The town was abuzz with activity, not something wholly unexpected considering it had just been attacked by an invading army and partially sacked. The small fires were still being fought but thankfully the big ones had already been put out by me. As for the injured most of them had been already healed by me, the dead are left to be buried. Why did war have to exist at all? Is a lone goddess even capable of stopping such things?

Right now what I need to do is find that duke and talk to him, explain the situation with the army, and ask if there's anything else I can do before leaving. What I want right now is just to go back to Doovlin and be around peaceful people in a peaceful place. Hopefully this duke guy takes a goddess existing better than most people.

With a careful step I once again get myself over the wall of the town, my boot thumping into the ground on an abandoned cart of some kind that is instantly reduced to splinters with quite a horrible crunch. The small group of people that were nearby looked up at me with a tinge of fear still in their eyes. I gave a weak smile down to them.

"Sorry about that..."

It wasn't a living thing and to be honest at this point that's all I cared about in this war torn town. I'm actually quite proud of myself at how little property destruction was caused by me. There were only a few buildings demolished because they were on fire and whatever small things were in the streets that I walked on. If someone my size had actually gotten into battle with the enemy army the destruction would have been quite extensive to be sure.

"Hey did that duke guy show up yet?" I asked the same group of people.

They all looked up at me in confusion and gave me various negative responses. It shouldn't be surprising to me I suppose. Sometimes its very easy to forget that just because I have the mile high view on the situation doesn't mean anyone on group level so to speak should have anything close.

So instead I took another couple steps into the town, moving into a more open area that looked like the main street coming into town. There were remains of market stalls lining the streets along with all kinds of broken or scattered goods littering the ground. The castle itself was straight ahead and it would be best if I just sat down and waited for the duke to come. Hernan I think.

"Hey I'm going to sit down here. Everyone please get out of the way."

There were many people at my feet that had going through the rubble to salvage what they could and they had already fled to the side of the streets when I had walked over. Everyone here was reacting to me pretty well so far I think with regards to how little they were afraid of me. For all I know though they were just so exhausted from their PTSD that they just didn't care anymore. They barely survived their town being burned down and being gutted on the end of a sword. Now there's some massive little girl stomping around like she owns the place and they've just accepted whatever fate awaits them. The human ability to adapt to trauma is both amazing and depressing.

"Alight I'm sitting down now."

The more I telegraph my intentions the less misunderstandings or accidents there would be. So with the street adequately cleared of people I crouched down and cleaned up a place to sit. All that consisted of was using my hand to sweet the rubble in the streets to the side, something that was also pretty terrifying for the humans most likely. I didn't even think about it as anything special though.

Thankfully the main street was wide enough to just barely fit me sitting down, something I was acutely aware of as I lowered myself to the ground. These town homes on either side of me were at least forty feet tall but they only reached below my knees. Now that I was sitting down they looked like a wooden dollhouse you might sitting in an attic or museum. While my sitting position left me facing the castle my curiosity got the better of me. Thinking a quick look wouldn't hurt I twisted myself around and peeked into the windows of the adjacent town home. It was like a tiny doll house inside with tiny rooms and furniture. Honestly it was pretty cute.

My thoughts were interrupted as the sound of horse hooves brought my attention back around to the street. I turned my body back and settled myself into a cross legged position. There in the main road came a small entourage of armored knights on horseback with a somewhat heavyset man on a horse in the middle of the formation. This man had short black hair and very green eyes, most definitely the Hernan guy.

The horses started to reel back and whinny the closer they got to me. At the village the few horses they had were already used to my presence so its understandable these ones would be terrified of me. There was a technique I had used on both them and wild animals to get them to calm down. It was probably magically sending them my peaceful intentions or something. Better try it here though.

"Hmmmm..."

I let out a deep and long hum from my chest, its vibrations echoing through the air. The effect was instantaneous as the horses calmed down dramatically. They still threw their heads a little but no longer refused to walk closer to me. It had a limited effect on the people as well but mostly they were just amazed at the horses.

The riders continued approaching me but stopped about three hundred feet away, likely the distance they believed was just outside my arm's reach. Smart but of course ultimately futile if I actually wanted to hurt them.

"Are you the goddess?" The fat man in the middle asked.

What a stupid question.

"Um well yes?" I asked while glancing from side to side.

"I am Duke Hernan Ulbe." The man continued. "It is my duty to oversee this town and I would like to personally thank you on behalf of my people for your assistance in our defense."

He looked extremely nervous, not only because he was talking to me but also likely because of my reaction to his stupid question. There were helmets covering the faces of most of the knights which left their expressions unreadable, though the few that I could read were quite terrified.

"Well you're quite welcome Mr Ulbe." I replied crossing my arms over my chest. "I can assure you I'm not here to hurt you or any of your people. My appearance here was- sudden I know. But my worshipers did alert me on somewhat short notice. Not that I'm blaming them or anything."

