The cold wind of winter could be heard rushing alongside the outer walls of the inn. Even though there were thick curtains and wooden shutters the touch of chill still made its way through the cracks and resulted in a somewhat chilly interior. That however was somewhat rectified by the blazing fire in the stone hearth on the far side of the main room.

On days like this JJ's Drinkery was a popular place for people to come and stay a while to warm up. The large open main room of the tavern had plenty of space for tables and chairs, the simple décor bringing the small village feel to the place. Of course there wasn't just simple wooden furnishings. There were also mounted deer heads and small simple tapestries on the walls, in addition to the head of a strange giant bird with horns attached to the sides of its skull.

Illena the inkeeper's wife was currently dealing with a local customer while her husband was out chopping more firewood for the fireplace. Timothy was currently standing beside the table I was sitting at in a dutiful yet shy way. He was very interested with what I had at the moment.

One of the things I always remembered loving was the food called cheeseburger, not to mention the frenchy fries and soda that went along with it. Due to being human size the mana cost of creating items was much smaller and thus I was able to manifest what essentially was a combo meal. A nice cheeseburger with all the fixings, some salty fries, and my favorite soda called root beer.

So here I sat at one of the inn tables with my child size legs dangling over the floor and swinging slightly back and fro. In my hands was the cheeseburger which already had several bites out of it. I did have a small plate of course and the soda cup had a straw.

My face was the definition of rapturous enjoyment and one might even claim to see hearts floating off the top of my head. As I chewed the tastes of home flooded through my mind, the memories of happy times filling me with joy.

Timothy was still watching me intently and had been too nervous to speak for a while. He finally brought up the nerve to however.

"So um goddess. You said this is a traditional meal from your old country?"

I swallowed the bite I had and sighed. He wasn't trying to interrupter my enjoyment of course.

"Yes Timtim."

He then stepped around the side of the chair I was sitting on so he was standing next to the table. It was obvious he was extremely curious about its taste. To him this was beyond foreign food.

"C-Can I try some?" he asked shyly.

I shook my head put the cheeseburger back on the plate.

"No. It's bad for you."

This caught Timothy by surprise and he looked from the plate to my face.

"B-But if its bad for you why are you eating it?"

This got another sigh out of me. I then picked up the soda and took a sip. Once that was done I gave him a disappointed side glance.

"I'm a goddess? It doesn't affect me."

An answer like that I would've thought was obvious, though I suppose for someone like a human it was difficult to get used to the fact goddesses didn't actually need to eat or drink. As far as I was aware I could eat or drink pretty much literally anything and never have it affect me in any negative way. Back in my old life I'm sure that superpower was a dream of mine.

Timothy's curiosity would not be sated by such an answer however. He almost pouted as he watched me put the soda back down on the table.

"Well goddess Jenna. Can I try the root beer then? I've never had beer made from roots before."

I rolled my eyes playfully and pushed the cup closer to him with a sigh. As long as he didn't drink the whole thing it would be harmless. Even though I could make more at will it was still my soda after all. Goddess didn't want to share.

"Fine fine! You can have one sip." I said holding up my index finger.

He bowed to me and then stood back up straight again before replying in excitement.

"Thank you goddess Jenna!"

With his eyes shining he picked up the cup in his right hand and lifted it up to his face. Having watched me drink from the straw he knew how to use it and put it to his lips. He only took one sip, the slurp signaling the sweet seltzer being sucked up. Then without taking more than a second to taste it he gulped it down.

The speed at which he drank it meant the aftereffects were not immediate. However moments after the swallow his eyes went wide in shock. He dropped the soda cup as his hand went to his throat. His mouth opened wide as he began to choke and gag. It was clear he was on the verge of throwing up and he was only barely keeping it down.

I caught the dropped cup and put it down on the table. A small sigh escaped me as I slowly shook my head. Of course I would intervene if he was in danger but it was clear what this reaction was. So while he recovered I went back to eating my fries.

Once Timothy finally was able to speak again he leaned on to the table for support and began taking deep breaths. He was still wide eyed but he no longer had his hand on his neck.

"S-Sweet!" he exclaimed. "I-It's concentrated sugar in water!"

