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n“A mansion,” the Guild Master said, putting a sheet of paper down on the table.

nIt was the day after I got Lydia back. She was sitting next to me. She had eaten all the meat from her plate but didn’t have any interest in anything else. She still had one hand holding my shirt, as if she was afraid that if she let it go, I would disappear.

n“A… what?” I asked, looking up from my own meal.

nAfter a week in the dungeon and barely eating the last two days, I had lost a bit of weight. My clothing was hanging on me loosely now. We both planned to go to the seamstress after this.

n“For defeating the dungeon.” The Guild Master announced.

n“Technically, you never agreed to defeat the dungeon for the fifty gold pieces. If we go by the mission you were on and your performance, you’ve earned five gold pieces.” The mayor explained, dropping a small pouch on the table next to my food.

n“Oi… only five?”

n“Six, I threw in your monthly salary as the hero too” The mayor coughed. “Sorry… you know our financial situation. We’d like to free as many slaves as we can. Just those that are crimeless or sick, we won’t go overboard.”

n“You guys are seriously putting me in a tough spot,” I said, frowning.

nI knew the items I had on me were valuable, but I wasn’t confident it was to the level of 100 gold coins.

n“Of course, you’re our city’s benefactor.” The Guild Master explained. “That’s why we want to gift you a mansion.”

nI frowned. “I really would prefer just to head to the capital city and sell some goods to earn my money.”

nPlus, once I made a visit to the capital, I could portal back and forth. This kind of situation would never happen again.

n“The journey by horse is almost three weeks. You’d be very hard-pressed to make it back by your one-month deadline!” The mayor protested.

n“That’s not really an issue for me,” I responded.

n“P-plus!” The mayor waved his hands excitedly. “The mansion belonged to a former lord. Inside it, there was supposed to be a treasure. Real treasure. Gold. At least 800 coins! Enough to buy out the slave caravan entirely!”

nI let out a sigh, taking the bait. “Okay… where is this mansion? I don’t see one in this village.”

n“Ten miles west of here, in the ruins of Old Chalm!”

n“Thank you both for the lovely chat. I’ll be going then…”

n“Wait!” The two called out. “If you help reclaim Old Chalm, not only will you become exceptionally rich, but there is a possibility to become a new lord!

n“Didn’t you say Old Chalm was a ghost town?” I demanded.

n“You told him?” The Mayor cried, shooting the Guild Master a look.

n“Ah… that… the ghost problem isn’t that bad…”

n“Ghosts? Real ghosts? The village is haunted too?” I sputtered in disbelief.

nThe two men looked at each other and then put on identical pleading looks. “Yes… the mansion and surrounding city may have been overtaken by spirits and paranormal monsters, but you made short work of our undead problem. You’re like a battle priest, right? You should be able to take out the ghosts with ease!”

nI didn’t know if that was true. Ghosts were dead, not undead. I had a feeling healing and other such spells wouldn’t do squat against poltergeists. That was where Priests and White Mages started to differ, it seemed.

n“Master…” Lydia pulled on my shirt, causing me to glance at her.

n“If this is about earning money, I will go with Master wherever.”

n‘Yeah… but… the capital…”

n“Don’t worry,” the Mayor declared. “The merchant caravans will arrive in a few weeks. At that time, we’ll be able to bring more coins into the city and buy your items. I promise, your money will be there.”

nI glanced between Lydia and the two men. Finally, I gave out a sigh.

n“Old Chalm… it is.”

n