Kael stared at his phone for almost a minute before making the call.
Old Man Harrick had told him to take a few days to sort out his family situation, but he hadn’t said how long those days could last. Kael had a new apartment, some savings, and a son who needed him. Still, none of those things changed the fact that he needed a steady income.
The money from the system had given him some breathing room, but he didn’t want to depend on it forever. If he wanted to build a stable future for Noah and Sera, he needed to think beyond the next few weeks.
He took a breath and pressed the call button.
The phone rang twice before Harrick answered.
"Kael? You finally remembered that I exist?" Harrick asked.
Kael smiled. "Good morning to you too, sir."
"It’s nearly noon. What do you want?" Harrick asked.
"I wanted to ask about coming back to work," Kael replied.
There was a brief silence before Harrick spoke again.
"How’s the family?" Harrick asked.
"They’re doing well. Noah is healthy, and we’re settling into the apartment," Kael answered.
"Good. And the mother?"
"Sera is doing fine too," Kael replied.
"Then I suppose you’ve had enough time to recover from the shock of discovering you have a child," Harrick said.
Kael rubbed his forehead. "I’m not sure anyone recovers from that completely."
Harrick laughed on the other end of the call.
"Fair enough. Listen, I can use you at the store, but I don’t want you showing up exhausted and making mistakes because you’ve been awake all night with the baby. You told me things were complicated, so I made a little adjustment."
Kael sat up straighter.
"What kind of adjustment?" Kael asked.
"For now, you can work shorter shifts. Four hours at a time, mostly in the afternoon. We’ll try that for a week or two and see how things go," Harrick explained.
Kael considered the offer. Four hours wasn’t much, but it was better than having no income at all. He also knew Harrick was making an effort to accommodate him.
"That would help a lot. Thank you," Kael said.
"Don’t thank me yet. You’ll still have shelves to stock, customers to deal with, and the usual mess at the counter," Harrick reminded him.
"I think I can handle that," Kael replied.
"You think?" Harrick asked.
"I can handle it," Kael said more firmly.
"That’s better." Harrick paused before continuing. "There’s one more thing. If you find that the schedule isn’t working, tell me before it becomes a problem. I don’t want you pretending everything is fine until you collapse in the middle of a shift."
Kael chuckled. "I’ll keep that in mind."
"Good. Call me tomorrow and let me know which days you can manage. We’ll make a proper schedule," Harrick said.
After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call.
Kael lowered his phone and looked toward the living room. Noah was resting in his crib, and Sera sat nearby with her notebook open on her lap. She had been making a list of things she wanted to arrange, occasionally pausing to check on the baby.
She noticed Kael looking at her and raised her head.
"Was that Harrick?" Sera asked.
"Yes. He said I can return to work with shorter shifts," Kael replied.
"That’s good news," Sera said.
"It is." Kael moved to the sofa and sat down beside her. "But I need to figure out how it’ll work."
Sera closed her notebook halfway.
"What did he offer?" she asked.
"Four-hour shifts, mostly in the afternoon. He wants me to try it for a week or two," Kael explained.
"That sounds reasonable," Sera replied.
"Maybe. I still need to train, take care of Noah, and help around the apartment. If Noah has a bad night, I might be exhausted before I even leave for work," Kael said.
Sera thought about that for a moment before answering.
"Then we shouldn’t plan as if every day will be the same," she said.
Kael leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I know. But I don’t want to accept the shifts and then leave you with everything while I’m gone."
"That depends on how we arrange things. I’m not helpless, Kael," Sera replied.
"I never said you were," Kael said.
"I know, but you keep talking as if looking after Noah while you’re working is something I’m doing for you. He’s my son too. I can manage some of his daytime care," Sera explained.
Kael looked at her as she continued.
"That doesn’t mean I’ll handle everything alone. If you work in the afternoon, you can take care of him in the morning while I do my own things. Before you leave, we’ll make sure he’s fed and comfortable. When you return, we can work out the rest depending on how the day went," Sera said.
"And what about your plans?" Kael asked.
"I’ll still have time to work on them. I don’t need the entire day free, but I do need some time when I’m not expected to stop everything because someone needs me," Sera replied.
Kael nodded slowly. "That makes sense."
"Also, you don’t have to train every day just because you’ve started. You were barely able to walk properly after your last session," Sera reminded him.
"Must you keep bringing that up?" Kael asked.
"Yes," Sera answered without hesitation.
Kael gave her a tired look, and she smiled before continuing.
"Seriously, though, you should leave room for rest. If you work four hours, spend time with Noah, and then try to do a full workout every night, you’ll wear yourself out. Start small," Sera advised.
Kael had been thinking along the same lines since his first training session, but hearing it from her made the problem clearer. He had been treating every responsibility as something he needed to fit into his day without considering how much energy each one would take.
