I, a Heroic Soldier from the Last Demon War, Became a Father to a Pair of Demonic Beast Children: Am I Really Fit to be a Dad to These Adorable Kids?

[KitsuneObsessedFreak]

I, a Heroic Soldier from the Last Demon War, Became a Father to a Pair of Demonic Beast Children. ​

​

Am I Really Fit to be a Dad to These Adorable Kids?​

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01: A Tail as Old as Time.
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Wizard Tim had a problem and it was the duo of fucking morons in his office.

"Kindly repeat that?" he asked. Perhaps the nobles here to 'convince' him about the dragon's sword hanging over the kingdom had misspoke, or he had an ear gremlin troubling his hearing.

"We should strike while the iron is hot!" the noble claimed. "He is asleep in the barracks. If we just flood it with poison and keep a sleep and suppression spell from your grand wizardlyness on the fool, he will surely no longer be a threat to our nation!"

"Last demon lord tried that. Twice. What are you going to do when he survives and comes for literally everyone who ordered it afterward? Hint, you can't really blame the demons when they're gone and the last demon lord was literally smashed into paste. You do remember that, right? How he blocked Adam with a supposedly impenetrable shield and Adam just roared louder until the shield broke, and then he was smashed into a pancake? I saw his lungs and organs go flying. Quite gruesome," Wizard Tim said, while internally indulging in a fantasy of casting a nice simple fireball on the idiots in front of him.

"This is an outrage!" another noble tried to puff himself up. "He is in league with the terrorist who walks these halls, we should—"

The Archduke walked out, tapping his cane loudly to silence the idiots with a sigh. "My brother, King Lu Balgov, has sent me to ask what you propose as a way to quietly shuffle off our hero to a place where the other nations will not have to fear him. I assume that you have some sort of plan already, that won't end up with our nation being lost to the history books?"

Wizard Tim wanted to throw the two idiots out and knock back a drink with Archduke because he was the only sane noble here. Unlike the two nobles beside the archduke, Archduke Ferdinand actually fought and survived in the Demon War. The other two? Fourth or fifth sons who'd spent their time whoring and gambling away on the periphery and only got their positions because literally everyone else in line for their houses died.

The worst part? Fourth or fifth sons or daughters was typical. House Gregory had a twelfth son. A. Twelfth. Son.

The Balgovia kingdom may have won the demon war but they broke every bone in their arm doing it.

Outwardly, however, Wizard Tim remained calm and composed. "The plan I've come up with is simple yet straight forward and should satisfy everyone. We'll grant him a minor title so he is a noble even if a low ranked one, and grant him a barony on the northern edge of the kingdom bordering the Demon Lands at Death Mountain. That way he gets a 'reward' for his service, is sent out of range of the capital if he decides to go berserk, stays out of noble politics while also being available if some elder dragon goes on a rampage or we need him again, and we finally get someone to deal with that cursed mountain that won't fucking die burning or screaming and waste yet more lives. Who knows, he might actually be successful meaning we might finally get a use out of it rather than yet another failed colony in a long line of failed colonies."

There. Wizard Tim had laid out his plan to handle Adam. Because, frankly, it was the only one Tim saw as remotely viable. Adam was a freak of nature, someone so strong even dragons rightfully feared him, someone who killed the other freak of nature, the demon lord, who'd ransacked the kingdom for the past decade.

And a notable minor but excessively loud faction wanted to kill Adam and praise him as a martyr. Never mind that would fail, spectacularly, and create a one man army after them, but some people couldn't bear the thought of someone they couldn't control.

The only other option Tim had come up with was setting a trap for Adam and taking the field himself with his own mastery of magic. Tim put his odds at 50% in the most optimal situation. The wizard really didn't like this because A, he thought Adam deserved a good rest for saving the kingdom and not a knife in the back, and B, Wizard Tim really liked living and hadn't studied enough magic yet. Plus, even if he was successful, Tim was confident he would have to reveal enough of his magical prowess and likely call down god damn meteor to end Adam that the nobles would turn on him next for being too scawy.

"Very well," the Archduke nodded. "It will save me from having to send in yet another failed expedition to clear out the Lamia and Kitsune nests in the area, when they attempt to kidnap more of my men from the neigboring farms. Truly, their wives and children weep for their fathers."

The way he smirked suggested he knew exactly what had actually been happening to the men, and that they probably were still just fine.

"Indeed. If that is all, my lords, then I would like to prepare for my meeting with Adam so he actually knows where we are sending him and he can stop twiddling his thumbs in the barracks doing nothing but eating the kingdom out of house and home," Wizard Tim said, only barely stopping himself from saying, 'and fingering his ass' because noble sensibilities were a fucking pain.

Gods, Tim wished he was back in his tower studying magic. The things he did for a pristine magical nexus.

