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

Of course, some of the biggest changes during the past months were in the family, who was having a massive dinner in the garden this time.

The special occasion was Sheila’s birthday, and she was with her family as well. Her father and brother had adjusted well after they moved in.

Sheila supported them for about a month or two, giving them a place to live and an allowance to live off of.

However, afraid they’d turn to parasites, everyone including Althea warned her to give only the bare minimum.

It could be a bit out of line, but they did it for Sheila’s sake. She understood it though. She did have a tendency to be a pushover so it was normal for them to be worried for her.

Sheila did help her father find a job and her brother to enroll in school, giving them a good foundation to build their future on, which was already very kind.

Her father was actually a good worker and started making good money after a promotion, while her brother was going to high school and was doing well in most subjects. After school, he was also making a bit of extra money gathering resources for the territory.

Eventually, after a couple of months, the duo managed to earn enough (with Sheila’s help) to get a downpayment for a small studio unit. They just had to place a double-decker bed there, and it was already more than enough for them.

To be honest, Althea had been worried for her family, fearing that they would be leeches like Amos’ family. Fortunately, they were just a bit overbearing but had good hearts.

Althea could tell that her father had been a helicopter parent, but was not the kind to use his children as retirement plans. At the very least, he wasn’t like Amos’ family or Winona’s grandmother, who expected the younger generation to unconditionally support them and do whatever they ordered regardless of anything.

It also helped, of course, that they once witnessed her axe a monster down while she was training with her husband.

Anyway, at this time, they set the party up in the gardens because there were many attendees. They had four very pregnant women in the table, too—Sheila, Cassandra, Melissa, and Winona—and they were all sitting together like the best of friends.

Cassandra, Melissa, and Winona were already in their last trimester, while Sheila was in her first.

They found out about her pregnancy more than a month prior, so they decided to make a grander-than-planned party to serve as a double celebration.

The pregnant women had gotten very close in the past few weeks of bonding. They all had different mood swings and quirks, but having someone relate on a deep level was definitely helping them cope with all the stress that came with pregnancy.

Anyway, it was all nice to watch them bond over this. Their husbands, especially, were thankful for the support group to deal with issues they could not understand no matter how much they tried.

It also helped with their relationships too, because after bonding with the other girls, they’d be bright and happy when they got back home.

The husbands would also get some clues from the other women about what their wives wanted and needed, allowing them to serve them well during this period.

Sometimes, the women would even reward them by initiating sexy time.

Happy wife, happy life indeed.

Anyway, the women’s topics shifted from gossiping about the yoga instructor (pregnancy yoga classes appeared in the territory now), couples who broke up (and why), which neighbor challenged which neighbor (to a spar), and—of course—some of the popular characters in the territory.

Being well-known had some perks, but it also came with endless gossip. It just came with the territory.

”Did you know?” Cassandra said as she took a bite of her meat. ”Some of Oslo and Gochi’s fangirls and fanboys seemed to have formed an alliance of sorts.”

”Oh?”

”Interesting.”

Although not common, a few groups of fangirls (and fanboys) could get so passionate that they’d start fan wars. At some point, it felt like an inevitable progression as the entertainment industry began to flourish.

For the most part, it was just the formation of cliques and the mass purchase of merchandise (to one-up the other group).

However, some war freak people even took it to another level by challenging ’enemies’ in the casinos or even in the sparring rings.

It was like whoever won had greater ’love’.

It could get really bad (in a funny way), and some people were forced to take one side over the other: Either love Oslo or Gochi, there was no in-between.

But… what if they liked both equally?

That was how the alliance came about. ”There are some boys and girls who decided that Oslo and Gochi occupied the same space in their hearts and could not choose either one. They then declared ’independence’ from their respective fan groups and created one of their own.”

As for why Cassandra knew so much, it was because it was well-known that Oslo was her ex and that she got into a little conflict with Gill over Gochi (during the Ferrol bidding wars) so she was pulled into the gossip by some aunties she happened to be in the spa with at the time.

…then she was asked to join in. As a member.

”They called themselves ’Golden Furries’.”

Cough!

This was Eagle, who was eating something while eavesdropping in the gossip. Fortunately, he was able to turn his head to the side before he splattered saliva all over the food.

The women rolled their eyes and resumed their chatter, while the rest of the table also ate and gossiped about various things, too.

Althea shook her head and smiled, looking to the side at where an outdoor playcot was.

Another major change in the past few months was, of course, related to the babies.

”Come eat now,” she called. ”Stop playing for a bit.”

The two babies sitting on the cot with their outdoor toys simultaneously lifted their heads and turned to her.

They had grown quite a few inches (vertically and horizontally) during this time, and they were as cute as ever with those large doe eyes, cute faces, and chubby cheeks people could just smooch the whole day.

Anyway, the word ’eat’ was a good word for them and they immediately mobilized to obey. With older baby Theo next to them and guiding their movements, the two babies gestured to stand up.

The two leaned over on all fours, diapered bums wobbling, and used their little arms to help lift themselves up. After a few seconds, the two were standing upright—even if they were a little unstable—and immediately dashed in her direction.

”Mammmwa!” Little Meatball yelled, toddling over to her with his shaky little legs.

”Mwama!” Little Pepper called, doing the same.

They were still so small, probably only a foot high, and their little steps were tiny but they were improving.

Little Theo was following closely behind them, like a protective older brother, and it was the sweetest thing.

The adults watched with full hearts as they watched the babies approach, showing their independence, and the couple kneeled down with open arms to catch them in their embrace.

Both babies waddled towards Althea’s arms though.

Garan: ”...”