8

--Here is the promised chapter. Enjoy reading it--

***

As I ran, Atalanta's body tensed, her eyes squeezed shut, her hands clutching my hair and her legs trying to choke me, but alas, she was a complete wimp now because of the malnutrition.

*Sigh*

Sighing, I slowed down to an acceptable speed to make her more comfortable.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to you." -my hand reached out to stroke her head, but her hand grabbed mine and started rubbing her cheek against it.

'Eh? What's the big deal? Is this for real? Damn, she's definitely going to grow up spoiled with such cute looks and actions.

'I must admit, she's much nicer than my daughter, who always walked around with a stony face without crying or making such cute gestures.'

'But I still can't accept her as my daughter. Unfortunately, I didn't have a little sister in my last life, and here's Bam, and there's a cute little cat girl, every man's dream.'

'Since I picked her up, it's up to me to raise her...hell, I hope she's as much of a genius as my daughter. Teaching her language will be a lot harder than modern math.'

'Besides, I won't be able to walk around with her all the time. Maybe I can ask the Dryads to help me for a reasonable price. But first, I have to get faster than the speed of sound. I think it'll take three or four years. I'll travel with her for now.'

'Plus the problems with the centaurs... whatever, I'll just kill them all and the problem will disappear. That will spread my fame even further, maybe even the gods will come to me.'

'As I made my way through the dense forests at an ever-increasing speed, I was still making plans for the future.'

'In Athens I can try to create chess and exchange it for drachmas or coins in a more understandable language, perhaps even the goddess Athena herself will be interested in me, which will allow me to know better the approximate power of the gods and perhaps their political situation.'

'Please forgive me, O great creator of chess, for this shameless theft of your invention.'

And so began the journey of two children through ancient Greece.

***

"Hey, Atalanta! What the hell are you doing?!" - I yelled at Atalanta, who was up in a tree shooting her bow into the air, hoping to kill the birds.

"You can't kill them! This bow is rubbish, and you yourself are still weak. So stop it!" - I shouted at her again, causing her to turn to me with her face like a puppy who has done something wrong and is sad about it.

"You... okay, never mind. Get down from there, we're leaving."

«Atalanta-trying-to-kill-bird!» - Atalanta replied incoherently, looking at me with stars in her eyes.

It had only been a week since I had picked her up. In that time, she began to learn how to speak and more or less understand my words, which left me stunned because even my daughter took about 2 years to start speaking at Atalanta's level.

'Could it be her age? More likely...'

Turning to one of the tall trees, I said, "Mistress Leah, thank you for letting us stay here."

«No need for formalities. You can come with Atalanta whenever you want, I will always be happy to welcome you» - a young, beautiful and calm voice came as if from everywhere.

"Of course we'll come if it's the will of fate." - I just smiled and started to look around to make sure the forest would be okay.

"Put on your clothes. I didn't made them for nothing." - I pointed to one of the trees that had a cloak of beast skin hanging from it that could cover her entire body.

*Nod*

Atalanta just nodded sweetly, forgetting her ferocity after two days with me, because she knows that if she shows her ferocity, she'll get hit on the head or go without food for a day, which was an absolute nightmare for her.

Wearing a cloak over her simple white cloth robe, purchased at a random antique shop along the way, she followed me.

"Thanks again for your hospitality." - Better to repeat that and just look like a nice guy than a cocky boy with no manners, because who knows what a dryad of this magnitude can do, with a territory the size of today's New York City.

«Yes, yes, you don't have to repeat yourself. By the way, feed Atalanta well, she complained about you» - the same beautiful calm voice replied, making me just smile and shake my head.

I decided it would be better if we traveled at a slow pace, giving her the right environment for her development, even if it would take longer.

There is one other piece of news that I have only recently learned. Namely, that Atalanta was raised by a female bear, and that bear was killed by centaurs the day I picked her up. Pretty sad and illogical...how is a female bear able to feed and raise a human child?

That was a question I decided not to think about because there are useless gods in this world who cannot set clear rules, who cannot control their lust and fuck all kinds of beautiful mortal young girls just because they are gods. I also remember a man who had two fathers. How the god of the sea with some mortal human king had a threesome with the king's wife...shit, why am I embarrassed? These stupid gods need to disappear to cleanse this world of such useless and harmful gods. I don't think they don't even know the names of their own children... what a shame.