The nobles at this point left with a knowing look from the archduke while the two minor nobles glared. They were going to be a pain.

Tim briefly contemplated hard lemonade after they left before he went straight for the whiskey. He was not nearly drunk enough after dealing with that.

~~~~
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Adam adjusted his armored uniform, ensured his mace was shining and clean, and finished combing his hair. With that, he was ready to report to the archwizard for his next assignment.

It had been a bit odd without another battle to go to. Adam understood it, intellectually. The war was over, treaties signed, armies disbanded.

But in a pragmatic sense, Adam kept expecting to be deployed, to have another fight, another burned village to avenge, or great monster to slay. But ever since he killed the Demon lord and King Balgov routed the remaining forces, there'd just been nothing to do but train, eat, sleep, and nothing more.

The royal guards stared at Adam with some awe as he passed, but none approached or stopped him. They all knew his name. He even recognized a few. That youth, for instance, had been set to be disemboweled by a particularly ferocious chimera. Sergeant Morrison, or something.

He entered Wizard Tim's office, and Adam felt some… relief.

Finally, he would have orders from the one man who didn't see him with awe or fear.

"Welcome, I'm tired and need a fucking drink or six. Adam, long story short? You've been lorded," Wizard Tim said, throwing a very fancy title worth more than many villages at Adam before he could even sit down.

"You are now Baron Adam of Death Mountain and the surrounding 50 smiles. That's your barony, see the map. Your orders are simple. Clear it out, set up your homestead for your manor and mark out places for an eventual settlement. We'll send builders and your first settlers so you actually have subjects in two months time. Is that understood?"

Adam nodded firmly. The title was… unexpected, and he didn't know what to think about how his social position changed, but the rest? Orders, a concrete goal. It was glorious.

"Very well. I will set out immediately," Adam said, turning.

"Wait!" Wizard Tim said. "Go get at least a horse and travel supplies to set up a long term camp, you maniac."

Adam paused. "Right. I will do that. Is there anything else?"

"No," Wizard Tim sighed. "Not many have said this, but Adam? Thank you for the service. I would do more for you if I could."

Adam blinked, feeling off-centered from the praise. Wizard Tim wasn't supposed to do that, he was supposed to be a cranky wizard providing magical support or advice on attacking a demonic stronghold. Not… praise.

"Thank you," he said, awkwardly, before leaving quickly.

Adam quickened his strides to the armory and requisitions officer. It was time for his next mission.

~~~~

AN:
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HiddenMaster: Behold, a new fic, new timeline, and… not quite new world. Technically shares a setting with Adriana's Magical Bookshop.

But yeah, I am real eager to get started with this fic as it's a fun premise, fun characters, and lots to do and mess with.

Now, would Lu, our commissioner, care to comment on their thoughts?

Lu: Had been sitting on this story idea for about a year now ever since the first art I had commissioned for the heck of it. Was really spur of the moment to hire Kitsune and Hidden to write this. I don't have much planned for it but that means we don't have to be too serious about the plot. This is mainly slice of life but who knows how this will evolve over time. Hope it stays engaging for you all.

Kitsu: Yus. The Foxxo was originally commed for this by Lu after talking on a server we're on, and he was willing to help me out a bit because I couldn't afford a birthday cake on my birthday, and then I had him consider bringing in HiddenMaster, who was basically the perfect choice to work on this fic with me in my opinion, and he was willing to see where it went.

That was genuinely awesome, and very much appreciated, and means we had a really cool story with a fun dynamic that we can work on together soon again.

Well, once Hidden is back from Vacation.

For now, Links!

Kitsu's Foxxo Shrine: https://aikoakiyoshi.carrd.co/

HiddenMaster's Archive: https://hiddenmasterarchive.carrd.co/

 

[KitsuneObsessedFreak]

I, a Heroic Soldier from the Last Demon War, Became a Father to a Pair of Demonic Beast Children. Am I Really Fit to be a Dad to These Adorable Kids?​

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02: Now What?
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Adam dismounted his horse with ease, giving its neck a small pat as it huffed. The air was scorching, dry, and smoky, with roiling and angry dark clouds.

The source would be obvious to even a small child. A great caldera rising high into the sky, belching noxious smoke into the air that lingered unnaturally while lava flows lazily trailed down.

Death Mountain. The place where fortune came to die, or so Chef Charlie had told him once. Lots of people went there, and lots died. Never successfully settled, but rumor of riches, ancient treasures, good iron, silver, even gold, in its depths always kept new victims coming

Adam had liked Chef Charlie. He'd made good biscuits and snuck Adam extra rations back when Adam was a lot younger in the army. Shame he got carried off by a griffin.

