After arriving in the city of Bathtwana I decided to rest for a short while and see what was life was like here. What kind of lives did the average humans live in this fantasy world? It figured they would be comparable to humans from Earth's history, just with magic added in here and there in minor ways. Of course I'd had plenty of experience with the lives of people living in villages and even some in towns. It was city life that I needed to look into now. For the most part I remembered hating cities but that was modern ones.

In the interest of time and duty of course I didn't take more than a couple days to explore this avenue. The first day had been pretty non-eventful: just normal medieval life. Running water and plumbing of course were out of the question, something I was still working on implementing in the villages and towns I cared about most. This city so far away to the east was therefore low on the list. The streets were still pretty clean however, its not like there were open sewers or anything.

People seemed to go about their business buying and selling in the markets without much disruption as well. Coinage was the currency here as I already knew with coins of gold, silver, and copper. Pretty basic stuff. This city was mainly a farming city which meant produce produce produce. Like the farmer I had ridden into town with many of the merchants here were farmers themselves coming into the city to sell their crops. There were plenty of other people to buy from as well like blacksmiths, tailors, and cooks.

My status as small mage child meant I did have to hide my magic using abilities at least and I kept my cloak over my head most of the time to ensure no one recognized me. Thankfully and also depressingly no one asked many questions to small children wandering around the city. This was either because it was normal in general or because I was obviously advertising I wanted to avoid people. Someone like me blended in just fine with the other impoverished living here.

Currently I was resting outside a large public forum of some kind, a three story building at least thirty feet tall. It's wild realizing that at my normal size this building would barely even reach my shins. At human child size it was impressive though as it was rare for buildings to be built taller than the walls of a city, besides castles anyway. There had just recently been a stint of rain that left the smells of the street of dirt and grime caught in the air with puddles spattering as people walked through them.

The roof of the building had just enough of an outcrop that the rain hadn't soaked me and my elevated position on the short stone wall kept my from flopping about in the puddles on the ground. No one seemed too bothered at the moment I was here and since the tiny wall was only a few feet off the ground no one noticed me really either. It's not like I was actually sleeping or resting, just pretending to be. However in my assumed safety I had lowered down into the goddess zone and unknowingly let my hood slide down from my face.

Down in the zone I was back at work on my various schemes and or plans to implement widespread plumbing and even electricity. There was a large table in front of me at which I sat in a sturdy chair, papers and blueprints all over the place in an organized mess. Miya was currently inside the mind palace reading up on things. She had sort of become its steward, or librarian would be a better word.

My proximity alert system was constantly going off as people walked past me up above in the world and I was sort of not paying attention to it much. The readout of my body statuses would alert me if anyone actually got close enough to touch me. Actually thinking about it that would be Sub-chan that would alert me would it? I looked over to her and smiled awkwardly with a small wave.

She was sitting down at the desk with her head in her hands, her elbows on the desk. She was half answering the prayers as it seemed there weren't that many at the moment. When she saw me she gave a nod, her face remaining emotionless and impossible to read.

Honestly I wish I knew what she was thinking. It's not like I can mind read myself and your subconscious is the one thing that you really can't fully understand. What goes on in there takes dedicated meditation or psychotherapy for even the most adept to just catch glimpses of. The fact she was really me was both creepy and fascinating at the same time.

The proximity alert went off again, this time a bit louder. A holographic display screen was suddenly thrust into my face and it made me jump. When I looked behind me Sub-chan was staring at me with intense wide open eyes as if to say "deal with it." Am I always this intimidating to people? I'll have to pay closer attention to that.

Putting aside the deeper thoughts that I knew she was also thinking as she's me also I looked at the screen. On it there was a small group of about six children of various ages all standing around me within three feet. There was a small boy about seven years old with copper hair standing right over me and reaching out for my face.

Should I do something about this? I double checked and I was breathing so its not like they thought I was dead. If I pretended not too feel him touch me would he and the other children go away? I decided to just wait and see. There were no protests from myself about this either.

