"Wake up, Miss Yuzu! It's morning already!" An adorable voice rings around the room. I took a sneak glance to savor my eyes of a mouse girl being adorable before getting back to sleep..

"5 more minutes" I said, however that doesn't budge Kara's nagging of waking me up at all, her cheerful voice ended up giving me the courage to wake up as I rub my eyes sleepily.

Kara smiled as her voice gave a warm greeting for me, "Good morning, I tried to wake you up earlier, but you wouldn't wake up" Kara said as she pouted, that pout was incredibly sweet that I needed a drink to calm it down.

"Sorry, you're awfully cheerful in the morning," I said to the colorful looking Kara as she smiled hearing my remark, I looked at the window as the sun was barely just getting up, the sounds of birds chirping echoed through the entire forest.

As a former college shut-in who only goes outside for class and groceries, I despise mornings with a passion. However, being awoken by a cute little angel made my morning infinitely better. Although I didn't expect her to be a morning person. Wasn’t a mouse supposed to be nocturnal?

"I finally managed to have a good dream!" Kara responded happily as her pure smile filled the room with glitter of joy.

Seeing her smile, I reflexively patted her as she grew embarrassed, "What did you dream about?" I asked curiously.

"U-um, I remember Miss Yuzu is comforting me" Kara grew red as her voice shyly reduced in volume. Suddenly, she shook her head as fast as she could before she grabbed my hand and led me somewhere. I followed her with a confused expression, still with pajamas on as both of us walked.

"What's wrong?" I asked as we left the bedroom, a fragrance aroma immediately assaulted my nose as it filled me with delightful yet tasty aroma, Kara smiled as she saw my reaction and hurried me into the dining room as she held my hand.

There were two dishes ready at the table as its scent continued to give the atmospheric surroundings some color. It was a simple dish of curry salad chicken, similar to the one we made yesterday. However, the appearance looked way more appetizing as the curry's color felt more elegant while keeping the simple ingredients around it.

"U-um, I tried to wake Miss Yuzu up before. B-but, I heard Miss Yuzu's stomach rumbling, so I cooked us some breakfast in the kitchen without Miss Yuzu's permission, I-I'm sorry," Kara apologized adorably as her mouse ears leaned down indicating her remorseful action. Her behavior made her look like an angel.

"Kara, please marry me!" I exclaimed impulsively as Kara's eyes were spinning immediately as she heard that, "B-but I'm still young!" Kara shook her head as she rejected me. Her eyes were shifty as she tried to stare towards me. Her cheek was reddened as her ears twitched intensively.

"A-anyway, please stop teasing me, Miss Yuzu," Kara blushed as she led me towards breakfast. My heart just couldn't handle her level of adorableness, so I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

We sat at the dining chair as we enjoyed the breakfast that Kara had cooked. Compared to yesterday, the flavor felt sharper as it penetrated right into your mouth with a perfect balance of nutrition and spiciness. There was no mistake about it, her cooking level is high, way higher than mine.

As we ate breakfast in silence, the entire food was gone in a flash as Kara took a sip of her drink with a satisfied look on her expression. I could stare at that smile forever, Kara noticed me as she hung down her face adorably.

"Shall we take a shower then?" I asked to her playfully as she accepted my offer immediately, we walked towards the bathroom as Kara took off her pajamas, we took turns in the shower and finally after we're done, I assembled from thin air a pair of new clothing for her as I wore a regular middle school uniform, the same one I've worn yesterday.

Kara took a glance at her new clothes as she spun around in happiness.

"Well, do you have anywhere to go today?" I asked with curiosity as I took a glance at Kara, she seemed quiet, her expression was quite difficult to read, however it seemed that she was convinced of her answer with a determined look on her face.

"U-um, I... I want to go home" Kara answered with a hint of sadness in her voice as she stared at me with abandoned mouse eyes as her mouse ears awaited my response with a scared look.

"Sure!" I answered cheerfully, I tried to maintain my smile as I replied, however deep inside my heart, I felt sadness. “Is this how a parent feels when they send off their children to buy groceries for the first time?” I murmured quietly. Every meeting must come to an end, but even then, I didn't expect it to be this quickly.

Perhaps the void in my heart was deeper than I thought. Kara looked at me concerned, "U-um, It's just that I left something in my house!" Kara consolidated with panic in her voice. Oh no, my overflowing emotions got the better of me as tears started to fall down from my eyes.

Not knowing what to do, Kara nervously fidget around as she looked at my pity self. Suddenly, she grabbed my head as she patted me, "there, there." Kara softly comforted me as her small hand patted me with extensive care.

A few moments passed by, I finally stopped crying and regained myself. Kara sighed in relief as she gave me a smile. Seeing her smile cheered me up. As a devoted Kara admirer, I would help her journey on her way on going back home.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Okay then, where is your home? Do you need a car? Or maybe a helicopter? Perhaps a private jet?" I gave her a barrage of questions, however Kara could only give an awkward laugh as she tilted her head quizzically.

"W-well, I don't know what any of those mean, but we could reach my hometown just around afternoon from here by walking." Kara explained as she gave a cute gesture of showing where the general direction of her house is.

I could only see the wilderness of the forest. There was no sense of direction to be felt in the first place, "How did you know that's where your house is?" I asked curiously. Kara smiled as she pointed to her lovely mouse ears.

"I'm a mouse girl, so I know by heart where everything is!" Kara explained proudly, I clapped at her explanation, mice have an excellent general sense of direction, so it makes sense, well, this is another world after all, everything is possible.

