Sammy is stomping through the streets as she storms out the guildhall, dragging me just behind toward some back alley on the eastern side of town. I try to get in a word, to ask what has her so upset, but every time I speak up, I`m greeted with gruff growling and daggers in her eyes. I sigh and shake my head - I have no idea what`s going on and I`m going to get yelled at no matter what I say or do to defend myself, so I choose the path of least resistance - resignation.

　　She pulls me into a back alley - quiet save for the scurrying of rats and other pests, filled with the stench of rotting meat and moldy cheese. I regret my choice of lunch and feel its taste coming up for a second time, but use every ounce of willpower to suppress my nausea-induced cravings.

　　She turns to me, face red with pure rage, and I take a step back. It`s a terrible mistake, and I know it even before she reacts. She steps forward, her Ruby Wand pointed directly at me, mana swirling about, and I lower my head, accepting whatever fate Sammy has in store for me.

　　"Do you know why I`m angry with you, Ash?" she asks. Her tone is uncanny. Completely neutral, and yet the subtext of biting rage seeps through every movement of her lips and tongue as she approaches.

　　"I don`t." Probably my last words of my second life. Hopefully I`ll get more triumphant ones the third time around.

　　"Ugh, you are hopeless, Ash! So let me spell it out in a way that even your hardheadedness can understand. I am pissed that as soon as we get to the guildhall, the first thing you do is start making eyes with the first woman you see. And even after she leaves, that`s all you can talk about. You talk to me about her, then you go and talk to the receptionist about her after she`s long gone. I get it, you`re attracted to her, you want to find out more about her, maybe ask her out on a date. If she`s your type, that`s fine." She takes a deep breath. "But could you maybe have the decency not to fawn over her like a lovesick puppy?"

　　Wait, she`s mad because she thinks I like this woman? Does she think that just because I`m a lesbian means I`m just going to go chasing after every pretty girl I come into contact with? It`s not that I like this woman. It`s that she scares the everloving shit out of me! Though, she`s not the one I need to be afraid of right now.

　　I lower my head in defeat. "I`m sorry, Sammy. There was something about her that& really bothered me. Something relating to my past, that I can`t talk about."

　　Sammy crosses her arms and glares at me; as much as I`ve shrunk from her verbal berating, she stares daggers down at me despite my being three inches taller than her.

　　"You know what? Fine. Keep your secrets, Ash. See if I care! Because I know that one day, you`re going to tell me everything I want to know. Now then, I believe we need to see a young girl about a missing cat? Lead the way, O` Prescient One!"

　　I shudder from the dripping sarcasm dripping out of every syllable but manage to compose myself enough to lead the way toward the girl`s house. In truth, I have no idea about this town`s addressing system, but my knowledge of the game allows me to quickly locate the house - a small one not too far from the mines, with a bright red roof. Checking the address - 3158 - confirms we`re at the right place.

　　I knock on the door, my being filled with anxiety - no matter how much external validation I have that this is the right address, actually being here, pressing my own knuckles against the mortar and drywall door fills me with a sickening nausea. Suffice it to say I didn`t initiate many dates back in my time on Earth.

　　The door opens and a middle-age woman answers. Petite, short black hair, wearing an unremarkable outfit of simple, neutral-colored cloth and a pair of plain sandals. Most remarkable are the large ears reminiscent of cats standing atop her head as she smiles and greets us.

　　"Greetings, Miss," I say. "My partner and I are from the adventurer`s guild and we`re here to inquire about a request?"

　　"Oh, that request is from my daughter." She turns to the back. "Aleena, can you come here please?"

　　The woman turns back to us. "Aleena will be out in just a moment. And I want to thank the two of you for taking the time to help with my daughter`s request. As you can imagine, the two of us don`t have a lot of money to hire anyone for this task, so I must admit it`s a nice surprise that someone was willing to help us out of the goodness of their hearts."