Intel was limited. The volcano was controlled by a powerful monster, likely a fire dragon, but age, size, temperment, if it had a mate, if it had minions, were all unknown.

Likewise, his resources were limited. He had his horse, which was not trained for calvary charges and he considered more emergency food if necessary, his armor, his mace, shield, and himself. There were no reinforcements expected until two weeks in.

Not ideal, but he'd faced worse situations in the Demon War.

It was time to get to work.

~~~~
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The battle was short, fierce, and victorious.

There was next to no point in stealth as Death Mountain itself may have had foliage and cover on its sides, but the caldera itself was bare rock scorched by lava and fire. He marched up there, the dragon noticed, and they fought.

As far as dragons went, he'd seen better. It was decent size, but nothing like the elders. Those were true monsters, whose breath could burn entire towns to the very bedrock and left nothing but ashes and melted armor of even the best fighters.

This one's age also showed. It made errors, like assuming Adam couldn't jump high enough to grab onto its side as it flew, nor trying to dislodge Adam by diving into the lava to make him retreat.

It died crashing into the ground as Adam choked it out. Easiest way to kill most dragons, provided you had the strength for it, as their scales were a bitch and a half to pierce, and their bones were reinforced with iron and harder than steel. Adam could smash them apart, but dragon materials were valuable and the bone splinters worth significantly less than a whole carcass that could be broken down into materials for arms, armor, reagents, and food.

Adam grunted, popping his shoulder back into place. Its thrashing had gotten him good at the end there. Looking over its long corpse, easily fifty feet from head to tail, he estimated it'd stay good for two or three years. Fire dragon flesh was notoriously resistant to spoiling and insects would even die trying to eat it, although larger creatures were fine. Even tasted nice raw, like smoked meat, and was quite nutritious.

Which was nice given that trying to cook fire dragons was a lesson in futility.

"Well. Better finish checking its lair," he commented to himself, leaving the carcass where it laid.

Who knew, it might have some goodies stashed away. Although Adam hoped it wouldn't be another princess. He'd had enough of princesses.

Finding the dragon's lair in the Caldera wasn't difficult, given he'd spotted it emerge from its cave at the highest point available. The trail there was littered with basalt, lava, and not much else, until he got closer and started finding charred bones.

There were a lot, easily a whole village's worth, by his estimates, but they weren't human. Few were intact, but the skulls had sharper canines, plus the snake like ribs were a tell. At least two species, although he wouldn't be surprised if there were more. Shame his bone carver buddy had died in the vortex incident. That guy knew his bones and could have identified them instantly, plus likely would have made a mean blade with the dragon's femurs.

Inside was an expansive cavern, including a lava pool for presumed bathing in and a boiling hot spring. Little treasure was around, though, leaving Adam a bit disheartened. The dragon must have been recently established.

But, at the back of the cave, he found a giant boulder blocking a chamber. Grunting, he pushed it out of the way and was surprised first by the smell of unwashed bodies, but then he saw them.

A kitsune and a lamia, both children, were huddling in the corner. They gasped when they saw him and promptly fainted.

"Shit," he muttered, realizing the situation had gotten more complicated.

~~~~
​

Adam did not know what to do about children.

He'd joined the army young, and his earliest memories of the orphanage were hazy at best. Some childish laughter, and that was about it.

As an adult, as a soldier, he'd almost never encountered children at all. This was because he was constantly fighting, and being sent to the worst of the battles the war had to offer. On those battlefields, children had no place. Raging demons, monstrous chimeras, dragons whose wrath burned beyond belief, were the bread and butter of such fights. Any child in or around them was assuredly dead.

He'd heard rumors of scouting forces, raiders among the calvary who had struck into the demon lands and had 'killed' the young ones before they could become a threat, but that had always sat ill with him.

Give Adam an opponent to fight, and he'd finish it to the bitter end. But some of those men mentioned chasing them down and talking in the same tone as nobles talking of a fox hunt.

Ultimately, Adam's decision was decided by his own history.

His childhood was a hazy mist lost of time, but he remembered being small, weak, and crying outside a burning home, sobbing for people whose faces he's forgotten. But, a spider woman, an arachne, one of the deadliest among the enemy, had came upon him in that Hell.

By the usual stories, he should have died. Instead, as the fires threatened to consume him, she'd…

Thrown him in the nearby stream. There, the water protected him until the village finished burning down and he was found by a wandering patrol shortly after.

In the end, he resolved to spare them. He was doubtful they'd be threats at their age, and moreover…

He'd seen enough death.

…

Ultimately, he took them back with him. Inaction would see them expire in the caldera. What plans the dragon had for them, he had no idea, but the crunched and charred bones were a good indicator.

He sacrificed his bedroll and tent to let them sleep somewhere more comfortable, and set about working.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd roughed it beneath the scars with nothing but his pack for a pillow.