The look on Hernan's face clued me in that I was rambling again so I shut up and let him speak again. He had already been looking around at his knights and the townsfolk in the immediate area in confusion and concern.

"Your worshipers? How many worshipers do you have here girl?"

Girl? GIRL? What the hell is he thinking? His knights certainly were reacting correctly to his little blunder: with terror in their eyes. This duke guy must be very used to being in charge.

"Its goddess little man. Goddess Jenna." I said a bit angrily. "I'll not have you make that mistake again."

Hernan let out a very unmanly squeak and he backed his horse up until it stopped due to the horse behind. He stuttered and stammered clearly with terror gripping his heart.

"I-I apologize goddess Jenna! I-I simply didn't know worshipers of a goddess lived in my town is all. Its honestly quite shocking given the existence of goddesses is the realm of myth."

Time to give this guy a lesson of humble pie. Slowly and carefully I uncrossed my arms and lowered them to my lap. Hopefully this was non-threatening enough.

"Hey you knight. You in the front."

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The man on the horse sitting furthest in front put his hand on his chest in shock and confusion.

"Yes you. Please get off your horse and come over here for me wont you?"

Then I moved my right arm forward and pat the ground in front of my legs. This was a test between his loyalty to his duke and his fear of the goddess sitting before him.

To my relief he didn't have to think about it for more than a few moments. With the clanking of his armor the man dismounted from his horse and passed its reigns off to his closest ally before turning to face me.

"What are you doing man?" Hernan asked in surprise.

The knight replied in a shaking voice. "I-I'm sorry sir."

All the other men remained silent as well as the townspeople that had gathered in the area to watch this conversation. They peeked out from behind rubble or the doors and windows of houses in timid fear of what was transpiring in the main street.

"Come on." I said reassuringly. "I'm not gunna hurt you."

The knight walked over to my knees on shaking legs, probably pissed his pants by the way he was stumbling over. Not that anyone could blame him. Once he was standing shakily directly in front of my legs he looked back to his companions and then up at me with a gulp.

Slowly I brought my left hand over and extended my index finger close to him. He flinched back and I withdrew my finger, returning my hands to my lap as I sat up straighter.

"Good job." I said to the man with a gentle smile.

Then I returned my attention to the duke and the rest of his men.

"You see Mr duke. I'm in charge here. Whatever power you thought you had over these people isn't much compared to mine. I'd rather not rule through fear, though that's unavoidably how it starts out with someone like me."

Judging by the look on the faces of literally everyone around it was obvious my message had come across loud and clear. I didn't want to sit here playing goddess all day though so I needed to finish this interaction.

Moving my hands to the ground I pushed myself upwards, moving my right foot out to stand up. It landed pretty close to the knight that was close to me and he immediately ran away in a blind panic screaming. That didn't bother me at the moment though as he wasn't hurt like I promised. Once I was standing up I put my arms to my side with one on my hip.

"If you would oblige me I'm going to tell you what happens next in regards to the enemy army sitting outside the gate."

It was honestly impressive these men were able to keep themselves from fleeting in terror as I loomed into the sky over them and the very buildings that made up their town. Hernan in particular was perhaps too terrified to run which was why he was still here. For their part the townsfolk were going to submit to whoever had greater power, such was the way of humans.

Hernan finally got the willpower to speak. "The e-enemy? I thought y-you would have taken care of them!"

That comment caused a frown to come upon my face as I leaned down over him and his group. My hair dangled down on the sides of my face as I gave a slight glare.

"Goddesses don't go around killing masses of people. Though I can understand how you would have that expectation. At least this goddess doesn't do such things."

I stood back up to full height and put both hands on my hips in the form of fists.

"I actually gathered the survivors of the enemy army outside the town in a stone pen I'll be dropping momentarily. All the soldiers that killed in the attack are being handed over to the lord of this province as war prisoners. Do with them what you will."

My chin lifted as I said that last part, my left hand coming up to flip my hair back over my shoulder.

"The rest of them I'm releasing to go back to their homes."

There were mermers from the townsfolk and the gathered armed men. They likely didn't like what they were hearing but they would just have to learn to deal.

Hernan sputtered and gasped. "Y-You're just letting them go?"

I flipped the rest of my hair back over my shoulder. "That's my resolution. You can even take credit for it yourself if you want. Build yourself up as a merciful ruler or whatever."

Hearing that gave Hernan pause as he mulled over the situation. It was a win-win for him and he would hopefully not try to fight it. Both he and his men were acting less terrified of me by this point as well. The fact they could converse and reason with me made people act that way I'd noticed. As long as Hernan didn't overstep his bounds again there wouldn't have to be trouble.

After thinking for perhaps half a minute in silence Hernan finally spoke up again.

"I graciously accept your proposal. W-Will there be anything else goddess?"

"No." I replied curtly. "Now if you'll excuse me I have places to be. I'll trust you and your men to taking care of the town. Good day."

