"I wonder if that was the best thing to do," Kara said. We walked in silence as the wind blew right past us.

Kara glanced behind as she saw the group leaving towards a different direction from us. All of them had a determined look before leaving.

"They'll be fine," I assured her. Kara took a second before switching her gaze back towards the front of her as we walked together.

Kara's petite figure continued to walk with a relatively innocent and cheerful expression. Although her appearance was akin that of an elementary student, she managed to fend off four grown men with ease.

"Kara, you're so strong," I complimented her with a smile. Kara stared at me with a bashful smile. She continued on walking while her cheek reddened. Her mouse ears flutter around shyly.

"O-of course! I'm a princess after all!" Kara proclaimed cutely. She gave an embarrassed smile as she answered with a cheerful expression.

The deep forest cried out its inhabitants as the birds sang a melodically harmonious chirp. I saw a menacingly small owl staring at us. The sun started to grow an orange shade of light as it indicates afternoon.

Kara walked silently without any emotion in her expression. She gave a sudden sigh before muttering, "We're almost there" With a low voice.

We came across a very rough looking road in the middle of the forest. Kara led me onto the road without hesitation. She followed the path with a sense of familiarity in her eyes.

❦ ❦ ❦

"We're here," Kara said with a full emotion yet calm voice. I looked around our surroundings quietly. We walked silently through the street without any sense of time.

We passed through the gate with no one guarding it. The walls that surrounded the nation were huge and gigantic. However, the walls looked damaged as burnt marks could be seen all over it.

We kept on walking the street. I held my breath as we walked while looking around. Kara kept her eyes forward as she walked.

"What... Happened?" I asked. Kara could only give a weak sigh. She stopped walking as she turned around to see her surroundings. She took a deep breath before continuing to walk.

"A battlefield. I... don't know exactly, I wasn't here when it happened. All I remember were people screaming and running for their lives," Kara answered with a low voice.

Kara sighed weakly as she continued talking. Her steps became slower.

"Our nation was the last nation to ever have a neutral faction that never took any discrimination to any race on its citizens. There are a number of reasons why other nations would attack this last haven of different culture and race." Kara stuttered her sentence with a sniffle. She walked slower and slower each step.

I stopped Kara from walking. Her eyes looked like they could burst out tears any moment now. I found an old looking bench at the side of the street. I took Kara's hand as we walked towards the bench.

We sat together in silence. Kara looked at her surroundings once more. A rather murky atmosphere appeared around us. I tried to say something but couldn't find the right words to say.

A silence appeared as I looked around my surroundings. A completely devoid place from any residents. I could see a couple of odd looking tree houses still standing strong with a couple of burnt marks in them. However, my surroundings were completely filled with debris from buildings and houses.

This place was large enough to be called a city. Yet, there was only destruction as far as eyes could see. There was nothing left on this ruin worth mentioning.

The birds flew past us without any care in the world as its chirp left the devastated damage of the city with a beautiful singing. Kara suddenly stood up as her expression started to harden.

"Let's go to my sweet house!" Kara said with a bittersweet smile. She pointed towards something in the distance. An enormous castle stood tall. It looked completely devoid of shapes. However, the remainder of it stood gorgeously.

Kara took my hand, leading me towards the ruined castle. We walked in silence with the occasional hoot from an owl watching us from a distance.

Kara's stomach rumbled loudly. However, her expression remained unchanged as we walked in silence. After almost an hour of walking, we finally arrived at the entrance of the castle.

"We're finally here," Kara muttered. The structure of the castle was greatly damaged. The interior could hardly hang on any longer as almost everything around us was wrecked down into pieces.

Kara looked around with a saddened look. She walked towards the hall without saying anything. I followed suit quietly.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"My room," Kara answered, devoid of any emotion.

After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at a gorgeous looking room. However, the entire furniture and interior were a completely shattered mess. Nothing valuable in this room ever showed itself, even though this room belonged to a princess. Presumably, lootings happened as the entirety of the castle itself was devoid of anything valuable.

Kara wandered around the room as she stepped on an odd looking tile. She gave it a little nudge on it with a gentle gesture. Suddenly, a light glowed on the tile as it opened up a small compartment. She grabbed something inside it with a satisfied look on her expression.

"What is that?" I asked curiously. She showed me the item she just grabbed proudly.

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"It's mouse magic, the tile only reacts with the royal mouse bloodline," Kara explained shyly.

Kara revealed a key in pristine condition. She took the key and started walking out of the room. I quickly followed her.

We walked out of the room. Kara took my hand as she led me out of the castle. After a few minutes of walking, we walked out of the castle from the back door. A calm breeze welcomed us as Kara looked around.

She continued to lead my hand as she walked towards something. We walked past a completely knocked down and shattered garden. The yard looked completely bitter with no sign of any plant life.

Kara completely ignored the rough looking garden as she walked. She stared at the building in front of her. There stood a colorful two story house. Although just like any other buildings I've encountered so far, it took a devastating blow visible from afar. It was not big enough to be called a mansion, yet it was bigger than the broken houses I just walked past by.

Kara's expression grew heavy each time she took a step closer towards it. Her eyes emerged with tiny tears she managed to barely suppress. Finally, she managed to open the front door of the house.

"I'm home…" Kara said with a soft voice.

"Welcome home" I responded. Kara smiled at my words. We walked inside the house with a quiet atmosphere.

The interior of the house wasn't as badly damaged as the others. Kara's legs were trembling as we walked.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"My other room," Kara replied with a weak tone.

