The dragon's harem

When Gojo finished the houses, they looked quite cozy, like tiny huts, but made from black and gray stone, surrounded by snow and cold. Each one of the two houses had a small hearth, a chimney, and a bed place lifted from the ground and lined with fur.

Arad could also notice that Gojo had conveniently made his house larger to accommodate Arad’s massive size, and he even added several engravings on the walls and floor so Haru could identify her surroundings with just a touch.

The bed was made of stone like a counter, and fur was laid on it. It took Arad a second to realize the bed’s stone was separated from the cold walls and instead linked to the stone in the ground, going all the way to the hearth. That way, it’ll heat up a bit when the fire is up.

There were also several enchantments and spells cast on the entire shelter, which qualified as a small house. It had some lighting, soundproofing, insulation, and even a working alarm spell that would ring if a monster attacked the outer snow walls.

Outside of what Arad could see, Haru was able to sense and see trails of magic left in the air and walls like markers. Usually, the mana in the air was stable and the same everywhere, making it useless for navigation, but now, it was like the entire space of the house was clearly marked for her.

The north-left lower corner of the room was a spot, and she could call it 1-1-1, and the south-right, upper corner was marked 150-150-150. Each inch in space was given a set of coordinates that could be clearly perceived and read by those who can sense or see mana.

Gojo didn’t even use spells; he just went and marked each inch by hand, twisting the natural mana to write a number.

She had to get Arad to learn how to do that…

The dinner itself wasn’t fancy either, just the bison’s grilled meat, and a few preserved vegetables that they got from Death and Life’s house. As expected, the bison’s meat was tough and hard to chew, so they had to put some into stew to make it edible.

As expected of Liliana, who cared and could feed the kids in the slums with almost anything, it didn’t matter how scarce or bad the ingredients she had were, she always managed to get something decent out.

She threw the bison meat into an empty pot, seared it on the bottom with the bison’s fat, then added the dried vegetables and rations they had brought to form one large pot of warm, serviceable soup.

She even made a bit extra, counting that Arad would probably need to eat more than the three of them combined, which was true. He needed a lot of food to fuel his massive body.

Arad could even notice some herbs and roots that weren’t among the rations they carried, so she must’ve picked them from beneath the snow, either here or while they were traveling.

Being able to forage for ingredients was a really good and lifesaving skill, but in Liliana’s case, Arad knew why she had to learn it, and that reason wasn’t joyful at all. It was good to know how to wield a sword, but it was bad to be forced to learn how to wield a sword.

Fighting is a risky game, and Arad would much rather everyone be able to choose between a life of peace and quiet than a life of death and blood. In the same sense, he would much rather someone learn how to forage the forest for fun, rather than because of starvation.

He looked at her and asked. “Say, would you care if I asked something? How did you manage to feed the kids in Alina’s streets?” Seeing her cook, Arad knew that he could learn a thing or two from her when it came to cooking.

She froze for a second, then looked at the boiling pot and the flames, remembering the old and ancient past. Those memories weren’t fun at all, but looking at them from today, she’s glad they are just memories now.

“In the worst days…” She looked at the boiling pot. “I’ll pick a pot just like this one, fill it with water, cover it up, and make it boil on a fire made from scavenged wood.” A sad smile crossed her lips. “The kids would ask me if the food is ready, and I’ll tell them it isn’t, until they get tired and fall asleep.”

In those days, it was the norm to eat only once every two or three days. But Liliana herself and the older kids sometimes spent a week without food.

She then shrugged. “In the good days, we would’ve managed to steal some food to cook, or at least found some in the forest.” She sighed, “Some of us even worked, kids cleaning chimneys, repairing the walls, and sweeping the sewers. We made some coin, but it wasn’t much.”

They didn’t want to lean too much on crime, or on work, because either of those was bound to break the kids’ backs and shatter whatever hope they got for a decent future.

“Didn’t the lord do anything?” Arad growled. That man was Sara and Abel’s father, so he should’ve at least helped a bit.

“He tried. He wasn’t at fault.” Liliana leaned back. “We kids just weren’t strong enough to hold onto any support he gave us, and any orphanages he tried to create would turn into either an abuse house or money laundering business between the fingers of the nobles.”

Gojo looked at Arad. “He was kept in the dark by the nobles. What little kids and poor people remained in the slums were portrayed to him as thugs and their spawns.”

Liliana then picked the bowls to serve everyone the soup. “Of course, that only lasted until some people showed up. A pink haired little girl and a tall, scary man with glowing red eyes.”

Arad smiled. “Kali and Kayden.”

Liliana pointed a finger at a tree and said. “That old man, snap his neck!” She smiled. “That what Kali said, and Kayden started ripping and tearing the nobles and anyone who messed with the orphans apart. He didn’t care about logic, laws, customs, or anything. The guards came to stop him, so he cut them too, and so, when the city gave up, the massacre stopped.”

Arad chuckled. “Yeah, Kali doesn’t mess around. You can’t tell her that she can’t kill someone and that they have to go to trail. Mess with orphans, get eaten by demons.”

Liliana looked at him. “The city kept trying to get Kayden down… until the day he beheaded Nina. No one dared mess with him since.”