OBS How can the events at the Reading Forest in Chapter 42 be called theft?
How can the events at the Reading Forest in Chapter 42 be called theft?
The "Princess Tavern" is particularly deserted today.
A few human mercenaries sat playing cards in the empty tavern, the stakes being a meager stack of copper coins.
The plump orc maid glanced at them and said in a sarcastic tone:
"We ordered two drinks and the four of us drank all morning. Don't we care about other people's saliva?"
The mercenary retorted irritably, "It's all because of that swindler in your tavern! Damn it, all the money I earned with my life was swindled away!"
"Why don't you go and take it back! You coward," the maid mocked.
"Who dares to fight the Gray Ravens! They took all that money as stolen goods, damn it, so what if you have a big fist!"
After the mercenary finished speaking, he suddenly lost his confidence and turned to look around—besides the few of them, there was only a tall, thin man in black standing next to them in the tavern.
This man was even poorer than them; he only ordered a glass of water and didn't eat anything, just sat there doing nothing.
Seeing that there were no members of the Gray Raven Society around, the mercenary felt relieved and continued playing cards—"King's Flush!"
"Hey, sorry, four of a kind." The gambler next to him revealed his hole card and then took the money—making a net profit of 7 copper coins.
"Damn bad luck!" the mercenary cursed, slamming his cards on the table. "It's weird, ever since I met that goblin, I haven't won a single card game!"
"That goblin has sucked all our luck away."
"What do you mean 'absorbed'? That's cheating! That goblin will definitely use magic! Think about it, how could the dice be rolled so coincidentally, landing on a snake's eye?"
"A goblin with magic? Are you kidding me?" The mercenary glared at his companion, stood up angrily, and walked towards the tavern door.
Just as the man was about to leave, a pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed his shoulders from behind. He turned around, ready to retaliate, but froze when he saw the person in front of him.
The man in black had a stern face and a nose as high as a vulture's. His eyes were dark and murderous, and a holy emblem of the Church of Obak hung from the cast iron necklace around his neck.
"Tell me, what exactly is this 'magical goblin' all about?"
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As night fell, Geb and Tongtong returned to camp, bringing a whole host of novelties for the rest of Geb's goblin squad, including a fat, strange animal.
The guy had a simple-minded look on his face and kept chewing something.
"Come, my little ones, Magnubie will reward you tonight with something good to eat. This animal is called a capybara—stewed with radishes, it's delicious."
Gebu patted Kapibala's head and looked at the adorable chubby guy with loving eyes.
The fat capybara looked at Gebu with innocent eyes, chewing on bay leaves and fennel seeds.
He marinates himself, what a thoughtful Kapibala!
Bang bang bang, the cleaver chops the meat, the boiling water simmers, the radish is peeled, firewood is added, and the soul of Kapibala rises into the sky with the steam.
Within half an hour, the air was filled with the aroma of meat broth.
The goblins, holding their bowls, swallowed hard and stared longingly at Geb.
"Dinner's ready!"
The sounds of howling and wailing rose and fell.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Gebu gathered the ten goblins together and gave each of them a handful of strange black beans.
The goblins took a sniff, and their eyes lit up; the thing had a strange fragrance.
A greedy goblin put a bean in his mouth and chewed it, but as soon as he bit down, he grimaced and spat it out.
"It's so bitter!"
"You dared to eat that! You're so cheeky!" Gebu scolded. "This stuff is called coffee beans. Don't mind the bitterness; chew a few when you're sleepy to wake yourself up."
The goblins stared at what they held in their hands, completely bewildered.
"For the next three days, I have a very difficult task for you—keep this pot of capybara stew with radish cooking. Anyone who gets hungry can come and eat. If you're sleepy, just chew on a couple of coffee beans."
"Do as I say. Divide into three groups of three, taking turns sleeping in three shifts. One person will be on watch, one will be working, and one will be resting. Supervise each other and report on each other. Magnubie doesn't keep idle goblins—you should be grateful for the work we're giving you, understand?"
The goblins nodded.
"You, you, you are in the juicing team. The three of you are in the boiling team. The remaining three of you are in charge of cooling. I will teach you step by step, and each of you only needs to know one step. Focus! Do this one thing to the best of your ability, have the spirit of a craftsman! Magnubier will reward you. Not just with food, but with gold."
After saying this, Gebu opened his hand and showed the goblins the gleaming gold coins.
Everyone initially didn't understand what Gebu was saying, but as soon as they saw the gold, they seemed to suddenly understand and nodded vigorously.
Geb directed the goblins to line up, and each of them received three gold coins, with a promise that they would each receive three more after the mission was accomplished.
