“No, no, I won’t take it to heart,” Adam assured. “Even if I had the venience of being mad at them, I uand where they’re ing from.”

  “Shall I speak with them?” Vonda asked, pg her hand upon his, brushing along it tenderly.

  “No need for that, mummy,” Adam teased, fshing a smile and a cheeky wink at his wife, whily pained her heart as she could see the bags under his eyes. “I feel a little guilty bringing Taygak, but they should realise I showed them mercy, since I didn’t bring alak or Saygak, right?”

  “Adam,” Vonda admonished, iwining their fiogether, before resting her head upon his shoulder, feeling his cool skin against hers.

  “The Iyr’s helped me out a lot. I’m ied to them so much, more so than any other entity. I mean, you could make an argument for… the pair of them, but, the Iyr? I don’t know. They’ve done a lot for me stantly, and the fact they’ve kept me alive this long with all the trouble I’ve caused?” Adam rested his head against his wife’s, just basking within the warmth of his toubsp;

  The pair sat alohin the room, the room which Adam had bee familiar with, having spent half of his time resting within it during his siess. They were only allowed short moments before the guilt took them, and they went to check upon their childre, every moment Adam treasured more than all of his gold, not willing to trade even seds from his wife for thousands of gold.

  The rains brought in the grey of duskval proper, the farmers ready and eager to harvest their fields.

  Adam hadn’t expected the figure to e visit him, especially when they had such little iion. He reparing for the day, in which he’d awaken another of his children, but he wasn’t going to refuse a Great Elder.

  The Great Elder wore thick furs, and carried with him a maul, ohat one might not have expected sidering his position. His skin aler red, but his horns curled up almost like a ram. The Great Elder sipped the tea Adam poured from his Persevian tea pot he had painstakingly bought when he was not wealthy, exactly, but still too poor to be spending so mu such a luxury.

  “How’s the tea?” Adam asked.

  “Delicious,” Elder Teacher assured. “Persevia makes the fiea pots.”

  “That they do,” Adam firmed, though he had drunk from very feots in this life, only in the dozens. “Did you have need of me, Great Elder?”

  “I have some matters to discuss with you. Firstly, I would like to apologise for overstepping hts. We made a mistake.”

  “I know, it’s fine.”

  “It is not,” Elder Teacher said firmly. “You ot allow us to overstep hts. It is why the Iyr has sted through the transition of Aswabayad to Aswadasad, and the return of Floria and Aswabayad to prominence.”

  “Well, either way, all is fiven.”

  Elder Teacher bowed his head. “I wish to make a request of you.”

  “What do you need?”

  “Upon your return, I would like to speak of you of how you would teach Taygak, and if you would be willing to teae of the other children.”

  “Upon my return?” Adam asked.

  “Your return to the Iyr, once you have pleted your task.”

  Adam furrowed his brows, staring into the Great Elder’s eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, before holding the Great Elder’s gaze for a long moment. “Of course, Elder Teacher.”

  Elder Teacher remained silent, holding the half elf’s gaze. He hadn’t expected to see such a gaze. Though, it was Adam, so it made sehat the half elf held such a gaze. The Great Elder sipped his tea, but his mouth still found it difficult to open. “Elder Forest and Elder Wrath both send their apologies about the matter too.”

  “Like I said, all is fiven.” Adam smiled slightly towards the Great Elder.

  Elder Teacher tio sip his tea. He and Adam sat in silehe Great Elder’s jaw stantly tensing and rexing. There was a long moment of silence he was doh the tea.

  “Would you like some more tea?” Adam offered, ready to pour.

  “No, thank you,” Elder Teacher replied, his voice low and rough, as though he was chewing chalk whilst he spoke.

  “If you need anything, let me know,” Adam said.

  “Thank you.” Elder Teacher stood, spending a moment in thought, his jaw tensing again, before he bowed his head. “I must return to my duties.”

  “Of course,” Adam replied, watg the Great Elder step away.

