On the following morning, the family awoke at daybreak, which was their usual schedule. With a plethora of work to accomplish before leaving the village, no one was in the mood for a longer sleep. Nathan thought to himself, "If these things hadn't happened, there would have been a test today." Patrick carefully cleaned and bandaged Jonathan's wound before breakfast.

"Today, we need to collect supplies from our neighbors and friends who have passed away so that we can keep on living. If we don't take them, the knights and merchants will take them anyway." Patrick said. "Also, I just put up a sign that says 'We are alive' on our front door. Please, don’t remove it."

He headed out with Nathan in a horse-drawn carriage. Arielle and Ashley stayed home to take care of Jonathan and Henry.

"We are going to visit Rahul, Robert and Zhong first. If I am correct, they should be the wealthiest in our neighborhood." said Patrick to Nathan. "Yesterday, when I went out to retrieve Ana and Emily’s belongings, I also checked which families were no longer here." Patrick continued. "Let us get what we need before the knights and merchants empty out their shops and homes."

"Isn’t that stealing?" Nathan asked, hesitating.

“Stealing is taking things that belong to someone else. We, on the other hand, are taking things that currently do not belong to anyone.” Patrick explained with a firm and confident tone, which quickly dispelled Nathan's hesitation. "Also, finders keepers. That's a rule for the adventurers in the Kingdom."

These two days, the knights and the capable villagers had been busy burying the dead, treating the injured and taking care of the orphans. It was also an unspoken rule and tradition that the villagers would be the first to collect from those who went to heaven, as they needed the money to relocate. Therefore, most of the houses and shops were still intact, except those pillaged by bandits near the west gate.

Patrick and Nathan collected many useful and valuable items for the journey. They took a younger and stronger horse and a new carriage installed with a refrigerator. They also collected some, but not much, harvested crops for selling to the merchants and as food for the journey. "Cash and jewelry were the best loots. They are easy to carry and valuable," Patrick taught Nathan.

Then, the two visited the shops. Patrick took some new tools, such as screwdrivers, farming tools, office supplies, carriage repair parts, new bed sheets, etc. and of course, cash from their cashiers.

"Shouldn't we visit the jewelry stores first?" Nathan asked.

"No need. Jewelry stores are always the first to go. It is too late now." Patrick answered.

"Too bad, we just missed out on a good source of money." Nathan commented, disappointed that his idea was no good.

"Don't worry, I had already visited the jewelry stores yesterday." Patrick smiled and consoled Nathan. "It is more dangerous looting a valuable location, so I did not bring you with me."

"Good job, Grandpa!" Nathan cheered, impressed by his grandfather.

The village had a population of approximately two thousand people. Now, around seven to eight out of ten houses were no longer occupied. Occasionally, Patrick and Nathan saw signs on the front door reading "We are alive" and they would choose another house to "visit." Patrick and Nathan went home to cook and have lunch before their afternoon tour. There were more looters in the afternoon.

In the Kingdom, a typical village house can be bought with 5 years of the median household annual income. An average 3 bedroom apartment in the capital would cost around 30 years. Rahul, Robert and Zhong's families combined had enough cash and jewelry for half of a city apartment. Patrick and Nathan were lucky in finding one other family which had money enough for another quarter of a city apartment. However, most families only had enough cash and jewelry to last a few weeks to a few months. Therefore, they left most of the other items untouched, taking only what they considered essential tools for traveling.

By dinnertime, they had collected enough cash for a city apartment. "We were lucky to find so much." Patrick said, quite satisfied with the result.

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"Grandpa, have you done this before?" Nathan asked, referring to looting. His grandfather seemed very accustomed to it.

"Yes, when I was young. Your great-grandparents survived three bandit raids with me." Patrick gazed upon the red-orange dusk and remembering his parents. "Unlike them, I never had any knack for fighting. However, your father has inherited your great-grandparents’ fighting talents."

"Three?" Nathan said, surprised and shook his head. "Sadly… we almost couldn’t survive even one raid."

