"Great catch, my lord." was all the hunter could say, after he was proven wrong.
Anthony went back to the village late afternoon, and not empty-handed. Grabbing them by their necks, he boasted a haul of three pheasants.
Of course, this was not his only catch. All in all, he caught three deer and four pheasants. But aside from what he was publicly displaying, the rest of his game have been butchered and sold to the virtual shop.
While each kilo of venison sold for a great price of fifty tokens, each kilo of the poultry meat only sold for 10 Tokens. So instead of selling them, he decided to give them to the village. The birds also served as a proof that he was capable of hunting without shocking the villagers too much.
"Thank you for telling me of your hunting spots. I'm afraid, I might have caught all there is to catch." he jested, and though it wasn't funny, the couple listening to him laughed.
"Please accept this, as a form of my thank you."
The man looked at his outstretched hands that carried one of the birds. Then he looked over to his wife. After a couple of whispers, he answered.
"No, I wouldn't dare, my lord. All I did was tell you directions."
"I will be greatly offended, if you do not accept this." Anthony assumed a playful angry voice, and a British accent. His idea of how noblemen talk.
"Then we shall receive your kindness. May the gods bless you, my lord." said the hunter, utterly embarrassed of his initial opinion of him.
"You're welcome. May I ask where the village Chief's house is?"
Contrary to his expectations, Basil's house was located on the edge of the village and was smaller than their place. The village chief was surprised at his visit, and was even more surprise he had brought something with him.
Anthony decided to give both pheasants to the old man and as expected, the village chief vehemently refused. But after he said that it was payment for their future meals, the old man finally accepted.
Coughing greeted him at the door of the place they were staying in. Thinking Irene had caught a cold, he was relieved to find that it was just her unsuccessfully trying to light up the fireplace. With a smirk playing on his lips, he walked over to help.
Irene greeted the sight of him with an embarrassed smile. She was wearing different clothing, but she appeared to need another change of clothes as ash was all over her.
She step aside, as the cowboy displayed his excellent fire-starting skills. And within a few moments the fire was already raging. Anthony picked up a few more firewood to feed the flames before finally sitting to rest.
"How's the hunt?" Irene scanned the room for anything he brought home. When she found nothing, she wondered if she shouldn't have asked the question.
But Anthony was quick to tell her the story.
"I caught three pheasants, and I gave it to Basil. I knew he'll still be providing us meals, so might as well help him. "
Irene's face brightened at the piece of information. She took the seat in front of him, showing interest for furthering the conversation.
"I think I need five days more at the least." Anthony noticed she was trying to mouth something but not proceeding. He assumed she wanted to ask something about his progress.
"Four days is nothing, Lord Anthony. Please take your time." she nervously laughed, waving her hands in front of her chest.
In a resting position, the aches and the thirst incurred by his efforts in the hunt became more apparent. If it were his previous life, he would've opened a can of White Claw. But the contents of the shop was limited to that of the time period. The closest thing was wine.
Irene looked at him amused, as he made gestures in the air. The boy in him, wanted him to do something impressive, in front of such a beautiful woman. And so he did.
[Are you sure you want to buy a bottle of pomegranate wine x1?]
[You have spent Tokens x150]
[Are you sure you want to buy beef skewers x2]
[You have spent Tokens x10]
The bottle appeared in his hand with his fingers already curled in anticipation. After placing the bottle, he summoned the first skewer and gave it to Irene.
She was dumbfounded. The trick worked its wonder, and Anthony enjoyed every second of her reaction.
"Just make sure, they won't know about this. There are no pomegranate trees in this forest." he said as he poured her a cup of wine. "And neither are there cows."
Unlike his previous joke, this one hit its mark. Irene laughed and giggled as she accepted the cup.
"Uhm… about your magic, how does it work?"
With the amount of shake in her voice, Anthony knew that she was hesitant to ask the question. Whether she was scared that it was an inappropriate question to ask a mage, or she was simply shy, he wanted to reward the attempt.
He was tempted to explain to her the system, but the concept, he believed, would appear too bizarre to someone who hadn't even seen a computer. Thus, he settled with a more ridiculous but more believable explanation given the time period.
"A mage… such as myself, cannot create something out of nothing." he explained, carefully choosing his words. "I need to offer something of value to get something that I want in return. Be it summoning food, drinks, or other magical powers."
"That's why I'm hunting for game meat so I could then exchange it for a wagon. The three pheasants I brought back to the villageare the only ones I chose not to exchange."
She lifted her gaze to the ceiling as she digested the information dump. Anthony worried if it was still too complicated for her, until she replied.
"So… it's like a shop, then."
"Ye- …yees."