❦ ❦ ❦

We left my house without packing anything. Kara stared at the entrance of the house amazedly. I snapped my finger which disintegrated the entirety of the house in an instant. Kara was petrified as she glanced at me, "Miss Yuzu is really amazing…" Kara muttered.

We walked towards the direction that Kara gave me. I looked around to see the scenery of flora and fauna around me. I could see some variety of birds I've never seen before, some lizards that looked exotic, and an owl taking a glance towards us, "How odd..." I muttered. Weren’t owls supposed to be nocturnal? What is it doing there? Well, perhaps the concept of nocturnal and diurnal is different here, since Kara the mouse girl seemed lively in the morning.

As we walked for hours, my legs started to give in, yet Kara seemed just as lively as ever. In a flash, a small cat started to run around past us with incredible speed. I took this chance to strike a conversation to slow down the walking pace so my legs could recover.

"Do you like cats, Kara?" I asked, which was met by Kara slowing down her walking pace as she thought to herself thoroughly before answering.

"I'm... Not sure, people around me used to warn me about the dangers of cats, especially cat tribes, on how they kept hunting mouse tribes indiscriminately." Kara gave a response, she took a moment before continuing, "However, my mom always told me that 'all lives are equal' and to keep on reminding me to treat others based on what they deserve," Kara explained with a hint of passion in her kind eyes.

I reflexively smiled as I pat Kara with gentle touch as we walked, the sun just barely passed the highest point, which stated the time being afternoon.

"Well, my dad, as mouse tribe king, always pestered me to stay away from cat tribes, and the elves definitely don't have a good relationship with them," Kara explained even further. Her cheerful expression was sweet, however I could perceive a sad tone in her words when she started to talk about her parents, and her voice felt shaky the moment she said elves.

I sighed painfully, perhaps I shouldn't have asked in the first place, I didn't expect asking something so simple could spiral into this line of answers.

"Ah, but Miss Yuzu seemed to like cats, right? There are so many cat paintings and pajamas of them," Kara asked while changing her tone into a more cheerful one.

I couldn't answer immediately, so I only gave a simple nod at her question. Perhaps I should've taken down all Sekai-chan posters beforehand. However, there's a special place for Sekai-chan in my heart, so I couldn't have possibly done that.

Kara stared around her surroundings as we walked, her gaze went above the sky as she took a deep breath.

"I wonder if Mr. Dragon is still around..." Kara looked around the sky.

"You're not scared of Mr. Dragon, Kara?" I asked curiously, the appearance of the dragon was majestic, yet the ominous feeling of thunder and rain enhanced the sinister aura around it.

"Mom said Mr. Thunder Dragon is friendly! They would never attack anyone unprovoked, and they helped the mouse tribe in the past by fighting the cat tribe!" Kara said, brimming with excitement, her eyes were filled with joy.

It seemed like Kara really liked the Dragon. I felt left out a little, however I tried to maintain my smile hearing Kara's story. This really is another world filled with creatures like dragons and elves. I was looking forward to seeing all of them, eventually.

A rustling sound could be heard from the nearby tree as we walked. I tried to identify the source of the sound, and found an owl staring back at me. Its eyes were filled with curiosity as it flew away from my line of sight, perhaps it was the same owl from before.

My legs finally couldn't take it anymore as I felt like falling down any second now. The sun was still as bright as ever. Kara saw me as she stopped walking.

"U-um, should we take a break?" Kara suggested. I was touched by the gentle yet kind gesture by her. I felt pathetic as even though Kara's petite figure is younger than me, she had way more stamina left to spare. Perhaps taking a run or two wouldn't be a bad workout schedule, I would try to do it in the future.

After all, even though I have half the universe inside me, in the end, I'm still a human, and I wouldn't change it.

Kara looked around as she collected some apple-like fruits with purple colored dots pattern in it. She grabbed a few more fruits as she shared them with me. We sat near a sturdy looking rock as we ate.

"This is delicious!" I said with excitement as I ate some odd looking fruit with eagerness, the flavor doesn't taste quite like any fruits I've tasted yet on earth, but it has its similarities enough for me to enjoy it fully, Kara smiled at my behavior, however her smile felt forced as she continued eating.

"U-um, this is a-all I could find, I'm sorry," Kara said with a hint of sadness in her eyes, "I-I couldn't find anything up to Miss Yuzu's standard, I-I'm really sorry." Kara continued, perhaps she was afraid that I wouldn't enjoy the fruits she gave. Looking at her behavior, I couldn't help myself to pat her head as her soft hair tickled my palm.

"When you live as long as me, you'll get bored of having the same food everyday, no matter how delicious it is." I smiled. Even though I'm only eighteen years old, I was tired of eating the same instant ramen over and over again. Although that was probably my fault in that part. I didn't try to find fancy restaurants or famous drinks like my classmates and friends. The only thing that mattered to me was reading light novels and watching anime, quite a sad life now that I think about it.

Perhaps that's why I enjoyed the fruits that Kara gave me so much. It filled me up in a way differently than buying some random cup noodles in a convenient store and eating it alone in my room without any light on except the screen on my monitor.

Kara finally relaxed and smiled as she finished her portion. After we were finally done eating, a rustling sound could be heard from the nearby grass and tree. Hearing that sound in the forest was rather frightening.

I stood up to take precaution as Kara did the same, four humans appeared in rather ragged and tattered clothes, they all wore ugly expression as they held weapons, such as spear and swords, the reek of filthiness and alcohol they bring was quite heavy as one of them gripped a barrel of alcoholic drink.

"Well, well, well there little ladies, quite an odd clothes you wear there, what are you doing in the forest alone?" One of them spoke in a rather drunk tone while slurring his words as he gave a non-friendly smile.