Chapter 156: Experimenting with the Pocket
If the little forest behind the house inside his dimensional pocket really could provide tree energy, then the triplets wouldn’t have to face so many risks anymore.
With a faint but hopeful smile, Gara picked up his eldest baby. Just as he was about to step into the dimensional pocket, the door opened, revealing Fian, standing there with a guilty look.
"Sorry..." he muttered, like a puppy caught sneaking food.
Gara immediately understood why he looked like that.
"There’s no need to apologize. If all of you feel guilty, then as the triplets’ father, I’d only feel it a hundred times worse." Gara met his eyes steadily. "No one could have predicted what would happen."
"Come on, don’t make the longing face. I’ve got to cheer myself up, not end up cheering other people." Gara teased with a grin.
Fian flinched slightly. He looked up, about to apologize again, only to be greeted by Gara’s soft laughter.
Gara’s delicate brows framed crescent-shaped eyes, their clear hazel irises catching the light. A small, straight nose, a flush of pink blooming on his cheeks, and lips curved in a smile. Together they formed a face that made Fian’s heart pound.
This wasn’t just hormones, nor that strange pull that sometimes tempted him toward reckless thoughts. It was simpler, deeper. He just... wanted to stay by Gara’s side.
He didn’t know that it was love or not. He wasn’t experienced, and he didn’t understand much, but he knew one thing: he wanted to remain with Gara.
Without realizing it, a small smile touched Fian’s lips. Gara’s own smile widened.
Incidentally, seeing Fian reminded him that this was the perfect chance to test his dimensional pocket more thoroughly.
So Gara explained about the Dimensional Home Pocket, revealing it was a Talent, just as he had lied to Wina.
Fian blinked in shock. He was the only one who knew about Gara’s Woodland Camouflage, and now Gara had another Talent?
The gap between them felt wider than ever. His chest tightened with determination. He’d train harder. Maybe even find a way to awaken his third Talent.
"I haven’t studied this Talent much. I’ll try bringing you inside, but don’t be surprised if you end up somewhere new," Gara warned.
Fian nodded seriously.
Gara wondered how else he could bring people inside. It was not possible to cradle everyone like he did to Arion and Aldwin.
In the novels he remembered, dimensional spaces were usually used to store supplies or sometimes to farm.
But his was called the Dimensional Home Pocket, complete with a sprawling house. It made him want to shape it into a true home for his family.
Maybe even their main one, since sooner or later they might have to run again once the druids discovered them.
Gara tightened his hold on his child, then reached out with his free hand to grasp Fian’s arm. His satchel was slung across his shoulder.
Hap!
They vanished, leaving only the satchel to tumble onto the floor.
Not long after, the door opened. Wina stepped inside, only to find the room empty. Her eyes landed on the fallen satchel. Picking it up, she guessed what had happened.
"Gara... are you inside?" she asked softly, her fingers brushing the worn leather.
Suddenly, Wina felt the satchel grow heavy. She dropped it in surprise, only for Gara to appear right on top of it.
"I heard you opened the door, Mom," he said. "So I went out because I need you to help me too."
Still startled by the sudden weight earlier, Wina could only nod.
"Mom, I’ll take you inside." Gara said before her shock had even settled.
"Can I actually go in?"
"Yes. Fian and Aldwin are already inside," he answered with a nod. "I’ll bring you in without touching you, alright?"
Wina nodded again, her face still puzzled.
Gara set the satchel down on the floor and focused on pulling Wina inside, yet nothing happened. He frowned, picked the satchel back up, and tried again. This time, Wina vanished.
"Ah, so that’s how it works." Gara nodded to himself.
He continued experimenting with the dimensional pocket. After several rounds of going in and out—not only him but also Fian and Wina—they finally stopped when Aldwin began growing restless.
Only then did Gara remember, he hadn’t taken Aldwin to the small forest behind the house.
After thanking Wina and Fian for joining his little experiment, Gara brought Aldwin inside the satchel. Fian and Wina went back to their own activities.
Meanwhile, Gara had arrived in front of the house. He didn’t enter, but headed straight to the back.
He noticed that the temperature here was noticeably cooler than outside.
Reaching the little forest, Gara paused. Aldwin finally calmed down, and Gara himself could feel the energy radiating from the surrounding trees.
A wide smile spread across his face. From now on, they no longer had to struggle to avoid the villagers just to get to the forest.
While Aldwin absorbed enough of the natural energy, Gara reflected on his earlier experiment.
He concluded that he could bring someone else into the dimensional pocket with just his thoughts as long as he was holding the satchel. Anyone who entered would appear right in front of the house inside.
He could also send them back out with just a thought, but only if he was inside the dimensional pocket. When he was outside, he had to touch the satchel first.
Another thing he discovered: time flowed the same inside the pocket as it did outside. Basically, the pocket was like a doorway to somewhere else.
Gara thought abruptly cut by Madha’s voice from outside. With Aldwin who was mumbling and grinning in his arm, Gara got out of the pocket.
Seeing Gara suddenly appeared in front of him, Madha just widen his eyes for a moment. He came back to his sense.
Madha returned to the house and met with Gara to inform him that he was going to the county with Loka.
He also told him that the Liners were heading home today and some of them hoped to meet with Gara before they left.
...