*****

「That should do it. I've healed your injury, but lost vitality is outside the scope of treatment. Please eat properly, get nutrition, and rest.」

I spoke to the last patient after using Light Magic to treat all those seeking help at the church. Although today was another full house, it seemed I had finally reached a lull. However, the patient, an old man living in Zacardia Village, looked downcast.

「Is something wrong?」

「I appreciate the treatment, but you say 'get nutrition' so easily, little girl. How exactly are we supposed to get nutrition in this village?」

Indeed.

The village was overflowing with injured and sick people, and only a few could move properly. Having arrived in this village a few days ago, I treated every patient who had spilled out of the church I was taken to. It was good that they were completely healed, but everyone gave me the same response to my words. Which is to say, how are they supposed to strive for recovery?

I hadn't had time to spare for anything other than treatment over the last few days, but now that all the overflowing patients were treated, I would only need to treat the injured and sick who appeared day by day, which would free up some time.

Using that spare time to look around the village and the surrounding area, I realized: this village truly has nothing.

First, self-sufficiency is impossible. I don't know if the proximity to the Demonic Realm is a factor, but the soil is simply too barren. No crops could possibly be grown properly in that kind of soil.

That leaves buying from a market or peddlers, or getting supplies from a nearby village, but everything requires money. That is, sadly, a universal rule. Sometimes bartering is possible, but they don't have any 'things' to exchange. A proper meal is a dream within a dream.

By the way, I am currently energetic because I'm eating the meals Nonnalie prepares, fearing I might collapse. But conversely, I feel guilty about it.

「I provide aid like this sometimes, but I can't do it constantly, you know. Ultimately, unless they can manage on their own, the village has no future,」 Nonnalie had said. She said this with a truly bitter expression, leading me to imagine she must be giving back the money she earned from doing bad things to her hometown.

Doing bad things is wrong, and I still don't intend to forgive her for kidnapping Arthur. But it's a fact that such work yields better returns, and she probably won't quit anytime soon.

However, if the reason she resorts to crime lies in the current state of Zacardia, perhaps she would quit if the situation could be improved?

「For a while, there will be communal meals prepared by Ms. Nonnalie. They are very nutritious, so please eat that and rest.」

「I'll do that. Thanks, little girl.」 The man said that and waved his hand as he left the church.

I sighed in relief and looked around the church. When I first arrived, people were lying everywhere, but now there is not a single person like that. I treated every last one of them. As expected, the number was too great to finish in one day at first, but I managed to deal with it within a few days.

And now, the church is functioning as it was intended: a place where God resides. People praying for salvation. And then.

「Hey, hey, Melissa, if you're done with the treatment, let's play!」

「Yipe?!」

Suddenly, my gathered blonde hair was yanked back, making me involuntarily reel. I heard a gukki. My neck went gukki! Ouch!

「Stop that, Zen, don't pull my hair!」

「But it's just right for pulling!」

「It is not! If you do that again, I'll spank your bottom!」

「Ugh, anti-violence~!」

Zen, who will soon turn eight, is one of the few children in this village. Few people choose to have children in a poor village. Yet, life is still born. The church has become a playground for such children.

「Hey, hey, Melissa, I'm hungry~.」

「Ah, yes, it's almost time for the communal meal. Shall we go get some?」

「I wonder if there's any bread today?」

「I heard there's white bread today.」

「White bread!? I love it, yay!」

Apart from Zen, younger children gathered around me, smiling happily. Hehe, they're so cute.

Though the children are full of smiles now, initially, not a single child smiled. The adults were the same. Everyone wore expressions like the dead. That is how dire the situation of this village was.

The village has become slightly revitalized thanks to my treatment and Nonnalie's communal meals and material aid. When adults become energetic, smiles naturally return to the children. When children smile, adults smile too.

The reality confronting me, that this is not as self-evident as it seems, tightened my chest.

(If I were to leave this village...)

Nonnalie said she wouldn't let me go home. But I'm sure Lord Cloud will find me. And Arthur. My nephew, that cute child who is like a son or a little brother to me.

While I care for the villagers and the children, I still have a place I want to return to. The more I interact with the village children, the stronger that feeling becomes.

But what will happen to this village if I leave? And what will happen to my husband and nephew if I don't return?

I can't choose either. All I can do about this is tightly clench my fists.