I found the catgirl under the cover of my bed, her head poking out and observing me, ears twitching. Max had frightened her and I felt bad. Some host I was being! I walked over slowly to the bed and she hissed as I approached. I put my hands up in what I hoped was a nonthreatening gesture and thankfully she seemed to calm down, no longer barring her fangs at me and retracting her claws. She allowed me to come over to the bedside and when she made no move to swipe at me or attack I reached down and stroked her head between the ears until I felt her purring beneath my touch.

“I wonder what your name is?” I said out loud to myself. “It’s a shame we can’t communicate at all.”

She meowed loudly in agreement. I snapped my fingers as it occurred to me. “The collar, it's yours isn’t it?” I asked.

She nodded. She does understand! So she can listen but she can’t speak.

I went and retrieved the collar from where I had stowed it last night. I turned it over in my hands. While it had no name engraved it did have a set of numbers. I made a move as if to put it on her and she hissed and shook her head.

“Hm, so you don’t like this? Whoever put it on you… you ran away for a reason didn’t you?” I asked.

She nodded vigorously and nuzzled at my hand again. I chuckled and scratched her behind the ears. I could see her tail wagging beneath the blankets.

“Okay, then I’ll give you a name myself,” I said. “Would you like that?

She meowed happily and her tail wagged even faster. I smiled, happy she was amenable to the idea. But what to call her? I searched through a series of names that I discarded quickly. Finally, I thought of one of my favorite characters growing up, a stalwart young adventurer who always set off on her own to solve crimes.

“Frannie,” I said. “I’ll call you Frannie!”

She seemed to like that. The catgirl leaped out of the blankets and gave me a hug, which I returned. She felt small and skinny in my arms and I wondered how long she’d been hiding in the wild alone. She needed food.

I led her to the table and showed her how to sit and then I prepared us a big meal from what Ella had left last night. Frannie ate ravenously, pointing at items when she wanted more of each one. It was easy to forget she was anything other than human, the way she interacted with everything around her. It was only her features, lack of speech, and small behavioral ticks that were like a cat. I wondered how or why someone would mistreat her, collar her, or act like they could own her. I shook my head angrily.

If I ever find the bastard, I’ll clock him.

While Frannie ate I began to leaf through the farming guide I’d purchased. I looked up information on my four remaining tomato plants. It seems they would take 10 days to grow and then would be harvestable every 3 days after that. They would, however, only last for the summer months. I flipped to the section on seasons. Seasons each lasted thirty days here, which meant I had to be strategic with what I planted so that crops didn’t go to waste.

Unfortunately, I still had no money. I was set for food but that wouldn’t be enough. I saw three possibilities for what to do with today’s energy points. One would be to clear out some of the detritus on the farm, I knew now that this was a way to provide me with materials to build the items I needed, such as the scarecrow. Two, I could go on an expedition with my new rusty fishing rod. The latter excited me the most. I’d never fished in my life, but it had always seemed exciting.

I decided to partition my day into three distinct sections.

I’d start the morning off with some harvesting of resources, then I’d check the quest board, and finally, I’d do some fishing to round out the day. Since Ella and I hadn’t made concrete plans I was on my own for the evening. I resolved to stop by the pub in the evening again and see if I could meet her or Leyanna and maybe ask for some more information from the locals.

I looked at Frannie who was still nibbling on bread. “Are you going to be okay if I leave you here? Just be careful of Max and try to leave things tidy if possible.”

She nodded happily. I knew I was taking a risk with her, but it seemed worth it. What else could I do? Leave her alone out there? I passed Max as I headed out into the fields. As usual, he was sprawled out and chewing on something unidentifiable. I gave him a pet and he wagged his tail.

“You are going to have to get along with our new houseguest bud, do your best, okay?” I chided. He whined and went back to chewing. I wasn’t quite sure the lesson had sunk in.

Before I got started on my tasks I had an important thing to do. I checked the chest in front of the house, it had been a while and I wanted to take stock of what I had in store and what I might want or need.

[ CHEST 11/20

* Hoe (Rank 1)

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

* Scythe (Rank 1)

* Axe (Rank 1)

* Mining Pick (Rank 1)

* Watering Can

* Rusty Fishing Rod

* Fibrous Plant Material (2)

* Driftwood (5)

* Seaweed (5)

* Pebbles (5)

* Chopped wood (45) ]

So I still have a lot of leftover wood, what I don’t have is a lot of plant material or stone.

I figured with my morning hours and energy I had time to stockpile both. I took out the scythe, watering can and mining pick from the chest and got to work. First I watered the tomatoes, it didn’t take much energy since there were only four. Thankfully the damaged plant looked like it had recovered overnight. The one that had been destroyed was not so lucky. I looked at my scarecrow.