This little boy poked at my right cheek, his little finger sinking in to my supple flesh and poking at my teeth. He was clearly surprised by my lack of reaction and when he removed his finger my skin bounced back. For a moment he turned around and looked at the other children questioningly at it was now I decided to bring in audio.

"Poke her again!" one of the girls demanded.

Of course this made the boy turn around and poke my face again. This time he tapped on my forehead with his finger and looked pretty nervous too.

I let out a sigh and stood up from the table. Alright fine. This had to be addressed. With but a thought I jumped up back into my body proper.

My eyes suddenly snapped open which caused the boy to jump back in alarm with a squeal. The other children also recoiled in shock or fear as they noticed I had woken up. Then as I began rising up into a sitting position like a vampire leaving its coffin I grabbed hold of the boy's wrist before he could back far enough away. My voice was annoyed but calm.

"Does anyone want to tell me why there's a little child poking my face?"

The somewhat adult response I gave them startled them even further and even made the boy I was gripping the arm of start crying. This wasn't my intention of course and with a deep sigh I released his arm.

The older girl, about my apparent age actually, immediately ran over and hugged the boy to calm him down. This thankfully worked as her embrace instantly started calming his tears.

"I'm so sorry goddess!" the girl said pleadingly to me. "Please don't smite us!"

Damn! They knew I was a goddess? This made me double check my hood with my hands and remember it was left down. It made me feel a lot stupider now as I could've put it back up and didn't. Regardless these kids knew who I was so I had to keep it from getting out.

The other children were huddled up together and giving me very fearful looks. Some of them voiced their apologies as well or their fear of being smote.

With another deep sigh I turned myself around so I was facing them and let my legs hang off the little stone wall. Then I put on my gentlest smile and spoke in as reassuring of a voice as I could.

"I'm not going to smite anyone." I then lowered my voice to a hushed tone. "Just keep it down ok? I don't want people to know I'm here."

To my great relief this brought the children's panic down to an excited concern. They were clearly very intent on speaking to me for some reason and since they knew I was the goddess it meant it was because they wanted or needed something. It made me wonder why they didn't just pray to me though. Maybe they didn't know how it worked or decided to ask me directly after seeing me.

All of the kids huddled closer around me and the original boy looked up at me sitting there with great wonder in his eyes. The girl was still holding him close to her body with her right arm. Their similar face made me think they were related. The words she spoke next confirmed it.

"I'm sorry my brother woke you up goddess" she said bowing. "It- It's just that..."

Her voice trailed off. This prompted one of the other boys in the little group, this one about twelve, to speak up on her behalf.

"Vale here saw you sleeping there and..." his voice also abandoned him.

One of the other girls spoke up. "We want you to grant us a wish!"

Her eagerness and honesty were plain to see as she so passionately presented their case to me. I suppose wish granting should've been the first thing I thought of when it came to reasons children would want to talk to a goddess. Granting them all wishes was out of the question and that's even without taking into account the absurdity or impossibility of some children's wishes. Well impossible for me maybe not, but those kind of wishes would certainly not be good ones anyway.

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While I thought briefly about this to make a decision these children were left on baited breath for my answer. When I spoke again even after only a few seconds they reacted like I had been silent for minutes.

"I'm not going to grant you all your own wishes" I said flicking my hair behind my head. "However I shall grant you all one collective wish. That's my offer."

The younger boy with his sister, now identified as Vale, looked up at me with his olive eyes.

"Can it really be anything?"

I let out another sigh and swung my legs from side to side.

"Not anything no. I'm not bringing anyone back to life from the dead, I'm not killing anyone, and I'm not making any of you adults either. Anything else should be good."

Two of the other children looked extremely disappointed with my answer and I didn't explore which of those three options they might have had in mind. Outside of their apparent devastation however the rest of the children gathered together to discuss what their one wish would be. The two saddened ones joined in the little huddle after collecting themselves.

"If we only get one wish it has to be something we all agree on!" the big sister said.

One of the boys piped up. "Tell her to give us a huge cake!"

"That's stupid!" one of the girls spat back.

