Green Monster Epic

Chapter 56: Seeking Someone

“Hey, buddy, can you help me with something?”

Allen sat on a high stool, a glass of fruit wine in his left hand. With a flick of his right hand, a shiny silver coin flew towards the bartender behind the bar who was wiping glasses.

“Clink!”

The human bartender nimbly reached out and caught the flying silver coin in his palm. He then looked up at Allen and replied politely, “Sir, what can I do for you?”

“Are there any reliable guides in this town who are familiar with the situation south of the Tagan Desert? Preferably someone without too many external connections.”

Using money as a means of communication was a trick Allen had learned from Regis. Now, in order to find a suitable guide and leave the kobold territory as soon as possible, he had no better option.

“Sir, you've come to the right person. Our town has plenty of those guys, but to be honest, there are very few who are truly reliable.”

The human bartender wasn't surprised by Allen's question. The wilderness was never short of adventurers who wanted to make a name for themselves. Where there was demand, there was naturally a market. Those wilderness people and outsiders who lacked strength but wanted to earn extra money to survive joined in, earning meager incomes.

However, many of the guides involved used this as bait, colluding with other looting gangs to lure their employers into pre-arranged trap areas, eliminating them in the lawless wilderness and earning even more profit.

Allen had learned about this information from Regis during their chats, and he had always been wary of it. That's why he was willing to spend money to find more reliable information, to buy himself peace of mind. This human bartender was under the command of Shaky Gil, whom Regis had told him to contact, and Allen trusted him more than anyone else in town.

“As it happens, there's a relatively reliable little guy in town who specializes in this business. He has a good reputation and might meet your requirements.”

“The little guy is called Jack, and he's one of your kind, a goblin youth living in the town. If you want to find him, just wander around the market a couple of times and look for the most active goblin. That's him. Or you can go directly to the slum in the east corner and ask anyone. They'll be able to tell you where his home is.”

“There's also an old guy, a native kobold, who's quite capable and often travels to the wilderness. But he has a flaw: he's an alcoholic. He'll make a big fuss if he goes a day without alcohol, and once he gets a taste of it, he can't stop. He gets drunk and goes on a rampage, which is very troublesome.”

“Jack?”

Hearing this name, which seemed familiar, Allen carefully searched his memories of Thunder Town. He vaguely remembered interacting with a goblin who had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation, but the interaction was brief, and he had no other needs at the time, so he didn't give the guy a chance to continue chatting.

“Do you have any more detailed information about him?”

“Well…”

The bartender's right-hand fingers seemed to be itching. His thumb, index finger, and middle finger rubbed back and forth, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

“…”

Allen understood and tossed out another silver coin, which quickly brought a response.

“Little Jack is an orphan who grew up in the town. He's very clever, but unfortunately, he's weak and not a kobold, so he's always been bullied by the other kobold thugs in town. Fortunately, the kobolds need some servants to take care of their daily lives and manage some of the land reclaimed outside the town, so they've accepted some wilderness goblins to live in the town. The slum in the east corner is where the goblins live.”

“With the help of other members of his race, Little Jack survived his infancy. Later, he followed a big goblin to learn about the environment around the town and started working as a guide. At least, as far as I can tell, he has a clean record.”

In fact, when Allen heard the human bartender say that the other party was a goblin, he was already somewhat tempted. Even with his high vigilance, the sense of identity that came from being blood-related made Allen have a good first impression of this guide. Later, when he heard the bartender reveal more information, Allen's sense of identity became even stronger. A resident who grew up in the town would have much less opportunity to collude with external gangs.

“Thanks.”

Allen drank the sweet and sour fruit wine in one gulp, put down the glass, and walked out of the noisy tavern, without provoking the various patrons in the hall.

“Goodbye, and welcome to visit again.”

The bartender saw Allen off, then quietly lowered his head and stroked the two silver coins in his hand, his face full of smiles.

Having obtained the information, Allen didn't waste any more time. He simply followed the bustling road to the market, hoping to encounter the goblin named Jack while it was still early.

Allen had been to Thunder Town Market before. He had visited it during his brief stay in the town, and his impression of it was that it was a mixed bag, with constant disputes. According to old-timer Regis, markets set up by alien races like this one were never short of ancient professions like thieves and swindlers. Although legendary figures like Howling Fang and Claw of Chaos ruled the town and had established a series of rules and regulations for the tribe, the chaotic nature of the kobolds and wilderness creatures couldn't be changed in a short time, so there were naturally plenty of people who made a living from it.

“Sir, sir, do you need to buy anything? Or do you want to sell something good? I have connections and can definitely give you a fair price.”

As soon as he entered the market, those with keen eyes and ears surrounded him and began to promote themselves. Allen casually grabbed a guy, shook a silver coin in his hand, and said, “If you can help me find Jack, this silver coin is yours.”

“Sir, what do you want Little Jack for? My information is definitely better than his. It's really better to find me than to find him.”

The guy who was grabbed was a kobold. At this time, his eyes were greedily fixed on the silver coin in Allen's hand, but he couldn't help but continue to promote himself to Allen.

Before Allen could say anything more, he pushed him away and turned to re-select an object, continuing the previous topic.

“Don't worry, sir, I'll take you to find Little Jack right away.”

Another lucky guy readily gave a reply. After Allen let go, he led him through the crowd and quickly disappeared into the crowd, leaving the kobold who had missed the deal standing there in regret.

“Sir, the goblin in front is Little Jack.”

As the bartender had said, Jack's figure was found in the chaotic market. As Allen remembered, he was indeed the clever little goblin who had struck up a conversation with him when he passed through Thunder Town.

“Okay, here.”

Allen tossed the silver coin in his hand, and the other party neatly caught the silver coin before turning around and disappearing into the crowd. Allen then slowly approached this branch of his race and secretly observed his behavior.