“President, do you have a moment?” Adam asked, before the pair stepped into Adam’s place in the inner fort area. “I was thinking about donating some weapons and coin to the Order of the Wings.”

“Okay.”

“What do you think?”

“You wish to support them?”

“Yeah.”

“It is a good idea.”

“I’m thinking about donating some Basic, or Basic Enhanced, or maybe Greater weapons…” Adam waited for the woman’s response, noting her thinking.

Within a few moments, the President thought of the Order of the Wings, its stories, its history, its relationship with the Iyr, its secret relationship with the Iyr she knew little about, its place in the world, the criticisms they might receive for donating the weapons, the arguments for and against the patronage, and finally, and perhaps most important of which, Adam’s faith in her.

“Okay. Basic, Basic Enhanced, Greater are acceptable, but they must swear not to use them against the Iyr if you are to donate them.”

“What about donating some coin too?”

“Okay.”

“How about Greater Enhanced?” Adam asked, thinking about how useful his own weapon was. “Nothing like Phantom or Wraith, but… just a little more.”

“If you feel it is appropriate.”

“I think so. Nothing too powerful, I swear.”

“Okay.”

Adam had time to think that day, once he was done enchanting the weapons, finally, he thought about the messages he needed to send. He checked the note the Iyr had left him, thinking on their words. ‘That’s fine.’

“Greetings, Sir Magpie. I hope I am not bothering you. Which weapons would you like for us to Enchant?”

‘Greetings, Adam. It is no bother. We use longswords, mostly, and shortswords and warhammers. Thank you.”

“It is a pleasure to speak with you. If you don’t mind, can you come in the first week of the ninth month instead? Thank you.”

‘Thank you. If it would please you, we will arrive then.’

Adam thought about all the enchanting he needed to do. ‘Should I do some Basic Enhanced stuff, so we still have some money left over?’

The next day, Adam sent another message.

“Happy birthday, Churot. I hope you have a fun day today. If you want anything, let me know.”

“Thank you, cousin Adam. I would like one Basic shield.”

Adam smiled. ‘I guess I’ll start enchanting some Basic shields today?’

Once he was done, Adam returned back to the fort, only to find the young teen before him. Adam blinked.

“Old man…”

“Ha?” Jarot replied, holding Churot beside him. “What is wrong?”

‘Do I need to fight the old man so I can hug our Churot?’ Adam narrowed his eyes. ‘Do you think I don’t have a trump card.’

Jarot’s smile grew as he eyed up his annoyed grandson.

“Jirot,” Adam called, the girl’s head darting to her father.

“Wait,” the one armed Jarot said, instantly crumpling to the threat. “Churot, go greet your cousin.”

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought.’ Adam embraced Churot. “If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared the gift right away!”

“Yes.” Churot hugged Adam for a moment before returning to his grandfather.

Adam then glanced aside, noting that Korin was paying special attention to Mustafa.

“Did you bring a gift for Mustafa?” Dunes asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It is his birthday too.”

“Eh? It’s our Mustafa’s birthday?” Adam asked, his eyes darting over to Bilal.

Bilal could feel Adam’s gaze upon him, and for a moment, he swore Adam was pointing a vicious intent like a sharp blade towards him. “…”

“Bilal, come with me.”

Bilal followed Adam to the side, unsure of what he was planning. The half elf reached into his shirt, slowly pulling out his book.

“Give it up.”

“…”

“Their birthdays, you…” Adam narrowed his eyes. ‘I can’t call him something too bad.’ “Salyaman.”

‘What?’

Adam returned, fuming, heading towards Mustafa. He stopped. ‘What should I bring him? I don’t really have anything prepared. I can’t give him either of the Greater Enhanced blades since they’re meant for…’

Adam eventually relented to handing the boy a gold coin, but he gathered his advisers, those who would be experts in this particular field. “I’ve come to ask you for your advice.”

Dunes threw a look to Amira, before reaching up to brush his beard. “What do you need?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What… am I meant to gift Aswadian children?”

Dunes let out a small sigh. ‘Of course.’ “You can gift them similar things to Aldish children, I would assume.”

