The dragon's harem

Chapter 717 The Daring Woman

Roberta gasped, seeing him standing at the door. ”A-Arad!”

Arad took a step forward, teleporting to their side and standing beside Aella, ”If itʼs you here, then itʼs about the payment or a second shipment?”

”Itʼs about payment.” Aella looked at him with a smile. ”Apparently, itʼs too large, and I want you to receive it.”

”Itʼs two platinum coins and thirty-five gold coins,” Roberta stared at him, ”Itʼs a massive amount of money,”

Arad smiled, ”Thatʼll be two hundred and thirty-five gold coins...”

”Itʼs kept in Saraʼs care underground. I donʼt dare move such a sum of gold. Youʼll have to collect it yourself lately,”

”Iʼll do that,” Arad looked toward the hallway, seeing Mira staring at him.

”Arad...There are some massive trees that we cut deep in the forest to use for building but couldnʼt move due to the snow. Can you bring them later?”

”Of course,” Arad replied, ”They must be quite heavy,”

”They are of the largest in the forest,” Mira replied, and a flower grew in the middle of the room, ”I showed them the trees.” Loci added, ”They were perfect for building large structures like bridges.”

”Iʼm not a craftsman, so Iʼll have to trust Miraʼs judgment on that,” Arad smiled as he looked at the ceiling, ”Merida is ready.” He stood, ”Iʼll come later to collect the money. For now, you can rest here for a while Iʼll before going back.”

”Of course, sheʼll stay for a bit,” Aella stared at him with a grin, ”Do you think Iʼll let a guest leave in the middle of the snow.”

”Arad! Iʼm ready!” Merida walked into the living room wearing a thick white fur coat, a large leather hat, and a scarf. She knew that it was freezing cold outside, and flying on Arad would make it worse.

Arad stood, ”Letʼs leave then,” He and Merida walked outside.

Merida stared at the sky, ”So, where are we going?” She then turned to Arad who stood beside her.

”Outside my domain to the west, there is a large jungle that houses some powerful monsters. Want to go there?” He pointed to the west with his thumb.

”You meant the death jungle, only A-rank monster roams there and itʼs infamous for having several s-rank monsters come out of it.” She sighed, ”Iʼm glad that Iʼm bringing my sword with me. Thatʼs a dangerous place, even more than this forest.”

Aradʼs forest was dangerous in the fact it housed a lot of B-rank monsters and had several infamous A-rank monsters, the jungle was a step above that.

S-rank monsters are creatures that no one wants to face, disaster-level harbingers of destruction.

A-rank monsters are the mess-around-and-get-killed danger. They are monsters that the guild keeps track of and form powerful hunting parties and expeditions to take down. The natural boss-level monsters of the wilds.

B-rank monsters are the menaces of the monster world. They are extremely deadly monsters that could even travel in hoards and spell doom on cities if left unchecked.

Arad shifted into his draconic form and Merida jumped on his back. Like other adult dragons, Arad is classed at least as an S-rank monster, such a dangerous jungle wonʼt pose a threat to him.

Arad expanded his wings and flew with Merida on his back, slowly accelerating as he soared through the sky.

Merida gasped, looking around at Aradʼs wings spanning several meters around, the clouds parting as he flew, and the quiet rumbling coming out of his engine-like heart that she could feel through his massive neck which she sat on.

Aradʼs eyes turned up as he stared at Merida zooming out as she stared at the far ground. She had probably never flown this high in her life. ^Sheʼs different. Something about her doesnʼt align with humans.^ Arad thought, remembering that one night.

^Merida, unlike the others, is vicious by nature. That night, I was too young to understand her intentions. With the pride and arrogance that comes with such a mentality, sheʼs closer in actions to a drakaina than a human.^ Arad could feel his blood boiling through his veins, ^That night, I failed to realize the need, I failed to notice she was seeking shelter,^

^[Depending on what Iʼm seeing in your memories. What she did could be considered a crime to humans,]^ Doma said in his head.

^But to a dragon, her stepping over her own pride and vicious nature to do such a thing is lower than begging. I shouldʼve guessed she sought help, if I had, her father wouldnʼt have died.^

^[It wasnʼt your problem,]^

^I mightʼve not cared if I noticed her need and refused. But what I hate is that I failed to even notice she needed help, and that wonʼt happen again. As much as I could, Iʼll keep my eyes peeled off toward those around me.^

”ARAD!” Merida shouted above his neck, ”I canʼt feel the wind, is that normal?”

”Of course, my gravity magic keeps you attached to my neck and the shape of my head and horns act as a shield that deflects the wind,” Arad replied, ”But donʼt trust them, you might still fall off.”