　　I lower my head slightly. The goodness of my heart? No, this is pure self-interest, but as long as everyone`s interests align, there`s room for mutual benefit. Still, her gentle smile is warming, though I dare not stare long as I notice Sammy eyeing me out of the corner of my eyes.

　　"Mommy? What is it?" A young girl, probably about eight, with the same black hair and simple robes as her mother peers out from below. She sees us and darts behind her mother, though one of her ears peeks out from behind.

　　"Aleena, these two nice ladies are here to help you find Mr. Fluff. There`s no need to be shy, go say hello!"

　　At once, Aleena`s eyes and smile light up as she rushes out toward me. Her tail, which I didn`t notice before, is happily flicking back and forth behind her as she eyes us expectantly. I`m not really sure what to say - I`m no good with kids, but Sammy is ahead of me as she drops down to Aleena`s level.

　　"Well, hello there. Your mother said your name was Aleena?"

　　A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

　　Aleena nods.

　　"Well, Aleena, I hope we have a lot of fun today. My name is Sammy, and my friend here is Ash. We`re going to help you find Mr. Fluff, so if you can show us what he looks like and where you last saw him, that will help us find him, alright?"

　　"Okay, you three," Aleena`s mother chimes in. "Make sure Aleena is back before it gets dark outside!"

　　I nod as she closes the door and Aleena leads us back into the main part of town. It`s now mid-afternoon, judging by the sun`s position in the sky. About three hours until dusk, maybe more if the sun decides to conveniently hang high in the sky a bit longer. It`s not like it`s possible to fail this mission in the game due to time - there was no day/night cycle in LSO other than scripted cutscene changes.

　　"Can you tell us what Mr. Fluff looks like?" Sammy asks.

　　"Well, he`s a cat! He`s big and gray. And he`s super fluffy." Aleena draws out the word super` for emphasis. "But then last week, he just left over dinner and now I can`t find him! I just want him to come back home with me." Aleena`s eyes drop and she rubs them.

　　"We`ll help you find him," Sammy says. "Is there a place where he likes to go?"

　　"Um, well, there`s a small park where he likes to go sometimes. But he`s always back after dinner until his last week. I`m scared, Sammy!"

　　"We`ll find him," I say. He`s inside the park behind some bushes on the south side of town, but I decide to play along with their search for the time being. It`s one thing that Sammy suspects something - as irritated as she was with me earlier, I can trust her not to share her suspicions with others. But Aleena`s a kid, and kids love telling everyone everything. It`s a bit of a detour and I do want to rest up and ease the pain of these injuries, but we won`t be leaving until tomorrow anyway.

　　Aleena frantically calls out to Mr. Fluff running around, looking behind various branches and bushes. She spots a tree and, with feline celerity, claws her way up to the top faster than I can stop her. She leaps through branches, calling out to her pet with a carefree nonchalance up until the point where she looks down.

　　Aleena shudders, though I can`t help but smile at the situation. No matter the world, cats seem to make a habit of climbing up trees with reckless abandon, then find themselves trapped in the canopy, unable to get down. Confident in my strength despite my injuries, I call out to Aleena with arms outstretched, letting her know that I`ll catch her.

　　It takes a moment to convince her, but with a single leap, she barrels toward me. I brace for impact, half-expecting to be knocked to the ground, but barely notice anything beyond my status screen showing me that I`ve taken 2 HP worth of damage as she curls up around me and pokes me with her claws. Huh& I guess I really am sturdy now.

　　"Alright, Aleena, you can let go," I say. "You`re back on the ground, safe and sound."

　　"Aww, Ashie, do I have to?"

　　She stares at me with a pleading face. I`m not sure how to feel about the nickname Ashie`. A little cutesy for my taste, but at least it`s better than being Lee`. And her face is so disarming that I have no choice but to relent to her protestations.

　　"Come on," I say. But it`s a useless plea. She`s now wrapped up a little too tightly around my breasts for my comfort, and I worry what she might do to them - or me - but Sammy proves her angelic merits as she takes Aleena into her arms and we stroll off to another portion of the park.

