Dalius blinked, and then blushed slightly. It was the first real compliment Cara had paid him. She drank greedily, and then chewed on the tough roots as she sipped the dusty water.

“So—where’re these roots from? You’re sure I can eat them? Not that I won’t—I was thinking about eating some of the corpses if I had to.”

The [Knight] was appalled. He hurriedly checked the nearby coffins by putting his head through the stone lids. Then he floated over to her.

“There is food aplenty. Assuming this is food, Miss Cara. Do not eat the dead. The roots are from the entrance. The—newer parts of this mausoleum were not constructed as well as the original layout. Less magic infuses the walls; plants and vermin sometimes break through. I collected these roots; they looked most edible. The mice eat them.”

She glanced up.

“Mice?”

He nodded with a grimace.

“I culled the latest infestation. One moment. Since you’re here…”

He floated off. Cara finished all that he’d brought her. It was gritty, tasted of stone, and the roots were about as easy to chew as bark. Which they were, pretty much. But she ate all of it.

And she was still hungry, despite the roots. The young woman was hopeful as she saw the familiar glow approaching. Then she sat up.

Ser Dalius was approaching, and in his gauntleted fist was—

An entire fistful of dead mice, nearly as fat as rats.

“Oh no.”

Cara stood up. The [Knight] glanced at her as she raised her hands. He jerked—nearly dropping his burden—and then gestured to the empty coffin she was sitting on. He shoved the lid aside.

“It is not for you! I must dispose of them. They keep coming in. It’s been three hundred years—or so I think—and I keep destroying their colonies, but they come through anyways.”

He was going to throw the bodies inside. To her horror, Cara saw the casket was full of tiny, yellowed bones. How long had he been doing this? The [Knight] busily crushed the bones to make space, grumbling about a lack of empty graves. But Cara stopped him.

“Hold on, that’s meat.”

She licked her lips as she eyed the mice. Dalius looked aghast. He tried to hide the mice behind his back.

“You just said—”

“I thought you wanted to feed them to me raw. I’m not a savage. Get some fire and I can cook them.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

Cara just regarded Dalius. She might be out of her element, but she wasn’t an idiot.

“I’m a smart girl from another world. You’re a ghost. A smart [Knight], rather. Are you telling me there’s no way for the two of us to make a fire?”

He opened his mouth. Then frowned, thoughtfully.

——