Three days had passed since their surrender. They were now at one of the "Devils" bases. They were fed, and their guard was a girl everyone on base called Princess. She had long black hair, bright blue eyes, and a cute face. Seeing her for the first time, Jack was sure she was not much older than his daughter.
A group of children was walking around the base. Noticing Jack's companion, they quickly ran to her.
"Big sister, we haven't seen you in a long time! Did you dye your hair? I liked your old color much better," one of the girls said.
"Big sister, is the old man not with you?" one of the boys asked. "I wanted to show him my shooting. He promised to give me tips on how to find a beautiful wife. Despite his scary look, so many beauties are around him that I can't help but be jealous."
The girls, hearing these words, looked at the boy with murderous glares. Noticing this, Jack smiled and said:
"Kid, if you want to find a good wife, you shouldn't shout about it so loud."
Looking the man over, the boy asked seriously:
"Uncle, do you have a beautiful wife?"
"No, my wife left, but I have a beautiful daughter."
"How can you give me advice on finding a beautiful wife if your wife left, abandoning not only you but also your daughter? The old man is scary as hell, but he had two beautiful fiancées."
"And after he became disabled, he got two beautiful mistresses. Next to him, not only you, but even I am truly pathetic," the boy said with a heavy sigh.
"He doesn't have two, he has three," Yuno said with a sly smile.
Hearing these words, the boy fell to his knees and, looking at Yuno, said:
"Big sister, the old man is already old. When the day comes and you realize he can no longer perform his marital duties, come to me."
As soon as the boy finished speaking, something very unpleasant flickered in Yuno's eyes. Noticing this, the boy fell silent, his body trembling with fear.
One of the girls hit him hard on the head and said:
"Big sister, forgive this idiot."
"Fine, but only for you, Hazel."
Someone might have thought it strange, but Jack found them amusing. He became curious about who this old man was. From their conversation, Jack understood that his companion was one of this old man's women.
Looking at the boy, now rubbing his head, Jack asked:
"You know, you're right, I have no right to teach you. But I don't want my daughter to grow up without a mother. Could you give me some advice, big brother?"
Hearing the man's question, the boy smiled and said:
"If you want to find a good wife, the first thing you should do is stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself: if my daughter came home with a guy who looks like me, would I be happy?"
"To get a beautiful wife, I became the best in my group. I study well and train hard."
Looking Jack over, the boy said:
"You have a decent body, but still worse than the old man's. And honestly, you're old, so you'll have to work hard to compensate for your shortcomings."
"The old man also says that love is too unreliable, and the best foundation for any relationship is mutual respect."
"Find a wife who respects you, and find a wife you respect — then you'll be fine."
Listening to the boy, Jack found his words correct. He understood that the person he called the old man had used the boy's desire to find a beautiful wife to make him study diligently.
Looking at the boy thoughtfully, he asked with interest:
"That makes sense. How do you get multiple wives? My daughter has grown up so long without maternal love that I'm afraid one wife won't be enough."
"The old man said: if you want a harem, you must follow a few rules."
"There are several ways to achieve this. The first and simplest is to lower your standards to a minimum, find a girl of average looks, surround her with care, make life without you become hell for her. Then she might accept a harem."
"The second way is much harder — you need to win not only her heart but also her soul. If you can do that, she'll become your most loyal ally."
"You said the old man had two fiancées and now three mistresses. Where are they?"
It might have seemed the boy had said too much and should be stopped, but during these days Yuno had learned about the plans for the special forces unit and understood there was no need. She wasn't the only one who found the pair's conversation amusing.
"I didn't see his fiancées," the boy said. "Even though he became disabled, all the instructors say that guy is a real beast. I think his first fiancée died, the second either left or isn't one of us."
"I'm too young to die, so I won't say anything about his mistresses."
"You said 'one of us'? Are you also going to become a fighter?" Jack asked with interest.
The boy hesitated for a moment but eventually answered:
"I can see you're new to our ranks. All the children here were born from rape. We found out about it not long ago, but I want my mother to never regret deciding to give me life."
"We all must be examples for those who, like our mothers, became pregnant through rape, so that by our example we incline them to keep their children."
The children in this group were no older than twelve, and this revelation was unexpected for Jack. Despite hard training and strict upbringing, he understood that some part of these kids still remained children.
When they said goodbye to the children and walked on, Jack said:
"You have rather harsh parenting methods. I'm surprised that with this approach, these children retain their childish side."
"We are the first generation. We must be examples. Here, everyone watches themselves, and strict discipline reigns."
"There are couples where a very handsome guy is with a girl with burns on her face. Such couples show children that while appearance matters, it's still secondary. The most important thing is personal qualities. Not all of them will become fighters, but all will undergo combat training. We want these children to be able to protect themselves if necessary," Yuno said.