Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 103 The Swordswoman Gets on the Pirate Ship

"It was too short a time, I didn't see clearly. Turn back into a goblin and show me properly."

The woman with the sword stood with her hands on her hips and said in an unquestionable manner.

"This... I'm a little embarrassed." Gebu scratched his head, his face slightly flushed. "We're not even that familiar yet, isn't this moving a bit too fast?"

"Hurry up! Stop pretending to be innocent!" the swordswoman snapped angrily. "Have you lied enough? In the few days I've known you, have you told me a single truth? Show me your true form right now, or I won't need the church or the town guards—I'll just cut your head off and hang it on the city gate myself!"

Gebu hesitated for a moment. Showing it to them wouldn't cost him anything. Letting them see it was better than the other options.

If they were to actually fight the swordswoman, whether they could win or not was another matter, but they definitely wouldn't be able to stay in this town, and the caravan's plans would be ruined.

Being a person is so hard! I feel so wronged, my heart is full of grievances!

Geb sighed softly. He crouched down behind the little girl, took off his mask, and then stood up somewhat awkwardly with his hands behind his back.

The swordswoman's sharp gaze swept from the goblin's toes to the top of his head. Despite being clothed, Geb felt as if he had been seen naked, and his whole body felt prickly and uncomfortable.

Dove stared silently at Geb's body for a moment, then rested his hand on his chin and nodded.

"You know what, I've killed a lot of goblins, but I've never actually seen a live one up close."

Seeing that the woman with the sword had him backed up, and that Geb had been humiliated, the hostage took advantage of the situation, circling around the goblin, tugging at his ear and poking his belly.

"It itches! It hurts!"

Gebu winced as the little girl poked him, then breathed hard at her. The hostage was startled and took two steps back.

The mercenary stepped forward, reached out with interest, and lifted the goblin's chin.

Human eyes meet forest eyes, icy blue meets amber.

Gebu took a bite—but the swordswoman pulled her hand back in an instant.

"Wow, this little goblin has quite a temper."

"Have you looked enough...?" Gebu avoided the woman's gaze, grabbed his other forearm with his left hand, bit his lip, his thin green body barely able to support the clothes of the half-human.

The hostage watched this bizarre scene unfold, unsure how to react. A certain switch in the child's mind had been permanently flipped.

"I remember now..." The woman tilted her head slightly. "That strange goblin selling potions at the wanderer's market, that was you, wasn't it? I knew I'd seen you somewhere before... My intuition is never wrong."

"Did your intuition tell you that if you push me any further, a ball of fire will shoot right at your face?" Gebu said unhappily.

"Alright, alright, change back. I've seen enough." The mercenary waved her hand and took two steps back. "If you keep watching, the longsword at my waist might not be able to hold back any longer."

Gebu quickly put his mask back on, instantly transforming back into a half-human form.

"...What now?" he asked. "Are we going to play a cat-and-mouse game like yesterday, or fight to the death? Now that you know my secret, give me your opinion."

The woman's interested smile vanished, and she fell into deep thought.

Gebu watched her nervously, while the woman's gaze swept across Gebu's and the hostage's faces.

"You know, the church is currently offering bounties for goblin heads, two silver coins each," the swordswoman said, her voice low and laced with a hint of threat.

"My head is worth far more than two silver coins."

"That's right, to be honest, I really don't care if you're a goblin, a kobold, or a wild dog... I'm straightforward and don't like playing dirty tricks. My conditions are very simple. One hundred gold coins for my silence."

100 gold coins! 100! 100...

Not much, Gebu thought. This guy really is a pauper; he can't even extort a large sum from him.

That shows a lack of strategic thinking. If it were me, I would at least extort their entire fortune, then force them to sign a contract of servitude, keeping them under my control long-term... like a hostage.

Even though it's not much, you should still bargain. Otherwise, she might think you've asked for too little and raise the price on the spot, which wouldn't be good.

"100 is too many..."