"In the end, only the strong can survive in this country and I was fortunate enough to be protected by my parents." said Patrick, shaking his head. "However, this bandit raid is different. No typical bandits can fight evenly with your father or kill your mother so easily."

Nathan looked at his grandfather and remembered the plate armored bandits. They had a leader and were very organized and well trained. When compared with the bandits that wore frying pans, pots and woks as armor, even a 10-year-old could see the difference.

"Well, we are not Inquisition Knights. Let us not dwell on the bandits too much, and instead focus on survival." Patrick shook his head and said, having no choice but to accept the situation.

While Patrick and Nathan were out looting during the day, Arielle and Ashley took care of Jonathan and Henry. They also finished many household chores. After dinner and baths, everyone was tired and they went to sleep.

After the family turned off the light for around half an hour, Ashley suddenly began crying inside her bed, "I miss mom. I want mom." She cried louder and louder, causing Arielle and Nathan to wake up. They went to Ashley, trying to soothe her but soon they started crying themselves. The feeling of missing their mother was overwhelming for them. Patrick gathered the children to the living room and told them a story.

A long time ago, there was a little girl named Lily. One day, her parents left her. Before they left, her parents told her that they were going somewhere far away and would always watch over her. Yet, Lily still missed her parents very much and she wanted to find them no matter what.

First, Lily asked a priest about how to find her parents. The priest said she needed faith in God. The priest asked her if her parents believed in God and were upright people. Lily said yes. So, the priest told her that if she believed in God and be an upright person, she would see her parents in Heaven someday.

Second, Lily asked an entrepreneur about how to find her parents. The entrepreneur said she needed wealth. The merchant told her about private detectives and that finding people will cost money. She should study hard in school. After she graduated, she should either get a good job or start a successful business. Only then would she be able to find her parents.

Then, Lily asked a scientist about how to find her parents. The scientist said she needed knowledge. "Since your parents said that they were watching over you, if your parents are watching you on top of that mountain, would you notice?" Lily said no. Then, the scientist handed her a telescope and instructed her to look through it at the distant mountain. Lily was now able to see the mountain clearly and she was amazed. The scientist told Lily that if she could study hard, she would be able to invent tools to find her parents.

Next, Lily asked a noble about how to find her parents. The noble said she needed power. In front of Lily, the noble ordered his knights to apprehend a criminal in town. After lunch, the Knights had caught the criminal already. Lily was impressed. The noble told Lily that if she worked hard, obtained influence and became a noble, she could obtain power to find her parents.

However, Lily wanted to see her parents now: not after she lived her life as an upright person, not after she gained wealth, not after she gained knowledge and not after she gained power, but now. Therefore, she traveled into the deepest mountain and asked a sage about how to find her parents. The sage said she needed patience and perseverance. It didn’t matter whether it was faith, wealth, knowledge or power, Lily would not be able to obtain them overnight. The wise man said she would need to work hard everyday until the day she could find her parents, so that her parents would be proud of her.

"So, no matter how much you missed your mother, she will not come back anytime soon." Patrick explained. "The only thing you can do right now is to be patient and work hard, so that your mom will be proud of you when you meet again."

"Additionally, the three of you still have each other, your father is still here and I am still here. As long as we are together, we will make it through this hard time." Patrick told his grandchildren.

After Patient told them the story, the three children then drifted off to sleep. Patrick cast a Sleep spell on them so that they could sleep better.

After putting the children to sleep, Patrick went to check on Jonathan. Jonathan was burning with a high fever. He was in a weakened state and under the effects of a Sleep spell, so he was sleeping soundly. Patrick checked the towel on Jonathan's forehead, reinforcing it with water and cold magic to keep it wet and cool throughout the night.

Patrick and Jonathan had not told the children, but it was still uncertain whether Jonathan could survive his injury. "Your children need you; fight through this and get better soon." Patrick said as he closed the door to his son’s bedroom and went to sleep.