Chương 1233: [1151] - Y06.051 - The Iyr's Duties I

"Mummy! You are always gone, and now daddy, daddy is always gone!" Jirot huffed, throwing out her entire hand to emphasise her point, revealing how truly annoyed she was. The tiny girl sat beside her mother, eating her porridge, alternating between feeding herself and her younger twin. She brushed her hair behind her ear, the stress of it all causing her to tut and shake her head.

"Nana said your father needed to do something important, did she not?" Vonda replied, and the girl twitched, staring up at the woman as though she had been betrayed. After all, how could she invoke the name of her grandmother to shut her down so quickly?

'You are so silly daddy! Just you wait! I am going to bully you so much!' As the day began to pass, the children scattered to their various activities. Today the older children finished their schooling quickly, Elder Teacher having shifted the hours so that there was a single hour of education every weekend too, while he was in the process of shifting so many other matters within the Iyr.

"Kako," Konarot called, almost skipping to her aunt, stopping before her and bowing her head to allow Lanarot to brush her silver hair.

"Did you miss me? Hoi hoi hoi! How can I do this?" Lanarot asked, hugging her niece and planting firm kisses on her cheek, doing the same for the younger Kirot and Karot. Tanagek glanced between the four, noting just how much Adam had influenced even his own cousin.

'Since they are siblings, it is fine.' Jurot could see the way Tanagek looked at the children, the slight conflict plaguing his cousin. He said nothing, allowing the young man to deal with things at his own pace for now, while he spent time with his younger cousins. Unfortunately, Gurot charged towards Danagek, the pair almost tackling one another as they hugged, while Murot rushed over to Dagek, who offered the boy a cucumber.

"My Konarot, you have come?" Tonagek called.

"Your Konarot? I am her favourite?" Mosen stated, the Iyrman holding out a hand for the girl, though she rushed up to her baba first. Thankfully for Mosen, Kirot went to offer her head to him first.

"It is difficult to be the second child, yes?" Kirot blinked before smiling slightly, causing Mosen to ruffle her hair until it was more of a mess, the older Iyrman laughing as Tonagek started to fix it.

"Unlike you, my Kirot is so well behaved," Tonagek stated firmly, glaring at Mosen.

"Do not look at me like that, unless you are willing to draw your sword properly again."

"Do you think I cannot?" Mosen noted the glare within Tonagek's eyes, and as he was about to retort, he paused, recalling the viciousness he had recently seen from Tonagek. When he had so brutally defeated the Vice Commander, and then the Vice Commander of the Cherry Blades. Could he truly say this was the same Tonagek who used to sit and drink alone in the rain?

"It is my mistake." Tonagek lifted Konarot and placed her upon his lap.

"Come. Let us beat dado Mosen in chess." Mosen frowned, letting out a low groan, but he reached out to Kirot and Karot, asking them for their support, only for them to shyly retreat to their baba.

"Is it fair that it is four against one?"

"Are you so weak?" Tonagek replied.

"…" Mosen played against the Iyrmen, losing quickly, though it did not taste quite as bitter as when he lost against Tonagek. Fonasen returned back to the estate after her shift, finding the triplets already charging her. The woman smiled, lifting each of them up.

"Did sister send you to me because I missed you so much?"

"Nana, we have come to play," Konarot replied, hugging the woman's head, allowing the woman, who looked so much like her grandmother, to pamper her.

"Your father is not here?" Fonasen asked.

"Daddy is busy today."

"Busy? Today?" Fonasen raised her brows. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Kaka is…" Konarot gave Fonasen a look which said enough. As the trio played within the shared estate, Jirot and Jarot remained patiently within their shared estate.

"Shall I take you to the Rot family estate?" Amokan offered the twins, having heard of something in the extended family estates. Unfortunately, he held his sister within his arms, the girl's eyes widening.

"Okay!" Inakan replied excitedly, shuffling off her brother, going to find her younger brother who was currently in the middle of stabbing at a piece of paper with colours.

"Jirot, Jarot, would you like to come to the Kan family estate?" Amokan offered the pair instead.

"No!" Jirot replied, pointing up at her uncle.

"I am waiting for daddy."

"He is busy today?" Amokan replied, half teasing the girl.

"Daddy said he would play with me today so daddy will play with me today," the girl replied, all the while throwing looks towards the various entrances of the estate. Amokan chuckled, almost bursting into laughter upon seeing a figure emerge, causing the girl's eyes to widen with delight, only to quickly darken with disappointment.

