Adam pleted his tasks at the Adventurer’s Guild, identifying several items for them over the course of the day. Once he was done, he pced some of the within the party fund, some in his personal funds, and the rest he set aside to pay Nobby and Brittany.

  ‘Do I split it in half for both of them, or do I send more to Nobby’s family?’ Adam thought. ‘I guess I could give a half share to Anne? I guess she ’t really pin since we’ve lent her a magical on.’

  Later in the evening, Adam and Jurot made their way to Nobby’s home. On the way, they procured some bread, though not from their typical bakery. Jurot remained silent about the matter.

  “Before we quest,” Adam assured.

  “Good evening,” Ted said. He was an older fellow, though no longer quite as thin as Adam recalled. He was filling out, with his lean body betraying his returning strength. His eyes held greater strength too, and a weling gaze.

  “Good evening, Ted,” Adam said, revealing the bread he had brought within a small sack. “I brought Jurot with me since he’s probably the best person to tell you how well Nobby’s doing. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, not at all,” Ted said, before inviting the pair inside.

  The room was filled with the st of food, from breads, tes, to grilled meat aables.

  “Who is this?” Adam asked, staring down at the little girl, who was sitting beside her t brother. She was still small and thin, though, like her parents, not quite as thin as the first time they had met.

  “Ahe girl said, pressing herself against her brother’s side.

  “Right, right,” Adam said, smiling down at her. “Did you get yold?”

  Anne smiled coyly from behind Nobby’s massive arm. “Yes.”

  “Did you get to spend your st gold by yourself?” Adam asked. After the girl nodded, he smiled. “What did you buy?”

  “Dress.”

  “Ah, how wonderful,” Adam replied, still smiling wide. “One day you’ll be earning a lot more money, so you’ll be able to buy lots of dresses.” The girl tio smile from beside her brother, still half hidden behind him.

  The group settled to eat diogether, though there was still food baking for ter that evening. Adam ate more eagerly with the family, feeling at ease since he had assisted in putting the meal together. He did any of the bread he had bought, however.

  “Nobby mastered the core abilities the st time we returned,” Jurot began, expining the situation to Ted and Annie. “He has gained greater strength retly, and will soon bee an Expert.”

  “I still ’t believe my ears,” Ted said.

  “Even from an Iyrman?” Adam joked.

  Ted’s face dropped. “Oh, I didn’t mean nothing like that.”

  Jurot threw Adam a look. “Okay.”

  “I’m just kidding,” Adam replied, winking at Anne, before chug lightly. “Once he bees an Expert, we discuss a new payment for him. I increased the few months payment by a little, but send word to the guild if you need more for anything. I told Nobby that I’d take care of you all, and a gold or two each month won’t bother me too much.”

  “We thank you kindly, but you already pay us so well,” Ted replied, firmly.

  “Alright,” Adam replied, uanding that this may have been a matter of pride for the old man. “Well, accept the bonus anyway, since he’s about to be an Expert. I was thinking about increasing it retly, but I retly became a father to five children.”

  Ted almost whistled from hearing how many children. “gratutions.”

  “Thank you. They’re the cutest little children. Their cheeks are so chubby, and I ’t help but want to squeeze them. They’re growing up so fast already. I swear, by the time I return to the Iyr, they’ll be walking around, talking about how they want to go around killing all kinds of creatures.” Adam chuckled, before frowning. “Why ’t they stay small and cute forever?”

  “They should grow up big and strong so they work on the fields, or as porters,” Ted said.

  Adam cleared his throat. “Anyway, about Nobby. Hopefully he’ll bee an Expert soon, preferably before the tour.”

  “The tour?” Annie asked, carefully.

  “The Noonval Tour of East Aldnd?” Ted asked.

  “That’s the one.”

  “Are you going to participate?” Ted narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

  “We might,” Adam admitted. “We’re not pletely sure about it, but it’s a good shout. We’re looking for someone, and it may be that they’ll be at the tour, so we’ll swing by. We know a Lord over there who might want to sponsor us, and, if Nobby wants to, he could e too.”

  “I hear sometimes acts happen iours,” Annie said, cautiously. “They say that some of those who enter don’t e out alive.”

  “Nobby, like Jurot, is hard to kill,” Adam said, eyeing up the boy, who was built like a damn auroch. “I knoersonally.”

  The parents bli Adam’s words, but let them go. “As long as you aren’t f him,” Annie said.

