CHAPTER 119: A POISONED PATIENT

Narin still couldn’t believe what was happening, even when the villagers offered words of encouragement to Gara.

She almost wanted to scream.

"You and your mother are good people. You’ll be able to raise your child well, even without the baby’s mother."

"You’re part of our village, Sir Healer. You can always ask us for help."

"Once the water here is safe again, your child will grow up happily alongside the other children."

Even Sarah and Teo, approached Gara with an apologetic look.

"Gara, I’m sorry for judging you just because of your child’s race."

"Yeah... you clearly helped us without asking for anything in return."

It made Narin want to shout at them, that they shouldn’t just accept the presence of a devil so easily.

Devils were still feared, and for good reason, right?

Surely they were still committing the same crimes as they did in the past... weren’t they?

But honestly, Narin didn’t know. Every horror story about devils came from centuries ago.

And so, harmony returned to the clinic. Everyone except Narin, who still refused to apologize to Gara.

She never would. To apologize now would be admitting that she was ignorant. After all, she was the one who had revealed that Gara’s child was a devil.

For the next hour, Narin simply sat behind her desk.

She was a healer specialized in neutralizing poison. If no such cases appeared, there was little reason for her to act.

In her eyes, the other three working in the clinic lacked her level of skill, so it only made sense they dealt with the lighter cases.

Teo prepared medicine as an herbalist. Sarah examined patients and called Narin when needed.

Sarah was an earth-based Liner. Unlike most who needed soil around them to work with, she could conjure tiny grains of earth straight from her hands.

This soil acted as a bandage, stopping bleeding, though it couldn’t fully heal wounds. Some herbs offered the same effect.

Her talent wasn’t really suited for clinic work; she would’ve been far more useful as a healer on the battlefield. But Sarah was too timid for that and had chosen this place as her initial mission instead.

She hoped, someday, her Talent would evolve so her soil could carry true healing power.

Because Sarah and Teo often felt insecure about their abilities, especially Sarah, they never minded when Narin chose to do nothing.

Now, with Gara’s arrival, the clinic finally had some real support.

Gara was both a healer and an herbalist. He could examine patients and prescribe the proper medicine.

Watching him work, Narin felt it was only right that he was so busy.

But Gara wasn’t like Sarah and Teo, who always seemed stiff around the villagers. Wherever Gara went, laughter and bright smiles followed.

The beautiful man had a natural way of putting everyone at ease.

Narin didn’t care for the approval of these village bumpkins, but she refused to let anyone become more popular than her.

All she could do was bite her lip and hope for a poisoning case, just one chance to show Gara, and the rest of these uneducated villagers, her true ability.

It was as if the gods had heard her wish.

At that very moment, a mother rushed in carrying her young son, no older than seven or eight. His face had turned bluish, his lips nearly black.

Narin’s eyes narrowed.

Poisoning.

With elegance and authority, she rose to her feet. "Bring him to the examination room."

The clinic only had one examination room, and inside was already a patient: an old man coughing up blood.

Seeing the child’s critical condition, the old man struggled to stand, giving up his place.

Gara, who had been tending to the old man, helped him over to a wooden stool in the corner, then continued his examination there.

Narin clicked her tongue. That stool was supposed to be hers. But she knew if she competed with a patient for it, people would look at her in a bad light. So, reluctantly, she yielded.

After confirming the old man had no other serious ailments besides the cough, Gara told him to wait while he went to fetch some herbal medicine.

Most of Gara’s skills as a healer came from the many books Idris had brought him. Months of study in the house had taught him more than he ever expected. The rest came from his common knowledge as a modern person, surprisingly useful when combined.

When Gara returned carrying a few herbal pills, he caught sight of Narin’s troubled face and overheard her sharp words,

"He must drink all my water or it won’t work. Force him to open his mouth!"

Gara chose not to interfere. Narin’s hostility toward him had already gone too far. Even the gentlest lamb would bite if pressed too hard.

He went to the old man instead, explaining patiently how to use the herbal pills.

"QUIET!" Narin’s sudden scream echoed out of the room.

Sarah and Teo, who weren’t attending patients at the time, rushed in, fearing a patient had grown violent.

But what they found was only Narin, her face flushed red; the boy’s anxious, bewildered mother; the poisoned child, whose condition wasn’t improving; and Gara calmly working with his elderly patient.

"What happened?" Teo asked. None of the people inside seemed likely to cause trouble, but he asked anyway.

Narin didn’t answer him. Instead, her glare locked onto Gara.

"Gara, get out. You’re distracting me! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Trying to humiliate me? This is a child’s life at stake!"

Gara, still focused on his patient, blinked in confusion. Then his expression hardened, anger flickering in his eyes. This bi*th at it again!

But before he could speak, the old man in front of him rose slowly to his feet.

"Forgive me, miss healer," the old man said gently. "These ears of mine don’t hear well, so this sir healer had to speak louder. I’ll leave. Please, save the boy’s life. An old man’s isn’t worth more than a child’s just beginning his."

...