“What?” Adam asked, blinking at his wife. His entire body froze in place, while she brushed her daughter's hair, the girl smirking at her father. "Really?"

"Yes."

Jurot placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Congratulations."

"Vonda, how can you do this to me?" Adam asked. "I went to go and fight for first place, but how can you outshine me? What am I saying, of course, since you're my wife." Even though his voice was light, Adam's heart beat wildly within his chest.

"I'm sorry," Vonda joked.

"Jarot," Adam called, the boy scrambling onto his father's lap, while the half elf brushed his hair. It was dark, thick, and curly. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes?"

"You're going to have another papa or kaka soon."

Little Jarot's canines, which always peeked out, just like his sister's, seemed to grow larger as his lips twitched upwards. "Like Virot?"

"Like Virot."

"Is going to be baby?"

"That's right."

"Small?"

"Yeah." Adam pulled the boy into his chest. "Small like you."

"I am big, daddy..." Jarot refuted, but he cuddled up to his father's chest.

"I guess I'll need to get first place again?" Adam let out a feigned exhausted sigh. "Oh dear, oh dear."

"Always working," Jirot accused, pouting up towards her father.

"Well, daddy will spend some time spoiling you."

"Spoiling me?" Jirot asked.

"Yes."

"I forgive you, just this once, okay?"

"Okay." Adam reached out to tickle her nose. "Where are Virot and Damrot, anyway?"

"They are sleeping in the children's estate," Sonarot said, the woman applying oils onto the triplet's faces. "I will return to them soon."

"If they're sleeping, I guess I'll have to let them go, just this once," Adam rubbed his thumb along his son's chin tenderly. "Have you been watching after Virot?"

"Yes."

"I read to kaka," Jirot said, sitting up taller. "I read all the stories."

"Which stories?"

"All of them."

"Which is your favourite?"

"Mmm,” Jirot hummed in thought. “Babo's stories."

Adam smiled awkwardly. "How about we read to her mummy's stories?"

"Mummy does not have stories."

"What are you talking about, mummy has many stories."

"I cannot read them?"

"I guess we haven't really written them down..." Adam planted a kiss onto his son's forehead. "Okay, let's go to sleep, and then tomorrow, I'll figure something out."

Jirot gasped. "Daddy!"

"Yes?"

"Your birthday gift!" The girl hoisted herself onto her feet and rushed away to the next room, followed swiftly by her twin brother. Konarot also withdrew from her grandmother, rushing out to the next room, her younger siblings following after her.

Jirot returned, clasping something tight in her hand. "Happy birthday, daddy."

"Thank you, my dear." Adam held out his hand and accepted the stone from his daughter's hand. "What is this?"

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"Such a lovely stone. I found it all myself." Jirot snorted lightly, as though she were the greatest stone finder in the world.

"It is such a lovely stone," Adam agreed.

"Daddy..." Jarot held up a block of wood he had painted.

"Wow! Amazing! Look at this!" Adam held up the wooden block to his brother. "What lovely wood, isn't it?"

"It is good wood," Jurot agreed.

Little Jarot flushed slightly, before dropping down beside his father, hiding his head against his father's side.

Konarot held up a small scale, which had been gifted to her by an Iyrman.

"Thank you so much, my dear." Adam and Konarot hugged one another.

"Daddy!" Kirot called out, holding up a small strip of cloth. "I cut it."

"Wow! What a clean cut! Are you a Rot or are you a Gak?" Adam joked as he pulled his second eldest daughter in for a deep hug, kissing her ear and the side of her jaw, brushing her hair.

“Rot!” Kirot replied, smiling wide.

Karot waited before holding up a painting, of various purple blobs, along with a dash of blue and red.

"Wow! What an artist my son is! Daddy has such a lovely pose in the picture."

Karot smiled wide, hugging his father's arm, before he was swallowed by his father's affection.

"Ah! What a silly daddy I am, having left your gifts behind! How could I do that? It's a good thing I'm so strong, handsome, and skilled." Adam allowed the children to swallow him whole.

Lanarot walked in, stuffing a piece of bread into her mouth, casually. She eyed up the children, each her nieces and nephews, before glancing down at the gifts. "Hau!" She gasped. "Papa! Papa! I have gift too!"

"Really? Lanababy has a gift for us?" Adam asked.

"I make you bread."

"Oh?"

Lanarot let out a satisfied sigh, before smiling innocently. "It was so delishus."

"Did you eat it?"

