“Right, speaking of epithets, I’m still trying to figure out who should be a part of The Numbers,” Adam said, though his voice had lowered.

“The Numbers?”

“You know, like, Mister Zero, Mister One, Madam Zero, Madam One, so on and so on,” Adam replied. “The lower the number, the stronger the person. They’ll be those we dress up in black, and they’d be the elite force of the business.”

“Would Mister Zero be Jurot?” Jaygak teased.

“We can’t be The Numbers when we’re Executives,” Adam said.

“Why not?”

“Well, because…” Adam paused. ‘Actually, why not?’

“Don’t we hold the highest rank?” Jaygak asked. “We should be the strongest so we can be The Numbers.”

“It’s actually not a bad idea to have some of the Executives as members of The Numbers,” Adam thought. ‘Mister Zero is a cool name, maybe I should be one of The Numbers?’ “I guess, aren’t you all The Numbers? Jurot would be Mister Zero, Kitool would be Madam Zero. I’d be Mister One, you’ve be Madam One.”

“Why would you be Mister One?”

“I’m too stupid to be Mister Zero,” Adam replied, simply.

“Why would I be Madam One? Even Nirot can defeat me. I’m sure even Sister Vonda here could deal with me, with her magics.”

“I don’t think you can be a, the, uh, a Number, since you’re a member of Life’s Rose, and it would be awkward to have you in such a position,” Adam stated, throwing a look to Vonda, crossing his arms awkwardly. His eyes couldn’t meet hers, but as they glanced at her lips, he quickly corrected them to her ear. ‘Oh no, I’m being cringe.’

The young woman bowed her head. “I thank you for your understanding, Mister One.”

Adam flushed. ‘Damn, that is a cool name.’ “Yeah, any time.” Adam spotted Jaygak barely containing her laughter again. “Anyway…”

“Wouldn’t your children want to call you Mister Zero?” Jaygak teased.

“…” Adam crossed his arms. ‘Damn it, when she’s right, she’s right.’ “I’ll speak with Jurot about it.”

“He’ll want to face you to confirm it.”

“I’ll let him have the title then.”

“You’ll let him?” Jaygak asked. “No one allows we Iyrmen to do anything, we take it.”

“Stop saying scary stuff like that, Madam Ten.”

Jaygak inhaled deeply, but was kept at bay by a piercing glare from Kitool. “Hmph.”

“Actually…” Adam flushed slightly. “Before we continue, you must all understand, I’m a man.”

“Yes?” Jaygak replied, while Kitool and Vonda stared at Adam curiously.

“From where I’m from, this is a very normal thing for men to do…” Adam flushed slightly. “It’s from our days of being boys.”

“…”

“I’ve been thinking about codenames for some of the business members who hold high ranks.”

“Codenames?”

“Yeah, like… kind of like nicknames, and kind of like Mister Zero, but… you know… sort of…” With every passing word, Adam began to regret his words, feeling as though he had revealed a side of him he should have kept secret. ‘Wow. I think I’ve pretended to be cringe for so long I may actually have become cringe. I really am cringe.’

“What would be an example of a codename?” Kitool asked, her eyes neutral, unjudging.

“You know, like…” Adam thought for a moment. ‘Well, the cat’s out of the bag now.’ “Fred could be The Farmer.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“…”

“Then we’d have Jonn be The Guardian, or something like that. I’d be The Elf. Sort of discussing people by their…” Adam paused, feeling the shame and embarrassment fill him. “Sort of like Mister Zero, but not quite as cool, I guess.”

“An epithet,” Kitool said. “Like Mad Dog, or Drakebane.”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Internal epithets,” Jaygak replied, slowly nodding her head. She wondered why Adam felt like it was so important to distance himself from such an idea when it was a fairly normal, if not common, idea among businesses.

“Also, don’t you guys think the epithet I received is kind of sucky? Purple Adam? I mean, I know I’m purple, but couldn’t I receive something cooler? Like Timojin, he’s called The Grey Wall, but I’ve got a name like Purple. Just Purple? Purple Axe Adam, that would sound slightly cooler, but just Purple Adam?” Adam rambled for a short while about his displeasure. “Seriously!”

“Have you thought of internal codenames for us?”

“Kitool would be The Advisor.”

Kitool perked up, sitting up a little taller. ‘The Advisor?’ There was a certain ring to it, and it was quite apt for her name.

“Isn’t Nobby meant to be your number one enforcer?” Jaygak asked, wondering if he had thought about Nobby’s nickname.

