500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

"That does sound like a very good idea! You thought this up alone?" I asked, not surprised but impressed.

"No, not all of it. Lady Katarina still helps me a bit, but this was mostly Senna and me," I said, and I patted her head.

"You are really starting to grow into your position as the countess," Tallia said fondly from my other side, and Eliza blushed but smiled as I turned to the woman who was waiting for us to finish talking. This was the same one that I had caught selling fake jewelry as the real stuff, but Senna had put a small merchants guild in place after the Riftwalker incident.

"Galio! It is very good to see you again! As you can see, I now have everything marked out properly!" The woman said, and I smiled at her, looking over all the jewel accessories.

"I am glad to see this! In the end, it is better for you, and it will protect your business. The last thing you want is someone coming back to complain. You either give them their money back, or you will get a bad name, and no one will want your merchandise. Still, it is great to see you moving with the change, so girls, why don\'t you each pick something that you like, and I will buy it in support of this change!" I laughed, and both women nodded as the woman\'s face lit up with excitement.

"Really?! Oh wow! My name is Len, and if anyone asks where you got it from, do you think you could refer them to me?" The woman asked, and I nodded.

"I think that is acceptable," I said with a smile as the women let go of my arms to look over the jewelry.

As they did, I turned and looked around at all the women milling around, looking at things, getting food, and whatever else, but the sheer diversity of races still stunned me. There were twelve basic races, but each of them had multiple breeds, for lack of a better term.

Thinking about them brought me back to the question of food. I needed to figure out what race would be the best approach to go about this.

"You are the Cat God that I have been hearing so much about?" A slow and melodious voice from beside me, but it came from above.

I turned, thinking that I might have to look up to an Amazon, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong. The woman beside me had a thick purple snake tail for her legs, but the rest of her body looked mostly human, save for a few patches of scales. I had seen Lamia before, but never one this color or as big that wasn\'t a Queen.

"I am the same one. Who might you be?" I asked curiously.

"My name is Lexi, and I am from a large island between the Angel and Human continents. There are many more Lamia there, but word of you has just arrived, and I was one of two that were sent to come and meet with you," the Lamia explained, and I nodded, but then Eliza pulled on my sleeve with a jeweled hair clip in her hand.

"Can we get these?" Eliza asked as she held up the hair clip that had a jeweled white cat on it. When I looked over at Tallia, she had the same one, and I laughed.

"Sure," I said, shaking my head, and fished out 6 gold coins and placed them on the stand. I was about to turn away, but then Len, the stall owner, stopped me.

"8 silver is more than enough for the two!" Len explained, but I waved her off.

"Think of it as a reward and a reminder to keep on the path that you are on. Keep doing good and setting a good example for others," I said, and the woman nodded with a fierce smile.

"I will do just that! Thank you!" Len said, and I turned back to Lexi, who was now talking with Tallia and Eliza, but she seemed to know Eliza already.

"Yes, the city is pretty busy, but I told you that Galio would show up at some point if you hung around!" Eliza giggled, and Lexi nodded appreciatively.

As they were talking, Tallia pushed her hair back to the right side of her head and clipped it with the new pin she had just got, and I leaned over to kiss her forehead. Nothing made me smile more than her infatuation with white cats.

I was the said white cat after all that brought the obsession about, but seeing her wear the clip made my heart swell.

"It looks really good on you," I whispered in her ear and then kissed her cheek as I pulled back.

"Thank you. See, if you could just act like this when you came to visit me, we would have more time to spend together!" Tallia complained as she leaned into my side, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Yes, I know, and I will do better, I promise," I said, and then Eliza squeezed under my other arm and pushed her forehead up for me to kiss. I did and then turned to Lexi. "This place is pretty crowded to talk, but I have to head to the Barracks, so you can come with me if you want."

"That would be very nice. There are many things that I would like to talk to you about," The Lamia said in her low and almost musical voice that almost sent shivers down my back.

"I think that we have also wasted enough time, right, Countess? The two of us have more planning, and Goldy will have my head if I am not at her beck and call to taxi people around. We are working on the new city design, but you can worry about that after you are done with the Amazons, but before you go to the Underworld," Tallia instructed as she pulled away and then opened a portal for her and Eliza.

"Bye, Galio!" Eliza said after she hugged me and then hopped through the portal with Tallia following after her.