Mr. Moni Grote

The earnings were mediocre.

Although there was a handsome additional reward of up to eight gold coins if the cause of the anomaly could be identified, zombies and skeletons had already begun appearing in the Public Cemetery back when Lynn accepted the Giant-Winged Bat commission. More than ten days had passed since then, and still, no one had figured out the cause of the undead disturbance. Naturally, Lynn didn't think he would be able to solve it the moment he arrived.

However, Lynn's primary purpose for this trip wasn't the bounty anyway. His main goal was to obtain moon dust fungus.

Lynn didn't plan on conducting a carpet search for the moon dust fungus throughout the barony. The barony spanned nearly ten thousand acres, and the moon dust fungus didn't have any particularly distinct features. Relying on just a few adventurers to search for it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. To find the moon dust fungus, he would need the help of the Grote family, the former lords of the barony.

This was also the advice Gray had given him. Otherwise, Lynn wouldn't have known that the keeper of the Graveyard was actually the same person as the former lord of the barony.

Taking the commission sheet, Lynn left the guild building.

“Did you get the quest?”

As he walked out the door, the Monk and Lupa, who had been waiting for him, spoke up.

The Ranger Hal's injuries hadn't healed yet, so the Monk still had no teammates and could only choose to continue partying with Lynn.

The Monk: “This really is the last time.”

Lynn had originally wanted to recruit Aguda, a powerful damage dealer. However, although Aguda had left a contact address, he was nowhere to be found when Lynn went to look for him.

Thus, Lynn had to settle for the next best thing and recruit the Monk and Lupa.

In any case, the risk of this quest was low. The Public Cemetery was within Wingen Town's sphere of influence, so the probability of ranked monsters appearing was low. Since the primary objective of this trip was to search for the moon dust fungus, a three-person party was more than enough to ensure safety.

“Let's go.”

The three of them boarded a carriage together.

With a crack of the driver's whip, the draft horses joyfully quickened their pace, pulling the carriage toward the southwest of Wingen Town.

The wheels rolled, crushing over a path paved with fine gravel.

Word had it that this road was built at Moni Grote's own expense after he bought the two cemeteries. The goal was to provide a better experience for his “clients.”

Before this, if the weather was bad, funerals couldn't be held. Otherwise, if the wheels got stuck in the muddy ground, the coffin might easily fly out, spilling the “client” onto the dirt.

If it rained continuously, the entire funeral industry of the town would grind to a halt.

As for why they didn't just bury the dead near Wingen Town, it was mainly to prevent them from turning into undead. They had to be sent to the cemeteries to undergo a standardized purification ritual by a Priest before they could be buried.

Thus, after this path was built, life became much more convenient for the residents of Wingen Town, and Mr. Moni Grote's reputation flourished because of it.

Most adventurers who had worked for him also praised his generosity.

Before long, the carriage passed the Public Cemetery. However, it didn't stop there. Instead, it traveled another kilometer or two before finally coming to a halt in front of a castle.

This castle was the last remaining glory of the fallen Grote family.

Due to a lack of maintenance staff, it had long since been overgrown with moss, making the castle look rather weathered.

So much so that rather than a residence, the castle resembled the skeletal remains of a bygone era.

Although they could no longer afford to hire people to maintain the castle, there were actually two guards standing watch at the main gate.

Lynn could even faintly sense that in the dark arrow slits of the round towers atop the castle walls, someone had already raised their weapons and was aiming at them.

A ruined noble hiring so many guards?

The guards stopped the carriage. Seeing that there were several adventurers inside, they asked Lynn and the others the reason for their visit.

The Monk poked his head out of the carriage window and spoke to the guard. “We have accepted the quest posted by Mr. Grote and would like to ask him for some information. Please inform him of our arrival.”

The guard hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the commission sheet the Monk showed him, he turned and went into the castle to report.

In truth, the guard was completely illiterate, but he could still recognize “Grote,” his master's surname, on the sheet.

Not long after the guard entered the castle, an elderly man dressed in a meticulously styled tailcoat walked slowly out of the castle gates.

Walking up to the carriage, the elderly man, dressed like a butler, bowed slightly.

“Greetings, adventurers. Please follow me. Young Master Grote is already waiting for you in the main hall.”

The three of them hopped down from the carriage and followed the butler toward the castle's main hall.

After walking around inside, Lynn realized the castle was even larger than he had imagined.

Although its footprint wasn't massive, it was roughly the size of the entire Mages' Association courtyard. Furthermore, the castle had more multi-story structures, including a four-story main tower in the center.

He couldn't begin to guess how much money it must have cost to build such a castle.

However, most of the buildings inside the castle were in a semi-abandoned state, clearly having gone unused for a very long time.

As they walked through, Lynn spotted no fewer than five guards inside the castle.

He wondered what the purpose of hiring so many guards was. Was it solely for his own safety?

Before reaching the main doors, the butler stopped and didn't open them immediately. Instead, he gave the three of them a quiet reminder.

“Adventurers, when you meet my young master, please do not address him by the surname ‘Grote.’ Please refer to him as ‘Mr. Moni.’ My young master has sworn not to use the Grote surname until he restores the family's ancestral glory. Thank you for your cooperation.”

The butler spoke very solemnly, but Lynn felt that Moni Grote was simply trying to maintain a persona.

The butler who accompanied him had referred to him as “Young Master Grote” just moments ago, yet now he claimed outsiders couldn't use his surname?

It felt rather performative.

Still, Lynn didn't care. Since the host requested it, he would naturally defer to his host's wishes.

Pushing open the doors, Lynn finally laid eyes on the rumored “Young Master Grote.”

Moni Grote was middle-aged, but his blonde hair was neatly combed. His clothes were luxurious yet understated, and his posture was relaxed with a touch of elegance. He looked like a refined, ordinary noble.

On the long table in front of Moni lay several delicious-looking dishes. It seemed Lynn and the others had arrived just in time for lunch.

“Welcome to my residence, adventurers. Please, have a seat.”

Lynn didn't stand on ceremony and sat right down.

Naturally, the adventurers didn't touch the tempting food on the table.

Moni didn't offer to share the food either. He got straight to the point. “May I ask what brings you three here? Do you have some questions regarding the Public Cemetery commission?”

Lynn cut to the chase as well. “It's like this, Mr. Moni. I heard that the previous Baron once used ‘moon dust fungus’ to entertain guests. I wonder if you have any information regarding it?”

At the mention of the previous Baron—his father who had been stripped of his noble title—a flash of impatience crossed Moni's eyes.

However, his smiling expression returned in the blink of an eye, hiding his emotions from view.

“Moon dust fungus... There are indeed records of it in our family. However, it hasn't been produced for many years. If you adventurers came for that, then I must ask you to leave.”