The next morning, they still slept, so he got to work on making breakfast. He had rations, but why eat rations when there was fresh dragon meat available?

You had to cut the meat thinly, and then soak in fresh water for a bit, but if you did that it would actually cook. For today, he made a few skewers and set it to cook over the campfire. One for him, and two for the children when they awoke.

Gradually, as the sun began to rise, he heard movement from the tent.

A single Kitsune ear poked out, flicking and listening as the Kitsune child became curious about the scent. A light hissing from the Lamia had the fox child slip back into the tent, but a few moments later their noses poked out once more.

He knew better than to say anything, as his voice was rough and harsh from a long time using it in battle. They would come out on their own time, if they were hungry enough.

Which, judging from the pitiful growls their bellies were making, they really wanted some food.

Slowly, they snuck out of the tent, low to the ground and looking anywhere but directly at him as they sniffed around for the food. Delicious, warm food that would help them in the long run if they ate it.

"Hey there," he said, trying to moderate his voice as he could and cursing how rough it sounded. "'I'm, uh, Adam. What are your names?" he tried.

"…Myrrr," the fox child whimpered a little, shrinking away from him towards the shadow as he paid attention to them.

The Lamia child hissed, sticking close to the Kitsune and trying to hide in her dirty hairball of a tail.

Adam frowned, and was a little unsure. That was about as non-threatening as he could be.

Unbidden, a memory came to him. It was one of the times he'd actually been in an intact town. Sure, it had been awaiting a horrifyingly powerful demonic assault, but it had been a town. One of the soldiers had been trying to befriend a scared stray cat who refused to approach, and he'd done so by offering food, but also not looking directly at them. Instead, he would only glance, out of the corner of his eye. Gradually, the cat had approached until it was in petting distance.

It then scratched the fuck out of his hand. But Adam had no better ideas…

Adam turned away a bit, not looking directly at the two. Instead, he just enjoyed the nearby stream burbling.

The two slowly snuck up, looking at the cooked skewers, and took some. But they didn't stay close, they snatched some and moved to the other side of the fire, as though trying to use it to block his sight of them.

It was adorable, and he could still see them just fine, but they shared some food even as he put more skewers on the fire.

They were really hungry, it seemed. Who knew when they had last eaten? Given their state, it must have been a while. Well, it wasn't like he didn't have enough meat. He did have a whole dragon, after all.

This process, ultimately, repeated several times. They didn't eat as much as he would, usually, but given their size, it was impressive.

Gradually, though, with only a minimum of hissing and wariness, they got full and drowsy, before they fell asleep leaning against each other. He put the two back to bed in his bedroll, tucking them in, and turned back to his camp.

It was a definite work in progress, and right now anyone could just walk into it. He needed to start working on the defenses, and to do that, he needed wood.

With that, he stretched until he popped his arms, and then walked off to the nearest copse of trees to begin harvesting wood.

He had a job to do, after all.

~~~~

AN:
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Lu: Took a little while irl to get started on this but there has been nothing but good things coming and I really do appreciate Hidden and Kitsune for dragging my butt to the chat to do this. Thanks, guys.

Kitsu: This is genuinely a really fun story, and I can't wait to do more of it tbh. Once we get a third chapter done, we'll be posting this on places like Questionable Questing and Royal Road, especially as this story is entirely non-lewd, so we can actually have a bit of fun with it there.

And hey, if we start making money from publishing it, we'll be able to give Lu a bit of cash back, even if it probably won't be much at first. Like an investment!

HiddenMaster: Indeed. This fic has some fun potential as a sort of village building type of story.

But it's a lot of fun, and I am eager to explore more.

If you would like to support us further so we can keep providing wonderful words or maybe commission a story of your own, please check out our carrds below.

HiddenMaster's Archive: https://hiddenmasterarchive.carrd.co/

Kitsu's Foxxo Shrine: https://aikoakiyoshi.carrd.co/

 

[KitsuneObsessedFreak]

I, a Heroic Soldier from the Last Demon War, Became a Father to a Pair of Demonic Beast Children. Am I Really Fit to be a Dad to These Adorable Kids?​

​

03: Foundations
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Kanna was pretty sure she hadn't felt so good in a very long time. After filling her belly with some of the the Dragon that ate her Daddy, she could feel the strength of it flowing through her, giving her the energy and drive to get up and do something.

Her friend Alicia was still sleeping it off, but she'd been a lot worse off.

When the Dragon came in, the Kitsune and the Lamia were rivals. Not enemies, not friends, but they fought a lot over snacks. But even though they were so willing to fight for tasty food, when the Dragon locked them up in a hole with a big rock, and started eating them one by one, Alicia didn't steal her snacks. Instead, when Kanna was hungry and had no more yummy bugs to eat, she shared half a salamander so her belly wouldn't feel funny and she wouldn't be dizzy.

She was a good friend. And they were the last ones left when the Big Guy came in and beat up the mean Dragon that ate everybody!

Even his fire that burned everything up in the Den was useless against the Big Guy. It just washed right off of him!

And then the Big Guy crushed the Dragon's neck! The crunch as it tried and failed to throw him off, unable to breathe was kinda satisfying really.

After that, the Big Guy came in, and she passed out. Because he was really big and scary looking. And his Armor made him look like the Boogerman her parents talked about, who was also really scary.

But then he took off his armor, and cooked them some food. And it was the Dragon.

…It was delicious.

…She wanted more.

But Alicia was still sleepy. Maybe she could carry her?

