The dragon's harem

Chapter 1905: Arad’s Influence In The Capital

Arad looked at Jack for a long while as he was thinking about involving Damnation here again. He already has Fernanda looking out for Poppy, and the wizards are just a curveball in the mess. He has to deal with them, but wasn’t sure if Damnation was the right pick.

A barmaid approached them with a tray full of beer mugs. ”You asked for a new drink?” She leaned toward Arad, whose mug had run dry, gave him a new one, and whispered in his ear. ”My Great Lord, the wizards are pulling off for today. It seems that the incident scared them.”

Arad took the new mug, sipped from it, and looked at the barmaid with a smile. ”Thank you, but could we get some wine, the strong kind?”

The barmaid smiled and threw a glance at Jack. ”And you, sir Jack, don’t think for a second that I’ll let this slide. I’ll make sure that Lady Lydia learns of this, drinking in the morning and cheating on her with this beautiful lady.”

Jack smiled and stood, approached the barmaid, and gave her a gentle bow. ”Oh, lovely lady. I’ll cheat on her with you. You look devilishly beautiful, like you’ll suck my blood dry, and hopefully something else.”

She giggled with a smile and gently smacked him on the head with the empty mug she got from Arad. ”Sorry, pretty boy. I prefer ladies like her and Queen Eris.” She took a few steps away from Arad, stood beside him, and gave him a smug look. ”Later, lovely.”

With that, the barmaid left and Jack sighed. ”Tough to please.” He walked back to his seat, and threw a glance at Arad. ”So, who is that vampire?”

”Current name is Seras; I saved her from a noble’s basement a while ago. In fact, you could say that she summoned me to help her. She reports directly to Eris, and sometimes to me. In terms of power, I say she is now a quarter as strong as Vlad was, thanks to Eris and my blood.” Arad smiled, and his purple eyes flashed bright red.

Jack leaned back. ”I see, and so... what about the other couple of thousand vampires spread across the entire capital?” Now that Jack had become a divine being, he could more easily sense Arad’s vampires. Even if he knew they existed before, it was scary to see them for himself and know that Arad has a servant in almost every single house.

The barmaid, the beggar outside, the strumpets showing off on the street, the neighbours’ beautiful wife, and his daughter, then even some nuns, priests, and even that random merchant trying to swindle the people, those are all vampires under Arad’s direct control and command.

”They too had to start new lives.” Arad stood, and Jack followed him. They approached the counter, paid for their drinks, and even left a tip. The two walked outside into the street, and Jack looked around.

Arad kept speaking, and Jack listened. ”With both Poppy and the wizards going amok, we’ll need all of the help we can get. Vlad had an entire empire of vampires, and some of them wanted to live here and not inside my world.”

As they walked through the streets, a few beautiful ladies approached them. ”Look who we have here. One stud, and a beauty.” Three surrounded Arad, and two grabbed Jack. ”Won’t you come have some fun with us?” Abel’s shop, the New Elephant Trunk, is just around the corner.

The two grabbing Jack smiled. ”Isn’t it handsome, Jack? Where is that blond gorilla? She isn’t around?” They looked at the streets. ”If you got bored from her, come check us out.”

Jack pushed them away with an annoyed face. ”Get away from me! She’ll smell your stench from a week afar!” As he growled, Arad giggled in the back and rested his hand on one of the girls. ”Sorry, ladies, but we’re busy. Besides, you won’t want to waste your time with a woman like me. Go find a nice guy out there.”

They looked at him for a second, and then one of them smiled. ”Oh? I’ll serve you for free, in fact, I’ll pay you to let me suck your toes.”

Arad laughed, patted her on the head, and left with Jack. ”Those girls...” Jack was still annoyed and growled, while Arad smacked him on the back. ”Relax, they are doing their job, and they are good at it.”

Arad showed Jack a slip of paper that he got from one of the strumpets. ”Local information, dirt on nobles, and much more...” He hands the paper to Jack. Some of those strumpets were Arad’s vampires, and one of them was a demon pretending to be a human, who worked directly under the Demon Lord of Lust.

Jack read the information on the paper and smiled. ”I see... There is even something about mages...” He frowned. ”What’s this? A young girl, ginger, blue eyes, and no older than five, might be selling herself in the back streets; none of her clients returned.”

Arad smiled. ”That has to be Poppy; she is already in the city, and that is how she hunts. My people are keeping watch and trying to pinpoint her location, or get a lead.”

Jack’s frown grew deeper. ”This is disturbing... what if we...” Arad smiled. ”Indeed, get the thieves to hit the houses of those who tried to be Poppy’s clients. We may find a lead. If possible, I want a contact method. If she is setting traps for people, I’ll set a trap for her.”

Jack hid the slip of paper and sighed. ”You’re a dragon indeed. Where are we going next?”

”You’ll see.” Arad smiled, and the two kept walking, turned into the alleys, and soon reached a normal-looking house.

Arad lifted his hand to knock on the door, but before he could, it burst open, and a half-naked woman stared at him, both terrified and confused. She was probably washing herself with a towel in a small tub when they approached.

”My LORD!” She cried and immediately prostrated herself.

”Stand up and let’s get inside. And... wear something before we talk.” As he spoke, someone came walking down the stairs, a little girl who looked to have just woken up from her sleep. ”Mommy, something is...” She froze, seeing her mother kneeling at Arad’s feet.

”Come here, Therisa.” The mother called her with a smile, and the girl didn’t move. She just stared at Arad with a confused face for a second, but then, her eyes flashed red, and sweat started rushing down her face. As she took a few terrified steps back, she gasped. ”The Blood Lord.”

Arad waved his hand. ”No need to be scared, little Therisa. I came here to ask your mother a favor, and I even brought some gifts.” He then glared at the mother. ”Go, wear, something, else.”

The mother looked at herself for a second, then stood, bowed, ”As you wish, my lord.” She rushed upstairs, took her daughter with her, and left Arad and Jack to rest in the living room.

”Arad, who is she?” Jack whispered, and Arad looked at him with a smile. ”A vampire, she once served in Vlad’s ranks, but after that, she retired here, married a human, and is living like a normal housewife. The daughter is also a vampire; she had her long ago before I killed Vlad.”

”So... her new husband doesn’t know?” Jack looked worried, and Arad smiled. ”Of course, he doesn’t know a thing. Anyway, I came here for two reasons. You’ll see...”