[974] – Y04.074 – Strong V

[974] – Y04.074 – Strong V

“Hmph!” Jirot was adorned in the attire of the Iyrmen, her forehead dabbed in the vague shapes of the Rot family. Little Jarot was adorned identically, even down to how his hair was styled, except one could easily tell which twin was which, because while Jarot stood awkwardly, his sister stood with a hand on her waist, and a threatening finger towards her father.

“Cannot!” Jirot stated firmly.

“Hmm...” Adam said, rubbing his chin.

“Cannot!” Jirot warned, raising her brows, wagging her finger. Should her father push too much, she would place her fists on her waist and glare at him even more angrily.

“I see. What can I not do?”

Jirot inhaled sharply. She turned to her mother, pointing at her father. “Mummy!”

“Adam, you cannot,” Vonda said. “Your daughter has said it so.”

Adam blinked. “My... daughter?”

Konarot smiled, reaching up to her mouth to cover her smile, glancing up towards her grandmother. ‘Hehe.’

“Of course! Of course you are my daughter, my dear!” Adam reached down and tried to pick her up. “Oh my! Look at how big you’ve become!” Adam dropped to a squat and continued to falter at lifting his daughter.

“Nana!” Jirot called, pouting up towards the woman.

“Adam, your daughter wishes to embrace you.”

“What! You adorable little kids! Of course you’re my children! Who else has such adorable children, if not me?” Adam pulled them both in close and peppered them with his kisses, embracing them even tighter. “You smelly little children, how can you do this to your father? You’re too big now! No! You cannot do this! I will tell your mother and your nana, you smelly little girl and boy!”

The businessfolk understood Adam was cringe, and Freddie, who had seen how he had behaved with his children these past few months, understood that the young man was cringe too. However, just for today, they allowed it.

“Look, look.” Adam held them both up. “Do you know who that is?”

Jirot glanced over to the woman, and then back up to her father. “Is...”

“It’s Sir Magpie.”

The twins gasped, forming tiny circles with their mouths.

“Ordah of Wings?” Jirot asked, her amber eyes wide, her leaf shaped ears shooting up in shock and excitement.

“That’s right!”

Sir Magpie sat among the crowd. She had gained all manner of attention from most of the businessfolk, and she had conversed with some of the upper management. She almost had a heart attack when she met Bloody Jarot, or as he was more commonly known, Mad Dog. Indeed, she even knew Flame Brand. Except, this was the most shocking of all. She could feel the gazes of her companions upon her. She understood why they were looking at her this way. Meanwhile, she kept her face strictly neutral.

She had spotted the pair of Demons nearby, who eyed the Order up, but she already knew of them. However, the half dragon triplets? The demon baby?

‘What in all the Divine is going on?’

“Why don’t you introduce yourself, my big little girl and boy,” Adam said, planting firm kisses on their foreheads.

The old one armed Iyrman inhaled, but his companion placed a hand on his knee, patting it gently, calming him down.

“It is good for them to meet them,” Gangak whispered.

“I should greet them first!” Jarot whispered back angrily, but he relented.

“I am Jirot! I am Demon Load!”

Sir Magpie blinked.

“I am Jarot!” Jarot sat up taller within his father’s arm. “I am big like babo.”

“My kids... they’re too cute! Too cute!” Adam blinked. “You can’t take them, Sir Magpie. Just because they’re cute, that doesn’t mean you can steal them from me.”

“What are you playing at, elf?” Jon, the youngest companion, asked. “Is this some kind of trick? What is this? Goblins? Are you-,”

“Sir Magpie,” called a voice, which silenced even Adam’s affection.

Sir Magpie glanced over towards the woman. “Ray Vonda.”

“My twins are excited to meet you for their first birthday,” she said, smiling politely as she did whenever she needed to swing around her authority as a Ray. “I hope you are willing to wish them well today.”

‘Excuse me?’ Sir Magpie blinked. ‘What did you just say?’

“Come on, we have to make it a good show.”

Almost everyone around understood what had happened.

Harriet, Rick’s wife, who had been convinced to join this almost cult of a business, had heard from her husband.