~~~~
​

Adam watched as the tree fell, and smartly stepped out of its way when it tried to land on him.

He hefted the whole thing over his shoulder with a grunt and made his way back to the camp's stockpile he'd been setting up. Honestly, the tree wasn't that heavy compared to some of the ones he'd seen in the dark forest. This one would only take three or four men to form a ring around it. Those? You could hide castles inside some of the behemoths in that forest.

Back at camp, he tossed it with the forty or so other trees he'd felled, as well as the boulders he'd dragged across the landscape.

He needed resources, after all, and given there wasn't exactly a logistics officer to approach, he needed to get them himself. But, what to make was a bit fuzzier to Adam.

Wizard Tim had told him to make a manor. Problem was, he didn't quite know what went into a noble's manor.

Well, except destroyed ones. So he knew they had gold in there sometimes, and wood, and stone, which left him with not a lot to work with.

But he did know they were big. Nobles liked big manors with lots of land, and way more house than they knew what to do with. Why, a minor noble's land he'd seen after a dragon attack had a foundation big enough to house an entire platoon. And that was a minor noble, not one of the big ones.

So he had an idea. He didn't know manors, but he knew all the forts Humanity designed, from great stone works made over generations to quick forts on the frontier. Why not make one of those, but about three times bigger, just to cover his bases? Then it would be a proper manor, with a barracks, cookhouse, armory, training ground, stables, smithy, and more.

He scouted good locations and set up four base pillars using the logs. To properly embed them, he took a hovel sized boulder, dug up a hole for each over half an hour, slammed it in there, and then pounded that tree all the way into the boulder to secure it underground. These would make great anchor points for the whole fence he had planned. He'd have to dig trenches and line them with stone too, to anchor the smaller trees for the wall, but the corners were important. Naturally, the trees were cut to sharp pointy bits on the end, just like his drill sergeant had taught him.

He wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. Only 2500 to go. Granted, most of the trees wouldn't need gargantuan boulders anchoring them in the earth, only smaller ones. He would split some of them too, but still. The wood working would be the most finicky part of the whole thing, really. Never his specialty.

He heard steps some distance behind him. Small steps sneaking up on him.

A sniffing sound was heard as the little fox looked at him from afar.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head as she entered his field of view, holding the snake girl to her body.

A few things hit Adam in that moment.

One, his chest felt weird and fuzzy, and he almost wanted to make a sound, but he wasn't sure what. But the sight of the small Kitsune holding the sleepy snake girl wrapped around her was…

Well, he felt as if he wanted to hold them up, for some reason. And smash anything that might harm them. Odd feeling.

Secondly, they were talking to him! But he didn't want to scare her off, so he kept what he was doing up. "Oh, I'm just making a fort. Getting a stone foundation down bit by bit, and then smacking some sharpened logs up into it, to make a proper wall to keep nasties out," he said, keeping his tone light as he didn't look directly at the duo.

"What's a fort?" the Kitsune asked, looking at his hands. "Is it, like a Den?"

The snake girl hissed a little, and shook her head sleepily, but didn't say anything.

Right, Kitsune lived in Dens, didn't they? He'd had to charge into one once and it was the worst experience of his life. Oh, they weren't that strong. Eight or nine tails were a fight, but the greater demons were worse.

No, it was that he sneezed a lot fighting them. Maybe he was allergic to Kitsune fur? But the one assault he led on a Great Den resulted in him sneezing inside his helmet which was just gross to deal with, and then he accidentally sneezed on an entire vanguard of Kitsune blocking his path. Sure, it knocked them over, but it got snot all over them, too.

It worked, but like, he felt bad winning that way. It got worse when they started running away screaming, "The Boogerman has come to sneeze in our tails! Everybody run!"

The teasing from his fellow soldiers had been horrible.

"Well," he pursed his lips, hacking off some further branches to prepare another log. "It's kinda like a Den, but it's generally above ground, so we can have sunlight and space."

"But…" the Kitsune whined. "How are you going to hide from the Harpies and the Griffons? And how are you going to keep the snacks chilly?"

