CHAPTER 120: (NOT) A POISONED PATIENT

The old man spoke with no sarcasm, only sincerity.

Gara immediately helped the old man outside, but not before casting a look of disdain at Narin.

Sarah and Teo, finally realizing what had really happened, gave Narin the same look before closing the door behind them.

Even the boy’s mother was unsettled by the young miss’ behavior. She hadn’t thought the sir healer’s voice was loud at all. But... never mind. As long as her son could be saved, that was all that mattered.

Only after the door shut did Narin truly realize what she’d done. Normally, she wasn’t like this at all.

How could she lose her temper so suddenly?

When the patient first arrived, she had felt confident, certain she could prove her ability. But even after giving the child her healing water, nothing changed.

The longer it went on, the more panic crept in. Especially with Gara in the same room. She feared he would notice her failure... and laugh.

Then, when she heard Gara’s calm voice speaking to the old man, the panic overwhelmed her, and she snapped without thinking.

"M-Miss Healer, my son..." the boy’s mother called out timidly, afraid she would be scolded too. But her child mattered more than her fear.

Narin stared in frustration. She had already given the boy her water, yet he was unchanged.

"This isn’t poison," she muttered. "There’s nothing more we can do."

"Miss Healer, please, do something!" The mother clutched at Narin’s hand, tears streaming down her face.

Narin pulled free with a look of disgust. "There isn’t a stronger healer here than me. I can’t cure him. It would take six hours just to reach the nearest town. He won’t last that long."

She turned and walked out. The mother stumbled after her, crying and begging, "Please, save my son! Please, Miss Healer!"

Outside, Gara, Sarah, and Teo looked on in bewilderment. They had deliberately left Narin alone so she could focus on saving the boy.

"The child isn’t poisoned," Narin told the three Liners as she sat down. Then she turned to the mother. "It’s better if you take him home."

Sarah and Teo let out long sighs. Neither of them had the skill to treat an illness so unclear.

But Gara frowned. "I’ll check him."

The words made Narin jolt. "What do you think you’re doing? No one in this clinic can save him! Don’t waste your time!"

Ignoring her, Gara stepped back into the examination room, the mother following close behind. He leaned over the boy, checking his breath. Faint and shallow. It was almost gone.

Summoning water to his palm, Gara let it drip into the child’s mouth. That was when Narin, Sarah, and Teo rushed in after him.

"I already gave him my water and it failed! What do you think yours will do?" Narin snapped. Even if Gara failed too, this act felt like open defiance.

But right then, the boy’s bluish face began to regain color. His lips, once pale, warmed back to life.

"M-My son! He’s alive! Thank you, thank you, honored Healer!" The mother cried out, her voice trembling with relief.

The three still standing in the doorway froze, unable to process what they had just seen.

Gara gave the boy another sip of water. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open.

"M-Mother..." the child rasped.

The woman broke down, clutching her son in her arms, tears streaming.

"I still need to examine him," Gara said gently. She immediately nodded and laid the boy back on the bed.

Gara pulled back the boy’s shirt and everyone gasped. A massive bruise spread across his torso.

It looked like internal organs had been damaged by a heavy blunt strike. But how could it be this severe... with no other wounds?

Before Gara could even ask his question, the boy’s mother spoke up. "Yesterday, it was only a little blue... why is it bruised like this now?"

Apparently, the day before, the child had been hit by an uncontrolled wagon handle coming down from the mountain. Since the boy could still stand and the wound looked small, it had been ignored.

"This injury almost killed him. Next time, no matter how small a wound seems, it must be checked immediately, especially on a child," Gara said firmly.

The mother nodded, tears still streaming down her face. Her negligence could have cost her son’s life.

Gara then prescribed herbal medicine to help support the child’s organs.

As he walked out of the room, the three standing at the doorway finally seemed to come back to themselves.

"Gara... your water can heal internal injuries?" Sarah asked, clearly amazed.

"You even know the recipe for something this severe?" Teo’s eyes sparkled, almost as if stars were twinkling in them.

Gara only nodded and went to fetch herbal medicine from the wooden shelf behind the healer’s station desk.

By the time he had handed over the medicine and allowed the mother and child to leave, Narin still sat frozen in her spot.

Sarah and Teo didn’t care. They immediately started asking questions, curiosity sparkling in their eyes.

At that moment, Narin, a Rank C Liner, realized she wasn’t as capable as even some Rank E Liner who hadn’t yet finished his initial missions.

Without a word, she stomped and left the clinic, even though it wasn’t closing time yet. No one seemed to notice, or they just didn’t care.

...

Since the clinic incident, Narin had stopped commenting on Gara’s actions. She wouldn’t even look at him.

Other Liners who knew about Gara’s half-devil child didn’t bring it up, though some still kept their distance. Only a few, like Sarah, Teo, Kian, and Loka, spoke to Gara as usual.

That day, Narin didn’t speak much at all. Only Gara, Sarah, and Teo’s voices could be heard when there were no patients.

By the afternoon, when the clinic was about to close, Fian arrived to pick up Gara. Narin’s eyes lit up.

Ever since she first met Fian, Narin had been interested and marked that elf as her target.

...