"Humans, be honest in the castle, and birds, don't fly around, or they will all be caught and eat meat!" said the iron-helmeted kobold as he led the way, waving a small piece of iron in his hand.

Do you want to eat our meat, or do you want us to eat meat?" Barrett muttered in his heart. Neither option was good, though, and he didn't want to eat any of the kobold's food at all.

Passing through the black fence gate, the scene inside the city walls is revealed. Although this kobold castle does not occupy a large area, it has quite complete facilities.

A kobold in rags is feeding a dozen hens and a flock of chicks with bran and corn kernels in front of the chicken coop. While feeding the chickens, it also secretly sends the feed from the wooden bowl into its mouth from time to time.

After the kobold found an earthworm dug out from the claws of a hen, he wanted to rush over and snatch it, but the hen who was protecting it angrily pecked to the ground, and the feed in his hand was scattered everywhere. Immediately afterwards, the chicken feeder and the hens pouted their butts together and grabbed food on the ground, but they were violently whipped a few times by a nearby kobold with a whip.

There are several dairy goats in the sheepfold, a kobold brings grass to the goats, and a kobold with a shabby straw hat expertly milks the goats under the belly of the goats. The 'chef's hat' was already drooling long from his mouth, and his small eyes were rolling around, as if he wanted to steal half a sip while people were not looking.

Crops are planted in every available corner of the castle. There are many types of crops, including rye, corn, potatoes, and turnips. The last one is crucial, kobolds love turnips.

In a shallow pond overgrown with weeds, several kobolds waded into the water to catch frogs and loaches, and a large kobold suddenly emerged from the pond with a large, slippery eel in his hand.

There are several dense cherry trees planted next to the pond, and the large cherries with bright colors and red as agate are decorating the branches this season, and they are carefully picked into wooden bowls by their dirty paws.

In addition to these, there is an open-pit mine built inside the castle, and kobolds constantly climb up and down the spiral staircase of the mine. They carry burning candles on their heads, stone pickaxes in their hands, and ores of various sizes in baskets behind them.

"How many kobolds are there in this castle?" Barrett asked casually. At a glance, there are hundreds of them, but it is not known how many are inside the mine.

"As much as weeds. The Iron Helmet replied proudly, "As many as grains of sand, there will be more kobolds, and the castle will continue to grow! Bigger, bigger!"

It's a bunch of aspiring kobolds, Barrett thought to herself. But it only takes me one meal to wipe out your numbers from double digits.

A team of kobolds chasing several wild boars ran in a panic in front of everyone, and one of them, a kobold with half a broken tail, slipped and fell to the ground with a 'poof'. When the 'Iron Helmet' saw it, he immediately rushed up and beat him with the small piece of iron in his hand, so that the 'broken tail' let out a miserable cry like a puppy.

"Get up, don't be lazy, get to work!" shouted Iron Helmet, kicking the broken tail that had just risen.

......

Arriving at the gate of the inner fort, the Iron Helmet and the large guard in chain mail and spear next to the gate had a conversation mixed with lingua franca and barking, and then handed over Barrett and the others to the guard.

"Follow me, don't move, and be respectful when you see Madame. "The kobold chainmail guard's lingua franca is a little better, at least pronounced fairly standardly.

After changing to a new guide, Barrett and the others entered the inner fort. The inside of the fort was very different from the outside, and the decorations inside were elaborate and artistic, and even Barritt, who didn't know what art was, felt the elegance inside that was out of place with the kobolds.

They made their way up the spiraling staircase to the second floor.

On the second floor, Barrett saw a few kobolds with dark brown eggs in their hands, and passed them downstairs. Only then did the barbarian remember that kobolds were actually oviparous, just like chickens, ducks, and lizards.

The chainmail guard bypassed the corner of the stairs on the second floor and continued towards the third floor, and Barrett and the others followed suit. In a room at the end of the corridor on the third floor, Barrett finally meets the owner of this strange castle, Lady Windsor.

The lady wore a black silk gown, black boots, and a long black satin cape. She reclined against the floor-to-ceiling window of her room, holding a bouquet of white lily of the valley flowers in her hand, and looked out the window.

Not far away, a kobold with a paintbrush and a sketchpad in his hand climbed up and down a large easel using a small herringbone ladder, and kept depicting Lady Windsor looking out of the window with the brush in his hand.

Moreover, this ageless woman is not a female kobold, but a human. At least, she looked like a human.

But more importantly, this lady didn't even have half a black hair on her head. The full head of white hair was as bright as molten silver against the background of the black outfit.

Barrett stared impolitely for a long time, and did not find a single motley from her head.

"Hello, glazed-eyed guests. Lady Windsor smiled and said to the crowd, "There is no need to put on a look of surprise, I know the purpose of your trip and what is on your mind right now." ”

Lady Windsor motioned for the chainmail guard and the painter kobold to leave, and then turned back to the easel, looking at the canvas with a slight frown, and muttered, "'Rubens' grasp of light seems to need to be strengthened, but at least it is better than 'Paulus'." Anyway, it's the most artistically gifted little guy I've ever bred. ”

"Do you really know the purpose of our trip?" Barrett was still staring at the gray hair on the other man's head, his heart full of doubts.

"You know by the way you look that you don't belong here. Lady Windsor looked up at the crowd, her eyes from the barbarian and the others one by one, and a few more glances at the little mage's attire and the bard's face.

'Here', everybody used the word, but what exactly 'here' meant – the village, the hills, or the enchantment of the Lost Barrier? Barrett didn't know.

"So, since you have come to me, you naturally want to get the 'black hair' on my head. She said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm sorry. But I don't see a single bit of black on your head. "Does that mean that we don't have a way to get what we want, well...... That black hair of yours?"

"No, of course you can get what you want. It's just that it comes at a price. "It depends on what you have, and what you can bring to me." ”

"Equivalent exchange?" asked the dwarf mage.

"That's the term you mages, and I prefer to call it 'the deal', a deal that satisfies both parties. Lady Windsor walked towards the crowd, "The people of 'Reavik' come here every year to buy ore and bring me a huge amount of supplies, and you are actually no different from them. ”

As she approaches, something strange happens.

Lady Windsor's black outfit, starting with the boots on the soles of her feet, changed from inky black to pearlescent white as she walked. And the white hair on her head and the lily in her hand gradually turned into a deep pure black.

"Remember, don't be fooled by the illusion in front of you. She walked up to the crowd and whispered.

......