In a cave at the side of a mountain was a settlement. It was a safe spot for its inhabitants, most of the time. Not low enough for monsters to stumble upon it. The pathway was narrow enough that prevented any larger and powerful monsters from using it. And it wasn't so steep or too high that the residents would be hard pressed to traverse the area, leaving or going back.

This group had made a home of this place, making it comfy as much as possible.

It was nighttime, and torches and small campfires inside lit up the cave. A few had already fallen asleep, resting on their sheets or inside their tents. It was a mostly silent night, save for the chuckling of some young people chattering and cackling at the corner.

A young man in his late teens was taking a bite of the cooked monster meat as he watched the chuckling bunch with a raised eyebrow. He was feeling curious about what they could be talking about. And more importantly, he was worried if they got too loud, they would wake up the others sleeping, especially the girls. And he knew what level those girls would lash out if they got annoyed.

The young man stared at the fire as he bit the last of the monster meat, and he drank water from a pouch.

"Ah, feels good."

"Say, Kinzo," an older man called to him, sitting with him by the fire. "How's the baby? He's not sick, is he?" The man in his early thirties was named Maro. He was an essential part as to why they had their freedom. And Kinzo owed him a great deal.

Kinzo smiled slightly. "He's alright, from the looks of it."

Maro nodded. "That's good. But better keep a close eye on him. Make sure to keep him clean."

Kinzo chuckled. "Yes, uncle. You've told me many times already."

Maro pointed a finger at him. "Just in case you forget. If your child gets terribly sick around here, it'd be pretty bad. So keep him healthy. And feed the mother, don't let her get hungry."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Good, good." Maro drank some water from his pouch. "By the way, have you thought of the future for your kid?"

Kinzo formed an expression of puzzlement. "Future? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you think it's alright to raise a child in this environment?"

Hearing that, Kinzo was at a loss for words. That being said, the thought had crossed his mind. For them to leave. However, that was easier said than done. Moving out with a child through this dangerous region was deadly.

And there was another issue.

"You're right, uncle. But… even if we leave, where would we go? We were slaves, we don't have many opportunities to have. And what if they find me? They'd just put me to work again."

"I doubt it. Besides, there are other cities you could go to, you know. But it's up to you how you want your kid to grow up."

They were all slaves, the people here. Adults, teenagers, young children, male and female. They belonged to a large convoy of slaves by a large criminal organization, at least, that was what they knew they were. And no one even knew where they were going and what was going to happen to them. Whatever it may be, it was no small operation.

However, as they traversed the place simply called as the Badlands, they were suddenly attacked by monsters. It damaged one of the cages. Therefore, while their guards were distracted, the slaves took the chance to escape and helped free the others. They put up arms, stealing the weapons stored by the convoy. There were warriors along with them that helped tremendously.

One of them was Maro, he became a slave because of a debt he had after gambling — which he deeply regretted. They killed the guards that got in their way and they ran into the mountains. They ran and ran until they got tired. A few of their fellow slaves perished, killed by the slavers, or by monsters. But most of them survived.

Just to get away from the slavers, they kept on marching until they found this cave. However, they were then faced by a plight — food and equipment. Food they could get from the monsters, but other necessities, they lacked, like proper sheets to sleep on or cooking tools. In the end, they decided to send a group to go back to where they saw their convoy last and hoped there were still some supplies that were left.

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When they arrived, they discovered that all the slavers were killed. And indeed, all the supplies were still there. It was the greatest blessing they could ever get. With those supplies, they got to live a comfortable life inside the cave.

And it had been three years since.

And Kinzo had just gotten a child a couple of months ago.

Kinzo let out a sigh. "I need to think about this."

"You should, it's your responsibility as a parent."

"... Yes." Kinzo stood up. "I'll go check up on my love, see you later."

"Yeah sure."

Kinzo made his way to his and his lover's tent. And he saw his lover sitting on a wooden chair outside with their child in her arms.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kinzo asked as he approached.

The young woman was the same age as him, and she was pretty. Like the rest, she was once a slave who faced many kinds of abuse. Things that would be absolutely difficult to utter and describe. Many took advantage of her.

And in those moments of terrible hardships, was when Kinzo met her.

The young woman, Chio, slowly raised her head to look at him.

"Well, I have to take care of the needs of this little guy here." She smiled sweetly and lightly poked the cheek of the adorable baby in her hands.

