“Everyone, we all are concerned with Ram’s health. But fear not. He’s cured and back home with his family.”

There was a burst of applause. Sai saw Mannat and Pandit approaching and quickly introduced them. “They are the heroes who deserve your praise. They are the ones who saved Ram’s life and his family from a lifetime of suffering.”

The villagers judged Mannat with curious eyes, applauding for their help, for saving the life of their village brother. There were a few loud whispers about Mannat’s age in the crowd, all done in a positive rather than in a questioning manner. Some people recognized the two by face and told their neighbors about their previous deeds, about how they had saved their brothers during the monster hunt.

The village wasn’t large and Mannat quickly noticed the lack of laborers among the crowd. His father had taught him how to judge the leadership of a community. By the definition of which, despite the lacking appearance, this was a prospering village, and Sai was a good leader.

Mannat didn’t sense any motives from villagers, good or bad. Everyone seemed genuinely happy about Ram’s health. He didn’t need to sense their mana to understand that. The crowd's happiness was infectious. And watching them made him delighted, made him proud of himself for not giving up magic, for pursuing it with jealously even.

Sai raised his hands to gesture to the crowd to quiet down. The voices died down right away. These were people who believed in their leader and in his cause. They were united, together.

Sai’s leadership shone here again and put to Mannat’s attention the importance of having a fair and competent leader. His Sarpanch could also control the crowd but like a host, not a leader. They were different in ability and intention.

Mannat’s Sarpanch was given leadership when he was sent to the village. Sai had answered the call of the people and taken responsibility. He worked for the people, not with them. He knew exactly what the people wanted because he was also in their position, lived in their misery, and knew their pain.

Solemnly, Sai continued, “However, the danger is not over yet. They have put to my attention that Ram’s case is not an incident in the void and there are others among us today who suffer from the same illness. Who, if left untreated will meet the same fate as Ram, if not worse.”

The crowd grew restless. The whispers grew into loud questions. The aura suddenly transformed from one of happiness to worry.

Mannat fully expected the villagers to erupt at their Sarpanch at this moment, but his thoughts didn't come true. The crowd never grew rowdier. No one questioned Sai. They believed him. It surprised Mannat despite everything he had seen so far because it was not how the councils played out in his village.

“What do we need us to do, Sarpanch? You tell us and we’ll do it!”

“Yes!”

“We’ll do whatever you say!” The people encouraged. They didn’t doubt Sai’s leadership and let him take charge.

Mannat couldn’t help thinking these people were too gullible. They were lucky Sai was a person with integrity. A person like his Sarpanch would have long gone through them like a swarm of locusts and eaten them clean.

Sai didn’t dally and quickly told everyone what they had planned together.

“This boy has come all the way to our village to find the source of the infection. Don’t be discouraged by his age. He only looks young, but he’s more than capable; Sir Kaju, can vouch for that. The boy knows what he’s doing. As for the details of the affliction, you can ask him yourself.”

Sai called Mannat to the front and left the stage to him. A good leader knows when to charge forward and when to retreat. Sai could have just as easily forced his people to accept the treatment, but he let them interact with Mannat, understand and question him about his means and methods. By doing this, he had not only eased their minds but also made them trust Mannat, which was more important than telling the villagers that they were sick when in reality they seemed to be in perfect health.

Trust can’t be bought with favors; it has to be earned. Sai understood that.

Mannat finished answering the villager’s questions and soon it was time for him to get to work.

Mannat asked the people to settle down and engaged mana vision. Those standing at the front saw his pupils turn blue and started whispering to their neighbors in awe and fear. Mannat didn’t care about their inquiries and directly pointed out a group of sixteen people from the crowd: Two elderly women, eight women, two girls, two strong men, and two boys his age who both shared a look of understanding that didn’t escape Mannat’s vision or senses.

None of them looked sick except one elderly woman, which would have made them hesitant if Mannat hadn’t already told them about the parasites incubation period.

“It’s the valley group…” The people whispered.

Mannat heard and knew he was right to believe that there was more to the sickness than a mere parasitic infection.

“Do they work together?” Mannat asked Sai.

“Yes, they all gather herbs together as a group,” Sai answered without hesitation.

Sai was skeptical about Mannat and his claim. He might not have believed Mannat if it wasn’t for Deacon and Kaju’s confidence in him. But Mannat changed his mind with his actions and ability. Ram was also a member of the group Mannat had pointed out. It earned him Sai and everyone else’s recognition.

Trust can be blind, but inability can't be hidden. Mannat had shown he was capable.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you to later have some men guide us to this valley where they gather herbs.”

“Of course,” Sai said and sighed. He looked at the somewhat scared and curious group of people that Mannat had separated from the rest. “Do all these people--”

“Yes, but there is no need to worry,” Mannat said confidently. “Only four of them would have developed severe sickness in the next few days because of their small mana pool. The rest would have shown milder symptoms before eventually getting better with the parasite dying under the suppression of their mana.”

Sai nodded in relief. “So how will you cure them?”

“With mana,” Mannat said and left it at that.

Sai gathered the sick in his house and arranged for a bed and a chair in the lobby. Mannat didn’t dally either. He directly picked one of the stronger-looking hunters from the group to come forward so the women wouldn’t feel threatened by him.

