Suspense hung high in the air when Darius finally stood before the villagers who had waited for his diagnosis regarding Mr. Barley's illness.
As Darius looked into their eyes, all hope was lost. They resigned if Mr. Barley had to die.
In Undine Village, or any village in the rural area, death due to illnesses or injuries was more common than the birth itself.
There were only 500 people in total including Darius who lived in this small village and had no well-educated doctor let alone any medical facilities.
Almost half of the villagers were elders, ranging from 60 years old to 80 years old. A quarter of them were married adults and the rest were children ranging from seven to fifteen years old.
Many youngsters who were in productive age went to the nearby cities down the mountain in search of better life and got married.
But of course, life was not like fairy tales for commoners. Especially in a society where nobles reigned supreme and oppressed the commoners with their magic.
Darius had indeed awakened his magic, indicating that he was originally a noble-born as they first expected when his parents arrived from the south.
Hence the reason why the villagers were still skeptical if he would heal someone out of altruism. They were afraid of Darius' magic.
Darius knew this fact since last night, he understood why the villagers didn't put so much faith in him, who was only the impromptu village chief.
Seeing this, Darius knew he had to uplift the mood and gain their trust. He then knocked the ground a few times with his Chieftain Staff.
"Why with the long face? Mr. Barley will be alright! There's nothing to worry about!"
"Really?!" Sonia said.
Sonia, Mr. Barley's wife immediately trotted toward the house's entrance but was halted by Darius.
"What are you doing?! I want to see my husband."
"Not now." Darius held her hand firmly.
"Why?" Sonia's head was askew.
"Wait until Aunty Esther and Maria are done with the cleaning," Darius answered thoughtfully as he glanced at the house. He didn't want Sonia and her daughter to see the bloody bedroom.
Before long, the thick-bearded man's voice was heard from the inside, a harsh and nasty one at that.
"Grr, fuck off!"
A moment later, Barley smacked the door open and his sleeve was being pulled by Maria's scrawny hands. His strength was too overwhelming for the young lady.
"Please wait, Mr. Barley! You need to rest for at least a week!"
"Like hell if I would lie down on my bed for the whole week! I need to harvest the bee's nest before they awaken from hibernation!" Rebuked the brewer.
The villagers were amazed upon seeing the man who was once on the verge of dying an hour ago now had fully recovered. Better yet, Barley had returned to his usual self; straightforward, blunt, and stubborn.
Darius was relieved that his spell worked splendidly as he intended. He smiled proudly for what he had done for the brewer. Of course, he didn't forget to thank Alexa for the early warning a while ago.
"Darius! Say something!" Maria exclaimed.
The soil beneath her feet was being dug as she struggled to hold the robust and stubborn man.
"You seem… livelier than the usual, Mr. Barley."
Noticing Darius' presence who had the Chieftain Staff in his hand, Barley halted his steps and stood upright before him.
"G-good morning chief!" Answered the brewer, he was stuttering.
"How do you feel? Do you remember anything about the recent event?"
"Err. I only remembered that I needed to harvest the bee's nest on the Westcliff, but then I fell unconscious. By the time I woke up, Maria and the old hag had my head wrapped with these stupid bandages!"
Before Darius could sum his diagnosis, Alexa chimed in.
[Seems like his amygdala was slightly damaged due to your reckless method of rendering him unconscious.]
'You are the one who inscribed the procedure into my mind!' Darius protested.
an
[....]
Alexa was silent after that.
"I see." Darius nodded.
"You don't say. Did you the one who healed me?" Barley asked.
"Maybe…" Darius smiled awkwardly since the one who knew how to heal Barley was Alexa and he only did the physical labor.
Despite he had lost a fraction of his memory, and had his head wrapped with bandages, Barley was completely unfazed. He then picked up his ropes and basket from the shed which he usually used to harvest the hives.
"T-thank you, I guess? It's kinda weird, I couldn't remember anything." Barley sighed. "Whatever,I'm going to harvest the honey or we won't have mead for next winter. I'll give you some as my tribute!"
"There's no need. Besides, I don't really like alcohol. Save it for yourself and the villagers. Sell the rest when the Nomad Caravan arrives."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sincerely."
"Well, alright then. I am off!"
The robust, stubborn man then walked toward the Westcliff direction. He might not look like much, but he truly loves his small family and the village from the bottom of his heart.
The villagers, on the other hand, were flabbergasted by the sight. Especially when the thick-bearded man was even more vigorous than usual.
"What a lovely morning, innit?" Darius mused.
"You are such an amazing Chief!" Compliment one of the villagers.
"Indeed, when did you learn such advanced Healing magic?" Said the other villager.
"Advanced Healing Magic? No, that was just Basic Healing Magic, though."
Aunt Esther appeared from the house, bringing a basket of dirty clothes and bed sheets.
"Whatever it is… We finally have a Mage among us."
"And soon it will be the two of us." Maria stepped forward and stood beside Darius. She then bowed ninety degrees, expressing the guilt that swells in her heart.
"I deeply apologize for the recent disastrous incident that was caused by myself. If it weren't for me, none of this would happen to our village."
"Huh! What are you talking about, Maria." Said one of the villagers. "It's not your fault at all. Besides, we know who is behind this clusterfuck of events. Baron Roger Von Gill! That fat bastard always after the maidens from this village, even before your parents and Darius' parents came to this village!"
"That's right! Those pirates are the Baron's pets! It was such a fortune that our last maiden was not taken away."
"You two are our hope, the future of our village, we wish you two a happy married life."
Darius and Maria blushed as they looked into each other's eyes.
"W-well… Our marriage can wait. First thing first, we need to strengthen this village and ourselves. That's my priority for now."
"Speaking of which," Said Fredrik, the village carpenter. He then ran to his house which happened to be a few dozen steps away and returned in a jiffy.
"I have drawn a rough sketch of our new Village Hall. Would you look at this chief?"
The short, stubby and yet tough-looking man handed a slab of wood to Darius. Though it was drawn by using charcoal, Darius and the other villagers could imagine the majestic design that Fredrik had envisioned.
"This looks so amazing! When could we build it?" Darius said enthusiastically.
"As long as we have the material that is. We need logs from the forest, tons of them! And we don't have the manpower to harvest them."