Kinzo smiled softly and sat down beside her. He stared at the little baby, and it warmed his heart. He had to admit, he was a nervous wreck when Chio got pregnant. However, the moment their child came, which was a hard labor, it gave him hope. And he swore that he'd do anything for him and Chio.

"I see." He lightly touched his baby's cheek. "Do you need anything? Anything I can help with?"

"Well, we're about to run out of water."

"We'll go get more water at the brooklet first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you."

Kinzo glanced into her eyes for a moment and a thought came to mind. "Chio, I've been thinking."

"Hm?"

"Should we return to society?"

Chio paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath, her hand trembled ever so slightly. "Return there…?"

Kinzo understood her fear. She didn't have a good experience in a place of people. "Yes. We can't pretty well raise a child out here."

Chio pressed her lips. "I understand that. But it's too dangerous. Especially with our little Kyojie."

"Not so soon. When he grows a bit older."

Chio lowered her head, a pained expression on her face. "But joining society again, it will be difficult. To start from nothing."

Indeed, if they joined back to society, with nothing in their name — no money, no properties or anything — it would be very difficult to raise a child. And finding a job might not be so easy.

"Plus," Chio continued. "What if they find us?"

Kinzo smiled softly. "We'll figure out how to have a good start. And, I doubt they'll find us… we're just some random slaves to them. We'll go to a different city, where people won't recognize us."

Chio faintly nodded. "Let's think more about this."

Indeed, this must be something to be pondered seriously. It was a significant decision to make that would decide their path in life. One that they shouldn't decide so rashly.

"Oh look, Kyojie has fallen asleep."

Kinzo gently wrapped his arms around Chio. "Then it's time for you to sleep."

"What about you?"

"Later. Guess I'll go on a lookout for the moment."

"Okay."

Kinzo watched as Chio and their baby entered the tent. He turned his head and noticed a kid standing nearby, looking at him.

"You were listening, Soshu?"

"Yeah…" The boy slowly approached. "You're planning on leaving?"

Kinzo smiled. "Not anytime soon, though. We're still thinking about it."

"Huh. I guess if it's for Kyojie, it's a good idea."

"Is that so?" Kinzo rose from his seat. "Anyway, what're you here for?"

"Just wanna talk, you know."

"What? Missing me already? Hehehe."

Soshu's face turned into disgust. "The hell? Why would I feel that way?!"

Kinzo found it quite amusing. He knew that Soshu looked up to him, he had been helping the kid ever since they met, however possible. He might look up to Kinzo as a kind of older brother.

Kinzo chuckled as he rubbed Soshu's head. "Yeah yeah. Let's go outside. I wanna have some fresh air."

"Sure."

They made their way outside the cave. Kinzo nodded at the other adult guards sitting nearby. The entrance was barricaded with wood and stone in case of an attack from monsters. So far, they had not faced anything that totally wrecked everything.

"Oh yeah, Soshu, let's get some water tomorrow. Chio said we're running out."

"Sure, sure."

When they reached outside, he saw that the other kids were still awake. Kinzo frowned.

"Why aren't these kids asleep yet?"

"Oh come on, we're not sleepy yet!"

Kinzo shook his head. "Better sleep after an hour, else you won't grow properly at this rate. Even you Soshu."

"Booooh, killjoy."

The other adults, including Maro, suddenly laughed, looking at Kinzo with wide teasing grins.

"Things just change when you become a father, eh?"

"Scolding and telling kids to go to sleep early already. Haha!"

"Boy got more caring!"

"Practice makes perfect! Hahaha!"

Kinzo groaned and crossed his arms, a blush forming on his cheeks. "You guys shut the fuck up. It ain't that deep."

"Yeah, right."

"Just admit it, you're getting soft."

"Hey, it happens to the best of us."

Kinzo shook his head. They were just making fun of him. But he had to admit, fatherhood might have an effect on him. He became more easily worried about children.

"Hey guys, look at that." One of them suddenly pointed at a distance. It was towards a patch of woods.

All of them looked towards the woods, and they saw bright blue flashes amidst the dark of the night.

"What's going on there?"

"Someone or something fighting?"

It was then a large burst of light lit up the area. A moment later, the light faded, and all the flashing lights stopped.

"Should we take a look and investigate?" Kinzo asked. They had not seen something like that before.

"Tomorrow morning," Maro said. "Too dangerous to move out at night."

Huh, guess we'll hold off getting water until after that.

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