No matter how heavy his heart felt, facing the figure sitting at the head of the table, Moni had no choice but to force a flattering smile.
The moment Gray appeared before him, Moni knew he had taken a loss today.
What he needed to consider now was how to salvage the current situation.
Moni asked tentatively, “May I ask, Master Gray, what is your connection with these adventurers...?”
At this point, a glimmer of wishful thinking still lingered in his heart.
What if Gray just happened to be passing through and didn't actually know them...?
However, Gray's answer shattered his illusion—
Gray pointed at Lynn. “This child is my junior, a trainee member of the Mages' Association.”
“I... I see.”
Moni turned to look at Lynn, a stiff smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Lynn returned a polite smile.
Seeing this smile, Moni burned with impotent rage in his heart.
You're a mage apprentice—and a junior favored by Mage Gray at that! What in the world are you doing hanging around with a bunch of muddy-legged adventurers?!
Going incognito to experience the life of commoners?!
If he had known earlier that Lynn was a mage, Moni would never have let Lynn take this commission in the first place! He would have given him some travel expenses and found an excuse to revoke the commission right away!
Gray swept a glance over the guards gathered in the hall and said slowly, “Grote, were you trying to rob something belonging to the Mages' Association just now?”
Addressed directly by his family name, cold sweat broke out on Moni Grote's forehead, yet he didn't even dare to speak a word in defense!
Even though Moni didn't dare to speak, Gray had no intention of stopping. He continued on his own:
“According to Kingdom law, what is the prison sentence for robbery committed between commoners?”
These words chilled Moni to the core.
If those muddy-legged adventurers had claimed they would send him to prison, Moni wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
However, these words came from Mage Gray—the Vice President of the Wingen Town Mages' Association.
Moni had no choice but to carefully weigh the weight behind those words.
Although he could use his connections to pull himself out of prison if he ended up inside, Moni didn't want anything to go wrong at this crucial juncture right before he became a mage.
Just then, Lynn, who hadn't spoken in a long time, suddenly said, “I don't think Mr. Moni had any intention of robbing us by force.”
Hmm?
Hearing this, Moni whipped his head around to look at Lynn.
This guy... why is he speaking up for me?
Lynn merely offered him a friendly smile.
Moni's mood suddenly brightened again.
This guy doesn't hold a grudge at all?
It seems I was judging him with my own narrow mind.
A mage who dares to be an adventurer is indeed a talented young man—truly extraordinary!
However, Gray spoke up once more:
“Whether there was an intent to rob isn't something that can be settled by words alone. What matters is having actual proof.”
Now he understood.
Moni instantly realized.
Where was Lynn being kind?!
This master-disciple pair was working together in a double act, intending to extort him!
If Moni didn't want to go to the Magistrate's Court, and didn't want to rot in a foul, muddy-puddled prison with those commoners, he would probably have to bleed heavily today!
Moni forced a weak smile. “Since Mr. Lynn gathered the moon dust fungus, then I shall give this moon dust fungus to Mr. Lynn as a gift!”
Moni attempted to demonstrate his “sincerity,” but Gray was far from satisfied.
He frowned slightly and corrected him, “Grote, did you get something wrong? Haven't I made it clear already? The moon dust fungus never belonged to you in the first place, so how can you speak of 'gifting' it to Lynn?”
I've already given up the moon dust fungus, and this damned mage still wants more!
Though his heart was bleeding, Moni still hurriedly offered an apologetic smile. “Ah... my mistake! What I meant to say was that I will buy the moon dust fungus at market price, and then gift it to Mr. Lynn!”
Spend my own money to buy my own stuff, and then gift it to your student?!
Even Moni felt pathetic suggesting such a thing. A rush of blood to his head nearly made him pass out from rage.
However, since Gray hadn't left yet, he didn't even dare to faint, forcing himself to stay conscious.
He was terrified that if he passed out, he would wake up already in prison.
Yet Gray still showed no intention of letting him off easy.
“For a priceless item like moon dust fungus that money can't buy, isn't purchasing it with money a bit inappropriate?”
Priceless...
Moni had originally intended to use this excuse to seize the moon dust fungus for himself, but he never expected this boomerang to come right back at his own head!
At a loss, Moni didn't know what to do to satisfy Gray.
Noticing Moni's predicament, Gray kindly reminded him, “The Grote family is a somewhat famous mage family in the Kingdom. Over the past few centuries, you must have accumulated quite a few magic items, haven't you?”
Hearing this, Moni could no longer maintain even his fake smile, his face turning thoroughly unsightly.
Gray didn't push him, sitting quietly in the head seat while idly twirling the magic staff in his hand.
In the end, Moni shot a wary glance at Gray's staff—bursting with life energy, rumor had it that it was a gift from the elves—and finally spoke.
“Go to the family armory, fetch those two collection pieces, and present them to Master Gray.”
The butler was visibly shocked, clearly not expecting Moni to say such a thing.
Those two items had been brought back from the battlefield by Old Grote himself!
After a moment of silence, he followed Moni's orders and quickly left the hall.
About ten minutes later, the butler walked back in, carrying two items in his hands—
A scroll, and a rolled-up piece of leather.
The butler handed them over to Gray.
Blue light flashed in Gray's eyes as he glanced down at them.
Only then did he finally flash a satisfied smile.
“Since Lynn says you had no intention of robbing anyone, we shall consider this matter settled.”
With that, Gray stood up and left, bringing Lynn and the other two along.
After the guests left, seeing their master's pale expression, the guards exchanged glances and hurriedly withdrew as well.
Bang—
The wooden door slammed shut.
Bracing himself against the long table, Moni stumbled step by step back to the head seat, his legs giving out as he collapsed onto the bench.
His fine clothes were soaked with sweat at some point.
The autumn wind blew in through the window, sending a chill through Moni's heart.
Most of the magic items left behind by his family had already been sold off by him when he purchased the graveyard. Now, he had just given away two more.
Seeing his young master so despondent, the butler couldn't help but advise, “Young master, in just a few months, you will become a mage. Once you become a mage and restore your noble title, it won't be too late to reclaim those items from them.”
Moni gave a bitter smile.
“Reclaim them?”
That was Gray—Gray of the “High Tower.”
Leaving aside the fact that he was currently just a wealthy merchant, even if he were still a hereditary noble of the Kingdom, he would never dare harbor any designs against Gray.
Even if Count Roman of Whiteport came in person, he probably wouldn't be able to demand back anything that had landed in Gray's hands.
After a long while, Moni barely managed to rally his spirits and instructed the butler,
“First, have our people lay low for now. Putting the creation of skeletons first will be our top priority next. Also, tell those underground dwarves to pick up the pace, but do not sell any finished products outside for the time being.”
Rate on N.U.
