Before we left the main street, I had the bright idea to buy a new sheet for Margaret and asked Gill where I could buy one. He pointed to the correct store and asked if there was anything else I needed. I told him I wasn't sure what I needed, and he laughed.

“Go look around and see what we have for sale, then I'll see you at the guard house.” Gill said and left.

Maylia and I went to the general store and I asked for a bed sheet. The woman showed me the cheapest one they had for two copper coins. I thought that was really cheap, so I asked for the next best one. She smiled and showed me one for ten copper coins, or five for a silver coin, and she said she would throw in a bundle of ten of the cheaper ones for free.

I looked at Maylia and she shrugged, because she had no idea either. “I'll take them.” I said, and the woman quickly did them up in separate packages and gave them to me. I slipped the two packages into the bag of holding on my hip and they disappeared inside. I couldn't even see them with Presence. I gave the woman the silver coin and she hugged it before she put it under the counter.

“Is there anything else?”

“I'll need a bedroll, and rations for a few days.” I said.

“That'll be ten copper.” She said and put the bedroll and put six small bundles of dried food on the counter. I held out another silver coin, and she looked at it. “Um... I'll be right back!” She said and grabbed the silver coin from below the counter and ran from the store.

“Wow.” I said. “I could rob the place completely before she came back.”

Maylia laughed and took my hand. “I'd never let you do that.”

“Really? And how exactly would you stop me?” I asked with a smirk.

Maylia's face went a little red, then she leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I stood there and stared at her for a couple of minutes, because that was something I never thought she would do on her own, then the clerk came back with a sack full of copper coins.

“It worked.” Maylia whispered, her face bright red.

“It really did.” I said and squeezed her hand slightly, then turned to the clerk. I gave her the silver coin and she gave me forty copper coins back.

“Anything else?” She asked, happily.

“Well... we've got a bit of travelling to do. What would adventurers need for staying outdoors overnight besides a bedroll?”

“You need a fire and a good lantern.” The woman said. “Oil's pretty cheap, so...”

“Does a lantern stay lit all night?” I asked.

“No, it needs to be refilled every few hours.”

“What about the fire?”

“We have a lighting kit.” She said and went to a shelf, then came back with a flint stone and a small oil skin. “It works with any metal. Just smack it with the flint stone and poof. Fire. It's five copper.”

I bought it, reluctantly, and put it in my bag of holding with the bedroll.

“We also have very dry wood for kindling, in case you can't find anything in the area you stay in.” She said and went to the front of the store and grabbed a large bundle of dried and chopped fine wood. “A copper a bundle.”

“That's cheap.” I said and paid for three of them.

“It's not a big seller.” She said with a smile and gave me two more. “We have heavy blankets in case it gets cold. Two for a silver.”

“You're just playing with me now, aren't you?” I asked, and her face flushed red.

“A little.” She said. “Three for a silver.”

“All right.” I said and took the three blankets and paid her. “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.” The clerk said. “If you need anything else, don't hesitate to come back.”

I nodded and we left the store without being tempted to buy anything else. Maylia and I walked over to the edge of town and we were partially followed by several people. I say partially, because it wasn't the same people the whole way. I wasn't sure if they were nervous of us or if they just didn't want it too seem like they were following us and were taking turns.

Gill waved and we waved back. “Good hunting!” He almost yelled. “Make sure you bring them back to get the reward!”

“We'll be back in half an hour.” I said and he laughed. I held a hand out to Maylia and she took it. “Should we show off a little?” I asked her, and she glanced at the still laughing guard.

“I think a little will be okay.” Maylia said with a smile.

“I'm getting to like you more and more.” I said to make her blush, then activated Mana Presence Run and ran at half speed. We heard the guards shout as we quickly ran over the road and laughed ourselves until we were out of their sight, then we ran full out. We were back at the farm ten minutes later to find the farmer sitting on the porch with a satisfied look on his face.

“We'll I'll be damned.” Hoquan said with a grin. “You can't be back from town already.”

