CHAPTER 117: SHARE THE WATER

Hearing the two women’s blatant defense, Narin’s face twitched, but she forced herself to smile anyway.

The other woman chimed in, "Gara provided a whole barrel of water—one hundred liters—for the Liner camp, free of charge."

"Now we can finally bathe properly!"

"And no more worrying about dying of thirst."

"For real?!" Even Narin was stunned.

She, too, longed for a bath without obsessing over every drop she used.

Liners were only rationed ten liters of water each, the same amount given to villagers. From that, they still had to set aside some for cooking.

If not for the extra shares she often begged off Loka and a few of the men, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up her fresh, flawless appearance, her silky hair especially.

Narin’s eyes gleamed with greed. If she could get her hands on that full hundred liters for herself, she could actually soak in a bath.

Already scheming how to secure more water, Narin slipped away from the two women without a word and hurried toward the investigation team’s room.

The door was ajar when she arrived. Before she could push it open, voices drifted out from inside.

"That baby is a devil. I saw horn on her head."

"But Gara and his mother are human."

Kian shook his head, uncertain.

As he was about to continue, something prickled at him. He turned toward the door and noticed it wasn’t fully shut.

He strode over, found no one outside, and promptly closed it tight.

Kian’s Wind Talent allowed him to track. If he focused, he could send out streams of wind, and anything that touched them would paint images directly into his mind.

Just yesterday, when they were investigating deeper in the forest, they had planned to descend the mountain through the back of the villagers’ homes—it was closer that way. That’s when they heard the cry of a baby.

A baby’s wail in the middle of the forest was bizarre. At first, they thought it was a beast mimicking human sounds. But when Kian used his Talent, it turned out to be an actual baby and a human accompanying her. And not just any human, but someone he recognized.

Kian had only reported that it was indeed a baby, and that it was with Fian and Gara’s mother. He never mentioned the horns he had glimpsed. Only now did he bring that part up to Mohan.

"So, what do we do?" Kian asked.

"It’s only a baby," Mohan replied evenly. "And it was allowed in with permission. No rules were broken."

...

While also starting a herb garden in his yard, Gara resumed his experiments on neutralizing toxins. Not only did he want to cleanse the anesthetics he worked with, but also the contaminated water plaguing the village.

His growing goals only fueled his determination.

While the other Liners were still on the mountain fetching water, Gara—accompanied by Madha, who now had more freedom thanks to Della—went to collect water samples from the river.

At a glance, the water looked normal: no discoloration, no smell. The taste he couldn’t check himself because, of course, it was too dangerous. But he knew exactly who could try it without fear of poison.

After taking samples, they returned home, greeted warmly by villagers along the way. Gara’s reputation, along with his family’s, stood high in the village.

Once home, Gara called out, "Rea. Since you love eating poisonous plants so much, I brought you some poisonous water to drink." He flashed a sweet smile.

Rea’s feathers puffed up in alarm. Sure, he ate poison, but for some reason, Gara’s smile was far more terrifying than the toxins themselves.

Even so, Rea still drank it and looked delighted.

"Good, right? What does it taste like? The same as regular water?" Gara asked.

Rea squeaked and shook his head.

"So... it tastes like the other poisonous plants, huh," Gara muttered.

He then dripped a single drop of his water into the remaining drink and ordered Rea to finish it. If Rea still said it tasted poisonous, Gara would keep adding drops until the liquid was perfectly neutralized.

For now, he had to rely on this method. His Noxfloris hadn’t sprouted yet. Who would’ve thought it couldn’t be grafted and had to be replanted from scratch? What a waste!

Once he figured out the right dose of water, Gara went back to experimenting with other herbs that could work as anti-toxins.

Even if he couldn’t perfect it right away, at the very least he could strengthen the effects with his water.

...

Today marked Gara’s second time working at the clinic. Since he didn’t need to head into the mountains, he went straight to the village clinic, opened it up, cleaned the place, and prepared the tools and medicine.

He was in a good mood.

Yesterday, after he told Mohan he’d provide a hundred liters of water for the Liners, their attitudes toward him had shifted overnight.

Every time he met one of the Liners, they’d smile warmly and greet him, just like the villagers did.

He hadn’t done it for kindness alone. He’d started planting herbs in his yard. If he had enough water to grow herbs while the Liners struggled just to bathe, that would’ve only caused more problems.

His Talent was his own, but that didn’t mean he wanted to live in constant conflict. Not with the children’s identities at stake.

The calm in the clinic broke when a man rushed in, carrying a young man on his back. "Sir Healer, please save my son! His leg is gone!"

"Lay him on the bed," Gara ordered swiftly.

The young man’s leg was soaked in blood. Amid the red, a gleam of white poked through, bone.

"He went hunting in the mountains. By the time he got home, he was already like this, and then he collapsed. Please, sir healer, save my son!"

Collapsed from blood loss, most likely.

Without hesitation, Gara cleaned the wound of blood and dirt. The bite marks were obvious, some wild beast had done this. The boy was incredibly lucky he’d even managed to escape with his life in this condition.

Gara wasn’t unfamiliar with injuries this deep, where bone showed through. Madha had taken wounds just as bad, over and over.

And each time, it was because he gave away the medicine Gara had prepared for him, using it on others instead, even when Gara had prepared extra for him.

No wonder Orman was so loyal to Madha.

...