Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 117 Gebu and the Female Knight?

Gebu and the knife-wielding woman sat at opposite ends of the wooden bed, while the hostage sat in the middle separating them. A bright red welt was imprinted on Gebu's face.

"So, what did we learn today?" the little girl asked.

"...You can't just ask someone if they're a virgin," Gebu said.

"...You can't just hit someone without asking what happened first," the swordswoman said.

"What is a 'beast girl'?" the little girl asked.

"You'll understand when you grow up," the two said at the same time.

The little girl was brushed off and didn't ask any further questions. She stood still in front of the two of them.

"The misunderstanding is cleared up. Come on, one, two, three, clap your hands and make up, okay? Come on, one, two, three!"

The little girl stretched out her hand and clapped it loudly.

Neither Geb nor the swordswoman reacted.

"I said, one, two, three, let's make up!"

The hostage insisted, pouting her little mouth.

"one two three!"

*Clap!* The little girl clapped her hands with great enthusiasm.

Snapped.

...Slap.

Gebu and the knife-wielding woman reluctantly reached out and patted him weakly.

"Good! It's good that you've made up. You can continue." The hostage jumped off the bed and ran to the door to wait.

After a moment, the woman with the sword turned to Gebu and asked him a question, her attitude extremely rude:

"What kind of wicked idea are you up to now? What do you mean, 'Do you want to be a saintess?' I promised to help you get into the merchant guild, but I didn't promise anything like this... Wait, you'd better not tell me. Considering your goblin identity, I have a bad feeling about the word 'saintess.'"

"Listen to my explanation first before you refuse... When have I ever cheated you?"

"Stop trying to trick me?!" the swordswoman asked, her voice trembling with rage.

"...That's not important, we've already put our differences behind us—this whole thing was to save Dulin's life. He introduced you to the guard job, shouldn't you repay his kindness?"

"...He almost shot me dead!" the woman retorted, her words sharp, but a hint of worry flickered across her face. "What happened to Dulin? He doesn't seem like the type to take risks. Did you get him involved in some kind of incident?"

"Listen to me... it's like this, it's like this..."

Geb briefly explained the whole story to the swordswoman, omitting the part about the golem.

At first, the swordswoman listened very attentively, but later on, she couldn't keep up and her eyes began to look confused.

"Wait a minute, so the manticore does exist."

"right."

"But the mantis wasn't killed by the mantis lion, it was by the beastmen. And the beastmen were hired by the priest, who ordered them not to kill the mantis lion, but instead to kill the mercenaries who hunted it?"

"Yes, yes... In short, Dulin has been kidnapped by bad guys, and we have to take them down, but we need the lord's help—I need to create a reason to put the church, the lord, and the merchant guild on the same side. That's where you come in."

"What does that have to do with me! I'm not going to be some kind of saint. I may be a believer, but I'm not that devout. I have absolutely no interest in things like 'marrying a god'."

"Once we leave this town, you can marry whomever you want. Nobody said being a saintess necessarily means going through the motions," Gebu said quickly. "What I need is for you to act in a play with me. Actually, the lord, the merchant guild, and the church all have the motive to eliminate the beastmen. We just need to provide them with a reason and give them a push."

"I won't do it. This is too complicated. I'm just trying to make a living. I don't have such big ambitions," the woman with the sword said firmly, still showing resistance.

Gebu frowned, gritted his teeth, and said:

"After this is done, I'll give you 1000 gold coins from the manticore's bounty. How about that? That's more than you'd earn from the entire caravan's contract."

The woman with the sword raised her eyebrows when she heard the word "money".

"1000? You get 4000, I get 1000, I do all the work, you just talk the talk? It's at least a 50/50 split."

"Wow, you're too greedy, you swordswoman! I devised the whole plan, even what to say and which leg to step into the house with first. You didn't have to use your brain at all, you just sold your body. 1500 at most, no more."

"Sell your body?! Your words are becoming increasingly suspicious!" The woman with the sword blushed and retorted angrily, "Fifty-fifty is fifty-fifty, otherwise go find someone else!"

"Fine, let's find one! If we can't find a four-legged manticore, surely we can find a two-legged virgin!" Gebu stood up and shouted at the little girl, "Let's go! Hostage! We're going to find a virgin!"

"Go find that beastly woman!" the little girl repeated.

"What are you teaching a child to say!" The woman with the knife casually picked up a bowl and threw it at Gebu.

The halfling had eyes on the back of his head. He turned around, raised his hand, and caught the bowl. He glared at the woman with the sword, then quickly made a calculation.

For the time being, it's really hard to find a virgin... ugh, I can't find anyone more suitable than her. As for the money... if she joins the caravan, there will be plenty of opportunities to make money. We can promise her the money now, and see how things go later; maybe we can even renege on it.

