The atmosphere under the oak tree grew tense for a moment.
The smile on Brody’s face gradually stiffened.
Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Instructor Calm’s gaze suddenly drift past his shoulder, looking toward the area behind him.
On Calm's face, which had always been as calm as still water, a rare and subtle ripple of emotion appeared.
Almost at the same time, Brody also sensed someone approaching. He and Flynn turned their heads to look.
A youth was walking along the village path, his steps light yet steady. He wore simple, coarse cloth clothes, with a shortsword and an old bow slung at his waist, and he carried a leather bag containing some game in his hand.
Though the youth’s face still looked quite young, his eyes were exceptionally calm as he walked straight toward the old oak tree.
It was Matthew.
As he drew closer, he naturally sensed the tension in the air.
His gaze quickly swept over Brody’s group, lingering briefly on Flynn, before he looked at Instructor Calm and nodded slightly. “Instructor.”
Instructor Calm nodded slowly. After a moment of thought, he said, “I appreciate your goodwill, Master Brody. Since you have come to investigate the disturbance in the forest, and your purpose concerns the safety of our village, I will do my best to assist you.”
“As for the reward... there is no need to mention it for now. Let us enter the village to rest first, and you can tell me the details.”
Brody was slightly surprised to hear this.
But his old servant, Flynn, reacted much faster. Seeing his young master daze slightly, the old servant subtly leaned in almost the instant Calm finished speaking and whispered to Brody in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Young Master, Mr. Calm makes sense. Since he has agreed to assist us, it is a good start. We can discuss the rest after we settle in.”
Hearing this, Brody quickly suppressed the surprise on his face. “In that case, I will have to trouble you, Mr. Calm.”
His eyes flickered slightly, and the old servant beside him immediately understood. Flynn thrust the small leather pouch containing the ten gold coins directly toward... Matthew, who was standing beside Instructor Calm.
“This is a small token of my young master’s appreciation. Please accept it as payment for our food and lodging during our stay in the village.”
Matthew subconsciously caught the heavy leather pouch. Peering inside, he saw a glittering golden luster.
‘So many gold coins?!’
He was slightly stunned and instinctively tried to push it back. However, no matter how hard he pushed, the old servant in front of him stood like an immovable wall.
His mouth opened, but the words caught in his throat, and he instinctively turned his gaze to Instructor Calm.
Instructor Calm acted as if he had seen nothing and said, “Matthew, take them to my place. I will prepare some food and water and join you shortly.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the other side of the village.
Matthew could only reply, “Yes, Instructor.”
He tightened his grip on the heavy pouch of gold coins. Although he was shocked and wary of this sudden windfall, he knew now was not the time to hesitate.
He turned to Brody’s group, his expression returning to calm. “Everyone, please follow me.”
Brody, followed by Flynn and the four adventurers, trailed behind Matthew as they headed into the village.
Hal and Rayson also followed at the rear, whispering in awe about the gold coins and this sudden turn of events.
Matthew led the group to a row of relatively spacious empty houses belonging to Instructor Calm on the edge of the village. He briefly explained the situation and arranged for them to rest temporarily in the open space in front of the houses and under the eaves.
Once everyone was settled, Matthew saw that Instructor Calm had not yet returned, so he made an excuse to slip away.
He walked briskly past several houses and quickly found Instructor Calm near some buildings on the other side of the village, walking back with a waterskin and some food.
“Instructor,” Matthew called out in a low voice as he stepped forward.
Instructor Calm stopped and looked at him, his gaze calm. “Are they settled?”
“Yes, they are resting in front of your house for now.”
Matthew nodded, then pulled the heavy pouch of gold coins from his chest and handed it over, a hint of confusion on his face. “Instructor, this... the ‘food and lodging fee’ that young master gave is too valuable. I couldn't push it back. That guard named Flynn... is incredibly strong.”
Instructor Calm took the money pouch and said in a calm tone, “Since they gave it, keep it. Although his ‘food and lodging fee’ was just polite talk, it came at the perfect time.”
“They came to investigate the disturbance in the Shadow Forest, which already concerns the safety of our village. By assisting them, we are doing our duty for the village on one hand, and on the other, we can use their hands and eyes to gain a deeper understanding of the situation inside the forest.”
Hearing this, Matthew felt a bit more at ease. He had been worried that this group would use coercion and bribery, which would have been troublesome. But from what Instructor Calm said, this seemed to be a win-win situation?
Calm withdrew his gaze and took out three gold coins from the pouch. “Keep this money. Now that you are practicing a breathing technique, your appetite is increasing daily, and your daily consumption is not small. If you want to upgrade to a better bow or crossbow in the future, it will also be a significant expense. This money will come in handy.”
With that, he took the waterskin and food and left.
Matthew was overjoyed. He took the three heavy gold coins; though they were cool to the touch, his palms felt burning hot.
Three gold coins!
That was equivalent to three hundred silver coins. If exchanged for dried meat, it would be enough to keep Matthew full for every meal for several months!
At this moment, however, what he wanted even more was that Green-quality bow he had been dreaming of.
A comparison of his skills on the panel immediately came to mind: in just over ten days, his 【Basic Swordsmanship】 proficiency had soared from around 40 all the way to 174!
Meanwhile, although 【Basic Archery】 had the bonus from the bone chain, it had only crawled from single digits to just over 40 with great difficulty.
While there was certainly a difference in the allocation of practice time, the attribute bonus of the 【Finely Forged One-Handed Sword】—which “slightly increases the training efficiency of Basic Swordsmanship”—undoubtedly made a world of difference!
A handy Green weapon’s boost to skill proficiency growth was actually so immense and direct!
Thinking of this, Matthew’s desire for a good Green bow reached its peak.
He delayed no further. Carefully tucking the three gold coins close to his body, he cast a glance in the direction Instructor Calm had gone, then turned and walked briskly but with a clear destination toward the other side of the village—Old Joel’s residence.
...
Meanwhile.
Brody and Flynn were settled in a relatively tidy, vacant room next door.
Once Matthew had left and the other adventurers had settled in nearby, Brody signaled Flynn to close the door.
Only the master and servant remained in the room.
The polite smile Brody had forced onto his face instantly vanished, replaced by a trace of exhaustion and irritation.
“Flynn,” he asked in a low voice, his gaze not looking at his guard, “how many gold coins... do we have left on hand right now?”
Standing by the door, Flynn remained steady. He did not answer immediately upon hearing the question. Instead, he tilted his ear to listen to the sounds outside, and only after confirming no one was approaching did he reply in an equally low voice:
“Young Master, excluding the ten coins given just now as the ‘food and lodging fee,’ we currently have nine gold coins left.”
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