The dragon's harem

Indeed, right now, the Beastlands can’t be merged into the empire but would only be a vassal state. To Arad, that was fine; to most of his wives, it wasn’t a problem. But, to Astrid and Frida, it was a big issue. The main appeal and bargaining chip they used to enter Arad’s harem was that one day they would inherit the Beastlands from their mother.

They had a feeling that Arad wouldn’t care about getting the Beastlands, but they didn’t want to count on that. Isdis could also be furious after all the preparation and groundwork she started. What could they do? Now they have nothing to offer, and the two of them aren’t anywhere near the rest of Arad’s wives.

“I kinda knew that from the start.” Arad sighed, “Your mother is Eternal. The very idea that she could step down from the throne was weird.” He smiled, “Besides, I won’t mind leaving Hati to take care of her land. Isdis and I are already drowning in paperwork.”

In a world without technology, maintaining the empire was nearly impossible due to its vast size and endless noble families and races. Even with the combined efforts of Arad, Isdis, Prince Charlie, and King Baltos, the empire’s imperial office was always short of hands.

Astrid and Frida looked at each other, and then back at Arad. “But… if we don’t inherit the eternity, then we won’t be anywhere near as strong as it was expected of us.”

Arad smiled and laughed. “Well, you’d have to train then. You don’t need Eternity to be powerful. We’ll just have to find you another source of power.”

At that moment, the door opened up, and Hati walked into the room, followed by two of her daughters. Like always, this woman was shamelessly wearing a loose kimono, barefoot, and half drunk. Her daughters were there to support her, but it looked like her bosom would spill out if she as much as stumbled once.

“Did they tell you? About me keeping the throne?” She looked at Arad with a smile, and the chimes on the window rang, sending a wave of silence across the entire room. She might’ve looked like a seductive sly fox, but this woman was still an Eternal Fenrir, the twin daughters of Fenrisúlfr, who is the brother of Hel and Jörmungandr.

Fenrisúlfr: The Eternal, a silver, nine-tailed great wolf whose claws could shatter the universe, and is fated to ever be eternal. A hunter, a defender, and an eternal existence that holds the fabric of fate together.

Hel: The Immortal, a rotten corpse of a red-eyed woman, she had never been alive, but had never died. With the curse of No-Future, she is the one and only true Nosferatu unchained by Death herself. She is also known as Akame, Akasha’s mother, and the first vampire.

Jörmungandr: The Infinity, the wheel of fortune and ever-growing hunger, the cycle of death and rebirth, the serpent engulfing the universe, eating its own tail to cripple itself. That wheel now turns above Jack’s head, marking him as the Hero god of cosmic winds.

Without even knowing it, Arad was already having relationships with those three terrors. Hati looked at him with a smile, and she could indeed see whatever plan AO had taking shape. Everything was slowly converging back toward him, and in the near future, he should be back.

“What I have is a mere shard of Eternity, a shattered claw of my father, Fenrisúlfr’s power. Them not getting mine doesn’t mean they won’t get anything else. For all I know, father had twenty claws, not just one.” She pulled a glass sword from her palm and looked at it with a smile. “This is the shard I have.” She threw the sword toward Astrid and Frida, and the two of them instantly dodged out of the way.

The edge of the blade of eternity was perfect and unchanging, the sharpest thing in existence, and it would stay that way for the rest of time. The two daughters knew well that if it touched them, they would be cut in half with ease. After all, one of their sisters died like that in the past.

“Careful.” Arad moved, threw his hand the sword’s way, and caught it by the blade. “Isn’t this thing sharp? Don’t just throw it to them. No matter how fast they are, they could get hurt.”

“Ho…” Hati smiled, Astrid and Frida cried with their jaws wide open, and the other sisters all gasped and took a few steps away from him, sweating in shock. “You can hold it?” Hati pointed at the sword, and Arad looked at it.

“If you’re talking about the sharp edge, I’ve got my fists covered with the void and gravity magic. I’m not touching it directly.” He took a few steps forward and handed the sword back to Hati. Of course, he extended the handle toward her.

“Do you know that it should’ve slashed your hand? Even with that defensive method?” Hati stored the eternal blade back into her forearm and pointed at Astrid and Frida. “This was a test for them, to see if they could at least resist the edge, and thus be eligible to use another shard of Eternity if we found one.”

She giggled and pointed at him with one sharp red nail, “But, it seems you’re more attuned to eternity than my own daughters. I guess, it should be expected of someone who casually kills gods and holds their portfolios inside their body.”

Arad stared at her, then back at Astrid and Frida. “I know I’m the weird one here, not them. Don’t compare me, a monster, to them. Let’s do that test again when they unlock all of their tails. So, until then, nothing dangerous. And, you can keep the Beastlands. I’ll gladly let you take care of its paperwork.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do that.” Hati smiled and looked at everyone in the room. Arad, Mira, Astrid, Frida, and a bunch of her daughters. “For now, good night. Girls, take care of him well, and make sure your sisters are worth his time.”

She left the room, and Arad sat down beside Mira. “Less work for us is always better. But it’s better to leave the rest to Isdis. She has far more experience in this than I.”

Mira smiled, “I’m certain she would be happy to not manage every kind of beast men in this land. Imagine all of that work trying to get over a hundred tribes to work together. It would never work out.”

Arad smiled. “It’s called the Free Beastlands for a reason.”

One of the Astrid and Frida’s sisters approached Arad, “The room should be ready. I’ll guide you there.”

Arad stood at her invitation, and so did Mira, Astrid, and Frida. They all followed the girl through the house until they reached a massive room. The room was so massive that it put Arad’s chamber to shame.

Fifty meters wide and long, with a ten-meter-high ceiling, ethereal magical light, soft wooden floor, countless flat futons as bedding, and more wine and drinks lined on tables than anyone could ever drink.

“One, two, three, ten, twenty…” Arad lifted an eyebrow, “Isn’t there a bit too bedding for us?”

“Mother split us sisters into three, one third serves her, one serves sister Astrid, and one third serves sister Frida. Those two-thirds are sleeping here.” She threw a glance at him, “And, yes. Feel free to bed us if you want, we fulfil the same role for our sisters that your maids fulfil for the rest of your wives.”