A grumbling sound could be heard from the stomach of the mouse girl in front of me. She avoided my gaze as her cheek reddened. She had an embarrassed look on her expression and I found it to be quite lovely.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, the girl nodded nervously which made her even more adorable, her mouse ears reddened with a twitch.

"Well then, leave it to me!" I declared with a confident tone.

We left the pond and wandered the forest for some time to search for food. I scouted my surroundings carefully in order to not miss any potential delicious food.

I found a couple of fruits and wild berries waiting to be picked up, so I tried to find some that didn't look poisonous, although I lack any foraging skills, and the fruits looked somewhat different from the ones on earth. I was excited to find some wild plant life to be eaten, so I tried to pluck a fruit that looked similar to a pear with a red color.

The mouse girl looked around her surroundings cautiously as she tried to also find some wild plant life nourishment, that is until she looked in my direction.

"No! Don't eat that!" The girl yelled out before I tried to eat the pear looking fruit.

As soon as I heard it, I immediately threw the fruit away. The mouse girl sighed in relief, she took a small gesture of pointing out the tree that grew the fruit I tried to eat before.

"Although delicious, that one would make your throat feel itchy, the yellow berries beside you would make you nauseous for two hours" She immediately took the lead and guided me as we walked inside the vast forest.

She carefully picked some plants and collected some fresh looking berries and occasionally told me what to pick and what not to pick.

Although her appearances were at the age of a young elementary student, her demeanor was akin to a caring teacher with an adorable young voice. It made me feel embarrassed to get ahead of myself thinking that I would be the one to take care of her.

"S-sorry I got carried away" The girl shyly muttered, while holding a ton of different kinds of wild edible plants I had never seen before.

"No, I'm sorry, even though I said to leave it to me, in the end I did nothing," At the end of the day, I was a shut in college student who barely saw the outside world. I was completely clueless towards the world beyond my room.

"That's not true! Miss Yuzu nursed me to health! Miss Yuzu is my savior!" The girl in front of me exclaimed with a loud and adorable voice.

Oh no, my heart couldn't take it. The sweetness of her words were too much for me to handle. I had the power of half the universe, yet it was completely defenseless through the power of an adorable little girl.

"Aren't you just so smart and cute?!" I suddenly embraced her. She was surprised at first, but she didn't reject it, rather she looked somewhat comfortable to accept it.

After a few moments, I tried to let go, however she kept on embracing me, "Please let me have this for a little longer," The girl cried out, I could see a little tear forming from her eyes. It wasn't not much, but it gradually increased.

Lost in words, I could only pat her head and let her do as she wishes. The complete silence was occasionally interrupted by her sniffles, she still didn't let go.

"After I escape through the forest, I kept on eating everything I found, even if It hurts, even if I vomit everything I found, I kept on living" The mouse girl eyes were brimming in painful memories as she spoke, she tried to compose her facial expression yet her eyes were filled with tears.

"There, there" I could only continue to pat her, she tried to weep her tears as she calmed down.

Her knowledge of foraging must've came from her desperation to live on, seeing her like this, I couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say, so I could only kept on patting her, I couldn't imagine how hard it must be to be alone in a damp and scary forest with no comfort at all.

She was only a little girl, yet she couldn't catch a break in her life. I could only watch her in silence as I patted her.

"Th-thank you," Muttered the girl softly in a low voice. Slowly, she let go of me.

The flow of tears in her eyes stopped as she wiped her tears away. a sudden rumbling sound took place in her stomach. Her cheek reddened as she stared at the food she gathered, it should be enough for the two of us.

"Well, how about we start lunch then?" I asked cheerfully as the little girl nodded, we found a spot near a river to start eating lunch.

The little girl devoured her portion slowly, she seemed to be getting well. I took a small purple berry with a strange zig zag pattern in it. It vividly tasted like a sweet orange, and before I knew it, almost all of the food that she gathered was gone. I didn't realize it before, but perhaps I was hungrier than I thought, I haven't eaten anything yesterday after all.

