Upon Sonarot’s reminder, Adam rode Sky that day. The Awakened Wolf was scampering around the Iyr, with Adam brushing the wolf’s fur.

‘Right,’ Adam thought, thinking about the Iyr and the Iyrmen. ‘They’ve taken such good care of Sky.’

Sky had been relaxing in the Iyr, running around the fields as he pleased, eating the slain creatures which the Iyrmen had brought for him. Many of them did it in order to say they had fed the Awakened Wolf, with many children coming to throw meat up for him to snatch up.

‘It’s not just Sky though…’ Adam sighed, thinking about how well the Iyrmen had treated him and his companions. They had provided a place for them to sleep, and had given them all food without complaint. They were Guests, who sometimes assisted around the Iyr in order to deal with the guilt of being treated so well, but it was not a requirement they assist.

Adam closed his eyes, feeling the rays of the sun fall down on him as he rode his mount. ‘They really have been so nice to me, and I’m being such a little shit to them.’ He sighed, slumping down on Sky.

“Boss, are you okay?” Sky asked, noting how Adam’s body had shifted.

“Yeah,” Adam replied. “I’m fine.”

Adam brought the wolf back to the estate, where Lanarot spotted the mass of white, and then crawled over towards him. She grabbed at his fur and stood, looking up at the wolf, before then laying down against his softness, gently swaying as the wolf breathed.

“Don’t bully him too much,” Adam said, brushing her hair, before seeing the Guests, who were sitting with White’s Grace, exchanging stories. Adam let out another sigh, before approaching them. “Vonda, Dunes, can I have a word?”

The pair of Priests followed him to the corner, where he sat down, resting against the stone house. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yes?” Dunes replied, unsure as to why Adam thought that. There were plenty of reasons, of course.

“I’ve been acting up against the Iyr, and I think that’s rather rude of me, right?” Adam asked, looking up at them.

“You act the way you do, and I do not believe the Iyrmen take it to heart,” Dunes said.

“It doesn’t matter if they take it to heart,” Adam said. “It’s the fact that I act up which is a problem. What will people say, eh? That my mother didn’t raise me well? That the Half Elf Nephew of the Rot family is such a little shit? It’ll look bad on my Aunt, and she’s been such a star.” Adam rubbed his eyes with his wrists.

“So you have called us here because you do not wish to act like a little… shit?” Vonda said, tentatively.

“Right,” Adam said. “I called you two here because I think you two can help me with my greatest of worries. Well, not greatest, but we can’t really deal with that threat yet, so this is my current greatest worry.” Adam recalled the eldritch threat from the previous world, though it hadn’t seemed to emerge yet. “Well, there’s also Freja, but that’s for another time, when I’m stronger. Right, then there’s also Mara, but again, for another time when I’m stronger.”

The pair let Adam ramble as he pleased, understanding that Adam needed to get it off his chest.

“Anyway,” Adam said. “I need your help. I need you to pull the reins when I’m being too stupid, or rude, especially with the Iyrmen. I’ve already tried to stop myself, but I keep forgetting. It’s not just that I keep forgetting, I just…” Adam shook his head. “I’m just the kind of guy who doesn’t take many things seriously.”

“Yes you do,” Vonda said. “You take many things seriously.”

“Sure, but, you know,” Adam said, staring up at her. “I need to take more things seriously.”

“I understand, Adam,” Vonda said. “I will help you.”

“Thank the good Lady,” Dunes said. “I thought you’d get me killed.”

Adam smiled. “If I was going to get you killed, I’d do it in a fun way at least.”

“I’d rather you not get me killed at all,” Dunes replied, smiling at the Half Elf. “Now that you’ve given me permission to stop you from being stupid, I will have a clear mind to assist you.”

“Good,” Adam said. “That’s exactly what I need. Right, and if you two ever need help, you can come to me too. I might not look like it, but when it comes to the lives of other people, I’m much more sensible.”

Vonda smiled behind her scarf. “Of course you are.”

“That sounds like you don’t trust me?” Adam replied. “Come on.”

“I believe you, Adam,” Vonda said. “I may even trust you.”