Gebu placed the bowl on the ground, then smiled at the woman with the sword and said:

"How about this, we each compromise and split it 50/50, but I need a deposit of 5000 gold coins to join the caravan—let me deposit the money first, and after I officially join the caravan, I'll transfer half of it to your account, is that alright?"

The woman with the sword thought for a moment, and Gebu interjected, "Anyway, you can't possibly carry that much gold on you; it'll all be deposited into the caravan. It's just a matter of order."

"...I still don't trust you, but if we can get Dulin to do us a favor, then we'll do it. Don't try anything funny. Let's sign a contract, in black and white."

"Okay!" Gebu immediately took out paper and pen from his pocket and quickly wrote down two copies:

"Party A: Gebu"

"Party B: Doveennis"

"Party A entrusts Party B to carry out the manticore hunting plan...and so on...After the mission is completed, the bounty of 5000 gold coins for the manticore will be split 50/50. Party A will first deposit the full amount into the Salt and Iron Merchants Association, and then transfer Party B's share to Party B."

"The 12th of the month of falling leaves in the Royal Calendar 1257."

Dove picked it up and read it, and Geb urged her to sign it. The two of them put their fingerprints on it, and then each of them kept a copy.

Seeing that the contract had been signed, the halfling extended his hand, and Doffin sighed and shook hands with him.

"I never imagined I'd be working with a goblin."

"Not 'one' goblin, but 'this' goblin," Geb emphasized. "This goblin will lead you to the pinnacle of life—my dear Saintess."

"Don't call me that, it makes me sick... What do we need to do now?" Dove asked.

"Now? Now, we're going to change your clothes..." Gebu looked the poor female mercenary up and down, and the swordswoman covered her chest with some vigilance.

"Tch," Geb said dismissively.

"What's wrong?"

"What's there to stop? The poorer they are, the more stingy they become... Let me think. By the way, aren't you from some 'Knight's Kingdom'? Think about it, what should the female knights wear?"

The swordswoman turned her head to look at the leather armor she had taken off in the bed scene. It was battle-hardened, covered in scratches and repair marks, and certainly didn't look like that of a knight—she looked more like a poor mercenary, the kind who wasn't doing so well.

"Speaking of which, your commission isn't low either, five gold coins a day, so how come you're doing so poorly... What did you do with all that money?" Gebu mocked.

"Mind your own business?" The woman with the sword rolled her eyes at him, thought for a moment, and then said:

"A full set of plate armor of Kingdom Knight caliber, starting at 1500 gold coins."

"Huh?!" Geb was stunned—this armor is so expensive?! More expensive than alchemical tools. "...Anything cheaper?"

"Yes, half-body plate armor, starting at 750 gold coins," the swordswoman said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Magnubier's ass, are the knights made of gold?"

"You think? This doesn't even include the cost of the priest's blessing. A full set of official knights serving in the Holy Thirteen Knights costs well over two thousand gold coins."

"Good heavens!" Gebu exclaimed, speechless.

"However, for a fledgling knight's squire, a breastplate is quite good; the rest can be replaced with scale armor and chainmail," Doffin continued, her eyes gleaming like a hungry wolf at night when she spoke of weapons and equipment. "The weapon should be a fine steel half-sword, I prefer it to be about 1.5 meters long, preferably forged in Stonefoot Mountain; if that's not possible, at least it should be made by dwarves. The kite shield should be made of winter oak with iron reinforcement, double-layered, with lambskin grips to prevent cuts... If the knight is from one of the kingdoms, the armor and shield should be engraved with the family crest... That's an unnecessary expense."

"Slow down, we're just putting on a show, does it really need to be this neat?" Gebu interrupted the female mercenary. Every single item cost money! Each word cut into Gebu's heart like a knife.

Dove glared at him:

"Commoners are easy to fool, but the church and lords have seen the real thing. You want to put on an act, don't you? Armor and weapons are a knight's lifeblood. If you use fakes, you'll be exposed in an instant."

"...Give me a total price, and I'll prepare accordingly."

"500 gold coins, no less," the swordswoman said casually. "That depends on whether it's available in this small town... I met a local blacksmith these past few days; he might be able to make an express order."

Upon hearing the amount of 500 gold coins, Gebu's eyes twitched, and his heart stopped for a moment.

"...Uh, if I'm buying you equipment, wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to pay for it...?"

"Don't even think about it. This is your initial investment. Besides, I don't have that much money." The woman with the sword had an uncompromising expression.

After a moment's thought, Geb gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, forcibly suppressing the stingy little goblin who kept nagging on his shoulder.

"Alright, let's go!" Gebu jumped off the bed, grabbed his dimensional bag, and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" the woman with the sword asked.

"Shopping! Damn it, I can't take this anymore!"