Aberdeen City, 15 years prior
In the midst of the greenery of a single-detached villa, a small gazebo sheltered two children training, creating a cute and picturesque scenery that adults would love to watch.
"You can't move, Althea." A handsome young teen gently patted the young girl's head. The teen had very striking features, and anyone with eyes would be able to tell he'd grow up to be an extremely dashing man.
Similarly, the little girl he was talking to was very cute. She had springy dark-brown hair tied in two adorable pigtails combed to the side of her head. She had sparkling green eyes that seemed to reflect all that it saw.
At this time, these emerald eyes were sparkling with both innocence and defiance. .
"But Garannnn, it's so boooring!" She said, staring up at the older boy. The young girl was doing (or attempting to) do a stable horse stance, and she hated every minute of it.
The boy's deep cerulean eyes looked down at the ten-year-old girl, who was looking at him and was pouting cutely, her chubby cheeks flushed from sweat.
It was melting the teenager's heart.
"Ansel is so lucky to have an appointment." She mumbled, crossing her small arms.
Gatan sighed, how could he say it was an appointment with a psychologist, specializing in potential PTSD victims?
He leaned down and gently patted her head, wiping her cheeks with a clean handkerchief.
"I can't be by your side all the time." He said, "You have to be able to protect yourself."
Garan, although he was just a junior recruit, had seen how demanding the occupation of a soldier was.
But it was his best bet for strength, and thought a little sacrifice of bonding time would be worth it in the future.
…right?
Little Althea's cute eyebrows furrowed, looking at him in incomprehension. "Why?"
"So we can grow up well and go on more adventures." He told her, knowing of Althea's love for exploring. "You know there's a height limit for doing certain things right?"
"No, I mean, why can't we be together forever?"
Garan stared at the little girl, innocent and pure, and he couldn't help but laugh.
The young lad embraced the little girl. "We will, of course. It's just that we have to grow up first."
She wrapped her arms around him. "Really? Then I want to grow up well!"
Garan's ocean eyes warmed as he looked at the little girl. "My Althea will definitely grow up well." He said with a certainty.
As they grew older, the days before they entered the orphanage became more and more blurred.
Now, all he could remember was carrying the baby Althea and holding her tightly, running away from…something.
Whether it was the dangers in this world or something else, Garan always had the firm and sometimes inexplicable determination to become stronger.
"Of course, it would help you stop eating strange plants." He couldn't help but add.
The girl's obsession with plants was extremely disconcerting. The number of times he got in trouble in his part-time jobs as a kid after abandoning work to run to the hospital couldn't be counted in two hands anymore.
Little Althea pursed her lips, doubting if she could keep this promise.
How could Garan, who basically watched her grow from an infant, not know what she was thinking?
He gently pinched her cute cheeks. "Some plants would make you stop growing. Do you want to be a midget forever?"
This made her freeze, shiver, and hyped up. "NO!"
"Then be careful, and do your training."
This seemed to finally convince her and she scooted out of his embrace and went back to the boring horse stance.
"Then if I get stronger, I will protect you!" She declared. "Maybe I could be like a Sailor Star!"
He laughed, but his expression turned a little serious. She was so young, what if she tried to jump at big bullies by herself like that Sailor Star, a cartoon magic heroine?
"You can only protect others if you are sure you can protect yourself."
"Hmm…" she mumbled, shrugging. At this point, she didn't really understand the implications of his warning. "I still think Sailor Star is cool, though."
Garan smiled helplessly. "If you train, you'll be more awesome than her."
Little Althea looked at him like he's an idiot. "Impossible!"
Garan grinned, chuckling. "Want to bet?"
Then, his smile faltered and his expression turned a bit grim. Althea blinked, a bit confused.
Garan realized his gaffe and gently poked her cute nose. "But in the end… I will be happy as long as Althea is safe and sound."
He then held her chubby cheeks so she would focus on him, expression extremely serious. "Promise me that whatever happens, you will take care of yourself."
___
Xeno Continent, Present
Althea took a deep breath to calm her nerves before walking to Fufi and gently lifting him up.
She turned to Sheila, who was still pale from shock, and shaking from the near-death experience.
"Let's go." She said, "We can't be near all this blood. More monsters will come."
They were silent for several minutes, absorbing the experience they were inexplicably thrown into.
Sheila, who was still shaking, lost her footing many times, significantly slowing down their pace. "I'm sorry."
Althea sighed and helped her up, feeling that she was still shaking. While she felt pity for her, she really couldn't deal with such a burden.
She had taken her in because she needed someone to help with her pregnancy, and she had thought this place could be relatively safer than their zombie-infested planet.
She was wrong, very wrong.
So… what could she, a pregnant woman with perennially negative stats, do with another burden?
Afraid that similar things would happen in the future, Althea decided to vaccinate the girl in advance.
"Sheila," she said with a somber tone. "This is our reality now. I know it's scary, but don't expect me to protect you every time."
She patted her stomach. "You should know what my priorities are."
At this time, that promise she gave him rang the strongest.
Because now, not only did she have to take care of herself well, but more importantly—their children.