The meeting went on.

“Do you intend to return to your home once your injuries heal?”

The atmosphere in the chief’s house changed to seriousness.

The chief had already considered this topic in his mind. Leila who was the strongest healer he had ever seen was truly a treasure he could not bear to part with. However, Leila was a human, and a noble at that. She did not belong among the beastmen.

If news of her broke out, there might be people with bad intentions coming to target the village in order to steal her away, and he was not prepared to take on the risks, especially since it was so close to winter.

But… her gift was truly eye-catching. Some villagers had even started to show signs of worshipping and it would be bad if the girl was suddenly gone. He could not imagine the ruckus it would have caused. Those people might even leave the village to follow her.

“Hm…” Leila continued to stare at her palms, thinking.

If she returned to the mansion, then all her hard work at planting the flag for Julius’ tragic past would become undone. Not only that, she would have had to deal with those vain and selfish idiots who thought that they could use her. It was not like she was stupid, after all. Leila knew that her father had been doing all that he could to prevent Leila’s powers from being discovered by the Church and the state.

Although Leila would not mind it if it happened, but dealing with self-important humans were rather annoying. It would be troublesome if she decided to break character and slaughter the people just because she was annoyed by them, after all.

“Hm… well, for now, I don’t feel like going back~” Leila replied nonchalantly. Although she felt bad for Leila’s family, it could not be helped since she did not want to complicate things. By now, the Rosenbells have probably conducted her funeral or something. She could not find any merit in returning.

“I… I see.” The group suddenly felt like collapsing. The girl was too carefree, they thought.

“W-well, you still need to recuperate, after all. It wouldn’t be good to rush things, lest your wounds may open up.” Mimi laughed awkwardly.

In the beginning, they had thought that the girl would have wanted to go home as soon as possible, but it was clear that she had no intention of doing so. Rather, it looked as if she was on a vacation.

“Well, I don’t mind staying here, since Mimi and Sieg are here as well, though~ I wonder if it’s fine for me to stay in the village even after I heal, Mr. Chief?” Leila flashed an expectant smile at the chief.

“…As the village chief, honestly, I would be rather grateful to have someone with your talent becoming one of our residents. But… even if I allow it, there might be some problems rising from other sides.”

“Ah… so I can’t?” Leila’s brows furrowed as she pouted, looking like a sad puppy. She turned to look at the two Elders who were usually the spokesperson for the masses with begging eyes.

“…Rest reassured, Saint. I’m sure the villagers will welcome you with open arms.” Elder Lutz said, caving in to her helpless look.

“Leila, are you sure you don’t want to go home? Your family…” Sieg looked at her, worry flashing in his gaze. Although he was rather happy that she decided to stay in their village, he was afraid that she might come to regret her decision. After all, since she was a noble, she was probably more used to luxuries that was unavailable in the village. She also had a family from where she came from, and perhaps even a lover or a fiancé.

Leila, seeing his worried look, smiled in return. “It’s fine~ one less girl in high society would not affect things too much,” she said. “Besides, I am the second of four children. Even without me, there are still other children my family can dote on. I am neither the heir nor the only daughter, so even if I’m gone, they will be fine.”

Though Leila was smiling brightly as she said her piece, everybody else in the room perceived her smile as a depressed smile, unanimously thinking that she was merely keeping up a brave front.

“Leila…” Mimi felt her heart squeezing due to the girl’s words. “Leila, don’t worry. You can stay with me for as long as you like.”

“Thank you, Mimi!” Leila beamed.

“You can count on me as well, Leila. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask for my help,” said Sieg. He stared at Leila with a frank gaze, as if afraid to lose against Mimi.

“How sweet, Sieg~” Mimi teased, smirking lightly. After interacting with the two for some time, she had already noticed that Sieg did, in fact, had feelings for the white-haired girl. Although their races were different, Mimi had already resolved herself to support the two now that Leila had decided to stick around.

Sieg glared at Mimi, frowning.

After talking about things for a little while longer, the seven finally dispersed.