"What did I do?" Timojin asked as the girl and the boy stormed away to their mother.

"You are not their father."

"He has not returned?"

"No." Timojin groaned out in bemusal, but he dropped down opposite Amokan, allowing little Majin and Tinajin to join Inakan and Mokan in play.

"I did not expect younger siblings to tire me out," Amokan admitted, flashing a wide smile.

"Inakan always wishes to play and when she is tired Mokan comes to play."

"I have tried to play with Majin and Tinajin together, but sometimes they wish to play separately," Timojin replied, slowly nodding his head.

"It may be time for us to leave," Amokan admitted.

"Dawnval is a good time to leave." Timojin slowly nodded his head. It had been a few months since they had returned, and they would need to leave soon if they wished to keep a good pace in forming their strength and their stories.

"Should we leave next week?" Amokan asked.

"Whose leaving?" called a voice, though he was making his way elsewhere, going to greet the tiny little grey skinned children.

"Majin, Inakan, you can't allow it! How can they leave so soon when they've only just returned?"

"Daddy!" Jirot called, rushing towards the half elf, but she stopped, staring up at his face. For a moment, the glint upon his forehead distracted her, but it was the paleness of his skin and the bags under his eyes which caused her to freeze in place.

"See? I told you I'd come back, didn't I?" Adam dropped down to hoist up his twins, the ache in his entire body spreading like a wildfire through him. He planted firm kisses on each of their cheeks, before he nuzzled their noses.

"Did I make you wait long?"

"No…" Jirot stared up at her father's gaunt face, but her eyes darted up to his forehead.

"What? Does your daddy look more handsome today?" Adam asked, raising a brow, a smirk quickly spreading across his lips.

"Daddy… it is different?" Jirot accused, staring up at her father's forehead. Adam wore a tattoo on his forehead, like the Iyrmen, but as his astute daughter noted, different. Like those who smelled of death, but different. Upon his forehead was a circle with a diamond within. It was dark, grey blue rather than the blue of the Iyr, but the twins could see far more colours sparkling from it, and the gem dust which could not be seen by the human eye, but by the Iyrmen who were so adorable?

Of course they could see it. Vonda eyed up her husband's forehead, which had been so bare previously, and did not hold a particular stench about it. One could no longer deny Adam's connection to the Iyr, though as always, he would confuse everyone by his connection, among other ways he often confused others.

"Do I look handsome, darling?" Adam asked, bowing his head lightly, the half elf holding a mischievous look within his eyes as he fought off the exhaustion.

"Yes. You always do." Adam flushed lightly, letting out a chortle, before peppering his twins with kisses all over their faces.

"Daddy is feeling a little sick since getting the tattoo hurt so much, so you have to be nice to him, okay?"

"I am always nice, daddy!" Jirot stated, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck tight, nuzzling against her father's cheek. It felt so cold, not like the cold of her siblings, but a different kind of cold. Little Jarot clutched at his father's collar, the boy staring up at his father's face with curiosity within his eyes. The boy blinked a few times, but as their eyes met, Jarot smiled shyly.

Indeed, for though his father's face was gaunt in a familiar yet unfamiliar way, and though he wore a tattoo was that familiar yet unfamiliar, the look of love within his father's eyes was the same as always.

"Do you forgive me, my little Jarot?" Adam asked, planting a kiss on his son's forehead.

"Yes…" The boy hid his head within his father's chest, grinning so boyishly.

"Good, because this thing almost…" Adam whispered, before thinking the rest. He had barely survived the procedure, though he was fairly certain the Iyr would have brought him back since they didn't warn him.

'At least warn me if it will potentially kill me!'

"Daddy…" Jirot stared up at the tattoo.

"Does it look so pretty?"

"Yes!"

"Do you know what it means?"

"It means you are Rot but not Rot?"

"That's…" Adam smiled wide.

"Well, yeah… basically? It means I have duties for the Iyr."

"I have duties too."

"Yes?"

"Yes!"

"What are your duties?" Jirot smirked.

"It is in my clothy." Little Jarot gasped, before the pair roared with laughter, squealing and giggling with joy, their father shaking as he tried not to laugh too loudly.

"Jirot! You just don't miss! Holy!" Adam peppered his daughter and son with more kissed as they laughed together.

"Mama!" Virot called, rushing up to her mother, panting hard. She stared up into her mother's eyes and babbled desperately, pointing away, towards Damrot.

"What is wrong?" Vonda asked, standing up, and following the pair. However, her mind raced with what the tattoo meant for her husband.

'Duties?'