Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 121 The Takagi Family's Banshee

When he first entered the lord's hall, Gebu looked around like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

This was Gebu's first time visiting a human castle—a castle with massive stone walls, brick floors, and no superfluous decorations; everything looked cold and hard.

Upon closer inspection, the castle seemed to emanate a red glow, shimmering like crystal sand in the sunlight. When Gebu passed by, he observed it closely and noticed red particles mixed in with the stones used to build the walls; touching them left his fingertips slightly stained red.

This must be the red sandstone, Gebu thought. The red mineral that made this place famous far and wide. The local lord clearly used this touch of red as his symbol; the decorations, carpets, emblems, and even the soldiers' armor all bore red markings. The sheriff before him also wore a red shield badge on his chest.

The group walked through the castle courtyard and entered the reception hall. The guards parted to the left and right, and the sheriff instructed two men to wait where they were while he sent a servant to fetch the castle's master.

The only thing that could be described as luxurious in the hall was the lord's chair in the center—a hard stone seat covered with silk and velvet, decorations that seemed somewhat out of place with the rest of the place.

"Is this acting lord complaining that the stool is too cold? Or is he afraid it will hurt his butt?" Gebu quipped.

A short while later, the acting lord Alphonse emerged, his belly protruding.

Well, I spoke too soon—the most out-of-place person in this hall is this chubby white man.

Gebu looked at the portraits of his ancestors hanging on the walls on both sides. The Red Baron's bloodline consisted of strong, dark-skinned knights for generations, but the one in front of him was fat and looked like he had never lifted a sword in his life.

The chubby man sat down on the stone bench, his stomach contents spilling onto the armrest.

"This is Baron Roger's Domain. To outsiders, the name 'Red Baron' may be more familiar. My father and elder brother are away on peace talks, and in the meantime, please allow me, acting lord Alphonse Roger, to welcome our guests from afar."

Although the chubby man was polite in his words, his expression was somewhat arrogant. His small, beady eyes swept over the woman with the sword, then narrowed.

Dove felt a little uncomfortable under the chubby man's gaze, but did not react. After a pause, he politely bowed to Alphonse.

The swordswoman's familiarity with the etiquette of the kingdom's nobility exceeded Geb's expectations. She introduced herself (a trainee knight squire of the Kingdom's Rose Knights) and Geb (her partner) to the acting lord with poise and grace, without the halflings needing to interrupt.

This is really strange. Geb thought to himself. Dove, who usually gets into a fight within three sentences, is being so polite to a nobleman?

This guy has the potential to be a drama queen! Everyone in Gebu's squad is a talent.

Geb let Dove lead the conversation while he listened from the side. The main reason he came here was to gain the lord's support. The merchant guild was the easiest to deal with; the lord and the merchant guild had conflicting interests, so persuading them wouldn't be difficult either. Once he had the approval of these two forces, he could then tackle the tough nut of dealing with the old priest.

There are several reasons why the swordswoman was given the identity of "Rose Order Apprentice Knight Squire".

First of all, the Rose Knights were founded based on the "Rose Saintess Knight" that Gebu saw in the imperial edict, and the entire order consists of female members. Dofen, a female mercenary from the "Knight Kingdom," fits the character design in terms of appearance and temperament.

Of course, they can't compare in terms of personality. How can a poor mercenary compare to a wealthy knight?

The Old Kingdom had thirteen knightly orders, which were said to have been founded by thirteen holy knights who accompanied Oubak in the first war against the law. One of them was this Rose Saintess—this woman was no ordinary person. She was called the Bride of God, which, according to Geb's interpretation, implied that she had most likely had an affair with Oubak back then.

Before becoming a god, Obak was just a human being, so it's understandable.

This conjecture is proven by the fact that while the other knights were enfeoffed in various kingdoms, becoming either dukes or marquises, only the Rose Saintess herself received the entire kingdom—the so-called new kingdom, whose full name is "God-Blessed Rose Kingdom." The Rose royal family consists of the Rose Saintess's descendants, and women have ruled for generations.

This is clearly his wife; she's treated much better than his brothers.

How can a virgin have offspring? Don't ask. Asking is a miracle. Asking again will get you burned at the stake.

