When Leila awoke once again, one day had passed.

Leila inwardly scanned the condition of her body. Other than the fact that her lifespan had been shortened due to using her powers without any ‘fuel’ during a time when her body was still recovering, everything was fine.

Haaa~ it seems like nothing’s wrong, thank goodness.

Leila looked around the hut. Surprisingly, she was all alone.

Usually, either Mimi or Sieg would be by her side, either to accompany her or look after her.

But today, something was different. The clinic was unusually quiet.

It seems like Mimi was out.

It was rare for the healer to leave her clinic, so Leila was mildly intrigued.

Leila tested the waters by flexing her limbs.

Seeing that she was not as weak as before, she finally climbed out of the bed, albeit slowly.

The sunlight greeted her the moment she came out of the clinic.

The moment she appeared, it was as if everything stilled. When the beastmen noticed her, they stopped in their tracks, staring unblinkingly.

Some of them even had slightly worshipful gazes when looking at her.

Eh?

Huh?

Leila looked around confusedly.

From the corner of her eyes, Leila could see a little beastman child hesitantly but bravely walking towards her. The child held onto a white flower, much like the one Leila’s younger brother, Julius, had wanted to gift her.

The child held out the flower to her with trembling hands.

“Oh? Are you giving it to me?” As usual, Leila smiled sweetly.

The child flinched at her smile, a blush crawling on her face. The little beastman nodded quickly to the point of making herself dizzy.

“My~ how pretty. Thank you~” Leila accepted the flower happily. Thankfully, she was human this time so she couldn’t hear the sound of the plants. If she could, then she would probably hear the agonizing scream of the flower after being ruthlessly plucked.

She inhaled the flower’s scent, her eyes curving beautifully. Then, she passed the flower back to the little girl, “Will you help me put it in my hair?”

The girl’s eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. She accepted the flower dazedly as the white-haired girl kneeled to make it easier for the child to place the flower in her hair.

“…!” The girl hurriedly wiped her hands on her frock before shyly placing the flower in Leila’s hair.

After it was done, Leila smiled again at the girl, bidding her farewell with another thank you.

However, Leila did not realise that her action had caused others to follow suit.

Before she realised it, an influx of villagers, young and old, crowded her, gifts in hand.

The villagers, as if afraid of tainting the white-haired girl, did not dare to touch her. They simply placed their gifts by Leila’s feet. They clasped their hands as though they were praying, then left afterwards, some thanking her profusely and some asking for her blessings.

“…”

Leila stared speechlessly at the pile of gifts, thinking that the scene seemed a little familiar.

…Eh?

Could these be… offerings?

Airi who was a goddess was naturally very accustomed to receiving offerings, but this was the first time she had ever encountered such a thing in a human body.

It was only a pity that her human-type clones tended to be on the weak side, so being able to use her powers just like in Leila’s case was rare. This was why she was rather surprised.

Leila felt like it would be rude to the villagers if she left the presents on the ground, so she picked them up and stuffed it in Mimi’s hut instead.

Unexpectedly, Leila did not have to toil too much, seeing as there were more than a few people willing to help her out.

“Where are you headed, Miss Saint?” Sofia asked, eyes glittering with adoration and curiosity. Sofia was the wife of one of the injured hunters, Ethan, who had been fully healed thanks to the girl’s powers. She had immediately headed towards the clinic once she heard that Leila had awoken. Then, after seeing the girl struggle with the offerings, she offered to help.

Miss Saint…?

Well, whatever~

Leila smiled at the female beastman, “I’m looking for Mimi. Do you know where she could have gone?”

“Mimi?” Sofia paused, thinking. “If I’m not mistaken, she was summoned by the village chief, to discuss about some things.”

“Miss Saint, if you’d like, I can show you the way to chief’s house!”

“No, I can!”

“No, me—“

The helpers began fighting one another.

Leila’s sweat dropped. It was just about pointing her to the right direction; was there a need to quarrel?

“Leila, I’ll take you there.” Suddenly, Leila was swept into someone’s embrace.

Leila squealed in surprise, she turned to look at the person carrying her, eyes wide.

Sieg returned her gaze with a slight smile, “You’re not in the condition to travel by yourself, so I’ll be carrying you.”

Leila nodded absentmindedly, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

Eeeeh~ Sieg, how cool~

The quarrelling beastmen froze, glaring at the hunter. However, they did not say anything as they knew they couldn’t win against the hunter even if they outnumbered him three-to-one.

Sieg paid no heed to the gawking villagers, and made his way to the chief’s house.

“This was good timing,” Sieg said, starting a casual conversation. “The chief had been wanting to see you, Leila.”

