The tiny goblin girl suckled down the milk from her bottle, holding it with both hands. Her reddish eyes gnced upwards, causing the milk to shudder as she stopped sug for a moment to smile towards her father, finally returning back to drinking. The tiny goblin boy beside her also slowly suckled his milk, the pair pio their father by his rge, strong arms.

  Adam could feel the deep warmth within his body, and the o sy a thousand hydras filled his heart. ‘Jirot’s going to be the death of me! She’s so cute, I might actually have a heart attack.’

  Gangak remained off to the side, ign Adam’s stupid face, and the gre from the older one armed Iyrman beside her. Jarot fumed at the woman who had been called by his little greatdaughter. He remained silent only because he held Larot against himself, the tiny boy falling back asleep.

  Once Jirot was doh her milk, she sucked her thumb as she rested against her father’s chest. She clutched at his shirt, while her younger brother clutched the other side of their father’s shirt, the pair cradled within their father’s warm arms.

  “Of all the children in the world, aren’t mihe most adorable?” Adam asked, pnting firm kisses on his twins’ foreheads.

  Jirot smiled, though her sleepy eyes narrowed, and she pced her head against her father’s chest once more, the warmth of the milk sendio slumbernd. Little Jarot snoozed lightly beside his sister, his hand clutg his father’s shirt tight.

  Adam carried his twins to the side, pg them uhe shade with Sonarot’s assistance, before c them with a light b. His triplets followed after them, dropping down beside their younger siblings. They waited until Adam’s kissed their foreheads before dropping down to fall asleep.

  “Your daughter is so loud with her love too,” Vonda joked once Adam returned.

  “She’s so troublesome, even when she shows her love,” Adam said, reag into his pocket, pulling out the sto was a smooth, round stone. He rubbed his thumb along it, feeling how smooth it was, his eyes glued to the little stone.

  Jirot had cried so much for the stone, befangak brought it, allowing little Jarot to hand it to their father. Jirot had eventually calmed down to expin how much she didn’t love her father while finding him the best stone.

  “My daughter is the best at causing trouble,” Adam said, letting out a huff of pride. “Name oher child as troublesome as my girl!”

  Vonda smiled at Adam’s words, while Dunes awkwardly sipped his milk. The day tio pass by ufully, with Adam showing off his stoo the others, as well as the children.

  Rick wasn’t sure how he felt about Adam’s children, watg as Jirot tio bully her father, while being adored by so many Iyrmen. She seemed close to the President, to the point of calling the woman her grandmother, while also calling the President’s father, by marriage Rick had gathered, as her greatfather, which was easy enough to decipher. Then there was Gangak, one of the Director’s aunt, aive’s grandaunt.

  ‘That goblin is adored by so many monsters…’

  Rick’s eyes theo the triplets, who seemed close with many Iyrmen too, many of them the same, some slightly different. The President’s brother cared especially for them, spending so much of his time pying with them, one in particur.

  ‘The Iyrmen are so rexed.’

  He had half expected the Iyrmen to be w every moment of every single day, sidering their reputatio, so many Iyrmen seemed to be rexing at the fort upon Adam’s insistence, or perhaps, upon his favour.

  “Oof, how big have you bee?” Adam asked, pig up Turot, the boy flushing red.

  “Big and strong!”

  “Asorot, how you do this to me? You should stay small and cute too!”

  Asorot flushed as Adam lifted him up, pressing him into the air a few times, befroaning and allowing the boy down.

  Rioted how much time Adam spent with the children in parison to any of the Iyrmen. ‘Is he trying to form closer retionships with the children for his own reasons?’

  “Way Vonda, you are paying with me!” Jirot decred, pointing towards the chess board.

  “I am not very good at dragon chess.”

  “Is not dwagon chess, is Demon Woad chess,” the girl replied, gring at Vonda incredulously.

  “Of course. My mistake.”

