‘This has to be bullying,’ Adam thought, while the children sat around Vonda to listen to hear tale. Cobra had held a suspicious gaze over the young man, but upon realising who Vonda was, some of the suspicion had faded away.

Julia listening vaguely as she prepared the meal, along with the other young woman and man. The smell of boiling porridge filled the air, while vegetables were roughly cut to cook within the pot.

Adam winced as he sipped on the water, having used his magic to clean, heat, and flavour it. He did the same for the other children, but they were more entranced by Vonda, who had received such attention from Cobra.

Adam listened to Vonda’s tale, realising he hadn’t heard much of it previously. He had heard some of her story, but he had no idea how active she had been in the region. She had gone from town to town assisting with all kinds of matters, but also assisting different adventuring groups with their tasks. She had worked hard during the beast waves too, something Adam had heard little about.

‘What a crap friend I am…’

Kitool returned with food, a half sacks of milled wheat, fresh meat, dried meat, vegetables, fruit, while the pair of women behind her brought along a cask each. Adam nodded to Kitool, who had brought quite some food, while a small group of walkers remained outside, handing over the fried food.

Julia stared at the fried food the children flocked to, sighing slightly, before lowering the heat and placing the lit atop the gruel she had cooked, before helping herself to the food.

‘Thank you, Kitool,’ Adam said, while Vonda and Kitool began to cook. “Should I call Korin over?” Adam joked.

“Eat slowly,” Julia said, patting a child’s back, one who had been far too eager to fill their stomach.

“No one’s going to steal your food,” Adam assured, chuckling lightly. “You’ll be able to eat peacefully like this from now on, so there’s no need to rush.” Adam crossed his arms, letting out a satisfied smile. ‘So this is what it feels like to be rich?’

Though the house had been quiet when Adam had arrived, with the food Kitool had brought, and the warmth of the gentle embers, the noisiness took hold of the household, with the children chattering away.

Cobra spoke with Viper in the corner, whispering about Adam’s offer to the young woman. Viper narrowed her eyes questioningly, while Kitool understood the look, since it was a look which was rather familiar after meeting Adam.

The trio of snakes continued to eye up the young man, who was sitting by himself, looking over the group, and falling into his thoughts.

‘These kids are too thin, Adam thought, his eyes falling across the scrawny children. ‘They must have been eating half meals for a short while. Cobra and the others don’t look particularly beefy, either, but if they end up dying, then these kids probably wouldn’t last much longer. I wonder if there were more of them previously…’

“Are you enjoying the food?” Vonda asked, cutting up pieces of meat for some of the younger children, whose jaws were uncomfortably pronounced.

“Yes,” the child replied, smiling shyly, before pushing their hand into their mouth as they ate.

Vonda smiled, still cutting up the food, before checking on the dough.

“Since we’ve eaten breakfast, why don’t we get you all cleaned up, and get you some new clothes?” Adam asked. The children’s clothing, though holding colour, denoting them to be children of East Port truly, were frayed and patchy. “We can head to the guild first and gather a few of the workers who will assist in watching over you all.”

“We appreciate your offer, but we haven’t accepted yet,” Cobra stated, not wanting to owe Adam any more before she could think about it.

“Then consider a gift,” Adam said, waving his hand. “We’re going to stay in East Port for a short while, so you can just consider it our good will. It’ll give you time to make an excuse to your siblings as to why they won’t be receiving a proper roof over their heads, warm meals in their tummies, and new clothing once we leave.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“…”

“What Executive Adam means to say is that Adam wishes you will accept the courtesy of the business, as we are sincere in our offer,” Vonda said, still smiling politely towards the young woman.

Adam cleared his throat, flushing slightly. “Manager Vonda is correct. I apologise for my jokes.” ‘How do I have such a high Charisma when I keep acting like such a damn fool. Is it because my Wisdom is so low?’

Adam checked his stats.

‘Damn, what are these insane Statistics? Who died to give me…’ Adam thought about Belle and Bandlor. ‘Ah, right…’

Cobra remained silent. Once the children were finished, they cleared up the area. Julia, Shannon, and Gilbert each carried packs full of what few items they each possessed.

‘If they’re taking everything with them, does that mean they’ve already accepted?’ Adam thought, unable to contain his smile. “I’ll lead the way, shall I?”