”Isnʼt that the remains of Riverside?” She pointed toward the horizon, seeing the massive river and abandoned city beside it.

”It is,” Arad replied, ”And the mountains beside it are where the demonic infestation started,” He stopped flying and started hovering in place, ”Look there, itʼs the jungle.”

”Why did you choose such....”

A flying wooden spear the size of a large tree flew toward Arad at a blinding speed. With a smile, Arad flapped his right wing, smacking the spear away.

”What was that?” Merida gasped.

”A sharpened tree trunk thrown by the reason I chose this place,” He stared down, seeing a thirty-meter-tall, fungus-

infested ape standing in the middle of the jungle, glaring up at them with glowing blue eyes.

”The last of the demonic fungus, it infected the S-rank monster of this jungle and took control. I sensed this a while ago, but I expected them to just die, but they are growing stronger.” Arad looked at Merida, ”Heʼs like you, but the fungus is the dominant one, and heʼs been slowly advancing toward my land.”

”Werenʼt we supposed to...do it?” Merida stared at him, confused, ”Did you bring me here to fight that thing?”

”No way, Iʼm not that insensitive.” Arad looked at the ape getting ready to throw another spear. ”I do not turn those who ask for my help. I have the power to help them and itʼll hurt my pride to fail to do so. If I canʼt lend them a hand, that means Iʼm just as weak as they are.” Arad smacked the apeʼs second spear with a wing slam.

”What are you talking about?” Merida got even more confused with each word.

”This apeʼs control of the jungle is bound to his fungus, so taking them down would leave the spot open.”

Merida blinked twice, ”Doma! I know youʼre here, explain what this idiot is talking about. Make it simple enough for me to understand.”

A mouth appeared on the back of Aradʼs neck, ”So, if I understand him right, you offered your body to him once but he didnʼt get the hint and regretted being that dense. Once he realized that, he went on and blasted the demon lord of fungus and pulled you out of that mess. In the meantime, he liked seeing you challenge a demon lord alone and that coupled with the fact that he thought you should finish what you started, Aella ended up picking up on it and agreed to let you marry him.”

”Simpler!”

”Humanoids rarely interest Arad as most of them are weak, both physically and mentally. He fell in love with you since women like you who dare to challenge a demon lord alone are rare, and he isnʼt letting you away.” Doma giggled, ”And since strength is beauty to dragons, heʼs trying to make you stronger, like gifting a woman a ring or a necklace to wear.”

Arad flew down, protecting his body with a barrier against the apeʼs spears. As he landed, hundreds of fungus-infected monsters surrounded him, trying to prevent him from reaching the giant ape.

”Demon, the power in this land shall belong to my wife. Begone,” Arad lifted his claw, pointing at the infected ape.

The ape roared, pounding his chest as he roared. Merida could feel the fungus in the ground resonating with the one in her body. This was a fragment of the previous demon lordʼs power that got separated once the gates to the abyss closed.

Merida pulled her sword, ”So we have to kill him?”

”Itʼs my job,” Arad said, a black orb emerging in front of his claw. ”Itʼs been a while since I did this. The last time was against the ancient wood roots.” A beam of darkness flashed out of the claw, hitting the ape and only erasing the fungus in his body, ending the fight before it could even start.

”It canʼt be!” Merida gasped, ”That was an S-rank monster!”

Arad walked toward the apeʼs corpse and stared at it. ”His body relied on the fungus to survive,” He kicked the corpse away and lowered Merida to the ground, ”What do you say?”

As Merida set her foot on the ground, she could feel the fungus in her body seeping down and taking control of the network built in the forest. ”Such powerful magic...” She clenched her fist, and the fungus threads in her muscles and bones grew stronger, increasing her durability, strength, and speed by almost double.

Arad shifted into his humanoid form, ”Did it work? Doma said it should work without a problem.”

”It did, just like that. Iʼm almost twice as strong...” She stared at him, ”But...”

Domaʼs mouth appeared on Aradʼs neck, ”[Itʼs a risky move for a dragon to make their partner stronger. They can fight for domination or leave. The fact he made you stronger means that he trusts you a lot. Itʼs your choice now, fight for domination like Eris usually does, or try to escape. What will you do?]”

Merida looked at Arad, ”Doma, do you mind leaving for a while?”

”[Why?]”

”Iʼll choose the option you didnʼt state. I am still nowhere near Aradʼs strength, and even if I were I wonʼt dare lift my sword against him.” She approached Arad, ”I rather bend down and submit. Taking responsibility for that night is the best I could do,”

”[Then Iʼll be leaving you two, enjoy...]” Doma faded away.