"He’s all healed up, but it’ll probably be a little while before he wakes," Orelia said.

From her tone, Colin knew there was nothing to worry about.

Just as they were chatting, Aidan, lying on the bed, coughed a couple of times and quickly opened his eyes.

He sat up and stared confusedly at the Beast Hide blanket covering him. Seeing this, Aidan’s sister quickly ran out to report the good news to her mother.

"Don’t worry, your injuries have been healed," Colin said.

At his words, what little color had returned to Aidan’s face instantly drained away, leaving it ashen.

"Don’t tell me you used Divine Art?" His voice trembled a little.

Treatment at the Divine Hall usually isn’t free. That’s why most Low-tier Adventurers, if they get hurt in a fight, can only afford to use some herbal remedies at best.

Colin said with a grave expression, "White Frost’s claws carried a Curse. We had to use up a Potion, so, about the fee..."

Aidan took a deep breath.

The mother and daughter, who were just entering the room, overheard the conversation. The smiles on their faces turned bitter.

They hadn’t discussed medical costs before they left, so it was the default assumption that he was responsible for himself. That meant it would be perfectly reasonable for Colin to not only withhold payment, but even demand reimbursement for the healing.

Knowing Colin was just teasing, Orelia glanced back at him with a smile.

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding." Colin admitted, realizing his joke had gone a little too far.

He took out ten Gold Coins from his coin pouch and handed them to him. "This is your payment for guiding us."

Then, he took out another five Gold Coins. "And this is for standing in front of my two teammates at the last second and taking that hit yourself. Consider it a bonus for your courage."

Colin considered the payment perfectly fair—generous, even.

After all, he hadn’t been much use during the critical part of the fight, and they really had used a [Weak Healing Potion] on him.

Aidan took the coins, his eyes turning a little red.

Fifteen Gold Coins in total.

This was a considerable sum, especially for a poor Forester’s family living deep in the woods.

"Alright, that’s the last of our business here," Colin said as he stood up. "We should head back to Moss Stone Village."

"Thank you, sir, thank you all," Aidan said quickly.

Colin gave a dismissive wave and walked out of the hut with the other two to pack up and leave.

Just as they had nearly finished packing, Aidan’s mother came out holding a clay pot.

She held the pot out to Colin. "This is honey from the forest. You should take some."

"Honey? Thank you." Colin took the head-sized pot and stuffed it in his pack.

He was actually quite curious what honey from this forest would taste like.

Once everything was packed, the group set off for Moss Stone Village with Oak Heart in the lead. With a local Bearman as their guide, they certainly wouldn’t get lost.

Before leaving, the party’s remaining injuries had also been healed with Divine Art.

Halfway through their journey, Ale grumbled, "I really wish that stubborn human could have seen what happened today. We should’ve waited for him to get back before we left. He should have been made to apologize!"

’This girl really holds a grudge,’ Colin thought.

"That’s a strange thing to say," Orelia said from up ahead.

"Why?"

"I didn’t heal him for an apology, nor for thanks," Orelia said. "I help people simply because I want to."

"That can’t be right," Ale argued. "A ’thank you,’ a small gift—every good deed needs a reward like that. That’s the only way people who aren’t naturally kind but want a reward will be encouraged to do good deeds too. That’s what’s truly good for everyone."

"You think so deeply, Ale... I can’t think that far ahead. My thinking is much simpler." Orelia smiled. "I just want to do good things. If I don’t get anything in return, that’s fine. It’s as simple as that."

"My thinking’s simple, too."

Kase sniffed. "Anyone who wants me to do a job has to pay me. Then I take that money back to raise the cubs in my tribe."

Seeing that Ale looked ready to argue more, Colin cut in, "We might pass this way again someday. Who knows? Maybe he’ll have a better attitude next time we see him."

That put an end to Ale’s argument.

The group chatted as they walked, arriving back in Moss Stone Village the following afternoon.

They arrived at the village barracks, which was a two-story stone house with a small courtyard. It looked surprisingly large and probably had a basement.

Two Guards armed with long halberds stood before the main gate. Their eyes locked onto the group the moment they appeared.

Colin paid them no mind and led the others into the stone house.

The ground floor of the stone house served as a duty room. A desk sat opposite the main entrance, and behind it was a guard captain wearing a Pot Helmet. In a corner, a few Guards sat around a table playing dice. Several bunks were lined up nearby.

Several Adventurers in Leather Armor were standing near the guard captain’s desk.

Some held strings of goblin ears, others clutched wolf tails. A few, dressed more impressively, were holding bounty posters.

These were all Adventurers who had completed nearby bounties and had come to collect their rewards.

Colin walked over to the notice board to take a look.

There were two notice boards. One posted bounties for monsters like goblins and Wild Wolves.

These bounties were paid out by the number of kills, and the reward was low—a goblin ear was only worth about seven Copper Coins. They were meant to encourage Adventurers to deal with minor threats they encountered, making it little more than pocket change.

Colin walked to the second notice board.

This was where the real prizes were posted. Many of the bounty notices had already yellowed with age.

As he stood before this second board, he could feel several pairs of eyes landing on him.

Colin reached out, tore down the bounty notice for White Frost, and then pulled the prepared White Frost Claws from his pack before getting in the back of the line.

But as he walked over, the Adventurers ahead of him in line all stepped aside.

The guard captain looked over as well, his eyes carefully examining the white Bear Claw in Colin’s hand.

’What’s going on?’

After glancing at the other Adventurers, Colin hesitantly accepted their implicit invitation and walked to the front of the line, stopping before the desk.

"I killed White Frost." Colin placed the claw and the bounty notice on the desk.

"’Black Robe’ of the Field Personnel? I remember you. Not long ago, you were the one who cleared out a Goblin Cave. Thank you for your service. That rabid bear has been a real menace; it’s already wiped out several teams of Adventurers."

After speaking, the guard captain immediately stood and rummaged through a cabinet behind him, pulling out a gold bar and a bag of coins. He placed them on the desk and added, "According to regulations, we have to keep the claw. I’ll also report your completed bounty to the Field Personnel."