The dragon's harem

Sena landed straight at the door of the roofs of the forest. With one hand, she opened the front door and walked in. "I'm back,"

"Master Sena!" A woman rushed toward the door, "Where have you been,"

"Taking care of some personal matters, didn't I leave you a letter?" Sena stared at her.

"Letter? Where did you leave it?" The girl tilted her head.

"Selica, it's in my... office..." Sena sighed, "And I have the keys, sorry,"

"Please remember to leave it somewhere else. This isn't the first time," Selica pouted, staring at her, slightly annoyed, "Don't blame me for this," She pointed back at a massive stack of papers.

"What in the..." Sena walked toward the table and looked at the papers, "Damage funds? What damage? Did an earthquake hit Alina or something?" She scratched her head.

"Listen! Some large scary monsters crawled out of the ground and wreaked havoc. They eventually disappeared, but not before they dug massive holes in the ground. Some caused houses that we sold under warranty to collapse," Selica waved her hands, trying to show how big the monsters were. She then approached Sena, whispering in her ear, "Apparently they wrecked the garden and side wall of that adventurer Arad. I personally checked and made arrangements with his wife Mira outside the protocol," She gave her a thumb up, "She looked against it, but we can't let someone like him find his house destroyed and get angry at us,"

"I see," Sena stared at the papers, "I'll be in my office to review the papers, bring me a cup of tea or anything to drink,"

"Make a decision," Selica stared at her, confused.

"Anything to sip on while working that isn't water," Sena stared at her.

"Vinegar or beer?"

"Another joke and I'll hang you on the tree in the garden." Sena glared back at her, and Selica ran toward the kitchen, "She's angry!"

Seeing Selica run away, Sena sighed, walked toward her office, and opened the door by transforming her finger into a bone key. "Probably shouldn't press her too much about it. This place is undamaged after all,"

She sat on her chair and laid the stack of papers ahead of her.

The paper on top of the stack was labeled [Lisworth's Garden]

"As if!" She lifted the paper up, "What do you want?"

"Is that a way to speak to your dad?" The words on the paper formed a face, "I just wanted to check on you,"

"Check on what? You could've at least prevented the attack on Alina," She growled.

"I'm too old to do it, and isn't good to have the young ones take care of it?" Cain laughed.

"Do you know how much damage that caused? I'm looking for a mountain of gold worth," Sena tapped the stack of papers.

"Pay it in god is far better than people's lives" Cain smiled, "You left the city unprotected even though it had things you consider valuable. Selica could only protect your office, but what about the streets? The city, the people you hold dear? You left those unprotected."

"You are here! And Aunt Jemima as well," Sena glared at the paper, "Even Aunty Lily, and don't tell me Grandma Zaleria or Morena aren't close by,"

"Morena and Zaleria are in the back room playing chess, and I'm now drinking tea with my father," He giggled.

"Grandpa Chad is here as well? Then why did you let the attack happen?" She growled.

The face on the paper twisted and changed, "Sena," Chad spoke, "You're a grown woman, deal with your problems on your own, learn to take responsibility,"

Sena stared at the paper silently, "Next time, don't forget to leave defenses. Cain is trying to teach you and that brat Arad how to think well,"

"You're right..." Sena looked down, "Sorry, I'll do better next time."

"That's good," Chad nodded, "But we did make sure no one died," He smiled, "Suffering monetary losses can be endured with ease, especially for someone like you. But lost lives won't return. You know that better than anyone, except Gracie."

"Us being able to control life doesn't mean we understand the worth of life better. We might even see it less than others," Sena mumbled.

"Words are but a means to exchange meaning. As long as you understand what I mean, it doesn't matter if the sentence itself is correct or not." Chad replied.

The paper shifted back to Cain, "Sena, Arad is the same as you. This world is cruel, and we don't want him to end up making a mistake that he can't fix."

"Is why you let him get caught by the dream walkers? Just so he can see everyone get killed?" She gasped.

