Ashtir and Sera eventually returned to the plaza carrying several small bags filled with supplies.

“There you are,” Sera said softly before brushing a bit of sand from my hair. “Did you have fun?”

I glanced toward the fortress behind me where the other children were still proudly fixing the walls we built together.

“…Yeah.”

For a brief moment, both of them looked slightly surprised.

Not shocked.

Just…

Caught off guard.

Ashtir slowly smiled.

“Well I’ll be damned,” he muttered. “He actually played with other children.”

“I can do that.”

“Mhm,” Ashtir replied while nodding dramatically. “A historical moment.”

Sera lightly elbowed him.

“Stop teasing him.”

“I’m proud of him!”

“You sound like he conquered a dungeon.”

“He conquered social interaction. That’s harder.”

“I heard that.”

“Good.”

The other children nearby burst into laughter.

---

Dorrim suddenly ran toward us before stopping directly in front of my parents.

“Mister Ashtir! Miss Sera!”

Sera blinked.

“Yes?”

“Can Ashvir come with us?”

“…Come with you where?”

“To our secret place!”

The other children immediately gathered behind Dorrim excitedly.

“We built a hideout there!”

“There’s old rooms too!”

“And tunnels!”

“And secret paths!”

Sera immediately became cautious.

“…Secret place?”

Dorrim awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“It’s just an old tunnel.”

“We play there sometimes.”

“It’s safe!” another child added quickly.

“Mostly safe,” another corrected.

“That does not help,” Sera muttered quietly.

Meanwhile, Ashtir looked far more interested in the children themselves than the tunnel.

He glanced toward me briefly.

“You made friends surprisingly fast.”

“I think they just needed somebody to fix their fortress.”

“That still counts.”

Dorrim immediately pointed toward the sand fortress proudly.

“Ashvir made the walls stronger.”

“And he fixed the towers!”

“And the defense routes!”

Sera slowly looked toward me.

“…Defense routes?”

“…It needed structure.”

“You are eight.”

“Technically.”

Ashtir suddenly burst into laughter.

“HAHAHAHA!”

Even Sera struggled not to smile slightly.

---

The children waited nervously while my parents quietly looked at one another.

Honestly…

This felt strangely familiar.

Not because I experienced moments like this before.

But because it felt like something I should have experienced back on Earth.

Children asking permission to play together.

Parents worrying.

Friends waiting impatiently nearby.

Simple things.

Normal things.

Ashtir eventually crouched slightly until he was eye level with me.

“You want to go?”

I hesitated briefly before answering.

“…Yeah.”

The children immediately lit up.

Sera looked toward me for a few quiet seconds.

“You really want to spend time with them?”

“…I think so.”

For some reason, saying that aloud felt strangely embarrassing.

Then Ashtir placed a large hand on my head.

“Well then,” he said warmly, “go make memories.”

Sera looked toward him.

“You’re giving in that easily?”

“He’s finally acting like a child his age.”

That sentence caught me off guard more than I expected.

Ashtir smiled gently.

“You’ve spent years buried in books and workshops.”

“You deserve time to play too.”

For a brief moment, I did not really know how to answer that.

So instead…

“…Okay.”

Ashtir grinned.

“Be back before sundown.”

The children immediately erupted in celebration.

“YES!”

“We’re going!”

“To the secret castle!”

“And,” Ashtir added while pointing toward them, “if anything dangerous happens, you run immediately.”

“Yes sir!”

“And if I find out you caused trouble…”

The children collectively froze.

“I’ll tell your parents.”

The entire group gasped in horror.

“That’s evil!”

“You can’t do that!”

“That’s worse than getting banned from the plaza!”

Sera finally laughed softly while shaking her head.

Honestly…

This world felt warmer than I expected.

--- 

The group quickly rushed toward one of the smaller cart stations near the outer edge of the valley.

Unlike the larger industrial rail systems used for transporting ores and ingots, these carts were much smaller and slower. Most families used them to travel between the valley and the outer residential paths surrounding the mountains.

Dorrim immediately jumped into the front cart proudly.

“I’m driving.”

“You crashed last time,” one of the children immediately replied.

“That was one time!”

“You drove into a vegetable stand!”

“The brakes failed!”

“You forgot the brakes existed!”

“I PANICKED!”

The children burst into laughter as Dorrim aggressively defended himself.

Meanwhile, I quietly climbed into the cart beside Gorrin, who was somehow still holding bread from the tavern.

“…Why are you still eating?”

“I saved it for emergencies.”

“You’ve been eating for an hour.”

“You never know when disaster happens.”

“That explains a lot actually.”

Gorrin nodded seriously before taking another bite.

---

The cart slowly began moving along the rails leading away from the center of the valley.

As we traveled farther from the marketplace, the surroundings gradually became quieter. The loud noise of taverns, merchants, and crowds slowly faded behind us while the mountain walls around the valley grew taller and darker.

Meanwhile, the children somehow became even louder.

“So Ashvir,” Dorrim said while standing dramatically at the front of the cart, “what do you think of our fortress?”

“It was structurally concerning.”