I smiled and pulled out one of the packages from the general store in town, and the farmer whistled.

“I should ask you where you got a bag of holding; but, that alone proves you were at least somewhere in town.” Hoquan said. “How did you get there and back so fast?”

“We ran.” I said honestly, then he watched as I put all twelve of the remaining carcasses into the bag and it didn't get any bigger and only a little heavier. “Okay, I have to admit that a magic bag is weird.”

Maylia chuckled and carefully handed me the severed heads and I added them to the bag as well. There was one severed tail, so I opened the package of cheap sheets and took one out. I wrapped the tail in it and tucked it into the bag of holding. We both looked around and didn't see any blood stains on the ground, so we walked over to the porch.

“We're going to check around and make sure there are no more of these things around.” I said. “We'll be back in a few minutes.”

The farmer nodded and I took Maylia's hand again and activated Mana Presence Run. We left in the direction of the creature's tracks and noticed they split off and had come from different directions. I decided to make a wide sweeping circle to check all over the area with my Detect Presence technique. We didn't find anything else, thankfully, so we went back to the farm house.

“You look relieved and disappointed.” The farmer said and laughed. “You already got them all?”

I nodded. “I just have to drop off a couple things before we leave for good.” I said. “Is Margaret busy?”

“She should be fine by now.” Hoquan said with a grin and went into the house. I watched him go to the bedroom and he woke up his wife. I quickly turned away and looked at Maylia.

“What is it?” Maylia asked.

“She's naked in bed.” I said, my own face slightly red this time. “After we left with the first one, Hoquan must have... well, after someone... ah...” I stopped talking and couldn't come up with a good way to explain why the couple had sex without saying endorphins from having their life saved made them grateful to be alive and they celebrated that in the best way they knew how.

After a few minutes, they both came out fully dressed. Hoquan still had a huge grin on his face and Margaret's face was both happy and embarrassed.

“I'm sorry for disturbing you.” I said. “I just wanted to return your sheet.”

“You didn't have to do that.” Margaret said. “It really was an old one and...”

“I wanted to replace it to say thank you.” I said and took out the other bundle of the expensive bed sheets and gave it to her. “There's five of them in there, so they should last you a while.”

“You shouldn't have.” Margaret said, her face red as her embarrassment grew. “Thank you so much.”

“I hope they're okay. I don't have any experience buying bed sheets.” I said.

Margaret opened the bundle and gasped. “I can't take these!”

“I know they aren't the best ones; but, I thought the cheap ones were a bit too cheap to give to you.” I said and took out the other bundle of ten cheap sheets. “See? These ones aren't as nice.”

Margaret looked at the huge bundle of sheets I held and then at the ones she had in her hands. “Are... are you... you really bought these for me?”

“If you're not happy with those, I can get you better ones when I go back to town.” I said.

“N-no, I... these are...” She hugged them to her chest. “Thank you.”

I tucked the cheap bundle of sheets back into the bag of holding and took out the large bundle of heavy blankets. “The clerk said that when it gets cold at night that heavy blankets are needed.” I said opened it and took one blanket out and put it into the bag of holding and handed the other two to Hoquan.

“What are you doing?” Hoquan looked at the two heavy blankets and then at me.

“Offloading extras.” I said with a smile. “I only need one heavy blanket.”

“How can you do this?” Margaret asked. “You eat at our table, make the food become a feast, then save us from monsters.” She said. “Now you're giving us expensive things we would never buy because they are expensive!”

“Honestly, I wouldn't have killed the things if you weren't in danger, so it's only fair that you benefit from the bounty on it.” I said and reached into my pockets and took out two handfuls of copper coins. Hoquan and Margaret stared at my hands and I sprinkled the copper coins over the bundles of cloth they held.

“Hey, what's going on?” Joquim asked as he came out of the house. I took two copper coins from my pocket and gave them to him. He stared at the coins like he had never seen them before.

