Considering that we were just starting a long and arduous journey through the wilds on foot for the next month or so, everyone's mood was quite high.
The voices raised all around was quite cheery, discussing things like what they would like to do when they've reached their new homes, or what sort of things they expect.
Especially stories about the various places that some of the people have been to was quite popular, as a few of the women were merchants or adventurers before the events that brought them here.
"But you know, it's really cold up there. The dwarves don't mind since they just stay inside their mountain cities where it's warm, but travelling to and from them was terrible. But because of that, the goods they make is worth a ton if you can bring them back. I sold one of the spare spearheads I bought there for cheap once I got back where it was warm, and that alone paid for "
(Speaking of...)
"Have you ever been to any of the dwarven cities Philia?"
The orphanage director was a dwarf. At least she looked like one.
I hadn't ever gone north to see the dwarven lands, so I was a bit curious. It sounded like the mountainous region was cold most of the year, but since the dwarven cities were built inside of the mountains themselves, they tapped into the geothermal energies to keep the place nice and warm.
My cold resistance made that a bit moot, and Alicia and Fate seemed to not really notice the cold either, but for others, it was probably a life saver.
"I was born in Hyperborea actually."
"Really?"
A part of me was expecting her to say she was actually born in Linsington or something, so I was actually a bit surprised.
"Yes, though I left when I was quite young, so I don't even remember which city it was."
"How come that happened?"
"There's not much to say. My parents were merchants, and they wanted to sell dwarven goods directly to the humans. They thought it would be more profitable to do it directly than to wait for southern merchants to come to them."
"I didn't expect that. Your parents being merchants?"
"I'm shocked. I thought it was obvious that I was the rich and beautiful daughter of great merchants, do I?"
"Well..."
I didn't know how she managed it, but Philia somehow made a sexy pose despite balancing a toddler on her back.
In turn, I turned my head away at the blatant teasing.
"Don't worry. It was a long time ago."
(But you're not even going to suggest that any of the stuff you mentioned was an exaggeration?)
"So, what sort of place was it anyways?"
"Hmm...if I remember right, we lived on the middle levels back then, a bit closer to the upper side."
"The upper side?"
"Yes. Dwarven cities are built so that the more prestigious families lived in the lower levels."
That sounded like the reverse of how most other places were made.
"Why was it done like that?"
"Because it's warmer there."
"Huh?"
"The warmth of our cities came from underground. The deeper you dig, the warmer the rocks became. And also, to live in the deepest levels, you needed to be able to afford the cost of maintaining the wind pipes that are used to circulate fresh outside air inside."
"Ah."
"Other than that, I remember that the city was pretty cramped."
"Since it was difficult to build new space?"
"Yea. You couldn't really dig outwards as the whole mountain could collapse if you dug too much, so digging down was the only way as we had ways to support the extra height. But even then it eventually got too hot to dig any further."
If I remembered right, there was the deepest hole in the world somewhere in Russia. The reason why they stopped digging was because the earth got so hot that the drills started to melt or something.
There was no way people could dig nearly as deeply if you had to dig by hand as well as live in the new space afterwards.
"What happened if the population grew too much for even that?"
"We'd start a new city in another mountain."
"Ah."
"Otherwise, someone would have to leave. My mom and dad chose to leave rather than risk being kicked out."
"Your city was already near its limit?"
"I think it was already well past its limit for a while by that point. They seemed to have exiled a lot of people for a while due to this. And it seemed like it was better to leave on your own than be exiled, since an exile wouldn't be allowed to come back."
"But your parents could come back to trade at least?"
"That was the theory."
"Then what happened?"
"Nothing much. They succeeded in trading, but I didn't really take after them that well. After doing poorly as a merchant for a few years, I quit and took over Your Sweet Home."
I gave Philia the stink eye for her wordplay, but all she gave me in return was a cheeky smile and a wink.
"Anyways, I was already helping out here and there as well as donating what little I made. I was much happier this way anyways."
"I can tell."
