Do You Know the Law, or Do I?

The Monk sitting on Lynn’s left spoke up.

“Mr. Moni, please have someone count the monster proof of kill and settle our commission reward.”

Moni didn't reply. Instead, looking lost and despondent, he walked over to the head of the long table and sat down.

Having discovered that all the skeletons under his control had been wiped out by these adventurers, Moni was in no mood to care about the commission.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to order his guards to surround the hall and pin all these adventurers to the ground!

However, Moni disliked throwing good money after bad.

Since the skeletons were already gone, the most important thing now was finding a way to replenish their numbers.

Seeing his young master sitting lost in thought at the head of the table, the butler waved a hand.

A guard hurriedly stepped forward, picked up the cloth bag stuffed with skeleton jawbones, and carefully counted them.

The count was finished swiftly.

“A total of eighty-seven jawbones, twelve of which show morphological alterations indicating they belong to skeleton soldiers, plus three pairs of index fingernails from zombies. The total reward comes to seventy-three silver coins and fifty copper coins.”

The only regret was that the body of the Psionic Corpse had dissolved completely, leaving behind no proof.

As a result, they couldn't use the Psionic Corpse as leverage to demand the eight gold coins Moni had offered for investigating the anomaly in the Public Cemetery.

Moni snapped back to his senses.

Though his heart bled for the loss of his skeletons, he had to force a calm composure to avoid giving anything away.

He gave a slight nod. Receiving authorization, the butler quickly retrieved a pouch of coins and placed it in front of Lynn.

Recalling that the rogue he had sent hadn't returned yet, Moni asked, “Did you happen to gather any moon dust fungus while in the Graveyard?”

Lynn nodded without hiding anything, generously producing the moon dust fungus and setting it on the table.

Moon dust fungus?!

As a member of the Grote family, even though he had rarely seen it with his own eyes, Moni was intimately familiar with its appearance.

Lynn took the initiative to speak. “Since we gathered it in the Graveyard under your name, Mr. Moni, I am willing to buy this moon dust fungus at market price.”

However, Moni could barely process Lynn's words.

His eyes were fixed entirely on the moon dust fungus right in front of him.

The composure he had maintained just moments ago shattered. His heart pounded wildly, and his breathing grew heavy.

As long as he obtained this moon dust fungus, he could condense his Mage class!

Moni stood up and walked straight toward the moon dust fungus, reaching out to grasp it.

However, his outstretched hand was intercepted.

Lynn clamped a firm grip onto Moni's hand.

Moni felt a surge of overwhelming strength, making his wrist bones throb with pain.

“Let go.”

Moni’s voice turned sinister.

With the moon dust fungus right before his eyes, this former noble, who had presented a composed facade until now, finally revealed a glimpse of his true colors.

Sensing the rising tension between their master and the adventurers, the surrounding guards quickly drew their swords and encircled the three adventurers.

The butler, however, remained impassive.

He had faith in his master and believed his young master could resolve the situation.

Surrounded by several sharp blades, Lynn showed no trace of panic.

“What is the meaning of this, Mr. Moni? Are you backing out on our agreement?”

Moni sneered. “Backing out? When did I ever agree to sell you the moon dust fungus?”

Lynn didn't bother arguing with him, merely smiling. “So you intend to take it by force, Mr. Moni?”

Moni acted as though he had heard something hilarious.

“Take it by force? Have you mistaken something? This is my domain; all produce from this land belongs to me!”

Having said that, Moni checked the approaching guards with a quick glance.

He didn't want to ruin his reputation over a few adventurers.

As long as he got the moon dust fungus, it was best to avoid using force if possible.

However, if these adventurers proved stubborn, Moni wouldn't mind turning them into skeletons for his cemetery either.

Yet very soon, developments far exceeded Moni's expectations.

“Your domain?”

Beside them, the air rippled slightly, and a figure appeared out of nowhere in the hall, casually taking a seat at the head of the table.

“Moni, have you forgotten that the Grote family's fief was revoked back in your father's generation?”

Someone had strolled into the castle he deemed absolute security, and they even dared to bring up the painful sore spot of the Grote family right in front of him...

Feeling his safety threatened, Moni's mood darkened completely.

Today, these fools were going to pay the price.

However, when he turned his head and saw the figure sitting at the head of the table...

The spine Moni had just stiffened melted away, and his knees went limp.

The newcomer was none other than Gray.

To be precise, Gray had been here all along, merely remaining invisible while waiting for the right moment to make his entrance.

Otherwise, Lynn wouldn't have recklessly entered the Grote family castle in the first place.

Moni braced himself against the long table, barely managing to stay standing and preserve his dignity before his butler and guards.

“M-Master Gray... What brings you here?”

The butler immediately realized the situation had shifted and signaled the guards with a glance to put away their weapons.

Sitting at the head of the table, Gray paid Moni's reaction no mind and continued, “It is true that the produce of noble fiefs belongs to the noble.”

“However, on non-noble land, even if someone holds land rights, any additional resources harvested are legally property of the Kingdom. Wingen Town is even more special—harvested resources belong to whoever discovers them. Surely you haven't forgotten the Kingdom's laws, have you?”

Gray wasn't just pulling rank; the laws he cited were genuine.

The laws of the Kingdom of Vallenia in this regard shared a slight resemblance to those of Lynn's previous world.

Aside from nobles, commoners who bought land only owned the land rights.

The yield of the land within the scope of their business permit belonged to the landowner.

Anything outside that scope was classified as an additional resource, the property rights of which belonged to the Kingdom.

For example, if a commoner without a noble title bought a plot of land to operate a lumber yard, then the trees fell within the permitted yield, and the timber produced was theirs.

However, any other yield—such as wild animals in the forest, or a meteorite falling from the sky—belonged to the category of additional resources and technically belonged to the Kingdom.

In short, Moni had no legal ownership over the moon dust fungus.

The only reason he dared to claim that “all produce belongs to me” was because he believed Lynn and his fellow adventurers wouldn't dare raise a voice when faced with armed force!

Now, however, the tables had turned!

Even setting aside the fact that Gray's legal citations were accurate, even if Gray had completely made them up on the spot, would Moni dare object?!

Do you know the law, or do I?

And if Moni thought he knew the law so well...

Gray could only say that he knew a thing or two about magic!