"Mr. Wyncall... Is there any way I can become a soldier quickly? It seems like it will take forever if I wait until I'm older," Pascoe asked the soldier before him.

For several months, Pascoe had been close to one of the soldiers named Wyncall. And almost every day, he came to see Wyncall at his duty station and told him many things.

"Of course, you can't; you must grow up to be a soldier first... But."

Wyncall drew the sword at his waist and pointed it at Pascoe.

"You can learn to use the sword from now on."

"Wow, a real sword!"

"Want to try holding it?"

"I AM!"

Pascoe grasped the sword's hilt, his small hand struggling to lift the weighty metal. As anticipated, the sword proved to be cumbersome and difficult for Pascoe to wield.

"See?" Wyncall remarked. "You're still a child, and the sword is too heavy for you. But don't worry, with practice and dedication; you'll soon be able to lift it effortlessly."

"Can I take the sword home?"

"Of course you can't. If you bring it home, your parents will take my sword and report it to Mr. Barkaley."

With a sad face, Pascoe said

"Then... how can I learn from now on? You told me many talented people are in the outside world, so I must learn as quickly as possible."

Wyncall smiled, then held Pascoe's shoulders firmly,

Wyncall's hard stare bore into Pascoe, making his heart race and anxiety seep into his bones.

"How about you start becoming a man?" Wyncall demanded. Pascoe's confusion was palpable.

"Become a man?" he asked, unsure of what Wyncall meant

"Right, although you still can't lift a sword, you can still do THAT."

"That...?"

Wyncall removed his hands from Pascoe's shoulders; then pointed his sword at his neck.

"Killing...

Since your parents always forbid you, how about you just kill your father? That way, you'll be free to do anything."

"Kill... father?"

Like a sudden jolt, Pascoe immediately said,

"No, I won't be able to do it; Dad's body is so big, I could be killed back if I do it," he said in a panicked tone, then he turned back home and said,

"It's getting late; I'm going home first, Mr. Wyncall!" he shouted.

Meanwhile, Wyncall sighed, thinking that his plan had failed; he was a little disappointed.

"He was scared. I got carried away again. Maybe Pascoe is still too early for doing that."

...

...

...

Seven days passed.

Almost all the basic treatments to the potato fields had been completed in those seven days. All that was left to do was to wait while watching the fields for intruders such as chickens, dogs, and other animals. Sometimes the waterway was also damaged, so they dug up the waterway almost every day.

Since all the basics were done, Peter was able to work on his own. That day was Allen's last day helping Peter.historical

Acting quickly, Allen rushed to her side before she could even scream. As he approached, he noticed that her belly was much larger than that of an average pregnant woman, which may have been causing her difficulty in walking.

As Allen rested on a rock near the house that afternoon, his eyes were drawn to Iva walking alone.

"Iva? Where is Susan?" Allen said.

She appeared to be in pain and was struggling to stagger forward when she suddenly collapsed, falling on her stomach

-WUSH

Acting quickly, Allen rushed to her side before she could even scream. As he approached, he noticed that her belly was much larger than he had seen before.

Iva's belly was now bigger than the average pregnant woman, which may have been causing her difficulty in walking.

"Allen! Huft.. thank you so much," Iva said weakly.

"What are you doing walking alone like this? Didn't Master Rodion tell you that Susan will help with everything?"

"I thought I could walk by myself to get a drink, it turns out I'm not strong enough to carry it."

"I'll return you to the chair."

"Thank you."

Allen gently lifted Iva and carefully placed her into the chair where she usually sat. The chair's seat had a beautiful curvature covered in soft cushions. From Susan's story, it seemed to be the chair Peter had made for his first pregnancy.

"Allen! What happened?" Susan shouted from behind Allen.

"Iva almost fell. You need to be more careful."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Iva!" cried Susan, bowing her head.

"It's okay; you just went to the restroom for a while. It's my fault for moving by myself," Iva replied.

"Allen, do you have a job after this?" Susan whispered.

"I don't have any; why did you ask?"

