Chương 1773: [1670] – Y07.170 – A Man of Steel X

"Mummy, you must try the galub jamun, it is delightful," Jirot said in the Aswadian tongue, pointing to the tiny brown ball covered in flakes of white, picking up another piece for herself, licking the sticky liquid off of her fingers, while wearing bits of the food all around her lips.

"It is delightful," Vonda replied in the Aldish tongue, bringing the soft, sticky, round dessert to her son's lips, the boy nibbling against it lightly, and she offered her daughter the dessert from her fingers, the girl taking a nibble herself before the woman popped the dessert into her mouth, chewing slowly, taking a sip of her coffee, the sweetness bursting along her tongue.

"If I can take one thing from Aswadasad home, I would take galub jamun, but if I cannot take, I will take the romance within my heart," Jirot said, holding the cup of tea between both hands, lightly sipping the tea, allowing the steam to tickle her face, the scent of tea filling her with a sense of ease.

Little Jarot side eyed his sister, his eyes darting to his mother, who did the same to the little girl, though she decided not to notice, continuing her delightful feast of the kaleidoscope of sweet treats before her.

"If you eat too much, you will be sick later."

"Mother, how can such sweetness be a poison?"

"You will see."

"Mother, there are few who are able to defeat me, and desserts are not one of those." Vonda pinched the girl's nose, stopping her from demolishing the rest of the desserts.

"Even if you are a sophisticated young lady now, you must still call me mummy." Jirot flushed.

"Okay, mummy…" Vonda watched over the girl, certain she would soon regret not listening to her, all the while little Jarot sipped on his milk, accepting his mother's fingers tickling across his cheeks and chin, her tender affection causing the boy to melt.

As the children enjoyed time with their mother, their elder siblings were enjoying time with their father, who would feed them one by one, with Konarot still upon his lap, though no longer trapped, and yet the girl made no move to escape from him, not until she swapped placed with little Karot.

"The Iyr works closely with a business," Chosen began, his eyes darted to the four nearby, then his eyes returned to the spread of the food before him, rice of golden yellow, rice of joyful rainbow, rice of plain white.

"We, too, work closely, but my cousins hold high positions, so do my aunts and uncles."

"What kind of business?" Vadim replied, his eye glued to the young Iyrman's gaze.

"It deals mostly with the trade of magical weapons, and I wish to recommend Hakam to it." Vadim understood. It made sense as to why the young Iyrman had come to visit him, for he wished to covet his grandson. It was not a terrible opportunity, perhaps the greatest he could receive, for the Iyr was a place of steel, and there, though the Iyrmen were a brutal people, they did not treat their guests in the way the Aswadians treated other Aswadians.

"I must remain to watch over my grandfather," Hakam replied, holding Chosen's gaze with his own confident glare.

"You may state your terms, akh."

"Instead of stating terms," Adam began, bring a spoonful of rice to his second eldest's lips.

"What other factors must we take in consideration upon our offer? I would offer you the same terms we offer others, but since my cousin has recommended you, I will prepare other gifts, and I will prepare other considerations for you."

"I must care for my grandfather," Hakam replied simply.

"Jiddo, would you be willing to move to the United Kindom?" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Vadim's eyes fell to Hakam, his sweet Hakam who he had raised his entire life, and even as the child's parents passed away, an accident, or so it was said, his heart ached. His eyes then fell to Chosen, the young Iyrman who bowed his head.

"Kal Chosen, why is it that you covet my grandson?"

"I wish to see the swordplay of the Chimera," Chosen stated firmly. Vadim's heart ached. It was his name from another time, a time before his brutal retirement. He reached up to scratch his burnt brow, and leaned back, considering Chosen's words.

"Why must it be the United Kindom?"

"It is not the United Kindom," Chosen replied. Vadim's eyes fell to Adam once more, who smiled innocently, and though he made to speak, he was distracted by Kirot shuffling off his lap to allow Karot to sit upon it once more, kissing his son's forehead lightly.

"Cousin Chosen, do you wish for me to raise him into a Paragon?" Adam asked, as though it were that simple.

"Yes."

