CHAPTER 41: SAVE SQUIRREL

Since Gara really did look fine while filling the water barrels, Wina’s anxiety eased a little.

She promised herself she would prepare tea and other herbal drinks for Gara after they got home from the field.

Meanwhile, after filling six barrels, Gara headed to the river.

For the past month, every time he finished filling water, he would stop by the river to train his Talent.

A month ago, it only took him three days to bring down a 1.5-meter-diameter tree.

After that, trees no longer felt like a challenge. He shifted her focus to rocks.

There were plenty of large rocks in the river. But because he didn’t want to shock the villagers with oddly sliced stones, he chose to test his power on rocks submerged deep in the river.

He had lost count of how many stones she’d split underwater.

He even smoothed the surfaces of the cut rocks to avoid injuring anyone who might accidentally step on them.

Because his water slash left such clean cuts, human skin could easily get sliced if it made contact.

In addition to using Water Slash, Gara also used Water Bullet. Now, the rock with a hole in it had become a playground for the fish.

While Gara was enjoying himself with the Water Bullet, the sound of footsteps crunching against the ground and stone echoed behind him.

He quickly grabbed a small rock he had prepared earlier and pretended to be throwing it out of boredom.

But the one who emerged from behind the trees was Madha—

with noticeable bruises on his face.

Gara instinctively stood up and rushed toward his friend with a worried expression.

"What happened to your face?"

"Got hit accidentally during a mission," Madha answered, slightly flustered because Gara was standing so close.

He could see his own reflection in the clear hazel of Gara’s eyes.

Gara’s smooth hand reached up to touch his bruised cheek, but instead of pain, Madha felt a cooling sensation. No pain at all.

He thought maybe it was the effect of blind love.

But after taking a closer look, he realized it was because water was coming from Gara’s palm.

"My ability can reduce inflammation symptoms," Gara said. But Madha didn’t understand what inflammation was.

Gara didn’t elaborate either. He was honestly just experimenting. He remembered back when Zayn had burned his wrist, it didn’t swell thanks to this water.

"Does it hurt?" Gara asked.

"No," Madha shook his head, enjoying the beautiful view in front of him. He resisted the urge to stroke Gara’s thick, soft-looking black hair.

Slowly, the bruise on Madha’s cheek faded, unlike his heart, which was floating higher and higher.

"There," Gara said, lowering his hand.

Madha unconsciously looked at him like a pleading puppy.

Gara chuckled. He could see the heart icon above Madha’s head increase by one point. It was now at 97%.

"I can make you herbal medicine if you’d like," Gara offered.

There were plenty of herbs with anti-inflammatory properties, and with his water, the result would definitely be better.

"I’d love that... if you don’t mind." Madha just wanted an excuse to see Gara again.

"Okay, tomorrow you’ll co—"

Gara’s words were cut off when he heard a strange, eerie squeaking sound from behind the bushes.

Hikk. Hikk.

Madha immediately stepped in front of Gara protectively, as if shielding him. Gara wasn’t scared, really. He was just startled.

They walked toward the source of the sound. Madha pulled aside the bushes and found a white squirrel lying weakly with a bloody, injured leg.

When Gara saw the squirrel, he immediately recognized it. It was the same squirrel that had been with him when he attempted suicide.

Maybe the druid blood flowing in his veins gave him the ability to distinguish animals that looked identical to others in human eyes.

Gara stepped forward to examine the squirrel’s injury. The bone wasn’t broken, but it was exposed.

The white squirrel squeaked in pain but also looked relieved to see Gara, as if it knew it would be saved.

Being looked at like that only made Gara more determined to help the poor creature.

While he was still thinking of a way to treat the squirrel, Madha pulled a scarf from his bag and tore it into strips, wrapping the wound to stop the bleeding.

Gara snapped out of it. "Let’s take it to my house."

With that, they ran to Gara’s home.

At the front of the house, Gara almost forgot about the barrier.

But surprisingly, both Madha and the squirrel passed through without any resistance.

As Madha stepped into the old bamboo house, his eyes widened in surprise.

The front room had changed drastically.

There were only two wooden stools. One sat in front of a wooden desk, stacked with sheets of rough paper, a slim charcoal chalk, and a small wooden block about the length of a forearm, marked with "1 nail" at the tip—presumably a makeshift measuring tool.

The other stool faced another table, this one cluttered with cups, bowls, plates, knives, a mortar and pestle—almost like a kitchen setup, though Madha could tell it wasn’t meant for cooking.

Next to that table stood several shelves lined with more cups, all sealed with bamboo lids, dried herbs, and a few plants he recognized as poisonous.

He stood there, confused.

But before he could ask anything, Gara was already giving orders.

"Put the squirrel here," Gara said, laying a cloth over the second table.

Madha did as instructed, gently placing the injured creature down, then sat on the first stool, silently watching Gara move with unexpected confidence.

Gara swiftly removed the scarf Madha had wrapped around the squirrel, then cleaned the wound using his water. It was clearly a bite mark.

Without saying a word, he rushed into Wina’s room and returned with a few medicinal leaves—the same ones Wina had used on Gara when he was hurt.

"Madha, can you grind these? Don’t make it too fine, just enough to get the juices out," Gara said.

...