Children of Survival

Ashen thought things would go back to the way they had been after that fateful meeting, when he was told his sister would be his future bride.

It was a wrong assumption.

From that day onwards, for a couple of hours each morning, their father gathered all his male children who were about five years old in the underground home. It was not only his, but also the children of the other couples.

On the first day, they were made to stand in the training grounds, and as Ashen waited with mild curiosity to see what this was about, their father’s voice rang out.

“Each of you, pick one of the wooden weapons in the rack. Whatever strikes your fancy.”

‘Oh.’ Ashen finally understood. ‘It was about time anyway.’

He walked to pick a wooden spear suitable for his height, and before long, the gentle father transformed into a stern trainer.

“First, learn how to hold your weapon.”

Their father walked among the children, correcting their grips one by one.

“Do not squeeze it as hard as you can. Keep a firm grip, but leave your hands loose enough to move naturally.”

He then corrected their stances.

“Keep your feet apart. Not too wide. You need to be stable, but you also need to move.”

“If you stand with your feet together, one push is enough to knock you down. If you spread them too far, you will have trouble moving.”

The children tried to follow his instructions, though most of them looked more like they were struggling to keep their balance than preparing for battle.

Their father continued without mercy.

“Keep your back straight, but do not make your body stiff. Bend your knees slightly. Always keep your weight where you can move it easily.”

Whenever someone raised their weapon too high or held it in an awkward position, he corrected them.

“Do not swing wildly. You are not trying to hit the entire room.”

A few of the children laughed, and when their father did not, they soon understood that this was not a game.

“Your weapon should move where you want it to go. Start with small movements and learn to control them before you try anything faster.”

He then demonstrated how to move with each weapon.

“Step first, then move the weapon. Do not cross your feet while moving, and do not turn your back just because you are changing direction.”

Everyone was struggling. They were kids after all. Ashen too was having a hard time. But his case was more about hiding his competence and acting like a novice than actually struggling to follow the instructions.

Their father spent the rest of the morning teaching them the basics: how to hold their weapons, how to stand, how to move their feet, and how to attack without losing their balance.

There was no complicated technique.

At their age, he seemed more concerned with teaching them control than teaching them how to fight.

And judging by how often he had to stop them from swinging their weapons like madmen, Ashen suspected that he was in for a big headache.

“Alright… stop.”

As if they had been waiting for it, most of them dropped to the ground, with some looking ready to bolt out of this boring exercise.

Alas, it was not over yet.

“Start running.”

Groans and displeased voices answered his stern order, but with a few good slaps on their butts, the kids were forced to run around the training ground for at least five laps before dropping in exhaustion.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

◉◉◉

Ashen discovered that the routine had not only changed for the boys, but also for the girls.

Their mother had gathered them, much like their father did, and started teaching them as well. Unlike the poor kids at the training ground, however, they were taught other skills.

Sewing, cooking, cleaning, farming… each girl chose what interested her and had to follow one of the big sisters to understand the basics.

Ashen had learned this mainly from Lapis, who had started following the women in the kitchen to learn how to cook.

She had even started complaining that cooking was not what it seemed. Processing the meat of beasts turned out to be composed of many complicated steps. Not to mention that they had to learn the use of many herbs used in cooking to make the meals nutritious and healthy while also keeping them delicious.

“Say… isn’t it too harsh to make kids do all this stuff? We are barely five, damn it.”

Ashen was on the farm, as always, tending to his precious manaweaves. The one who was whining by his side was predictably Lapis.

He spoke while staying crouched by the little tree-like plant, “It’s not harsh.”

“No, brother. You have to consider this from the kids’ perspective too; they are not like us, don’t forget.”

“It’s you who has to consider a change of perspective.” Ashen gently shook his head. “Don’t just look at their ages. Look where we are, the dangers surrounding us, and what it takes for us to survive.”

Letting the last embers of mana leave his fingers and enter the plant, he finally straightened his back and looked at her.

“Do you think our father wants to force his kids to wield weapons if he could help it?”

