“Six Bdes aeehs?” Adam asked, sipping on his tea, a fruit tea with no milk ar, which was what he usually preferred as a Brit.

  “Some of our best warriors,” Dunes firmed, sipping his own tea, which had been brewed within a pan with certain spices. “Each Bde is a Grandmaster, each Sheath is a Master.”

  “I see,” Adam said, hearing about the great warriors across the nds. He wondered how he would stack up to them, especially about how he would stack up to them without a on like Wraith.

  “Just like Aldnd, our nd has many orders, and many who be sidered Grandmasters and so on.”

  “Yeah, I guess there is a reason why Aldnd has been uo take out Aswadasad,” Adam said, sipping more of his tea.

  “You should be careful in Aswadasad too, Adam,” Dunes warned. “No, you should be more careful. There are many Dragons who make their home near civilization within Aswadasad, and they may not be siving to your jokes.”

  “I mean, I’ll have Jurht beside me, so what will they try?”

  “When you are beside Iyrmen? I’m sure they will not try much. They may not try much within the year. Within ten. Within a hundred. Dragons live long lives, and they may not even try to do anything while you live. Two hundred years? Three hundred years? Perhaps your desdants find themselves at the mercy of the Dragon when you are dead…”

  “…” Adam remained silent for a long while. “I’m gd we’re friends, Dunes.”

  Dunes smiled, raising his cup of tea, bowing his head, before sipping it. “Of course, Adam.”

  Adam tio ent as the days passed, and finished enting the sword, which he named.

  XP: 10 200

  ‘Damn, I still have so much XP even after everything?’ Adam thought, staring at the sword. ‘I guess it should be good enough for her?’

  Adam tio enjoy the days as they passed by, pying with his children in the snow, but also pying with the other children every so often. Inakan could only py for a short while in the snow each time, but was taken away often to keep her fairly warm, along with the Gaks, who ehe warmth more. He tio ent every other day too, focused on enting an axe.

  Adam let out a low sigh, watg as the vapour floated out of his mouth. ‘What should I get for the kids?’ His thoughts focused on his children. ‘No, not just magical stuff, but stuff like education. Vonda and Duhey said they’d join the business, so they teach them a fair amount. Then there’s Amira too, Dunes’ woman, so I gotta make sure she’s well taken care of too. If she was trained by the order it should be okay too..” Adam sighed, rubbing his forehead. ‘Hold on, does she even want to join?’

  “Dunes,” Adam called, approag the Aswadian, who was currently sipping hot tea to warm himself up in the er.

  “Adam.”

  “About, uh, Amira.” Adam sat beside the Aswadian, gng around.

  “Yes?”

  “You, uh… you going to… you know?”

  “I may,” Dunes replied, sipping his tea. “I do not know.”

  “Well, I was w, if you were to, you know, would she also join the business?”

  “You may have to ask,” Dunes said. “I will join, you be certain of that, though you will o speak with the Priest ander.”

  “Right, makes sense,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “Yeah. I’ll, uh, I’ll think about it.”

  Amira approached the pair, carrying a cy pot. She pced the pot down onto the table, p herself some tea, but also p the others tea too. “Adam.”

  “Amira.”

  “How are you?”

  “I have five healthy children and piles of gold in my bank,” Adam replied. “Great.” He winked.

  “That is good.” She sipped her tea, gng between the pair. “It is still a surprise to me that you have Goblin children.”

  “Why is it such a surprise?” Adam asked. “Also, sorry, I shouldn’t have been rude. How are you?”

  “I am well,” Amira replied, fshing a smile. “It’s just because they are… Goblins.” She blinked, as though that expined everything.

  “Would you say the same if they were Devilkin?”

  “No.”

  “Then why?”

  “They’re ly… people, like us.”

  “Are they not?”

  “No?”

  “Humans. Elves. Giants. Devilkin. Orcs. Goblins. Iyrmen. They’re all the same to me.”

  “We Devilkin have a proud culture spanning thousands of years,” Amira stated. “Goblins have been nothing more than…” Amira blinked. “I mean no offence, Adam. I am not speaking of your children, but of the history of Goblins.”

  “I know, though it will still annoy me, but please, tinue.”

  “Goblins have been nothing more thas throughout history…” Amira realised she should have worded it better, especially seeing the small smile on Adam’s face as he leaned back. “I do not mean I believe that, I mean that is how it is for the rest of the world…” She quickly sipped her tea.

  Adam smirked a little wider. “You… don’t know their culture. You know nothing about Goblins, and nor do I, in all fairness. The question, really, is whether I care about their culture, or yours.”

