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

”Do you think he’ll be alright?” Althea asked as she watched the Bellugan representatives disappear from view.

Garan leaned down and kissed her hair. ”He would have to if he wants to survive,” he said and he patted his wife’s head as she rested on him again.

”Soon enough, aborigines would come for us,” she said. Oslo had confirmed what that Bart person had hinted at Garan before. There were many aborigine territories interested in their tokens. They would soon be flooded with war.

”It’s like enemies would be coming from all directions…”

Garan nodded, not lying, but he kissed her cheek in comfort. ”We will consider as many things as we can so that, at the very least, we would feel secure in our own home whatever happens.”

Althea giggled, kissing his cheek. ”You’ll be like Altera’s watch tower…” she mumbled, then she flinched at the recollection of something.

”Speaking of watchtowers…”

She opened up her panel and Build tab.

She then took out her hand-drawn map from her space before turning to her husband, who in turn was curiously looking at her.

She handed it to him with a pencil. ”Can you help me choose some locations?

”Of?”

”Watchtowers! In the middle of the village!” She added so many conditions for her sentries at such high costs, so why not maximize their use of them by letting them help out within the territory as well?

Garan’s eyes lit up at this and leaned down, kissing her cheek. ”My wife is so smart,” he said.

”Hehe.”

”Tell me more.”

The smallest enclosed wall she could create had a diameter of one meter. She planned to build sentries on top of each one. She had studied the current sentries and, theoretically, it should fit.

If it didn’t, then she’d have weird walls, but she could just demolish those later.

Garan nodded, analyzing the map. Althea was also detailed enough to place a very rough topography of her village, just enough to know where the slopes and depressions were.

They didn’t plan to place them too densely—as that would be too ugly, too costly, and impractical—but they did choose some important locations like plazas.

She chose a level 5 wall and sentry, creating a narrow circular floor plan to minimize the ugliness.

After a thought though, she decided to spend some more gold. She took her tablet and found some pretty tower patterns that matched the theme of her village aesthetic.

She added carvings, embedded benches, and the like. Overall, she could imagine it would be quite pretty.

Don’t call her too squeamish, but she could imagine seeing an ugly tower among the pretty stuff and felt quite stressful.

”There!”

However, before she pressed the build option, she paused.

”But what if enemies prepare for them?” She asked her husband. Their effect would be much higher if enemies weren’t aware there could be sentries in the middle of the territory.

Although enemies would eventually figure it out once it was used, she wanted to maximize their surprise effect even if it was only during one war.

In the end, they decided to defer construction until the war happened. There was still a lot of ongoing construction and she may need to change up the locations of the sentries nearer some buildings anyway, depending on what actually went on in wars here.

She was looking forward to seeing them in action though. Nod.

Garan chuckled at her cuteness, leaning down to give her a deep kiss.

”I will be heading out soon as well,” Garan said, caressing her curvaceous waist. When the war started, he would be outside Fargo, ready to support as he could.

Althea looked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, accepting the intimacy.

However, before their kisses could turn more passionate, they abruptly parted and shifted their heads to look in a direction at the same time. They felt a sudden new presence there, and immediately raised their guards.

Garan already had ice picks floating and Althea had her bow and arrow out.

Obviously, no one should be able to enter the house due to the regulations but one couldn’t be too careful.

But they saw no one, at least at first, and their eyebrows immediately furrowed. They worried they might be against a strong enemy until they heard milky mumblings just below their line of sights.

They looked down and saw their daughter crawling on the floor towards them.

”Baby Pepper?” Althea voiced out, immediately putting away the weapon and rushing over to carry the little bun. Garan also approached and patted the girl’s head, but otherwise also confused.

The baby giggled as she hugged her mother. Althea leaned over to place a kiss on the baby’s soft face. ”My, what are you doing here alone? Where’s Maya?”

In response, the Little Pepper just smiled and waved her hand, as if telling her something. The couple just chuckled and nodded as if they understood.

”Hmm,” Althea uttered as she kissed the baby’s cheeks again, ”My baby is indeed very smart.”

Little Peppe giggled and opened her tiny arms, embracing her mother’s face with her entire body. The couple laughed and Garan leaned down to give her—and Althea—a few kisses as well.

It was around this time that a frantic little voice, followed by little footsteps, approached them in a hurry.

It was Maya, holding Meatball, with Horus holding Theo.

”Sister Althea! Sister Althea!” Maya called out, even before she saw them.

”What is it?”

”Little Pepper, she’s gone! Wuuu—oh, you’re here?” Maya blinked, confused, ”How did you get here?”

Althea walked over with Baby Pepper comfortable in her hold. She leaned down to look at Maya.

”What’s going on, Maya?” She asked and the little girl proceeded on telling the story, with much gusto.

”Hmm… we were all playing in the playground for a while, right? It was very fun. Horus, Theo, and I were playing tag, and the babies were rolling on the ground in the field.

”We always check on them and we run around them and they always laugh at us, especially when Horus gets tagged!”

”But then one day, when I turned around, poof! Pepper is gone!

”We looked EVERYWHERE! We were so scared!”

From behind, she could see Theo and Horus nodding in agreement.

Althea’s lips twitched and just patted the children’s heads. ”Well, the old people said never to underestimate babies’ speed…”

”Ohh…”

”Ah…”

They looked adorable, looking as if they had enlightenment.

Althea giggled. ”Well, you go along now. Let me have Pepper for a bit, she’s tired from super-crawling.”

”Ohh okay!” Maya and the other kids nodded, gesturing to go. It was just that Meatball whimpered all of a sudden.

Seeing his sister hugging his soft mother and being left there, Little Meatball was naturally not reconciled. He raised his little arms, struggling in Maya’s hold.

”Gwhgfwhheggmawmaaaa!”

Althea smiled and extended her hand to take her son, and soon the two children were rubbing on her comfortably.

While she felt her babies’ warmth and softness against her though, her heart felt a bit heavy as she was still figuring out the events.

Just… what is going on?

…

Althea temporarily put down the worries and looked at the other three children who were watching them, waiting for instructions.

”Go ahead kids, have fun,” she told them with a smile. ”Better enjoy your vacation, school is starting in a few days!”

”Yes, sister Althea~”

She and Garan watched the kids scuttle away before turning their attention back to the children.

There was silence for a while, all the way until they went to the bedroom. She gently placed the babies in their crib while they studied them.

The couple stared at the two children in the crib. They mumbled and extended their little paws towards their parents, who were oddly just staring at them.

”Mwammwaaahh??”

”Goggoomammaa??”

However, the couple was still deep in thought and they barely noticed their babies’ pleas. After a while, Atlhea made a bit of an exclamation, making Garan turn to her.

”Wait, their data could be in the panel now!” She said, a bit excited. It wasn’t there before they got officially named, and when they registered the children for permanent residency, there was no other information available except for their names.

Before, she had asked Oslo how babies were given identities—which was apparently automatic as soon as they were named. Similarly, if they were visitors, she wondered how they paid for visitor’s fees.

Apparently, the parents had to pay for the children through the centers. The babies were still developing until a certain age so there wasn’t any information there other than their names and age.

They didn’t think to look again, because there wouldn’t have been any point.

But now…

Althea was a bit excited as she opened her panel, but her shoulders slumped when she saw there was no change.

”Still none.”

She couldn’t help but look at both her children, who were looking up at them with adorable innocent toothless smiles as they finally gained back their parents’ attention.

They couldn’t be imagining everything, right?