With a disapproving huff I brought the straw up to my own lips and took another sip. Then once I had swallowed it I put the cup back down on the table.

"It's not just sugar. There's lots of artificial flavors and preservatives too."

Timothy picked up his cup of freshly filtered water from the table and drank half of the remainder to clear his pallet. This water of course courtesy of the plumbing system of the village. Then after he felt his taste clear enough he stood up straight and brushed his robes off, clearly showing disappointment on his face.

"My father would never allow for such absurd drinks" he said firmly. "Taste is the most important thing in any food."

"Huh. Is your dad a cook or something?" I asked curious.

He nodded and put it hands back down in front of his legs in a standard priestly pose.

"He's the chef at one of the restaurants in the capital. Everyone that has his food testifies how wonderful it is."

Hmm. Meeting a high quality chef in this world would be pretty interesting. I'd want to meet this man sooner than later. My mind is so distracted these days that I'm liable to forget. Hopefully it wouldn't be awkward. Ah who cares about that? I'm a goddess after all.

After eating another fry I turned and looked up at Timothy. There was a bit of excitement in me for this and it probably showed.

"I'd like to meet your father sometime you know."

This surprised Timothy and he quickly blushed red. He looked to the side to avoid my gaze as he was clearly embarrassed to have someone meet his dad, much less the goddess he worshiped. How could he deny me though? He knew he couldn't.

"Well um..." he replied. "I suppose that wouldn't be a problem. He should be home from work around this time so perhaps in a few da-"

He was cut off by surprise when I suddenly moved. Without hesitation I jumped up from the chair I was sitting on, almost bonking my head on the side of the table due to my small height. Of course I was just under chest height to adults in this form and it was taking getting used to.

I then walked over to Timothy and grabbed hold of his shirt near the waist. There was no time like the present to meet his dad and I wasn't about to let time pass and forget about it. This would be a fun teasing opportunity besides. He was resisting as I tugged on his shirt to try and drag him away.

"Goddess! What's come over you suddenly?" he asked confused.

"Come on!" I said impatiently. "We're going to see your dad right now!"

He gasped and blushed again. His attempts to resist my tugging failing as he was inched away from the table bit by bit.

"But goddess! A-Are you sure you want to? We're just a family of nobodies!"

I smiled once I had him far enough away from the table. My grip on the end of his shirt changed into a full on grab as I snatched up a fist full for a solid hold. Inside my head where Miya lay resting I already had a worshiper locked on for a portal. They were near the apartments where Timothy lived, a location I knew from reading his mind about it.

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Once I was ready I looked up at his surprised face.

"It'll be fun! Get ready now."

Before there could be further protest I opened the portal and dragged my unwilling companion through it with me. In an instant we were back in the capital city Norlov and outside the apartment complex building. The worshiper that had been praying to me was nearby and their prayer for healing in their toe had been answered by me on the trip over.

Timothy gulped as he looked up at the building and then down to me standing next to him. I had released him at this point.

"Well um... I guess since we're here goddess."

I gave a defeated shrug and closed my eyes. "Yeah. May as well visit since we're in the neighborhood and stuff."

With a deep sigh he started walking towards the door of the building. He knew what was up as I was barely trying to hide it. Of course he couldn't refuse his goddess even if it was embarrassing for him. From his perspective he was somewhat worried his father would be in danger from the unpredictable goddess, though his prayers about his father's safety in this meeting did reach her ears.

For my part I just followed my high priest in silence, my arms behind my back as we walked. For anyone who didn't know who I was it simply looked like a young man walking with his little sister up to their home. Well discounting the different hair colors anyway.

It only took a couple minutes for us to reach the door to their little apartment. It was honestly pretty depressing. Apartments always made me feel this way though. They were so tiny and entrapping. Humans didn't belong boxed up and packed in together in buildings like this. My burning anger was really directed towards cities themselves. They were a necessary evil however.

Thankfully Timothy was too busy freaking out and dealing with the door to notice me silently fuming behind him. There were sounds of human activity inside and of course I could see his father's soul inside as well. He seemed to be a middle aged man with similar hair and eyes to his son.

"Father I'm home!" Timothy announced as he opened the door.