Let’s hope this thing works!

When I was finished with the plants, I checked my energy levels and sure enough, the metrics were the same. Two energy per basic action. What I had forgotten, however, was I also took some energy to lift the water out of the well in the morning for my bath. It seems that had taken about ten energy. That seemed fair, I still had more than enough for the day’s activities. All told I was down twelve.

[ Energy: 82/100 ]

After the plants had been watered I got to work chopping up the long grass, specifically clearing a larger swathe from my house up to the pond, creating a pathway. This took longer than anticipated and I found myself breathing heavily. Once I finished I took a break and checked all my stats, energy, time, and inventory in that order. Determining my next steps. I wiped the sweat from my brow.

[ Energy 60/ 100 ]

[ It is now, 11:00 PM ]

[ Inventory (5 / 8 )

Scythe

Watering Can

Mining Pick

Fibrous plant materials (35 / 99)

Assorted summer seeds (6 / 99 ]

Summer seeds! I was excited at this discovery. I would have to plant them later. This might solve my issue of not having enough crops. It seems pruning the grasses revealed other items as well, including seeds scattered in the ground. I wish I had brought the book with me so I could check for more information on them but resolved to wait until later.

Ignoring the seeds for now, I looked up and down the clearing I’d made and admired my handiwork. I now had a path from my cabin to the pond. Although, the pond itself needed some TLC. I looked at its murky depths. It was covered in algae bloom, fallen leaves, logs, sticks, and large rocks.

I did not fancy a dip, even in this weather. Instead, I looked at the proliferation of rocks nearby. The whole area resembled a mini quarry and was located just a short distance behind the pond. As I got closer I noticed three types of rocks. There were smaller ones about the size of a stump, then medium-sized ones that came up to my waist, then large boulders nearly as tall as myself. Judging by what happened with my ax yesterday, I’d only be able to break apart the smallest level with my current pick but regardless, I tried each size to make sure.

The largest boulder was obsidian and black, I hefted my pick and brought it down. A shuddering went through my limbs and I dropped the pick. The boulder didn’t even so much as crack.

[ You will need a higher-level pick to mine this rock ]

I winced and retrieved my pick from the ground. No kidding. Next, I tried a large gray medium-sized boulder. This time I heard a clinking sound and a small layer of dust fell from its surface. A hairline crack appeared.

[ You will need a higher-level pick to mine this rock ]

“Yeah yeah, I freaking get it,” I grumbled.

Sometimes the system messages seemed like a sarcastic slap in the face even if all they were doing was stating the truth. I settled on the small rocks. These broke apart in only three swings, just like the saplings from last night. Once broken open, the loot I received from mining them comprised three things: coal, clotted dirt, and stone. I pocketed all of it. I had long since realized that in Halfmoon Hills, everything, no matter how small or innocuous, had its purpose.

I was really feeling the heat and about to take a break when I raised the pick and heard a rustling sound and a meow. I turned to see Frannie sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, watching me. She had a smirk on her face and her tail was wagging. I chuckled.

“Oh, you like watching me work now that you’ve stolen that shirt right off my back huh?” I teased.

Frannie said nothing but her tail wagged. Whether or not she fully understood, her gaze was definitely all over me. She looked cute in my baggy shirt. I walked over to her and sat down beside her, pocketing the pick in my inventory. I checked my energy:

[ Energy 34 / 100 ]

I cursed myself for not paying attention, it was flashing and red. I checked my inventory and inspected my haul.

[ Inventory (5 / 8 )

Scythe (Rank 1)

Watering Can

Mining Pick (Rank 1)

Fibrous plant materials (35 / 99)

Assorted summer seeds (6 / 99

Coal (4/99)

Clotted Dirt (4/99)

Stone (10/99 ]

I heard a meowing and felt Frannie tugging at my overalls. I looked down to see her eyes beaming up at me expectantly. I sniffed. That smells like… I looked down. She held out some leftovers from this morning. I grinned up at Frannie, I could kiss her whiskered face. Of course, it was a little early for that. I hugged her instead. I felt her pur happily at my touch then I picked up the food she’d brought and wolfed it down hungrily.

[ You have restored energy by eating. Your Energy is now 64 / 100 ]

Right! If I eat I gain back energy, perfect! Now I have enough for the rest of the day.

I turned back to Frannie to thank her again but she was gone. I ran a finger through my hair and sighed.

Cats, they truly are inscrutable. And women. Both combined? She’s a recipe for disaster.