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

”Altera, eh?” He asked her with an amused tilt in his voice as soon as the others left. ”Didn’t anyone question how much it sounded like your name?”

Althea only blinked at his question, adorably innocent. ”I know, what a lovely coincidence. Interestingly, it could also mean (higher) Alt + Terra(n).” She said with a sly smile, obviously using this reason before.

Ansel shook his head. She obviously felt quite proud of this explanation, so he just went along with it in the end.

The two of them continued to chat as they walked to their destination. It was breezy and fun and it was like they had never been apart.

After passing through the lively greened streets and parks—which still hadn’t stopped amazing Ansel—the two siblings finally arrived outside the villa.

”We’re here.” She said, looking back at him with a proud smile. He chuckled and turned to look at the tall fence in interest, his eyes brightening up the more he saw.

In classic Althea fashion, the entire house was aesthetic and had a lot of plant elements. Although the house itself was a little far from the fences, one could already appreciate the detail to greenery of those who lived behind the walls.

The fence was slowly being covered with colorful vines. It effectively lined up the perimeter of her house and set up its approach.

He could also see the small trees near the fence and he bet they would be deciduous trees with wide canopies.

If so, then when all these vines and colorful canopies grew, this house would definitely be a head turner.

If such a house was found in Terran, maybe people would be taking pictures outside of it, turning it to a small picture spot.

Althea smiled and opened the gate, and Ansel couldn’t help but gape as he stepped into it.

It was even more beautiful inside. The path was lined with shrubs and trees, swaying with the wind, the gentle breeze carried the delicate scent of flowers.

The flowers were arranged into meticulously designed flower beds. The sight of budding shades of crimson, peach, green, and others blended beautifully, and just the view could make any one feel better.

There also were, interestingly, plenty of garden decorations and details. There were ponds and carved arches. There were also play spaces for children, as well as some leisure spots people could hang out in.

It was akin to a paradise, especially compared to what they had been seeing since landing here.

Along the edges of the gardens was a wooden fence. Crawling on them were not only colorful vines, but also fruit-bearing grapes!

Looking beyond the grape fence, he could also see the rest of the property, as the other side was still visible at this point. Ansel could see a lush garden-farm on the other side, and even the preliminary sight amazed him.

There were a variety, many familiar and mostly unfamiliar. But whatever it was, they were fascinating as they were baffling.

In a daze, he began to doubt his memories.

Was this the same world? Everyone arrived here at the same time, right? A few weeks ago?

Why were other people’s lifestyles so… different?

Others were struggling to keep full and most people were worried about encountering monsters. But then there were people like Althea who placed so much effort in lifestyle probably as soon as they arrived.

Nevertheless, he was more happy to know that Althea had been living well. Seeing this definitely made it feel like a weight on his back was lifted by helium balloons, and that was all that mattered.

They entered the house and the people eating breakfast raised their heads, smiling brightly at the sight of her.

”Althea! You’re back!” Sheila said, while Harold immediately stood up to prepare more food. ”Have you eaten breakfast?”

Althea shook her head and walked to her children in the crib next to the dining table. They were already babbling and extending their cute little hands.

Fufi was also very excited to see them and was wagging his tail and staring at them from the other side of the crib.

Harold paused when he noticed someone else was with her. The others followed his line of sight and flinched, startled.

The boss brought a man home? And it was an extremely handsome young man. Was he a star, they wondered.

Harold was the first to assume a welcoming stance and looked at the young man. ”Have you eaten?”

Ansel, who was still staring at the complete furniture, politely shook his head.

Harold nodded. ”Then I will prepare for you, too.” He said, earning Ansel’s thanks.

Ansel then followed Althea to the crib, charming eyes meeting the beautiful eyes of the children. They looked back at him with wonder and innocence, and he felt as if their smiles could wipe away all of his worries.

He couldn’t help but gape and admire, his heart warming and softened to a puddle.

”They’re your children alright.” He said and Althea laughed in response. ”Garan is also very handsome.”

Ansel shrugged noncommittally, and he just smiled at the children and made funny faces to make them laugh.

Althea sent them flying kisses. Although the babies didn’t look like it, they were newborns after all. She was afraid they were sensitive to the dirt. Similarly, Ansel followed her lead and admired them from afar.

”What are their names?”

”I had yet to give them one. I was waiting for Garan.”

”Then what should I call them?”

She pointed at the adorable baby boy with bright eyes, continuously splattering babbles. ”We call him Meatball because he likes rolling around so much.

Then she gestured for the charming baby girl, who was staring at them in curiosity with an adorable toothless smile. ”And this one is Little Pepper. She’s both cute and feisty, you see.”

Ansel couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ”Hey, why do I feel they fit them so well?” He cackled, and the children felt his energy and laughed with him.

Ah, his heart melted again.

It was around this time that Harold yelled from the kitchen. ”Time to eat.” He said, catching the two newcomers’ attention.

After sending more flying kisses to her babies, Althea guided Ansel to a seat.

She placed him right next to her, and he couldn’t help but look at the rest of the table.

The others were already seated, staring at him curiously and nodding at him in welcome. He gulped, feeling a little shy, before nodding back, and introducing himself. ”I’m Ansel. I’m Althea’s brother. Nice to meet you.”

”Hi~ I’m Sheila.”

”Hello, I’m Eugene.” A man said, then pointed at the kids at the table. ”That’s Theo, Maya, and Horus.”

”Hello, Big Brother Ansel~” The kids (sans the mute Theo) yelled in response.

Ansel’s lips twitched. So many children and a man with sticks for legs? His sister was really something else.

”Harold’s the one in the kitchen,” Eugene added, and on cue, the man came with trays and Sheila quickly stood up to help him out.

Ansel’s eyes couldn’t help but look to the kitchen. It was only now that Ansel realized that Harold cooked with gas.

Gas…?

How?!

But he quickly forgot about the issue when his eyes focused on the food being served, slowly entering his sight plate by plate, and making his stomach growl like it hadn’t eaten in a decade.

The breakfast was a chicken viand, a vegetable side dish, and a cup of rice. This was a normal breakfast back in Terran, but now it felt like he was in heaven.

Ansel looked at the food in front of him and was once again in a daze. Althea smiled and patted his shoulder. ”Let’s eat?”

”A-Ah, yes.” He said and when the food entered his mouth he almost cried, recalling the ’torture’ restaurant food brought them.

It was delicious! F*ck. HOW?!

But outwardly, he just ate in silence, graceful and poised, even if the food in front of him was disappearing within a few blinks.

Harold and the others chuckled at this.

Safe to say: The new guy really liked the food.