After a few steps, we arrived at a room. Kara opened the door. She was greeted by the view of a dusted and messy room with a large bed. The interior was perhaps extravagantly decorated. Although it looked quite abandoned. I looked outside the window, the sun grew dark as it gave its last shine indicating evening.

Kara silently sat on top of the messy bed. She gave a hand gesture for me to follow suit. So, I simply sat down beside her.

"U-um, can I sleep on your lap, Miss Yuzu?" Kara shyly asked. Her mouse ears twitched with anticipation. I immediately replied with, "of course." Her eyes were brimming with tears.

I quietly guided Kara's head into thigh. As always, her mouse ears tickled me. However, it was quite a pleasant experience. Her swallow breath was quite adorable. I couldn't see her gaze. However, I was quite certain that her expression is filled with all kinds of emotions right now.

"Anything you'd like to take off your mind, sweetie?" I said while giving her hair a pat.

Kara nodded silently. Her expression was rather pale. She looked around the entire room with saddened eyes. She glanced at her key curiously.

"My mom used to give me head pat and lap pillow like this. She also used to sing me to sleep," Kara said softly.

I could hear Kara's sniffles quietly. Her left hand accidentally touched my thigh. Her mouth was moving around. Yet, there's no sound coming out. Finally, she had enough courage to look me in the eyes.

"When my mom died, I couldn't take it. I ran away from the nation sneakily. Even the royal guards couldn't find me right away. The guards at the gate didn't notice my presence at all," Kara continued.

The entire room was brimming with the dimness of the night. The moon was bright enough to shine some lights through the windows. However, the room was still shrouded with some darkness.

"I would run away through the forest where my mom and I used to play. I'd screamed my frustration away to the goddess of death. Why did she have to take my mom from me? She was a nice person who took care of everyone!" Kara yelled. Her eyes were filled with lost puppy eyes. She grabbed my thigh firmly. Her eyes were filled with tears.

Seeing Kara like this, I reflexively stopped patting her. Her eyes glowed in tiny tears as her hands rubbed her eyes with embarrassed looks.

I looked towards the window. The sky showed a full moon showing the light towards the outside. Kara's eyes looked teary and sleepy.

"Before I noticed it, it was already evening. I tried to come back here. However as I approached the gate, the guards were no longer there. It was chaos, there were fires everywhere. People were escaping out of the nation. Lightning was striking down ferociously," Kara continued.

Her eyes were flowing with tears once more. I continued to pat her as she talked.

"I thought it was my fault. I ran away and screamed at the Goddess of Death. My whining caused the Goddess of Death's wrath to strike my people," Kara's eyes were staring with sincerest confession on her expression.

Kara's silky hair rustled my thigh with a ticklish expression. Her mouse ears were twitching calmly. Her mouse tail appeared after hiding from her skirt.

I spontaneously tapped her tail and gave it a pat. Her expression fluttered in surprise at first. However, she completely let me touch her tail freely.

"Was Miss Yuzu... Angry with me?" Kara asked.

"No, of course not. How could I ever be angry with such a cute little girl like you." I smiled sincerely as I patted her head. Kara gave a tiny smile as her tears started to stop coming down.

"Mom said death is a natural part of life. Nothing can ever stop it, not even gods themselves. Otherwise, all the creatures in this world would stop searching for the meaning of life," Kara talked once more. Her sniffles grew less and less.

"That's right." I simply followed.

"But, why does it have to be this way? Why can't I just live happily with mom and dad?" Kara asked with intense heat on her eyes.

I stopped rubbing her hair as I sat in silence. Kara looked at me impatiently while I tried to think of an answer.

"What do you think living means?" I replied to her with yet another question.

"I... don't know. Ever since that night, I was- all I could do was suffer." Kara answered as she stared her wrists down.

Kara responded. Her words reminded me of the first time we met. Her neck and wrists were locked with collars. Her eyes were filled with desperation and tiredness. She barely managed to walk straight back then.

"The existence of life. There's no one that could understand what it means to live. All the creatures in this world- No, the universe did create an imaginative interpretation of their lives and others." I said while stroking her hair.

Kara listened to my words with a tired expression on her eyes. However, her attentive focus could be felt sincerely.

Kara took a sudden yawn. Her sleepiness was visible in her mouse ears as it stooped down lazily. She rubbed her eyes as her tears made a dry spot around her eyes. Seeing her, it gave me an urge to sing a lullaby.

"I used to chase rabbits on that mountain.

I used to fish for minnow in that river.

I still dream of those days even now

Oh, how I miss my hometown." I sang my favorite nursery rhyme back in school, albeit horribly.

The melodies must've sent Kara's eyes into a sleepy expression. Her tail gave a weak nod as it prepared itself to sleep.

"Once I've done what I set out to do

I'll return home one of these days

Where the mountains are green, my home town,

And the water is clear, my home town," I continued with reminiscing eyes.

Hoot sounds could be heard from a distance. I glanced at the window to see the source of the noise. Apparently, a single owl stared at her without any expression. The darkness of the night made it hard to see, however the bright light from the moon made the owl's shape very clear as it sat down from a nearby tree.

Kara's eyes slowly closed its lid as I continued to pat her. Her stomach grumbled softly. But, her eyes were no longer open. I could hear a tiny yet adorable snore coming out from her mouth.

"Good night," I said softly, to not accidentally wake her up. Kara gave a small smile as she heard that.