~We’ve been trying to have a baby but no luck. You got any tips, boss? Hmm? Why? Well, Noel said you have kids in the far North where you hailed…oh right, you’re from the east.  It was fun… but… even if the soul is willing, the flesh is spongy and bruised.~

~Trying to have a child is not easy, Ash. You need to consider time and the right moment for a man and woman to conceive…with that said, I heard you gave Astoria the good stuff. Hey, don’t be like that, help your buddy out here. ~

~Pray and you will be blessed by a child.~

These are the comments I have heard many times in the past. Of course there were varieties of complaints, but they pretty much contain similar contents. 

A couple trying for a kid. 

How laughable.

They try so hard. Spend so much valuable time and effort, fornicating to create a spawn that may or may not even be able to run before the age of one. Such an inefficient method. 

There were numerous ways to obtain a kid.

If Quigo did not say anything, I may have just picked up a random ‘stray’ on the streets. But an orphanage was also good. It gives a good selection of children among many other reasons.

~I will be going to find a good place that is not connected to any major organization. We can’t be having them sneaking a spy in our midst.~

Quigo said, and I relented.

He complains a lot but he’s dependable. Nevertheless, he needed to be more thorough.

Who would’ve foreseen that the Orphanage he chose seems to be dealing with the black market. I’d like to punish Quigo by messing with him, but he did find an illegal rink that we can now stop, additionally, I found an unpolished gem. 

Quigo’s situation is confusing me so I’ll just give him three days off. 

The little girl — Areya — was more important to think about anyway.

She was a little slow, but that was due to her upbringing. 

From the sound of it, she’s from the mountains or something similar. Her only family should be her brother, so it was a given she’s without parents.

Thinking about it, my methods of raising her should be different from my original plan.

Once we return home, I need to establish myself as the head of the household and make her understand. Money would not work for someone who grew up in the mountains, then strength perhaps? But she was amazed by intelligence, so—

These were my many thoughts.

I have read about letting my authority be known to ensure the respect of the spawn is earned. 

Such an endeavor, however, was already derailed.

“Hey! What are you doing!? Do you want to be punished!? Do the Hunting Dance!”

Doing this… ritual was not among my expectations.

“...no, it is demeaning.”

“What!?” a look of horror and dread befell her, “Do you want to anger the God of Hunting!? You need to do the dance!” 

“No. Now, let’s go, we need to leave the Forest so we can go b—mhmf”

The child stopped her ritual and shot me an incredulous expression. Her mouth opened so wide a fly threatened to enter. She acted like I said I’d kill God.

“What?! NO? Do you want to go hungry!? DO YOU!?”

“...”

She’s acting like I killed one too.

But still, it was an absurdity to even consider that I, Ashten shall do something so demeaning.

I have already lowered myself in order to appease this girl’s emotions. Now, she wishes for me to lower myself further. 

Hmph, should I just leave and find another candidate?

“Do it or I won’t go with you! I refuse to follow someone who cannot respect the sanctity of life!”

“...fine.”

“That’s right, swing your hips more!”

But it was to secure the best deal, it must be done.

So, for the first time in my life, I danced outside of a ball.

How I felt about the whole event shall remain in a vault…preferably forever.

***

Walking out of the forest Ashten and his brand-new-daughter were greeted by Quigo who now had a refreshed and gleaming look on his face. With him was a kid, the oldest of the bunch.

Just as Quigo was about to speak, something caught his attention.

“Why is she dancing like that?” the audacious aide turned to Ashten in horror, “You just adopted her and you are already showing your col—”

“It’s not punishment.” Ashten had to protect himself from his personal aide’s nonsense.

“It’s the hunting dance!” the little girl answered so Ashten did not have to explain.

“It’s the hunting dance.” Ashten just repeated her.

“The hunting dance?”

“Yes! You do it after securing a hunt! Mister did it as wel–”

“...”

A quick image flashed in his mind and Quigo did not even notice the smile forming on his own face, “You did the dance?”

“That’s enough of that.” 

The single glance Ashten shot at Quigo was enough to silence the thought.

“...I see.” Quigo did not push further but there was a brief mental image that formed in his head of the stuck-up boss swaying his hips and throwing his hands up in the air.

“More importantly, have you taken care of the matters here?” Ashten looked over at the orphanage radiating a malicious aura from Quigo’s ‘questioning’.

“mm.” nodded Quigo, “I already got a ledger and confirmed its authenticity. There’s a recurring name and I bet they are fake. Some familiar names as well.”

“Hooh, that’s more than what I expected. Once we return I’ll check on its content. For now, secure them and bring them back ho—”

“Mi.Mister!” 

A quivering voice of a boy suddenly called out to Ashten.

His eyes were burning with an indescribable fire so it caught Ashten’s attention. The boy unconsciously swallowed his saliva and felt his legs grow weak when his and Ashten’s eyes met. But, he managed to remain on both feet. 

But he had to shake his head, “I already chose a child.” said Ashten before pointing at the dancing girl.

“Huh? No, that’s not what I—”

“Say no more.” Ashten interrupted almost immediately, “I have no plans of reversing my decisions. I know I am the ideal parent, however, having too many children as my responsibility will only result in chaos. So, do not beg me and save your pride.”

“Huh!? No, I don’t want to be your son.”

‘Look at this kid, trying to save face. Trying to steer away from his original intention.’ Ashten felt sad for the boy that he will not be his father. Nevertheless, with his magnanimous and giving heart, he entertained the boy’s attempt to shift the situation, “Then, what do you want?”