Adam hummed quietly as he walked up ahead, leading the large group out, his eyes scanning across the nearby homeless, before his humming fell silent, and his smile dropped. ‘Should I…’ His eyes fell across the poorest of the poor around him, their eyes curious, some withdrawing, but others sizing the group up.

The group made their way through the alleys until they were near the main road once more. Kitool held up the rear, with Vonda in the centre, and a member of each of the snake trio accompanied each of the businessfolk who were escorting them.

“You’re a member of Life’s Rose, but you’re a member of the business?” Python asked.

“Yes,” Vonda replied, bowing her head lightly. “I adventured with Fate’s Golden for some time. It was the party which eventually transformed into the business, though perhaps it is still a separate entity. All those in Fate’s Golden have joined the business.”

“Is there really an enchanter?”

“There is.” Vonda placed a hand on her mace. “This mace was enchanted by the Enchanter of the business.”

“The Enchanter crafted you a magical weapon?”

“Many who are within Fate’s Golden have received such fine magical weapons,” Vonda confirmed. “Executive Adam’s own weapon is Greater Enhanced, along with that of Executive Kitool’s staff.”

“They’re Greater Enhanced?” Python whispered, as though it were a sin to speak of such a thing. Her eyes snapped to Adam, who carried no weapons on him outwards, though had still managed to defeat her. ‘A Greater Enhanced weapon? That kind of weapon’s only for the high ranking warriors from the orders…’

“You’ve done well looking after all these children so far,” Adam said.

“Are you picking a fight?” Cobra replied.

“No?” Adam replied, taken aback. “It’s an honest compliment.”

“There is no such thing as an honest compliment.”

“That’s pretty hardcore,” Adam replied, raising his brows playfully. “No, I meant it genuinely. You went to such depths to look after the children, I can only respect you.”

“Adam,” Vonda called, causing the half elf to turn. Some of the children had slowed their pace, while some had fallen to their bottoms to sit and rest. “The children are tired.”

“Let’s take a breather then,” Adam said.

“No more walking!” a child complained. “It’s too much!”

“It’s not very far now, Leah,” Julia assured, holding out her hand. “We’ll get to meet so many adventurers.”

“No! My feet hurt! I want to go home!”

“Leah, don’t do that, get up, now,” Julia said, raising her voice slightly.

“Are you feeling tired, Leah?” Adam asked.

The tiny girl, with her short hair, and her little belt of yellow wrapped around her waist, twitched slightly as she looked up towards Adam. Her lips trembled and she began to cry.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Adam chuckled lightly. “Why don’t we order a carriage for the children to ride in? Manager Vonda, do you know where one could find a carriage?”

“There are a few along Market Road,” Vonda replied.

“Wonderful,” Adam said. “Would you mind going with Python to procure a carriage for us?” Adam reached into his pouch and picked up a few gems, handing it over to the priest.

“Only one gem will be needed,” Vonda replied.

“…” Adam blinked. “Oh, right. Just take a couple anyway, just in case.”

“Very well.” Vonda left with the two gems, along with Python.

The child continued to cry and sob, causing a few of the other children to cry, though their five eldest siblings soothed them. Alex remained silent, staring at Adam and Kitool, who formed a wall around them, keeping an eye out on the other cityfolk who passed them by. There were some glares and suspicious glances from the cityfolk.

“Hey, keep the kids quiet,” a young woman snapped towards them. “They’re disturbing the good people around.”

Adam felt a flash of heat run through him. He opened his mouth, though Kitool stepped forward.

“We apologise for the noise, we are dealing with the matter,” Kitool said, her eyes cold and dark as they stared into the young woman’s soul.

The young woman stepped back, her eyes flashing with shock. “Yes, well…”

“Hey, what are you doing?” another young woman called, stepping forward. “Leave Melina alone!”

“She walked up to bother us,” Adam replied, his voice filled with annoyance.

“You’re all bothering us, what with your noise, and look at all these poor children! What are you doing to them?”

“Trying to soothe them.”

“You just wait right here and we’ll call the guards! See if you’re proper right folk!” the young woman pulled Melina away and stormed away.

The commotion had gathered a few glances their way. Adam sighed, glancing to the side towards Kitool.

“How much you wanna bet that was my fault?”

“I do not have so much gold to lose in such a bet,” Kitool replied, stern and cold.

“Damn, Kitool. You didn’t have to do me like that.”