Chương 1673: [1571] – Y07.071 – A Man of Gold I

Under the open sky, the stars twinkling brightly, the older Iyrmen gathered. They sipped their tea, ate thumbfuls of fruit, cake, and fruitcake. One particular older woman sipped away at a cup of wine, clenching her fist, burning the alcohol within her, letting it float away with the cool evening wind, allowing it to fly like a rising swallow.

"What fortune," Gangak said, the blade resting on the table, between the bowls, plates, cups.

"Our greatchildren..." Jarot replied, sipping his tea lightly.

"Truly, they are the greatest fortune of all." Gangak smiled, thinking of the twins who used to be so small, who clung to her even when they were but babes, their bodies so small, weighing less than even this blade. Her thoughts wandered, towards their elder siblings, who had arrived not shortly after, and she had welcomed them too, though she had not yet spoiled them as much as she had spoiled their younger siblings.

'Their hearts are not wounded as deeply, but I have neglected them too much.' Jarot stared up towards the expansive night sky, and upon staring at the stars, he couldn't help but consider how beautiful the expanse was. Mulrot remained silent, not speaking of the matter. If the sword had returned to the Gak family, Gangak could die in peace, but there were many years still left, a decade, plus a handful more, so she assumed, for the children were still young yet.

Captain Samool leaned against the wall, not to ease the weight upon his leg, but to connect himself to the stone, to feel the vibrations. However, for a moment, he allowed himself the luxury for his mind to wander. The Gangak he knew, perhaps a decade older than he, had stepped out at that time. He had barely known her, and had quickly been plucked away to train upon the path that wound its way towards the Captain of the Fifth Death Swords.

The two paths, each winding a different way, but both ended up at the realm of Grandmaster, and yet... It was a privilege, a luxury, granted to him as an Ool. He was talented, as many Ool were, and he had stepped on such a path because the Ool family was the Ool family, reaching towards the top of the mountain, and thus one or two with talent in each generation could be plucked away, similar to Kitool, the one who was considered the heir to the Ool family, had even stepped away, for she had such a luxury.

The Gak family, however... At the very least, in this time, in this age, the twenty first century, that will change. It was something which had been thought a few times before, even during his generation, with Gangak at the forefront, with the pair that were Gangak and Rangak. Yet, the two, just those two, could not change the Fate of the Gak family. However. Now. It was not just one or two Gaks, was it?

There were more than just one or two Gaks, and more than one or two who did not hold such a surname, and yet, they bullied a particular half elf with equal vigour. A green hand clutched his shirt, the gentle glow of the lanterns illuminating the room, and with the sparkling amber eyes staring so deeply into his soul, the half elf raised his hands.

"I surrender, I surrender."

"Kaka, if daddy bullies you, you must tell me," Jirot said, allowing Konarot to take over, the triplets swarming their father, pinning him down with their bodies, while Jirot and Jarot sauntered away to their mother, for without the triplets she would be lonely, but with Jirot here, no one could dare to make her mother lonely, not even herself.

The half elf's heart eased, for the children were so close, and whether they looked different, or held his blood within them, just like whether they did or did not hold Vonda's blood within them, did not matter even in the slightest, for they were those who knew the fool's affection, and were called his sons and daughters, and called him father in return, with enough blood spilling across Aldland to make it true. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Daddy," Jirot called to her mother. She blinked.

"Mummy."

"Yes?"

"Daddy is so strong," the girl whispered.

"He is?"

"Not as strong as you, mummy, of coas, I will never say that, but daddy, he is so strong too."

"Ah." Vonda beamed down towards her daughter.

"Perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Jirot agreed, then snuggled up to her mother's neck, her breath tickling the woman's skin. The girl, mischievous she was, snuck a kiss upon her mother's neck, causing the woman to press their cheeks together, the girl's giggling filling the air. Little Jarot also cuddled his mother, feeling her strong arm around his back, his mother's bicep, which pinned the boy down.

