That long pause is long enough for a terrible awkwardness to set in, regret at saying anything and fear of being judged. She forces her hands down to cling her fingers tightly together, to keep herself from playing with her hair or otherwise moving in ways that might be taken as coquettish. By the time the wizard does answer, with a question, a cold sweat is plaguing Joanna.

"I don't, uh, disagree. You're not wrong, most people... wouldn't thank you," she agrees, and swallows. "But... You probably saved my life, even if it was a little... indirectly."

Joanna stares at the wizard's hat rather than her face, and talks with a tone like she's reciting what others have told her. "We haven't had war, the same way, as we did before you came. The large nations just don't bother, not with outright war, when they can't hold their stolen territory. Where I grew up... it was a border, within frontlines, and we lost... so many. We would have lost more, when another war started. And... it would have started, sooner or later."