It was later in the evening when Adam met with Sonarot, the pair sitting across one another in one of the side rooms. Adam poured tea for them, using his Persevian tea pot which had cost him far too much gold.

“I’d like to create a company,” Adam began. “I have a rough idea of what I want to do. I’d like to create inns which dot the land, in between the cities. Places where one can go to rest and recuperate. Each inn will be as one might expect, with very little to no difference between them. There will be a smith who will repair one’s gear, and the inns will sell whatever one may require, from shields and weapons, mundane and magical, to potions. I might even have an alchemist in each inn, who knows?” Adam chuckled.

“That is quite the dream, Adam,” Sonarot replied, feeling the warmth of her clay cup against her hand. “A difficult dream.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, smiling wider. “Well, that’s not all. I was thinking about making a business to sell enchanted weapons, staring with boutique enchanting for Nobles, before figuring out how to create formulas for different enchanted items.”

“Formulas?” Sonarot asked, unsure of what he meant in the context of magical weapons.

“Yeah. I want to create formulas, recipes, for mass producing the same magical weapon. I’ll train smiths, enchants, and alchemists, and they’ll work for me in establishing a trade empire which will span from Drakkenlen, through Aldland, and even into Aswadia. I might, if the Empire doesn’t take over the land, push into the Confederacy.”

Adam stared down at the tea. “I’ll train all kinds of warriors, from Fighters, to Guardians, to Priests, to assist with various different escorting missions, if I go that route, as well as to defend the business. I’ll create different squads with different tasks, and they’ll be well trained for different situations.”

“That is a greater business than I imagined,” Sonarot admitted. She had thought she understood what Adam wanted to do, but this was so much larger than what she even imagined. She was still hung up on what he meant by creating recipes for magical weapons.

“I…” Adam smiled, bringing the tea up to his lips, staring into his Aunt’s eyes as he sipped his tea slowly, wincing from the heat. The sweet taste of strawberry lingered on his wounded tongue. “I want to gather the families of my workers together, all within the same place, and let them work and live on the businesses’ land. They’d be paid a small wage, but their housing, food, and even their healthcare needs would be taken care of. I’d put their children through education too, teaching them how to read and write, and maybe even teach them more, the skills needed for the business, or magic and the like.”

“Jurot said that you also paid for Anne’s education.” Sonarot stared at the young Half Elf.

“I did,” Adam admitted.

“Why?”

“I want to eventually hire her to work for me.” Adam smiled.

“Is that the only reason?”

Adam paused for a long moment. He hadn’t realised that Sonarot had figured him out to this extent. “I have a lot of power now, Aunt. I’m strong. Stronger than I sometimes recall. I have the ability to change the lives of the people around me in a way I didn’t think possible. Nobby’s one of mine now, so that means I’m going to take good care of him, and his family too. It’s the least I can do.”

Sonarot bowed her head, sipping the tea, She had assumed there was a reason like that behind it. Adam always acted for reasons like that. He was kind. Too kind.

“That’s the surface of it, I suppose,” Adam said, completing his pitch to his Aunt.

“It is a good thing to strive for, Adam. I hope that you are able to create your business. No, I know you will be able to do it.” Sonarot smiled.

Adam returned the smile, feeling awkward under her praise. “I want you to be the owner of the business, Aunt.”

Sonarot raised her brows. Even now, Adam could surprise her. The feeling passed, and she smiled again, though her eyes were curious.

“I trust you. Jurot and you, I trust you two the most. I can’t be the owner, for obvious reasons,” Adam said, pointing to his leaf shaped ears. “They won’t take kindly to no Elf, even if I’m only half an Elf.”

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“I am sorry, Adam. I cannot. We Iyrmen do not have businesses within Aldland.” It was technically true.

“You don’t?”

“We have business, but no businesses.” Sonarot continued to smile. Technically, the Iyr had control over a large number of underground businesses, but it was more of a partnership that had been built over generations.

“Please, Aunt. It can only be you. You don’t even have to do anything, really. All you have to do is stop me from doing anything too crazy that you, or the Iyr, might not like. I’ll prop it up on my own coin, and if it makes negative money, you’re free to dissolve it as you see fit, and I’ll deal with whatever I owe.” Adam had expected the resistance.

“I do not think I am suitable for such a business, Adam.”

“Then how about if I give similar positions to Aunt Citool, and Uncle Shikan, and Uncle Jogak?” Adam asked. “They could have a similar position to you, and you could be a part of a board so you can ask them for advice?”

