"You know, we're like a couple of moles. I'm the mole dad, and you're the mole mom."
Deep underground in a rocky cavern, Reilo and Lola whispered to each other, even though the joke wasn't funny.
Supplies were scarce, and hunger was spreading. Another little girl had fallen ill a few days ago, but the scholars hiding in the cavern were powerless to help.
"Do you regret it?"
Lola lay against Reilo's chest and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Regret what?"
"Regret not spending some resources like those other civilizations did, and sending some human scholars into the Inner Earth."
Lola's words made Reilo fall silent for a moment, but soon he shook his head.
"I wouldn't call it regret. Living without hope isn't the Academic World I wanted, and that place wasn't some paradise, either."
"I wish I could go outside and see the stars again."
Lola seemed to be thinking of something painful as she murmured under her breath.
The closer people came to despair, the more sentimental they became.
Reilo knew that for half a month now, Lola had been giving half of her own food to some of the children in the cavern. But for the surviving human scholars, it was a drop in the bucket and made no real difference. It was nothing more than a way for her to comfort herself.
As for her saying she wanted to see the stars, Reilo knew, though she never said so, that she missed their child.
But even such a simple wish had become an unattainable luxury in this apocalyptic world. Unless absolutely necessary, no one hiding here could stay exposed on the surface for long. The Superhumans monitoring it might show up at any moment.
"Reilo, have you ever considered