"Yes. A dragon's biggest fear is losing their loved one. That is the true reason they seek strong partners. Scholars might say it's so their children get born strong, and make the draconic race stronger, pushing selective evolution toward strength and nothing else, but I'll tell you all of that is a load of crap. Dragons are greedy, narcissistic, self-centered prideful, and haughty elemental lizards with wings. They don't care about their race or anything else, but if a dragon is to love another dragon and take them as a partner, that partner better be strong enough not to get killed while the other partner is out."

"If we didn't get to him, he would have kept rampaging until either he died or killed all of the dream walkers in the world," Sena mumbled.

"Sofia, the second Tiamat. Alice, The queen of hell Asmodeus. Selena, the god eater Maharaja. Gracie, The death. All of them suffered what happened to Arad, but in their case, it was a reality and not a dream." Cain sighed, "I don't want Arad to end up like them,"

"He won't destroy the world with you around," Sena glared at the paper.

"I'm an observer of his growth, nothing more so don't rely on me and instead make sure both you and Arad are up to par and face the world with caution. If he were to destroy the world and kill everyone, I'll not stop him." He stated.

"Arad isn't a monster, he won't destroy the world even if he could," Sena glared back at the paper.

"Don't test a dragon's patience. For me, at least, the metallic dragons endeavor is a pipe dream, and the chromatics view on the world is closer to truth."

Click! The office's door opened, and Selica walked in with a teapot and two glasses.

"We have a guest?" Sena stared at her, "Or is that for you?"

"I would've wished it was for me, but we do indeed have a guest," She put the teapot and cups on the table and turned toward the wall.

A blazing portal emerged, and from it, a devil in a suit walked out, "Landlord, lady, and mistress of the living and alive. Barony Alony, a humble devil of the second layer of hell, at your service." He bowed gently, waving his hand.

"What would a devil want from me?" Sena glared at him, "I'm sure I said I'll kill any one of you that comes here after that last fool,"

Alony shook his hands, "Not a bit! I'm not here for trouble at all. I'm only to deliver this," He pulled a scroll and handed it to Selica, who passed it to Sena.

"This is a contract," She scratched her head, "So you're here to collect a debt, by from who?"

"Sadly, my client is already dead," The devil shook his head.

"I can't bring them to life if that's what you're after," She then stared at the contract, "But since the contract didn't burn, I guess you can still collect it?"

"My client did account for her own death and made it possible for me to collect the payment from her daughter. The two signed the contract eighteen years ago," The devil smiled, "It's but a small payment, and I only ask the contract to be delivered to her so she can be notified to pay in the urgent future."

"I can read the contract?"

"Do as you wish,"

Sena opened the scroll and gasped, "Roberta?!"

"Yes," The devil nodded.

"But, how could she...AWW!" Sena growled, scratching her head as she realized, "She's twenty-one years old. That means she was only three years old when her mother made her sign the contract. And I don't have the right to burn this thing..."

"Worry not, lady Sena." The devil lifted one finger, stating with enthusiasm and a large smile, "I do not seek money, servitude, or her soul. I'm not such a pathetic fool."

CLACK! He took a step forward, standing with his arm raised up and he then slowly lowered it, pointing at the wall, "I only seek her mother's goal! Isdis Lior Ruris, and Roberta's father, my client's husband. Their heads on the ground must roll."

"Their souls, in the wasteland of the abyss, must stroll. Fed on by the demons, they must be their stool." The devil smiled, flicking his fingers and a fiery portal appeared behind him.

"Leave that copy to the lady, I shall be in my house in the hells, waiting for my payment to roll, or else, it's all for the ghouls," He moonwalked backward into the portal.

"Can't you kill the bastard?" Selica stared at Sena.

"He'll revive in hell, and if I did that or destroyed the contract, Roberta's soul would be bound to that devil forever. All because she signed the contract," She grabbed her head, "I wonder if my father can do something about this...no he's the one who made the rule about not messing with devils' contracts in the first place..."