“That sounds smart. I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“You built a tower outside the wall.”

“It was an advanced tactical maneuver.”

“It collapsed.”

“TACTICALLY.”

Another child immediately pointed toward me.

“Ashvir thinks like an old dwarf.”

“Yeah,” another added. “He talks like the guild workers.”

“That’s because he reads weird books all day,” Dorrim replied confidently.

“I do not read weird books.”

“You absolutely do.”

“You explained wall pressure to us.”

“…That’s normal knowledge.”

“No it isn’t!”

The children burst into laughter again.

---

One of the younger kids leaned closer toward me curiously.

“So… is it true you help at the workshops?”

“A little.”

“My brother said you made a sword bigger than a grown dwarf.”

“…That sounds exaggerated.”

Dorrim immediately pointed dramatically toward me.

“He also redesigned our fortress in five minutes.”

“That part is true.”

Another child gasped loudly.

“WAIT!”

He suddenly looked toward me with wide eyes.

“You’re not secretly an old master pretending to be a child, right?”

The entire cart suddenly became quiet.

Honestly…

That question hit way closer than it should have.

“…No,” I answered carefully.

Dorrim crossed his arms proudly.

“Obviously not.”

“An old master would never willingly crawl through tunnels with us.”

“…Fair point.”

The children immediately nodded in agreement like they had solved an important mystery.

---

As the cart continued moving northward along the outer rails, the valley slowly disappeared behind us.

The buildings became fewer.

The rails older.

Some sections of the stone paths looked cracked from age while several abandoned rail lines branched away into dark tunnels carved into the mountainside.

The farther we traveled, the older everything started to feel.

Even the children slowly became quieter.

Well…

Most of them.

Gorrin was still eating bread loudly beside me.

---

The cart eventually came to a stop near the northern edge of the valley.

Compared to the lively center of town, this area felt noticeably quieter. Fewer people walked along the roads and most of the nearby buildings looked older than the ones near the marketplace.

Dorrim immediately jumped out of the cart first.

“Come on!”

The other children quickly followed behind him.

Meanwhile, I stepped out more carefully before looking around the area.

A large garden stretched across the northern side of the valley. Rows of vegetables, berry bushes, and fruit trees filled the open land while several stone pathways divided the fields neatly.

A few workers could still be seen tending the farms near the outer edges, but the farther north the land extended…

The emptier it became.

The children casually moved through the garden paths without slowing down.

“We used to steal berries here,” Dorrim said proudly.

“That’s because you’re stupid,” another child replied immediately.

“It’s not stealing if you only take a few!”

“The farmers literally chased you with shovels!”

“They overreacted!”

“You stole an entire basket!”

“I was hungry!”

Gorrin suddenly nodded in agreement.

“…That’s understandable.”

“You’re always hungry,” I replied.

“That’s because growing children need food.”

“That sounds like something Ashtir would say.”

“Your father is wise.”

---

As we moved farther north, the organized gardens slowly gave way to wild grass and scattered trees.

The air gradually became colder.

Quieter too.

The sounds from the valley had almost completely disappeared by now.

Eventually, the children entered a small forest growing along the outer edge of the mountain paths.

Unlike the maintained areas near the valley, this place looked mostly untouched.

Tree roots cracked through old stone walkways while overgrown bushes swallowed parts of the trail. Several rusted lantern posts stood tilted along the path, half-covered by moss and vines.

It was obvious people rarely came here anymore.

The children, however, walked through the forest casually like they had memorized every path years ago.

“Watch your step there,” Dorrim warned while jumping over a cracked section of stone.

“Last time Gorrin slipped into the water.”

“There shouldn’t have been water there!”

“It was a river!”

“It was dark!”

The group burst into laughter again.

Meanwhile, my attention slowly shifted toward the ground beneath us.

The dirt trail had started changing.

Stone.

Paved stone.

At first, only small pieces appeared beneath the roots and moss.

But the farther north we walked…

The clearer it became.

An old road.

A massive one.

Even though huge portions were cracked apart by roots and time, the scale of it was still obvious. Wide stone tiles stretched through the forest beneath the overgrowth while broken pillars occasionally appeared along the roadside.

Some of the lantern posts were not rusted iron either.

They were made from the same bluish-black material used on the ancient ballistae.

My footsteps slowly came to a stop.

“…This was a main road.”

The children turned toward me curiously.

“Hm?”

I looked deeper into the forest.

Even in its ruined state, the road still felt strangely grand.

The spacing.

The width.

The materials.

This was not some forgotten trail built for a few travelers.

This road was designed for heavy traffic.

For something important.

“…Why would something like this be hidden inside a forest?”

---

Eventually, the old paved road led us toward the side of the mountain itself.

At first, thick trees and overgrown vines blocked most of the view.

Then the forest suddenly opened.

My footsteps slowly came to a stop.

“…No way.”

A massive cave entrance stood before us.

No…

Calling it a cave felt wrong.

This was clearly an entrance.

Even after centuries of neglect, the structure surrounding it still looked deliberate. Gigantic stone pillars were carved directly into the mountain walls while fragments of broken statues rested near the sides of the entrance, half-swallowed by roots and moss.