“We have to go and deliver the rest of the carcasses.” I said and stepped back. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Wait!” Margaret exclaimed and elbowed her husband in the gut.

“Oof.” Hoquan grunted. “Oh, right.” He said. “Adventurer, what's your name?”

“You can call me Hunter.” I said and he nodded.

“Safe travels, Hunter.” Hoquan said.

“Bye!” Joquim waved happily.

Both Maylia and I waved to him, then we clasped hands and ran down the road.

*

“Momma! He gave me coins! Real coins!” Joquim said and held them up for her to see.

“He gave us all coins.” Hoquan said, and his son shoved his two into his pocket and started to jump around and play in the yard. “You know, I could use a new harness for the horse.”

“I saw that new sewing kit in the specialty store two months ago.” Margaret said. “I wonder if they still have it?”

“We're going to town! We're going to town!” Joquim repeated as he frolicked.

“Not if you don't get inside and get changed.” Margaret said. “Sunday best.”

Joquim nodded and ran into the house.

“I think we should get changed, too.” Hoquan said. “We'll make a whole event of it.”

Margaret smiled and nodded and they both went into the house to get changed.

*

“You don't have to comment about me giving so much money away.” I said to Maylia as we ran. “Even after that and buying the extra things, I still have over a dozen copper coins and seven silver coins left.”

“You're also getting twelve more stacks of silver coins.” Maylia said and laughed.

“I don't know if there's anything else in the town we might need over the next couple of weeks; but, we can look around at all the other stores and see what we can buy with what we have.” I said.

Maylia glanced at me for a moment and then looked forward. “You're worried about taking all that money from the town and leaving them poor.”

“You saw how the woman in the general store acted when I gave her a silver coin to pay for the fire kit.” I said. “She couldn't handle breaking it and had to get someone else to do it for her. Probably a bank or something.” I chuckled. “Now imagine their faces when I take most of that bounty money and spread it all around the town.”

“You're a good man, Hunter.” Maylia said and the mana from her increased and flowed over us. Our speed increased slightly and I glanced at her briefly.

“You're learning how to do it on your own.” I said, and she nodded. “Excellent.” I said. “When we stop for the night, I'll start teaching you some basics.”

“R-r-really?” Maylia asked, clearly shocked.

“If what I suspect is right, then my hopes of contacting my ship is just a pipe dream.” I said sadly. “I think I'm going to be stuck here for a long time.”

“Don't give up your dream yet.” Maylia said. “You can't make that decision until we reach the capital.”

I glanced at her again and saw her determined face. “Okay, I'll wait until then to make a decision.”

“If it does turn out that you have to stay, I'll start convincing you then that it won't be so bad.”

“You already have.” I said and saw her face turn red again.

We arrived back at the town in just under half an hour and Gill stared at us.

“Were the monsters that close?” Gill asked in disbelief.

“No, we got them way out at Hoquan's farm.” I said, and both guards opened their mouths in shock. “We even ran around several miles and followed their tracks in different directions and couldn't find anything else.”

“Let's get you over to the mayor's.” Gill said and led us over to the mayor's office. There was a robed man with a long white beard and a pointy hat coming out of her office.

“Gill, what are you doing back here and... Hunter!” The mayor exclaimed as she stepped around the robed man. “You couldn't have done it that quickly!”

“That's what I said.” Gill chuckled. “He told me he got them out at Hoquan's farm.”

“Oh, no.” The mayor said. “Poor Margaret.”

“They're fine.” I said. “I got there in time.”

“Did you get them all?” The mayor asked.

“They even surveyed the area and didn't find any others.” Gill said. “It's a miracle for sure.”

“Show me.” The mayor said, and I opened up the bag of holding and took out the twelve severed heads. She started nodding and I took out the twelve remaining bodies. “That one is missing a tail.”

“That's how I discovered the blood was poisonous when I cut it off during the battle.” I said and took out the wrapped bundle and added it to the pile. “I was tempted to keep it as a weapon; but, I don't have any kind of antitoxin to fight it if I poked myself or others with it.” I saw their confusion and smiled. “I meant there's no way I can heal it if I don't know what it is.”

