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Part I Chapter 3 - Found

***Lynett***

Dragons, elves, beastmen, magic...

That's right. What's a talking cat when you already have all these? It's a fantasy world after all. Nothing to be surprised about.

Nonetheless, I still couldn't fall asleep after that.

A talking cat? Fine. An abused talking cat? Still fine. But an abused talking cat murmuring "Found you" before disappearing? Not ok. Seriously, what was that supposed to mean? That would imply that he was looking for me in the first place, right? Why? I don't know you Mister cat. Besides, what was the point in finding me if you disappear right after that? It only makes me even more confused....

Wait... It's not... one of those creatures that have the ability to detect one's inner power or something like that, right? Or maybe it was the familiar of some insanely strong mage? Because if that's the case, I hope you never come back and leave me alone.

...

...

It really didn't come back. A few weeks passed since my birthday party. I had expected the cat that showed up that night to reappear any time but it just sank without trace, just like if everything I saw was just a dream –maybe it was, it was late in the night after all.

Since it didn't show again, I concluded that it was just a random talking cat and eventually forgot about it. Big mistake. I shouldn't have let him get away...

◊◊◊◊◊

The next months passed smoothly and there were a few changes in my baby life.

First, I can finally walk. It's been a while since I had my first steps, but now I finally developed enough coordination and muscle strength to walk by my own. I also tried to run, but I failed miserably. I guess even a Goddess can't skip steps. Walking allowed me to go outside more often but paradoxically, I feel like I've regressed since I'm never left alone anymore. Now that I can walk, there is always one or two pair of eyes to watch over me.

The second change is mother. I think she's finally starting to feel at ease in the neighborhood. She's still very secretive and a bit paranoid, but at least, she started opening herself to the others. She is now the mascot number 2. Since they had the occasion to see her face through the gap of her robe more than once, now people knew her as the "beautiful woman with a hood" and there has been some pretty hilarious rumors going on about her. Some say that she's a runaway princess while others think that she's wearing a hood to hide a wound or a scar. My favorite is the rumor saying she's a criminal hiding herself from the authorities. But in all cases, she became people's favorite gossip talk.

Currently, I'm in the market place together with mother, brother, Leonara and her son Viran. We were strolling through the street making friendly conversations with the sellers and looking for ingredients for tonight's lunch.

Leonara was a kind lady. She was an honest person and she treated me like her own daughter. She has been trying to get closer to mother ever since she started working at the inn. Mother tried not to get too friendly with Leonara but since she was the owner's wife, she couldn't really avoid her. Eventually, they became friends thanks to Leonara's perseverance –but the fact that Viran and Aoban are getting along so well helped a lot too.

As we were approaching a shop, an old man selling crops noticed our little group and smiled at us.

"Good afternoon, ladies. What can I do for you today?"

"Good afternoon, Mr Oddin." Leonara replied. "Can I have two bags of potatoes, please?"

"Of course, right away!" The vendor filled two small bags of potatoes before weighting them on a balance scale. At the same time, his eyes rested on me, who was currently in my mother's arm.