That said, because of the legend that the Rose Saintess was inspired by a dream from the gods, over the past thousand years, many noble sons have also claimed to have been inspired by the gods and have traveled to various parts of the kingdom to seek out all sorts of "divine trials".

These guys once nearly wiped out the trolls in the Kingdom Forest—the mere mention of the "Trial Knight" in the Broken Tooth tribe could stop the little goblins from crying at night.

The goal of these young "knights" is nothing more than to bypass the cruel knightly squire selection mechanism and take a shortcut to gain the recognition of the lord, the church, and the knightly order, and directly become a formal knight.

Whether the dream is real or not, if the person who receives the dream actually accomplishes something big—hunting down an owl or capturing a heretical wizard—then everyone will believe he/she is real. If they die in the dream, then it's definitely fake. High risk, high reward.

However, after years of hunting and the expansion of human settlements, the number of monsters within the kingdom has decreased significantly in recent years. Furthermore, with continuous warfare and the army needing skilled personnel, legitimate channels offer more opportunities, making such unorthodox methods of trials increasingly rare. The last recorded instance of someone advancing to the rank of knight by slaying monsters was decades ago.

In conclusion, portraying the Sword Maiden as a "servant of the Rose Knights," sent by a god in a dream to slay the Manticore, is the most fitting approach.

First: There are plenty of knights and squires in the kingdoms. Although they are called the Rose Knights, there are probably hundreds of squires like her. No one knows if they are real or fake.

Second: The dream-seeking plot is something that people believe in. If they don't believe it, they might just think that the female knight is an opportunist who wants to learn from her predecessors and take shortcuts, and they won't suspect that she has any ulterior motives.

Third: The swordswoman said she had met the Rose Knights before, which made the role easier to play.

However, even so, things progressed far more smoothly than Geb had imagined.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the lord seemed to approve of the female apprentice knight in front of him.

"The Roger family has always been faithful believers. That manticore has been a menace to the area, and I've long intended to eliminate it. Unfortunately, we lacked a brave leader." The chubby man gave a perfunctory bow to the Obak emblem hanging on the hall wall, then continued, "However, enthusiasm doesn't equate to impulsiveness, and piety doesn't equate to foolishness. You've come to me because you want my help. I've already offered a 2000 gold coin bounty for the manticore's capture. Your specific reason for coming to me suggests that what you need isn't gold, but manpower, am I right?"

Doffin paused for a moment, and seeing that the person in front of her had finally gotten to the point, she glanced at Goblin. At this crucial moment in the negotiation, she handed over the power of speech to the goblin.

Geb used a teleportation spell to communicate with the lord through the swordswoman.

“You are right. Although I have the Lord’s protection, hunting that beast is not something I can do alone. I hope that you, acting lord, can send soldiers to assist me in hunting the manticore,” Doffin said, bowing slightly to the plump man in respect. “You are a generous and devout man. To protect the safety of the believers, I am willing to be your sword.”

"Let me guess, when you say I'm generous, you mean you don't intend to give up that 2000 gold coin bounty?" The chubby man's lips curled into a smile that was hard to decipher, a smile that held both disdain and smugness. It was as if he were saying: I already knew what you were thinking.

"The Red Baron's reputation for generosity has spread throughout the kingdom... Of course, my trials have only just begun, and the road ahead is long, requiring some travel expenses." Since the lord had brought it up, Geb made Doffin's stance clear. If he insisted on not giving it, there was nothing he could do. However, most nobles valued their reputation and wouldn't break their promises for money.

"I can give you the man, and if you really kill that manticore, I'll keep the bounty. Let everyone know that Alphonse of the Crimson City isn't a miser," the chubby man said, then suddenly changed the subject, "However, as a vanguard of the gods, one should receive the blessing of the divine servant before setting out, don't you agree?"

"You mean Father Usa of the local church? Of course, I'll go to the chapel and talk to him later. I'm sure I can get his permission."

"That's not necessarily true. That respected priest may be getting on in years, and his personality is a bit too stubborn. His views on this manticore are different from yours and mine. If you say you want to kill it, that old priest may not agree."

"They seem different, but they're actually the same," Doffin (actually Geb) said, the woman now completely oblivious to what she was saying. "The punishments bestowed by the gods must be resolved by their vanguard. I'm confident I can persuade him. If possible, I hope you can put in a good word for me."