  “Is okay.” Jirot smiled, before taking Vonda away to py with her.

  The group had growo Adam’s ridiculousness, a somehow having goblin children was not part of that. Having half dragon children, somehow, made sense, but the demon child? Perhaps that made seoo, more so than even goblin children.

  Rick rexed within the fort, his thoughts falling to his family. He hadn’t yet told his family that he had earned so much money, nor that he could afford to send all their children to school, even without Adam’s offer to educate them as part of their payment. He had created a separate bank at and had made sure the money slowly trickled into the family’s coffers every month, no doubt in the same way Adam had done so for Nobby’s parents.

  “What are you thinking so deeply about?” Adam asked, dropping down in front of the farmers and porters, who gathered together to rex.

  “I was just thinking about gold.”

  “Gold?”

  “I have so much gold that my family doesn’t know about. I told them I had made quite a bit of gold, but I haven’t told them the specifics. I’m not sure my wife could ha.”

  “Yeah? I’m not sure I could hold a secret like that from my wife.”

  “Are you married?” Rick asked, partly surprised. He had no idea Adam was married, certain Adam had stated otherwise.

  “My hypothetical future wife,” Adam joked, fshing a smile. “Still, you’re doing what you think is best. Don’t mind me, I’m not intending to meddle, just speaking about what I’d do, but then again, seeing as how much trouble I get into, maybe I’m not in the right.”

  “Six children and no wife?”

  “Are you rubbing it in?”

  “I was just w how that came to be.”

  “My children came to me. I was fated to have them, and so I have them.” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “It’s dangerous to know more than that, so I hope you uand why I don’t tell you more.”

  Rick slowly nodded, sipping his grain wihey’re members of the Rot family?”

  “As far as I am aware,” Adam replied, almost cautiously.

  Rick wondered if that was equally as dangerous for him to know. ‘They’re named after the family so it must be the case?’

  “How are you finding the fort?”

  “It’s an amazing fort. It feels more secure thahe forts we’ve e across.”

  “Right? The Iyrmen are so scary.”

  Rick gently tilted his head, uo refute Adam’s words. “Feels safe here. You say we work the farms around?”

  “Yeah, you work on the Iyr’s side of the river, and then e back to the fort.”

  “Will you be teag the children in the fort?”

  “Mostly,” Adam replied, though he hadn’t thought about it. “In some ways, I suppose. Manager Vonda and Manager Dunes want to teach them.”

  Rick fell silent for a long moment. “Ray Vonda is going to be teag our children?”

  “Ray Vonda, Manager Dunes, probably a few different people, but I supposed they would be the best.”

  Rick’s eyes remained glued to Adam. ‘A Ray is going to teach my children?’

  ‘Why’s he so stunlocked?’ Adam thought, surprised at how Rick could still be surprised by him.

  “Did you say Ray Vonda was going to teach the children?” Jeremy asked, leaning in.

  “I believe so. I spoke to her previously about it, and as far as I recall, she was fih it. Same with Manager Dunes.” Adam tio emphasise Dunes’ hin the versation.

  Rick leaned bad let out a sigh. He was already w how he would speak to his family about moviirely to a new fort, something he had broached previously, though if it was the case that a Ray would teach their children, moving the family was a very small ask.

  “I’m sure Ray Vonda will be excited to teach your children regardless of if they’re capable of being Priests iure. Even if they’re not tale being Priests, it’s probably a good idea to allow them to learn magic if they want it. Priestly magic is useful, even if you don’t include any First Gate spell.”

  Rick blinked. He gnced aside towards the others. ‘Did you just hear what I just heard?’

  “You want to train our children into Priests?” Jeremy asked. He had vaguely recalled Adam promising to teach the talented children to bee Priests, but wasn’t what he saying now more broad?

  “Not all of them, but I’d like a few for sure,” Adam replied, noting the way the group were looking at him. ‘Why are they looking at me like that?’

  Adam is Adam.