“How would that work?”

“You’d be the President, and they’d be the Vice Presidents. They’d assist you in making a decision about when to act, but you’re the only one who can act. If you can’t, for whatever reason, then they can act together to form a decision, but if you decide to go against them, then we do what you want.”

“Then what would you do?”

“I’d be a Manager,” Adam said, smiling. “Jurot and the others. We’d manage our own domains. Obviously, the enchanter would also hold a similar position to you, but you’d be above them.” Adam winked. “I’ll pay for everything, and I’ll make sure it makes enough money so that everyone can be paid well.”

Sonarot fell in thought for a moment. It seemed Adam was eager to have her assist him, though she was unsure if she was allowed to.

“I also want it to have a good relationship with the Iyrmen,” Adam said, trying to coax her.

“How?”

“I want the Iyrmen to take precedent. I was planning on treating all Iyrmen well, obviously, from discounts, to greater services. The Iyr could also use the inns as an information network, since tons of people will pass through the inns. Money, information, services, I won’t deny it to the Iyr.”

Sonarot remained silent, chewing on her thoughts.

Adam cleared his throat. “I was also hoping to help train Iyrmen in different skills, allowing them to gain practical experience in the world, outside the Iyr. Of course, that would be useful to the business too, but I think it’s a decent idea for the Iyrmen too, though that’s not a requirement.”

Sonarot was still stuck on his previous statements. ‘Recipes for magical weapons? An information network?’ She sipped her tea slowly, deep in her thought.

Adam sipped his tea too, his heart pounding in his chest. If he couldn’t convince his Aunt, there was no way he could convince the Chief. It meant he needed to scale down his plans, and there may be less support. However, with the Iyr’s backing, he could do so much more.

“It sounds like a costly endeavour,” Sonarot said, finally. “Are you certain it will make money?”

“I doubt that all of it will make money, but that’s beside the point,” Adam admitted. “The business will be wide. I am going to be funnelling money from the profitable parts to shore up the losses of the unprofitable parts. It’s okay for some of the businesses to lose money as long as we’re green at the end of it all.”

“There will be parts of the business which will lose money?”

“It’s not entirely about the money, it’s about the ideals,” Adam whispered. “United Kindom. I’ll provide services to all. It’ll be such a great business that even the King of Aldland will think twice about starting trouble.”

Adam chuckled quietly. “I just think it’s so… cool. The money is obviously nice, but I just want to make sure my people are taken care of.”

“Who are your people?”

“Right now? I’m not sure. I mean, obviously you’re all my people, but you’re taken care of.” Adam sipped his tea awkwardly. “Nobby, right? I want him to be happy with his family, his mother and father, and his sister. I want her to grow well, just like Lanarot. Right. That’s… that’s what I want. I want to be their Iyr.”

“That is a great goal, Adam.”

“Yeah. I was originally thinking about making a stronghold near Jaghi, Jurot said it was the second best place. I wanted to make it the headquarters, but I wanted to speak with the Chief about potentially making it on Iyrman lands. I doubt he’ll say yes, so that’s why I came to you first. If you could be the owner, then maybe the Chief would be more open to the idea.”

Sonarot sighed. She finished her tea, and Adam poured her some more as she thought. “You said you wished to mass produce magical weapons? What does that mean?”

“Basically, I’d make templates for certain enchantments. I’m going to try and learn how to make an enchantment, something like a fire sword, that’s exactly the same each time I enchant. I want to be able to make them so I can make them identical, and without too much failure. I was thinking about training a few enchanters who could only make a handful of enchantments while they work for me.”

Sonarot remained quiet. She realised that there were times that Adam could still shock even her. Something like mass producing magical weapons, it was perhaps one of the most dangerous things one could do. Not for the person, though there may be some danger there, but for people in general.

“Of course, I’d share the formulas with the owners of the company. In fact, that could be how I pay you at first, since I’m not sure how much money I should pay you, or if I can even afford that right now.” Adam’s heart ached in his poverty.

‘Even now, Adam, you can such outrageous things…’

“Also…” Adam began, whispering ever so quietly. “I really…” Adam felt his cheeks flush. “I really want Lanarot to be called young miss or young madam. Don’t you think that’ll be so cute? She’ll think her papa is so cool too.” Adam rubbed his face, understanding how embarrassing it was to admit it, but it was no lie.

‘Of course,’ Sonarot thought.