  Elder Teacher returned back to his estate, taking his pce within his gazebo, gng out towards the sery around him. He chewed upon his lower lip, before reag up to rub his forehead, c his eyes. The factors he had sidered upoing with Adam had led him to a clusion, but upon seeing the half elf’s eyes, so his Fate, his heart sank, and the heat e boiled within him.

  He had gaihe justification, but lost the will to use it.

  Meanwhile, Adam poured out small cup of tea, and brought them out to his wife, then his Aunt and the rest of the older Iyrmen around.

  “Uncle Shikan,” Adam called. “I’m sure it’s a bad time to ask now, sidering how te it is, but is there any ce you, or someone, could take some to Life’s Rose?”

  “You wish to donate?”

  “In a certain sense,” Adam whispered back, hoping his wife was too far away from him to hear.

  Shikan narrowed his eyes, taking in Adam’s steely gaze, before bowing his head. “Okay.”

  “You don’t o go. You send someone you trust, sinakan’s birthday is ing up soon.”

  “It is fine,” Shikan assured.

  Adam slowly nodded his head iurn. “You take a few people from the United Kindom.”

  “No,” Shikan said. “It is a family matter.”

  Adam paused for a moment, g his jaw. “Yeah.”

  “I go,” Citool offered.

  Adam gowards Kitool’s mother, narrowing his eyes slightly. A small smile encroached upon his lips. “Aunt, do you remember?”

  “…”

  “There was a time when Katool, when she was still a little girl, maybe three, four, five. I told her one day she’d grow up, or something like that, and she ended up g?”

  “I do not recall.”

  “I recall it, vaguely. I remember looking at everyone, since I wasn’t bullying her, for once, and you allowed her to think I was bullying her. I’ll never fet.”

  iled slightly, hiding the sadness away from her expression from seeing the glint of joy emerge from the darkness upon Adam’s face, before it was finally swallowed away. “I will be sure to tell Katool you are bullyioday.”

  Adam blinked. “Please five me, aunt.”

  Citool reached up to brush along his cheek for a moment, her rough firailing along the tours of his face, before she pulled her hand away. “I will discuss it with Katool.”

  Adam slunk away to his wife, settling himself beside her, their fingers hooking together, the pair drinking their tea to calm Adam’s feigortured soul.

  “Daddy, you are bullying nana?” Jirot asked, raising her brows towards her father.

  “I’m not!”

  Jirot gowards her mother, and after exging a look, the girl returned back to her book. “Okay, if you say it.”

  ‘Seriously, my daughter, how she be so cute?’ Adam thought, sipping his tea, barely tasting the berry fvour. The half elf tio watch as his children napped and pyed, his thoughts falling to the Kan and Ool families. He would o finalise the matter ter soon, but as he tio think, what had he done for the Kan and Ool families? They had done so much for him, watg over his children with such affe, a he did very little for them iurn.

  For the Ool family, he had assisted Kitool slightly, but what of the Kan family? He did so little for the two pared to how much he had done for the Rot family. The Gak family had received some magical ons, one of which arently quite powerful, something along the lines of Legendary Enhanced, or perhaps greater. That was still nothing pared to the eight treasures he gifted to the Rot family.

  Adam let out a soft sigh, feeling the ache within his shoulders. ‘I should do something for them before I leave, but… I have no time. I o make sure that my children have their iance sorted out. Should I leave the other families some iaoo? The business has more than enough, and I could at least throw around at least ten thousand to each family, and to my darling wife, and still have at least forty thousa…’

  “Kaza Adam!” Inakan called out, grabbing the half elf’s sleeve, tugging it. “You must read!”

  “What am I to read, Inababy?” Adam replied.

  The girl blihrough her magical gsses. She pced her hands onto her waist, inhaling deeply. “Book!”

  “Ah, of course.”

  It was in moments like this that Adam uood he was still one of the luckiest people alive. Unfortunately for him, that ran out after he awoke a child, and he had to meet with her.

  Jirot making sure her nana is okay.

  She's definitely her father's daughter!