Chapter 37

"That's right. Those two ladies escorted us back, and they'd also like to discuss a business matter with Mayor Mengdeli," Old Jack explained to the goblin soldiers in front of him.

The goblin soldier looked them over, muttered something into his Astrolabe, then spoke to Chrisley and the others with a mix of respect and wariness. "Please wait a moment."

Chrisley and her companion stood off to the side, unconcerned. Bili, afraid they might take offense, hurriedly offered an explanation—due to certain special circumstances, any entry into the Goblin Kingdom required multiple layers of patrol checks and clearances.

After a while, the goblin captain received word.

"Alright, you may pass. However, we'll need to go to the city lord's mansion first to meet Mayor Mengdeli." The goblin captain stole a cautious glance at Chrisley and Aodisite.

He'd been furious the moment he saw this ragged bunch of goblins, especially when he realized the one leading them was the village chief of a settlement that had been massacred three months ago. Now that his anger had cooled, embarrassment set in—and more than a little fear.

After all, she was a witch. A single wave of her hand could reduce everyone present to ash.

And beside her stood a bat beastman (?)—if they could keep pace with a witch, their strength had to be unfathomable.

Aodisite, completely unaware she'd been mistaken for a bat beastman, suddenly shivered and glanced around in confusion.

She'd spread her wings earlier while on guard, and no one had connected her to vampires—the vampire race had vanished nearly three hundred years ago.

The goblin captain nervously apologized to Chrisley and the others.

They didn't seem bothered, simply nodding before following him.

Because word had been sent ahead, the group reached the city lord's mansion without trouble.

"Steward Kri, these are the distinguished guests from afar, along with Chief Jack." The goblin captain spoke respectfully to the goblin in a black suit before him.

Along the way, he'd already arranged for the other goblins to rest at an inn, keeping only Old Jack, Chrisley, and Aodisite.

Kri looked at his three guests with a warm smile. "Thank you. I'll take it from here."

The goblin captain nodded respectfully and withdrew.

Kri turned to the guests, his tone deferential. "Mayor Mengdeli is waiting in his study. I'll escort you there now."

Chrisley gave a slight nod. Aodisite stood at her right rear, while Old Jack remained silent, fully aware he was only here to fill out the numbers.

The three followed Kri, and after a dozen minutes, they arrived at the study door.

Kri opened it and gestured for them to enter. "Please, come in. Mayor Mengdeli has been waiting for you."

At the far end of the study sat Mengdeli, the city lord. Seeing the guests from afar—especially the witch—he rose with a composed expression.

"Hello. I'm Mengdeli, the mayor of this goblin city."

Chrisley gave a brief greeting and introduced herself and Aodisite.

Mengdeli gestured for them to sit.

"May I ask what brings you here?" He looked at Chrisley, his gaze sharp.

Chrisley glanced at the tea before her with faint distaste and set it down. Old Jack, catching the cue, spoke up.

"It's like this—there's a shop called Keke Shop at the edge of the Adventure Forest. These two ladies are its employees. They came to the Goblin Kingdom to seek an audience with the king," Old Jack explained to Mengdeli.

Mengdeli lowered his head in thought. "Could I see the goods?"

"Of course." Chrisley waved a hand, and a stack of products materialized before Mengdeli. "Please try them out, Mayor. Instructions are on each item. Once you've had a chance to sample them, we can continue talking."

Mengdeli nodded. "Very well. Kri, show our guests around."

Chrisley and Aodisite followed Kri to their assigned rooms, while Old Jack was left behind alone.

"It's been too long, Mayor Mengdeli." Old Jack's eyes brimmed with tears as he looked at Mengdeli. He'd never thought he'd live to see the Goblin Kingdom again.

Mengdeli's expression was both subdued and grave. "Old Jack, tell me everything, in detail."

The massacre of a large village near the town center had thrown the surrounding goblins into panic. A furious Mengdeli had tried to investigate, only to be warned that this wasn't something she should dig into.

But Mengdeli had a stubborn streak—the more people tried to block her, the more determined she became to uncover the truth. So she'd investigated in secret.

Yet the deeper she dug, the more alarmed she grew. Over the past year alone, more than fifty goblin villages had been raided and wiped out, with some seventy to eighty thousand goblins missing.

A profound helplessness weighed on Mengdeli. She knew some powerful hand was pulling the strings behind it all, and she refused to give up.

Then, as if fate itself had sent encouragement, someone in the shadows began secretly providing her with substantial support.

Mengdeli looked at Old Jack, her expression stern, her gaze deep. This was a major breakthrough.

Of the missing goblins, this was the only group to return. Mengdeli felt as if the fog around her was finally beginning to lift.

Meanwhile, Chrisley and Aodisite shared a luxurious guest room, pulling out their Astrolabe to contact Rao Ke.

The moment the video connected, Chrisley stared at the five people leisurely eating chicken hotpot on the other end. "Oh, so you're all having a feast while we're stuck out here?"

Rao Ke held a steaming piece of chicken up to the screen. "You two eat first—ah~"

Chrisley let out a soft laugh. Rao Ke blew on the chicken, then popped it into her mouth. "When you get back, I'll set up a buffet for you."

After the joking came business. Chrisley summarized their situation. "Aodisite and I are going to look around town for a bit. Once the mayor contacts us, I'll call you again."

On the other end of the video, Rao Ke nodded. "Thanks for your hard work. Things are lively here too—I even saved a few blind boxes for you two to open."

"What's a blind box?" Aodisite, who'd been lounging nearby, perked up and leaned toward the screen.

Rao Ke put on a mysterious air. "You'll find out when you get back."

Aodisite was naturally full of anticipation. As a lady who'd lived for thousands of years, she adored new and unprecedented things. Though she'd come at her old friend Chrisley's invitation, after arriving she'd genuinely fallen in love with the shop.

More importantly, the shop's staff were almost all fascinating races—dealing with them carried none of the usual wariness.

After hanging up, Chrisley noticed the chicken hotpot that had suddenly appeared before her and smiled, then called to Aodisite. "Time to eat."

Back at Keke Shop, Rao Ke ended the call and realized she'd forgotten to ask about Dragon Island. "Eh, I'll ask later." She looked at the steaming hotpot and chose to eat first.

Xue Jiali sat nearby, watching for the right moment before handing her a glass of orange juice.

"Thanks." Rao Ke took it casually.

Phylosain watched with a flicker of amusement in his eyes, then nudged Kalisa to get her attention.

Kalisa rolled her eyes at him and gave a perfunctory nod.

Phylosain didn't want to get involved with Cecil, so he looked at the scene before him with a quiet loneliness—no one to share his thoughts with.

"Phylosain, what's wrong?" Rao Ke looked up, noticing him making faces across the table.

Phylosain glanced at the elf staring at him coldly, then smiled and waved a hand. "Nothing, just thinking about something amusing."

"I see." Rao Ke didn't press further.

"Alright, let's keep up the momentum for this afternoon's event." After finishing her meal, Rao Ke stood and made her way to the rooftop garden at the top of the shop.

Four Teleportation Arrays were already glowing blue up there, with guests from across the Kaqisha Continent arriving in a steady stream.

Rao Ke settled into a seat, pulled out some blueprints, and began studying the foundation of her future business empire.