　　"Ashie`s just had a long day and she`s tired," she says. "But you can sit in my arms if you want."

　　Aleena curls up and closes her eyes as we continue our search for the better part of an hour before I make a suggestion to check a pair of bushes. They radically stand out to me - a faint golden aura radiates out from them - but seem to draw no undue attention from the other townsfolk. I`m a bit confused by it all. Is this an element of the world`s system, my prior knowledge of the world subconsciously imprinting itself onto my retinae? Or is some other factor at play which gives me an extra element of perception?

　　I jog on ahead, with Sammy trailing me a bit slower, holding on to Aleena`s half asleep figure. As I peer through the bushes, I see two cats. One gray, a bit larger, standing around, and one with stripes reminiscent of tigers, grays interspersed with orange and white and black throughout. And below them, I spot a trio of small kittens, mewling weakly as they suckle onto the striped one - no doubt a recently birthed litter.

　　"Aleena," I say quietly. "I think I found him."

　　"You did, Ashie?" Aleena leaps out of Sammy`s arms in a lightning blur and rushes through the bushes, standing right before me.

　　"Kitty!" Aleena squeals, throwing me back from the pitch and volume alike. As I slowly come back to my senses with Sammy`s aid, I`m greeted to the sight of Aleena holding Mr. Fluff and gently stroking his belly. He purrs contentedly, and it`s truly a touching sight as their tails flap back and forth in perfect sync.

　　"Can we keep the kitties? They`re so cute!" Aleena asks.

　　Sammy walks up and kneels down next to Aleena. "We`ll have to ask your mother about that. But for now, it`s getting late and we need to get going. Let`s leave Mr. Fluff here for right now - I`m sure he needs to be helping to look after the new kittens. Alright?"

　　"Okay."

　　The sky seems to have dimmed noticeably in the past five minutes as we leave the park and head back to Aleena`s place. The sun now encroaches upon the western horizon, its glare making it a bit hard to see until the peaks of Mt. Minestrone begin to occlude the harsh rays. The air grows a bit cooler and the wind picks up, the breeze filling me with a second burst of energy, one lacking the ominous vibe of the woman from earlier. Still, I can`t shake her fully from my mind, as much as I tell myself that I`ll try to deal with that problem if and when it becomes a problem.

　　Aleena runs up and knocks on the door, crying out, "Mommy, Mommy!" as she approaches. It isn`t long before the door opens up and she rushes in and hugs her mother.

　　"Mommy, Mr. Fluff has kitties!"

　　"He has kitties?"

　　"Yeah, me and Sammy and Ashie found Mr. Fluff in the park and there was another cat there with him and they had three little kitties! They were so cute and I wanna keep them!"

　　"Well, we`ll have to see about that. For now, why don`t you go take a bath? It`s almost dinner time and you`re starting to smell."

　　"But Mommy!"

　　"No cookies after dinner if you don`t take a bath now, Aleena, dear!"

　　"Okay, fine!" Aleena lowers her head as she marches into the bath.

　　"Well," Aleena`s mother says, turning to us. "Thank you once again. Not only for finding Aleena`s cat, but for taking care of her this afternoon. Do you think the two of you can come by again sometime?"

　　I turn to Sammy and sigh. "The two of us are getting ready to leave tomorrow morning to go on a long trip. I don`t know if we`ll have a chance to come back to Rigatoni anytime soon, but, if our adventures bring us back here, then sure." Sammy gives a nod of approval.

　　"Ah, I see. And, before you leave, here`s the reward as promised. I know it`s not much for guild adventurers, but please, take them with our heartfelt thanks."

　　I take the slightly-glowing orange rocks and identify them.

　　Orichalcum Ore (3)

　　A strange orange-gold ore with magical properties.

　　Provides resistance to magical attacks. [Craftable], [Forgeable]

　　"Thank you, Miss," I say. "These rocks are more than enough thanks for such a small mission on a quiet afternoon. And may the goddess smile upon you and your daughter as well."