“Kaju, will you help me?” Mannat asked the retired sergeant and the old man knew exactly what to do since he had already helped Mannat once.

Mannat asked the hunter to remove his shirt and lay on the bed.

The man looked at Kaju and followed Mannat’s order in a daze, not knowing what to expect. He grew tense when Kaju grabbed his shoulders and put his weight upon him. He stared at the old man questionably, tense and nervous.

“Relax, kid. It’ll all be over soon.” Kaju told him.

Then Mannat suddenly appeared beside him and placed a hand on his chest, right above his heart. “I’m going to open a mana channel from your heart to your intestine and kill the parasite. So hold on.”

Mannat’s explanation made as much sense to the hunter as his friend’s ritual for good luck and bountiful harvest. Kaju’s old apprentice was a believer of hard facts and learned truths. He didn’t believe in luck.

He wondered if he should fight or flee, then noticed the young and the old people gathered in the room staring at him with clenched fists and nervous eyes. He decided at once to believe, if not in the boy who looked too young to bear any degree of responsibility, then in his teacher who stood there with him.

Mannat collected his thoughts and did what he had to do. Mana gathered at his palm. He controlled it through the hunter’s pectoral muscles and entered the heart. Once there, Mannat opened a mana channel to the hunter’s intestine and led a battalion of mana soldiers to kill the parasitic dragon.

The hunter wailed in pain as soon as the battle started. Kaju and Pandit worked hard to keep him on the bed.

“It hurts! It hurts!” The hunter yelled and screamed, kicking and flailing, trying to get away from the bed.

Mannat didn’t relent.

The hunter was one of the four people in the group with a high risk of death without treatment. The parasite would have crippled him in a day and killed him in two if not for Mannat’s timely arrival.

The women in the group hissed and moaned, while the second hunter rushed to help keep the man down.

The operation continued for ten minutes, and the hunter kept screaming until the end. He calmed down when the parasite died, though he lost consciousness. Pandit then cleared the bed with the help of the second hunter.

“One of you come here,” Kaju told the group, but none of them dared to move.

They were frightened.

Most of them had little expectation of the sudden council. They were nervous when Mannat picked them out, but never scared. They were more worried about getting diarrhea from drinking the bitter medicine. Where had they seen such an extreme treatment method before? How could they have known the cure would be so painful, so barbaric? Was he curing the sick or exorcising demons? And where was the medicine? They would rather drink poison than lay there on the bed!

In the end, a heavyset girl of Mannat’s age stepped forward of her own accord. She stopped in front of Mannat while everyone watched. The lobby was silent as a grave even though there were almost two dozen people gathered there.

She looked at Mannat from head to feet and smiled bashfully.

“YOu don't need me to lie down?”

The way she said it sent shivers down Pandit’s spine and made a few of the younger girls standing by the wall to look at her incredulously. They were all adults there or nearly adults; they knew what she meant.

Unknowingly her one sentence not only broke the silence but also took down the fear and oppression that the hunter’s screams had left behind.

“You can take a seat. It’ll only take a moment.” Mannat said.

Pandit wanted him to stop talking, but the girl was faster at making rebuttals.

“Can’t you be slow instead?” The girl said and for the first time, there was laughter in the room.

Suddenly, the older ladies reprimanded her, but with teasing chants. “Ayo, don’t tease the doctor. He might break your heart.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.” Mannat added fuel to the fire, causing the laughter to spread.

Pandit didn’t know if Mannat was being deliberate or just unusually thick-brained, but it was surely working charms at the women.

“Pinky promise?” The girl raised her pinky, which was thicker than the size of Mannat’s thumb.

Of course, Mannat understood what was going on. He was not thick-skulled like his friend believed, but deliberately playing along with the girl. So what if they laughed at him?

Anyways, Mannat didn’t promise her anything but gently grabbed her wrist instead.

“Huh, you are so bold,” The girl closed her eyes and puckered her lips, but the kiss never came.

Then Mannat released her wrist and told her she’d be fine.

”That’s it? Are you sure you don’t need to touch my heart?” She seemed genuinely sad that it was over.

Mannat couldn’t hold it in anymore. He smiled and scared the girl, causing her to hiss in panic. She almost screamed.

Pandit couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Mannat smile, and he was glad about it. Mannat smiled like a horse, all teeth and no lips. Pandit used to believe his friend had no emotions, but he had been around Mannat for long enough to know he was wrong. Mannat had emotions. He simply wasn’t good at showing them.

The show was over and the girl's task was complete. The clouds were gone and the sun was out again. However, she didn’t go back before taking another jab at Mannat.

“Just when I thought a man would finally touch me…” She released the most dramatic of sighs and looked at Mannat with longing before making her way back to the group.

Pandit felt disgusted. Who knew there were girls like her in the world? He looked to his right, found Morni stealing glances at Mannat, and couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

Damn handsome people!

So what if he was stronger and taller than Mannat? All the pretty girls were still always infatuated with the clumsy fellow! Though Pandit had to admit, Mannat had his charms. He personally would have gotten angry with the girl if she had made fun of him. Perhaps, he should learn from him.

Who knows?

The small change might just bring him his second spring.