Adam was about to respond that he'd fight them off or prepare battlements of siege operators, mages, or archers could, but paused.

It wasn't a bad idea, actually. The Great Den, despite not being the most dangerous place he'd fought, had made the tunnels as much an enemy as the Kitsune themselves, and he'd gotten lost more than once down in it. Human forts usually focused on building up, but…

Why not do both? He'd been given leeway, and so he could build the aboveground fort and a tunnel network below the ground. Supply caches, barracks, food prep stations, and more could make the underground a refuge.

Plus, he was very aware of how even the greatest forts could fall, how fragile people could be. He'd fought far too often with brothers who'd died in battles he survived. Another layer of defense to protect those weaker than him would be enormously helpful and prevent further loss.

"You know what, little Miss? I think we can have both. Build a big fort above ground to keep out bad guys, and build another one underground, too. I'm sure we could fill it with, uh…" Adam trailed off, not sure what Kitsune or Lamia children actually liked.

"Snacks and a biiiiig bed!" the little fox exclaimed, her tail wagging happily.

The Lamia nodded shyly, before grabbing and hiding her face behind the fluffy tail.

Adam smiled. "Sounds good to me. Lots of room for snacks, beds, blankets, and places to hide down there," he said, already envisioning the dual layers of the fort he was preparing.

By the time he was done with it, they'd be able to repel the fiercest demonic assaults. Although he'd need help, of course. Magic was never his forte, and even he could admit there was a bit more to making buildings than stacking logs and calling it a day.

