The dragon's harem

Six days later, Arad was back at Alina, sitting with Alcott in a local bar. While most kings shy away from visiting common places because of the possibility of assassination, Arad was the last emperor that any sane assassin would take a contract for.

Alcott smiled, “Told you, the beer here is good.”

Arad finished his mug in a single gulp, “It is, sadly, it’s mixed with honey.”

Alcott frowned, “That is what makes it good, you don’t like that?”

Arad shook his head, and the bartender rushed to fill his mug. Only then did it become apparent that Arad wasn’t using a mug, but a modified bucket.

“The high elves won’t be able to drink it.” Arad explained, and Alcott shrugged, “They can take a stomach ache, or two.”

The reason the two met here wasn’t to just have a drink, but it was because Arad needed Alcott’s advice on something important. “Chromatic or Metallic?”

Alcott remained silent for a while, then asked for a bottle of whisky. “Listen, both of them are the wrong and right answer. It doesn’t matter who you go to first; the other would get a bit mad.”

Alcott smiled as the bartender brought him his bottle. “But, I can help you solve that.”

He poured himself a large shot and took a sip, “We’re not dealing with the queens, those two are as understanding as the nicest of dragons are. What we’re dealing with is the equivalent of nobility in dragons.”

“The queens are nice?” Arad lifted an eyebrow, and Alcott laughed, “As dragons go. Don’t mistake it with the human’s benevolence.”

Alcott sighed and looked at his glass, “We’ll go to the chromatic first, and blame the decision on the fortress being a bit far away. Wait a day or two; at this time of the year, the fortress should be on the opposite side of the world from the Star Mountain. So you’ll be just going to the closest queen first.”

He smiled, “The metallic nobles would only blame their luck for being a bit far away. And to make sure that is the case, you’ve got Kin and Gin working for Baltos, right? Those two answer straight to Kinryuu and the Metallic queen, so use them for information.”

Arad looked at Alcott for a while, thinking about what he had just heard. The best way to deal with dragons is to make them deal with themselves; never make a dragon think that you wronged them, make them believe that they wronged themselves.

“I got it.” Arad stood and finished his drink, looked back at all the people in the bar, and then walked out.

Alcott looked at the bartender and smiled, “They grow fast, don’t they?”

The bartender was silent for a few seconds and then sighed, “He is the Emperor. It baffles me to see him sitting here in such a dusty old barn of a bar.”

“Unlike all kings, he can’t be taken down. His life is never in danger around here. And besides, you and I grew together; you’re a friend of his father.” Alcott smiled, and the bartender.

“That explains why it was easy to open a bar here, even my supplies fly in too fast. He looked back, Did you pull some strings, or did he pull some?” The bartender snatched the bottle of whisky from Alcott’s hand and poured some for himself.

“You won’t ever guess. It wasn’t me or him.” Alcott looked back at a woman who was cleaning the floor. “See her?”

“Galina? She has been working here for thirty years.”

“There was a young girl living with her mother across the street. They were poor; if they ate lunch, they wouldn’t eat dinner. Galina over there used to help them, give them food, and help however she could.” Alcott smiled, “Now that little girl was picked recently by one of the queens, Claug, the Plague Drakaina of the Crypt Forest.”

“That three-meter-tall woman?”

“Of course, the girl and her mother are now living in the castle with Claug. But the girl didn’t forget about Galina over there, so she asked Claug for help.” Alcott took a sip of the bartender’s glass, “Claug went to the east and killed all of the bandits that got in your supply routes. That’s why you’ve been getting a steady supply of goods, and why no one bothered you setting shop this close to the castle.”

“I see, the queens can’t keep playing favorites with the people. It has to end somewhere, and for her, it ended with the girl and her mother. If she wanted to help anyone else, she would do it from the shadows.” The bartender rubbed his eyes.

Alcott leaned forward, “Of course, if Galina got hurt, you’ll have a pissed off ancient drakaina knocking at your door.”

The bartender laughed, “I’ve got the best dragon repellent here. They can smell from the other side of the world and run away.”

“To be honest, Claug probably won’t come if I were here. She doesn’t like me that much.” Alcott shrugged, and the bartender sighed.

“All dragons are like that. But what you said earlier explains something.” He looked at the people sitting in the bar and then at the door, “All across the kingdom, many noble houses have been rapidly growing in power. I bet the same is happening across the whole world.” He looked at the glass cups, “Those, for example, there was a noble family to the north that made them, but what held them back was the price of sand and getting it to their land. But lately, their prices have dropped a lot, and they are starting to create beautiful pieces of art. Even a commoner can afford glassware now.”

Alcott looked at the bartender for a while, “You mean Linton? I believe that is because of their daughter; she is a personal maid working under Mira.” Alcott then smiled, “Queen Mira.”

The bartender looked around and then asked in a whisper, “How many of them are there?”

Alcott thought about it for a second, “I’m sure Queen Isdis added more since the last time I saw the list, but at that time, between all of the maids and servants, there were over four hundred in the private royal quarter, most of them came from noble backgrounds or from rich merchant families.”

The bartender sighed with a smile, “So we should expect a golden age to start, right?”

Arad nodded, “Prices would drop, living conditions would improve, even the price of land would become accessible for most people, thanks to Arad integrating many kingdoms into one empire. We’re in the period of change, so some things are still hard, but it’ll get better in a few years.”

The bartender nodded, “Things are getting cheaper, people are spending more, and they are getting paid even more.” He looked at his ledger, “I was about to double Galina’s pay in the last month. I made more money even though most drinks are now cheaper, simply because people can afford to buy more.”

He looked at the bottle of whisky, “Even this, the quality has gotten a bit better, and it is also a bit cheaper.” He looked at Alcott.

“I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I’m sure one of their family members is working for one of the queens. That would allow them faster access to resources and land, making their work easier.”

“I thought having multiple queens would lead to trouble, having them fight among each other.” The bartender looked at Alcott, “Not when Arad is the Emperor, it seems.”

Alcott laughed, “They fight a lot, but not in the petty way you’d expect.” Alcott didn’t want to start talking about how some of Arad’s wives are divine beings, how there are angels, demons, devils, and even vampires among them, so he had to stop there.

Alcott stood, finished his glass, and stretched. “I have to leave as well. Got work to do.”