Chapter 375 Other Things

"Okay, you can come out now," I said as my cats retracted back into me, and the air bubble popped, lightly dropping Marie on the floor where she fell on her feet, but sunk to the floor as she looked at her now incredibly clean body and new clothes, and then around the room in disbelief.

"Wh-What happened?" Marie asked as she looked around the room in disbelief before looking back at me with wide eyes. "Who are you really?!"

I sat down on the newly made bed and watched as Marie slowly walked around the room, running her hands over everything to make sure it was real. I had explained who I was, wishing tomorrow was already here to get the cards from Goldy, but Marie was still stuck in shock mode.

"I told you, I am here to help people," I said as Marie finally came over and sat down on the bed next to me. "If you don't want my help, then that is fine, but I can at least make your life a little bit easier."

Marie was still staring around the room in disbelief as she slowly shook her head. "No one has ever helped me… Why are you helping me?"

"It is just what I do, but I also could stand the smell of shit. While you are the first person in this city that I have done this for, I have done this same thing for the women in the villages," I explained, but Marie seemed hung up and infatuated with the idea that she was the first in the city.

"Really? No one has ever helped me before… I thought that maybe one day someone would help, but it never happened," Marie said as tears started flowing down her cheeks. "I don't even know why you are helping me."

"Because I want to help people and because this city needs all the help that it can get," I said with a sigh as Marie slowly lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling in disbelief.

I hated to see people like this, but it was part of helping to change people's lives for the better. Sure, I loved the adventure, fighting, and lovemaking, but this was also part of it all; I just didn't like when people got so broken up like this. I wished that everyone just had good lives, but that was foolish and also the reason I was here.

This was my world now, and I was going to shape it into a place where everyone could have good lives. I was a god, after all, and it was my job to do things like this, even if I didn't want to.

"So what now?" Marie asked as she still stared up at the roof, and I turned back to look at her.

Before, I had been able to see nothing of her body, and she had been covered in dirt, but after my Cat God Spa, Marie was a beautiful woman. She had long black hair that was now clean and lay down in waves around her head, framing her face perfectly. Her body was slimmer than most women, but she definitely had some curves to her that her new clothes hugged perfectly.

"First, I need you to tell me about why you wanted me to leave, then about what you know about Hilda's whereabouts, and then I need to know about the city's economics," I said as Marie slowly sat up before looking at me with wide eyes.

"I don't know where Hilda is, but I can tell you want I know about the city," Marie said as she nibbled on her lower lip nervously, and I nodded my head for her to continue.

"I don't think that you will have all the answers, but if you can tell me what you know, that would be helpful. Let's start with why you wanted me to leave before," I said, and Marie nodded her head before she took a deep breath.

"I wanted you to leave because the city is dangerous, and it is only going to get worse," Marie started to explain as she looked down at her hands in her lap. "Hilda was one of the few good things about this city… She helped us when we needed help, but now that she is gone, there is no one to help us."

"When you say the city is dangerous, what do you mean? What makes it dangerous? Gangs? Monsters? Murderers?" I asked curiously as Marie slowly shook her head no before she took a deep breath.

"No, it is the city itself… There is something wrong with it," Marie said quietly, and I frowned at her in confusion. "Maybe that is not a good way to explain it. The people in the city are all split into five distinct family groups, and they control everything. Carrie does control the city and the region, but the five families are in control of what happens inside the city."

"And what are these five families?" I asked curiously, and Marie slowly ticked them off on her fingers as she spoke.

"The first is the Richmer family; they control all the farmland around the city that provides us with food," Marie said, and I nodded my head in understanding. The next finger went up as she continued talking. "The second is the Balishire family; they have most of the major business in their hands. They own the slaughterhouses, butchery, bakery, and many other places."

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The next finger went up as I nodded my head in understanding of what she was saying. Families controlling things like this weren't uncommon, but there seemed to be something more behind it than that. "The third is the Wood family, who deal with construction since they own all the lumber mills in the area."

"What about weapons?" I asked curiously, and Marie slowly shook her head no.

"Weapons are not as important with blacksmiths, but the fourth family is the Guildmaier family. They own the blacksmiths and most of the trade-in and out of Torrian," Marie explained as she moved on to her last finger. "The fifth family is the Grashalor family; they provide us with protection from other things."