"100 gold coins a week, Geb, starting today. Deliver the gold coins to me every seven days, or you can expect the witch hunters to come knocking on your door. Don't even think about running away, kid. From now on, you're my meal ticket," the woman said with a malicious smile.

"Meal tickets," Meat Ticket repeated from the side. "She gets 100 gold coins, why do I only get 2 silver coins a day! I want meal tickets too!"

You underestimated her!

"Taking advantage of my misfortune! That's outrageous! Where would I get that much money?! You only get five gold coins a day as a mercenary!"

"I know you're rich, Geb. Didn't you rip me off like this at the kobold camp? Today I'll let you taste your own medicine!"

"That's too much!" Geb complained—but then an idea suddenly popped into his head. If all this mercenary cared about was money, things wouldn't be difficult.

The halfling's eyes flickered, his face brightening, and he quickly said:

"I can't come up with 100 gold coins—but how about 1000 gold coins?"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" The female mercenary narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Draining all the water might catch some fish—but then there'll be nothing left. I don't believe a goblin needs to explain that to you. 100 gold coins a week, that's 400 gold coins a month, 4800 gold coins a year… That's a lot of money! Enough to buy a whole shop! You've pushed me to this point; I'll either run away or fight you to the death, resulting in mutual destruction. If we both die, my little hostage will be all alone, forced to sleep in the stables, and then work in a brothel… a drug den. You're forcing me into… you know… you know… how can you live with yourself?"

"...Using a child as a shield! Don't play the poor card with me, goblin. Aren't you going to sell alcohol? You must have plenty of money."

"The business hasn't even been established yet! The initial stage of doing business requires the most capital... You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"Then what do you mean by 1000 gold coins?"

"We don't have money now, but we will have a lot of money in the future," Geb said.

"You're kidding me!"

"I have a plan—if it succeeds, I can get the money, join the caravan, and then start my wine-selling business in style."

"A plan?" the woman with the sword asked hesitantly. "What kind of wicked idea do you have this time?"

"The details still need to be finalized... What you need to know is that I need to solve the big problem that's been plaguing everyone in this town: that manticore. Once the manticore is dealt with, everything will fall into place—and Gebu Winery can finally open."

"You think you can handle a manticore? Have you ever even seen one? I have." The woman looked at the short man with disbelief and disdain. "Twenty soldiers couldn't handle it. Forget about whether you can win; if it doesn't want to fight, it can fly away at any time. No one can catch a flying beast on the ground."

"This goblin is easy to handle!"

Gebu said confidently, his eyes wide open like discs.

"If you want a long-term meal ticket from me, then you should help me. If I can't handle the scorpion, I won't be able to join the caravan; if I can't join the caravan, I won't be able to open Gebu Winery; if I can't open Gebu Winery, then you can forget about getting any money... You can fight, and I'm smart; you can't go wrong by listening to me. Our interests are aligned right now. Listen to me, don't try to think for yourself... You have to help me, you absolutely have to help me."

Gebu's rapid-fire retorts left the woman bewildered. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. She seemed to want to say something more, but swallowed it back.

"I..." the woman hesitated.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Geb quickly finished off the attacker:

"Sword Girl! I'm inviting you to be a partner in Gebu Brewing Company—are you interested? Once the company is up and running, I'll give you 20% of the shares! Worth at least, I mean at least, 1000 gold coins! And the future is limitless, with no upper limit!"

"..."

"..."

"...1000 gold coins, is it real?" The woman's mental barrier finally cracked.

Gebu was overjoyed: He had been waiting for this to be said—when people are greedy, they lose their reason. As long as this woman is on his side, with their interests aligned, she will not only not reveal the secret, but will also become his most loyal bodyguard, just like Tongtong.

However, a meal wouldn't be enough to fool her; this bodyguard would be more expensive... but that's okay. Shares are worthless if they're not liquidated. If she wants to earn this money, she'll have to work herself to the bone.

Geb grabbed the crack in the woman's mind with both hands and ripped it open:

"Welcome aboard the Geb pirate ship... oh no, welcome to Geb Winery, Dove Ennis of Thuns!"