13 Intruder?

Elaina's little field trip around the village has finally ended and the two returned to the Town Hall.

"I apologize for such a short tour, Elaina. Since the town has less business because this place is closer to the city where most businesses are flourishing, I can only show you a few areas that might be useful or fascinate you."

"Don't be, Mayor. Despite being a small town, it has a charm that even a city doesn't have. And I can understand why there are barely any businesses here aside from some like the clinic and the carpenter shop but please don't be disheartened. It's not like a town can only flourish due to businesses alone. With the help of its residents in making this town prosper, it is undoubtedly going to make a name out of itself."

"Ha, I hope so. Anyways, thanks for indulging in my sudden invitation, knowing you have some crops and a farm to attend to. As a token of appreciation and a sort of welcome gift for you joining us in this village, take this bag of seeds."

"Seeds?" Elaina received the bag of seeds that Marigold handed to her.

"Those are flower seeds. Most of them should be sunflower seeds and they only grow during summer time around here so you should store them for a while. The seeds can be sold to the guild for a decent amount of money, although if you know how to process them, they can also become artisan goods as well which would sell the item more."

"Thanks. I will surely grow them later once summer rolls around."

Marigold smiled and the two parted ways after. Elaina is happy to get multiple things in this little tour alone. Not only did she gain information about the carpenter that can help repair her house, but she also found a place where she can eat food and gain some effects that are beneficial for her. Plus, with the seeds of the sunflower and the old fishing rod in her possession, this will significantly boost what she can alternatively do in the future, especially during winter when there are a small number of crops that grow during that season. Mastering fishing early might be a good idea.

Humming for a bit, Elaina decided to go back to her farm and prepare to forage or if she found a game, she would hunt in the forest.

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...

Upon her arrival, Elaina immediately smells a distinct smell. It wasn't there when she left the farm so she knows that it was there after she left. Although she doesn't smell it often, she knows this smell quite well.

"Blood. Someone or something is in here."

Elaina unsheathed her sword and observed her surroundings. The plants that are growing are undisturbed but she can tell that something passed by in the area. She felt relieved that her plants didn't get messed up but she didn't like any intruders entering her domain without any sort of invitation, whether they were human or beast.

Elaina looked around for a bit and soon noticed the blood trail. It wasn't clear on the ground since it had dried up which means the owner of the blood arrived on her farm around the time she left. She traces the patches of blood from where it came from and her suspicion is indeed correct. The owner of the blood came from the forest.

Fearing that it might be a wounded beast that is violent, Elaina didn't let her guard down and continued to track down the blood. It took her a bit of time to find some of the splotches since they suddenly became less and less but she soon found them and it led her to a little dog house that she didn't know existed.

The dog house is pretty much dilapidated and is ready to collapse at any moment. The blood splatters and leads inside the dog's house. The blood smell is also strong there, meaning, the owner of the blood didn't leave.

Elaina tried to approach but she instead was greeted with a violent warning.

"HISSSSS!"

Elaina was surprised as she thought the owner of the blood would be a wolf or maybe a dog, but heard a familiar hiss, doesn't that sound like a cat? Since it was indeed hostile when she got close, Elaina decided to remain in the distance and peek into the hole inside and thanks to the roof of the dog house broken, a bit of the sunlight poked through inside, shedding light to whoever was residing the doghouse.

Inside was a curled-up orange cat. It is quite thin based on Elaina's observation as she has seen orange cats being pretty fat even those present on the streets. As for this cat, it is pretty much a malnourished one at that.

Since some parts of the cat's body are covered by the dark and only a small area around it is shined by light, she cannot see where the wound was present. As for the cat itself, it was currently staring at her, waiting for her to do any action. She is very aggressive and she is also in defensive mode.

Elaina stood up and sighed. "Since it only decided to take solace in this old house and it seems to only be on guard on me, I guess I don't need to kill it. Not only that but it is also careful enough to avoid my plants. So, I guess I can say that it should be fine."

Elaina is not against taking care of animals but she doesn't want to take care of them if they are feral. Based on the behavior of this cat here, it is only acting like this because it is wary of its surroundings. And since it was wounded, there might be a chance it was attacked making it hostile to those trying to approach.

Knowing that the cat is just taking solace and safety for now, Elaina decided to leave it alone for now. But for now, she has to go and start foraging for now. As for what she will do to this cat later on, she will decide later instead. For now, she will get her tasks done and earn a decent amount of money for the time being.

As for the cat, it seems to be hiding something but right now, no one else can tell.