“Yes, I want to get revenge against two of the adults. The leader promised me that much when I joined this revolt.”

The boy pointed at the dancing little girl — at his daughter.

“Girl, did you promise him such a thing?” she answered without stopping her dance.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I did! The Old Lady with the funny face and the Coward are his as per the agreement of warriors.” 

‘Agreement of warriors? Another weird tradition I presume.’ thought Ashten as he looked back at the boy, “Yeah, sure, why not. But I have business with them so just maintain contact with Quigo, got it?”

“Nn, thank you.” The boy thanked Ashten and approached Areya who had just finished dancing. He placed his hand over her shoulder and said “If it gets too hard, you can call me, okay?” and then walked away.

 Areya had no idea what Helios was talking about.

Ashten didn’t either. After all, the little girl was about to live the most lavish lifestyle.

“Weird kid.” commented Ashten while Helios joined the other children, “So, girl, are you done with your dance?” 

“Yup!” 

She gave him a thumbs up.

“Good, stick close to me.” 

The little girl tightly hugged onto his leg.

“What are you doing?”

“Sticking very close. My brother makes me do this too, so I know.”

“...that works. But I fear that’s a little too dangerous.” saying that, he picked her up with one hand and placed her on his shoulders, “That’s better. If you must hold onto me, this is the most optimal.”

“Got it.”  

Right at this time, Quigo came back with eight captured adults. Four of them were covered by a black curtain, the other four were shaking in fear. 

He noticed Ashten’s new daughter on his back like some sort of monkey, he had a comment at the very edges of his mouth but decided to let it go. 

‘Not worth the hassle.’

“No missing limb.”

“Excuse me?”

Ashten pointed at the eight captives.

“Quite merciful.” 

“Huh? Oh, I try to be.”

“When we get back, make sure they’re alive. Seems like one of them was promised revenge by this girl.” 

Areya noticed Quigo looking at her and just gave him a thumbs up and a confident smile.

Four of the adults he carried were covered in blood stained covers to keep them from traumatizing the children while the other four were crying and begging to be spared. They tried to grab Ashten’s pants but were kicked away like they were dog droppings and then they were tied to the carriage’s axle.

“Once you’re done there, Quigo, get into the carriage with the children. Ensure their safety. We’re going home.”

“YES! I mean, I understand.” Quigo moved with more grace than he did earlier. His feet basically glided at the mention of home.

He led the children in the deceptively large carriage with the gentlest of smiles.

“Watch your steps now.”

It was quite a horrid sight for Ashten.

After everyone was inside, Ashten summoned a purple flame around him and the little girl. 

The little girl hugging his head like a koala looked at the oppressive flames, but her expression contorted in a weird way.

“Hooh, are you trying to find it?” 

“...”

She was too focused to answer. 

However, she did find it when the purple flames became visible to everyone. 

“Look at the mister outside! He’s doing something!” 

“Woah!”

“He’s a [Spiritualist]? I’ve never seen one before! That’s amazing!”

“No you dolt, he’s a [Sorcerer], can’t you see him using magic?” 

“That’s not magic, you idiot. He didn’t use a component or chant. He’s obviously an [Elementalist]!”

“Don’t use foul language now, kids.” Quigo stepped in to calm everyone down. 

The children then asked him, “So, what is he, mister? Is he a Spiritualist? A [Wizard]? An Elementalist? Or a Mage?” Everyone anticipated an answer. 

“I don’t know.” Quigo reminisced of their meeting and what he said when asked the same thing, “But he once said he’s a [Professional Arsonist].” 

Right at that moment, a powerful screech came from outside. 

SCRIIIIIIIIIIII!

A powerful cry came from the giant bird that formed through Ashten’s purple flames. The giant bird was detailed that it looked like it was actually alive and not a construct made of flames.

The bird came alive and flapped its wings to take to the skies. The carriage followed shortly after but the kids could only watch in envy as the bird flew around them freely. Rolling and tumbling to show its dexterity. 

Quigo grew worried that his boss’ showboating would prove too traumatizing to a child. After all, having them tumble in the sky without control can easily dictate their love and hate towards the sky. 

Lightly, he cursed at Ashten’s recklessness, but, to his surprise, the little girl had sparkling eyes and a wide smile.

As for her new Father, he was basking in knowing he was impressing his daughter and a group of children. 

‘...I wasn’t too sure about this adoption thing. After all, he’s not the most mentally stable or emotional person—’

Right at that moment, while Quigo was thinking to himself, the little girl’s voice reached his heightened senses that was monitoring the situation outside. 

“Go Faster! Go Higher! I want to look down on the world!” She ordered Ashten with the biggest of smiles.

“It appears you even have good taste, my daughter.” Ashten could not hide his subtle surprise and pride…in himself that stemmed from picking the right child. His smile as he made the flame bird go up even resembled what he looks like when he wins a bet. 

In the midst of the gasp of the children, Quigo’s thoughts resumed and furthered his new found answers. 

‘—but it seems like they are quite the pair already.’ Quigo couldn’t believe how much they are meshing together and on the back of his mind, a scary thought of ‘two Ashtens’ burning the world with the widest of smiles…and behind them a limping aide that’s about to die. 

He thought about it. Pushed it back down to the very recesses of his mind. He kept his half smile as he proceeded to sweat bullets.

‘Ffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk~ I hope to God, Goddess, Evil Gods, Natural Gods, Elemental Kings, Spirit Kings, Otherworld Gods, Eldritch Existences and every other DemiGods as well as Divine Entities that she does not grow up to be like him!’