The dragon's harem

In the castle, Nigel found himself sitting in the large guest room with the rest of his group. While the building itself was simple, the walls were decorated with paintings, wall-mounted weapons, and even had several suits of armor lined around the corners.

He had never sat on such a soft, yet firm sofa before, and the table in front of them might cost more than their entire party’s savings for this month. Two beautiful maids brought them mint and lemon herbal tea infused with mana and holy water, making it heal, rejuvenate stamina, and even recover mana.

Mana water was easy enough to make, but it wasn’t so accessible that making tea with it was normal. The same thing could be said about holy water, which was a rare and precious resource used in fighting the unholy and the undead.

The waste of resources aside, even the cups were made of silver, and the room was illuminated by a magical crystal, a light source that even the wealthiest of nobles can’t afford.

“The light…” Tristina whispered, “The Archmage Merlin is the one fueling it with mana. This entire place is also engulfed in a powerful barrier, one that even I can’t understand.”

They all looked at her, and then Lisa spoke as well. “This place is also filled with divinity; it’s like we’re in a sacred place. As impossible as it sounds, I believe a god, or at least a demi-god, is living in this castle, which would explain the abundant holy water.”

“I also got this weird feeling that we’re being watched.” Chester threw a glance at the two maids standing in the room. “And not by them.”

“Calm down.” Nigel sighed and picked up his cup, took a sip, and then looked around. “We’re in the emperor’s castle. We’re A-rankers, dangerous people, and so of course they’ll keep us under their watch.”

He then looked at the two maids with a smile. “Am I wrong?”

“Somewhat. You four aren’t being watched; the entire castle is under Queen Merlin’s barrier and thus under her senses. Imagine it like hearing. While the birds outside the window are in your hearing range, their chirping fades into the background and slips out of your attention quickly. You would only notice them again if something happened and they caused a ruckus.”

As the maid explained, Nigel chuckled. “So, as long as we behave ourselves, everything should be fine.” He leaned back. “I wonder what his majesty wants from us.”

Seconds later, and as if he was listening, the door opened up, and Arad walked in. Standing at seven feet tall, he had already decided to use size magic to make himself look normal. While being huge helped in fights, it was a hindrance in his daily life.

Seeing Arad, the four stood, bowed slightly, and then waited for him to approach. While Arad wasn’t a stranger to them, the sheer difference in status made a friendly conversation much more difficult.

Giving Arad a quick look, Nigel smiled. He was indeed built like a wall: massive arms and legs, a thin waist, a large chest, and thick thighs and forearms. Most nobles that Nigel saw before were either too skinny or too fat; only a few looked fit, and it was even rarer to find someone as well developed as Arad.

“Let’s drop the formalities. It’s been a while.” Arad dropped on the couch, almost breaking it, and got a glare from the maids. “I see you four have grown far stronger since the last time I saw you.”

Nigel smiled. “If we grew stronger, then what about you? You’ve far surpassed the meaning of growth.”

Nigel was right. Arad wasn’t that much stronger than them when they first met, but now, he had become a powerhouse capable of destroying the world, while they could barely hold their own against a single S-rank monster. The Black Rider Shrimp they faced before was supposed to be one of the easiest S-rank monsters to deal with; it didn’t have magical or ranged attacks, and was relatively slow compared to even some A-rank monsters. All it had was high defense, and yet, they struggled a lot.

“I’m a dragon, and you are humans. Don’t compare yourself to me, because that would be unfair.” Arad looked at the table as one of the maids poured him a large mug of tea. He was massive and always had massive portions.

“Speaking of that, to think you weren’t a human. I mean, it makes sense. I remember how you torched those goblins like they were nothing, and I don’t mean it was easy. You didn’t seem to fear them.” Those goblins didn’t stand a chance against Arad.

“Don’t underestimate goblins. As weak as they are individually, in groups, they would decimate even A-rankers. They are smart, cunning, and agile little creatures.” Arad smiled. “But since Chester here looks like he is about to shoot me in the dome, how about we get into the real reason I called you here.”

“Chester!” Nigel growled at his friend, and just got a frown back. “Let’s hear it.” Chester stared at Arad, and Lisa elbowed him. “Don’t test him!”

Arad chuckled and leaned forward. “I have an entire world inside my stomach, and I want to start several guilds there. I was thinking I could have you four handle that.” He pulled several papers out of nowhere.

“Four guilds to be exact. An adventurers’ guild that would handle monsters and quests, a mages’ guild that would handle anything magic related, a holy circle that would manage the countless religions and churches, and a merchants’ guild that would hold the economy and trade on its back.”

Arad planned for Nigel to lead the adventurers’ guild, for Tristina to lead the mages guild, for Lisa to lead the holy circle, and for Chester to lead the merchants’ guild. He could’ve delegated some of his vampires, wives, or maids, but those four are skilled, showed rapid growth, and they would allow his wives to take more important roles, like ruling over the many worlds he’ll save in the future.

“Wait! You have what?” Tristina gasped, unable to believe what Arad just said. An entire world inside his stomach? A demi-plan? A great magic? Or was it a natural ability? No, it has to be located somewhere else, with only the portal inside Arad’s stomach.

Arad lifted his hands and clapped once, teleporting them all into the world inside his stomach. The walls changed, the sofa and cups changed, even the tea disappeared, but the layout remained the same. Nigel and his party were still sitting across from Arad, with the maids standing just a few feet behind him.

“I’ll give you a tour of this world. You can decide whether to take my offer or not. It’ll both help me alleviate some work on my people and allow you to grow stronger by facing new challenges.”

While the four of them were hesitant, none of them wanted to waste this chance and refuse early. So they took up Arad on his offer to go on a tour around his world, and wanted to use that time to get him to explain as much as he could about it.

So while Arad was leading Nigel’s party around his world, one of his incarnations was outside, walking through the hallways of the castle. Aella’s crowning ceremony was near, and it was decided that she would be paraded alongside Lexi and Zephyr. To make sure everything went according to plan, Arad had spent a long time carefully watching the city, preparing a route with Isdis, and even sending invites to people.

The plan was simple. They’ll have a parade in the early morning, followed by a festival that lasts the entire day, and a party in the castle at night with select guests allowed inside, and the commoners in the large garden.

But Aella wanted to do something else, and that was to prepare a feast for the common people of the great capital of Orion. So, besides the festival, they’ll have an open, all-you-can-eat buffet for all the people to enjoy.

Thanks to that wish, Arad now had to go and hunt beasts, sea monsters, and even catch some rare monsters in the Storm Titans’ mountain range.