We ate lunch in silence followed by the sound of a river beside us. As we're sitting right by the river bay, the calm atmosphere of the river made me want to fall asleep.

The fruits and berries in this world tasted more or less the same from earth, maybe a little bit more salty. Needless to say, all we've eaten so far is only edible plants and berries, I was craving for some meat.

I tried to look around to find some animals lurking from the bushes. I saw a deer passing by the lush forest, so I tried to reach out my hand and focus on killing it. However, it ran away with full force, the way it looked me in the eyes made me hesitate to kill it.

"U-um, are you still hungry, Miss Yuzu?" The mouse girl asked as she observed my behavior.

"No, I just thought I'd try to get some meat," I replied with a disappointed look.

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After hearing my reply, the girl immediately walked toward the nearest tree. She grabbed two small tree branches and searched for the nearest root of small trees. She found a neat looking bone from a dead animal that I couldn't recognize.

She then searched the nearest white bark and began to create a makeshift string in order to make a fishing rod.

I watched in silence as she worked. Since she had no knife or other equipment, the process took a very long time, however she was determined to get it done.

After an hour passed, she displayed two impromptu fishing rods to me. Her eyes were filled with cheerful expression as she gave one fishing rod to me, I softly showered her with praises that she deserved. Her mouse ear twitched shyly hearing it.

I smiled at her, and she urged me to follow her lead and we would then go fishing with small worms as bait and a neat looking bone that the mouse girl sharpened as a hook with a rock as the weight.

The sun's position was high in the sky as it indicated noon. We waited at the river bay in silence for the fish to be caught.

The noise of the river and the breeze gave the surrounding a calm atmosphere. The mouse girl placed her hands together shyly as she waited patiently. Her ears twitched uncomfortably as she glanced toward me a couple of times.

I tried to say something to break the ice, however I don't know what to say. Perhaps I could talk about the weather, but that would just make the situation a lot more awkward than it was. Thinking about it, I didn't know much about her, I didn't even know her name, so now would be a good time to ask her. Before I could say anything, she stared at me for a few seconds nervously.

"Um, Miss Yuzu, are you the goddess of death?" She asked with a curious look, I was so surprised that I couldn't give an immediate reply.

"What makes you think that?" I replied to her question with yet another question. I was scared for a moment that she would answer with something like my eyes were filled with dead fish eyes, or that my appearance reeked of death. Even as a former shut-in college student, I tried to look after myself in appearance, although with minimal effort.

The girl thought to herself for a few seconds before she answered.

"Mom said that before someone died, the goddess of death would look after the soul as she takes them away with a gentle gesture while guiding the souls to reach the reincarnation cycle," The girl calmly explained as her eyes focused on the river she was fishing on. She nervously glanced at me.

She hid her face after her eyes met mine, as she looked forward to the calm waves of the river, meanwhile she continued on explaining.

"Well, the goddess of death is said to be a divine and beautiful lady wearing eccentric clothes," The mouse girl turned and observed my clothes with great interest, meanwhile I could only be embarrassed at her assessment.

"No, wearing a middle school uniform as a college girl is definitely not weird at all!" I yelled in denial. She could only tilt her head in confusion, so I shut my mouth to let her continue.

"A-anyway, I asked Miss Yuzu before Miss Yuzu healed my wound if Miss Yuzu is a witch, and Miss Yuzu denied it," The mouse girl said as she stared at me.

I suppose I did show her my bedroom, which was a normal modern bedroom with a ton of light novels books on the shelves and some anime posters, however it might not be the standard here in this world.

At the very least, she didn't think of me as a shut-in otaku who had no hobbies other than watching anime and reading light novels. She was a kind and obedient kid, I'm sure she wouldn't think that.

"A-and the room Miss Yuzu created, it was otherworldly and comfortable, the goddess of death was described as a laid back goddess who laze around her room as she awaits souls to come in her way," The mouse girl shyly explained more as she shuttered her words a little, perhaps she enjoyed the cool breeze of air conditioner in my room.

