"Fuck," Tenur swore again as he tried crawling away with one hand. The other was used to hold onto Denka.

The five children clung onto him like fleas. He tried running to shake them off, but that ended up revealing a truth that was even more depressing—they had something similar to a radar. Even if he did manage to loss them, they'd just find him again, so there was literally no point in doing that at all.

Worse comes to worst, a bunch of other children born from his mana would track him down and cling to him. He'd probably get arrested—and he was fine with that, but what wasn't fine was the responsibilities posed by the children. He'd have to manage all of them, which definitely had to be more than fifty or so. Just thinking about it made him restless.

While Tenur was daydreaming about the worst case scenario, he was unaware that the five children behind him were forming a mana pact that marked their temporary alliance. Through telepathy, they had discussed how they'd treat the other children and how the other children would treat them back. The conclusion they arrived on was this: they'd try to keep their father hidden at all times, and only expose his location whenever, truly necessary. This would give them a significant, advantageous headstart in gaining favor from Tenur so that they'd be ahead of everyone, thus maintaining the current hierarchy.

"Responsibilities..." That was a word Tenur hadn't for a long time, yet now, it sounded even heavier than it ever was.The word made his heart pump, his blood vessels constrict. He decided he didn't like what he was feeling, and that decision led him to believe 'responsibilities' is a bad thing. "Children..." He stopped in his steps and looked back, only to see his home was quite far from where they were now.

"Shit." Tenur sighed and turned around. He started walking back where he just passed by. The children followed him in silence and Denka wasn't talking for reasons unknown to anyone.

A few more blocks later, they were back on track. The sky was darkening already, and light spilled onto the cobbled path through nearby windows. Some even had laughter reverberating. A sense of sonder planted itself within the depths of his consciousness.

"Why do you not speak to us?" Andrew asked suddenly, out of curiousity.

"Because—"I dislike responsibilities! I don't want to raise kids so soon! I have a lot to do before I get rooted down by children!"—I do not know your names," Tenur smiled gently, and for the first time, he wondered if this was the sincerest form of smile he was able to foster.

"My name's Nicolas, but everyone calls me fat Nick," the plump boy told his father with an innocent voice.

""Our names are Samy and Maj."" the pair of identical looking children gestured at the girl first, then the boy.

"Jeral's my name, geography's my game," the boy said while doing a slight bow. "At your service, padre."

"Hmm, interesting names," Tenur had to admit, their names were extremely pleasant sounding. "Did all of you grow up as fast as your brother?" He gestured at Andrew while taking longer strides.

"Father, of course they do! All five of us feed on your mana to grow." Andrew sounded slightly displeased for his father to know so little of them. "We're your—"responsibilities!, the words hung on Andrew's mouth, but never left it.

Tenur cringed while stopping in his tracks even though Andrew didn't say the word, then started walking again, more aware that his brain was tricking him into filling in his child's sentence. Yet as a precaution, "Don't say it," I just feel uncomfotable with that word, he mused.

The five children nodded, each of them able to sense their father's problem. All of them had the same thought in mind, father has responsibility problems.

Silence hung in the air after that, and the tension was not easing even a little. When their father's home came into view, Andrew spoke again in an attempt to ease the atmosphere before entering home.

"Even though we're children, we have a wider range of skills and abilities compared to normal humans."

"We can take care of ourselves if left in the jungle," Samy commented.

"We can even help out if there are problems you need solved," Nicolas stated.

"If you need anything—landscaping to resource hunting—just tell me and I'll be on my way to help," Jeral was clearly proud of his expertise.

"At most, we'll only dissipate into thin air if we receive lethal damage or if our bonds become undone," apparently what Maj said wasn't intended at all, because his sister glared at him for turning the mood somber. The other three were staring daggers at him as well when Tenur chuckled, "Oh how cute." They had arrived.

Right when he reached for the knob, a commotion broke out in the commercial area, loud and distracting enough to make the six of them—seven if Denka is included—rush to the site of disaster.

When they took the last turn that led into the area, the children stood far away to stare at the scene while their father considered what to do.

Laura was in an argument with a butcher. There was a girl behind the butcher—who Tenur assumed was the butcher's daughter—tugging at her father's apron. The father seemed not to notice the girl and only swatted her hand away when she tried to remove the butchering knife from his hand.

"...hit her. I'm going, it's getting late." Laura ended her argument by walking away. The butcher looked dissatisfied at ending it here—obvious by how he was grinding his teeth—and tried to threaten Laura with his knife. Sensing the intent, Laura turned back to face the butcher, eyes full of emotion.

Those aren't killing intent, they're determination! Tenur thought. But determination to do wha— Oh.

"You have to stop her. If she kills him, it will prove to your people how dangerous trolls can be," Denka urged. "Go!"

There were a few who stared at Tenur for talking to himself. Their gaze followed him as he rushed to squeeze through the crowd.

Meanwhile, Laura was staring the butcher in the eye, intent on intimidating him. It was evident how it would end the moment the butcher raised his blade, and the night was definitely going to be coloured in blood. To those who could sense mana and use magic, the surrounding fertility-attributed mana were gathering around Laura while sparks of fertility magic could be seen on the tips of her fingers. The entire spell was already up and running, making the 'go' signal the only crucial thing left for the bloodbath to begin.

In the blink of an eye, the butcher's knife was raised and the surrounding crowd gaped at him. Laura wanted to give him one last opportunity to turn back, but the downward motion of the blade signaled the rejection of the deal. The butcher was grinning, his eyes speaking for itself. "You should know better,troll." that was what the eyes showed. It was indeed a rare opportunity for a man to kill a troll, but the reverse was the same. Laura's heart pounded against her chest as she increased the input, turning the sparks into liquid-like arcs. The butcher's daughter had backed away, afraid of getting involved in what was imminent.

