The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

"But I have one condition." Herbert glanced at the patch of green skin Shire had exposed. "You just have to do one thing for me."

"One thing?" Shire frowned. He hadn't noticed he'd exposed himself, but he thought he already had an idea of what the other man wanted.

Meanwhile, Mary, who was by the door, was gesturing frantically, pointing at her own forehead. Shire shot her a glance and immediately understood what she meant. 'It's over. I've been exposed.'

"Let's be direct, Mr. Shire." Herbert spread his hands. "There's no point in hiding like this. I know you're a goblin."

Hearing this, Shire fell silent for a few seconds. He was still wondering how he'd been exposed. 'If it was just because I showed a little green skin, that shouldn't have been enough to prove anything.'

"Actually, I already knew the last time I saw you," Herbert said with a slight smile.

"The last time?" Shire racked his brain, trying to recall their last meeting. He was certain he hadn't exposed himself then. Their transaction had been incredibly fast—they signed the business contract in less than ten minutes. It was practically a lightning deal.

"Yes," Herbert said, tilting his head to glance at Mary behind him. "Since Miss Mary is here, I should give you a heads-up. In a moment, you're going to see something incredible. It isn't dangerous, so there's no need to be too afraid."

Shire frowned at him. The middle-aged gentleman in black seemed to be hiding something.

Then, Herbert rolled his neck a few times, and an indescribable aura began to emanate from him. His body began to tremble slightly. His fair skin turned somewhat gray, and his ears visibly elongated, sharpening to points.

His eyes flickered and then turned red. As he moved, his two canine teeth grew longer and sharper.

"As you can see," Herbert said, spreading his arms, "I am a Vampire. During our last meeting, I confirmed you weren't human by the scent of your blood."

Shire watched Herbert with a deadpan expression. By the door, Mary had clapped her hands over her mouth, her fingers gripping the doorframe for dear life as she desperately suppressed a scream.

Shire had told her before that if anything bad happened, she could run to save her own life. But now, even though her arms were trembling with fear, Mary didn't choose to flee alone. 'Right,' she thought, 'I've seen so many goblins, Giants, and Ghost Witches. What's one more Vampire?'

Shire slowly took off his hat and mask, then pulled off his gloves. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to deceive you."

"It's just that a goblin running an Alchemy Workshop sounds utterly absurd. I was afraid you'd have trouble accepting it, which is why I hid myself," he said, dropping his disguise. He then extended a hand, gesturing for Herbert to sit down and talk.

The corner of Herbert's mouth quirked up. He smiled and walked over to the sofa to sit down. He found it a bit strange that the goblin in front of him had no reaction to seeing a Vampire, but then he remembered that Shire was already a hot commodity for two Demon Lords, and he let it go. "I can understand. I imagine my insistence on only discussing business at night must have also seemed a bit strange to you."

Shire nodded, then asked, "Tea? Coffee?"

"No, I'm not particularly interested in those," Herbert said with a slight shake of his head. But then his eyebrows shot up as he watched Mary approach, holding a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

Seeing that the two seated "men" were both looking at her, Mary carefully set down the bottle and glasses. Then, trying her best to keep her voice steady, she said, "The last time Mr. Herbert was here, he mentioned he prefers red wine."

Herbert smiled faintly and gave a slight bow from his seat on the sofa. "You are truly a clever and beautiful woman, Miss Mary."

But when Mary saw the Vampire's pallid smile, her expression tightened. She quickly waved her hands and said, "You're too kind."

She gave a small bow, then hurried back to the doorway, once again gripping the frame as she watched the two of them talk.

"I think she's just used to it," Shire said, glancing at Mary. He wasn't surprised by her behavior at all. 'It's just a Vampire. After all, Mary's the same person who's seen the corpse of a Two-headed Ogre and chased a Unicorn through the forest.'

"Understandable." Herbert nodded. He picked up the red wine, poured himself half a glass, and then raised it toward the goblin in a toast. After being refused, he swirled the liquid in his glass. "I can give you all the subsequent potion bottles for free, as long as you, Mr. Shire, can do one thing for me."

Shire picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip. 'It's a winter night; this tea gets cold so fast. If only there were a way to keep it warm,' he thought. He then set down the cup. "You want me to help you find something in the forest, don't you."

Herbert narrowed his eyes. Before he could say anything, the goblin's next words nearly made him drop his glass.

"What did Jealousy lose in the forest? Or should I say, what does it want you to find?" Shire asked, looking calmly at the Vampire before him.

"You... How could you possibly know?" Herbert gripped his wine glass, controlling his strength—otherwise, it would have shattered in his hand. But he quickly relaxed. 'The man has two Demon Lords backing him; it's not that strange that he knows things,' he rationalized.

Shire crossed his legs, folded his hands over his knee, and leaned back slightly, a look of calm confidence on his face.

"A pair of ears." At last, Herbert relaxed. He took a sip of red wine and nodded in satisfaction.

'Ears?' Shire lifted his gaze to the ceiling. 'Anger lost its long horns, Lust lost an eye, and now Jealousy is missing both ears. What in the world did those Ancient High Elves do? Did they really dig an organ out of all Six Great Demon Lords?'

As for the ears, the corner of his mouth quirked up. 'I bet some weirdo has already done something ridiculous with them.'

'Perhaps,' Shire thought, glancing at Herbert, who was savoring his wine, 'they've already been steeped in medicinal wine.'

"You've been looking for a long time, haven't you?" he asked aloud.

"Mm," Herbert said, swirling his glass, his red pupils fixed on the liquid within. "You could say my family has been looking for a long time. The contract with Jealousy isn't personal; it's with our entire family."

"Your family?"

"Yes," Herbert sighed, then drained the rest of his wine in one gulp. "Our entire Vampire family are Contractors for Jealousy. Whoever comes of age has to help it find those damned ears."

"And it even has people watching over us."

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