The dragon's harem

“Wait!” Alex gasped, “AO? You were called here as well?” He then scratched the back of his head. “Well, of course you would be. Is AD around as well?” He looked around and spotted Aella in the kitchen with Tina.

Charlotte took a deep breath and felt better after seeing Aella around. That made her involuntarily find an empty seat and drop herself in it. “When will Lucifer show up?” She asked.

The only one who didn’t relax was Valeria. She remained silent for a few seconds and then looked at Arad. “You’re the one who called us here, right?”

Alex and Charlotte froze, turned toward them, and their eyes opened wide. Somewhere in the back of their heads, they realized it; no one with Arad and Aella’s power would bother to join the tournament.

Valeria was the most certain of them all. When Arad(or whatever lived inside him- ripped the thread of fate, she understood that he was anything but normal.

Arad smiled and stood, “True. AO stood for Arad Orion. I don’t believe you’ve heard of me. But I do need skilled archers if you don’t mind listening to my offer.”

Alex’s eyes opened wide, and his face paled, “Arad Orion? The dragon who blew Vlad’s kingdom?”

Everyone only remembered that about him, but to be honest, it’s one of his most outlandish deeds and one that happened a while ago. The news had time to spread. But Arad was certain that people would soon start to know him through what happened in the Titans’ kingdoms.

News takes time to spread, and from what he knows, it’ll take at least a week for news to travel from the Storm Titans’ kingdom to the human kingdom. Realistically, when counting how long it’ll take normally to brave the storm, it’ll probably take a whole month for news from such a place to reach them.

“Yes, that’s me. Right now. I happen to be building an empire, and I’m always lacking in talents.” Arad looked at them, and Charlotte gasped.

“An empire? Do you mean the one based in Ruris?” She had heard that Princess Isids was going to get crowned soon and that her husband was the powerful Arad Orion, but she didn’t expect to meet him here.

Charlotte had even intended on traveling to that empire to seek her fortune if she didn’t find any decent opportunities here in the half-angel kingdom.

Alex rubbed his face and sighed, “You’re Uranus. No wonder you were so powerful.” He then looked at Arad, “And she is? Aella Deianira. The herald of Zephyr, the Wind Spirit Queen? Now I can see where all of that wind magic came from.”

Aella looked at them from the kitchen, spinning a leek in her hand. “You know a lot.”

“Important news travels quite fast. Some are faster than others, like Zephyr getting sealed and then unsealed just a month ago.” Alex heard the news a while ago. A huge disaster almost caused the destruction of the Beast Lands, but it resulted in Zephyr getting freed.

He wouldn’t have found out if he wasn’t looking into the Beast Lands, hoping to travel there if he didn’t find his calling here.

“So, care to explain what would the Great Emperor and his First Queen want from mere humble archers like us? You said you lack manpower. But I doubt that is true- you can solve anything yourself, after all.”

Arad smiled, “You’re right, I can solve many problems on my own. That is my problem.” He leaned forward, picked up the jug of water, and poured himself a generous mug. “I can’t be everywhere at all times. At most, four places at once is my limit.”

“For you three, I’ve got three jobs.” Arad drank a bit and then gave Serin a chance to drink herself.

“First, I want a powerful divine archer to accompany a battalion of Vampire Paladins into battle against demons. You go around the wilderness and track down cults and demons, then eliminate them. When that part is over, you’d be placed as enforcers who guard the trade routes we have between this world and the abyss.” Arad smiled, “It’s a tough job, but it pays a lot. And on top, you’ll get to travel across worlds and march through the abyss. The abyss is a world where strength rules, so anything you find there is yours to keep. Beside the caravans, of course, don’t get us in trouble.”

A large grin appeared on Aelx’s face, “Hunting demons, traversing worlds into the abyss and coming back with riches. Quite risky, but how much are we talking in terms of payment?”

“Several hundred gold coins, including gear and weapons, not to mention the support and protection I can offer.” Arad lifted his hand, and a large radiant blue jewel rested on his hand.

Alex gasped, “A sapphire star?!”

“A simple early bonus, worth a couple of thousands. More if you put it in an auction.” Arad then leaned back. “The second job I have is safer, simply, training the soldiers in Alina. You’ll be paid by day and get a bonus for each soldier trained effectively. Payment is as you’d expect, quite generous and includes a full estate, supporting your full lifestyle, and heavy payment on top of that.”

He then looked at Serin, “The last job I have is the most important. I want a guard for her. She is surrounded by many powerful people and couldn’t be safer, but, I want someone to be with her all day long, someone whose sole job is to focus on keeping her safe.”

They discussed the details of their work for a while longer, but in the end, Arad ended up hiring all three of them. Alex would be going with the paladins to hunt demons, Charlotte would train the soldiers, and Valeria would be babysitting Serin.

Arad teleported both Alex and Charlotte back to Alina, leaving Valeria back since Serin, the one she was supposed to protect was there. Arad didn’t intend on having a personal bodyguard for Serin until he saw Kali taking Diana as her bodyguard and then he thought about it.

Valeria looked at Serin who was playing with Arad’s hair, then back at Tina, “So? What should I worry about?”

Tina looked at her, “Changing diapers, feeding time, playing with her, sleep time, and the occasional discharges of the deadly radiant divine magic.”

“The what?” Valeria looked at Serin and just noticed the divine spark burning inside her.