The dragon's harem

"Did you make that?" Eris stared at Arad with a smile.

"You asked for it," Arad replied as he approached the couch and looked at it. He then slowly sat down in fear of breaking it again.

Eris sighed, "I didn't ask for you to go make the whole thing from scratch. Did Aisha help?"

Arad waved his hand, and Aisha appeared in his hand, "She did. Alchemy is used for more than poisons," He patted Aisha's head, "Making those and perfume is probably just the tip of the art,"

"It is indeed," Aisha growled, her head fully encased in Arad's massive palm, "Can you not break my neck?"

"It won't break," Arad replied with a smile, "Can't you teach me how to make soap?"

"I don't know how to make it. Since pink dragons are supplying all demand at cheap, there was never a need for alchemists to bother thinking about soap." Aisha explained, "I'm sure there is a way to make it, but it'll require some research and experiments, and I don't have the tools for that,"

"So, you'll try if I brought you all the equipment you need?" Arad lifted her, looking at her face with a smile.

"We can research that in the university when we get there. But you'll have to help and learn," Aisha replied.

"Good, good," Arad patted her head again, "You're teaching me too much. Alchemy might be the best thing I've learned."

"I said..." Aisha growled, "Stop patting my head like that. You'll break my delicate wooden neck."

"You returned." Merida walked into the living room with a smile, "I thought you'd take longer. I barely finished doing my hair."

Arad turned toward her, "AH, but you aren't ready, are you?" He asked with a smile, "It's cold outside. You better wear a heavy coat."

Merida gasped, "We're going out? Really?"

"Told you," Aella stared at her from the kitchen, "Don't forget the soft padding for the leather saddle. He's a rough ride... Both ways." She smiled at her.

"Keep this at hand," Eris threw her a healing potion, "I don't know how much that fungus holds your body, but it'll be nothing, believe me."

"Hold what?" As Merida gasped in confusion, Eris approached Arad, "Gin sent a letter. We'll be holding the royal family funeral tomorrow."

"We're burying them here in the graveyard?" Arad looked at her, "Don't they have a royal graveyard or something, tradition?"

"To avoid their bodies being used in witchcraft or resurrected as zombie dummies for stunts. All the deceased royal family members are cremated and held at the current ruler's residence." Eris approached the door and put on her coat.

"I'm going to prepare for the cremation now. Baltos asked if you could provide me with certain nobles who are related to the royal family so those can be embalmed and buried regularly tomorrow. The commoners would follow later," She looked at Arad.

Arad stood, "Isn't that too much work?"

"It's nothing, I'm used to it. In Rita, I sometimes get orders in the hundreds when a massive gang of bandits or mafia get destroyed." She smiled.

Aella looked at her, "Even criminals can't let corpses lying around. It'll attract diseases."

"And due to the lack of land to bury them in, my business soared through the roof." Eris patted her chest, "And we had a lot of necromancers, so it was quite a bad idea to bury someone intact unless you wanted to see them as zombie fodder."

"I'll give the corpses I have stored to them. Get ready before then," Arad teleported away with Eris.

Merida stared at Aella, "Is it going to be that Hard?"

"Depends, but I can say it won't be easy." Aella shook her head.

"Arad..." Mira walked into the room right after Arad left, "He's gone!"

"You're a few seconds late," Aella replied, "Did you want something from him?"

"I wanted to ask him if he can move some logs that we cut in the forest," She looked at them, "I asked Sebas if he can do it, but it seems that Arad asked him to guard some noble prisoners or something."

"Even if he wasn't busy," Rey walked from behind Mira, "Sebas's ape form isn't large enough to move those massive trees,"

"Sister," Ray walked in, "I'm sure he's stronger than his side. All monsters are."

"We'll need those cut to make the castle's bridge and build the siege weapons for towers. It doesn't matter who moves them, but Arad would be the fastest." Mira stared at the twin maids.

"He'll be back soon," Rey looked at Aella.

Aella nodded.

Ray pulled Mira by the arm, "Let's go. That bedframe still needs some work,"

"I'm exhausted. Can't we make them out of steel?" Mira cried as the two maids dragged her away.