“No,” Lapis answered definitively. She knew what kind of man her new father was. He doted on every one of his kids and looked at them as if they were his pride.

“You’re right. How can such a man be okay with turning his children into soldiers? How would he feel knowing that he is training them just to throw them into danger?”

“He must be miserable.”

“Yes. Every time he is smiling at us, soothing us, or even scolding us… a wretched feeling must be constantly tormenting him. But even so…”

He sighed in sympathy.

“He is still going through with it. This means that the things they are up against up there are that dangerous.”

“...I understand,” Lapis answered with a sigh of her own. “It can’t be helped.”

Feeling a bit stifled, she took the katana-shaped wooden sword by her side and started swinging it around in frustration.

“But!”

Swish–swish–shwishh—!!

“Why do I have to cook?!”

Swish…

“I want to train too!”

Swish…

“At this rate…”

Crack—!

“Will I even be allowed to fight alongside you, brother?”

Ashen looked at the rock that had just cracked from her mana-boosted swing and shrugged nonchalantly.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do, dear sister. You’re barking up the wrong tree here.”

“Huh?!”

She threw the sword away and launched herself at him in vexation.

“You think I didn’t speak with our father?! He is like a block of wood, I tell you. Wood!”

Ashen defended his cheeks with the same nonchalant look as Lapis tried to sneak a pinch or two.

“Heh. Then you just focus on cooking. It suits you quite well, little wife.”

“Pfft.”

Lapis couldn’t hold it in and burst into a fit of giggles at being called such an endearing title, especially when her brother refused to broach the subject after that day.

“What? You finally gave up resisting and submitted to the fate of marrying your sister? Bro bro… I did not take you to be such a pervert~”

She looked up at him with a smirk.

“Should I be worried for myself now?”

“That depends,” he answered with a grin of his own. “If you keep training your housewifing skills with such dedication… maybe.”

“Oh? Is being a housewife like our mother tickling your tastes?”

Lapis shot him a curious look and nodded twice to herself with her arms crossed.

“I see, I see… should I start taking notes for your three women back in the real world? I’m sure they will pay me handsomely for the details.”

“Hey, don’t go spreading misinformation. They are perfect as they are.”

Now it was Ashen’s turn to grab her cheeks and fondle them like dough.

“Uwwuuu… I dunt knw bout’ dat!”

Ashen just looked at her with a doting smile.

Her current appearance reminded him of the time when she was little back home. And it caused a wave of nostalgia to hit him whenever he looked at her like this.

“Hey, sister! There you are!”

Their little cheek-folding competition was interrupted by the appearance of a white-haired little boy who came running straight in their direction.

Without a warning, he lunged at Ashen, who grabbed him in a bear hug instead of dodging, since the plants were just behind him.

“What now, Cain? Do you want to play?”

“No! I’m fighting you right now!”

Ashen looked at the flailing kid with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh? And why are you ‘fighting’ me now?”

“You’re bullying my sister! That’s why!”

Lapis, who was watching the little troublemaker with an annoyed look after having her time with her brother interrupted, rolled her eyes.

She could see it was less about him ‘protecting’ her from bullying, and more about jealousy driving his actions after seeing them so close.

‘Are kids supposed to be this sly at such an early age?’ she couldn’t help but silently wonder.

“Okay, okay… what a brave boy; protecting his sister… good job.”

“Don’t mock me!”

‘Help…’

Ashen looked at Lapis helplessly with a silent plea, but she just avoided his gaze with an innocent face.

‘Nope. I’m not in the mood to deal with brats now… you’re on your own.’

‘Fuck.’

Ashen’s face turned disgruntled as he avoided another tackle by the reckless Cain.

‘Aren’t you supposed to be my future wife? We are supposed to face disasters as one!’

Unfortunately for him, Lapis was already slowly walking back.

“Hey, Lapis, wait a moment…”

And that was her signal…

She stretched her little feet and went for a dash, ruthlessly leaving the despairing wails of her brother behind.

‘Sorry, bro. It’s not my place to get in between love rivals. Hehe~’