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

Sienna looked at the village in surprise. Her expectations of this place were not low—after all, her daughter sent her letters about her experience—but seeing it for herself was an entirely new experience.

However, she was not able to appreciate it further because she heard the voice she longed to hear, and all her attention was pulled towards it.

”Mother!!” The voice yelled. Sienna’s eyes went wide and she turned to the direction of the voice. Her eyes lined with tears as she watched her precious child run to her.

”My daughter!” she yelled, voice cracking. The two almost embraced, but Sahara stepped back all of a sudden. This confused Sienna a little until Sahara let out a smile.

”Ah, mother, the baby…”

Sienna blinked and looked at the bundle in Sahara’s arms. She shook a bit and leaned forward, gently pulling at the fabric that covered it. As soon as she did so, a beautiful baby girl with beautiful wheat-colored skin entered her sight and clenched her heart.

The child seemed to be half-alseep, slowly opening her eyes as she felt the movement. Beautiful blue eyes met Sienna’s, and the old woman immediately burst into sobs.

”Oh, little baby…” she cried, naturally taking the bundle into her arms, almost forgetting the daughter she was just running towards a few moments earlier.

Helios chuckled as he placed his arm around his wife’s shoulder. He leaned down, teasingly rubbing his face on her hair. ”Well, don’t be sad, I can give you all the attention in the world.”

Sahara blushed, gently pinching his abs, not that she managed to get a lot of skin.

It was around this time that a handsome and tall man approached them.

He had dark skin and dark hair, making him look intimidating. He approached with a serious expression on his face, and Helios couldn’t help but feel a little alarmed.

When Sahara flinched and brightened at the sight of the man, Helios felt even more so. ”Khalil?” she asked, immediately approaching. ”You’re here!”

The dark-skinned man’s eyes softened a bit and nodded. ”Hmn, I was tasked to lead the protection team for this batch,” he said, ebony eyes staying on her face for longer than proper. ”It’s been a while. Time looks good on you.”

Sahara smiled and Helios felt a little annoyed. He immediately stepped forward, grabbing his wife’s soft shoulders again. ”Ahem.”

Sahara blinked and looked at him. She was a bit confused at first until she realized she hadn’t introduced them yet.

”This is Khalil,” she said. ”He’s one of the team captains in the Sands Mercenary Team. He is also an old friend of mine and my brother’s—he’s also a brother to me.”

Helios looked at his wife’s face and saw she was being completely honest. His shoulders slumped in relief, before turning to the other man with a meaningful expression on his face. ”I see… hello, brother.”

”Hmn.”

Sahara was blissfully unaware of the tension between the two men. She would remain as such because her mother finally remembered her daughter. She once again moved away from Helios and went to her mother, and they cooed on the baby together.

”She looked just like you when you were a baby,” Sienna said, still sniffling from joy.

Sahara smiled, wiping her face with a clean cloth. ”Was the trip difficult?”

Sienna shook her head. ”We used the arrays,” she said, making Sahara relieved.

Fortunately, the entire leading family was honorary members of the Sands Mercenary Team, so they could also use the arrays in the Mercenary Hall as needed. They just had to coordinate with Ferrol and another town about putting out missions for them.

She would feel very bad if she made her mother go through such a long trip on her own!

Anyway, seeing the mother-and-daughter would be busy catching up, Helios led the team to their destination—the industrial areas.

Although Helios and Khalil obviously disliked each other, they knew when to act professionally, so the exchange began without issues.

Sahara took her mother to their home, getting a broat-cab to bring them directly to their house. She and Helios, with their shared money and contribution points, managed to get a nice 2-bedroom unit in one of the mid-rise buildings.

Sienna was intimidated when she found out they were in the highest floor, and then gaped when they reached the elevator. ”Amazing…” she said. ”Your letters didn’t give this place justice.”

Sahara smiled. ”No words can, Mother.”

They both agreed.

…

They settled in the room a couple of minutes later, with Sienna still refusing to let go of the soft bundle that was her granddaughter. She also admired the house, which was decorated simply but cozily.

It was said that a house’s interiors can say a lot about a family, and Sienna could tell her daughter was living a comfortable, happy, life.

She couldn’t ask for more.

Anyway, the mother-and-daughter chatted for the next few hours, catching up with everything that had happened since they parted, regardless of whether they had mentioned them in letters. Letters could only express so much, after all.

”Helia… it’s a beautiful name,” Sienna said, gently touching the baby’s soft cheek. Sahara mentioned the baby’s name in her letter, though it was only now that she had some opinions about it. ”But isn’t your husband’s name Helios? That’s a bit on-the-nose is it?”

Sahara laughed. ”Helia is his mother’s name,” she said. ”It also means Sun in their language. I thought it’s apt… seeing how bright my baby is.”

Sienna looked down at the baby in her arms, so precious and so cute, melting hearts everywhere. ”Yes, fitting indeed.”

The topics they touched, for now, were all light and breezy. It wasn’t difficult—for a change, they really had so many good things to discuss.

They couldn’t help but remember the last time they talked face to face. Their Town was in dire straits at the time, and they were on the verge of hopelessness.

Now, just a couple of months later, they could talk about banal things like what they ate for breakfast without feeling heavy in their hearts.

It was those little moments they appreciate the most, because they couldn’t even have those back then.