“My greatdaughter is so smart,” Jarot said, holding the tiny Jirot against his chest, ruffling the girl’s hair. He had begun to notice she would be able to pick out words on the page, but to think she could read entire sentences? ‘My greatdaughter is a genius!’

Gangak decided against teasing Jarot, for the satisfaction on his face was surpassed by the shy smile on Jirot’s face. Little Jarot eventually climbed onto his greatfather’s lap and cuddled with him too, while the triplets went to play with the other children within the extended Rot family estate.

“You are working hard,” Otkan said, pouring Adam a cup of tea.

“I should work hard while I still can,” Adam replied, sitting beside the one armed Otkan. He did his best to ignore that the pair were crippled, but it was awkward. Adam had once faced Otkan, who he had defeated thanks to her holding back against him. ‘Didn’t I also use one of the best weapons I made too?’ Had she not held back, he would have certainly been beaten into the floor, but now they would be unable to face against one another fairly. ‘Not that I’d want to face you again…’

“It is why Amokan continued to adventure, though he had yet to meet his younger sister,” the old woman said, sipping her tea lightly. “He should return to meet her. He should understand why we swing our blades as we do.”

“I’m sure he understands.”

“He cares for his glory and the glory of the Kan family, but he does not know the greatest glory of all.”

Adam wasn’t sure how to respond to the Iyrman, who was speaking so critically of her grandson. Adam had heard many of her tales, which were as impressive as any other Iyrman her age. ‘The Iyr really does house monsters…’

Lucy returned later in the day, noting Adam and the others. ‘It’s the last day of the week already?’

Jirot charged the Demon Lord, almost tackling the woman’s leg. “Lucy! I can wead.”

“You can read?”

“Yes,” the girl replied, holding up her hand and beckoning the Demon Lord. “Come! I show you!”

Lucy allowed the girl to read the first line of a book to her, and though she struggled, it was true enough that the girl could read. ‘You are the scariest of all the children…’ Lucy ruffled the girl’s hair. “You are so smart.”

“Yes.” Jirot smirked.

Konarot pouted as she saw her little sister gain all the praise. She grabbed the dragon chess board and held it up towards her greatfather, her eyes resolute.

‘Is she jealous?’ Jarot thought, before allowing her to set up the board. “My greatdaughter sets up the board so well.”

“Yes,” Gangak replied, smiling ever so slightly. “How smart you are, Konarot.”

“Yes,” the girl replied, flushing slightly while her head was rubbed by the elder Iyrmen.

Mulrot brought fruit for the children, feeding little Kirot and Karot from her fingers, while Konarot was claimed by her greatfather, and the twins were claimed by their other nano.

‘Should I really keep the children away from their families?’ Adam thought, his arms crossed as he stared out at the scene before him. ‘They’re not the children of Iyrmen, so we can’t impose on them for too long, but… aren’t they also the grandchildren of Iyrmen?’

Adam’s thoughts were taken away by his work. He still had so much work to do for the rest of duskval, to the point he couldn’t even spend more than a single day focused on his children, no matter how cute they were. Though it pained his heart, his return to the estate in the late afternoons were always so loud as the children swarmed him.

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“No way,” Adam said, inhaling deeply. “You can’t do this to me.”

“She is my daughter,” Shikan said.

“You get to play with her every single day, I should be able to play with her too.”

“I work as you do.”

“Sure, but you don’t leave the Iyr for months at a time!”

“I do.”

“Yeah, but I mean, you know…” Adam held Inakan within his arms, the girl completely ignoring him as she focused on the streaks of colours along the blanket, her hand gently rubbing across it, before she brought it to her cheek.

“You have played with her enough.”

Adam inhaled deeply, pulling the girl to his chest for a moment. “One day, Inakan, I’ll be so strong no one can steal you from me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Of course it is!” Adam raised the girl towards her father, before his eyes snapped to Mokan. “Since you only have one set of arms, I can play with Mokan, right?”

“I have two arms,” Shikan replied.