He couldn’t work, train, care for Noah, and help Sera by simply deciding to try harder. If he wanted to keep his job and make progress as a hunter, he needed a routine that allowed all of them to function without leaving one person overwhelmed.
"All right," Kael said. "Let’s write it down."
Sera opened her notebook again and moved to the next page.
They started with the work shifts. Kael would tell Harrick which afternoons he could cover, leaving enough time beforehand to prepare for work without rushing. They agreed to avoid scheduling him for consecutive long days until they knew how well he could manage the shorter shifts.
Next came training.
Kael suggested exercising every morning, but Sera reminded him that his body was still adjusting. They settled on short sessions with rest days between them. If he was too tired after a difficult night with Noah, he could stretch or take a walk instead of forcing himself through the planned exercises.
"That sounds less impressive than training every day," Kael admitted.
"Would you rather impress someone or actually get stronger?" Sera asked.
"Getting stronger," Kael replied.
"Then stop worrying about how impressive your schedule looks," Sera told him.
Kael laughed. "You make it sound so simple."
"It isn’t simple. That’s why we’re planning it," Sera replied.
They moved on to childcare. Kael would handle more of the morning routine when possible, giving Sera time to work on her own tasks. She would cover some of the daytime hours while he was at the store, but they would discuss any days when she needed to go out or had something important to do.
They also agreed that neither of them would be expected to manage every unexpected problem alone. If Noah had a difficult night, the next day would have to change. If Kael’s shift ran late, they would adjust the evening routine rather than pretending nothing had happened.
By the time they finished, the page was full of notes, crossed-out ideas, and a few arrows connecting different parts of the plan.
Kael studied the page before shaking his head.
"This looks more complicated than my financial plan," Kael remarked.
"That’s because your financial plan doesn’t cry in the middle of the night," Sera replied.
"True. It would be much easier if money could tell me what it needed," Kael said.
Sera laughed. "You’d probably ignore it until it started making noise too."
"I feel like you’re attacking me now," Kael complained.
"Only a little," Sera replied.
Kael took the notebook from her and looked over their arrangement once more. It wasn’t perfect, and there were still questions they couldn’t answer until he returned to work. They didn’t know how often Noah would wake during the night, how tired Kael would feel after his shifts, or how much time Sera would need for her own plans.
But they had a starting point.
"Let’s try this for a week," Kael suggested. "If it doesn’t work, we’ll change it."
"Agreed. And we should actually talk about it at the end of the week. Not just keep going because we’ve already made the plan," Sera replied.
"I promise," Kael said.
Sera gave him a thoughtful look before speaking again.
"I don’t need you to promise that everything will go smoothly. I just need you to tell me when something isn’t working."
Kael understood what she meant. He had a habit of keeping his worries to himself, partly because he didn’t want to trouble anyone and partly because he thought he should be able to solve his problems alone.
That approach had worked when he was living by himself. Now, his decisions affected more than just him, and pretending he could manage everything would only make things harder for both of them.
"I’ll tell you," Kael promised. "And I want you to do the same. If you need more time for yourself or if the arrangement becomes too much, say so."
"I will," Sera replied.
They sat quietly for a moment. From the crib, Noah made a small sound, and both of them turned toward him. Sera started to rise, but Kael stood first.
"I’ll check on him," Kael said.
Sera settled back down. "All right."
Kael approached the crib and found Noah awake, moving his hands beneath the blanket. He checked that the baby was comfortable, then leaned closer and spoke softly.
"Hey, little man. Your parents are trying to organize their lives around you. You could at least cooperate a little," Kael told him.
Noah responded with a small grunt.
Kael shook his head. "I suppose that’s a no."
Behind him, Sera laughed.
For the first time that morning, Kael felt that the arrangement they were building might actually work. It wouldn’t always be easy, and there would be days when their plans fell apart before lunch. However, they were no longer trying to solve everything separately, and that alone made the situation feel more manageable.
Kael returned to the sofa and picked up his phone. Tomorrow, he would call Harrick with his available days and confirm his first shift.
There was work to return to, training to continue, and a baby who seemed determined to keep both parents on their toes. Kael looked at Sera’s notes one last time before closing the notebook and handing it back to her.
They didn’t need a perfect schedule. They needed one they could change together.
Just as Kael was about to put his phone away, it vibrated in his hand.
A message from Harrick appeared on the screen.
Call me before you confirm your shifts tomorrow. Something has changed at the store.
Kael stared at the message, his smile fading.
He had no idea what had happened, but whatever it was, it could affect the one steady source of income he was counting on.
"Is something wrong?" Sera asked when she noticed his expression.
Kael showed her the message.
"I’m not sure yet," he replied. "But I don’t think tomorrow’s conversation is going to be as simple as I expected."