"There are so many I must raise into a Paragon already," Adam replied, reaching up to his chin, letting out a soft sigh, for if he spent so much time over the next decades turning others into Paragons, wouldn't he be unable to watch his children grow?

"Can you accept the realm of Grandmaster?"

"Vadim the Chimera is one of Jirot's favourite tales." Adam's mouth formed a tiny circle of surprise.

"Jiddo, jiddo, of course I can take care of you, and your grandson, of course! A Paragon? It will take some time, but I'll raise him into a Paragon for you, jiddo!" The children echoed after him.

"Grandmaster is enough," Vadim joked, his lips forming an awkward smile, as though uncertain if he should be taking the half elf as seriously as he should.

"Since my cousin has asked me to train him into a Paragon, I will do so, you do not have to worry." Hakam turned to look towards Chosen, who smiled wide, and Hakam's eyes then fell to his grandfather, the incredulous look within it not unknown to them all.

"Even if Tanagek and I faced him together, we would lose," Chosen said simply. Vadim and Hakam both suddenly took the half elf within their sights, for the Iyrman's words could not be denied, for they were spoken from the lips of an Iyrman, so they must be true.

"The pair of my cousins together?" Adam mused.

"I am able to defeat the Fariq Thanwi of Amber Blades, the Elder of Amber, but am I able to defeat my cousins together?"

"You already have," Tanagek replied.

"I have?" Adam replied, his eyes holding an incredulous look they were all familiar with.

"You did," Tanagek stated, as though his words could not be denied, for they could not, he was Tana, of the Gek family. Adam furrowed his brows, though if they told him he did, he supposed he must have.

"Oh! Oh yeah! That was before you were Masters though."

"Even now, we would be unable to defeat you."

"Now you could, since I don't have my armour or my axe."

"You have your children." Adam's lips twitched, his eyes suddenly flaring in such a way that suggested he had planned this all along.

"Of course! Of course!"

"Of course! Of course!" the triplets assured, snickering.

"There are others, but this much should be enough," Chosen said, smiling slightly, for there was a better stage for them to hear of his cousin's tales.

"I will request that you are gifted a set of Greater armour, and a pair of Greater Enhanced blades."

"Since my cousin requests that much for you, I will do so, for though you may know me as Mo Adam, I am an Executive of the United Kindom, and my brother's mother is the President, and she will accept it, for she is cousin Chosen's aunt."

'Your brother's mother?' Vadim noted.

"How many years may I sign the young hero?"

"If you are to raise my grandson to a Paragon, I assume it may take a year or two?" Vadim joked.

"Hmm, that's true. Let's say it's ten years for now, and by then, he'll probably be a Master, with quite some decent gear. Ah, but if it's a bunch of Greater stuff…" Adam reached up to his chin once more in thought.

"It'll have to be twenty years at least?"

"Thirty," Chosen said.

"However, if you wish to step away, and are willing to give up your equipment, you may do so."

"How much will you pay?" Hakam asked.

"From what I see you're an Expert so twenty gold a month at least, but we also deal with every other expense, at the very least, all the typical expenses you might expect, from food, to housing, to your health, as well as any specialised equipment you require for your various tasks, and we will also clothe, feed, house, and take care of any family, from your grandfather to your mother, father, your siblings, your wife, husband, children, grandchildren."

Hakam slowly turned to look towards Chosen, utter confusion within his eyes, but Chosen nodded.

"The business is wealthy, and since others have already claimed a warrior to join the business, I, too, wish to claim a warrior."

"I am a decent man of Aswadasad, and I aim to marry a woman," Hakam said.

"What a shame, for you are my type!" Chosen laughed.

"You do not have to worry, I am interested in the romance of your steel, not the romance of your flesh."

"You can remain here for now and we'll pick you up on the way out," Adam said.

"Do you have any issues with anyone? Do I need to assign any guards to you?"

"Please accompany us this evening, and meet my niece, who will be excited to hear your tale." Chosen smiled innocently.

"Since you probably don't believe that I'm strong, you can come and join us in watching the bouts tonight," Adam said.

"The bouts?" Adam smiled innocently.