Leila, who was lying comfortably in his arms merely made noncommittal sounds in reply, but the man knew she was listening properly, so he did not feel annoyed.

He continued to talk about minor things like the weather and the recent happenings in the village along the way.

“We’re here,” he said, stopping in front of the house that was positioned in the centre of the village. He knocked on the wooden door, announcing their presence before entering.

“Sieg, Leila! You’re here!” Mimi greeted.

Sieg placed Leila on an empty spot near the female beastman. After she was settled and comfortable, Sieg finally took his seat as well.

Leila glanced around the room.

Along with Mimi, there were four other persons present. One person sat at the farthest end from the entrance, assuming a central position. It was easy to tell that he was most probably the village chief judging by his seating.

A young boy sat by his side, and the other two faced Leila and the rest, sitting on their opposite side. Both of them seemed to be the oldest among the attendees.

“So this is the Saint?” The village chief asked, marvelling at the sight of the young girl. He rubbed his chin as if amazed and intrigued.

Leila met his gaze with a smile, but she inched closer to Sieg, noticing the gleam in the chief’s eyes. Although she was smiling, her eyes clearly said, ‘uwaah~ go away, you pervert!’

The chief faltered slightly, noticing her uncomfortable gait. “Hey, hey hey. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not a pervert. I’m not into little human girls, okay?”

“…” Leila said nothing, but she appeared to relax, returning to her previous position.

“Ehem,” the chief coughed. “I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? I am Greywolf Village’s chief, Rolfe. This here is my son and future chief, Kian, and those two are the village’s most important Elders, Elder Lutz and Elder Emil.”

“How do you do, I am Leila Rosenbell.” Due to her condition, she was unable to make the full formal greeting, so she simply bopped her head slightly.

“A noble, huh…” muttered one of the elders. The beastmen had a little bit of understanding about the human kingdoms’ hierarchy. Judging by the fact that Leila had a last name, they could easily deduce that she was from a noble household, though they were unfamiliar with the names of the noble houses.

“No wonder she had such strong magic.” The other nodded.

“First thing first, I would like to extend my gratitude for saving the lives of my people.” The chief bowed his head deeply towards Leila, expressing his thanks.

“No, it should be me who should be thankful. If not for Mimi and Sieg, I would not have been alive until now. I am also thankful that the villagers have allowed me to intrude for so long, and treated me with kindness.” Leila replied, remembering that some of the villagers had given her some offerings just moments before she went to the chief’s house.

“…”

The girl clearly meant no harm behind her words, but for some reason, the other people felt as if they had been slapped. Especially the two elders, who had participated in the rally in front of the clinic in the previous days.

The chief coughed awkwardly, “I see. Then, please enjoy your stay while you recuperate.”

Leila smiled genuinely at the chief, “thank you.”

While the chief was fairly unaffected by the girl’s lethal Smiling Beam, his son, on the other hand, took a critical hit.

Kian who had been watching silently since the meeting began suddenly blushed to the tip of his ears, and as red as a tomato. He fidgeted nervously, then looked away as if the decorations in the house were the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

Haha, yet another one bites the dust~ as expected, Leila’s smiles are dangerous, hehe.

“Speaking of which, Leila, your healing abilities sure are powerful.” Mimi added, staring at the girl in wonder. “Why didn’t you heal yourself with it?”

Leila smiled wryly at the woman’s question.

The other also looked questioningly at her. Everybody knew that she had been very hurt when Sieg brought her into the village.

“That… it’s because I can’t.” Leila looked down at her palms with a melancholic smile. “Unfortunately, I am immune to my own powers.”

“Funny, isn’t it? I have the power to heal people, yet if I get hurt or fall sick, I can’t use it to heal myself. In the end, I’m such a burden…” Leila added. She remembered her childhood. Her older brother, Frederick, had always needed to look after her since her body had been too weak and frail.

Deep down, she felt rather irritated about her fragility. Though, it could not be helped since her powers were too much to bear for a young human’s body.

Mimi placed a reassuring hand on the white-haired girl’s shoulder. “You’re not a burden! You saved other people’s lives thanks to your power. Don’t worry; if you ever get sick, just leave it to me. I’ll heal you!” Mimi announced, her eyes burning with passion. She felt bad for the poor girl.

Mimi understood the girl’s feelings. After all, she was the only healer in the village. It would be troublesome if the only healer in the village was unable to offer her services. Not only Greywolf Village, but also other villages in their vicinity relied on her abilities to receive medical help. She would also feel bad if she was incapacitated.

That was why, Mimi felt that she needed to take care of the girl.

Sieg also patted Leila’s head, agreeing with Mimi.