With that I simply turned on my heels and walked away from the group of knights. The people of the town quickly scattered to the sides of the street as my boots thundered down, their little forms ducking for cover inside buildings as my feet passed by. Accidentally stepping on someone wasn't going to happen due to my goddess vision but they didn't know I had that.

Once I was at the wall I simply stepped over it one last time and went over to the stone corral I had made for the enemy army. To my satisfaction the soldiers inside were still divided according to what I had ordered them to do and because I hadn't sensed any more escape attempts I assumed everyone was here. There were also some guards from the town standing at the entrance seemingly guarding the prisoners.

The town guards took several steps back in fear as my feet came to a rest in front of the corral's opening. The people inside looked up at me with worried expressions for their own reasons.

I crouched down and gave a kind smile to the guards.

"Thanks for guarding my prisoners for me guys. Did you end up hearing the conversation I had in town?"

They nodded.

"Good. I'm going to hand over the guilty to you now then."

Not waiting for their response I stood up again and crossed my arms over my stomach loosely. I looked over the soldiers in the stone pen and spoke to them gently but firmly.

"Ok I'll be passing you guilty off to the duke Hernan now. Stand still and don't panic."

Closing my eyes I began growing vines at the feet of all the ones that had identified themselves as killers. They jumped at first but ended up following my orders to stand still as the vines began creeping up their bodies. With their arms held tightly to their sides they stood there as I binded them all up using the vines as ropes. Their companions all looked on in fearful awe as this happened, though the vines never reached their necks.

After that was done I lifted my arms and brought them down slowly, my magic pushing the stone wall back into the ground and into the place it had originally come from. It would take some time for the little trench formed to fill in it with dirt but it was all well and good, its not like it was more than a few feet across.

"Alright that's done." I said opening my eyes, then gesturing to the ones for release. "You're free to go now. I suggest you get home as fast as possible."

The soldiers that were being let go wasted no time in escaping. They ran to the little trench left by the wall, jumped over it, and dashed off into the distance. Those that remained tied up in vines began to squirm a little and make various cries of distress.

"Sorry guys." I said looking down at them. "What happens to you now is out of my hands. Please understand that I have no hatred towards you."

I turned to the guards standing by who jumped as I addressed them again.

"They're all yours boys. Now if you excuse me I'm heading home."

Once again I closed my eyes and focused in on my goddess zone map. If I was able to teleport here then I would be able to teleport back to Doovlin. After finding the village on the map I zeroed in on Miya, figuring she would be the best person to go to. It wouldn't take long for me to sense a sort of tunnel in the world, like I was opening a wormhole or something. So that's what I did. Lifting my arms over my head I willed into being another one of those magic circle portals and pulled it down over myself.

A startled shriek reached my ears. Miya's voice.

"Goddess!"

There were a plethora of other surprised shouts and yells as well coming from villagers in the immediate vicinity. No doubt it was surprising to see me appear out of nowhere even if they felt safe around me.

Opening my eyes I could see I had once again slid out of a portal into another area of the land, actually having to step out of the portal once it reached my feet before it vanished into nothingness. I had teleported to an area of the farm fields, the villagers here getting the last preparations for the harvest finished.

"Sorry for scaring you guys." I said leaning forward over Miya with my hands on my knees. "I just learned how to do that is all."

Miya blushed and clutched the farm tool to her chest. "No goddess its perfectly alright! It was just startling is all." She looked up with a pretty smile. "I'm so happy you're able to do something so amazing!"

"Mhm. Now I'll be able to instantly travel anywhere my worshipers are."

I then stood back up again and let out a great yawn, stretching my arms above my head.

"Sorry. I'm just tired after saving that town. I'm gunna take a nap ok?"

"Saved a town?" Miya asked confused.

"Yeah." I replied nonchalantly. "Wake me up if you need anything ok?"

Miya looked up at me still a bit confused as I turned to walk away. "Yes goddess. Enjoy your rest."

Feeling that explanation was enough for now I walked over to the river to get some rest. Because my mana levels weren't bottomed out its not going to be the blackout sleep but more of a recharging sleep. There were so many things I had to think about now. Honestly its all pretty overwhelming. Now I have a town to answer to.

Once I was at the river I lay down on the grassy area between the trees and the sandbar. It didn't take long for me to get comfortable and relax. With my eyes closed the sounds of the river and forest helped me calm down from all the excitement I just went through. It truly was so peaceful out here in the mountains. The feeling in my gut is that my life was only going to get more exciting from here. Le sigh. I'll probably have to go talk to that Lord Mettlelin now. Things for me to worry about during my nap I suppose, that and everything else I have to think about.

My mind did end up going blank without my notice as I thought about my future. It wasn't the blackout sleep but it was like a power saving mode. Before I knew it I was floating in darkness like a dream, still somehow aware of my goddess zone as if I was in a dark room nearby it. Sleep is nice even for a goddess.