The Mute Goblin

The goblin girl was a full 1.4 meters tall, and her skin color was closer to that of a human, so she was clearly a human-human hybrid.

She read the job posting word by word, her gaze settling on the last line of standard language text.

"Those skilled in cooking, brewing, literacy, bookkeeping, and with a good education will be given priority in hiring."

The goblin girl started counting on her fingers, listing the skills she had mastered one by one, and found that she matched them all perfectly.

She knew even more; she could grow mushrooms and identify wild vegetables from outside the city—the kind that wouldn't poison you.

if only……

As long as the proprietress of the spinning golden sparrow doesn't look down on her because she's mute or sickly.

Her mixed-race heritage significantly reduced her physical condition and recovery ability, causing her lung disease to be far more severe than that of other laborers, leaving her with no way out but death.

She could no longer stay at the mine.

The goblin girl's eyes were filled with hope as she gazed at the glass windows of the rotating golden sparrow, trying to peek inside through the gap in the curtains.

She had once seen the tavern's new and old proprietress from afar; she was a succubus who looked beautiful and kind, and perhaps she would accept her?

With this in mind, she began looking for a place to shelter from the wind, intending to spend the night on the street and wait for the Sparrow Sparrow to open its shop.

This way, even if the interview fails, you can still make it to the mine's opening time.

Soon, she noticed the open-air seating area in front of the revolving gate.

With her size, she could curl up and hide under the table, using the chair to block the cold wind blowing through the street and conceal her presence.

The goblin girl hid under the table, peering through the gaps in the wooden chair at the door, hoping to encounter Roland as soon as possible.

……

The next morning.

Before the city bells rang, Roland had already gotten up, washed, and started a new day.

Strangely enough, since being transported to the dark underground, her energy has become more abundant, and her sleep time has significantly decreased.

Normally, she would stay in bed until late morning, only getting up when Nightingale offered to wake her up.

Roland changed into a clean maid outfit, went down the stairs, drew back the curtains covering the floor-to-ceiling windows, and prepared to head out to the Adventurers' Guild.

She hadn't forgotten that she needed to find a capable waiter today.

Ideally, the person should also be an honest person with weaknesses all over their body, someone who is easy to manipulate.

As Roland pondered her needs, she put the scrap paper and quill pen into her small handbag and walked toward the door.

"Click".

Roland pushed open the door of the Revolving Golden Sparrow Tavern, where a petite and frail young girl's corpse was found curled up alone under an outdoor table.

The seasons change in the dark underground just like on the surface. It's only early spring, and the weather is still cold. A thin layer of white frost has formed on the street tiles.

The girl's face had turned a light bluish-gray, and her expression was serene, exhibiting typical characteristics of a dead person. It was estimated that she had frozen to death several hours ago.

"Holy crap, opening the door to a dead body, that's such a bad omen!"

Roland's face turned green, and she took several steps back in fear.

Although the magical world is chaotic and death is not uncommon, there are some mystical practices, not much different from those on Earth.

Ordinary people choose a good day to get married, let alone someone like her who runs a business.

Roland even had the urge to shut herself away from visitors today.

At that moment, the girl's corpse suddenly shuddered, then abruptly opened her eyes, her lake-green pupils turning sharply as she stared directly at him.

The girl's eyes were vacant and blank, like moss growing quietly on a dark rock wall, or like a salted fish that died with its eyes wide open.

Roland felt a jolt of electricity shoot from the soles of her black-stockinged feet to her scalp. Her tail spun like a windmill in fright, and she jumped up, letting out a melodious scream.

"My God, it's come back to life!"

"Wait, there are undead creatures here!"

A seductive scream rang out, completely snapping the goblin girl out of her daze. She jumped to her feet, her face darting around in a panic as she frantically searched for the "undead creature" Roland had mentioned.

After searching for a long time, he couldn't find a single person on the deserted street, so he turned back to look at Roland in confusion.

During vigorous activity, her hood fell to her shoulders, revealing short, soft, grayish-green hair that was covered in dust. The hair reached just over her chin, a length that was perfect for physical labor.

As she tilted her head in confusion, a pair of goblin-like pointed ears peeked out from her hair, the tips of which were covered with a layer of fine down.

Only after seeing this did Roland realize what was happening.

This guy is a human-goblin hybrid, which is why he has light gray-blue skin and is 1.4 meters tall.

She was terrified; she thought someone had died in front of the shop.

Roland composed herself, gave an awkward but polite smile, placed her hands on her knees, and bowed to greet him.

"Good morning, little goblin sister. What are you doing sleeping in front of my tavern? Do you need any help?"

Roland's voice was very gentle.

The goblin girl hadn't expected Roland's tone and smile to be so gentle.

In her eyes, Roland exuded a soft aura that kept the cruelty and ruthlessness of the dark underground world at bay, as if they were two different worlds.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she quickly shook her head, bowed respectfully to Roland, and then pointed her little finger toward the rotating gate of the Golden Sparrow.

Following the goblin girl's finger, Roland turned back to look at the tavern's entrance and immediately spotted the job posting pasted next to it.

"???"

Three big question marks appeared above Roland's head as she looked the goblin girl up and down.

The little one is thin and small, looking like a village girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old. Can she handle the heavy work at the tavern?

Seemingly sensing Roland's thoughts, the goblin girl quickly made cooking and brewing motions, then took two steps back and pretended to be holding a mop, sweeping the street tiles.

These are all things she excels at.

After demonstrating her skills with body language, the goblin girl took out a palm-sized stone slab, pulled a piece of charcoal from her pocket, and began writing in Common Language on it.

She wrote very quickly, and her handwriting was surprisingly neat; she raised the slate to her chest in just a few seconds.

"I'm very capable, please take me in."

To be honest, this handwriting is even better than Roland's own, surpassing most of the empire's纨绔贵人 (wán kù guì rén, spoiled nobles).

Roland stared incredulously at the neat characters on the stone slab, her gaze shifting back and forth between the slab and the girl.

"You can read job postings and write?"

Her tone held a hint of admiration.

This performance immediately thrilled the goblin girl.

She nodded hastily in agreement, so fast that even her goblin ears couldn't keep up.

Roland's eyes lit up, and she began to scrutinize the goblin girl closely.

The girl wore rough, durable work clothes covered with numerous patches and mineral dust. Her palms and knuckles were covered with fine calluses, and occasionally a few old scars could be seen.

Clearly, the girl was a member of a deep mine in Black Iron City.

Although her face was still young, it was already filled with numbness, exhaustion, and a humble plea.

Judging from the goblin girl's terrible complexion, she probably has some kind of illness.

Moreover, Roland sensed something amiss.

The goblin girl had been talking to him for so long, but he hadn't said a single word, remaining unusually quiet the whole time.

Considering the goblin girl's extremely fast writing speed, a guess emerged in Roland's mind, and she couldn't help but frown and look at the goblin girl's throat.

Roland's gaze startled the goblin girl, who visibly panicked and tried to cover her throat with her hand.

But such behavior is tantamount to burying one's head in the sand.

Despite her disappointed gaze, Roland still asked the question she didn't want to hear.

"Little one, are you mute?"

The goblin girl forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace. After some internal struggle, she chose to erase the writing on the stone slab, rewrite a passage, and struggle to hold it to her chest.

"Sir, I am mute."

"But I'm really capable, and I'll work hard."