“Thanks,” Adam replied, sarcastically, before laughing. “Alright.” Adam hoisted himself onto his feet. “I told Jurot I was going to stop joking and then I aggravated Sir Merry. This time, I’m going to be great.”

“Does that include times when you are acting stupid in front of your sister?” Vonda asked.

“Hold on now,” Adam said. “I know I said I wanted to be more serious, but you can’t take away my rights to be stupid in front of my sister.”

“Then as long as it is not in front of your sister, it is fine?”

“Sure.”

“Very well.”

‘I shouldn’t rely on them, but I’m such an idiot that I need a guiding hand for sure,’ Adam thought, sighing. ‘I should probably go and speak with Lucy too.’

Lucy was sleeping against a wall, but she twitched and awoke, staring up at Adam. “Why do I have to see you first?”

Adam smiled, before dropping down beside her. “How are you doing? You’re working pretty hard.”

“Obviously,” she replied, yawning. “Mara isn’t going to save herself.”

Adam nodded, before settling down beside her. “So many damsels, so little strength.”

“What does that mean?” Lucy asked, readying to jab him.

“There’s Mara, but there’s also someone else,” Adam said. “Freja, for one. I need to help her too, and she’s far up north, further than even Drakkenlan, I think.”

“The world has changed since then, hasn’t it?” Lucy asked, glancing aside towards him. Though she was the one who was training hard near daily, he was the one that seemed tired. “Are you sure she will still need saving?”

“That’s a good point,” Adam admitted. He hadn’t thought about that. “I suppose she could be safe already, but I have no idea. I told her last time I’d help her, so I’ll help her.”

“That’s what I like about you, Adam. You’re honest and straight to the point. That might be why we’re such good friends.”

Adam smiled. “Honesty is the best policy, they say.”

“Sometimes we need to lie, though,” Lucy said. “Otherwise we won’t be able to live.”

“Yeah.” Adam slowly nodded his head. “Sometimes we need to lie to live. Have you lied to me?”

“Probably,” she said. “Have you lied to me?”

“Probably, but I doubt it. I say stupid things all the time, but they’re always true.” Adam stared up at the sky, which looked different during Twilight Month. There was something off about it, though Adam couldn’t quite place it. The sky was the same, but different.

“We killed that Blue Dragon pretty easily, huh?” Adam said. “It didn’t stand a chance.”

Lucy nodded. “That was a Young Blue Dragon, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. A Young Blue Dragon.” Adam frowned. “An Adult Dragon is so much more powerful.”

“How long do you think it’ll take?” Lucy said.

“Technically, we could probably do it now,” Adam said. “If we take everyone there, we might be able to slay one.”

“How many of us will survive?” Lucy asked.

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “No idea. Which is why I don’t want to rush, even though Mara, and you, are hurting.”

“Who says I’m hurting?” Lucy grumbled.

Adam inhaled deeply. “We’ve got a lot of work to do next year. We’ll be kicking it during dawnval, but we’ll probably go and beat up some skeletons. Then we’ll head back, wait for Lanarot’s birthday. Once that’s done, we’ll do Vonda’s quest, and after that, we’ll hunt whatever we need to in order to grow stronger. Four whole months of adventuring and questing.”

“That noonval tournament seems like fun,” she said.

“Do you want to go?” Adam asked. “You and Jurot probably could go.”

“Yeah, but…” Lucy shrugged her shoulders. “It won’t be that fun.”

“There will be a ton of hunks, right?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, there should be a lot of hunks. There won’t be as many hunks as in the Iyr, though.”

Adam laughed. “No, probably not. Plus, with it being the noonval festival, the Iyrmen won’t be wearing much.”

Lucy smiled, nodding her head slowly. “Oh yeah.” She spoke breathlessly, doing her best not to cackle with hunk lust.

“Okay, no, you should definitely go to the tournament,” Adam said.

“What do you mean?” Lucy growled. “I’ll definitely return back here! I won’t let all the hunky Iyrmen escape me!”

Adam wondered if he had reignited something within her. ‘Mistakes have been made.’