But point him at a blunt problem requiring lots of work and strength? Oh, he excelled there. He was the hammer to the world's problems, as Wizard Tim once said.

~~~~

AN:
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HiddenMaster: I think it should be stressed a little bit here two separate things.

One, the Kitsune and Lamia children here suffered through an absolutely horrific experience. A big part of the story will be them recovering from that and growing up into their own.

Secondly, Adam is a freak of nature. He is unbelievably strong, easily this world's Hercules. Yes, he was making strong foundations using boulders he planted in the ground and then pounded sharpened logs into with his bare hands.

The first chapter was not kidding when it said he hit the previous Demon Lord hard enough his organs went flying. This is the sort of guy whose strength is talked about in legends.

Which is why the story really won't be about fighting. He fought his war, and now he has to live with the peace after. Oh, maybe a brawl or two will happen here and there, but the days of splitting the skies are behind him.

Kitsu: I'll admit, 90% of his feats will be meme feats that actually embarrass him. This is deliberate. It's not an overly serious story at all.

Sure, there will be serious themes all throughout, and some serious topics, but most of it is going to be about strong, socially awkward Dad doing strong, socially awkward Dad things while learning how to raise two adorable children into becoming strong enough to survive in the world.

This is his therapy, and his little slice of heaven after a long and grueling war. Expect a lot of fun times, and fluffy cute stuff.

HiddenMaster: If you would like to support us so we can keep providing wonderful words to you, it would be greatly appreciated.

Particularly given my car is actively getting shittier and more dangerous by the day. The front doors are both pretty fucked and I had to open up the door panels to interact with the levers the original handle connected to before it broke. Oh, and the power steering is leaking, and I worry for the engine.

Money is appreciated, friends, because holy shit my car is awful and I could really use the funds to get a newer one.

HiddenMaster's Archive: https://hiddenmasterarchive.carrd.co/

Kitsu's Foxxo Shrine: https://aikoakiyoshi.carrd.co/

 

[KitsuneObsessedFreak]

I, a Heroic Soldier from the Last Demon War, Became a Father to a Pair of Demonic Beast Children. Am I Really Fit to be a Dad to These Adorable Kids?​

​

04: Digging a Hole
​

Adam placed the last log into place, surveyed his work, and concluded: it wasn't half bad.

It definitely lacked the magical protections, but the walls for his fort were solid enough to take a charging behemoth…

At least a hit or two. He didn't expect to see too many of those, but anything mid sized or less would have a Hell of a time breaching it.

It was a good starting point, but the buildings still needed work. For one, he'd only marked out places to smooth the ground for the Keep, the inner wall, stables, carpenter, and communal food prep areas.

The keep too…

He snorted.

It was currently temporary as he'd made a basic log cabin so they wouldn't be rained on or have a cold wind wake them up in the night. Volcano or not, Death Mountain could get quite chilly at night.

He set his tools aside and went back to the cabin to find Alicia and Kanna playing with a salamander.

As in, an actual elemental salamander. Those things just crawled out of the lava from time to time, and this one must have been a total baby.

It looked up at the two girls curiously, tilting its head before belching, the flames up its spine briefly burning higher as it scrutinized the two girls who he was fairly sure abducted it given they usually stayed close to the mountain.

"What are you up to, girls?" Adam asked as he approached, eyeing the salamander.

"We caught another salamander, so we're talking about who gets what half today!" Kanna smiled.

Alicia just sighed. "…Salamander is good."

Adam raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well, be sure to let me know if you spot a big one coming out of the caldera. Can be a little dangerous. Not like the dragon!" Adam quickly added, not trying to alarming. "Just a lil bigger," he said, hoping he hadn't just brought up horrible memories for them.

Both of them flinched.

He cringed. Great. He was so bad with children and…

Who was he kidding? He had no idea what he was even doing here with them. In the campaigns against the Demon Lord, he'd rarely found children. Alive, that is. When he did, they usually got sent off to priestesses for care. So he'd had more interaction with children in the past week than he had in the past ten years.

He opened his mouth and tried to find something to say, but ultimately couldn't.

It was at this point his stomach rumbled.

Alicia looked at him, picked up the salamander, and brought it to him. "…You've been working."

He stared at the offered salamander, and the ultra serious expression on the Lamia girl's face, and broke immediately. "Thank you kindly," he said, taking the offered salamander that blinked up at him.

"How have you been eating these salamanders?" Adam asked, scratching his head. He was pretty sure they hadn't been making their own campfires…

"Oh!" Kanna smirked. "It's crunchy and sweet, like spicy candy. And it cooks itself when you bite the head."

Adam tilted his head, thinking on it, and shrugged. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing he'd eaten.

He bit down on the salamander. It was a little unnerving to feel it squirm and wiggle, but once he got past that, he found it was wonderfully sweet and tinged with a bit of spice. It hardly tasted like meat at all.

"Huh. Thank you, that was delicious," he said, nodding to the two girls.

"Well, what do you think of the cabin? I know it's not the Den or anything, but it'll keep the rain off atleast, right?" Adam asked. For him it was fine, if spartan. But for the girls? He had no idea what kitsune and lamia considered comfortable beyond snaccs and bedding. Which he didn't even have much of at the moment.

"…Is it warm?" Alicia asked, her tail shivering a little.

"Ah! Lamia need fire to be warm. I can make fireballs if there is a fire pit, but I'm not very good at it…" Kanna admitted.

"There's a hearth, let me get some wood for you so you can be comfortable," he said, going to do just that. He was a little impatient so he just shattered branches with his bare hands rather than working them with an axe until they were the right size.

Then, he brought the wood back to the hearth, and showed it to the girls. "There, filled it with kindling and wood. Wanna try Kanna?"

"Oookay, here goes!" Kanna puffed up, lighting her tail on fire somehow, and just scooping that with her fingers to light the fire.

…This was not how Kitsune used their fire. What in the world?

Adam blinked, and blinked again for good measure. That really wasn't how any of the Kitsune he fought made fireballs. Usually they formed a ball of fire at the very tip of their tails, or even in their hands, or in one hand in their mouth, not lighting themselves on fire.

"See? Fireballs!" Kanna said, juggling a few more of them before tossing them into the hearth to help get the fire really going.

Adam hummed, observing. Kanna seemed a lot more physically minded than other Kitsune he'd seen. "Good job?" he ventured. It sure beat a flint and steel, at least.

Alicia seemed to reach out, making the fire rise with her own magic, before grabbing Kanna for a nap. Once Kanna was all wrapped up, much to the struggling foxgirl's laughter, Alicia booped her on the nose and sighed. "…Quiet, I'm sleepy."

"Awwww," Kanna whined. "But you're always sleepy."

"I'll leave you girls to rest," Adam said, leaving the two behind with a smile.

There was a lot left to the fortress to make, but he had promised to make Kanna a Den. Although, it wouldn't be exactly a Kitsune Den. And tunnel network wasn't a good name either. It was accurate, but it'd be more than just a cellar or dungeon.

Under fortress? Now that sounded better.

With that, he grabbed a shovel, and got digging.

His plan was just to get a single entryway going so they could make steps leading down, and then he could start working on digging out and reinforcing rooms. Ideally, everything would eventually get a nice stone reinforcement and flooring, but for now he'd settle for wooden struts.

Truthfully, he would need some help to get it properly done, but again, that was the same for everything. He was just getting the basic down so that the final fort could get finished all the faster.

"Wooooo?" he heard a fox howl from behind him, a fluffy tail wagging in the air as Kanna rushed around in front. "Diggy diggy? A fox can dig too, you know?!"

Adam paused. "Already finished with your nap?" he asked, thinking back to how securely Alicia had Kanna bound.

"I escaped!" Kanna giggled, transforming into a tiny fox. "Kon kon kon~"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "You know I can't understand you like that?" he asked.

"Kon!?" the fox child exclaimed, before starting to dig a little hole.

Adam smiled, bemused. At the rate she was going, she'd be done with the entryway in several years.

But she definitely had the spirit. Better than some troops he'd been with who hated trench duty and would lollygag right up until their lives were in danger and Hellfire rained above them.

With that, he turned back to the hole and went right back to it to the fox's immense enjoyment giving the way her tail wagged.

