The dragon's harem

Claps boomed across the capital as a white carriage raced across the street. Arad stretched his head out of the window and sighed, “Do they have to do this?”

“Let them celebrate. It’s the least they can do now.” Isdis replied from beside him. She then looked out with him, waving her hand to the crowds only to get them fired even more.

“Humans always celebrate every small thing,” Zephyr appeared above Aella’s head, sitting on her hair and stretching her arms.

Thud! Aella caught her with one hand, squeezing, “Small thing? Saving the city?”

“There was nothing to save from Vars, and that Chuzuke kid would have perished sooner or later to the paladins if we left him,” Zephyr replied as Aella shook her like a can of soda.

Eris sat beside Aella with a worried face. “Is no one going to mention this?” She pointed at the ceiling. Everyone there, including Mira and the two maids, Rey and Ray, looked away.

Mira turned toward Arad, “More importantly, what about Sara’s request?”

“I have some minions around dealing with it. You can say the underground scene was already invaded by me when I first went to the forest.”

Sara had asked Arad to put her name out there in the capital, give her some power, and release some shipments the local gangs blocked.

The bandits he controlled were efficient and bold as they had the backing of a dragon, and they made light work of the local gangs in one swoop. They are now under Arad’s indirect control.

“That’s good to hear. We need Sara to secure supplies.” Mira smiled, “The rare ones.”

Isdis stared at her, “High-capacity lightning crystals are illegal to transport or own without a license for a reason.” She looked at Arad, “They burn backs when they explode.”

“There is no invention without some small failures,” Mira said with a smile.

Isdis glared at her with bloodied eyes, “We could see your damned spine, and you smelled like roast beef. No more playing with dangerous crystals.”

“Chiiii,” Mira sighed, looking away, “What do you say, Arad.”

“Isdis is right,” He replied with a stern voice. “I will test any dangerous weapon you make first. I’m the most durable of us.”

“That would make more sense,” Isdis added, “What do you say?”

“I don’t want to see him hurt,” Aella replied with a pained smile.

“He can take it, roast him.” Zephyr gasped.

“OI! I said someone explains this to me!” Eris growled, pointing at the carriage ceiling with a red face. “Don’t act as if she isn’t there.”

Arad looked at Eris with a passive face. He then looked at the ceiling. A naked, pale-skinned, elvish woman with hair like the night sky and purple eyes stared back at him, latched to the ceiling like a spider.

“I see nothing,” He replied.

Isdis and her maids looked up, but they saw nothing. Mira and Aella were the same. To them, no one was on the ceiling.

“Stop pretending,” Eris growled, and Arad looked away, Zephyr the same. “You two can see her as well. Why aren’t you saying anything.”

“Well…” Zephyr scratched her cheek, “Her kind are prone to seducing people. You can even go blind looking at her.”

“Zephyr is watering down her look with magic. And even so, only us three see her without getting blinded.” Arad replied. “I bet brother can see her as well.”

The Nymph born from the capital’s central park, Arad’s draconic existence, and Zephyr’s magic kept close to them.

Arad and Zephyr were two of her three sources, and she must stay close.

Aella giggled, “I can’t see her, but I can feel her presence.” She looked at Eris, “It’s honestly a bit creepy like someone is constantly watching me.”

Eris could see the Nymph sitting on the ceiling upside down, staring directly at Aella’s face.

“Because she’s staring at your face!” Eris growled.

“Leave her be for now!” Zephyr said, standing on Aella’s head, “She’s akin to a ghost now. We can’t put clothes on her. Once we get back, I will perform a ritual to give her a dryad body. We can make her wear something then,”

“Zephyr is right,” Arad confirmed, “That should also limit her blinding people part. Or so Doma said.”

CLACK! A mouth opened on Arad’s cheek. “She’s the embodiment of Beauty. When you look at her, your brain shorts as it tries to process her form and bleed internally, causing blindness. But that shouldn’t be a problem if we put her inside a relatively ugly dryad body.”

“I do remember the Nymph we saw with that monk.” Aella said, “What abilities does this one have?” She looked up, “Do you have a name?”

“She’s sitting beside you.” Eris said, and Aella immediately turned left, extending her hand, “What’s your name?”

“The other side,” Eris added, and Aella turned again, “Sorry, what’s your name?”

“She doesn’t have one yet,” Zephyr replied, “We should be careful with what name we give her.”

“Why?” Eris asked.

“Depending on what name you give her, her powers might change. I wouldn’t want to give her something scary,” Zephyr explained, “She’s a concept, the embodiment of the beauty of a place. The noisy canyon, the crying canyon, the weeping canyon, and the wailing canyon. Which one sounds the worst?”

“The name of a place is a part of its natural beauty or mystic. Changing the name can make it look sad, terrifying, or precious.” Aella nodded.

“You fey are full of shit,” Eris sighed, “A name doesn’t dictate the person.”

“But does dictate the place.”

^Say, Doma. Is that true?^ Arad asked to confirm.

^[It’s true. I can give her a name if you want. Which one would you prefer, a calm one, a powerful one, or an unfair one? Or all at the same time?]^ Doma giggled in his head. She was up to no good.

^All at one, as long as she’s on our side, she should have all the power she can hold.^ Arad replied, and Doma smiled. ^[Then call her this…]^

Arad looked up at the Nymph, “I got a name for you,” She stared back at him, endless darkness dancing in her eyes.

“Oi! What are you doing?” Zephyr stared at Arad, “Don’t say anything! You can’t change the name later!”

“Yuwaku no Kyomu [Seducing Void]. I will call you Yuwaku Kyomu.” Arad stated her name and Yuwaku’s innate magic changed to reflect her name.

“Come to me…” Everyone could hear those sweet words, getting the urge to vomit. “Hold it in! It’s your souls coming out,”

As Zephyr screamed, for a moment, she felt as if her body was falling into an endless void. ^A curse name, that Doma! I bet this was her doing!^

Arad stood, tapping Yuwaku’s head, “Stop it,”

She stared back at him, holding her head. “It hurt,”

^[The seducing call of the void. Upon contacting her by any means [Sight, hearing, smell, touch, or anything.], she can send people into a trance instead of blinding them. Urging them to jump into the abyss of your stomach.]^ Doma laughed inside Arad’s mind. ^[She’s the beautiful Nymph dancing and tricking travelers to wander deeper into the forest, chasing after her until they found themselves in the maws of a dragon.]^