Chapter 11: Campfire

~4 Years Later~

It's been 4 years since that incident, and Aizen is now 8. Many things happened during that span.

When Aizen turned 5, a war has started a few months after. The battle is between the Kingdom of Rapsody, the kingdom where the Frost family lives, and the neighboring Kingdom of Thaw. Naturally, the demands for firepower have risen, but even the rich Kingdom of Rapsody couldn't sustain itself on a consistent basis for years of war. To address this, the nobles of the Kingdom had recruited mercenaries into the battle. It just so happens that Jonathan Frost's mercenary guild was picked, and they've just returned to their barracks after the grueling war.

"I have a daughter." boasted one of the soldiers. "She's the most lovely thing in the world."

There were 10 of them surrounding a crackling campfire, it was Jonathan's squad. They hated it when the subject would shift to love, but they still entertained the newbie anyways.

"Oh, kids are adorable! I have one myself." said another. He's rubbing his nose but still maintains his proud appearance. Even though he's lying. Like everyone else, he's a soldier whose love life still hasn't bloomed, yet he asked and spoke so naturally about it as if he has a family himself.

The man boasted about his non-existent child and wife for quite a while until he ran out of lies to say and decided to shift the topic.

"You look quite young. How old is your child?" he picked the newbie. "Two years old? Ah, they say that it's around that age that their cheeks begin to plump like mochi-"

"She's about eight years old."

The soldier who asked the question was shocked. He thought that his kid was still a toddler.

"W-wait, how old are you lad?"

"Twenty-five. Oh! And I also have a son. I also forgot to mention that I'm having my third child this year. I hope he would be a boy so they can protect their sister-" Then he whipped out a photo of his family.

Near instantly, the mood turned heavy and the winter night felt bleak in spite of the flame. All of them were jealous, especially the liar. How could a person so young be married already and have kids when they were all middle-aged men but their spring is still looking so far? But then, when they observed the man carefully. His face...

Oh, so that's why. - they all thought dispiritedly. Someone should match his level so that the middle-aged men wouldn't be so humiliated, but frankly, none of them had a child.

Well, except one.

"I-I have a son too." Captain Jonathan Frost himself has joined the fray! Being the doting father that he is, spoke about his family long enough that when he finished, everybody was already asleep except the newbie, who clapped at his story. That night, he formed a deep friendship with a newbie.

And those sleeping doofuses, how dare they not listen to his great stories! He'll make them run laps later.

For now, he questions himself.

What is Aizen currently doing?