The Crimson Blade’s eyes fell to the Amira’s, who felt his gaze, the pair sharing words through their eyes.

‘Should we not stop him?’ the Crimson Blade sent.

‘It is too late now,’ the Amira replied. 

Meanwhile, the half elf spoke of his tales to the Malika, starting from near the beginning, giving a general outline of his stories, but going into deeper details when it came to the more dramatic aspects, which were many. 

“If your children require recuperating, though the Iyr is a fine place for it, our gardens are known to aid the relaxation of one’s heart,” the Malika, Anastasha, offered. 

“I will take you up on that offer one day,” the half elf replied, smiling brightly in return towards the woman, though a hint of darkness plagued his face. 

“It is such a grand pleasure to meet the likes of all those who are related to such legendary figures, from the descendant of Giaroh, to the great great grandson of the Hadi, the grandniece and grandnephews of Flame Brand, and that is not to ignore the Ool and Sen who allow us their company.” The woman’s eyes then fell onto the half dragon, who was certainly a dragon. “Though, I am unfamiliar with our esteemed guest?”

“Did you just notice me?” Bael replied, though his eyes darted aside, towards Adam who held up his hand in a peculiar manner. 

“Do you want me to backhand you?” the half elf asked, glaring at the half dragon. “Be polite, or do you think I won’t slap you in front of Lord Noor.”

“If you did, the bout would not go as it did last time,” Bael warned. 

“Oh, you think so, huh?” Adam replied, raising his brows. “You think I haven’t grown more powerful since we last fought? You think I don’t have something saved up in case I ever had to slap you? You think I, who has…”

Bael remained waiting for the half elf, who had almost let slip the most dangerous words possible in this situation. 

“I’m going to tell Jirot you were rude to the lovely woman, the Malika, who wanted to spoil her.”

Bael’s wild grin dropped, the half dragon narrowing his eyes. “You would not.”

“Try me.”

“Do not forget, out of-,” Bael began, only to stop. His forehead pulsed, because for once, he was almost as cringe as Adam. However, he had vowed not to use his family’s background in order to assist him through his journey, and though it didn’t count within the Iyr, since it was the Iyr, he definitely shouldn’t use it to get Adam to step back. “To think you would ask me to step back for a mere Malika, and not even an Empress.”

“Listen, man, you’re preaching to the choir, but out of every noble I have met, every royal, Malika, you have been the kindest, most joyous company, and it’s not even remotely close,” the half elf admitted. “I mean, maybe Prince Morkarai, but he still held an air of being better than me around him for a bit. Then we have Bael, who is probably some kind of Prince, and though he’s pretty good most of the time, he’s still, you know, a dragon, so he thinks he’s important.”

“That is not why I think I am important,” Bael replied, confidently. “It’s because I am a hero.”

“A hero? You?” Adam replied.

“I recall assisting you when you asked me to remain behind,” Bael replied, narrowing his eyes, smirking playfully. 

“I guess you are a bit of a hero, just a little bit, just this once,” the half elf stated, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “You’re important to me because you’re a decent enough fellow, even if you do come from a lordly dragon family.”

“What about the one you call Lord Storm?”

“Strom was Strom, and even though he was a noble, he was sweet to my sister, so I let him slide, and he helped my kids out,” Adam replied, tensing up from trying not to laugh as the next few words slipped out of his mouth. “He was one of the good ones.”

Anastasha followed their pace, with the understanding that Bael was someone who was not quite so serious, the woman beaming as they continued to joke around in front of her. 

“Do you intend to face the Reavers, young heroes?” Anastasha eventually asked, since the figures before her were rather powerful, not just the crazy fool of a father or the dragon in disguise, but even the likes of the Iyrmen, save for the child. 

“If Aldland, Aswadasad, and Floria can’t deal with them over the course of the next few years because you put politics over the people, I think my wife will probably ask me to assist,” Adam admitted, showing little to no faith within their abilities, the disdain in his voice evident as he requested for death once more.

‘Even if you are the Enchanter, to speak so hideously of us…’ the Amira thought.

The Malika continued to smile and beam. “I will convince the Shen to work more closely with the Kings, but there is a need to protect our people and our pride, in the same way that the Aldish and Florian Kings will consider such. If we take the brunt of the effort, even if we do claim the greater victories, those in the strongest position will impose upon those which are in the weaker position.”

“If you do end up taking greater losses, and conceding greater losses, I would personally try to assist in the matter,” Adam offered. 

“You? How would you assist?” The woman took in the half elf within her sights, curious. 

“I mean… could I persuade them not to bully you too much? I don’t know, I don’t think so. However, if Aswadasad did end up bearing up most of the cost, I think we would be more favourable towards you, our business, our warriors, I mean, I can’t speak to everyone, but I would certainly assist with some relief efforts. I would try to warn, advise might be a more acceptable word in this context, I would try to advise the King of Aldland and King of Floria to show some respect towards Aswadasad, and should they show it, we would appreciate it and continue our business, whereas if they were to refuse, we would certainly look towards Aswadasad with some favour, and offer magical items for a reduced price, or for cheap rent, and show some greater favour in that regard, or offer loans at a reasonable rate.” Adam continued to theorise how he could assist. “If they ended up, say, invading, we would probably end up assisting with affordable equipment, and, if there’s anyone that is considered rather strong, I wouldn’t mind crossing blades with them, and I’m sure my brother here wouldn’t, nor would a few Iyrmen who would want to have some fun upon the battlefield.”

“War is not a game, nor is it so easy,” the woman replied. 

“I think we both know war is a game of nobles,” Adam replied, raising his brow. 

The woman smiled warmly, bowing her head gently. 

“Also, it’s not easy? You should tell that to the Marshal of the East.” Adam held out a fist, his brother bumping it, the Iyrman nodding his head approvingly. 

“You mentioned some trouble…”

“He didn’t realise I was utterly unhinged, and the…”

“Marquise,” Jurot said. 

“The Marquise, that’s right, she wanted a child within my care, the cute boy that he is, and knowing what I know about nobles and children that they fancy, I refused to hand him over, since I had already accepted him as a VIP into the business. So she sent an army, led by the Marshal of the East, Benjamin Gravesea-,”

“Lord Benjamin Gravesea,” the woman corrected.

“She sent little ol’ Benny boy out to me, with an army of a hundred,” the half elf replied, far too casually, his lips into the most heinous of grins, “and last I checked, I’m still alive, and the boy is still within my care, and next time the First Hope won’t be there to save his life, just like how the King of Floria couldn’t save the Vice Commander.” Adam continued to speak up, but after a moment, he paused. He let out a soft sigh, still annoyed he hadn’t been able to claim all the feats he had, but after thinking about that thing, the monstrosity which could seep into the world, he decided against complaining about it. 

The woman was still surprised that the half elf held such an opinion of himself, but also the exhaustion and stress upon the Priest’s face partly confirmed this was typical for the half elf. One might have assumed he was delusional, but after hearing how powerful he was, the beings he faced and had defeated, and even the fact he held the position of High Alchemist, it didn’t surprise her too much.

What would have surprised Anastasha was if he was the Enchanter.

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Man that would be so crazy if Adam was the Enchanter.