CHAPTER 83: MISSIONS DONE

Gara wiped the sweat trickling down his temple. His hand reached for the porcelain cup filled with ice shieldfruit water and he downed it in one gulp.

If not for Fian, he would never have tasted a cold drink in this world.

After all, the only part of the continent untouched by mist—the very land where the Bhumi Kingdom lay—was at its center.

Its climate offered only two seasons, or three if the transition was included: the dry season and the rainy season.

No winter. No ice.

Well, except for ice made by Liners with ice-based Talent, but that cost a fortune.

Today felt hotter than usual, though it wasn’t even dry season yet. Still the transitional rains. By the time his delivery came, it would be the peak of the dry season.

Gara grimaced at the thought of giving birth.

His mother had been going back and forth to Falopo Town, training with a healer—not Healer Idris, but another—so she could assist when the time came.

She’d chosen to learn from a healer rather than a midwife because his delivery would involve an abdominal incision.

Every race had its own methods and tools. Druids, for example, used coarse wood fibers in place of thread and clamped the wound shut with pieces of wood.

But according to Idris, the hard layer inside Gara’s body wasn’t as tough as that of other druids. That meant they could skip the wooden clamps and instead stitch him up with finer thread, spun from the hide of a beast native to this world: the gamadilo.

Idris had even ordered the rare thread for him.

The beautiful man let out a heavy sigh, drawing Fian’s glance from where he was working on a crib in front of the new storage room.

The elf’s eyes flicked toward the drink on the small table beside the lounge chair, debating whether to prepare lumora soda or niskara tea next.

But then he remembered Gara wasn’t comfortable drinking too much, so he gave up on the thought and returned to assembling the second crib.

The first wooden crib had been finished yesterday. For the second, he already had the pieces cut; it just needed to be put together.

As his hands worked, his thoughts wandered. Would Gara’s children—twins, unexpectedly—cry and wail through the nights like the other infants of the slaves he knew, because they starved?

Would Gara’s babies die, too? Would Gara weep if they did?

Or would they be cared for, raised to grow strong—fed, sheltered, spoken to kindly—just as Gara had done for him?

Thinking about what the black-haired young man had done for him, a faint smile tugged at Fian’s lips. But it quickly faded when he spotted a tall, tanned-skinned man approaching the house.

Madha stepped into the yard, beaming when he saw Gara lounging at the front of the house. He didn’t even seem to care that no one had been there just moments before.

Carrying a black cloth bag and a wooden crib, Madha strode over. "I built this crib while I was out on my mission."

His gaze flicked to the finished crib in front of the storage room and then to the half-built one Fian was working on.

"Looks like I’m late," he muttered under his breath. Even as a backup, he was almost too late.

"It’s fine. We can always keep it..." Gara gave him a small smile. "My children are twins."

"Twins?" That bit of news was far more shocking than anything else he’d heard.

"If one crib breaks, at least there’ll be a spare, right?"

Madha nodded firmly. He placed the crib beside the finished one, ignoring Fian’s sharp glare. Both men threw one last piercing look at each other, before Madha returned to Gara’s side.

"My final initial mission is done," he announced.

Gara greeted the words with a proud smile. "You’ve worked hard, Madha."

Madha only smiled back, then began talking about his last mission. The one that earned him two points, bringing his total to ten.

"You’re qualified to apply for a Rank Upgrade Mission now, aren’t you?" Gara asked, eyes following Madha’s hands as he pulled item after item out of his cloth bag as if it were some kind of Doraemon’s pocket.

"Yeah. I’ll take a mission from the town guard of Falopo Town," Madha said with a nod.

"Oh? Did Captain Tristan tell you he’d help you with this one?" Gara teased, half-joking.

He knew neither Madha nor Captain Tristan would ever bend the rules like that—unless, of course, it involved Gara.

Madha chuckled knowingly. "Actually, he invited me to join the town guard once my Liner rank goes up. What do you think?"

That surprised Gara, but only for a moment. It made sense. He’d heard Captain Tristan praise Madha more than once. Even Wina knew how competent Madha was, thanks to Vice-Captain Emir’s remarks.

"You’d pass easily if you want to," Gara said with a nod.

On the small table beside the lounge chair, the things Madha had unpacked were already piled high. Most of them were baby toys. He put nearly all of them back, leaving only some snacks on the table.

It seemed preparing plenty of toys wasn’t a mistake at all, especially now that Gara was having twins.

"I also think joining the guard in Falopo is the best choice," Madha added. "It’s close to the village, and I could help you more easily with your initial missions."

The sincerity in his eyes made Gara realize that this young man—whose face had almost lost every trace of boyishness—was making choices with him in mind.

"Thank you, Madha."

Madha’s head snapped toward Gara. The smile that spread across his face was so bright it radiated warmth. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to protect that smile forever.

"You don’t have to thank me," he replied softly. "I’ll protect you and your children."

Feeling his heart thump hard, Gara could not resist the fact that he had something for this young man. It was not an ordinary feeling.

...