  “No, no. We might be participating, but if we’re not, he most likely woher. I’ll take Nobby’s feelings into sideration if we do anything like that, I assure you.”

  “Okay,” Annie replied.

  “Nobby is worth more than thirty gold,” Adam joked, raising his brows towards the pair. “I don’t want him dead. If he’s dead, then who is going to be my number one enforcer?”

  “Nobby is strong,” Jurot assured. “If he does not wish to fight, he will not fight.”

  “I’ve heard the tour’s been pushed forward by a month,” Ted said. “They say it’s because of the war, for one reason or another.”

  “Pushed forward, so it’ll be in the fifth month?”

  “Tha’s right.”

  “I guess we should probably make a move quicker than expected then,” Adam said, looking to Jurot, who nodded. He had already known about the matter of the tour, but had yet t it up for Lucy’s sake.

  “ht,” Adam said, having remembered the reason why he had e to meet them. “We’ll discuss the payment for Nobby ter, I think we mentiohat earlier, but I’m not sure if I let you know about who Jurot and I work for, and the pns for the business.”

  “The business?” Annie asked. “You mentioned something about a business before.”

  “Did I tell you what it was?” Adam asked.

  “No.”

  “Well, sorry about that. Jurot and I work for an enter, someone who makes magical ons.”

  Ted and Annie raised their brows in surprise, gng between one another. Suddenly, things began to make sense about how Adam could ical ons. However, they were certain it was Adam who was going to be providing magical ons for the boy, and not whoever he worked for.

  “Teically, Jurot and I work for the business, and Nobby is w for me personally, but I think that the business wouldn’t mind a great warrior like him,” Adam said. “We hold a lot of sway in the business. Jurot’s mother is the President of the business, and his aunts and uncles make up the Directors, something like the cil. The Enter doesn’t really have a rank, they just want to ent. Jurot and I are directly uhe Directors, but we basically have the ability to do whatever we want, as long as the Directors and President don’t tell us to stop.”

  Jurot nodded, firming Adam’s words. He didn’t kly how the business worked, but he followed Adam’s lead.

  “This business…” Ted began, waiting for Adam to expand.

  “Essentially, the Enter makes magical ons. We assist them by pr materials, and selling the items. The tour seems to be a great pce to advertise, though we’re also going there for another reason.”

  “Nobby is going to help sell magical ons?” Ted asked.

  “Well, he’ll help us in pr materials and selling the magical ons. Not just ons, armour and items too.” Adam smiled. “We have found a pce for our headquarters, a pce that we do business out of. It’ll be just a little west from here, he Iyrman’s nds.”

  “On the Iyr’s nd,” Jurot corrected.

  “Yeah.” Adam tio smile. “It’ll essentially be a small vilge within a fort. There will be pces for Nobby and the rest of you. I imagine Anne will also move there, and she’ll be educated there.”

  “Our family has lived in Red Oak feions,” Ted said. “We live a fine life here.”

  “I want you to live a great life at the fort,” Adam said. “We discuss the specifics ter, I just want you to be open to the thought of moving. I won’t force you, but I’m sure you’ll feel more fortable being near Nobby, and Nobby will be fortable being near you.”

  “We’ll think about it,” Ted said.

  They eheir meal, Annie revealing the fruit pie she had baked for the group. It wasn’t quite as sweet as the faade pies Adam had eaten in his first life, but they held a warmth of a mother within them.

  “Iyrman,” Ted called, before correg himself quickly, “Jurot. If Nobby were to fight iour, how would he do?”

  “As an Expert he would p the top three,” Jurot replied, instantly.

  Ted raised his brows in surprise. The fact that Jurot had replied so quickly meant he had thought about it previously, or he was that fident in Nobby’s abilities. His Nobby could take top three iour? Not just any tour, but the Noonval Tour of East Aldnd? “And as he is now?”

  “Top five.”

  Ted watched the pair leave, each taking a slice of pie with them. He turned back to look at Nobby. The boy, who had always been so big for his age, s for his age, and so dumb for his age, could reach the heights of pg so high in one of the greatest tours in all the nd?

  “Top five?” Adam asked, surprised to hear such a statement. “I didn’t expect him to p the top five.”

  “Nobby is strong for his age,” Jurot replied. “Strohan I was at his age.”

  “Yeah, well, still. Does being strong for ye really matter? What if he es across someone older, someone more experienced?”

  “The tour is divided by age,” Jurot expined.

  “Oh.”