After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

G Tourist City, 18 months prior

Inside a deluxe hotel room, a newly-wed couple watched the worrying news on the television in the comfort of their bed.

[The tension between Eden and the Yuta country is at an all time high.] The reporter said, and an image of thousands of soldiers marching was shown.

They looked very disciplined and regal, meant to show the country’s population that they, the Military, could handle whatever results would come out of the discussions.

The newscaster continued to speak.

[The Edenian Military is preparing in case it develops negatively. However, our Foreign Affairs Minister Mathilda Ross will be flying to personally handle the talks.]

”Are you allowed to be here?” Althea asked, turning her fluffy unruly head to the man she was lying on.

”It is my week off.” He told her succinctly, but his eyes were warm on the woman in his arms.

His large hand slid down to her soft unclothed waist, slowly caressing her supple skin.

He had been looking forward to this for months.

How could he forget that their honeymoon a few months prior was cut short because of a mission!

Althea pouted and held his naughty hand in place. ”But–”

”There are plenty of capable people in the military.” He said, voice raspy and sexy, as he changed their positions and placed her underneath his hovering large body.

Not forgetting to turn off the damned television, of course.

He dipped his head so his lips touched the side of her face, slowly going down her neck, sampling her supple skin there. His warm hand moved, caressing her thigh, feeling her softness.

Althea was frowning with a flushed face. She pursed her lips as he went lower, and she quickly placed her hand on his warm lips, stopping him from doing more.

”Will Auntie be okay?” She asked, a bit breathless.

How could she be in the mood when people she knew were in danger?

”Gill led the team to protect her himself. They’ll be okay.” He said, kissing her palm. He couldn’t tell her any more details because it was confidential, and he just assured things would be okay.

However, his deep azure eyes met her lovely emerald ones and he understood she was really not in the mood (for now).

Sighing, he simply returned them to their previous position, with his wife snuggling comfortably on him.

After confirming that he wasn’t going to ’take advantage’ (so cute, Garan thought), her shoulders slumped in relaxation.

She buried her head on his wide shoulder, wrapping her arms around him, feeling his soothing warmth. ”If only there were no wars.”

He looked at her gently and his large hands caressed her back. He leaned down to kiss her head.

”Only in an ideal world, my love.” He said, wrapping his strong arms around her, sending her warmth.

”But no matter what…,” he told her, ”You have this husband of yours to protect you.”

____

[24 Days of Protection Period]

Althea rubbed her temple and walked to the lounge area and sat there.

Her body felt very heavy, like lead was resting on her. It wasn’t even because she was pregnant.

Brenda for a while just stood there looking down and waited for instructions.

After a moment, Althea drank her tea habitually to calm her nerves.

Not only did they have to deal with monsters, now they had to deal with other humans, too?

Wait, no, there seemed to be other… creatures?

It was only after her cup was half empty that she noticed the other woman standing dutifully not far from the circle.

Althea sighed and waved at the other seat. ”Take your seat, and have a snack. It’s cookies and tea.”

Brenda hesitated and looked at a loss.

Althea’s eyebrows rose, puzzled. ”What’s wrong?”

”It’s improper to be so… informal with the Lord.”

”Well, my territory is different.”

Brenda saw that she was not testing her and was sincere in the invite.

Brenda couldn’t help but be extremely honored to the point that even if she was fed poison she may really take a sip. ”T-Thank you..”

She was actually being polite and thought that she didn’t have the guts to eat and drink too much.

It was just that the moment a bite touched her tongue she couldn’t help but eat and drink a bit more.

It tasted amazing. The aroma of the ’cookies’ and the fragrance of the tea enveloped her senses, carrying her to an unfamiliar world she would love to explore.

When her teeth bit into the cookie’s crunchy but chewy exterior, a burst of flavors erupted on her tongue, making her want to moan.

Then she took a sip of the tea, each drop sending warmth to her body. She immersed herself in the earthy essences of each sip, closing her eyes as her palette exploded with floral undertones, mixed with some natural sweetness of fruit she could taste.

She had heard of teas. Weren’t they supposed to be bitter?

Unconsciously, she raised her head to ask the nearby person—

When she saw the lord’s beautiful emerald eyes looking at her in amusement, Brenda shivered—Goodness Elves, how could she forget that the LORD was right next to her!—and she abruptly stood up, and bowed at a 90 degree angle.

”I-I-I’m sorry my Lord!” She exclaimed, shaking a bit. She wouldn’t get fired as soon as she was hired?

Ironically, her eyes ended on the plate, and felt reluctant to part with it the most.

Althea saw all this and held back a chuckle. ”I told you to just call me Althea.”

”H-How could I?”

”Calm down. It’s fine, I placed it there to be eaten.”

”B-But—”

Althea rubbed her forehead. Obviously, there was a heavy cultural gap between them and it was useless to teach too much.

”Do you want to eat the rest or not?” She said, ”If you don’t sit back down I’ll take them back.”

”...”

”...”

The woman furtively sat back down.

Althea waved at the food and as if ’doing her duty’ the woman resumed her chewing. She did not even notice she was humming a bit, but Althea didn’t point it out lest she went into a panic attack.

Anyway, from her reaction, she could tell that the NPC loved the food, and this was still using the simplest available ingredients…

Anyway, instead of dwelling, she started changing the topic. ”You mentioned some sort of war earlier…” She paused, deep eyes darkening.

”Tell me more about this… territory war.”