Kyle was the son of a whore.

Raised in a brothel, Kyle grew up essentially working as a janitor cleaning up the rooms after the customers had their fun. His life was simple and repetitive, making for a dreary circumstance without hope for improvement.

He didn't know who his father was, nor did he ever make an effort to find out. After all, his father could have been any one of the customers, or perhaps even a traveler who stopped by one day and left the next, never to be seen again. For all he knew, his father could already be dead and he would never know it.

Not only this, but his mother had apparently died when he was young in some incident with a customer. Kyle was never told the circumstances of his mothers death, yet he never knew her either way. The brothel mother had made the decision to care for and raise the young baby, and as a result he grew up here in the slums of the capital of the Ruthobold kingdom.

However, despite this hopeless situation, Kyle was not depressed or angry.

Quite the opposite. Living in poverty had allowed Kyle to live a fulfilling life. Even if cleaning the rooms was a filthy job, the customers and the women who worked at the brother began to get to know and respect Kyle. Many people around the town- men who needed a break from their wives- would secretly sneak over to the red light district on the pretext of work, and Kyle was well known for having tight lips.

Despite not knowing who his father was, and despite being raised without a single biological parent, he felt as if he had more parents than any other child in the world.

The customers who knew and respected Kyle were like fathers to him. The women at the brothel were like mothers to him. It was almost as if he was the center of one big happy family.

Kyle was dressed in rags, and currently using a mop to clean up the stains of a room after it had been used. He overheard other customers in the room around him having fun, but this was an everyday occurrence for him, and he was not fazed in the least.

He smiled cheerfully as he mopped up the disgusting liquid, and one of the brothel women knocked on the door. She was a beautiful woman with her blonde hair tied back into a bun, and she wore a short cut dress.

"Good evening, mother. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, everything is just fine. I was just checking up on you to see how you were doing. After me and Ethan finished up for the night he kept on asking me how you were doing and wanted to speak to you."

This woman was Olivia, the most beautiful and highly selected woman who worked at this small brothel.

The sliding door then opened to reveal a tall man with slicked back brown hair. He was a built man, and he seemed to be very cheerful. He was dressed in some work rags, as he was a blacksmith for trade.

"Hey kiddo! It's been a while since I've been around here... you know how it is with the wife and all... anyways, how have you been? They haven't been working you too hard have they? If you ever feel like becoming my apprentice, I would take you on any day you know."

"Surely you jest, Mr. Ethan. You know that I owe my mothers my life. Unless I were to spend all the money I make repaying them, I could never leave this place."

"Then you'll consider my offer if I pay you enough to repay them?"

"Hmm... I suppose I would consider it."

"Kyle, we all love you like our own son, but don't feel like you need to be held back in order to repay us. If you want to go somewhere else... somewhere that you can live a decent life, then none of us here want you to live with that burden. Do what is best for you.", Olivia stated with a kind smile.

"I could never do that. Even if I went on and became a noble or the king himself, I would use my entire estate to support you all here at the brothel. Both the women who work here and the customers treat me like family, to the point where I have never once felt like I didn't have parents to take care of me."

The two others laughed sympathetically as Kyle said this, and Ethan put his hand on Kyle's shoulder.

"Well, just make sure that you don't let it slip that I have any connection to this brothel if you ever do that!"

The two laughed cheerfully, and Ethan gave him a reminiscent face.

"You remind me of myself when I was a kid... no, perhaps we all feel that way. You're such a cheerful kid despite living in the poverty that you've been raised in, and every time we see you smile while performing these jobs that nobody else would take, it reminds us that we are all human, and that happiness is the most important thing. There are some days when I want to curse all those nobles and their petty feuds, but when I see you living like this I can't help but think that maybe things aren't so bad."

Ethan then turned to leave with a nostalgic look on his face, and waved goodbye to Kyle while smiling lightly.

"Remember that my offer always stands! Give it some thought, kid!"

"I will!"

With that, Kyle continued his cleaning. Olivia looked at him with a slightly sad and concerned face, and soon took her leave.

"Don't work yourself too hard. If you need anything just ask."

"Yes, mother."

----

Claire had received a message from the antiheroes.

She was told to go to gather the leaders of the lizardmen tribe and of the birdmen tribe, inviting them to the slime village.

Was Claire slightly suspicious of this? Yes.

She did not exactly want these potentially violent lizardmen and birdmen entering the slime village, but she decided that she would trust the antiheroes. Surely they were confident that they would be able to deal with any issues if they were making the first move and inviting these humanoid monsters into their own home. Claire herself would not be harmed if anyone attacked, but she was concerned for the slime people. What would they think of the leaders of more powerful races entering their village?

However, when she discussed these things with the elder, he only shrugged and said "If this is the will of the antiheroes, then let it be. They are surely wiser than us, and with hearts as kind as theirs I am certain that they would not allow any harm to come to us."

And so, Claire had headed off to the lizardmen village.

Rithargus had insisted on coming with her, and so they traveled together. She was confident that she would be able to protect one person, but she was somewhat worried about leaving the rest of the slimes alone in their village.

"What if they get attacked while I am gone...perhaps I'm worrying too much...", she thought.

The antiheroes would likely be back soon enough, but even so she was filled with concern. If an enemy group had someone who was skilled in intelligence gathering, they would likely launch an attack when there was nobody to protect the weak slimes, and raid the village for potions and other loot.

Even so, there was no point thinking about these things. What was done was done, and she was already gone. Her job now was to bring back the leaders of the lizardmen and birdmen tribes for negotiation. Did the antiheroes intend to try to peacefully resolve the conflict? They seemed to tell others that they were doing things for their own benefit, but she could sense the compassion of leaders concerned for their people coming from them as they said these things, and so she knew otherwise.

Still, she was somewhat worried. What if the lizardmen or birdmen refused to come? Or what if they started trouble?

She slapped her cheeks with both hands, as if to motivate herself. They surely had a plan for all these things. She wouldn't need to worry if it was them who were in charge.

And so, Claire spent the day traveling to the lizardmen village. The forest eventually became a spanning plain, and the village soon came into view.

"This is a chance to help others... if we can prevent a war from occurring, we will have done something truly heroic."