Despite how difficult things had gotten, Philia had never gotten discouraged and continued to do her best for the kids. It was almost like she was born to take care of other people's kids or something.
"You know, if you want, we can try inviting your parents over as well. I don't know how well a pair of merchants will do when we don't do much outside trading in the first place, but they're welcome to make a home there."
"No, it's fine."
"Really? It's no problem at all."
"No, not that. They're not around anymore anyways. As you know, an orphan makes the best orphanage director after all!"
Philia gave me a smile as blinding as the sun, but it did little to brighten my own mood after it took a nosedive.
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. It's been a long time. They died carrying goods to the front lines during the upsurge in the war almost forty years ago."
"But still..."
"They died doing what they believed in, as I intend to as well. I have nothing but pride for them, even if I never could live up to their legacy the way they expected originally."
I studied Philia's bright expression. All I could see was pride and happiness in it. If there was any sadness or regret at all, I was either to poor to see it, or she was too good at hiding it.
"Personally, I think they'd be proud of what you've done. Most people would say you didn't amount to much, but I think instead you were able to become something few others could achieve. You did something I don't think could ever do."
I liked kids, and enjoyed playing with them as well as raising my own. But caring for other people's kids like they were my own for decades on end? I didn't have the confidence to be able to last for long doing that.
"You're quite good at saying the words an old woman like me need to hear, you know that?"
The gentle smile that the old dwarf gave me felt much more reassuring than the overly bright one she gave me before.
As the sun retreated towards the horizon, our massive group had moved off the road and made camp.
When I tried to offer my help when it came to making dinner, everyone insisted that I take it easy and rest. Even to the point of forbidding me from doing any work, I ended up together with Philia and a few others watching over all the kids.
"Miss Scarlet! Miss Scarlet!"
The moment I sat down and placed Alicia and Fate into my lap, Flix came up.
Being one of the few people in our group that was good at magic, she was one of the people tasked at starting the fires for both the camp and for cooking. It looked like she had rushed and finished her work before coming back.
"Oh, are you finished? Good work Flix."
I gave the little foxkin a pat on the head. The girl narrowed her eyes while giggling as I scratched the back of her ears.
But as I was enjoying the softness of her ears, something grabbed my arm, stopping me from continuing the patting.
"Mmmm!"
"Mmmmm!"
My daughters pouted one after the other as Alicia and Fate held onto my arm firmly.
In turn, realizing that the head pats had stopped, Flix's eyes narrowed as she quietly revealed a fang.
"Alright, you three. Stop it."
Three pairs of eyes all turned towards me, seemingly their feud having been forgotten in an instant.
"Alicia, Fate, you two have to share. Not just with each other, but with others as well."
The two of them looked devastated as the grabbed the chest of my dress.
"But...but...!"
"Mommy...!"
"No. You two need to learn to share. Even if it's just a bit."
My babies dropped their faces as their started to sniffle. Their hands though, refused to let go of my dress. Even still, the very sight tore at me, and it wasn't long before I was patting the two of them on the head.
"Flix, you too. Alicia and Fate are still only babies. You need to be more lenient on them, and let them get used to you more slowly."
"Yes Miss Scarlet."
The fox girl lowered hear head as well before making a bit of space.
After a bit longer, some of her friends from the orphanage called for her, so Flix went back. But she gave us all a long look before heading over, dragging her feet the whole way.
Once everybody ate and went to sleep, I was there, playing with Alicia and Fate.
Philia gave me a worried look for some reason, but everyone else immediately accepted my offer of taking the night watch.
Though a few of the adults sat around a fire taking turns watching out, though I didn't think there was much point in other people exhausting themselves when I wasn't even capable of sleeping in the first place. Combined with [Sense Presence], I could easily watch out for anything which might come close to our migratory group.
It was a good thing that I was keeping an eye out.
As the night rolled on, several presences popped up at the edge of my skill's perception. Then a few more from a different direction.
Once I confirmed that they were headed straight towards us at a slow rate, I bent space in front of me and peeked at the presences from above.
They were armed people.
It was unfortunate, but it seemed like things really were getting bad in the city.
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