"Good morning, Kara," I smiled as I brought a plate filled with egg fried rice. I dressed in cat hooded pajamas while Kara was still wearing her casual outfit.

"G-good morning," Kara greeted me back as she yawned. She observed the surroundings with a surprised look on her face.

The entire room had a better atmosphere than the mess it had yesterday. The dust that was piling up completely disappeared. There's not a single trace of broken furniture and interior left. I used my power to clean up the room while Kara was sleeping soundly. The owl I noticed yesterday completely disappeared without any trace at night.

We had breakfast in silence at Kara's room. The sunlight burst through the window as it brightened the entire room with color. As we finished eating, I dematerialized the empty plates with a bubble effect as it disintegrated into atoms. I also didn't forget to bring water for her to drink.

"What would you like to do today, Kara?" I asked Kara as she grabbed something. The key from yesterday. She showed me the key as I tilted my head in confusion.

"My dad told me to hold onto it once I turned 10. It's been months now since my 10th birthday. He told me it's an artifact bestowed as a key to the peace treaty between the thunder dragons and this nation." Kara looked across the window as she viewed the entire broken city with a saddened look on her eyes before continuing, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now." Kara sighed as she gave me the key for me to inspect.

I looked at the key curiously. It looked just like a normal key you can find anywhere on earth. Although, there was something supernatural embedded into it. I beckoned Kara over as her expression tilted in confusion. I pretended to chant a spell as I put on a light show around the key.

A beautiful necklace was formed with the key as its core. The key itself was protected by diamond shaped beautiful jewelry, something I've only ever seen on TV and anime.

"..." Kara watched in silence as I put the necklace around her neck. She smiled at her new attire. She found a mirror in her room to see her reflection. She felt elated as she gave a tiny "thank you" while smiling.

"Well, where do you wanna go today?" I asked. Kara gave a conflicting expression as she thought to herself.

"I-I don't know... As I said before, I don't have anywhere to go," Kara said with a saddened expression.

"Well, do you know anyone you'd want to pay a visit to?" I asked once more. Kara took a moment before answering.

"W-well, there's an elf girl that helped me out once. She said she lived alone on a mountain near here. It's only a three hour walk." Kara said as she pointed out the window toward a distanced shades of a mountain

I secretly took a sigh before nodding in agreement. My legs were simply not made to be exercised on a long distance mountain walk. Nevertheless, I couldn't reject the cute little princess' offer to visit her friend. Kara smiled seeing my answer.

"She said there's a spring bath near her house," Kara added.

"Well then let's go!" I energetically rushed Kara while still wearing the cat hooded pajamas.

❦ ❦ ❦

"Um... Miss Yuzu... Are you gonna wear that for the whole trip?" Kara asked with a concerned look as we walked. I simply brushed her off with a smile while wearing my cat hooded pajamas.

"Well, it's comfortable to wear. Besides, it'll intimidate any mountain bear that would come near us!" I said with confidence. Kara nodded with a full attentive expression. Seeing her, it made me embarrassed as there was nothing special about the pajamas other than the cute look it gave.

We took a path near the house that would lead us to the elf's house. Kara took a deep breath as she glanced back at the fallen city.

"I was scared. As the princess of this nation, the people's expectations of me grew too much. The anxiety within me builds up each day. I couldn't help but worry every single day." Kara said with a blank expression. She closed her eyes for quite some time with a frown on her mouth. "Well, all of those problems seem insignificant now," Kara continued as she opened her eyes.

Kara's complexity was dull. As I observed her reaction, my index finger subconsciously moved by itself as it poked Kara's cheek. She made an adorable noise in surprise. She pouted cutely as I smiled at her behavior.

The sun was settling down the brightness of the sunlight it caused. It was morning. The birds started to chime around loudly. Kara cheerfully showed me the way as I followed her lead.

"So, what kind of person is this elf?" I asked curiously as we walked. My first interaction with the elves wasn't exactly a friendly one.

"W-well, her name is Lady Remmy. She's shy, beautiful and smart. She lived alone in the mountains with nature. Although, I've never visited her house before. Our last meeting was cut short," Kara explained. Her tone was rather soft. There's a hint of concern in her words.

"Do elves usually live alone?" I asked curiously. Based on Kara's description, she seemed quite different than the elves I encountered the other day. Kara shook her head as she denied it.

"Lady Remmy is somewhat different from other elves. She doesn't discriminate against other races, including cat tribes. Even though elves and cat tribes have been at war for more than a millennium. Lady Remmy's train of thought got her excommunicated from the elven village," Kara explained as we walked up the foothill of the mountain slowly.

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"But didn't the old man and his party from yesterday say that elves and cat tribes worked together to destroy the old man's village?" I asked Kara as I started to recollect yesterday's event and conversations. Kara took a moment before responding.

"Well... I'm not sure, usually their pride won't allow it. However, I was pretty much isolated from the outside world for months. I wouldn't know anything of the sort." Kara responded quietly with a sad tone. I immediately gave her a pat reflexively.

I looked around as we walked. An owl followed our path as it sat down comfortably on a small tree branch.

"Is it normal for an owl to keep on following you through the daylight?" I asked curiously as I kept on maintaining eye contact with the owl.

Kara looked surprised with my seemingly random question. She furrowed her eyebrows. Her mouse ears twitched as if it tried to recall knowledge.