"Umm... Actually I haven't finished in the restroom because I heard Iva's voice. Can you please look at Iva's for a while?"

"Yes, no problem, go ahead."

"Thank you!"

Susan left there. Since Iva said she wanted water earlier, Allen quickly went to get a glass of water and gave it to Iva.

"Thanks again."

As two minutes passed, Iva noticed Allen's curious gaze fixed on her pregnant belly. Finally, she couldn't help but break the silence,

"Do you want to touch it?" Iva asked if he wanted to touch her belly.

Caught off guard, Allen immediately looked away, attempting to clarify that he wasn't staring at her belly inappropriately.

"No!" he exclaimed, "That's not it."

A few seconds of silence, Allen looked at them again and said,

"I'm just curious. Are there really humans living inside there? It seems strange that humans could live in such a small and cramped space."

"Fufu, you really don't know anything. All humans are made like this. They will be born inside their mother's belly before being born into this world."

"Really?"

"I'm sure about that."

"Does that mean Master Rodion was also born from his mother's belly?

"Of course."

"What about Peter? Is he too?

"Of course."

"Then what about me? Was I also born from a mother?"

With a small but sad smile, Iva answered him,

"I'm sure of it."

Iva had heard about Allen's situation from Peter. Iva heard that Allen was stranded alone in this world, then grew up alone somewhere, with no parents and no memories.

"Is that so..."

'So I am really not Mother's real child. My real mother is somewhere in this world, or maybe already dead,' Allen thought.

As Allen answered her, Iva began to feel that the story might not be true. The sadness on Allen's face made Iva feel that the situation might be much more complicated than that.

"Do you want to try to touch my belly?" Iva asked.

"Is it okay?"

"Of course."

Allen gently placed his hand on Iva's pregnant belly.

And as he did so,

-PUK

He felt a sudden movement and quickly withdrew his hand, causing Iva to laugh.

"What was that?!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and fear, and his face looked exaggeratedly surprised.

"Did I just make the stomach angry?!" asked Allen again.

Iva reassured him with a chuckle,

"Hahaha... No, no... Take it easy. It's just the baby kicking."

Despite the reassurance, Allen couldn't help but feel both surprised and frightened by the unexpected movement.

"The baby kicked? Why? Did I make them angry? Wait, they could move inside that?!"

"They do it often. I don't know why... Maybe he wants to get out of there quickly and see their mom?"

"How about your feeling Iva? Did it hit you? Did the kick hurt your stomach?!"

"Hahah no.. no problem.."

"It's strange... Even though there's no air in there, apparently they can live inside, even have consciousness."

"Pfft hahaha..."

"What with that sudden laugh?"

"Sorry, it's just that your expression of constant surprise is so cute. It made me want to give birth to this child quickly and show it to you."

Iva gently rubbed her belly, and then said.

"I want to show you how small and cute this baby is and see your reaction after.

I wish I also could see them," Iva said with a sad look on her face, making Allen curious,

"What does that mean? They are going to be born soon, right?" asked Allen.

"Yes... but we won't know if they could be born safely or not because we are a poor family.

I've been pregnant six times. When I got pregnant for the first time at 17, the baby died due to a lack of nutrition.

Then my second pregnancy, I miraculously gave birth to Fenton because there was a visiting doctor from the city.

I gave birth to a girl in my third pregnancy, but the child died immediately at only four months old in the water month.

During my fourth pregnancy, I successfully gave birth to Pascoe. Thankfully he was born in the month of soil; at that time we were having a big harvest, so that kid had enough nutrients to live on.

Then my fifth pregnancy, my son again died at one-month-old,

And now, in my sixth pregnancy, I will try to make this child live. I wanted to see them grow up and play with Pascoe and you, Allen."

Allen gazed upon Iva's face; despite her old age, it remained beautiful and radiant. Weariness had etched faint lines on her features, a testament to the tremendous effort and happiness she carried within while carrying their unborn child. Allen was astounded by her indomitable spirit and unwavering strength, and he marveled at the awe-inspiring sight before him.

This is how every mother feels about their child.

It's fabulous

It's wonderful

And it's beautiful.