The news about the Greyrat house catching fire spread quickly throughout Buena Village.
As the lord, Paul had always been responsible and did his duty to Buena Village. Although his attitude was quite frivolous and he didn't have the steady and serious manner expected of a knight lord, this actually brought him closer to the villagers, and they all respected him as their lord.
So, when they found out that the Greyrat family's house was on fire, the villagers all sprang into action. They grabbed buckets and went to the river to get water to help put out the fire.
Sylphy's Dad, Laws, when he heard about the Greyrat house fire, even abandoned his lookout duty at his tower and rushed to help right away.
After a whole day of effort by the villagers of Buena Village, as night fell and the moon rose in the sky, the fire was finally put out.
However, even so, the Greyrat family's house had been completely reduced to a pile of burning remains.
Most of the house was charred and blackened, with only some of the remaining framework standing to show that this was once the home of the Greyrat family.
"Thank you all for your help."
As the only adult from the Greyrat family present, Lilia was constantly helping with talking to the villagers.
Whether it was fighting the fire or taking care of the two children, Shirou and Rudeus, she was personally involved, fulfilling her duties as a maid completely, and even going above and beyond.
Afterward, since the Greyrat mansion had turned into a pile of ashes, Lilia asked if the villagers could take them in, and they agreed right away.
However, Buena Village didn't have any spare houses, so they had to stay at someone's house to be taken care of.
"Why don't you come to my house? After my husband died, I have some extra rooms."
Mrs. Somar spoke up first.
She had been helping with the Greyrat house fire from the start, and had been taking care of the seriously injured Shirou. Now she was even offering to take care of both of them, which Lilia appreciated a lot.
But because of that, Lilia felt that she couldn't burden Mrs. Somar any further, so she quickly shook her head and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but young master Shirou is seriously injured right now, and young master Rudeus is still quite young. It would be a huge burden on your family. You don't have a husband and you have a child, so your life must already be difficult enough. Please allow me to refuse."
"It's... it's not a burden..."
Mrs. Somar seemed unwilling to give up, and still wanted to say something.
Just then, Laws walked out from the side and said calmly, "Lilia, why don't you let Shirou and Rudeus stay at my house?"
"Mr. Laws?"
As the only half-elf hunter in Buena Village, Laws had a very strong presence. He was honest and kind, and highly respected, so the villagers respected him a lot.
Hearing Laws say this, Lilia was touched, but she hesitated and said, "But Mr. Laws, you're busy with work, and I heard that you also have a three-year-old child..."
"Don't worry, Sylphy is a very well-behaved child, and my wife doesn't have much to do lately. She can take care of them completely."
"Well... alright then."
Lilia agreed to Laws' offer.
As the Greyrat family's maid, she had to take good care of Shirou and Rudeus as much as possible until the owners, Paul and Zenith, returned.
Therefore, she had to make the right decision as much as possible.
Lilia quickly found Rudeus and Shirou.
Shirou had been given simple bandages by the villagers who knew about healing, but the burns and the direct impact had left him unconscious until now.
Rudeus had been taking care of him since the beginning, and he was now so tired that he had fallen asleep.
The two brothers' somewhat strained relationship had unknowingly become like that of real brothers.
"Young master Rudeus, please wake up."
Lilia woke up Rudeus.
Rudeus opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a giant full moon. The moonlight, exactly the same as in his previous life, gave him the illusion that he had returned to the past, and he showed a look of fear.
But soon, the familiar maid and Shirou lying on the ground made him realize that it was not a dream, and he breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.
However, the confusing dream had made him feel instinctively uneasy.
After all, he was now outside the house, stepping out for the first time in many years.
His older brother Shirou was so badly injured for this purpose, but he still had some fear in his heart, and his body still couldn't get used to the feeling.
His body still remembered what happened back then, remembered being beaten up by those bad kids, and being laughed at by the whole school, and the great damage to his heart. It remembered being driven to the point of desperation, and only being able to stay at home and not go out.
"What's wrong?"
Lilia noticed Rudeus' strange attitude and couldn't help but ask.
"No, it's just... won't everyone blame me..."
"Don't worry, young master Rudeus, you're just a child. Children have the right to make mistakes, and... anyway, don't worry, everyone will definitely not blame you."
Lilia's words had a slight pause.
It seemed to be something that even surprised her herself.
Rudeus couldn't understand what Lilia had realized, and before he could ask, many villagers suddenly surrounded them from a distance.
"..."
Rudeus trembled.
After coming to this world, it was the first time he had been surrounded by so many people.
Or rather, since he had stopped going to school in his previous life and stayed at home all day, it was the first time he had seen so many people appear all at once.
A large number of humans appeared in front of him.
For Rudeus, this only symbolized one thing, which was the scene of him being bullied, stripped naked, and tied to the school gate, and the entire high school watching his shameful appearance.
A lot of fear arose in his heart.
Although Rudeus kept telling himself that everything was different now, his body couldn't help but tremble.
Especially when the villagers cast their impolite gazes at him, especially those impolite and condescending eyes.
Rudeus instinctively became afraid.
Are they here to blame me?
Did I cause this fire?
Did I destroy this house...
Having made such a big mistake, it would be natural to be blamed.
Rudeus lowered his head, feeling like everyone was pointing fingers at him at this moment, and everyone was looking down on and mocking him.
His heart was filled with this thought.
However, he soon realized that his thoughts were wrong.
Because he soon realized that the villagers were not looking at him. Although people's eyes were turned in his direction, they were not looking at him, but at Shirou lying on the ground.
People's eyes were filled with kindness, sympathy, warmth, and even a hint of respect towards him.
Every single thing Shirou had done in the village in the past six months, every bit of kindness he had given, and every connection he had made with others, all brought value at this moment.
The villagers had great respect and love for this child who usually helped others wholeheartedly, and this was why so many people put down work and rushed to help the Greyrat family put out the fire.