It was obvious they were trying to keep their conversation secret, though their excited and passionate voices ensured anyone walking by could hear everything they said in extreme clarity. For my part I pretended not to hear them and kept myself busy swinging my legs around. As I sat waiting I used my hands to prop myself up in the sitting position.

After about two minutes of discussion they seemed to agree on their wish and broke out of their huddle. Listening to their discussion there appeared to be an adult man who was considered mean and they were going to wish for me to make him stop being mean. I'd wait for further information until after they actually made the wish.

The children gathered around me again and the little Vale swallowed his fears to step forward and speak to me.

"G-Goddess... We wish that you'd make Tomlin not be mean anymore!"

All of the others nodded in agreement with him.

I leaned in closer and smiled warmly.

"Come closer little Vale. Tell me about how this Tomlin is mean to you?"

As he stepped closer he got a blush on his face from embarrassment. Of course I was luring him in not for the words he was speaking but to get him within arms reach. Once he was I reached out and touched him on the forehead gently. His voice was largely ignored as I began reading his mind.

It appeared this Tomlin was a middle aged man with salmon colored eyes, taupe hair that reached his shoulders, and a few scars on his arms. He was a baker of some discription that always told the children off in an agressive manner. In accordance with the words I was hearing from the other children now as well it seemed they wanted free stuff from him on occasion and he never gave them anything. The location of his bakery was easily gleaned from this boy's memories by backtracking how he would get here from there.

I removed my hand and sighed softly. Then I looked up and addressed all the children collectively.

"I shall grant this wish."

All of them cheered together with some of them squealing in excitement. None of the passersby took much notice of our little gathering either thankfully despite the ruckus. This was a pretty safe area of the city and a group of children having fun playing wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

After they settled down I raised my left hand, my index finger pointing upwards.

"I need you to understand something however. This Tomlin doesn't owe you anything from his shop. It'll be nice if he ever gives you anything sure, but he doesn't have to and I won't be making him. I'm just going to make him nicer to you. Do you understand?"

Vale looked down quite disappointed.

"But goddess..."

With another smile I lowered my hand and ruffled his hair with my hand.

"Would you want me to come along and force you to give away your things to anyone who wanted them?"

He shook his head seeming to understand. "No..."

The other children seemed to understand what I was getting at too as their faces expressed when I glanced up at them. I then removed my hand from Vale's head.

"That's right. Tomlin is a person just like you. Like I said I'll be granting your wish to make him less mean, but outside of that you'll have to respect him too."

Once making myself clear I jumped down from the wall and landed on the street gracefully. Then children all gave me their thanks and stepped aside for me as I walked through them. After stepping through them I turned around to give them a farewell wave.

"You're welcome" I said smiling.

Then my goodbyes said I turned back around to the street and pulled my hood back up over my head to hide my appearance. If some random children living in this city could recognize me it was extremely likely adults would too, and if that happened the word would get out quickly. I was still in undercover mode after all.

It didn't take long for me to make it to the bakery in question. Not only did I have a map of the city on file thanks to the worshipers that lived here but I also had directions to the shop after reading Vale's mind. Of course getting there very quickly was also possible due to my ability to turn invisible which I used a little to allow myself to speed through the city on foot.

Upon arriving to the bakery I ducked out of the shadows of a nearby alleyway while turning visible again, my hooded cloak still preventing anyone from identifying me. The bakery itself was pretty standard fare for a medieval city with a big wooden sign hanging above the street with the name "Rubabe" on it. Must be his last name.

There were only a couple customers inside at the moment when looking in goddess vision so I readjusted my hood and ducked inside. It was almost immediately after I entered that an angry voice called out across the small tables and shelves of baked goods.

"Hey girl!" the manly voice shouted. "I thought I told you not to come in here without your parents!"

A tall and bulky man stomped across the shop towards me and not stopping until he was right next to me. He towered over my tiny frame at least twice my height and his face with full of real anger with more than a hint of red.

Now my own temper started to rise up inside of me but I quickly put out its heat. Of course he would think I was just some kid and probably one of those kids I just met too. I was dressed up in a big cloak to hide my identity and was actually pretending to be a child. This man would need to be approached with the same gentleness the children had been. At least for now.