"Is all gone," the girl confirmed. "It was so delishus."

Sonarot threw a look to her sister, Mirot, who had escorted Lanarot to the house. The woman bowed her head, before returning to the estate with the children to keep an eye on them.

"Did you get papo a gift too?" Adam asked, eyeing up his children.

Jirot blinked. "Yes."

"Where is it."

"Home." The girl pointed to the side.

"Where?"

"In the Iyr," Vonda said, exchanging a glance with her husband.

"Ah, of course. Since my daughter is so sensible, she left it there to make sure it was safe."

Jirot furrowed her brows. "Daddy, you are smart too?" Almost instantly the girl smirked, before cackling.

The Iyrmen left the half elf, the Ray, and their children be, leaving to their own area within the inner section of the fort. Adam pulled up the blanket over himself, while Jirot and Jarot each lay atop him. Though he wanted to sleep beside his wife, he couldn’t refuse his children, not when they were clutching at his shirt so desperately.

In the morning, the screaming and crying filled the air, before it finally stopped. The girl’s eyes remained almost unfocused, before she finally saw the face of her mother, half tan, half white from her burns. She smiled, tears still falling down her face, but they were quickly wiped away.

“Did you hear that?” Adam asked, crossing his arms. “Only my daughter can scream that loudly.”

“Cringe,” Lucy said.

“What?” Adam asked, reaching up to pat his ears, pretending as though he had been deafened. His eyes then fell onto the girl, whose skin was slightly tanned, her eyes hazel, like her mother’s, while her hair was a lighter almond, like her father’s. Her leaf shaped ears matched those of the triplets and the demon. ‘You’re so much bigger now, my Virot.’

‘Finally, a normal baby.’ Jane ate her porridge silently, her eyes taking in the sight of the six other children, three of which were half dragons, two of whom were definitely… She rubbed her eyes again, as though they had been playing tricks upon her. The last was definitely a demon.

“She is growing up too quickly, too quickly,” Jirot complained, crossing her arms. “How can she do this?”

Adam couldn’t help but smile, before his smile dropped. ‘Oh no. If she copies me too much, she’ll end up being stupid. Still, isn’t my daughter so cute?’

“That is right,” the older Jarot said. “How can she do this?”

Jirot shook her head, her hair bouncing slightly, before she ran her fingers through her hair to get her hair out of her face. “I forgive you, but only this once, you smelly girl.”

Meanwhile, the chubby form of Damrot, who stared up at his father, remained still. He blinked now and again, but remained mesmerised by his father’s face.

“You have grown,” Jurot said.

The boy blinked.

A shadow formed over Jurot’s heart. He reached up to brush his son’s cheek, feeling how warm the boy’s cheek was, how soft his chubby cheek was. ‘So light…’ Even so, he recalled how much lighter his son had been just a few months ago. “Your eyes are more clear. Can you see me now?”

The boy blinked.

Jurot continued to stare at the boy. He looked so much like his mother compared to himself, even now. His heart thundered in his chest, taking in the sight of the boy. ‘I should have killed a dragon.’

“Normally I’m meant to spoil the youngest the most, but aren’t we having our seventh too quickly?” Adam asked.

Vonda raised her brows towards the half elf. ‘Whose fault is that?’

“I suppose I’ll just need to spoil you twice as hard, right?” Adam’s eyes then fell to Vonda’s, as though asking for permission.

Vonda sighed, leaning back in her chair, understanding that her husband was going to be an idiot for a few more days, since he missed his children so much.

“Should I tell you my story?” Jurot asked.

The boy blinked.

“He won’t understand, but it would be a good for him to hear them now,” Pam said, although after realising what kind of stories Jurot had, she realised her mistake.

“I will tell it to you.” Jurot continued to stare down at his son, holding his gaze.

“Okay, now that I’ve completed my cringe quota this morning, I’ll go give my greetings properly to the businessfolk.”

Jirot’s head snapped to her mother, pointing at her father with her whole hand, meaning she was at her wit’s end.

“Would you like to greet them with your father?” Vonda offered.

“I should go because I am the Little Boss,” Jirot said sagely, before hopping onto her feet. She placed a hand on her mother’s knee. “Comfohtable?”

“I am.” Vonda reached out to tickle her daughter’s ear gently, before the girl quickly pulled away to snatch her father’s hand.

‘He really is crazy,’ Jane thought.

“Jane,” Adam called, having no idea he had almost given her a heart attack. “Why don’t you come along and meet everyone too?”

“Okay…”