The dragon's harem

Arad was sitting back inside the VIP room, looking down at the arena where the commentator and the referee were now declaring the ranking of all archers from the lowest to the highest.

Aella stood in the kitchen, digging through it with Tina, looking for a snack. The contest had made her hungry, and sadly, the half-angels barely had anything that she could eat inside this pitiful kitchen of theirs.

The maids behind him were already sitting around a large table, counting the pile of gold they earned from betting on Arad and Aella. They earned a lot, enough for them to retire and live a luxurious life for the remainder of their time in this world.

But, none of the maids wanted to retire now. They all instead threw lustful glances at Arad, imagining how much money they would make just being around him.

Arad got 11/10 in the last contest, leaving him with a whopping total of 33/30, a score that no one had ever achieved before. Of course, many nobles and army generals were now searching for him, trying to find where did he vanish to.

One part of them wanted to recruit him, the other just didn’t want to leave such a powerful man free. They wanted him controlled, and on a short leash.

Aella, who lost to Valeria, only got 10/10 in the last contest, leaving her with a stunning 32/30, another legendary score that’s only beaten by Arad. She was in the same boat as Arad. Many looked for her, some more enthusiastically than the others.

Valeria, on the other hand, had earned 1/10 in both the first and second contests while she got 11/10 in the last, leaving her with an embarrassing 13/30, not even close to the middle ranks, lower than average by a lot.

Thanks to that pitiful score, she was almost forgotten, left alone in the healers’ tent. She was powerful at close range, but not worth any money as an archer.

Of course, the reason those archers joined in the first place wasn’t to win first place or even the reward money. No one cared about that. What those people wanted was to get their name out there in the world. Show their skills and weapons to those who are willing to pay for their services.

They were here to make a name for themselves, to market their skills, set prices for themselves. The higher someone ranked, the more willing the nobles were to spend fortune on their services.

There is that woman who is now selling her overpowered crossbow, for example. She didn’t care about winning as long as everyone saw what her weapon could do. In fact, she might make the most money out of everyone today.

Arad could already see many nobles and generals rushing to scout the new talents. Many looked for him and Aella, but no one managed to find them. He and his wife bolted away the moment he finished fighting Valeria. Even the referee got confused.

Right now, he was observing the archers. He, too, might want to hire a few of them to mount the walls of his castle or even support the paladins hunting demons in the wilds. A battalion of half-angel archers, now that sounded like the best areal support for a holy party of paladins.

Lucifer didn’t have any daughters and so he asked Arad to pick any woman he liked from his people to serve as the bridge between the two kingdoms, but Arad already started getting annoyed by how many women are thrown at him. This time, how about another kind of link? What if he employed some soldiers from Lucifer’s ranks? Allowing them to operate in his kingdom as a sign of trust? Those archers are perfect for the job.

Arad already noticed a few things. The man and woman who ranked third and second in the previous rounds were in a tight spot as well.

The man who was the best of the two kept refusing all of the offers he got because they were too boring and he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life guarding a snobby noble kid, while the poor woman got ignored since everyone seemed to rather offer the man more money hoping to win him over than settle for her.

Valeria had already woke up and was now still sitting inside the healer’s tent, alone. No one needed an archer who couldn’t shoot anything further than their arms. It didn’t matter how powerful, how fast, or how skilled she was. They just had no use for her.

He looked at one of the maids, “Mind doing something for me?”

When the maid heard him call her, she immediately jumped from her seat with a large blush on her face. “Of course, if you wish…” She started approaching him but then halted when he spoke again. “Then I want you to go and call a few people.”

She sighed with a disappointed face. “As you wish.”

****

The archer, the large bulky man, was now exhausted- not from firing too many arrows but from the nobles nagging at his head. He didn’t want a comfortable and boring job like guarding the Divine Temple of the forgotten gods or joining the exhausting and bland Silver Divine Flame Armed Forces.

He wanted a clear job that wasn’t boring, one where he could work through the day and drink his brain to death at night, a job where he didn’t have to stand the whole day long while also not throwing himself into death each day.

The man’s name was Alex, and he had spent the past decades of his life training with the bow. Now, he only wanted to get back home and think about his options.

Will he give up safety or excitement?

That decision would have to wait until tomorrow. Now, he wanted a drink.

But as he was about to leave, a maid rushed through the crowd and pushed all of the nobles away, flailing a royal necklace signed by Lucifer himself.

Alex stopped, looked at her, and smiled, “The Bright Lord Lucifer? Really? Now, that is something I didn’t expect.” He chuckled and approached her. “What could he offer? I’m not interested in the royal guards.”

“Please go to the VIP room. You’ll get an explanation there.” She gave him a gentle bow and then looked at the woman far behind him. “Lady Charlotte, you are invited as well.”

Charlotte blinked twice, “Wait? Me as well?” She looked at Alex and the maid. Soon, she sighed. “So if he couldn’t convince Alex, he’ll take me as a replacement.”

Alex scratched the back of his head, “Will it really matter if you’re replacing me? You’ll get a job either way. Lord Lucifer has many great posts to offer, but I probably don’t want any of them.” He waved his hand to Charlotte. “Come, I’ll reject him so you can get the job.”

As the two headed toward the VIP room, the maid took them on a slight detour toward the healer’s tent, where Valeria was hiding.

“Lady Valeria, do you have a moment?” The maid walked inside, and Valeria jumped, “You’ve been called to the VIP room. Please follow me.”

It was common knowledge that the only ones who used the VIP room were Lucifer and his entourage, which meant that this might be Valeria’s chance at a decent job, of course, only if they didn’t mind her bad eyesight.

As the four reached the VIP room door, the three archers looked at the maid, their faces full of worry.

“So, what kind of job does he offer?” Alex asked with a shaking voice.

“Right, we can’t just go inside blind.” Charlotte looked around, her eyes restless. “What does he want from us?” It was just now that it dawned on them that they were meeting their king. Refusing his offer without a valid reason wasn’t a wise thing to do.

“I don’t feel okay. My stomach is hurting.” Valeria took a step back, trying to flee.

The maid looked at them, sighed, and shook her head. “I’m but a humble maid. Do you think I know everything? I was asked to bring you three here, and that is all I needed to know and understand.”

She reached forward, grabbed the door’s handle, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

The moment the three archers walked inside, they felt it. A rush of magic, oppressive pressure, and a dominating presence behind it all.

The one sitting in front of them was AO, with a little girl pulling on his hair with a happy smile on her tiny face.

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