A small sigh escaped me and I started walking to a corner of the shop where there wasn't anyone else. As I walked I beckoned with my left hand.

"Come talk to me for a moment."

This reaction greatly confused the man who was initially too stunned to move or speak. After a few moments he recovered enough to weakly protest.

"H-Hey!"

The confidence in my voice and refusal to even flinch when confronted by him had clearly shaken him. My steps only continued carrying me away from him and he began following me obediently because he was too confused to do otherwise at this point. He was probably racking his brain for who this little girl so full of poise could possibly be.

Once we were over in a corner of the shop and far enough away from the prying eyes and ears fo the two other adults in here I turned to face him.

He stopped a few steps away from me and began speaking.

"Now listen here litt-"

I brought up my hands and lifted my cloak back enough to reveal my face and top of my head. Then I looked up at him towering above me with a grim look on my face that made him shut up and gulp nervously.

"I am the Goddess Jenna" I said plainly. "You may have heard of me."

The panic began setting in immediately and he started backing up while stammering. It seemed our conversation wasn't going to be private for long so I put up a spell I had been practicing lately. I called it "the conversation cone" and it made an area of my choosing keep sound, and light if I so chose, from exiting the area. Thus it allowed for totally private conversations.

"I'm not gunna hurt you so calm down!" I half shouted at him now that no one could hear.

This had the desired effect of stopping his retreat and somewhat calming his nerves. He stammered on about begging my forgiveness for mistaking me for a child and so on. I allowed him to ramble on until my silence prompted him to go quiet himself.

Once he was quiet I took a deep breath and smiled gently up at him. This put him more at ease and I kept the quiet going until he became so relaxed that he started to feel awkward. Finally after almost half a minute since I last spoke he gulped and said something.

"S-So why are you here goddess?"

Satisfied with his emotional and mental state I used my left hand and brushed through my hair.

"I'm here to grant the wish of some children. The very same ones you just mistook me for."

As he opened his mouth to speak I lifted up my hand to shush him which he obeyed.

"They seem to think you're a mean man and their wish is for you to not be so anymore. From your interaction with me just now its clear you're being quite aggressive towards them. They obviously like you enough that you scaring them like this is troubling them greatly."

Tomlin took a few moments to process this before replying. There was actually a hint of shame in his voice and on his face as he looked down towards the floor.

"I-I didn't realize I was coming off that way to the children. Their parents are regular customers and they often bring their children with them. It's just recently those kids have been coming in alone and asking for goods. I can't give things away for free and its been extremely frustrating dealing with them."

At this point my left hand was back in my hair, this time twirling it around my index finger. As he spoke I stood there looking up at him and studying him intently. I sorta figured he wasn't really a bad guy. He was just clearly unaware of how his mannerisms affected little kids.

With a look of satisfaction on my face I nodded and dropped my hand back down. I then crossed my arms over my stomach and continued looking up at him. He was avoiding meeting my gaze.

"I understand little Tomlin. I've already told the children that they can't expect free things from you. I can trust you'll work on behaving more appropriately around children yes? Even if they frustrate you?"

Tomlin nodded and gulped.

"Yes Goddess Jenna."

I let out a little chuckle as I started walking towards him and past where he was standing.

"You can imagine I go through the same frustrations dealing with adults like you. Young or old humans are all the same: quite silly little things!"

Without waiting for his answer I walked past him, dropping the spell on my way. The other adults in the shop hadn't come over to investigate what we had been talking about thankfully and had kept to their own business. Before they had a chance to see me I reached up and pulled my hood over my face again. Then without even another look back at the shop owner I walked out the door and into the street again.

This had all been a quite fun and fulfilling experience. Sometimes getting down on street level and just helping people directly with their problems was more rewarding than solving major crises. I had great confidence that the wish of those children was granted after meeting the man for myself.

Now however it was time for me to return to my goddess duties in full and drop my playtime charades for the time being. There would always be other times I can play pretend at being just another human girl. As for my other adventures during this time are they not written in the Chronicles of Jenna?