Gold dragged himself out of bed and through the room while begging God for something to eat. He had been starving for days but not a single person in this damn city cared. The young man was used to surviving on less, but no one could do it on nothing.

Actually, he had a monthly wage that could pay for at least a simple meal every day and other basic expenses. However, as the eldest sibling, he had to take responsibility to help his family back in the village. Initially, Gold was only sending back half of his salary, but after his younger sister got sick, he decided to send home everything except for some coins that would be used for food.

Unfortunately, he miscalculated his costs badly, or better saying, there was a sudden increase in food prices. The food ended one week sooner than it should and he was left to starve for the rest of the month. The company where he worked didn’t care if he died since there were dozens of strong unemployed men ready to pick up his job, and his neighbors had their own problems to worry about. Therefore, he could only wait for his next payment.

As someone from a poor village and the eldest of five, Gold was no strange to ‘fasting’ for a day or two, but he had never gone beyond that. Many research studies claimed that a person could survive months without eating, but they surely never tested this theory on someone already emaciated as Gold. Sadly, he too thought he could hold on for a week, but the result…

“Please!” He managed to plea before fainting.

***

Gold woke up in a white and bright borderless space. The excruciating hunger was still there, but he didn’t feel the previous weakness. He turned around trying to find something but there was only emptiness through the endless bright, until he heard a munching sound. Then, he noticed a catlike woman lying on a majestic sofa and leisurely eating from a table of delicious food that seemed longer than his vision could measure. He gulped as he imagined himself feasting on all those delicacies. Still, the one who was actually enjoying that banquet served as enough derretence to keep him at bay.

The ‘woman’s’ temper was so arrogant and divine that Gold felt the urge to address Her as Goddess.

“Goddess…” He stuttered imploringly.

“Mortal, you might ask for anything… But everything has a price.” Her voice was indifferent but commanded awe and respect.

There was no interlude, no introduction. She was direct, as if Her every word was worth more than all the riches in the world, but it wasn’t abrupt, time felt meaningless there.

Gold didn’t dare to stare directly, but he couldn’t help but steal a few glances. The food on the table looked too enticing; if it wasn’t for the Goddess, he would have jumped forward and devoured whatever he could. However, those words came to him as a command that he couldn’t ignore.

Ask? Who was he to ask anything?

Wait, wasn’t he begging for help just a moment ago…?

Right! Maybe ‘God’ finally heard his plead and now was his chance to…

Should he ask for food or… more? His mother always said not to be greedy, so he shouldn’t ask for too much. But what’s too much for a Goddess, anyway? This is his only chance, She would be merciful if he overstepped…

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“I… want to be rich, Goddess!” Gold mustered all his courage and made the wish.

“Rich?” She stopped for a moment and finally looked at him.

Her divine glance reached his soul, stripping his bare essence naked; nothing could be hidden from those eyes. Gold immediately started regretting his decision. He should have stuck to asking for food.

“We shall give you one hundred times more wealth than the richest mortal of your world.”

Then, his conscious faded again.

***

Soon, Gold was back in his room, still lying on the ground. His first thought was that everything had been a dream and he remained the same miserable man. However, he felt that something had changed. The hunger was still there, stronger than ever, but he didn’t feel so weak anymore.

“Meow.” ‘Menes thought that these stupid mortals liked to walk on two legs, but Menes was wrong. This stupid mortal crawls.’

Gold heard a meowing from behind and at the same time, an arrogant and indifferent voice ‘sounded’ in his mind. He turned around quickly, and after seeing a black cat resting on his bed, he shrunk back to the corner of the room in fear. The encounter with the ‘Goddess’ left him with a ‘special’ impression of cats.

How did the cat come inside?

No, that wasn’t important. How did the cat ‘talk’ to him? Was he going crazy? Maybe it was a symptom of starvation…

“Meow.” ‘Menes has yet to do anything but this feeble mortal is already cowering. Stop this at once, weak mortals should either kneel or stand.’

Gold was even more scared, but he didn’t dare to disobey, so he stood and kept his distance. Actually, he wanted to kneel, but that would be oddly similar to those memes of cat lords and he didn’t want to be disrespectful. Everything that was happening was just too much for him, and if it wasn’t for the crushing hunger and the foolish hope that the Goddess was real, he would have run away by now.

“Lord cat…” He started probing after calming down a little.

“Meow”. ‘Menes, stupid mortal. Remember to address Menes properly.’ The cat corrected him indifferently.

“Sorry, Lord c… Menes. Is the G…?” Somewhat he couldn’t pronounce or refer to the Goddess in any way.

Gold started to panic; his heart beating wildly as remembered Her piercing glance. Maybe he shouldn’t speak or even think about divinities. He took a deep breath and tried to collect himself. Thankfully, the cat. No, Lord Menes, didn’t seem to care about it, or him, in any way. However, he decided to be extra polite, just to be sure.

“Ah… Supreme Lord Menes, is everything that happened before real? Will I really become rich?” This time, he chose his words a little more carefully.

Lord Menes looked indifferent, but the movement of its tail proved that it appreciated Gold’s cheap flattery.

“Meow.” ‘Is this mortal suffering from a mental disease or is the mortal just stupid? Of course, it is true. Nothing in your senseless mortal life will ever be as true as what happened.’

Gold breathed a sigh of relief.

“Meow.” ‘This pathetic mortal should not be relieved so fast. There is always a price.’

“Price?” Gold suddenly remembered the Goddess’ warning and started sweating.

“Meow.” ‘The mortal shall receive the promised wealth… as long as the mortal can spend it.’

Gold was expecting to hear of a terrible price, like his soul, but Lord Menes’ words didn’t seem like a ‘price’ at all. He looked curiously at the cat, but it didn’t seem to care.

“Magnificent Lord Menes, can you please explain what you mean?”

“Meow.” ‘Menes means what Menes means.’ This time, there was a hint of irritation in the cat’s ‘tone’, but before Gold could apologize, the cat continued, as if compelled.

“Meow.” ‘There are three rules the puny mortal has to follow in order to receive the wealth. However, if the mortal breaks any of them… Only death waits.’

Gold gulped and tried to take a step back but he was already with his back against the wall. What had he done? He should have stuck to asking for food. Unfortunately, there was no turning back now.

“Which rules, Exalted Lord Menes?”

“Meow.” ‘The little mortal finally asks something important.’ The cat licked his paw, seemingly in delight.

“Meow.” ‘First rule, the entire weekly quota has to be spent within the week until all the promised wealth is received. Fail, and die.’

“Meow.” ‘Second rule, the value received cannot be wasted.’

“Meow.” ‘Third rule, if another mortal learns about this arrangement, death shall follow.’