"Of course not. Owls are nocturnal after all. Perhaps the owls Miss Yuzu mentioned were spirits that were contracted by elves. The elves' bond with spirit owls was quite deep through history," Kara thoroughly explained. Her gestures were akin to an elementary school teacher. She could be a great teacher one day. After she mentioned that, a silence could be felt for a moment. "Just like Mouse tribes with Thunder Dragons," Kara continued with a hint of sadness.

Kara's expression felt lonely whenever she talked about the mouse tribe. The only comfort I could give was a head pat. However, that was probably not enough to fill Kara's void of loneliness. I wasn't sure whether there were other mouse girls like Kara. Nevertheless, I knew how insensitive it would be to ask something about that.

The sunlight mercilessly shined on the mountain. The forest gave us enough shade to be comfortable as we walked. The road was also pretty clear. It's been two hours since our first step on this trip.

"I see. So this Remmy person is also a big fan of owls, I suppose?" I asked curiously, only to be rejected by Kara instantly as she shook her head.

"Lady Remmy hates owls with a passion. She simply disliked how menacing they look. Her hate was fueled by the fact that her disgust of nocturnal animals," Kara said with a rather gloomy tone. The mouse was also considered a nocturnal animal. Perhaps Kara felt hurt with this Remmy person's statement. "Even so... Lady Remmy is the only elf that I've encountered to ever help-" Kara continued with a small voice, yet happy tone. However she stopped her sentence with a sour expression. "Owl?" Kara tilted her head in confusion as she walked.

"Then who sent that owl to follow us?" I said to Kara while pointing at the general direction of the owl. The moment I did that, the owl completely disappeared into oblivion.

Suddenly Kara wobbled around with her steps. Until she took a sudden halt. Her eyes were spiraling with dizziness. Her legs were visibly shaken to its core.

Kara's left leg finally gave up as it sent her falling down. However, I immediately caught her just before she would fall. Kara's eyes were filled with complete fears.

"Kara, are you okay?!" I asked worriedly.

Kara's breaths were shallow. Her hand frantically touched her neck with a scared expression. She felt the necklace I gave her just now. "Take a deep breath, Kara," I simply instructed her.

Kara finally started to calm down as she took a deep breath. She grabbed her necklace's key firmly with a focused look on her eyes. She slowly but surely tried to gain her composure. However, Her eyes were looking at me with fear and horror.

"I-I'm okay, I'm okay." Kara tried to stand up again. Her legs were shaky enough to not let her stand.

"How about taking a little rest?" I suggested.

❦ ❦ ❦

"Are you okay now?" I asked anxiously.

"..." Kara replied with silence.

We took a nearby rock to sit on. Kara suddenly stared at her wrists and trembled. Her mouse ears twitched uncontrollably.

"T-They're... coming. I... I could feel them with my sense of smell!" Kara said while stuttering her words with fear.

"Kara, listen to me. Remember to take a deep breath," I said with a strict, yet soft tone.

Kara immediately straightened up with her posture. Even so, her eyes were still filled with fear and despair. She took a controlled deep breath while her eyes were closed.

"Are you okay, now?" I asked once more.

Kara nodded. Her expression felt relaxed. However, there were still traces of fear visible from her. She took one last deep breath until she finally could talk.

"I recognized the smell of several people coming towards here," Kara said with a worried look on her eyes.

"Who do you mean by 'they'?" I asked curiously. Kara took a second before she could answer.

"My... kidnappers," Kara said with such dismay in her eyes.

The moment Kara said that, the bushes around our left gave a satisfying rustle sound. A young man with a handsome feature, notably his long ears came out from the source of the rustling sound. His party also followed suit with so much confidence on their walk.

"Well, hello there. We've met again, Kara. How have you been?" The handsome elf said with a gentle smile. It's the same elf I've seen from the other night. Although his words were sweet, his eyes were filled with rampant starvation.

The party behind him no longer had an impatient and irritated expression. They all had a relieved and scary look. As if a hunter waiting to take down its prey.

"We've met again, young cat lady." This time, the tall guy talked with a much more condescending tone than the other night. That remark made me look around my attire. A cat hooded pajama.

Kara shrank in fear as she could barely stand. She looked around her with terrified expression. I gave Kara a pat to calm her down. However, that only made the elves angry.

"Do not touch her freely, you filthy cat monster! Her bloodline is a valuable asset for us! We took her first! Scram away from us or we will tear apart your pathetic cat ears!" The tall elf screamed as the voice echoed through the entire forest. They all withdrew their weapons with a violent look on their faces.

"Goddess Lily once again bestowed her blessing for us!" Yelled one of the elf in the party, followed by the scream of "Hail Goddess Lily" That echoed the entire foothill of the mountain.

Kara stared at them angrily. Her expression twitched with anger the moment they mentioned Goddess Lily.

"Kara, stay behind me," I whispered. Kara nodded silently as she stayed behind my back.

The elves party got way more members than I remembered it to be. There are around nine elves on the ground level, while four of them were sitting comfortably at the height of sturdy tree branches.

"Doesn't she look kinda familiar?" One of the elves asked.

"Her face and expression was shrouded by the night back then." One of them added.

"I'm also under the impression I've seen that damn cat monster's face before," The tall elf man followed the train of conversation

The handsome elf felt annoyed at his companions bickering. He clicked his tongue in frustration as he yelled "Enough!"

The entire party shut their own mouth immediately. Satisfied with the response, the handsome elf gave order toward his companion.

"Remember what we're here for, recapture that damn rat, and kill that damn cat tribe!" The handsome elf pointed his sword at me. The forest rang with war cries as the elves party took their weapons out in the air as they ran toward us.