The quaint little home was warm from the coals from the small stove in the corner of what appeared to be the kitchen. They would be getting their water from a well of course, not like the village we just came from. This reminded me that I'd need to get plumbing everywhere in the kingdom eventually.

The man inside turned and smiled warmly as his son walked through the door.

"Timothy! So glad to have you back so soon! I thought you'd be busy with that new job of yours."

He then noticed me walking in and looked down at me in confusion. He had never seen me directly before so wouldn't recognize me from sight.

"Who's your little friend? Is there something I should know about son?"

Timothy's face was beet red again and he was struggling to stop his stammering as he spoke. After stepping to the side he introduced us both to each other.

"F-Father this is G-Goddess Jenna. Goddess J-Jenna this is my father Z-Zachery."

With deliberate movements I closed the door to the room and turned back towards the confused man across the room. I was doing my best to keep a smirk from my face as I stepped forward and crossed my arms across my chest. Smug energy was simply radiating off of me.

Zachery walked over to the both of us and looked down at me in surprise and doubt. It was believable that such an absurd claim would get such a reaction from someone.

"This is the goddess?" he asked almost angrily. "She's just a little girl!"

It's showtime.

With but a thought I began sucking all the light in the room into myself. The result was one of my classic tricks: the entire room dimming with the corners going completely dark. There was still light of course coming from me as my eyes and hair began glowing brightly. For added effect I summoned a small gust of wind to swirl around me and twist around my hair and clothing.

My brightly glowing eyes stared through the darkness up at Zachery and pierced into his very soul. His face went pale and he took a couple stumbling steps backwards as terror began to overcome him. Even Timothy was frightened even though he had seen this at least once before.

As quickly as it had begun the room returned the normal. The wind stopped and the light once again lit everything in the warm glow of the candlelight. My hair and eyes also returned to their usual appearance as I put my hands on my hips and looked expectantly at the man before me.

Zachery fell to his knees. He was in too much shock to really speak at the moment as he stared in awe and fear at me.

Timothy was frowning and ran over to his father, kneeling down and putting his arms over his shoulders. He then turned to me with an actual angry look in his eyes.

"Goddess! This is why I didn't want you to meet him!"

I held up my left hand to look over my fingernails and clicked my tongue in dismissal.

"Tsk. Is it my fault he doesn't know who I am? I thought you told him all about me my widdle worshiper?"

This was beginning to be more fun than I thought. Yeah it was a little mean what I did to his dad, but it was testing my high priest's resolve. Having him be a constant yes man was a net negative, so seeing him actually push back against me actually was a good thing.

Zachery was being helped to his feet and gulped hard before finding his voice finally. He sounded frantic still and it seemed him not knowing what to do was abnormal.

"I-I didn't know you knew the actual goddess that appeared." he said to his son. "She's here in our house! What will we do?"

Thankfully his son Timothy had his wits about him and knew how to handle the situation. It was clear that while he loved his goddess he didn't like his father being in danger. From the slight fear in his eyes it was clear he knew what he was doing is taking a risk.

"Great Goddess Jenna. I know you're all powerful and important but please show some restraint around my family. He's very important to me!"

This got a sigh out of me and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't 'great goddess' me Timmy. You know I was only messing around a little right? I wouldn't actually hurt your dad."

Timothy then gulped and let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that even though he was used to being around me he had thought there was a still a chance of being smited from this. Now that it was clear I wasn't angry he was relaxing again.

Zachery looked in shock between his son and the little girl in his house. His own terror had dissipated and been replaced with nervous confusion. There didn't seem to be any danger anymore, not that it made the situation any more understandable.

"So... You're friends with the goddess son?"

"He's my high priest" I said flatly.

After hearing this Zachery slid his son's arms off and kneeled before me and bowed his head in respect. The fear had all but disappeared but there was a small tear sliding down his cheek as he was getting emotional.

"Goddess J-Jenna. Thank you for giving my son such an honorable position! To think the son of a simple chef would become so important in the kingdom. Thank you goddess!"

This brought a genuine smile to my face and actually embarrassed me a little. A slight blush came on my cheeks and I put my left arm behind my head.

"It's nothing really! He was just the best one for the job. You should be really proud of your son."