The mayor waved at the robed man. “Please cleanse the filth from the carcasses.”

“Can you do the bag, too?” I asked. “Just in case.”

The bearded man nodded and mumbled a few words and the bag of holding glowed green for a second. “The contents and the bag itself is cleansed.”

“Thanks.” I said. “How much...”

“You've saved the town and many farmers from a horrible fate.” The man said and waved me away, then he turned to the pile of carcasses and started to work on them. The mayor motioned for me to follow her, so I led Maylia over to the office and we went inside.

“He can be abrasive and a little mean.” The mayor said and smiled. “Even so, he does good work.”

I kept the comment to myself about him being her secret lover.

The mayor pointed to the money that was still on the desk. “As promised, ten silvers for each creature.”

“Thank you.” I said and slid the money into the bag of holding.

“What are your plans now?” The mayor asked.

“We're heading to the capital.” I said.

The mayor's face clearly showed disappointment, so I waited for a moment before I spoke again.

“Before we go, we need to load up on supplies and things to last until then.”

The mayor's face lit up. She unsuccessfully tried to hide her happiness, though.

“Maybe some clothes so we have different outfits to wear.” I said. “What other things do you have for sale here?”

“You might want to visit the apothecary for some minor healing potions and other things, and I would definitely suggest the blacksmith. He has great weapons and some good armor.”

“We'll do that. Thanks.” I said.

“No, thank you.” The mayor said and held her hand out with her fingers pointed towards me, as if I should take it and kiss them.

I held in my smile as I took the hand and turned it as I gave it a firm handshake instead. “It was nice doing business with you.” I said to her surprised face, let her hand go, then took Maylia's hand and left the office.

“Hunter.” Maylia said when we were outside.

I pointed to a random storefront and walked that way. “Let's try there first.”

“Hunter, she clearly wanted you to kiss her hand.” Maylia said.

“Yeah.” I said without looking at her. “I told you that I only do it for important people.”

“She's the mayor of a town.”

“Oh, I see what you mean.” I said and stopped walking to face her. “When I say 'important' people, I meant important to me, personally.”

Maylia's mouth opened and closed once, then she folded her bottom lip under her teeth and bit it. As it slid back out, it was much redder and a little plumper.

Oh, why not. I thought at the obvious cue and put my arms around her and kissed her.

A wolf whistle came from across the street. “Go for it, mister adventurer!” A man's voice shouted.

“Hush up, Clyde! They're having a moment!” A woman's voice berated him.

“Can I have a moment with you?” Clyde said, and the woman went quiet and didn't respond.

I broke the kiss and leaned back, and Maylia looked surprised. “I'm sorry. You looked cute and I couldn't help myself.”

“D-d-don't a-apologize.” Maylia said, took a breath and let it out to calm down, then her blush faded. “We have money to spend.” She said in a serious tone.

“Okay, that was impressive.” I said. Her blush returned and I had to smile. “I have to be more careful when I compliment you, don't I?”

“I've never had a man compliment me before.” Maylia said.

“Then yes, I need to be more careful.” I smiled. “Let's go make some of the townspeople very happy.”

Maylia nodded and we went around the town to various stores and spent a good portion of our bounty. By the time we were done, most of the town was in high spirits and we had a lot more things inside the bag of holding. We didn't really need most of it; but, everything would come in handy eventually.

We were walking down the street when Hoquan, his wife Margaret, and their son Joquim arrived in a little wagon that the horse pulled. Of course, it was getting late in the day by this time, so I offered to get us rooms for the night at the inn. They tried to refuse the offer and said they had some shopping to do, then the innkeeper said that breakfast was included with the room. That was a deal maker apparently, and we all went inside and got rooms. I paid for a small room for their son, a large room for Hoquan and Margaret, and rented the largest room in the inn for myself and Maylia.