Chapter 3: Playing around

They had just finished dinner. Now the children could be seen helping Brother Jake and Sister Maia push the benches under the tables and cover the tables with oddly waterproof tarps.

Finished with the daily ritual, they all went back into the building.

" Okay children, Christopher here bought 5 sets of Jenga for you to play with! Say thank you to Christopher!" Brother Jake said while patting a teenager wearing the standard guard uniform on his back. Christopher looked to be about 16 to 18 years old. He held a steel helmet under his right arm and had a standard-issue sword strapped to his left hip with a belt.

" THANK YOU BIG BROTHER CHRIS!!" The children all shouted synchronised at once.

After distributing the sets of Jenga blocks, the children naturally formed 5 groups and began playing. Ray had joined a group together with the ever-popular Lily. Jacob and Justin and two other children joined them too.

" I can't believe you spent your entire first paycheck buying toys for the children, Chris! I thought we told you to spend wisely?!" Sister Maia frowned as she reprimanded a sheepish Christopher. Brother Jake, however, simply slapped Christopher on his leather-armoured back and complimented him.

" You are a good man Chris, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." He said as he watched the children. He didn't want any accidents happening under his watch.

" No, no stop encouraging him, Jake!" Sister Maia ineffectively punched Jake in the arm. Jake played along and yelped, laughing as he did.

" Well, it was a force of habit, in my past life I spent nearly 30 years buying toys for children in orphanages. When I woke up as an orphan myself that fateful day, I found myself glad that I had done what I did for so many years. I will continue helping out, Sister Maia, even if you disapprove." Christopher said with conviction while facing Maia.

" Well, I can't say no to that..." Maia pouted and looked away.

" Besides, when are you two having a child! The two of you have been married for what? Ten moon cycles? Come on, Maia you are 30-something moon cycles already! And you talk about spending too much time helping other children, Sister Maia!" Christopher jokingly said to the married couple. This caused Maia to sputter and Jake to laugh heartily.

" M-maybe sometime this year," Maia mumbled. Jake perked up when he heard this.

" For real, wifey?!" Red in the face, Maia began hitting the large man ineffectively. The two men in the group laughed at Maia's expense.

" On a more serious note, Brother Jake, Sister Maia, make sure to keep the children out of the forest. Word around the barracks is that the monsters are increasing again and are starting to act up." Christopher said in a quieter tone but still loud enough for the two to hear over the noise the children were making.

" Ah, yes we know. Mister John told us about it. Something about a monster attack on the northern side of the empire right? I still don't get why we must restrict the children from entering the forest. We are on the complete opposite end of the empire." Jake said while rubbing his bearded chin.

" Well, with the increasing monster activity, even the peaceful southern side may have monsters. It is really just a precaution though. Don't want any of the children to get hurt." Christopher replied.

" Fair enough, I guess. It is sad that this batch of children won't get to experience camping." Maia said with a sad look while watching the noisy children.

" But wow is Grandpa John's network good, it took me a whole week to get anything from my guard captain. Plus word has it that the emperor suppressed this information as much as possible to prevent widespread unrest and economic instability due to the uncertainty of imperial citizens' safety." Christopher said with a thoughtful look.

" Well, according to Mister John, the former emperor used to get him to take care of the current emperor, so maybe his source is the emperor himself?" There was a slight pause as the trio took some time to think about Maia's statement.

" As expected, Grandpa John really is something huh..." Christopher said while scratching his head.

" Hmm Hmm, Mister John is an absolute monster. Have you ever seen him when he is practising his sword skills? Terrifying..." Jake said as he trembled lightly.

" Plus he has that artefact, the one that lets him basically see what is happening throughout the building. He used it once to locate my lost toy back when I was living here." Christopher said while scratching another itch on his head with his other hand.

" Well, I guess with him protecting the children, there should be no problems," Christopher said, still scratching his head.