  “Of course you should!” Amira snapped, her eyes going wide. “It’s a beautiful culture. We, who once ruled the nds, were ensved, and then we rose up to defeat our oppressors.”

  “You, who were ohe oppressor, then the oppressed, and then an oppressor once more, especially of Goblins, think I care about that?” Adam asked, raising his brow. “I’m sure the Aswadians, the Devilkin, so on and so on, have a beautiful culture. I’m sure that culture was built on the blood and bones of many they believed not to be people. That’s how it is. Some people are not sidered people, then they are, and sometime even if they are the same, they are viewed different, and so on and so on. The thing you, perhaps, have fotten is that I care only about how adorable my children are.”

  “Daddy!” Jirot called, rushing up to him angrily. She held up a block of wood, and she waved it in front of him. “Iz go gan doh!”

  Adam grabbed his daughter, pig her up, his eyes going wide as he gasped at her. “Who is this? Is this my Jirot? My adorable little baby Jirot?”

  Jirot, at first shocked by his sudden as, smiled. She giggled lightly and poiowards him. “Izi mo daddy!”

  “That’s right! I am your daddy! Don’t you fet it, you punk!” Adam pulled her in close, kissing her cheek, before embrag her tight. “Look at you! Look at you! My darling little girl!”

  Amira cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Adam.”

  “Rex, you’re Dunes’ girl… friend.” Adam cleared his throat. “Though, you have to uand, even though I think your culture might be cool, it’s nothing pared to what I think of the Iyr, which is almost nothing pared to what I think of my babies.” Adam blew into the girl’s neck, causio giggle.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” Jirot squirmed against her father.

  “That’s right! Daddy is right here! Jarot, e here, I’ll kiss you too.” Adam hoisted his son up, who had been patiently waiting at the side, as though he were but Jirot’s shadow. Adam kissed his boy’s face all over. “Daddy is right here and he’s going to make sure you’re both happy ahy.”

  “Yes,” Jirot replied.

  Amira stared at Adam as he kissed ahe babies, both of whom were apparently his children. She khey did not share the same blood, but to see him with his children like this, how could she say they were not a family? “Half Dragon children too?”

  “Goblins? Half Dragons? No. These little cutie pies, they’re my children, and there’s nothing else you o quantify!” Adam hoisted them both up, allowing them to kiss his face too.

  Amira turowards Dunes, speaking in the Devilkin tongue. “How he be like this? I heard he was meant to be strong.”

  Dunes smiled. “He is. I’ve only known him to lose three times. Oo his grandfather…” Dunes paused, raising his brows as he gave Amira time to think about the old man, who was also a monster, and was simir to Adam in the way he was affeate with the twins. “Sed, it was to…” Duated a title in the Aswadian tongue, revealing the existence of that figure.

  Amira narrowed her eyes, unsure if that was certainly possible. She had heard it several times, but even now she didn’t believe it. How could she? That figure was teically part of the founding myth of the currently royal family, a… he was still alive?

  “He could definitely defeat multiple Elders of the Iyr at once,” Duated,still speaking iohinking back to when they came across Shama. No, sidering what they head learnt about Asa, the figure’s supposed father, then Shama was even strohan his iimates. “The third time he lost was to a bination of Jurot, Jaygak, and Kitool. If he didn’t surrender iour, surely he would have pced first, against figures who would make us seem like children.”

  Amira still wasn’t sure about Adam. It wasn’t that he was weak or evil, nothing of that sort, it was just that… she wasn’t sure about Adam. Undead, Dragons, flying castles, these were normal. Adam? Adam was not.

  “Staying with him will eure success.”

  “You trust him that much?” Amira asked, notig how Dunes did his best not to look at the twins while Adam nuzzled them and pyed with them.

  “Adam is queer, but I know his heart is true.” Duhought about how he was going to slit the twins’ throats mercifully when he had met them so long ago, sileng them before they could even giggle and call for their father. “He may fet things. He may take a while to assist his panions. He may start trouble with those he shouldn’t. But, in the end, he will always help.”

  Jurot stepped forward while wearing Lanarot, the girl hugging his torso, while he ed an arm around her. Lanarot clutched at the back of his shirt, her eyes shut as she started to fall asleep.

  “Who is this cutie?”

  “Papa,” Lanarot replied, gng towards her elder brother sleepily.

  Adam rubbed the top of her head, smiling at her. “Ah!” Adam gasped, having remembered something for the tenth time that month. “I almost fot again. Jurot, you make a small wooden elk figure, please?”

  “Okay,” Jurot replied.

  What did Adam remember? How adorable his kids are? No, he 't remember that because he won't fet it.