The dragon's harem

Chapter 321 The Final Plan, And The Weird Monk

”[That would be a distraction, and then I would use a precast teleportation spell to move us closer to the border where we can cross quickly,]” Doma said with a smile.

”How about you let me speak instead?” Isdis grunted, sitting beside Lydia, ”I came here to speak with the elves in the first place,” She stood, ”Itʼs a diplomatic problem, isnʼt it?”

”They could take you as a hostage. Remember the tension between you and us?” Aella stared at her, ”Youʼre hearing it from an elf. Humansʼ lives are far shorter, and our higher up wonʼt care about playing dirty.”

”[Humans wonʼt live long to remember it, and even if they did in history, it could easily be forged as fake.]” Domaʼs voice came from Arad as Isdis sat down, ”I know,” She sighed.

”With that decided, Doma would prepare for the worst-case scenario, and we will try to achieve our goal with as little conflict as possible. Anyone has any ideas?” Arad asked.

Jack scratched his chin, ”Well, I have an idea,” He looked at the tent door, ”The elves traveling with us. They were kidnapped from villages close to the border. We can just guide them close enough and watch them go to one of those villages.”

Arad blinked, ”Are you saying we wonʼt need to take them all the way into a village?”

”Yeah, we only need to get them close enough. Itʼs not like they are injured or canʼt walk. Weʼre merely protecting them.” Jack waved his hand.

”Didnʼt you hear me? Iʼm here on a diplomatic trip. Weʼre going all the way to the Elvish capital and meeting the queen,” Isdis growled.

”Thatʼs definitely not going to fire back at us, not with a century-old witch with bad blood between her and the elvish queen. They would surely ignore that,” Aella waved her hand, looking at Isdis, ”We canʼt get that close to them,”

Arad sighed, looking down, ”I guess, not elvish support,” He remembered his conversation with Jack. Getting the elvesʼ support and running for the throne. It all looked too good to be true.

”[They wonʼt be able to feel my presence unless they touch Arad directly, and the one who does it needs to know me well,]” Doma said, ”[So unless the queen touches Aradʼs skin directly, I can make sure they never knew Iʼm there.]”

Everyone looked at each other, ”How much is the chance of Arad touching the queen? She wonʼt let a random adventurer close to her, right?”

Aella scratched her chin, ”Depends on how the queen sees him,” She looked at Arad, ”If the reverse of the worst scenario happened, and the elves welcomed us like heroes. You might end up standing before the queen as an honored hero.”

”I donʼt want to deal with that,” Arad sighed, ”Wonʼt a ceremony like that take a lot of time?”

”It usually takes two days. We can stay that long, canʼt we?” She looked at Arad with a smile.

”Canʼt we just have Jack be the leader and attend?” Arad scratched his head, ”I canʼt get close to the queen, can I?”

”But youʼre the leader,” Isdis stared at him, ”You can forget it, Iʼm the leader, and I will deal with the queen.”

Jack shook his head, ”I would prefer it if Arad is the one speaking with the queen,” He wanted Arad to get the elvesʼ favor as the hero that saved their people. He canʼt let Isdis take credit only to keep Doma hidden.

But then, even if Doma gets exposed, weʼre are stuck in trouble. He looked at Aradʼs face, ”Weʼre between the hammer and the anvil,”

Arad looked at Aella, ”Is there any way to avoid the queenʼs audience?”

Aella thought about it for a few seconds, ”The only thing I can think of is if the queen sees you as an equal, or at least a power to be reckoned with,”

”Can you listen to me for a second?” Isdis stared at Jack, ”Iʼm the princess of the human kingdom. I can speak with the queen while putting Arad as the powerful hero that saved the elves.”

”HAAA!” Eris sighed, staring at them, ”Itʼs like Iʼm listening to a bunch of kids thinking this through,” She stared at Arad.

”[Right?!]” Doma said with an excited face, ”[Do you have a better plan?]”