“Dunes is a Manager because of his magic, but I was made Manager for my wisdom,” Amira said. “There are styles of hats we enjoy, scarves too. Every individual child is different, but there are some traditions we hold. We make certain foods, we had to replace the rice porridge with oat porridge, Korin still made a meat curry and the flatbread. We completed Lady Arya’s prayers, but Lord Noor’s prayers might have been more appropriate.”

“Are there any traditions for children for their birthdays?”

“The first birthday, usually we cut the hair, and gift them silver equal to the weight of their hair.”

“Silver and gold are important in Aswadasad,” Dunes confirmed.

“They’re important everywhere, but we do try and gather some metal for a child so they may gain it when they are adults,” Amira added.

“Let’s say, hypothetically speaking…” Adam’s eyes fell to the side. “A child is born. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, an adorable baby boy or baby girl to a pair of Aswadians, and I need to get them a gift, what kind of gift, hypothetically speaking, should I give to this, hypothetical, newborn baby?”

Amira rolled her eyes, reaching out to poke Dunes’ arm. “Manager Dunes, what do you think?” she teased, smirking up at her husband.

“A hundred thousand gold should be acceptable,” Dunes replied, stone faced.

Adam cleared his throat. “Oh, well, I’m not sure…” ‘How many Greater Enhanced weapons will I need to sell for that?’ “How does ten thousand gold sound?”

Dunes let out a disappointed sigh. “Ten thousand gold is… acceptable.”

“Good,” Adam said, certain he had at least that much. ‘It’s fine since it’s for a child of a pair of Managers, right?’

Dunes smiled, winking towards his wife, before glancing aside to Adam once more. ‘…’ “Adam, I was only joking.”

“What?” Adam replied.

“I was only joking,” Dunes stated firmly.

“Dunes, you can’t be joking.”

“I was only joking, Adam,” Dunes stated again, his voice rising slightly in panic. ‘He wouldn’t!’

Adam’s voice also began to rise in panic. “Dunes, I don’t have a hundred thousand gold.”

Amira closed her eyes, reaching down to her stomach, utterly defeated by the pair. ‘Are they still pretending?’

“Adam! Do you understand?” Dunes called out as Adam stepped away into the cool air of the night.

Adam paused. He turned around, smiling politely, the light of the stars illuminating the half elf’s face, causing eery shadows to dance upon his face. “I understand.”

“He definitely doesn’t understand,” Amira whispered once Adam was out of ear shot, his humming having silenced moments ago.

“I can’t joke like that around him,” Dunes finally admitted.

“It’s all your fault.”

“You might really be the wise one.”

“Might?”

Dunes smiled, placing a hand on his wife’s back, escorting her to their own place. “If you are the wisest one, then what do I have?”

“Magic?”

“Isn’t your smile even more magical?”

Amira reached up and pulled his ear. “Sometimes you fill me with such disgust, Dunes.”

Dunes’ laughter filled the air, accompanying the chill breeze.

The next morning, Adam allowed his cringe thoughts to pass, and he returned to work, continuing to work all through the next week too, until a particular morning arose.

Jirot stood before her fathers, her arms crossed, but in the way a child did so, where she held onto each elbow rather than slipping a hand into the inner nook. Her amber eyes widened with her raised brows, and the girl waited expectantly. Her mother had told her that it was one of those days, a day that her father typically took the day off to play with his children, even during his busiest time.

‘If I don’t take today off, I might actually live to regret it,’ Adam thought. ‘Also, isn’t my daughter so cute when she’s angry? Since you’re being so cute, I’ll have to take the day off.’

Adam tossed the ball towards his daughter as they played catch, alternating between his twins. He had already played dragonchess with his eldest, he let Kirot ride his shoulders, and he sketched something with little Karot, with the triplets each nearby one another, but allowing each other time with their father. However, Jirot and Jarot, the pair were a package deal, an adorable package deal.

“Kekeke!” Jirot cackled, catching the ball and running off with it. “Jarot! Jarot!”

Jarot chased after his sister, the pair running away from their father.

Adam inhaled deeply again. ‘Damn. Isn’t this life the best?’

