The Forest of Thorns wasn't that huge, to begin with, and the road Azra and Lo walked on went through an outcropping that was even smaller. With Lo, who was anxious about his mother's scolding, chattering to distract himself, the time passed quickly, even if they walked slowly to accommodate the weak and tired Azra.
Azra was happy that Lo talked when he was nervous since it meant he could relax and rest his mind before meeting the villagers.
Lo had already talked a lot about himself, but he mentioned a few details regarding his family and the village that Azra made sure to remember.
Eventually, the trees thinned, and the edge of the forest came within view. After the two left the forest, they saw the village in the distance.
Azra noticed how Lo's energy dipped when they saw the village. He chalked it up to the mounting dread of enduring his mother's scolding, but he didn't rule out the option that it might be something else, either. Azra had managed to figure out that Lo was around the second level. But the natural recovery he had displayed was above what a second level mage would have unless their inclination improved their regeneration.
Although Lo was in Azra's debt and considered him his benefactor, Azra wanted to make sure he knew what the people around him were capable of and what their abilities were. Knowing that Lo's inclination improved his regeneration and possibly his stamina while in the forest might seem like unnecessary information at first glance, but it could help Azra make educated decisions regarding conflicts in the future.
Azra realized he was getting a little paranoid and pedantic, but he didn't want to take any risks regarding his future.
Lo talked less and less the closer they got to the village, and when they were a dozen meters away, he started walking behind Azra as if Azra would shield him from his mother.
However, Lo's attempts to hide behind Azra were futile, and shortly after they entered the village, they saw a middle-aged lady come running from the other side of the village.
"Lo! Where have you been?! Do you even know what the time-
"Oh, my cows! What happened to you?!"
When Lo's mother got close enough, she saw Lo's torn and bloody shirt and naturally started inspecting him to see how badly injured he was. Lo grabbed her arms and made her look into his eyes.
"Mom! Mom, I'm fine. I found Arlo, but he wasn't too keen on coming back home, as you can see." Lo said it with a sheepish grin before continuing.
"It looks worse than it was since I'm sure Arlo recognized me, but I still found it difficult to move. I decided to rest in the forest until I felt okay enough to move, but I met this wandering traveler who helped me recover."
Lo told a little lie about how serious his injury had been to ease his mother's worries, which she believed. Unfortunately, since she didn't have to worry about Lo's injury, it only meant she could lay into him with a proper scolding.
However, she still understood that it wasn't the greatest moment to scold her son when her son's helper was idly waiting. She stopped scolding Lo and was about to ask Azra if he wanted to come with them to their home when a young girl came running from the same direction as Lo's mother.
Azra guessed it was Lo's four years old little sister, Melly.
"Lo! You missed dinn-"
Melly's sentence was cut short as she fell only a meter before she arrived in front of Lo and his mother. Lo and his mother was busy hiding his bloody stomach and shirt from Melly, so they weren't prepared for her fall. Azra stood a little to the side, so even if he reacted quickly enough, he wouldn't have made it.
However, Azra saw an opportunity as he noticed Melly begin tearing up due to the scrapes on her palms.
Azra pulled down the hood that he had pulled up just for a moment as this. He hoped the dramatic effect of revealing his face would make it easier for people to fall for his beauty and trust him. While pulling down his hood, he also began talking,
"Do you mind if I take a look at that?"
Lo's mother, Mirabelle, instinctively turned to look at the source of the sweet and gentle voice, and the beauty that faced her daughter stunned her into silence. Otherwise, she would have stopped Azra from approaching her daughter. Not because Mirabelle had anything against Azra personally. Melly was just terribly shy and afraid of strangers.
However, Mirabelle wasn't the only one stunned by Azra. Azra's gentle voice, beautiful face, and soft smile had charmed Melly as well.
Melly was no longer about to cry, and she answered Azra's question by reaching out her hand.
Azra dialed up the smile a little as if he was happy at being given a chance to look at Melly's hand. Azra crouched down and grabbed Melly's hands with his own.
Azra saw Melly flinch when he made contact with her, but he said in a voice even softer than before,
"Don't worry. I only want to help you."
He made sure to add just a pinch of hurt to his voice to try and make Melly feel guilty for flinching when he only wanted to help her. Azra didn't know if it worked, but it didn't matter since he had already started spreading his divine power to Melly's hands with the intention to heal them.
The golden light wasn't enough to light up the night, but it reflected in Azra's eyes and hair more so than it did in Melly's. The appearance of Azra kneeling to heal a small child, with golden light spreading from his hands, did wonders to Lo's belief in him. Azra was sure that Mirabelle would also open up to the idea of unconsciously believing in him soon enough.
Melly gaped starry-eyed at Azra by the time he finished. She had only felt a warm sensation fill her palms for a few minutes before the scrapes she had inflicted on herself showed no signs of ever having existed. She had also gotten a direct look at Azra's face and golden-tinged eyes up close.
Even after the golden light disappeared and Azra's hair and eyes returned to their fully brown color, Melly could still see his radiant appearance.
Lo was the only one who managed to somewhat keep his calm. He had practically gotten used to Azra's appearance, but it was the first time he saw him use magic, and he wasn't prepared for how saintly Azra actually looked when he performed his magic.
However, Lo was still the one who regained his bearings first. Before Azra could feel awkward standing around being gawked at by a mother and her children, Lo spoke up.
"What are you waiting for, Melly? How about saying thanks?"
Lo's words stirred both Mirabelle and Melly, and Melly regained her shyness as she rushed behind her mother's legs. Lo was about to reprimand her when she peeked out from the side with one eye and mumbled,
"...thank you…"
Melly looked at the ground while she said it, and Azra barely caught what she said, but he still smiled as if a small child's gratitude was the greatest gift he could receive.
Azra turned to look at Mirabelle.
"I have only just met Lo, but he has told me much about you in that short time. It is an honor to meet you, miss."
It was shameless flattery calling a middle-aged woman with several kids 'miss.' But Azra was sure that him healing Melly, combined with his face and smile, free from desires, would make Mirabelle swallow the compliment in its entirety. And based on her response, Azra was right.
"'Miss'? Surely you jest. But it is a pleasure meeting you." Mirabelle waved away Azra's compliment, but she tried and failed to hide the smile creeping up her lips, so Azra knew he had been successful in establishing a friendly relationship with most of Lo's family.
"You've helped both my son and daughter. How about staying at our house while you're here? And before you refuse, we have several spare rooms at the moment and too few mouths for all our food. You don't have to worry about a thing."
Azra looked like he had been on the verge of trying to come up with an excuse, so Mirabelle quickly made sure he wouldn't be able to. Azra's hesitating expression turned into a gentle smile once again as he answered,
"If you insist."