Vonda let out a sigh of relief as the knight retreated. She had felt the intense aura of the knight as she readied to fight, and Adam’s eagerness to do the same, the young half elf’s hand clutching his amulet. Vonda was vaguely aware of her mace at her side, glad she did not need to draw it that day.

‘Thank you for watching over us, Mother Soza,’ Vonda prayed, her heart filling with relief.

“I knew I shouldn’t have accepted your gold,” the inn keeper said, huffing out. “You can take back your gold, and you should leave at once.”

“Keep the gold,” Adam said, rubbing the side of his neck. “We have bothered you tremendously, so you should at least get paid for it. Manager Dunes, will you procure a few carriages for us?”

“Of course,” Dunes replied, smiling innocently.

“Jonn, please escort the Manager,” Adam said, glancing to the side to find Jonn wasn’t about. ‘…’

The half elf was found and he escorted the Aswadian away, while the children were gathered again, most of the upset they had to move again.

Adam took Cobra to the side to speak with her privately. “What’s so special about Alex that even a Marquise wants him?”

Cobra stared at him for a long moment. “Why do you have to ask the obvious?”

“If it was obvious, I wouldn’t have to ask,” Adam replied, rubbing the side of his neck again, his forehead pulsing again. “After all I’ve risked for you, you should at least speak openly.”

“Alex is gifted.”

“Did you not see me threaten the knight of a Marquise?” Adam asked. “Say it properly, otherwise I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

“Alex is a…” Cobra’s voice went as low as it could to barely still be audible, “Sorcerer.”

Adam waited, raising his brows. “Yeah, and?”

Cobra furrowed her brows in confusion.

“So he knows magic and that’s why they want him?”

“He’s a Sorcerer,” Cobra repeated, still whisper quiet.

“Right?”

Cobra furrowed her brows again, her eyes full of confusion. ‘What’s he doing?’

“Could you call Manager Vonda, please?” Adam asked, stretching his head this way and that, feeling the annoyance build up deep within him.

“Are you okay, Adam?” Vonda asked.

“I’m fine,” Adam replied, still stretching out his neck. “Cobra said that Alex was a Sorcerer.”

Vonda’s brows raised in uncharacteristic alarm, her eyes darting over towards the children, taking in the sight of the young boy. “That certainly explains the Marquise’s actions.”

“It does?”

Vonda’s eyes fell onto Adam. She had almost forgotten Adam was from elsewhere. “Sorcerers were hunted down within this land.”

“Oh,” Adam replied, before vaguely recalling something along those lines. “Right, yeah.”

“A Sorcerer’s powers are chaotic, and are seen as dangerous.”

“Most magic is dangerous,” Adam replied. “Why are Sorcerers so special?”

“Sorcerers do not have need to channel their spells through amulets or with pouches. As long as the spell does not require anything of value, their bodies can channel the spells. They can also cast magic without another realising it has been cast, something which was deemed too dangerous to leave be.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“So…”

Vonda inhaled deeply, thinking about the two paths before the Marquise. There were more than two paths, but it was almost certain only these two would be considered. The Marquise would send another group to try and take the boy, or they would somehow try to kill the boy. She did not want to think the Marquise would do such a thing, especially not when the boy was guaranteed by her, a Sister of Life’s Rose, but she was not naive to believe that the Marquise’s ego surpassed her worship of Mother Soza.

“We are in a precarious situation,” Vonda said.

“What do we do?”

“First we should find an inn for the children to sleep peacefully.”

“Right…” ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this…’ “Manager Vonda, would you be willing to…” ‘No, it wouldn’t be a good idea to use one of her greater spells on something like that.’ “No, I’ll do it.”

Mana: 17 -> 14

Spell: Sending

“We are in a precarious situation, Manager Vonda says, so I’d like you to all return. We’re moving inns. I’ll leave a message at the-,” Adam felt the magic fade before he could finish his message. ‘If I ever meet that stupid, absolute, ooooh, just you wait if you piss me off any more than you already have! I’m going to wipe that smug grin off your fucking face!’

‘Okay.’

Adam let out a soft sigh, hearing his brother’s voice within his mind. He rubbed the side of his neck again, before rubbing his forehead. ‘Why am I out adventuring when I could be with my kids and enjoying a nice life within the Iyr?’

