CHAPTER 41: MORNING IN THE VILLAGE

***

The next day.

Gideon’s eyes opened in the morning. He didn’t wake up at dawn, but rather when the sun had already risen high. That’s right! Gideon overslept.

The first thing he felt was dizziness hitting his head. He remembered that last night he had acted strangely, his hands trembling while a strong headache struck him, his heart pounding hard with an anxious feeling haunting him more than usual.

He had asked Lena for medicine, and she gave it to him. Gideon remembered what it was... propranolol and lorazepam.

Those supplies were mandatory for any medical unit since the stress of war could disrupt someone’s mind, causing restlessness and anxiety.

Why... why did those flashbacks appear now? It had never happened before.

He tried to stand up and regulate his breathing to keep it steady. Gideon sat at the edge of the bed and noticed a tray of MRE food that had been prepared beforehand.

A small note was placed on the nightstand, written directly by Lena.

The message’s main point was asking Gideon to take a break and eat the MRE.

Lena had gone to the Kitsune village to ask for their help, while Lyra and Luke had gone into the forest to search for supplies for their simple filtering device.

His plan was to go see Jack, meet Noelle, and Bian. However, his condition at the moment made it impossible for him to do so. He also saw two pills still in their packets. One propranolol and one lorazepam.

In the last part of the note, Lena asked Gideon to take propranolol if anxiety appeared.

But if the anxiety attack grew stronger like the night before, Lena told him to take lorazepam and then head to bed. The effect of lorazepam would put Gideon into a deep sleep.

Gideon nodded, fully taking Lena’s advice. He tucked the medicine into the pocket of his tactical shirt and slowly began eating the MRE on the tray. Gideon ate while glancing sideways, looking out at the village through the window of his room.

The village looked far more orderly than before. The piles of trash and corpses were no longer in sight.

They had realized how important cleanliness was after their village head, Noelle, caught the water spirit fever.

Gideon’s team had managed to heal Noelle without magic, relying only on herbal remedies and diagnostic tools.

That was far more impressive and made the villagers realize something. They had to start listening to Gideon’s team if they wanted to live longer.

Elsewhere, Jack’s blacksmith shop wasn’t as crowded as yesterday. He had worked nonstop from morning to morning just to fulfill the villagers’ requests.

Many of their requests were to make new tools or repair old ones. That was certainly easy for Jack and Sora to do.

Now, not many were lined up in front of the shop. Sora handled the front counter while Jack focused in the back forging area.

After finishing his breakfast, Gideon washed up and got ready to go. He planned to visit Jack’s shop and ask about the situation, hoping Jack had a clear answer for his request.

Gideon stepped outside in another tactical shirt, patterned in blue and black camo, similar to a navy uniform. The main procedure Gideon enforced for the entire team was the carrying of the SIG M17.

That’s right! Every team member was permitted to carry a SIG M17 on their waist with two mags, one loaded and one spare. That was a better way to maintain order and deal with minor threats.

"Sir Gideon," greeted Sora, standing behind the counter while waving.

Gideon smiled, returning Sora’s greeting with a small wave. He turned and clearly saw the line inside the shop, though it wasn’t as long as yesterday.

"Looks like you’ve been very busy these past two days," said Gideon.

"They’ve needed many new tools and repairs. We’ve even struggled to get any sleep."

"Understandable. There are no blacksmiths in Nemora. You two are the only ones," replied Gideon.

"I’m sure villagers from other places will also come asking for your help."

"Seems like we’ll have to hire new workers if that happens."

"What brings you here, Sir Gideon?" asked Sora.

"This is about the bullets I ordered. If you’re free tonight, I’d like to talk at the tavern."

Sora glanced back, clearly seeing his father still hammering metal and shaping the tools into perfect form, just as the customers requested.

There was still much work Jack had to finish. But Sora would help him so the job could be done quickly, and both of them could meet Gideon later.

Gideon nodded, said goodbye, and walked off to meet Noelle. The old woman was still at her home, being cared for diligently by Silva. When he arrived, Noelle’s guards let Gideon inside.

The door opened, and Gideon walked further in until he reached Noelle’s room. Gideon opened the door and saw Silva speaking with Noelle. The old woman’s face looked much stronger than before.

"Sir Gideon," Silva greeted.

"How are you, Silva?" asked Gideon. Silva nodded, showing he was doing well.

Gideon glanced sideways, seeing Noelle smiling at him. Her condition had improved greatly. Silva had cared for her with obedience and patience. Gideon turned and saw the bottles of medicine had decreased, showing Noelle had been taking them.

"I’m glad you’re getting better."

"Thanks to Ms. Lena for healing me," Noelle replied.

"Lena only gave you the medicine. You were the one who chose to heal. If you hadn’t taken the medicine, you would never have recovered."

Noelle nodded. She was truly grateful to have Gideon’s team in her village, something she had never imagined before.

Without Gideon’s team, it might have been difficult for her to recover so quickly.

"What brings you here, Sir Gideon?" asked Silva.

"You might have heard about the new blacksmiths named Jack and Sora."

Noelle confirmed. Silva had told her everything without leaving anything out. She had actually wanted to meet them, but her condition made that impossible.

"I brought them here. I had a certain purpose in inviting them, but unexpectedly they’ve been very helpful to the villagers."

"We’ve needed blacksmiths for a long time. I once went to the city and asked them, but none wanted to live in a shabby village like Nemora," said Noelle, raising her head with her eyes fixed on Gideon.

"Why were they willing to listen to you?"

Gideon fell silent. He couldn’t tell them everything since that was part of the secret agreement between him and Jack. Gideon could only share some smaller parts that were easier for them to understand.

"Because they need money. I promised I would pay them if they fulfilled my request."

"What was that?" asked Noelle.

"Helping the village and supporting my team’s needs. I can’t give the exact details. That falls under client confidentiality."

Noelle cleared her throat in acknowledgment. She couldn’t do much if Gideon didn’t want to explain. Still, she wasn’t against Jack and Sora’s presence.

"Since they’ve helped the villagers so much, I won’t object to them staying here."

"Thank you, Ms. Noelle," said Gideon.

"You’re welcome. If you meet them later, please deliver my message to them."

"Of course. I’ll let them know."