“Yeah, so I was thinking The Enforcer, or something for him,” Adam said. ‘Though, Mister One might be cool for him too, since Jurot’s a little stronger…’

Jaygak remained silent for a moment, wondering how this idea had come to be, especially considering it wasn’t terrible. “The Enforcer is a good codename.”

“It was that or the Steel Wall,” Adam said. “I was thinking he’d have a similar name to Jurot.”

“What is Jurot’s codename?”

“I was thinking Steel Wall, but if Nobby takes that, then The Diamond Wall? Immovable Diamond Wall Jurot, is also something I thought about, but we’re in the wrong genre for that.”

Jaygak blinked. “What about me? Surely you’ve thought of something good for me!” She leaned in, ready to jab Adam if he tried to poke fun at her.

“Obviously,” Adam said. “Horny Jaygak.”

Jaygak inhaled sharply for a moment. “Only if you are the Foolish Father!”

“Hah, I’m rather proud of that epithet!”

“Will you allow people to call you foolish in front of your children?”

Adam let out a small grumble. “Well, if Horny doesn’t suit you, you fake horn fan, how about… Horny Red? Madam Horny?”

Jaygak inhaled deeply again, her eyes glancing towards Vonda for a moment. She wanted to tease Adam, but it did mean the priest would be caught in the crossfire. “Will you really shame me like this in front of little Kavgak? My precious little sister who adores you so much, but you’ll bully me like this?”

Adam’s lips twitched slightly. If she was willing to invoke Kavgak’s name, then he couldn’t push forward. “Honestly, you were quite difficult to name. I know The Inferno sounds cool, but it is a little on the nose.”

“Inferno sounds great,” Jaygak said, surprised he would think of something decent. It was a name which many Iyrmen claimed.

“Yeah, but what about, you know, you’re going to be using that sword a lot, and once you’re stronger, it’ll probably outpace even Great Moon, so I was thinking The Storm.”

“The Storm is great too,” Jaygak replied, surprised to see how Adam had taken into consideration the legendary artefact within her family’s vaults, something which he had gifted to her. Suddenly, she felt guilty about how much she had been teasing him, when he had done so much for her.

“Yeah, but it needs a little more… punch, you know? Jaygak the Storm, that’s cool, but what about…” Adam swayed from side to side in thought.

“Jaygak the Maelstrom,” Kitool chimed in.

“Yeah,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “The Maelstrom. That’s kinda sick.”

“Sick?” Jaygak asked.

“Like, cool.”

“It should be hot, since it’s me.”

“Cool just means amazing, but more hip.”

“Hip?”

“It’s hard to explain, but it’s a good word.”

“What about warm?”

“What about warm?”

“Warm should mean amazing instead,” Jaygak said. “Being cool is uncomfortable, even for those not blessed with the ability to truly appreciate the sun.”

“It’s just a figure of speech.”

“It is a ridiculous figure of speech.”

“That’s beside the point, beside the point, Jaygak,” Adam said. “Anyway, those are the codenames I’ve thought of so far.”

“The Elf doesn’t suit you, since you’re only half an elf,” Jaygak said. “It should obviously be The Father.”

“Yeah, but that’s too on the nose, and it doesn’t sound as cool as The Advisor, or The Maelstrom, you know?”

“Your children will love to call you The Father, since you are their father,” Jaygak added.

“No, they should call me dada, daddy, pops, and nothing else. Father is too formal, and it means they’re growing up.”

“The Dada?” Jaygak joked.

“The Daddy,” Vonda joked.

Adam flushed even more. ‘Seriously, why do you have to be the one to call me that?’ “Anyway, I’ll figure something out. My nickname might be The Storm, since I’m always so chaotic.”

A general hum of agreement passed through the trio, causing Adam to narrow his eyes. ‘Oi.’

“I will procure the yellow cloth for the crafters,” Jaygak said. “Will you go around trying to find the children today?”

“I suppose I should,” Adam said, glancing between Kitool and Vonda, who had been stuck with him to keep him out of trouble for some time now. ‘I guess Jurot’s babysitting the demons today, but they usually keep out of trouble…’

“There are plenty of children who find their homes on the road,” Jaygak said. “Some of the walkers may be willing to join you, though it may be difficult to encourage them since some are protected by bosses.”

“Bosses?”

“A city like this has hundreds of bosses, some of them crime lords, others bosses of various factions,” Jaygak said. “Golden Turban is a boss, though none would dare suggest he was a crime lord.” The young Iyrman smirked ever so slightly.

‘…’ Adam stared at the way Jaygak was smirking at him. ‘Is she going to cause trouble?’

Jaygak met Kitool’s eyes, before she smiled innocently.

‘Hold on,’ Adam thought. ‘Boss is such a cool codename.’