The stories.

Gimon, the oldest orphan, now gardener of the business, had heard from the village and the Iyrmen of the stories.

The stories of them going against dragons.

Freddie, who had joined them most recently, had heard them from Nobby.

The stories of them going against hydras.

Jasmine, who had listened to the Prince, and had decided to stay to check them out, had heard the stories. She had heard Adam had fought against a Prince of the Undersea, someone who could clash with Prince Morkarai himself.

This was the first time they had seen Adam live up to those stories.

Sir Magpie hadn’t heard the stories. It wasn’t that Adam wanted to ambush her for the fight with her being unprepared, but truly because he wanted Jurot to tell the tales during his children’s birthdays as part of the festivities. She hadn’t heard the story about Adam going to kill Vandra, with lots of help, after they first met. She hadn’t heard the story of them killing another dragon. The story about the Outbreak. The story about the first set of hydras. The story about the tournament. The dozen or so stories Adam had produced.

The Executives, Managers, Leads, Brittany, Nobby, the porters, and the farmers, none of them were surprised when Adam defeated Sir Magpie so soundly.

She hadn’t heard the story of Adam with the other Order.

The Order of Life’s Rose. Respected all across the land. In the same way there was Sir Robin and Sir Magpie, the greatest and weakest of their Orders, there was the First Hope and the Seventh Hope, the greatest and weakest Oathsworn. Sir Robin was greater than the First Hope, that much was for certain, but the Seventh Hope, young as he was, was considered slightly greater than even Sir Magpie. He had been a Master for a while, whereas Sir Magpie had achieved that rank fairly recently.

She hadn’t heard the story of Adam defeating the Seventh Hope. It bordered impossibility.

She hadn’t heard the story of Adam defeating the Seventh Hope, then immediately after, without resting, stepped forward to face the First Hope.

She hadn’t heard the story of Adam almost defeating Lord Marshal Royce, either.

She only remembered, in this moment, that this half elf had been about as strong as her heir, Jon, who was almost twenty this year. Adam himself was probably only a few years older, and yet...

The throbbing in her arm.

The sweat trickling down her back.

The pounding of her heart.

Adam could see it. The woman was so shocked she was unable to move. The Sir Magpie, unable to act, because of him.

A fool of a father.

“Oh dear,” Adam said, pointing his axe to the ground, taking a half step back. “I was so rude to our guests. I apologise greatly, Sir Magpie, for I hadn’t warned you that I was going to use my magical weapon. I wanted to show you a demonstration of one of the weapons our business had created, but how shameless of me, to use such a weapon in a friendly spar. Would you mind considering this a draw?”

It was only then that Sir Magpie had come back to reality, her arm still shaking violently in front of her, before she pointed her blade downward, resting the tip against the ground. It wasn’t good for the blade to do so, but she couldn’t stop it from shaking wildly, not after clashing with such heavy blows, she couldn’t help but think Adam was the source of the dragon when it came to his triplets.

“...”

Adam pulled off his helmet. “Haha! What a pleasure it was to spar against you, Sir Magpie. Did you see how strong she was, my Jirot, my Jarot?”

Although the children cheered and clapped excitedly, the adults knew. Not only the adults, but Alex and George, even they knew, because they were there.

They were there.

They were there when Adam defeated the Seventh Hope with one blow, then immediately afterwards almost defeated the First Hope, only stepping back upon his now wife’s words.

For once, it wasn’t Adam who had started the fight, but the Seventh Hope, who had spoken poorly of people he shouldn’t have.

The old one armed Iyrman glanced towards Gangak, who returned a smile, for they knew the story, and it was what they recalled upon seeing how Adam fought Sir Magpie so eagerly. They even knew the reason why the half elf raised his axe, and dared to get himself killed.

‘Is my grandson not so cute?’ Jarot’s eyes said.

‘He adores me more, though?’ Gangak’s eyes replied.

Meanwhile, Vonda and Dunes appreciated that Adam had finally figured out how to speak with people.

I'm shocked all these children are growing up so quick.