Dunes eventually returned with a cart to ferry the children. “Adam, we should buy another cart, or a wagon, for a more permanent solution.”

“You’re right…” Adam thought about the other cart within the city, which was currently weighed down by their supplies, as well as some of their own personal effects. “This is why you’re a Manager.”

“I don’t cause enough trouble to be an Executive,” Dunes joked.

“Trouble? When have I caused trouble?” Adam replied, almost smiling in response.

Dunes laughed, patting Adam’s arm gently. “You do not cause trouble, it is trouble which finds you.”

“Exactly.” Adam glanced around at the children, who complained as they climbed onto the cart, while their elder siblings soothed them. His eyes then fell to Alex, whose face was full of guilt. ‘Poor kid…’

Fred brought out the other child, who was holding a potato in hand, slowly eating it as he eyed up the others around him. He wore a fresh set of clothes, clothes which were far too clean against his body, which was also far too clean.

“Go ahead and sit within the cart too,” Adam said. “We’re going to head to an inn where we can eat as much as we want.”

The boy stared up at Adam with a sheepish look, stepping behind Fred.

“Fred, watch over the boy, make sure nothing happens to him,” Adam said, noting the way the boy looked at him.

“Yes, boss.” Fred helped the boy in, before climbing in. Fred sat there awkwardly, noting the children’s eyes on him.

“Do you work for the business?” a child asked.

“I do.”

“Are you strong?”

“I’m…” Fred stared down at the expectant eyes of the children. “I’m an Expert.”

“Whoa!” called the excited gasps of the children.

“You’re not an Expert, you’re just a man,” one of the children said.

“I am an Expert,” Fred said, tapping his sword. “My sword’s magical.”

“No it’s not!”

Fred unstrapped the belt and held out the blade, keeping his fingers around the handle so they couldn’t pull it out. One of the children reached out for it, before shuddering as they felt the gentle tingle of magic, before pulling back, their eyes wide, their mouth forming a small circle in utter shock.

The other children reached out for the blade, feeling the tingle of magic, each of them acting in similar shock and excitement. George also placed a hand against it, before pulling back in shock too, his eyes glued to Fred. As far as he knew, Fred didn’t hold any rank within the business, since Adam specifically used titles to refer to the business members.

“Have you killed a bear?” a child asked.

“I’m sure I have,” Fred replied. “Bears and wolves and the like.”

“You can’t kill a wolf,” a child said. “Wolves have so many, they’re a big pack, so wolves are hard to kill.”

“That’s right, but I’ve killed wolves before. I’ve even fought a hydra.”

“What’s a hydra?” a child asked.

“It’s the one with the heads,” another replied. “It’s got lots of heads, like, like, ten, or seven.”

“Whoa!”

“You can’t have seven heads, that’s too many. I’ve only got the one!”

“Hydras can have more heads because they’re hydras, dummy.”

“Yeah, hydras have lots of heads, and they come back when you cut them, but they don’t if you cut them real good.”

“No, that’s not right, that’s trolls. They have generation.”

“Trolls only have one heads!”

“No, they, yeah they have one head, they have generation.”

“Do hydras have generation?” a child asked Fred.

“They do, that’s how their heads come back, but you can stop the regeneration with fire, just like trolls,” Fred replied.

“Fire stops regenation?”

“It stops regeneration for both trolls and hydras,” Fred confirmed.

“Have you fought a troll?”

“Yes.”

The children gasped, before showering Fred in awe and more excited questions. Fred could still feel the piercing awe of the boy beside him, and suddenly the children didn’t think about how much they didn’t want to go to the next inn, not when there was such a great hero beside them.

A warm, tingly sensation filled Fred. He sometimes felt the feeling when the Iyrmen children would ask him questions, but they were surrounded by monsters. To these children, he was like the Iyrmen, a powerful figure who was awe inspiring, which would fuel their dreams of heroism.

A thought passed through Fred’s mind, and his eyes fell across the young half elf who had adopted him into the business. Suddenly, Adam was not the ridiculous figure who was utterly insane.

No, Adam made all the sense in the world.

Adam was a father.