When we arrived at the Dungeon entrance we were told to back off as the Dungeon was off limits. So, we went to the Adventurers guild and got informed that the city shut down access to the Dungeon so they could have more soldiers defending the walls.

I also heard that tonight they supposedly didn't attack as they were waiting for support to arrive and now that it's here, they are ready to take us down.

It had to come down to this. It was to be expected. For a sort time it's okay as the gate won't let the monsters escape, but that can't be a long-time plan. But even this siege won't be here for too long.

There is a lot of rumours about the king's army coming here to help, but the frontline is massive and the chance of the army coming here first is small. That's considering it even manages to gather to be big enough before we fall.

I hate to admit it, but if we do fall, we'll have to go through the Dungeon. I hope it'll lead us to someplace above ground and not only lengthen our deaths.

There weren't any players that managed to do so. But there should been some NPCs that survived the Dungeon to tell the tale or so they claim. Either way It doesn't look to bright. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I just have to hope that in the next life I'll have better luck if it comes and I'll have my memories.

We dropped of our gear at the tavern and slipped into some casual clothes. Stella wore a skirt with a loose shirt while little Charlotte too changed into a dress and no longer looked like a tomboy. As for me I had my usual bandages on me while having green trousers and a white shirt.

" Hey Charlotte. Want to do something fun?" I asked.

" Yeah, but what?"

" How about we go to a park. Sounds fun?"

" No, what're we gonna do there. It sounds boring. Only old people go there to feed the birds."

" So, am I old?"

" No." said Charlotte while hugging my neck tighter.

" Yes, as a mummy." This was Stella that had a bad mood since we came out of the tavern.

She didn't want to go and spent some fun time and said that we should rather go save the rest of the children or gain more strength to do so. In the end she was going to walk off if not for me using the slave commands.

" There should be some swings there and maybe some kids will be playing there, too. What do you say now?"

" Hmm." She released her arms around me and let herself hang on me with her legs. She ended up upside down holding her arms in deep thought while looking at Stella behind us. " Okay, but you two will have to be nice to each other."

" Okay, as you say. When you'll be playing, we'll figure things out between us." Hearing that she once again hugged my neck and placed her chin on my shoulder.

On the way to the park, we shopped for some candies and had some street food. It was a meat skewer. It was surprisingly light with no grease to worsen the taste.

The park itself was just a small area with a pond in the middle and trees all around. There were some benches on one side while on the other was a group of kids playing on a swing.

I placed Charlotte on the ground, she walked a bit forward but saw no one beside her so she looked back at us and came back.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

" Aren't you coming too?"

" We'll be watching you from the benches. Don't worry just play with the kids." I petted her head and turned her around.

She walked off while every few moments glancing back as if worried, we'll run off. But when she got to the group of kids it went well and she joined in on the fun.

They were playing tag and so the moment she got there one cheeky boy tagged her and she ran after the others.

" Why the big smile I thought you hated pretending to be a father."

" Look let's go sit down I'll explain to you why I don't want to save them."

" Yes, let's sit down, but I'll be the one telling you how they suffer there. Example being Charlotte you've no idea what she's been through."

" Okay then you'll go first, but just to warn you my choice won't change on the matter."

We sat down in a quiet corner on a bench where we still had a view on Charlotte and the kids as they were playing. By the way Charlotte managed to return it to that boy and run from him.

" It was below an ordinary flower shop where I bought her. The smell of roses was exchanged for musk and faeces the moment I opened the cellar door. The whole basement had cages by the sides where they kept them. Inside of them the children were bare naked with magic collars around their necks just waiting for them to misbehave so that electric shock can trigger." Her hands started trembling as she was speaking.

" I extended my arm inside one of the cages to hold the girl’s hand, but instead of taking it. The girl got on all fours on the ground and nuzzled her head against my hand as some domesticated animal."

" They were like puppies waiting to be adopted. They showed off in front of me their immature bodies without any shame or hesitation. Then a pale man came beside me and showed me them off while giving the orders and treats if they did them right. He proudly explained to me the process he put them through."

" They would only be fed when they behaved. They were taught how to pleasure their masters and the different commands they have to do even without the influence of slave mark. But these were only the one type."

" The others were like Charlotte carefully picked out while preserving most of their innocence and naivety. He explained to me that some customers liked it better this way. So, they could break them by themselves and see the hope fading away as they realise this'll be their life moving forward."

" I found Charlotte there in a cage with another girl her age. They were about to be bought by a fat man. I tried to buy them both before him, but it was of no use, he offered a higher price. But only for the other girl. He let me have Charlotte because as he said I'm new there so I should consider it a friendly privilege."

After everything was said we continued staring at the kids playing. They were playing with mud from the pool and trying to build a mud castle. But no matter what they did it kept on falling without any support the castle couldn't grow larger.

She gripped so much that I felt pain in them. When I looked at her, I noticed all her veins on her face were showing. She was fighting off the headache." Answer me. Do you think they don't need saving? Or is this how it's meant to be?"

I hugged her in a tight embrace and felt her arms go limp. Her tears were flowing right through my bandages, making all my wounds underneath itch.

" We will save them. That I promise you. It's just not now." Hearing that she escaped from my hug and looked at me through the tears.

" Then when? When each and every one of them is raped? When they're broken beyond repair? Tell me!"

" Listen to me for a while. There's the siege going on right now we're in relative safety, but this won't be for so long. Do you think some king's army cares about some town with no benefit. Wake up, those were but rumours spread to bring hope."

" So, do we just have to sit here and accept it? That we'll all be dead in a few days and that you want to tell me is your reason. Then all the more we should try to free them it may be their last moment to have some child happiness in life. If we are meant to die, we can fell while doing the right thing."

" Look I thought about it. We can escape through the Dungeon. And since we found that new biome we can go through there even if they chase after us, we'll be long gone."

" And how do you plan on saving the kids?"

" For starters I'll need a map of the town so we can choose a route that we'll take. We'll have to be sneaky about it so we can get more time to escape."

" Okay, I'll bring it to you. When do you plan on going through with it?"

" After a day, two days at maximum. We still aren't strong enough to guarantee success even if everything goes according to plan."

" Okay." She hugged me again and I caressed her back.

Not long after Charlotte went back to us. The other kids went away, because their parents came to pick them up. She sat beside me and looked at the pool. With my other hand I hugged Charlotte.