[1758] – Y07.258 – Nightval Will Come VIII

It was during the afternoon, as the two children were smothered in the affection of the elderly Iyrmen, Adam decided to do that.

As he closed the book, he realised he shouldn’t have done that.

‘Oh no,’ he thought. Adam stood, no longer plagued by his weakness of Awakening an Iyrman, and made his way for a gentle walk. The Iyr was so cold, blanketed in a beautiful white. He trekked through the Front Iyr, and approached a particular wall. He stared at it, not taking in any detail. ‘I’m poor.’

The thought struck him like a hammer. The half elf continued to stare at the wall.

‘How did this happen?’ Adam asked himself, as though he hadn’t checked his journal to see that he had spent roughly thirteen thousand gold on Urkina, plus five thousand on clothes at the Crimson Cloth, at least another thousand on uthur, plus thousands upon weapons.

‘I only have a touch under twenty five thousand gold,’ Adam thought, having yet to take his wages for the year, which would bring him closer to twenty five thousand. ‘I mean, I can always use the business’ funds to replenish it, but it is embezzlement, or whatever it’s called. If I catch myself doing it, I’ll have to tie some rope around my ankles, or, what was it, the cinder blocks around my feet? If they hadn’t sent over a hundred thousand each, the business would have been in trouble too. Except, half of that will probably go to dealing with the business’ expenses, as well as the money required for all the enchanting. I’m already spending hundreds, thousands, on enchanting everything for everyone too. I’ll probably have to dip into my own funds soon. I, maybe, shouldn’t have bought the Reaping Rukh for…’

Adam then brought out his journal. He checked the section in which he had bought the Reaping Rukh. He had bought it for Otkan, except…

‘Oh no.’

Adam closed his journal once more.

The half elf made his way back to the complex.

Adam sat in the corner.

“Daddy, what is wrong?” Karot asked, reaching out a hand, brushing his father’s hand gently.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m just feeling a little sick,” Adam replied, smiling, for his son was far too adorable. He leaned in quickly, and the boy flushed, and they exchanged kisses on their cheeks, and he did so for his daughters too.

“What is wrong?” Jurot eventually asked as she sat with Adam to one side.

“I committed embezzlement.”

Jurot remained silent.

“Do you remember how much the Reaping Rukh cost?”

“Twenty thousand.”

“How did you get that so quick?”

“I spent thirty thousand on my wife,” Jurot replied, holding Adam’s gaze. The half elf’s lips formed a tiny circle of surprise.

‘This guy!’ Adam blinked. “Anyway! I spent, I mean, I swear I, anyway, I, anyway…”

Jurot’s lips twitched slightly.

‘This guy…’ Adam cleared his throat, flushing lightly. “I spent roughly twenty thousand on the Reaping Rukh, but I accidentally wrote it into the business’ section, and, well…”

“It will be fine,” Jurot assured. “The wealth of the business is not separate to your own.”

“It’s meant to be…”

“To think you would commit the curse of maths during your daughter’s birthday.”

Adam blinked. ‘I’m going to beat this guy up!’

“Daddy, what is wrong?” Jirot asked, rushing up, for of course it was her senses which were so attuned to trouble.

“I’m going to beat your papo up!”

“Daddy! Papo Laygak is too strong!”

“I-,” Adam paused. “I meant your papo Jurot, but I can definitely beat up your papo Laygak.”

“Daddy, my papo is known as the Blood Seeking Sword, and one day they will say he had beaten up the Sword of the Setting Sun, but daddy, you are Purple Adam, and you claimed third place in a tournament.”

Adam’s mouth dropped.

“Do you know why I can?” Jirot asked.

“It is your sister’s birthday.”

“If you know, you know,” Jirot replied.

‘My daughter is so vicious!’ Adam thought, and he closed his eyes, allowing her words to fall upon him. ‘Too vicious…’

Jirot reached over, and she gently slapped her uncle’s palm, palm to palm, then the back of her hand against the back of her hand, and then they rubbed forearms lightly, and the girl winked, allowing her brother to completely the handshake with her uncle too.

Adam inhaled deeply. “Dear. We are poor.”

Jirot’s head snapped towards her father. “What?”

“We are poor.”

“Daddy! You are joking?”

“No. Your father, he has, well, I mean, once I pay off my debts, I will have less than five thousand gold.”

The girl gasped, reaching over to clutch her uncle’s sleeve tightly. Five thousand gold? Five thousand gold? Only five thousand gold?

Even though her father made six hundred and fifty gold, as that was what thirteen times fifty was, he was still someone who had made quite a few bets on himself, his brother, and the girl’s kakos, to the point he had made roughly fifty thousand from during the Nightval Tournament in Northern Aldland, when he came face to face against the Princess, and had allowed her to draw against him, even though he was so strong, this weak father of hers.

“Oh no! Daddy!” Jirot gasped, leaping towards her father, grabbing his hand. “It’s okay, daddy! I have ten thousand gold, and I will give it to you, okay? I will tell mummy.”

Adam pouted slightly. “It’s okay, my dear, it’s just that, daddy will need to sell off a lot of stuff next year, so, if you can forgive him a little bit during this nightval and next dawnval…”

“Daddy! You! You are so incorrigible! On my sister’s birthday! On my brother’s birthday! On my siblings’ birthdays! On their fourth birthdays! I could forgive you if it was their fifth birthdays, but they are still four years old, daddy! I will never forget this!” Jirot declared, but as her father picked her up, he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, and he did so to little Jarot too, who pouted slightly, but he side eyed his uncle, for wasn’t five thousand gold still a lot of money? “I suppose, since you are so kind to me, daddy, I can forgive you.”

“Just a little bit?”

“If you know, you know.”

PATREON FOR 30+ CHAPTERS!

If you know, you know.