The dragon's harem

“What… are you doing here?” The werewolf fighter gasped and looked around the room.

The room wasn’t that large, half the size of a common one, and the walls themselves were covered with sealing scrolls and magic circles that controlled a powerful barrier. His chair was made from the World Tree wood, his shackles from blessed silver, and the ropes were woven from demon spiders’ silk and enchanted with magic.

That was a lot to keep him locked up. But what confused him more was Alcott’s presence, who in their right mind would hire him to just keep watch on a sealed prisoner? Alcott isn’t cheap.

“Wait, that thing was a dragon. Are you here to interrogate me about? Sadly, I know nothing besides that it attacked us.” His eyes then opened wide. “Wait, or was it the black dragon that hired you?”

Alcott looked at him with a smile, and the fighter chuckled, “I know it. Who is that dragon. Is he someone important or just powerful? Can’t you slay it?”

“Oh, Pollo, it’s been years, and many things have changed. I even got married and had a son.” He then flicked his wrist, and the shackles on Pollo’s arms and legs opened. “Here, a drink, old friend.” It only took Alcott a single and swift gesture to produce two bottles of beer out of nowhere. He had two magical bags sewn to the underside of his sleeves.

“Many things also stay the same, drunkard.” Pollo took one of the bottles and opened it with his thumb. Alcott had those bags even in the past, and they were the place where he kept his important and frequently used weapons, as well as his beer.

“I can’t get drunk.” Alcott took a sip of his bottle. “You can tell, don’t you? Won’t you ask questions?”

“Why do you smell of werewolves and vampires? Knowing you bastard you probably got their blood in you. Wait, I even smell some necromancy.” Pollo smiled. “You freak, I remember hearing a story about you turning into a zombie one time, so it was true.”

“Most of those stories are true. I’ve been through a lot.” Alcott looked at Pollo, “And now, we’re in a new story.”

Pollo frowned. “You’re talking about that black dragon? Need help taking it down? If so, then count me in. But be careful. That dragon had killed the demon lord of the werewolves; I could smell it in him. He isn’t a monster that should exist in this world. We’ll need a god to slay him.”

He scratched his chin, “A few weeks ago, didn’t something strange happen? When the sun went crazy. If the rumors are true, then one of the new emperor’s wives had ascended to godhood; we could try getting her help.”

Alcott shook his head. “I’ll tell you something, but don’t be surprised.”

Pollo smiled, “Wait, I’ll guess. You already killed the bastard. Knowing you, it’s hard to imagine any lizard escaping alive. You even killed Artheos after all, and that was a dragon who scorched half a continent.”

“Artheos was a red great wyrm; all I needed to do was get him all angry and hot, then dump a lake on his back.” Alcott leaned back on his chair, “But not, I didn’t kill that black dragon. Do you want my wife to skin me alive?”

“Then what is it? Got a plan?”

Alcott shook his head, “No, that black dragon you’re talking about is my son. He brought you here to torture and interrogate about that lich’s location, but I got you out.”

Pollo remained frozen for almost a quarter of an hour and then gasped. “Wait, how? You aren’t joking!” No matter how much he tried, his nose told him Alcott wasn’t lying.

“He is my son. Believe it or not, you’re not in the torture’s basement thanks to that. She is nasty.” Arad finished his beer bottle and pulled a second one. “Anyway, I told him all about you. He almost didn’t believe me, but it worked in the end.”

Pollo was known as a reliable adventurer who didn’t care much. As long as you pay him fairly, and you aren’t getting him directly involved in anything messy, he’ll honor his contracts to the bitter end. With that noble lich, the quest’s contract was that of an escorting and protection mission through the dangerous forest to purchase rare alchemy parts, fairy parts to be exact.

Pollo didn’t have much to ask or care about. A noble wanted an escort in and out of the forest, and so he took the job. He didn’t care where the fairy parts were coming from or where they were going.

“Did you know he was a lich?” Alcott asked and Pollo smiled. “Of course I knew, what do you take my nose for? He told me directly that he was some ancient lich looking to restock on his alchemical supplies.”

“They do that a lot, and you can’t simply tell them no because they’ll just keep trying until they find one willing to do the job. Due to that, Local guilds usually send skilled adventurers to keep an eye and make sure nothing bad happens.” Alcott stared at Pollo with a stern face.