“So stingy!”

Shikan took Inakan, who smiled upon seeing that her father had picked her up, before she squirmed within his arms until she finally relented, cuddling up to her father. Shikan placed a hand against her back as he carried her away, taking her for a walk around the Iyr.

“Mokan, how can your father bully me like this?” Adam asked, while Mokan glanced his way, smiling as he raised a block towards Adam. ‘How adorable!’

As the end of the month approached, Adam let out a long sigh. ‘Enchanting so many weapons is really taxing. I’m glad the passive enchanting is so easy.’ He placed the axe beside the pair of shortswords and the shield, before rubbing the side of his neck. ‘Hold on…’ Adam glanced between the equipment. ‘Hopefully she doesn’t feel too mad…’

The thunder rumbled and lightning fell as Adam held his youngest son, feeding him mashed fruit from the spoon Jurot had carved for the boy.

“You’re doing so well considering it’s always thundering and showering,” Adam said, wiping the boy’s lips, though there was no mess against them. “The Iyr’s weird like that.”

The boy remained silent, glancing towards the sky. The lightning flashes caused him to glance away, and the rumbling thunder soothed him to sleep, but he kept glancing back towards the sky.

‘If it storms like this within the Iyr, it must be them,’ the little demon baby thought.

It was during one morning when Adam thought about the question which had plagued him. ‘Should I make one of the first set or one of the second set? I already need to give up two of each set anyway, so I’ll get to keep one of them anyway, but…’

It was only when he was beginning the enchantment he realised. ‘Can’t I just make both and pick later?’

‘He is working even now?’ Mirot thought. ‘Is he going to work those days too?’

Mirot’s worries were not needed.

It was the morning of the twenty fourth day. The gentle rain swept across the Iyr, rhythmically soothing the people within the Iyr. The lightning and thunder rumbled every so often, but the people of the Iyr had become used to the loud sounds, including the children.

However, one child above any other was fascinated by the thunder and lightning, for her world was far quieter than the others, and not quite as clear. Unfortunately, on this day, she could not enjoy the lightning and thunder as she had for the rest of the month.

“Ada?” the girl called while Adam held her close, hugging her tight.

“How can I even pretend to not know who you are as a joke?” Adam asked, planting a kiss atop the girl’s head. “Oh, my sweet Inakan.” Adam swayed from side to side as he held the girl, feeling her warmth against himself.

“Ada!” The girl reached up to grab at his jaw, feeling his smooth skin against her tiny hand, recognising his face by touch.

Adam grabbed her tiny hand and kissed the back of it. “How big you’ve become now, Inakan.” Though Inakan had grown, she was the smallest of all her contemporaries, almost as small as her younger sibling. “I’ll forgive you, just this once, since you’re so cute.”

Shikan found it awkward to intervene as Adam embraced his daughter. The girl squealed as Adam lifted her up and almost tossed her, but he decided against it as though the girl was as fragile as clay.

“Before they steal you away from me, let me give you my gift to you,” Adam said, reaching into his pocket. He revealed the smooth silver bar, which held the girl’s name engraved within it. “I’ll give this to your father since you don’t really need it, but it’s not for you to spend. It’s a token that I’m giving to you and if you need a favour from me, you can hand it to me and I’ll do my best to help you.”

Inakan stared at the silver, noting the way the light bounced off it. She reached for it, feeling the smooth metal within her hand. She leaned in to suck against it, though her father quickly snatched it from her hand, causing the girl to twitch in shock.

“Thank you, Adam.” Shikan felt the cool metal against his hand. The other Iyrmen were also surprised by Adam’s gift, since it seemed so… normal?

It was only Sonarot who understood the significance of the fact Adam had made it out of silver and not another type of metal. ‘Just what kind of favour could they ask for?’

Adam continued to smile, though Sonarot could see something beyond the smile.

‘I can’t believe you’re going to miss your cousin’s birthday, you punk!’

Sonarot smiled, deciding against informing Adam.