"You've been the one who said it'll be hard and expensive to get a supply of iron and coal for steel at this time of the year." Rey stared at her.

"We should use it for weapons even if we got it. Don't waste resources on beds," Ray added.

"But...Arad keeps breaking the beds. He'll be too heavy for wood."

****

Aella and Merida stared at each other, "It's that bad?" Merida asked with a worried face.

"Arad weighs over four hundred pounds of raw muscles. That's four hundred priestesses gone in one pound." She stared at Merida with a grin, "Be ready."

"Hmph, He's two hundred kilos if I remember? I bet the bed breaks as the force shifts to them," She stared at Aella with a suspicious stare, "I'm sure Arad can exert more than four hundred pounds of force,"

TAP! Aella patted Merida's back, "Go and change before he comes back. You'll understand by tomorrow."

Merida walked to her room to change, worried about the coming night.

Aella closed her nose with a cloth peg and turned toward the large boiling pot, "Now, time to add the meat." She looked at the large cowleg that was on the table. "This one for Arad and the others would have some ribs,"

She lifted the cow leg and slowly lowered it into the pot, "Zephyr, get me the..." She called but then remembered that Zephyr wasn't there anymore and looked back with a sad face.

"I miss her already," She extended her hand and pulled the large ladle with a gust of wind. Remembering how Zephyr would've been buzzing around the kitchen and helping her.

****

Knock! Knock! Aella heard knocking on the door, so she looked out of the window and saw Roberta standing outside. "It's open, hurry in."

"Ah!" Roberta gasped, "Thanks," She pushed the door open and walked inside.

Aella stirred the pot for a few seconds then let it slowly cook. She washed her hands and walked to the living room as she dried them, trying to get the faint smell of meat out of them.

"It's been a while. How is your father doing?" She asked.

"He got better," Roberta replied as she sat on the couch, "I heard that Arad returned."

"That was fast. How did you know?" Aella sat facing her.

"I met Grandma Shir in the village, and she told me that she saw Arad flying around. I've also seen Nina on my way here," Roberta replied, "I came to deliver the payment. Is he in the house?"

"Sadly, he just left." Aella shook her head, "He should come back in a few minutes though." She turned around, "Merida! Tell Arad to come down if he teleported to you directly!" She shouted.

"Got it!" Merida replied.

"But really," Roberta stared at her, "Can't you accept the payment for him? You're his wife and the first one..."

"I rather not accept such a large amount without him being present. I'll happily accept a few gold coins for him, but not what you have." Aella shook her head.

"It includes Sara's part..." Roberta scratched her head, "The black market pulls in a lot of money,"

"Who would've expected it to sell like that," Aella poured two cups of tea, one for herself and one for Roberta.

"I did tell you," Roberta replied, "No matter how much Arad has, that jewelry will sell out. And since there are strict laws about reselling gold and precious gems, the black market is where people who didn't get them a piece would flood into."

"And you kept twenty percent of Arad's jewelry stock to sell in the black market's auction for massive profit." Aella stared at her.

"To be fair, I put the restriction that it's only one piece of jewelry per person to make sure everyone gets some. Most of those I saw in the auctions were nobles wanting to buy extra and those seeking to resell theirs for profit." Roberta smiled, "I'm not the one to say, but Arad is spending a lot on building, right?"

"Isdis is putting a lot of her money into the castle to help," Aella replied, "But Arad is also putting a lot, and he's also prone to spend a lot. I wish he becomes a bit reserved." She sighed, "He just spent a hundred gold coins on binding oil,"

Roberta coughed, almost spitting her drink, "A hundred coin? What will he do with a whole barrel?"

"He made pine perfume for himself. And he bought a hundred barrels, not one,"

"That can't be. Did he get scammed?"

"No, the binding oil worked, so it's not fake." Aella shook her head.

"I gotta learn some of his ways," Roberta sighed, "He keeps finding rare opportunities like that. Where did he even buy the oil?"

"Ask him when he gets back..."

"I was told to never ask someone directly about their sources. [ZON! In the background] Can you ask him for me?" Roberta sighed.

Aella pointed toward the door.

"Ask me about what?" Arad said, standing at the entrance.

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