"What do you think happened to them?" Hannah asked, standing next to Claire as they both observed the family. Her voice was soft enough to not be overheard.

Shaking her head slowly, Claire surmised, "They're likely the refugees that the military found outside of the Fort. Chelsea's friend mentioned that they had run into people surviving outside of the Fort and were bringing them inside."

The family was made up of a mother and father, with a son and daughter, both looking like they should be attending elementary school, instead of worrying about where their next meal was coming from. "Though, it's probably something common out in the world after society collapsed," Claire thought to herself.

"Claire, please pick up your food," Darlina's voice called out to her.

Jumping from her name being called, "I can't get used to that," Claire complained. She turned to go over to the pickup area.

Waiting, there was a tray with a large bowl that had several bones with thick meat attached to it. The broth was a milky white with plenty of clear fat floating on top of the liquid. There was a bowl of rice and a small plate with what looked like cabbage covered in a red paste. Grabbing the tray, Claire felt her mouth beginning to water from the smell of the food.

Moving away from the area, there was already another tray being presented and the robot's voice calling out for Hannah.

Standing while holding the tray, Claire looked to see where they should sit. Though just from what she could see, there were plenty of spaces available.

Eyes falling on the family she had observed earlier, an idea came to mind. Walking over to a table next to the family, Claire smiled when the daughter looked up at her. "Do you mind if my friend and I sit next to you?" She asked the girl.

The girl blushed at the attention received, tilting her head down to look at the food. Next to the girl, the brother had a similar reaction.

"They're a bit shy to strangers," The mother turned to apologize to Claire. Looking back at her kids, "You should say hello to big sister," She encouraged them.

"It's fine, I used to be the same when I was their age," Claire lied, understanding that children couldn't help but be nervous around strangers, even more so after an apocalyptic event. She smiled at the two kids, hoping to appear friendly.

The father, who sat next to the mother, bowed his head to Claire and Hannah. "They used to be more open to strangers," He tried to explain.

Setting down her tray on the table, Claire raised a hand, understandingly, "There's no need to worry." Smiling at the children, "They look like they're enjoying the food." She tried to strike up a conversation.

Sitting across from Claire, Hannah also gave a wave at the children after setting down her tray.

The father made a hesitant smile, "After entering the shelter, we were told that there was a way for us to become stronger. Arriving in the Guild, my wife and I thought it would be a good idea for the four of us to take up a job."

"We had entered the Fort just before the attacks happened, so we hadn't had a chance to eat," The mother added. "Though we wanted to rest upon entering the shelter, we both thought that it was important to start right away. So we found a job immediately upon entering the simulation. This is our first meal in a while." The mother reached out to the daughter, who sat across from the woman, and lovingly touched the girl's arm, encouraging the girl to get back to eating.

Seeing the family acting so close, Claire thought back to her parents and wondered whether they had entered the shelter. She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes, making her use her forearm to wipe them away before the family noticed. A hand on her arm startled her, eyes moving to see Hannah comforting her.

Based on Hannah's eyes, it was evident that Hannah was thinking the same thing about her own parents and family members.

-----------------

End of Part 1

Wanting to get away from the topic, feeling sad about thinking of her family, Claire asked the father, "What type of job did you pick?"

As though feeling shy about being asked such a thing, the father placed a hand on the back of his head, "I used to be a florist where we used to live before we went on a family trip to visit the nearby mountains to camp. Though the plants were not all the same in the simulation when compared to the real world, I was still able to receive some training from the Guild. I selected a job that required gathering various plants to be used for medicine creation."

Hearing the man used to work as a florist, she was at a loss for words.

After the father explained what he had been up to, the mother added, "I selected a job to clean up a house and business for a merchant. Though it was a lot of work, the amount of Guild Points offered and being allowed to bring my kids was favorable."

Being informed of the kids tagging along for the job, Hannah asked in confusion, "Doesn't the Guild outside of the simulation have some daycare system in place?"

Blinking, Claire realized that Hannah brought up a good point. It would be unusual for such an advanced city to not have something to look after kids while the parents worked.

Watching as her two kids ate the food, the mother was silent, before she looked to Claire. "Since being inside of the simulation will help them become stronger, I wanted them to have as much exposure to the mysterious energy as possible. Though I feel guilty they had to sit around as I was working, I felt that it would be more beneficial for them to be inside of the simulation in the long run. Their survival depends on them being able to become stronger, and maybe they can slowly develop skills at the Guild inside of that place." The mother's eyes showed the guilt she was feeling as a parent for having to put her children in such an environment.

Taking a moment to eat some of the soup before it became cold, Claire couldn't help but be surprised at how good the food tasted. It was like nothing she had experienced before, though it was close to the food that was offered by Star and Moon inside of the mall and studio. "It would make sense, considering we're inside of the city that was built and managed by Star and Moon," Claire criticized herself. Eating some of the rice and kimchi, she appreciated the taste. There was even the same feeling of energy flowing inside of her. It was similar to the meat they had eaten earlier, aside from the experience being more gentle.

Her eyes went to the kids and wondered what the experience was like for them. Were they going to have an adverse reaction to the energy by consuming the food?

"Do you mind if I ask how many Guild Points you were able to gather?" Hannah asked the parents.

The father blinked at Hannah's direct question. Though, judging by his expression, the question didn't offend him. It only looked to catch him off guard.

"We were only able to earn five Guild Points, enough for each of us to purchase food and have a Guild Point remaining to use at a later time." The mother answered. "Though there were jobs that offered a greater amount of Guild Points, they required hunting down monsters." She paused as though thinking of something, "I did find out from the merchant that the Guild would be willing to purchase clothing or equipment tailored by an individual. Such a thing made me think about taking a class out here, learning how to design and make simple outfits for adventurers to wear."

Placing a hand on his wife's back, the father beamed to Claire and Hannah, "My wife was a respected owner of her own clothing business, where our neighbors would purchase the dresses she would sew herself!" His smile was broad, with pride in his love's skills.

The woman blushed at her husband's words, "I didn't do anything so impressive. I just picked up a few things from reading magazines and dabbled at it."

Hearing that the woman used to design clothes and was thinking of selling it to the Guild, Claire remembered what Darlina had told them.