”Of course,” Eris looked waved her hand as her eyes glowed red, ”We walk in, and meet the queen as expected.” Eris approached Arad, ”If she asked you to kiss her hand for a reward, just say that problematic for you. She will understand,”

Arad looked at Eris confused, ”What will she understand?”

”A hero usually doesnʼt pick a side. If youʼre calling in life is saving and helping people, you wonʼt care if itʼs an elf, a human, or anything else.” Eris approached Arad, ”A hero saves people equally. Having you like that will make it easier for the elves to use you as a mediator between them and the humans.” She smiled, ”You will get their support, without actually needing to server them directly.”

”Do you think it would work?” Aella stared at her.

”If the humans are already helping Arad without tieing him down, the elves would lose face in front of other kingdoms if they tried to control him,” Eris explained with a grin. ”Be a good asset to everyone, and you will get all of their support.”

”[Youʼre right. With that, the kingdom that first make a move to control Arad would look like bad guying trying to harm peace, and they could get shunned.]” Doma laughed, ”[As expected from a long-living vampire, how old are you?]”

”Donʼt ask a woman about her age,” Eris sighed, ”But Iʼve seen enough to know,”

Jack nodded, ”Sheʼs right. Arad was already walking down the path of a dragon mediator. A neutral power that everyone should respect. But I will see if there are any thieves contact here to help us out,”

”Please do,” Arad nodded, ”So the plan is like this,”

”Deliver the elves to the capital. Meet the queen. Get her support. Donʼt touch her. Leave without a fight.” Arad sighed, ”Letʼs hope everything will go according to plan.”

***

On the other side, an elf sat inside a tent with two soldiers facing him. ”Where are they?”

”Sir!” One of the soldiers stood firm like a log, ”They have entered the bleak wood forest. Monsters strangely avoided them, so there is a possibility they hold a powerful monster or an item.”

”Weʼve spotted half of the missing elves alongside them with a woman suspected to be the fourth princess of the Alseria kingdom. We suspect they are here on peaceful business.”

The commander rested his chin on his hands, ”Should we risk it?” He sighed, ”Our sensors are screaming blood magic. There are at least two, maybe three vampires in there. Add to that the extra lycanthropic and vague curse magic around them, and the giant cobra sneaking behind. I doubt they are here for good reasons.”

”Sir, do you think they intend to attack us?” One of the soldiers gasped.

”Even if we arenʼt on good terms with the humans, we know they never steep too low to work with friends. My guts is that princess is double to lure us out,” the commander looked at the soldiers, ”We shouldnʼt fall for it. There are villages full of civilians behind us, and they wonʼt be able to fight such fiends.”

”What if sheʼs the real princess?” One of the soldiers looked at the commander with a pale face.

”We still trust the humans. She must be captured and forced to work with them. Our priority should be to save her and our people.” The commander stood, ”Kill everyone besides the princess double and our people.”

”As you order!” The two soldiers saluted him.

The commander smiled, ”By orders of her majesty the seventh queen and under the guidance of the first Queen Sylph Ways. We shall return evil with goodness, and save the human princess for them.”

He walked out of the tent, brandishing his sword and pointing it at the sky. ”By the queenʼs name and for the future peace! Give up your hearts!” He shouted, and the rumbling of ten thousand elvish soldiers shook the ground as they stomped and shouted.

DING! DING! A ringing sound killed their voices. Sitting aside beneath a tree, a single monk with short black hair sat beneath a tree.

The comander paled, ”Herald, Youʼre here?”

”That man,” The monk rang his bell, and Aradʼs image appeared in the air, ”Do I get to suck on the queenʼs toes if I brought his head,”

The commander sighed, ”No, you weirdo. Weʼve been telling you no for decades. Get over it. She will never look at you no matter what.”

The monk looked straight, tearing from his closed eyes, ”How saddening, how discouraging. How unfortunate.” He stood, ”The spirits of the tree are crying for I donʼt get anything.” He started praying.

”But, I shall remain strong,” The monk smiled, ”One day, my wish will be granted, and his head I shall bring,”