The dragon's harem

Chapter 707 Letʼs hear what the king has to say

”You are!” The two nobles gasped, and Aradʼs faces disappeared.

”I see,” The two Arads appeared sitting on the couch beside the village chief, reading the document the nobles brought.

”This paper looks old,” Arad said. ”But it feels off,” Aradʼs Gemini clone added.

The nobles slowly turned toward Arad, sweating buckets. They didnʼt plan on him showing up, ”Sorry about the intrusion. We have some things to take care of and must leave,” One of them extended his hand forward to take the document off Aradʼs hands.

Aradʼs eyes looked at the nobles with a purple flash, ”Iʼll ask someone who knows better than me,” He said.

ZON! Before anyone could notice, Arad teleported back to the wagon on Ginʼs back. His clone followed him, carrying the two nobles. They landed right in front of Baltos, who was drinking his medicine for his wounds.

”Baltos, have a minute?” Arad asked.

Baltos gasped, almost choking on water, as he saw Arad pop out of nowhere. At the same time, the two nobles instantly recognized Baltos. In fact, it was the first time they saw the king in a pajama. Itʼs a green one with several lettuce sketches on it.

Arad handed the document to Baltos as he pointed back, ”Those two claims they own a part of my land,”

”Your Highness?!” One of the nobles cried.

”This paper is forged. Itʼs not real,” Baltos sighed, ”Iʼve seen tens of such things in my life,” He put it on the table, ”And even if it wasnʼt forged. Itʼll still mean nothing,” He looked at Arad.

”This is a kingdom, legally speaking. I own all of the lands, and lease it to people I deems worthy. Since I gave you the area, it doesnʼt matter if someone owned it before or not. Itʼs yours now.” Baltos relaxed on the couch.

”The chain of ownership goes even deeper than that,” He looked at Arad and the nobles. ”Iʼll explain it from the start. The true owners of the land are the gods. Theyʼre the ones who created it in the first place. Those gods granted dominion over it to the elemental high spirits to maintain order. Those spirits include Zephyr and the other royal spirits.”

Baltos pulled a pen from beneath the table and started drawing on the back of the fake document.

”Those royal spirits naturally only owned their element. Zephyr for example should only own air, and the earth spirit all the land. But, just like human they trade with each other, and their domains are one of their currencies. Zephyr bought this land from the earthʼs spirit either for an equivalent of her wind or for a favor.” Blatos drawings were quite bad, but they got the message across.

”After thousands of years, Zephyr got tired of managing the lands, so she gave it to the humans and dark elves to live in. She didnʼt ask for any payment besides some respect,” Baltos drew the kingdom and their neighbors the dark elf kingdom, ”Now, you come to where I own the human kingdom land that Zephyr gifted to us,”

”And this is Lociʼs back, so itʼs more than just land,” Arad nodded, ”It doesnʼt matter who claims it theirs. You or Zephyr can always claim it back,”

”Technically, itʼll be Loci as itʼs her back,” Baltos smiled, ”We own the land Loci lives on, not her back. If we say itʼs yours, itʼs yours. Legal papers donʼt matter here,” Baltos smiled at the nobles. ”Claiming land is usually not a problem as it can be disputed, but forging documents like this, and especially picking troubles with Arad are serious crimes. Itʼs usually execution to the third degree,”

The two nobles paled.

”Whatʼs that?” Arad asked.

”Execute them, their parents and siblings, their wives, their wivesʼ parents and siblings, and their adult children and grandchildren.” Baltos stared at Arad, ”But itʼs your land. I leave the ruling in your hand,”

Arad nodded, ”Got it, thanks,” He teleported away with the nobles.

Baltos sighed, ”I hope this ends well.” He sipped his tea, ^The execution part is only there so people donʼt get any fun idea and start a fight with Arad...Those two idiots did it even though they shouldʼve gotten a notice from Alinaʼs lord.^ He leaned back with a sigh, ^I donʼt care what happens to them, as long as Arad doesnʼt get pissed enough to blast the kingdom as he did to Vladʼs kingdom,^

****

The two nobles woke up several minutes later in their mansion. ”GAH! Where are we?” One cried, looking to the side to see the other one asleep in the next bed.

”My lord, you woke up,” A maid opened the door and walked in.

”What happened? Weʼre back here?” He gasped.

”Lord Arad dropped you in the garden drenched in blood,” She mumbled with a sad face.