Most of the goblins had never even seen gold before, and they were overjoyed and eager to get started.
Tongtong raised his hand: "What about me? What should I do?"
Gebu called Tongtong over and said to him, "Don't get involved in making the potion; you're not that bright. I have a special task for you... We'll do it this way, and this way..."
After settling all the goblins in the camp, Geb spent the whole night perfecting the potion production process, training these goblins into qualified assembly line workers—well, qualified only for goblins.
The yield rate of the manufactured potions was only 7%, but that was enough.
Production volume compensates for quality. Make seventy or eighty bottles, then have the quality inspected to ensure fifty are合格 (qualified/compliant) for shipment. That's sufficient.
Anyway, the raw materials belong to the old lady, so I don't feel bad about wasting them.
After being tormented by Lady Peacock for half a day, Gebu finally had time to think carefully about what had happened at the Seven Seas Pharmacy after leaving the market.
A knife to the throat—retail becomes wholesale.
Gebu had been waiting for a big boss... and he did get one, but the boss was even more ruthless and stingy than him.
The wholesale price of 20 gold coins per bottle is far less than the retail price of 40 gold coins per bottle.
But since my costs are low, I can still make a profit!
Goblins, give them a little money and they'll work you to death—they're top-quality oxen and horses.
Originally, making 50 bottles of potion in three days would have been impossible even if he worked himself to death, but by a twist of fate, Gebu's alchemical knowledge helped him improve the halfling formula at a crucial moment—the rapid cooling method reduced the production speed by half.
With the addition of the temporary goblin production line, large-scale shipments should make it easy to complete the target within three days.
The cost was increased: the price of moonstone and sulfur crystals, when factored into each bottle, was two gold coins—but Lady Peacock covered this cost for herself, as she provided all the materials.
Based on this calculation, 50 x 20 (selling price) - 6 x 9 (goblin labor) - 10 (food/miscellaneous expenses) = 936 gold coins.
Adding the original 220 gold coins, if everything goes smoothly, three days later, he will have 1156 gold coins in his pocket.
1156/1000, exceeding the target. With this money, can I buy alchemy tools?
Things aren't that simple.
After leaving the Seven Seas Apothecary, Gebu inquired about the market for herbs, alchemy, scrolls, and magical items.
Of these four items, he only saw a herbal medicine shop; he never saw any shops or stalls selling the other three items.
The results of the investigation disappointed Geb: the potion was sold publicly, but the other three items could only be purchased through special channels.
As Lady Peacock said, permission from the Gray Ravens is required.
In other words, even if you have a thousand gold coins, and you can find a place to buy them, no one will sell them to you!
Why?
Because the Holy Kingdom of Kane forbids magic!
Although this is a black market, if you sell dangerous alchemical materials, magic scrolls, and magical items to strange people indiscriminately, they could be used by unscrupulous individuals to cause trouble.
The church will eventually trace the clues back to the Gray Ravens.
Therefore, alchemy, scrolls, and magical items are strictly controlled by the Gray Raven in the Wanderers' Market, and ordinary people have no access to them at all.
Herbal remedies, on the other hand, are a gray area industry. Lower-grade herbs are in demand, and the church doesn't prohibit them. Examples include laxatives, tranquilizers, and medicinal remedies.
Illegal substances include: potions with effects beyond human comprehension that can enhance a person's combat abilities or grant the user supernatural powers—such as dragon breath potions that allow people to breathe fire, giant strength potions that increase a person's strength, and flight potions.
That's understandable. The kingdom forbids the use and study of magic, and naturally, it also forbids potions that can provide magical effects—they call these dangerous potions "magic potions."
These potions cannot be bought in shops; you need someone to vouch for them or to have connections with the Gray Ravens.
There is one exception: poison—ordinary poisons are not magical potions, but they are still illegal, for obvious reasons. They are also very difficult to obtain in this market.
In conclusion, even if Geb saves up 1000 gold coins, he still won't be able to buy alchemy tools.
This doesn't mean that Gebu won't make money off Madam Peacock—he has no choice but to. It's just that he can't use that money to buy what he wants.
However, Geb has a new plan regarding this...
As he was leaving the medicated shop, the little goblin's tiny eyes caught sight of something he shouldn't have been looking at.
The Gray Ravens have a lot of good stuff.
Hehe, if you don't sell...
Then I guess I'll have to do *that*.
Hey, I didn't say steal!
Gebu held the Book of Sand to his chest and adjusted his non-existent glasses.
How can something like what happened in the reading grove be called stealing?