“Tell me, who hired you? The guild, or that lich?”

“Both. The lich wanted me to escort him, and promised it’s nothing dangerous to humans. And the guild wanted me to make sure he keeps his word. Before we get to meet the suppliers, though, that black dragon attacked.” Pollo leaned back on his chair. “And you’re saying that black dragon is your son.”

He then glared at Alcott. “To be honest with you, for a moment there I thought the lich would become a hero. Your son looked more horrifying than any evil monstrosity that I saw in my life.”

“He only looks scary when you anger him.” Alcott stood, approached the door, and knocked on it. “Guards, call Arad here.”

After several minutes had passed, the cell’s door opened, and Arad walked in. Pollo stared at him for a second and then sighed. “They really are the same.”

Thanks to his werewolf’s nose, Pollo could tell that Arad and Alcott had similar smells, making the possibility of them being father and son high, albeit telling for certain was hard since void dragons barely have any smell. He could also tell that Arad, the massive man standing in front of him now, is the same black dragon that eviscerated the forest that night.

“Now, this explains why one of the queens was there. Where in the nine hells did you find such a woman? I’ve been looking for years and only found bums and buns.” As Pollo asked with a smile, Arad pulled a chair out of his stomach and sat down. “In the slave market, but she is free now. Speaking of that, you almost ended up in it yourself.”

Arad glared at Pollo with a grin, “For a moment, I thought that I finally got a strong one to work in the mines.”

“The mines? I’ll die before going back there.” He then shifted his gaze to Alcott, “So what now? Are you letting me go, or throwing me in jail? Don’t worry, I’ll sit tight and won’t break out.”

Pollo was already too strong for bars to keep him locked up, and to prepare a cell for him like this room, Arad had to waste a lot of resources and Merlin’s precious time. Since the cost was so stupidly high, keeping him in jail wasn’t an option from the start. It’s either the mines, the chopping block, or freedom.

“I might be rich, and I might have the funds to keep you locked up in a box for a few decades, but I’m not going to waste that money on you. Since father explained things for me and vouched for you, you’re free.” He sighed, “I assume you don’t know where the lich’s lair is.”

“Nope, I met him a day away from that forest. I doubt that he had a lair nearby.” As Pollo shook his head, Arad nodded. “I already know that his lair isn’t anywhere within a four-thousand-kilometer radius from that forest, I even searched for up to a five-thousand-kilometer radius and still found nothing.”

Arad’s magic detection range was truly massive, as wide as the moon, and allowed him to search and detect anything as long as he knew what he was looking for. He knew what the lich’s necrotic magic and soul looked like, so if he didn’t find him, it meant he wasn’t in range.

“Why do you care so much? He didn’t harm humans as far as I know. He might harm them later, he might’ve harmed them in the past, but now, we got nothing on him.” Pollo threw a glance at Alcott and then turned back to face Arad.

Arad remained silent for a second and then spoke. “It is simple, really. If I weren’t here, Zephyr would’ve killed you and every human that got involved. He didn’t just harm spirits; he drew the ire of their queens. You could say he almost started a war between us and the spirits.”

“I see… if the queens moved, then it means those suppliers really were hunting pixies.” He sighed, “Damn it.”

“How else could they’ve got their hands on fairies like that?” As Arad asked, Pollo almost laughed. “Hey, Alcott! Is he still a kid? What were you teaching him?”

Pollo started counting all of the possibilities. “Spirits sometimes sell their criminals to us to excite. That’s one of their execution methods, death by humanoids. There are also some spirits who sell their bodies after their natural death to leave more wealth for their children, and there are even a rare few who trade a wing or two of their own to a wizard in exchange for spells or power.”

He smiled. “Imagine if you had a bunch of criminals who are sentenced to death, and you could instead sell them to dragons for a mountain of gold each? Do you think the kingdoms won’t do it?” He chuckled, “They already do sell them to demons, devils, and dragons. Just a few months ago, I heard of a witch who was sentenced to death and sold to a dragon to eat her.”

“Pollo, the important matters. Are you still looking for them, the mutants. I’ve been bored lately, so I was thinking of helping you hunt them down.” He then shifted his gaze to Arad. “You can join us as well.”

Pollo looked down, then smiled. “Yes.”