"This is Greenvale. It's not quite a city, but it's still a pretty big town. There's a lot of people here, and it's always bustling." Elara smiles as she gestures at the shops and stalls along the streets. "I used to come here a lot, but I haven't been back in years."
"Oh, I've never been here before. This is exciting!" Meera's eyes sparkle as she takes in the sights. "Miss Meowkins, are you impressed?"
The cat, for her part, yawns and curls up in her basket.
Apparently riding on her head while on horseback is fine, but in a busy marketplace, the cat needs to be in a basket.
...Or perhaps she'd simply collected it and the cat claimed the basket on her own.
I don't know. One moment she didn't have the basket, and the next time I saw her, she had the basket.
Kael arches an eyebrow. "It's nice."
Arin nods. "It's a beautiful town."
I look around and see...
Not a beautiful town.
It's fine. It's got all the necessary amenities and shops.
But it's not exactly the kind of place I'd go sightseeing.
It's just a town. I'm not sure what I'd personally call 'beautiful', but I am sure it's not a simple town like this.
"Master, that's rude. Even if the town isn't to your taste, it's a lively and vibrant place."
How is it rude to think something?!
I didn't authorize some 'system helper' to eavesdrop on my thoughts, so I have no reason to regulate them!
"Master! You're so cold."
Shut up.
"Rude!"
I glare at the sky.
I can't glare at myself, or. Inward. And if I don't glare at the sky, someone will think I'm glaring at them, probably. That's the kind of luck I have in this world.
The sky makes as much sense as anything else.
"You can tell it's gonna rain too~?" Meera chirps in a...wobbly voice.
The wobbling is because she's trying to balance one foot on a bucket. So that she can reach a piece of cloth hanging over a merchant stall.
Before I can...
Fully process and respond to what she said, or what I'm seeing, the inevitable happens.
Meera topples over.
Her foot slips off the bucket and she crashes to the ground.
If she ever manages not to be a clumsy catastrophe, I might question if she's really Meera.
The cloth rips, and the bucket goes flying.
The merchant shouts.
A passing guard turns and stares.
And a group of children who had been playing on the side of the street scatter.
...At least we're not attempting to be low profile.
Meera is as undeterred as ever. She rubs her head and sits up with a groan.
"My merchandise, you ruined-"
"Oh!" Meera waves her hands. "I can fix that up~"
--Isn't she mostly just a diviner?
She can't possibly fix up anything-
The merchant looks surprised. "You can...?"
"Of course! I know a few simple tricks, you know~!" Meera laughs, and a glowing light envelopes her hands.
She waves them over the cloth, and it begins to knit back together.
"She's right, it is a simple trick." System Helper chirps, unbidden, in my head. "Simple things like clothing repair can be done with basic magical understanding."
...Then why didn't anyone fix my clothes in the elf village?
"Oh, Master, they gave you even better clothes!!"
I definitely didn't ask for those!
"I'm sorry, Master. It would have been harder anyway. Yours weren't just torn, they were destroyed by a curse."
...I suppose that's true.
But I don't like that I'm only learning this was a possibility at all now.
"But Master, you don't like it when I tell you-"
Stop talking.
The merchant stares at Meera in awe, and a crowd begins to gather.
"Wow, a magic user! Can she do more?"
"W-well! I'm very good at seeing the future!" Meera stands up, waving her hands. "I'm the very best."
If she's the very best, then why is she so clumsy?
Surely she'd have known standing on that bucket would lead to calamity if she were so good at seeing the future?
"Master, you don't know how futures work. Sometimes they're unpredictable and require action to change."
...Like not standing on a damn bucket?
System Helper does not answer me.
As the people on the street begin to circle in around Meera a little too enthusiastically - she's now talking about how she can find true love - I sigh and walk over to her, grabbing her arm.
"Come on."
"Ehh? Where are we going?"
"Just come with me."
"Waaigh - hey wait-"
"Your cat's gonna get more pissed than usual if you let her get overstimulated with all these people."
It's true. The cat has a clear dislike of crowds, and even if the basket is a bit of a comfort, there's only so much it can do.
...And I can't help but think if that cat bolts, we'll be stuck on an hours long side quest trying to hunt it down.
I absolutely do not want to do any such quest.
"Oooh, yeah, Miss Meowkins can be a bit sensitive. Okay, let's go somewhere else for a while~"
Good.
It's a relief she didn't fight me.
But if she can see the future she shouldn't have needed my intervention.
I sigh and glance at the sky.
...It's going to rain.
The clouds are already darker now than they were when I was looking a minute ago. Even someone as unskilled as I am can tell.
"We need to get inside before it starts raining."
If the cat gets wet she might bolt anyway.
I'd rather not risk it.
"Yeah, that's true! Miss Meowkins would probably have a fit. Let's find an inn and get out of the weather."
Fortunately, although the others have drifted some, they're still close enough to regroup with quickly.
"Is it gonna rain?" Kael asks, squinting up at the sky.
"Yeah, probably. Let's find an inn and wait it out."
He nods. "Good plan."
Arin glances up at the sky, and then shrugs. "Alright. We can finish shopping once it dries up. Wouldn't want little Miss Meowkins to get wet."
I can't help but make a face.
...I am still not calling that cat by that name.
It's ridiculous.