My heart took considerable damage as I looked at the pure hearted girl beside me.

"Surely those traits are applicable to a lot of people, I'm not the only one who laze around in my bedroom!" I said denying her words. I might have been a shut-in on earth before, but I was not really the right person to be called the Goddess of Death.

The girl's ears twitched just like how a mouse would as she tilted her head in confusion. Perhaps the standard of lazing around is different in this world, the modern earth had ways of making things convenient, the supplies of entertainment you can have in the comfort of your room was endless, I miss earth.

The mouse girl hesitated a little before continuing. She looked at her wrists calmly, however her expression was filled with anxiety, she touched her neck with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Although only twice, I saw the portrait of the Goddess of Death, and the portrait looks exactly like Miss Yuzu, even the clothes," The mouse girl casually dropped a piece of information that broke my heart.

"Who is this pervert drawing a college girl in a middle school uniform?!" I yelled with a swelling indescribable emotion inside me, scaring the fish away that almost bit my hook of the fishing rod.

The mouse girl looked shocked and scared at my sudden outburst, however she tried to maintain her calm composure.

A moment of silence appeared as one of the fish bit her fishing hook, she gave it a strong pull, however the fish didn't give up as they went into a pulling contest.

I watched the events unfold as it ended with the mouse girl being the winner as she managed to pull the fish up to the surface.

The girl smiled with joy as she showed me her fish that she just caught with a hint of pride, I patted her as the moment just seemed an appropriate thing to do.

Suddenly, her smile reminded me of the first time we met. Her kind eyes showed me compassion as she asked me if I was okay, her body was in a fatal state for who knows how long.

A sudden impulse let me embrace this little girl once more as she was caught by surprise.

"You're not dead yet, you're still alive," I said while hugging her.

She was taken aback by surprise, her eyes were radiating with tiny tears, however she didn't let her tears fall, perhaps she grew tired of crying, she could only embrace me back as her tiny arms touched me.

Growing up, I always long for a little sister, there was one thing that I would want to do if I had one.

"Surprise Yuzu special attack!" I pinched her cheek without too much force as her expression turned squishy, yet so adorable. Her cheek was so soft and fluffy, that I couldn't stop myself from pinching some more. Oh no, I was falling in love with how squishy her cheek was, but I stopped myself before she got annoyed any further.

A few more fish came by and bit the hook of our fishing rod, so we stopped fishing and prepared a fire to cook our fish. I was gonna use my power to create fire, however the mouse girl seemed pumped to prepare the fire by herself as she grabbed nearby leaves and broken tree branches, so I didn't want to ruin her efforts.

"Fire blitz," The mouse girl softly said as she grabbed a twig, and a fire appeared at the site of leaves and tree branches she collected moments ago.

A small campfire was made in a swift motion as the girl wiped her sweat on her forehead as she smiled in satisfaction.

"Was that magic?" I asked curiously which was met with a simple nod by the mouse girl. She grabbed more twigs as she pricked those twigs into the fish we just caught.

I also helped by piercing the fish with the twig as we cooked the fish by the fireplace. As the fish turned brown, we stopped cooking the fish. I tried to taste a bit of the fish, it tasted bland as there was no seasoning, however I couldn't complain.

The mouse girl saw me eat. She would then search for our leftover fruits, and grabbed a fruit that looked like a tomato with violet color. She smashed that fruit with her bare hand and showered the fish she grabbed with a chunk of fruit she just smashed and then ate it with a delighted expression.

I followed her suit and smeared the fish I just ate with similar fruit she used. I gave it a taste and it was so much more delicious than just a bland cooked fish. The fruit gave a salty flavor as it complemented the fish color.

"Thank you, um..." I just realized that I still didn't know her name. The little girl noticed it, she gave a little smile and said "I-isn't it a bit too late to ask that?" I could only smile in embarrassment.

Nevertheless, she stood up and gave me a little spin as she swerved her casual clothes around while giving me her introduction.

"I'm Kara, the mouse girl princess, pleased to meet you," Kara smiled.