Chapter 146: The Village is Safe
Together, the ten of them hauled every beast carcass out of the cave and buried them. There were still more corpses along the riverbanks, but since the sun was already setting, they decided to return to the village.
Once back, Emir and Mohan went straight to the village chief to report the news. Gara didn’t stick around to hear the rest. He went home to wash up. Still, he was certain the chief would be overjoyed.
Over the next week, the Liners and guards made trip after trip to the mountain, gathering and burying the carcasses far from the spring. They also used Gara’s Vena Pills to cleanse the water. There weren’t many pills, but since they were dropped upstream, the flow slowly purified the river below on its own.
Even Mohan’s attitude toward Gara began to shift. This time, Gara had truly been a lifesaver. If Mohan had reported to the county for an official purifier, it would have taken at least a week to arrive. And if they’d left the contamination alone, it would have taken a month to clear naturally in this dry season.
For Gara, though, none of that mattered. All he cared about was restoring life in the village. No more poverty, no more needless deaths.
During that week, Gara didn’t return to the mountain at all. There were plenty of Liners, and even if beasts attacked, the group could handle it. The guards were always there to back them up anyway.
Yesterday, Kian had tested the river that ran through the village and reported the water was already clean.
To be safe, they waited another day to test again. This time, the entire village gathered—villagers, Liners, and guards—watching with anxious anticipation.
The tall, slim man with brown hair stepped up to the riverbank. Kian didn’t need to make too much movement. With his wind-based Talent, there was no flashy movement to see, but everyone stared at him with hope in their eyes.
The villagers’ hearts raced as Kian turned, a small smile tugging at his lips. "No toxins."
"Woah!"
Cheers erupted instantly. Villagers, Liners, even the guards shouted with relief and joy.
That evening, with pooled money from the villagers and Liners, the village held a grand feast.
Wina joined the village women to cook, which meant Gara spent the day indoors, not chatting with Liners who were packing their things to head home after tomorrow’s banquet.
Madha was asleep in his room, worn out after a night shift, while Fian trained quietly in the backyard.
He was still practicing making ice cubes, unaware that inside the house, Gara was contacting Hilda, telling her to make ice molds.
"Use thin wood, but strong enough not to snap when bent. Once you finish the prototype mold, send it here so I can check it," Gara instructed.
The idea for ice molds had only come to him after Fian took on the mission of supplying one hundred boxes of ice for the frontlines.
To prevent the ice from melting inside the crates, an ice-based Liner would have to travel along to keep everything cold.
A single Ice-based Liner only needed to load one carriage with three large lumps of ice. As long as those blocks didn’t melt, the temperature inside the carriage would stay below freezing, keeping all the smaller ice boxes intact. And even if some ice did melt, it wouldn’t be enough to ruin the shipment.
Using that principle, Gara realized he could even build a refrigerator with the help of an Ice-based Liner. As long as the room was sealed tight and packed with ice, the air inside would drop to freezing temperatures. One or two Ice Liners could maintain it, just like how Orman’s boss hired Liners as regular employees.
The ice cubes, however, were for Gara’s next business venture. Drink House.
"Buy a spot near Alrova Shop," Gara instructed. "I’ll give you the details about the layout and decoration once we meet. The main idea is, I want it to feel like a restaurant but more relaxed, where the focus is on drinks."
He already had his signature item in mind. Ice Lumora Soda, a refreshing mint-infused recipe that leaned closer to soda than tea.
Gara’s face brimmed with happiness. Everything was falling into place, including the blue crystal he’d found inside the cave.
According to Tristan, that crystal was an Enhance Core Crystal. If stored in a sealed place, it would radiate energy that produced Enhance Crystals on its own. In essence, the core was the mine itself.
And now the mine was his.
He had sent the Enhance Core Crystal to Hilda a week ago, asking her to store it in an empty basement to see if new crystals would form.
He had sent the Enhance Core Crystal and five unrefined enhance crystals to Hilda a week ago, asking her to store the core crystal in an empty basement to see if new crystals would form.
As for the unrefined ones, he asked her to find a way to refine them and to buy books about enhance crystals for him. It turned out the unrefined ones wouldn’t trigger the notification system.
Along with it, he’d also sent the earth-element Enhance Crystal he had found in the cave, instructing her to pass it on to Orman. Gara had already contacted Orman, arranging to trade the crystal with one from Orman’s boss.
Fortunately, Orman hadn’t used his yet. He had been saving it for when he finally got some time off.
Knock. Knock.
"Gara." Madha’s voice called from outside when Gara finished his discussion with Hilda.
The man had apparently woken up.
"Come in, Madha," Gara answered, having just removed the breast pump strapped to his chest.
Madha peeked his head through the door. "The villagers finished preparing dinner. You should go ahead and join them. I’ll watch the triplets here."
"It’s already evening?" Gara glanced out the window. Sure enough, the sky had gone dark.
"Aren’t you on night duty?" Gara asked as he turned back.
Madha stepped inside, checking the two cribs where Arion and Ava slept soundly. Aldwin was in the next room with Della.
The babies looked so similar it was hard to tell them apart, but Ava’s horns were a giveaway. Still, they were really adorable.
Gara stared at them, imagining that Madha was his babies’ father, then smiled softly.
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