The gentle rain of duskval brought them inside, and Adam read them a book, until Jirot finally claimed the book for herself to read to her father.

‘Eh?’ Adam thought.

“Flame Brand buhrought up her soad and cuhlashed with the Guhrand Com… mmm… ander,” Jirot read, her eyes glued to the page, almost angrily.

‘She’s reading so much more confidently,’ Adam thought, while holding onto his youngest son, who sat upon his lap. Adam rested his hand upon the boy’s knee, gently rubbing the side of the boy’s leg thoughtlessly. He didn’t know what he was meant to do with the little boy. Adam glanced down, and Larot looked up to meet his gaze.

It was later in the day when the children surrounded their mother, though Konarot sat between the pair, when Adam spoke to Larot in the corner.

“Who were you?”

“…”

“What were your plans?”

“…”

“What are you thinking now?”

“…”

Adam reached up to brush the boy’s hair, and he leaned back, frowning. “It doesn’t matter, alright? You’re my son now.” Adam reached up to poke the boy’s nose, and he brought Larot close to his chest, planting a firm kiss on his forehead.

“…”

Adam continued to enchant all throughout duskval.

‘Yeah. Until my kid is born, I should just…’

While Adam continued to enchant peacefully, there were others who weren’t enjoying themselves quite so softly.

Freddie panted, his arms throbbing and aching, while Jurot waited for him to stand up again. ‘How strong is he?’ He had fought Jurot almost daily since the Iyrman had returned, and yet not once, not even one time, did he manage to even wind the Iyrman.

Jurot wasn’t only impressed by Freddie’s abilities, however, for Aria was pretty much equivalent to Freddie physically, and she had better mental acuity. Then his eyes fell to Theo, the man who was in his late thirties. If only they had met twenty, even ten, years ago. Theo’s physical abilities were great, and if he was an Expert like Nobby, no doubt his raw strength would have been the same.

However, none of them were suitable for Jurot’s way of fighting. Rather, some were, but the minimum wasn’t good enough, because his minimums were for Iyrmen, not for Aldishmen.

Except for Thomas.

Thomas, who had turned thirty this year, held enough strength, enough nimbleness, enough toughness that he matched even Jurot’s own natural abilities.

Was he too old to really bring out that talent?

In Aldland, they would have allowed him to join, with the expectation that he wouldn’t truly be focused on.

However, what about here? In the business? In the business where Jurot had full reign to beat the orphans into shape, like Iromin carving a statue?

Thomas grunted, carrying the rock from one side of the wall to the next.

‘Tommy is too young,’ Jurot thought, even though the boy showed promise. The boy currently remained with Isaac and Teddy. Isaac would be a pretty good warrior, like Jaygak, but Teddy? Teddy was about average, and so would need to remain in the business as a worker.

“Is it my turn?” Jaygak asked, resting her blade over her shoulder, eyeing up the orphans and Freddie, many of whom she would need to personally train.

“I don’t know why they’re wasting their time,” Theo said, panting heavily. “What do they think I can do at this age?”

“Don’t sound like to much of an old man,” Thomas replied.

“They say they’re making us strong,” Alfie said, the young man getting up to ready for training.

“Executive,” Freddie called out. “Are you going to make us as strong as Nobby?”

Jaygak smiled, tapping her sword’s hilt against her armour. “I’m not sure any of you have the capability to become as strong as Nobby, he’s stronger than even the monsters I grew up with. Jurot is too strong for any of you to think about defeating, maybe in your dreams, but… I can train you so that you become stronger than me, at least?”

Theo raised his brows. ‘As strong as you?’

The orphans from the village, some of whom were older than her, stared at the young Iyrman in shock.

“If you want to become stronger than Nobby, then train twice as hard as him. Fight twice as many hydras, twice as many dragons, then maybe you’ll be able to defeat him.”

The mention of hydras and dragons rippled through the group, filling them with dread, pausing their aspirations.

“I don’t know if I can train you to become stronger than Nobby, but...” Jaygak smiled towards them, and within her eyes, they could see it. It was a look only an Iyrman could possess. “I’ll train you to become strong enough to at least take an arm.”