"What's the plan?" Laura crossed her arms as she shifted her weight onto her right leg.

"The plan is to scout out the simplest yet highest paying jobs, local if possible," Tenur gestured at the buildings around. "It shouldn't be hard even if you're a troll."

She looked at him with the question written on her face.

"They'll think you're trying to get a job," Tenur shrugged while eyeing Laura with one eye. "You have to show them your civility, though." He winked while grinning. "Think you can do it?"

If Denka had a body, he'd be grinning. Smooth move, he thought. Laura laughed while fanning herself. "That so? Then I'll take the commercial area." She walked away with a smirk on her face.

"Then that leaves the..." Tenur trailed off while pointing towards the residential area. He sounded slightly disappointed, but didn't let it get to him and started marching—with Denka in hand—into deeper parts of the area.

What his range had were mostly housekeeping jobs, with some hiring to transport goods from one part of town to the other. The buildings around were built with the purpose to house people, but occasionally, there were shophouses. Everytime he saw one, he would mutter "Perfect...", only to be disappointed when the jobs offered in those places had either extremely low pay or high risk tasks.

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By the time they—Denka and him— finished scouting , the sky was a mixture of gold and dark blue. The sun casted shadows of the houses onto the pavement, and those who were still working outside packed up to head home. The streets in the residential area were surprisingly empty once the workers went home, temporarily occupied whenever there were late night shoppers heading to the commercial area.

"I feel like we wasted an entire day doing nothing," Tenur spoke to Denka once he was sure no one was near them.

"Not when you've been job hunting."

"Yet they weren't fruitful," his stomach grumbled at the word 'fruit'. "And I'm starving."

"It's not like I'm the one slowing you down." Denka commented, "You should move faster if you want to head home faster."

Just when Tenur was about to reply how he was already walking as fast as he could, a familiar voice jumped him from behind. "Father!" He cringed.

"Father!"

"Daddy!"

"Papa!"

"Padre!"

He hoped the other four weren't actually calling for him, yet for some reason, reality always gave him the cruelest cut. As he turned around, he already knew what to expect.

"Your palms are sweaty," Denka said aloud, but Tenur's nervousness and fear did not give him the freedom to reply.

"Father?' Andrew called out again. Tenur could see four other children with his child. Three skinny, one fat, the info was digested.

The world darkened a second, as if he was experiencing seizures. His muscles were repeatedly contracting and relaxing, but he was able to maintain his standing posture. Not for long though...

"A-are they your friends... Andrew?" Tenur pointed at the four children behind Andrew.

"Sort of, but most importantly, they're your responsibilities," Andrew emphasized on the last two words. The two words struck a chord within his father, and instantly, Tenur collapsed with a word hanging on the verge of his lips.

"Fucking responsibilities..."