~~~~
​

Later, Adam concluded the entryway, really a slightly slanted tunnel a bit taller than him going about twenty feet down and called it a day.

He stepped out of the tunnel entrance and found Kanna, wagging her tail and sitting next to the huge pile of dirt he'd made, looking utterly pleased with herself. "Work hard, did you?" he mused.

"I made a hole too!" she giggled. "And I buried a nut there, so we can have these nuts sometime!"

She showed him some more of the nuts. They were small, white nuts, that smelled faintly sweet.

"Huh," Adam said, sniffing. "Good job?" he ventured. Farming was…

Adam had been to a few military gardens, places meant to supplement food at long term forts. He'd been banned from working them given he had a black thumb that seemed to make all plants wither and die if he tried to care for them. "I'll let you take care of it, then," he said which elicited a smile from Kanna.

They went back to the cabin and he prepared another set of roast skewers for the dragon meat he'd left soaking in water. The smell of cooking food got two sets of curious and utterly ravenous eyes on him as he made up their dinner.

The meat skewers were eaten with a familiar ravenousness, finishing even before he got through his own, prompting another batch to satisfy the abysses in their stomachs. But the end result was a young Lamia and a Kitsune child both leaning against each other with droopy eyes and fat bellies.

Figuring now was a good time, Adam posed a question he'd been wondering. "So, I know you, uh, had your families. I'm not them, obviously, but I am good at traveling. Do… do you want me to see if I can't return you to your people? I'm sure I could find some with enough searching," he asked.

Whether they would accept the girls was another matter he couldn't be sure of, but he hoped so.

"Nar!" Kanna said, looking absolutely put off by the idea.

Even Alicia put her arms across her chest in a big x, and shook her head.

"They'll make us into slaves for their families," Alicia responded.

"They'll make us mate with their icky boys!" Kanna shivered.

Adam was taken aback. "Do… do you even know what mating is?" he inquired.

"Um… It's when boys make kissy faces, and a baby comes in the mail?" Kanna asked.

'Oh thank fuck it's just that and not something way worse. Yeah, putting this can of worms back, thank you very much,' Adam thought. "Close enough," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, I can take care of you a while longer, until we find someone that can and, well, be nice," he amended. "But, well, I'm new to taking care of kids. Is there anything you two really want? Know the fort's a work in progress, but I'm working at it…" Adam trailed off.

Kanna bounced up to her feet. "Eggies! Eggies are yummy!" she giggled.

Alicia nodded. "Eggs are an important part of a healthy breakfast."

"Huh, didn't bring any chickens with me, and not like the horse can lay eggs. I hope, at least," he thought, remembering some corrupted life in a wild spell gone wrong.

Whatever the wizards of that tower had been up to trying to defeat the Demon Lord was bad. It corrupted the local life, and he would never forget going up to what he thought was a loose horse, offering his hand, only for the thing's rib cage to open like a set of teeth and pull him in and try to eat him.

He'd ripped his way out, of course, but other soldiers hadn't been so lucky. Finding eggs and a nest nearby had just added to the nightmare.

Adam was so glad when Wizard Tim and his retinue of mages from his much better managed circle brought down a rain of fire to cleanse the whole town.

Horrid memories aside, he couldn't exactly get chickens without going back to the nearest human settlement…

Which would leave the two girls unattended. He felt responsible for them, given there was no one else at the moment. Taking them back with him would also be a no go. Not everyone was trigger happy about demons and monsters, but plenty were, even if they were kids…

Lots of pain. It wasn't right, but it was what it was.

So that left with harvesting wild eggs. He could get some bird eggs, but that wasn't too reliable. But…

A light went off in his head.

On the way to Death Mountain, he'd passed by a colony of egg laying monsters…

Usually they were pretty nasty, but if you knew how to handle them, they weren't so bad. And they were prolific egg layers.

"Say, girls… have either of you ever heard of a cockatrice?"

~~~~

AN:
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Kitsu: We shenan until we igan all up in this hizzous. Fr fr, the foxxo has no NRG, nor the Rizz to make this chapter Skidibi Mango Mustard quality, but it looks better than that, because the chapter ain't 67 giga lookmaxxing uber-chud tier over 9000 with the speed of sound sonic on my ahh.

HiddenMaster: I'm going to repress having read that.

Here, a bit more getting to know the girls, the outer wall is finished up, and setting the stage for some future events.

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