He sucked on his thumb, clutching at her shirt, feeling her large hand nestled against the back of a knee, and the boy slowly melted into his mother. The warmth of his mother coaxed the boy to sleep. Konarot lay across her father's stomach, the pillow keeping her head up, as Kirot and Karot used their father's legs as their own pillows. Adam stared towards the ceiling, the weight of his children against his body weighing his heart down.

The half elf's mind remained blank for a long moment, not allowing the darkness to creep within.

'I'm going to spoil you all so much…' the half elf thought, though as he thought about how much coin he was about to spend…

'It seems I'll have to anger my daughter even more.'

"What?" the girl gasped the next morning, as the sun bore down upon them, the noise of the city accompanying as the Iyr accompanied the children.

"Only one gold?"

"I can't raise you to act like nobles, so this father of yours needs to teach you how to budget." The girl blinked, glancing aside towards her brother, who also blinked at her in return, for if she did not know this wisdom, what did she expect of him?

"Daddy! I'm rich!"

"I know, but if you spend it all, you'll have no money to spoil mummy with tomorrow, or the years to come."

"Ock!" Jirot huffed, clenching her fists on either side of her.

"So incorrigible!"

"Is that your favourite word now?"

"Daddy, if you become this wise, it is difficult to deal with you."

"Then you must understand, since I am wise in this domain, it must be right." Jirot blinked, taken aback by her father's words. She looked to her brother, who furrowed his brows, for this was the second time, but once more, she was the wise one, so the pair looked to their mother for support.

The woman remained silent for a long moment, for their eyes were full of a question, the kind of question which could be spoken without words, the kind of question which was rare, perhaps the first time they had revealed such to their mother.

"It seems your father's wisdom reaches the sky."

"I will show it to him!" Jirot declared, annoyed that her father had managed to, so easily, dismantle her words.

"There is a sky above the sky!"

'Since when did my daughter speak such profound words?' Vonda thought.

'Why does it sound so profound when she says it, but when I say it…' Adam sighed, peeking down towards his daughter.

"Dear, do you understand? When you have limited resources, you become more creative, that's why, as we all know, we should reduce the funding for our military." Jirot sighed in relief, for thankfully, her father was still a fool. If they did not fund the Iyr's steel, how could they dare to step against the likes of the Aldish, who outnumbered them over a hundred to one?

If he had kept misbehaving this way, she would have been unable to defeat him, that foolish father of hers, who she needed to bully even more thoroughly, but what could she do when he was such a fool, this foolish father of hers, who she adored so deeply, this foolish father of hers, a father who was a fool, yes, certainly, which is why he was unable to defeat her with his words. Never. She could not allow it.

As little Jirot rewrote reality within her mind, Vonda wasn't sure she understood her husband's this joke, but seeing as he let out that kind of satisfied sigh, she left him be. The half elf peeked around his children, who were in deep focus, trying to understand how much a gold could spread.

'How can I find a time to date darling alone?' A hand clasped at his. It was strong, for it was the hand of one who held the name of Rot, and as he peeked down, he noted her suspicious glare, this girl, who clutched at his hand as though he were a piece of cheese.

'How scary…' Lanarot pouted a little, shuffling her way to her other eldest brother, but as she stepped away, her feet no longer touched the earth, and as she peeked back, she blinked.

"Today! I will spoil my sisters!" Adam declared, for who would dare to stop him? The half elf froze in place. He turned his head, looking back to find his daughter keeping an eye on him. The girl's crimson eyes dared her father to misbehave, for though her eyes were not amber, she, too, could bully her father, the girl who had even bitten the likes of the Mad Dog upon their first meeting.

"Lanarot, Amalrot, in the next few days, we'll sneak away and I'll spend so much gold on you, okay?" the half elf whispered, planting gentle kisses upon their cheeks, the trio cuddling, for though Amalrot did not understand his words, she understood the foolishness within his words. Pam blinked. She ignored her husband's gaze, though it did make her blush lightly.

'This beast of a husband…'