"I don't think Father Usha wants to see me again... unless I can recite the book he gave me by heart," the chubby man said with a hint of resentment, then added with a cold laugh, "I'm a bloated, corrupt nobleman, and you're a young, slender female knight. Maybe he'll listen to you... I know I will."

"You're joking," Dove replied, ignoring the chubby man's slightly flippant comment. Geb, however, was a little annoyed, plotting that he would find an opportunity to get back at this fat man just for that remark.

"If I successfully receive the church's blessing, I hope to set off as soon as possible—tomorrow morning would be best."

"My men will be ready. But remember," the chubby man said, his smile vanishing instantly. He leaned back in his chair, pointed a finger at the female knight before him, and arrogantly declared, "If Father Usha doesn't personally come and kiss your sword tomorrow morning—my soldiers won't leave this castle a single step—you'll be entirely on your own. Understand?"

"Absolutely true."

Having said that, the swordswoman bowed to the lord and prepared to leave with Geb—just as she stepped out of the hall, Alphonse suddenly asked:

"You said you're from Thuns, you look familiar. What's your last name?"

Neither Gebu nor the swordswoman reacted. The female knight turned around and froze for a moment. After a long while, she blurted out a name.

"Hawkwood."

Oh dear, this isn't the alias we agreed on. Gebu's heart sank. He looked at the woman with the sword; her pupils dilated for a moment, as if she herself had been startled.

After a moment of silence, the chubby man said expressionlessly:

"I haven't heard of it. Maybe I'm remembering wrong. It's alright, you can go now."

He waved his hand, letting the two leave the hall. Gebu breathed a sigh of relief, quickly walked to the corner with the woman with the sword as if nothing had happened, and then hurried out.

After watching the swordswoman and the halfling leave, he turned to the sheriff beside him and said:

"Sir Matthew (here, 'Sir' is a title of respect for knights, not that the sheriff has a noble title), have you heard of the Hawkwood family of Thuns?"

The sheriff thought for a moment and answered in a low voice:

"I've heard of them; they seem to be a large family... but it appears to have fallen into decline long ago. I apologize, I've been away from the kingdoms for a long time and am not familiar with the politics of Thuns. I also don't know any of the younger members of the Eaglewood family."

The chubby man chuckled, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"You don't know her, but I do... I saw this woman at a banquet when I was a child."

"Dove? Rose Knight?" The chubby man seemed to have thought of something very funny, and he couldn't help but laugh. He was holding back his laughter while slapping his thigh, and his fat was flying everywhere.

"My goodness, I remember who she is... the Lord's vanguard? Are you kidding me. This is the first happy thing that's happened to me today, it's absolutely outrageous."

"Lord Alphonse?" the sheriff asked somewhat uneasily from the side. "You mean, she's an imposter? I'll send men to arrest them right away."

"No need! If someone wants to go and smash their head against that stinking rock of Father Usa, let them crack their own skull."

Are you sure?

"I told you, you don't need to worry about it," the chubby man said. "If they succeed, you can finally get some action—you and your knights have been itching for this for the past few weeks, haven't you?"

"...Wouldn't that be letting them off too easily? We kill the manticore and let that conman get the money?"

"Who said we were going to give them money?" Alphonse looked at the sheriff with a half-smile.

Sheriff Matthew paused for a moment, looking at the smiling but treacherous young man in front of him, a chill running down his spine.

"If you're going to take down the manticore, then take care of that woman and her stalkers while you're at it—don't worry, I'll reward you and your people. Saving me money is making me money. Isn't your son getting married? Everyone needs money, right?"

"...Excuse my bluntness, but this is probably contrary to the code of chivalry..." Matthew was much older than the noble youth in front of him, almost old enough to be his father, yet he was being suppressed by the nobleman, and spoke with extreme caution. Although he was refuting, he did not exert any force at all.

"Don't overthink it, Sir Matthew. Just think of it as killing two birds with one stone by eliminating a scourge for the people. I assure you, this so-called Rose Knight has done far more despicable things than that scorpion."

"What was her nickname again? It was pretty long."

"Oh, right..."

"The banshee of the Takagi family."