Chương 1699: [1596] – Y07.096 – A Man VI

A myriad of tables awaited them, of a myriad of sizes and a myriad of colours, each covered in a myriad of soft fabrics, pillows, and settled among them, a myriad of people and foods. Each were adorned in cream, though wore scarves, sashes, and smiles of a myriad of yellows.

As Aliya and Tamil approached, the attention turned to them, then shifted away to the large number of Iyrmen, the six who approached, or rather, the five, and the one mistaken for an Iyrman due to the tattoo upon his forehead, though the confusion simmered away when they noted the difference in his tattoo to the others.

'To think Yahya was still a live,' Baztam thought, having thought that fellow had died since he was the kind who kept trying to get himself killed. As his eyes fell to the side, towards the old men who were thinking so deeply, he let out a soft sigh.

"Do not think so deeply of the children."

"Are they Iyrmen?"

"Yes," Baztam replied.

"They are my nephew's grandchildren." It was awkward to describe it properly to the Aswadians but this much should be enough.

"Ah," the old man replied, and with that, he buried the thoughts the children were bavwa, for though he was an old man, did he not have many more years ahead of him? Adam helped the children onto their seats, though as he tried to help his triplets, a hand stopped him, and as he turned, Jirot huffed towards her father, holding up a finger, but as she spotted her elder siblings, the girl paused, and surrendered, allowing her father to assist them.

As they settled themselves, the others who gathered to watch the chess matches, the kind who donated piles of silver to the library, and to the exhibition, each eyed up the newcomers, for a few were familiar faces, however, most were those, who were to be said bringers of death, who could not appreciate the matches.

"Hussain, did you hear?" Gus called, a man adorned in cream, wrapped in a sash of red and yellow.

"What did I hear?" Hussain replied, a man adorned in cream, wrapped in a sash of blue and white, and unlike his companion, his beard and moustache were the likes of a real man, not shaved like his precious companion.

"I hear the Iyrmen sent all kinds of Masters along this time."

"If it's the Iyr, they probably can send so many Masters along, though I heard half of them were Grandmasters, and some more were Paragons."

"Do you think Grandmasters and Paragons grow on trees?"

"In the Iyr, they probably do."

'Shukhur, what can I do when all he is good for is for growing a beard,' Gus thought, his eyes slowly turning to the styled moustache, curled upwards into a mocking smile.

'I should grow a beard too, but…' A pair of women sat nearby, each eyeing up the children, from the bavwa to the devilkin, then to the half elf and the woman, though as their minds thought of the children, such thoughts were forced away by the presence of the half elf and woman, for one was a Mo, and the other a Ray, and it appeared to be the case the children were theirs.

"Akh, are these the guests you said you would invite?" a woman called, approaching Tamil, though she reached out her hands to Aliya, who accepted them within her own for a moment, and Riham shuffled to the side to allow the woman to sit nearby.

"Akawat, this is Mo Adam of the United Kindom and Ray Vonda of Life's Rose," Tamil replied, only to realise his mistake a moment later, glancing aside to wards the Ray, who beamed with a bright smile towards the woman.

"Ray Vonda, Mo Adam, this is Thabaza, who has perhaps read more books than even I." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"I am a scholar," the woman replied, noting how one of the bavwa reacted to her words, the bavwa's eyes sparkling.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Thabaza."

"The honour is mine, Ray."

"Oh my! The only other scholar I've met was Scholar Muh," Adam replied, chuckling at his joke, causing the others to smile, though their brows also raised.

"You met with Scholar Muh?" Thabaza replied, half in shock.

"I am quite blessed in this life, to be married to a Ray of Life's Rose, and to meet with Scholar Muh," the half elf replied casually, his lips forming a wide smile.

"You are of the United Kindom?"

"It's a business that is settled near the Iyr, and I am it's High Alchemist, though we mostly deal with magical weapons," Adam said, noting how the woman was processing every other statement, for he continued to batter her with his ridiculousness.

"I am certain I have heard of your name previously," Thabaza admitted, trying to wrack her mind, for though this was their first meeting, she certainly had heard of him previously, and not just from Tamil.

"My daddy beat up the Elder of Amber," the bavwa said, smiling with satisfaction, as if to show off her father to them all.

"The Elder of…"

"I'm not sure if you saw the martial exhibition near the end of the previous year, but I was able to face Kal Kalim during that time," the half elf admitted, only to cause all those nearby to suddenly straighten up, their eyes and lips filled with a shocked awe, the half elf chuckling.

"Although how could I compare to the Iyrmen around me, each of whom are Paragons?" Shaf slowly turned his head to look to Aliya, who met his gaze, only for the woman to recall the half elf completely lacked common sense.

It made sense the half elf would let slip things he shouldn't let slip within a chess exhibition, but at the very least it meant that the people would understand to not cause trouble, however Shaf hoped they wouldn't consider all this a threat to them, considering the class of people who were hoping to enjoy a dragonchess exhibition while most of the populace were working hard to put food on their table.

"I had no idea we were in the presence of such a great warrior!" Thabaza said, trying her best to wrestle control of her voice, but her pitch had shifted slightly, and though she was able to keep her face from revealing her anxiety, her eyes were windows to her soul.

"Aha! A great warrior? I'm not sure about that! As I said, I am the High Alchemist of the United Kindom, and thanks to that, I possess great armour and great weapons, to the point that my armour and weapons may be considered even greater than what certain Fariqi possess." Adam beamed with delight, glad he was able to show off in front of his wife. Except… Wasn't the plan for him to remain silent and to allow Vonda to do all the talking?

'Right, someone so young can't defeat the likes of the Elder of Amber without some help,' Gus thought, his eyes upon the half elf, not feeling the same intense energy as from the Iyrmen around him. Hussain reached up to brush a hand through his beard, his eyes falling across the Iyrmen, each of whom were supposedly Iyrmen, and yet…

'There is no way that is true…' Hussain thought, for how could the Iyr send five Iyrmen out to a mere chess exhibition? However, they should each be at least at the realm of a Master, or perhaps Grandmasters, but even that was more than impressive.

"My daddy can beat up the Elder of Amber even with normal weapons!" a little green skinned girl declared, huffing out to the world, and as she turned to glare towards her father, her mother's raised brows disarmed the girl, and she shuffled up beside her father, hiding behind his arm.

"Ah? If my daughter says I can defeat the Elder of Amber with normal weapons, then I suppose I can defeat the Elder of Amber with normal weapons?" the half elf said, his lips suddenly forming a dark smile, though it slipped away as his wife reached out to brush their daughter's hair.

"Ah!" Gus called aloud.

"Mo Adam, are you the one known as the Crazy Father?" Adam blinked, flushing slightly.

"I… am known as that epithet within the martial circles." Shaf side eyed Aliya, who held his gaze, but her eyes replied in a manner which suggested even she would be unable to help the situation at this time.

"The Crazy Father?" Hussain called in surprise, grasping his beard tightly.

"Shukhur, what a great blessing! To meet such a great warrior like yourself." Adam smiled awkwardly to the world, his eyes slowly shifting aside to his children, hoping they wouldn't dislike all the attention their father was receiving when they were here for the exhibition. Yet as he looked down at them, the children all beamed towards their father with awe.

'I suppose I'll show you all mercy!' It was fortunate he thought such, for another carriage arrived, and thus the half elf would need to show mercy.