CHAPTER 38: SALTY WATER

Madha, meanwhile, remained rooted in place, his arms awkwardly lingering in midair as if something had been taken away from him.

He already missed the warmth in his arms.

Snapping himself out of it with a quick shake of his head, he rushed toward Gara with worry on his face.

"Want me to carry you home?" he asked gently.

"No need. Let’s just cook the fish. We already have them anyway."

Madha looked reluctant but nodded. "Alright. But you stay right here, okay? Let me handle everything."

With that, he got to work, building a makeshift stove and collecting dry firewood nearby.

This time, Gara didn’t feel guilty watching Madha do the work.

His body was clearly worn out, and more importantly he felt like he’d already done more than his part. After all, he had caught seven fishes, each the size of a grown man’s hand.

While Madha busied himself with the firewood, Gara’s thoughts drifted back to their conversation two weeks ago in this very spot about the strange energy in the river water that made the fish taste richer and more flavorful.

Back then, Madha had also mentioned that water imbued with such energy could benefit Liners with water-based Talents.

Now that Gara had awakened his own water Talent, his curiosity grew. What exactly was that energy Madha spoke of? And did the water here truly contain it?

Just as Madha prepared to roast all seven fish at once, Gara stopped him.

"Before you roast them, I want to soak them with my water first."

Madha blinked, a little confused. "You think the fish aren’t clean? I already cleaned them well."

"No, I want to test the taste."

Without further questions, Madha handed him three of the fish. Gara soaked them using a leaf-bowl Madha had crafted earlier.

After letting them sit for a while, he passed the fish back for roasting, while the remaining four went straight to the fire.

As the first batch sizzled with delicious aroma, Gara resisted the temptation to take a bite. Madha didn’t eat either, his hunger forgotten when Gara was around.

When the second set was finally cooked, Gara sampled both versions.

And he was surprised. There was a clear difference in flavor.

Previously, he had just thought the river fish here tasted good. In his original world, he only ever ate fish after it had been processed, so he never knew the raw flavor.

But now, with this side-by-side comparison, he could tell what made the fish special. The ones cooked as-is had a natural saltiness and deep umami.

The ones soaked in his water, however, tasted noticeably sweeter.

He suddenly remembered someone from his past life once mentioning that salt could generate energy.

But that didn’t make sense. Salt shouldn’t exist in freshwater or more accurately, river water couldn’t possibly be salty.

Or... was he applying too much knowledge from his old world to this one?

Still puzzled, Gara turned to the native-born Madha. "Hey, is river water here salty?"

"Of course not," Madha replied instantly. "River water is freshwater."

"Then why does it taste salty?"

Gara tilted his head in confusion. Madha mirrored his expression but said nothing more.

Once they finished the last of the grilled fish, Gara borrowed Madha’s water flask made from treated leather. He filled it with river water, already planning an experiment.

At the fork roda that split toward Suruta Village and Galiga Village, the two friends parted ways.

Gara refused to be escorted all the way home. He didn’t want Madha noticing the barrier around his house.

Once home, Gara immediately began boiling the river water.

The pot bubbled violently as steam rose, but he let it reduce until only a small amount remained. He then brought the pot outside and left the water to dry out in the sun.

After that, he resumed his ongoing experiment to create a safe anesthetic. Unfortunately, there was still no progress.

He had already studied the toxicity levels of Thimvine and Aconite, and even found a dosage that minimized the poison’s effects, but the toxins never fully disappeared.

He’d tried mixing in herbs known for their detoxifying properties, but nothing had worked so far.

If only he could find a plant—or something—that could neutralize the poison completely.

...

Wina stepped outside to return to the field and only then noticed the pot Gara had left outside the house. She picked it up. It held a white, glimmering powder.

"Isn’t this salt? Why did Gara leave it out here?"

She walked back into the house with the pot in hand.

In the kitchen, Gara was busy grinding Lumora tea leaves.

"Why did you leave salt outside the house?" she asked.

When Gara saw what she was holding, he jolted upright in shock. "Mom, did you say salt?"

"Yes. You didn’t put it there?"

Before Wina could overthink, Gara cut in quickly. "I did, Mom. I mean, I put it there. But it wasn’t salt. I left river water out to dry."

"River water? You went to the river?" Instead of focusing on the bizarre idea that river water could turn into salt, Wina was more concerned by the fact that Gara had gone to the river at all.

"Mom, I was only there for a moment. Just a moment, I swear." Gara lied with the most sincere expression he could muster. "But more importantly how could river water contain salt?"

Wina’s brows furrowed, clearly confused as well.

"Mom, do you think the energy in water was actually salt energy?"

Wina shook her head. "No, the energy found in water comes from mountain springs. It’s because the earth deep in the mountains holds many energy sources. I don’t fully understand how it works either, but it’s definitely not salt."

That meant the salt had nothing to do with the energy within the water. Anywa, whatever kind of energy the river water had held, his water had clearly been much stronger.

What mattered now was the fact that they had gotten free salt.

"Then, Mom, we can save money on buying salt?" Gara asked.

...