As she raised her hand, someone slipped into the space between them, stopping the knife in mid air. She lowered her hand as well when she digested what she was looking at. The crowd was gasping too.

Tenur was standing in front of her, with Denka raised and supported by both hands to block the incoming knife chop. Surprisingly, the grimoire's integrity was better than it seemed, and it looked like Tenur was having a hard time trying to fully block the chop with a magic book.

"The fuck??" Denka was more confused than ever. He hadn't expected Tenur to use him as a shield. He thought Tenur would've probably created a sperm shield or interrupted the strike in any way, a way other than using him to block.

"Why'd you do that kid!? She's a damn troll!" The butcher pulled out his knife and readied for another strike. Laura had her arcs reduced back into spark form, but that didn't mean she wasn't prepared for retaliation if necessary. "Outta my way!" The fool of a butcher rushed in again, attempting to strike from top to bottom.

The both of them dodged, with Laura slightly unbalanced due to how unnatural and unused to dodging she was. Tenur, on the other hand, stood with confidence in a posture he had seen his father do whenever they played catch.

"Sorry for using you as a projectile!" With those apologetic words, Tenur flung Denka at the butcher, knocking the man right in the nose, disorientating him. The man dropped his knife as a result and fell to the ground, rubbing the part where Denka struck true.

"Gargh!" While he was groaning, his daughter moved to hide the knife. She managed to hide it in their shop before the disorientated man recovered himself. "You...!" The butcher raised his fist at Tenur, his other hand searching for the knife. Tenur and Laura were stood back in case the man turned to using bare hands. Fortunately, when the man's hand found nothing, he calmed down.

But his ego is definitely, severely bruised, Tenur contemplated on what he should say to the butcher. After a few steps worth of time, he came to a decision. He gestured to Laura to not get close as not to trigger the man's anger again.

"Are you alright?" Tenur squatted until he was eye level with the man on the ground. The surrounding crowd was dissolving, with some complaining the fight wasn't fair or wasn't exciting at all.

"Ye." The butcher spat at the dirt in front of Tenur's feet. "If yer didn't stop me, aye would've felt better!" The man rose slowly while dusting himself. His daughter was still hiding in the shop.

"Why do you hate her so much?" Tenur pointed at Laura, who was playing around with the arcs jumping from finger to finger.

"Not 'er specifically," he spat on the ground this time. "But 'er kin."

When Tenur didn't say anything but stared at him, the man continued. "Took mah wife, wil' ya. Ate 'er an' skinne' 'er fer fun, then made me a widower an' 'er," he pointed into his shop. "A motherless child." Droplets were gathering, but they seemed genuine enough.

"Don't worry. Laura," Tenur pointed at Laura who stopped playing and waved at them. "is a good troll, better than those brutes who ate your wife."

"So cheer up," Tenur patted the man's back, and the man returned the gesture.

"I thank yer, boi. Never got someon' to talk mah feelin's wif," The man dusted his apron, more for show than for practicality. "Get yer meat from me, and I'l help yer out." He gave a short laugh and started turning away.

"You too," Tenur muttered before the man went to far back in to his shop to hear. He turned to Laura. "When'd you'd learn to do that?"

"Do what?" Laura smirked.

"The watery curve thingy residing on your fingers just now," Tenur pointed at her fingers. "They're clearly mana and magic."

"What I can do doesn't exactly work the same for you," Laura pointed at herself, then Tenur. "We're different."

"You can still teach me, even if it doesn't work." Tenur persisted and started walking out of the commercial area with Laura behind. They joined up with Andrew and the other children waiting outside.

Laura looked at the children, her expression consisting of pure surprise before turning into a mischievous grin. "Only if I owe you a favor." She smiled at him.

"You already owe me a favour for supplying you with mana," Tenur grinned back, thinking he was winning the verbal fight.

With a swift grab, Tenur was within Laura's grasp. She slammed him into the cobbled path, causing a slight crack to appear in the cobbled path.

"Ouch...!" Tenur groaned while trying to stand up. He found it impossible. "Wait, what happened...? Ouch!"

With a smug grin on Laura's face, Tenur had a bad premonition.

"Your back's broken and you can't move around, simple," Laura stated the facts. "Now, the only way for you to get home is by being carried by me, or wait until someone kind enough to carry you home appears."

Brow raised. "You're going to demand I use a favour for you to transport me home, right?" Laura nodded. "Hah! Then I'll just tell my children to bring me home! Andrew! Call your brothers and sister to come lift me home."

The five children stood around their father lying on the ground. Smug looks appeared on their faces and that's when Tenur realised the truth. "Oh no..."

"Oh yes, they ain't gonna help you. So you eiher get robbed clean before getting home or owe me a favour to carry you home, so that we're equal." Laura turned away and was walking away when Tenur shouted for her.

"Wait! Wait, I've made a decision..." he bit on his lip, unable to believe he's been forced into such a situation. "I'll... even out our favour so carry me home!"

With what she wanted said aloud, Laura placed Tenur onto her shoulder. "As you wish."

The six of them walked back to Tenur's home that night, with the seventh being carried by shoulder.

"Kids...?"

"Yes father?" Andrew answered for them.

"You're all so, so, so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o, grounded. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Tenur then laughed maniacally until he felt pain in his legs for laughing too much.

"No...!" Andrew looked at his father with puppy eyes, but his father ignored them while muttering something he wouldn't have thought to say before.

"Responsibilities man, responsibilities..." he then laughed until they reached home.