The noble looked down, seeing that he was missing both his hands and legs beneath the knee. ”This!” He looked at the other noble, finding him in the same condition.

”That bastard,” He growled, ”He wonʼt get away with this. Call Liona, weʼll get her family involved,”

The maid looked away, ”About lady Liona...”

”What?” The nobleʼs face paled, ”Where is she?”

”Arad took her and your daughters. He took Sir Garnoldʼs wife and daughters as well. That includes your and his parents, aunts, and their children. You two are the only one left in the family,” The maid said, looking away with a pale face.

****

Back in the village, Arad clapped his hand, ”So!” He said with a smile staring at the two noble families, ”As per Baltosʼs judgment, you should be executed, but I donʼt think thatʼs a fitting punishment, I mean youʼre basically innocent.” He pointed at a house in the back, ”Iʼll be keeping you here for a month to give them a scare. You wonʼt lack anything so relax and enjoy your stay,”

Everyone stared at each other, confused.

^The nobles shouldnʼt find it expensive to heal their hands and legs with potions, but itʼll hurt their wallets well. And for this, it was Domaʼs idea. Said itʼll teach them how hopeless they are if they spend a month contemplating what they lost.^

”Sebas, keep them locked here and provide them with everything they might need. Donʼt let anyone know they are here until a month passes, at that point send them back home.” Arad said, giving Sebas a thumbs up.

”You trust me?” Sebas stared at Arad, ”You should already know,”

”I do, and you protected Ignis, Iʼll trust you.”

”As you order,” Sebas bowed, ”Iʼll make sure itʼs done,”

Arad quickly turned toward the noble family with a smile on his face, ”If you wonder why, he tried to scam my people out of their land and homes. He even sent several agents through the village and scammed over fifty people. My animal familiers and I caught him and his men in action so there is no denying it.” He then pointed toward Sebas, ”My butler here is quite strong, so donʼt relax and donʼt try to escape, unless you want to end up dead,”

Sebas looked around and found a finger-sized stone on the ground and picked it up. In front of everyone, he munched it like candy.

ZON! He teleported away, letting the noblesʼ families in Sebasʼs care.

Arad landed in his backyard, looking around only to see Gin finally making it through the forest. ”It took you some time,” He waved his hand to her.

”Mountainous land, the knights and bandit guards slowed me down,” She looked at the exhausted men beneath her wings.

Arad looked at them with a puzzled face, ”You tired?” He pointed toward the mountain, ”Youʼre climbing that,” He pointed.

As the menʼs faces paled, Gin smiled, ”A lair on a high peak where you can perch and survey your land. A seven thousand steps,”

”Steps?” A soldier gasped, ”Thatʼs seven thousand meters in the air! How are we climbing that?”

”One tiny step at a time,” Arad looked at them with a stern face, ”Get moving!” He shouted, and as soon as they started to move, he burst laughing.

”Iʼm joking, joking,” He looked at them with a smile, ”I know youʼre dead tired. Youʼll only have to climb Ginʼs wing. Iʼll take care of the rest,”

Gin lowered her wings for them, and they slowly climbed onto her back, leaving the horses down.

Arad approached Gin and touched her claw, ”Merlin, is everything stable on your end?” He called, and Merlin replied from the door of the wagon on Ginʼs back.

”Go for it,”

[Void Step]

ZON!

In the blink of an eye, Gin and everyone found themselves standing in the middle of Aradʼs castle yard, surrounded by walls at the peak of the mountain.

Arad panted, ”That was at the upper limit,” He gasped for air, ”I probably shouldnʼt do it again,”

Arad usually can only carry up to his body weight in each void step. The people werenʼt a problem, but Gin almost broke his back.

”You okay?” Gin stared at him, ”I told you itʼs not going to be easy,”

”Then lose some weight,” Arad sat down, ”Itʼs not my problem to worry about carrying you around, is it?”

”Those are muscles and bones. Iʼm lighter than most dragons my age,” She stared at him.

”Then learn gravity magic and make yourself lighter.” Arad stared back at her.

”That doesnʼt matter now,” She lowered her wing, ”Letʼs get everyone down and settled first,”

Arad stood, ”Iʼll leave that for you. It seems that works await me,” He looked at the corner of the yard, seeing a massive muscular man standing ten meters tall with long white hair and a beard, wearing a white cloth that looked as if it was from ancient Rome.