, and that’s what was boiling in it back then." Buck Teeth waited for the two goblins in the canopy to jump down, then cast Wind of Nature on the Tree-man again. The Tree-man’s branches trembled with pleasure, as if it had just inhaled something incredible.
"And I never managed to get much, either," Buck Teeth said, patting the Tree-man’s rough bark. "Later, after we started following the Leader, our food got better and better, right up until the Leader led us to sign a contract with the Tree-man Race."
"The fruit does taste pretty good." Evita looked up at the Tree-man’s canopy. The goblins had already picked all the fruit.
"Mhm, I think it’s delicious too. You have to be very careful when picking this fruit. Try not to pull too hard, or you’ll hurt the Tree-man. You just need to gently twist it a few times." Buck Teeth smiled and gestured as he explained. He even felt a poetic urge coming on. "Rose, I’m suddenly inspired!"
The Tree-man, which had a sign that read "301 Rose," had been comfortably stretching its branches. Hearing Buck Teeth’s words, it immediately opened its eyes, stood up, moved a few steps away, and then sat down again.
"What do you Centaurs eat?" Buck Teeth watched "Rose" move away in disgust and shrugged helplessly. These Tree-men just couldn’t appreciate his art.
"We raise Forest Big-horned Deer and also grow some tubers," Evita said, watching the goblins transfer the fruit they had gathered onto the backs of nearby ants. "These Giant Ants are so useful."
"This was the Leader’s idea, too," Buck Teeth said with a smile.
Evita looked at the cargo boxes on the ants’ backs, which were already full of fruit. She had heard from Buck Teeth earlier that since it was now winter, many of the Tree-men’s fruits had already fallen to the ground. The current harvest was limited; if they could have picked them in the fall, they would have gathered much more.
She couldn’t help but recall how in the Centaur Village, everyone carried things on their lower, horse-like bodies. She had never seen such a method for transporting goods before. It looked both labor-saving and novel.
Moreover, the Centaurs in the village were always very frugal with their food. Although the clan raised a good number of Big-horned Deer, those were precious assets; they couldn’t just slaughter them for meat without limit. At the same time, growing tubers in the forest was also difficult. Centaurs were not a Race skilled at farming, yet tubers were incredibly important to them.
’What if the clan migrates to live in this area?’ Evita murmured to herself. ’We don’t seem to have anything to trade with the goblins.’
She thought about it carefully and realized it was true. For now, the clan couldn’t spare any surplus goods to trade with Shire. In that case, he might not accept the Centaurs’ request to migrate.
However, she decided she would still find a chance to talk to Shire and hopefully convince him. After all, her clan was currently being exploited by Ogres and Earth Goblins. Even if they had no goods to trade now, it was still better than having the entire clan fall victim to Enslavement by those evil creatures.
"If it comes to it, we can offer some venison and deerskins," Evita muttered to herself. She felt that was the only thing the clan had to offer right now.
"What venison?" Buck Teeth heard her and turned his head to ask. He was currently directing the goblin "Ant Farmers" to transport the fruit back.
"I was saying I’d like to trade with you, using venison and deerskins," Evita explained.
"That stuff..." Buck Teeth thought for a moment. He had helped the Leader do an inventory count before. "I don’t think we’re short on that. The Leader said our current stores are sufficient."
"Is that so?" Evita gave a bitter, troubled smile. It seemed her bargaining chips had just diminished.
"Let’s head back first. The Leader is a good person. If you want to trade, you can talk to him. He’ll give you a fair contract." Buck Teeth and the other goblins climbed onto the back of a Worker Ant, where two rows of long benches were tied down. It was a "commuter shuttle" specially for these goblin workers.
"Alright." Evita followed alongside the Worker Ant, her brow slightly furrowed.