With emotion welling up within him he stood back up and embraced his son tightly in his arms. This was clearly awkward for Timothy but he hugged his father back in a cute display of family affection.

I had noticed the lack of a woman of the house and I looked around curiously.

"Hey by the way. Where's your mom Timtim?"

The mood of the two took a solemn turn as they stopped embracing and turned to face me. Zachery was now looking down at the floor with a dark expression on his face. Timothy also looked at the floor for a moment before looking back over and down at me. There was clear pain on his face.

"My wife is sadly no longer with us" Zachery replied. "She died of sickness many years ago, when Timothy was still a child about your age."

Just because I looked like a little girl didn't mean I was actually nine years old. But I suppose there wasn't a need to correct him at the moment. Loosing a parent and loved one like that was terrible. In this medieval age world such occurrences were surely common. I wish I could've been there and healed her but what happened in the past can't be changed.

Zachery then looked up at me with pain and hope in his eyes.

"Are you able to bring back the dead goddess?"

Yeah saw that one coming a mile away. Hearing it still caused a pain in my heart though. Of course I couldn't do that. I haven't even brought back Miya yet, much less someone who was dead and gone a decade ago. It actually took a few moments of thinking about how to reply before I spoke again.

"Well... I'm sorry I can't." I hung my head down.

"Its alright goddess" Timothy said forcing a smile. "I've seen how much you care about those of us that are still living."

Zachery let out a long sigh and lifted his head again, then used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes. He was trying to put on a strong front for his son and likely for me as well. Of course he had already showed such weakness and he was internally beating himself up over it.

"So what brings a young goddess to our home?" he asked to change the subject.

I decided to go along with the sudden subject change for his sake. I was originally going to tell him how showing emotions was fine even for strong men but decided it wasn't the time. Instead I crossed my arms over my stomach and gave him a smile. It was sort of forced but I hoped it would lighten the mood.

"You're son was telling me about how you're an amazing cook actually. I came to try some of your food you see."

This got another shocked reaction from the man as he turned to his son and then looked down at me again.

"Me? Cook for you? I'm unworthy to even make meals for the king! How could I possibly be worthy to cook food for an actual goddess?"

This made me genuinely laugh. My crystal voice echoing off the walls and bringing its infectious joy with it. It did actually help lift their spirits just a little bit. Then with a smug smile I put my hands on my hips in fists.

"I'm the goddess here little man and I say you're worthy!" I then used my left hand to waggle my finger at him. "So you go into that kitchen and whip me up something good! You got that?"

Zachery bowed deeply to me, a small smile on his face. Surely he was feeling elated now.

"Yes goddess!"

"Thank you for entertaining her father" Timothy said. He was also showing happiness now. "To think our lives could change so much before the new year has even begun."

This made me recoil in shock. New Years! Christmas! I'd completely forgotten them! My mind began racing with ways to rectify this situation. Plans began forming in my head for various ways to celebrate or parties to have. I couldn't not have a new years party or Christmas tree in this new world! This required more planning.

Timothy noticed me standing there with my left hand to my chin. He already recognized my thinking pose and walked over to me.

"Goddess Jenna? Is something wrong?"

His voice momentarily broke my concentration. I looked up at him with my brow furrowed still.

"No no. I mean yes. Its nothing though don't worry. The new year is how far away?"

"About three days goddess" he replied.

I clenched my hands into fists. "Shit!"

There was obvious concern on Timothy's face now and I let out a deep sigh to release some of the tension I was feeling. I then waved him away with my still lifted hand.

"Its nothing. While we wait for your father to cook why don't we sit down and let me think? I promise it's not something bad. Just something I need to plan for real quick."

Timothy simply nodded as he looked down at me.

"Of course goddess. Here we normally just sit at the table over here."

With his concerns settled I went back to my focused thinking, following him over to the table on autopilot. Without even looking up I jumped up on the seat and sat there with my left hand curled up under my chin.

Seeing how focused I was Timothy took it upon himself to push my chair in for me which I didn't acknowledge. He didn't seem bothered by it though.

There had to be a simple and fun party I could whip up real quick. Maybe I'd have it at Quarely's place.