The opening itself was enormous.

Large enough for several carts to pass through side by side.

Above the entrance, faint markings were carved into the stone archway.

Most of them were too worn down to read properly.

But they looked eerily similar to the strange symbols from the old books.

“This…” I muttered quietly.

The children immediately puffed their chests proudly.

“Cool right?”

“We found it first!”

“Well… older kids found it first.”

“BUT WE FOUND THE HIDEOUT!”

Dorrim pointed dramatically toward the entrance.

“This is our secret castle!”

“…This is not a castle.”

“It feels like one.”

“…Fair.”

Cold air slowly drifted outward from the darkness beyond the entrance.

Unlike the warm industrial tunnels throughout the occupied mountains, the air here felt unnaturally cool and still.

Almost untouched.

The children casually walked inside without hesitation.

“Come on!” Dorrim shouted while his voice echoed through the entrance.

After hesitating briefly, I followed behind them.

The moment we entered, the temperature dropped noticeably.

The tunnel walls inside were far smoother than natural cave stone. Massive carved pillars supported the ceiling while old metal frames lined portions of the walls.

Even the floor beneath us was paved.

Not rough mining paths.

Actual polished stone roads.

Then I noticed the sound.

Water.

Soft flowing water echoed quietly through the chamber ahead.

As we moved deeper inside, the tunnel suddenly widened into a massive underground hall.

And at the center of it…

Was a bridge.

A small stone bridge stretched across a narrow body of water flowing beneath it. The water itself was crystal clear, reflecting faint light from openings high above the cavern ceiling.

For a few moments, I simply stared silently at the scene.

The waterway was too clean.

Too organized.

Too symmetrical.

This was not natural decoration created by erosion.

This place was designed.

“…This was made for aesthetics,” I whispered unconsciously.

“Huh?” Dorrim looked toward me.

I slowly looked around the chamber.

Stone paths.

Decorative water.

Symmetrical layout.

Massive pillars.

Even ruined, the place still carried a strange elegance beneath all the dust and overgrowth.

This was not some abandoned mining tunnel.

This place felt important.

Like the entrance to something much larger hidden deeper within the mountain.

---

The children crossed the small bridge one after another before continuing deeper into the tunnel system.

The farther we moved inside, the stranger the place became.

This was not just a forgotten passage carved into the mountain.

The ceilings were too high.

The roads too wide.

Even the spacing between the pillars felt intentional, almost like the place was built to impress whoever entered it.

Eventually, the tunnel opened into a massive underground chamber.

The children immediately ran ahead excitedly.

“We’re here!”

“Our base!”

“WELCOME TO THE FORTRESS!”

I slowly stopped near the entrance of the chamber while staring at the scene in front of me.

Wooden scaffolding surrounded most of the outer walls of the cavern. Multiple platforms were connected together using planks, ladders, ropes, and crude bridges hanging several meters above the ground.

At the center stood a large wooden fort built from scavenged planks, barrels, old carts, cloth sheets, and scrap supports.

Honestly…

For a bunch of children, it was surprisingly impressive.

The structure was messy, uneven, and clearly unsafe in several places.

But it was functional.

Very functional.

It looked large enough to hold dozens of children comfortably.

Maybe even fifty.

“…You built all of this?” I asked quietly.

Dorrim puffed his chest proudly.

“Yep.”

“Well… older kids helped too.”

“And the older older kids.”

“And some adults accidentally helped without knowing.”

“That still counts!”

Another child proudly pointed toward the upper scaffolding.

“We even have lookout towers.”

“And escape routes!”

“And a prison!”

“…Why do children need a prison?”

Dorrim crossed his arms seriously.

“For criminals.”

“What criminals?”

“People who cheat during fort battles.”

“…Understandable.”

The atmosphere inside the cavern felt strangely lively compared to the silent ruins outside.

Cloth banners made from old shirts hung across the wooden walls.

Crude symbols were painted onto planks using charcoal.

Several wooden swords, slings, sticks, and handmade shields were scattered around the fort like armory equipment.

One corner even had stacked food supplies.

Mostly bread.

A suspicious amount of bread.

Honestly…

The entire place felt less like a military fortress and more like a pirate hideout built by hyperactive children.

Chaotic.

Loud.

Dangerously creative.

And somehow…

Warm.

Children climbed across the scaffolding while others stood dramatically on top of the walls pretending to command armies.

“I see enemies approaching from the east tower!”

“That’s Gorrin!”

“He’s still eating!”

“THE BREAD IS IMPORTANT!”

The cavern immediately erupted into laughter again.

Meanwhile, I quietly looked around the chamber.

Even beneath all the childish chaos…

The foundations underneath the scaffolding were ancient.

Massive stone walls surrounded the chamber while old carved support pillars disappeared high into the darkness above.

And beneath the wooden platforms…

I could still see fragments of old stone structures buried underneath.

Broken stairs.

Collapsed hallways.

Ancient rail lines.

This place had existed long before the children ever discovered it.

Their little fortress was merely built on top of something much older.