Demonic Dragon: Harem System

Selene let out such a long sigh that it seemed she had abandoned part of her own soul along with the air.

She walked over to a small table near the windows, pulled out a chair, and sat down in a manner far less elegant than one of the Ten Great Witches would probably like to admit.

Then she rested her chin on one hand and looked at Frieren like someone who had just lost an academic opportunity due to circumstances completely beyond her control.

"It’s hard to find competent people," she complained. "You spend decades talking to mages who think reducing the mana consumption of a spell by five percent is extraordinary. Then, when you finally find someone who understands what you’re talking about without needing fifteen explanations..."

Her eyes slowly turned toward Strax.

"A Dragon has already seduced her."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

Frieren started laughing.

Selene spread her arms dramatically.

"What a shame. Such a sad world."

"It wasn’t exactly like that," Frieren replied, still amused by the interpretation.

"You live with him."

"Yes."

"You work for him."

"That too."

"You were transformed and now possess demonic mana because of circumstances directly related to him."

Frieren thought for a few seconds.

"That really doesn’t help my defense."

Strax smiled.

Selene pointed at him as though she had just presented definitive proof.

"See?"

Frieren shook her head and finally walked over to one of the chairs in front of the table.

"It’s not that I have anything against your Congregation. Actually, I liked this place quite a lot. The accumulated knowledge is impressive, the laboratories are good, and some of the research I saw today is better than I expected."

Selene straightened slightly.

"But?"

"I simply don’t see a reason to join something I don’t belong to."

The answer made Selene fall silent.

Frieren rested one arm against the chair.

"I’m not even exactly an elf anymore."

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean by ’not exactly’?"

Frieren looked at her, then at Strax, as though deciding how much she wanted to explain.

"My structure changed. My essence too. I’m currently a succubus."

Selene went completely still.

Her eyes began to shine.

Frieren noticed immediately and raised one hand.

"No."

"I didn’t even ask anything."

"But you’re going to."

"Of course I am."

Selene leaned forward, all exhaustion vanishing from her expression.

"You were born an elf and were completely transformed into a functional demonic species? Did the transformation preserve your memory? Your spiritual structure? Your magical affinity? Was there bodily reconstruction or only an alteration of essence? Did your lifespan change? Your channels—"

"Selene."

The Great Witch stopped.

Frieren pointed at her.

"It’s more complicated than it looks."

"That has never stopped a good conversation."

"My mana doesn’t even work like yours anymore."

Selene became even more interested.

Frieren let out another sigh.

"I can’t use natural mana the same way I used to. My current structure works almost entirely through demonic mana. I can still manipulate magic, obviously, but the internal process is different. What you sense when you look at me isn’t an adapted elven reservoir. It’s something else."

Selene began analyzing her shamelessly.

Strax watched the Witch’s eyes move over Frieren as though she were looking at a rare creature.

"Don’t start," he warned.

"I’m only looking."

"Frieren says that too before trying to open something."

The elf looked at him.

"I don’t open everything."

"That wasn’t a convincing defense."

Selene raised one hand.

"Could I at least analyze your mana circulation someday?"

Frieren answered immediately:

"Maybe."

That seemed sufficient for Selene.

"Excellent."

Strax pulled out a chair and sat beside Frieren.

"Now that you two have finished deciding who is going to study whom, can we get back to the actual reason we’re here?"

Selene slowly recovered her professional posture.

"The transfer of the Congregation."

"That."

She made a small movement with her fingers, and a three-dimensional projection appeared over the table.

The entire crater emerged in miniature, including the main tower, underground complexes, suspended islands, and dozens of glowing points representing magical cores.

"The transfer can be done," Selene explained. "The main problem isn’t moving the structure. We already have the calculations for that. The problem is finding a suitable area in Asgard and adapting the matrix to the new mana network."

Strax observed the projection.

"How much space do you need?"

Selene indicated the edge of the crater.

"Ideally, an area similar to this one. We can reduce some of the outer zones, but not by much. The underground complexes are larger than they look."

"Naturally."

"And we need a stable source of mana."

Strax immediately thought of the enormous ancient tree beneath Asgard, but decided not to mention it yet.

Even he did not know exactly what that thing was.

The last thing he wanted was to introduce a mysterious tree to hundreds of Witches and discover three days later that they had drilled into its roots because some researcher decided to measure the magical density of its sap.

"We’ll solve that later," he said.

Selene nodded.

"We’ll also need to formalize our political relationship."

Strax crossed his arms.

"That’s where Monica comes in."

"You really don’t like contracts."

"I don’t like big contracts."

"Is there a difference?"

"A simple contract says what each side needs to do. A long contract tries to predict twenty situations that may never happen, and in the end no one remembers half the rules."

Selene laughed quietly.

"You really are an unusual ruler."

"Monica handles the complicated things. I show up when someone needs to be threatened."

Frieren corrected him.

"Or when someone needs to sign something."

Strax looked at her.

"I hate that part."

"We know."

Selene placed both hands on the table.

"Then let’s simplify it. What do you want from the Congregation in exchange for allowing us to establish ourselves in Asgard?"

Strax did not need to think for long.

"Protection."

"Define it."

"If someone attacks Asgard, you help."

Selene nodded immediately.

"That’s obvious."

"I want your barriers integrated with ours."

She looked at him with a little more attention.

"You want our defensive technology connected to the kingdom’s infrastructure."

"Yes. I don’t want a gigantic Magic Tower protecting only itself while a city beside it is under attack."

"Reasonable."

"You can keep your own systems, secrets, and everything else you consider necessary. I have no interest in entering your laboratories to inspect every piece of research. But if you live in Asgard, defending Asgard becomes your responsibility too."

Selene nodded again.

"That’s simple."

"I like simple things."

Strax continued.

"Local trade too. I don’t want you teleporting everything from somewhere else just because you can. Buy food, materials, clothes, tools, and whatever else you need from the local markets whenever possible. Sell what you produce. Hire local people. Participate in the economy."

Selene looked slightly surprised.

"That’s all?"

"So far."

"No research tribute?"

"Normal taxes."

"No compulsory surrender of artifacts?"

"No."

"No mandatory access to our archives?"

"No."

"No right to requisition Witches for individual military campaigns?"

Strax thought for a moment.

"If Asgard is at war, I expect help from the Congregation as an organization. I’m not going to point at a specific Witch and tell her she now belongs to my army."

Selene fell silent.

It was obvious she was comparing that proposal with the demands she had received from other territories over the years.

"You’re asking for very little."

Strax shrugged.

"I’m asking for what I need."

"And internal autonomy?"

"As long as you don’t violate Asgard’s laws, you can organize the Tower however you want. I don’t care if you have a council, hierarchy, hat ritual, or anything like that."

Selene smiled.

"We have a hat ritual."

Strax looked at Frieren.

The elf kept a neutral expression.

"I knew it."

Selene started laughing.

"No, we don’t."

"Now I’m disappointed."

She dismissed the projection and leaned back in her chair.

"Then the treaty would basically be defensive cooperation, economic integration, respect for Asgard’s general laws, and academic autonomy."

"As far as I’m concerned, yes."

"That’s almost offensively reasonable."

Strax laughed.

"Of course, this is a verbal agreement."

Selene raised an eyebrow.

"It has no legal value?"

"It probably has some, but I wouldn’t trust myself to write the rest. Monica is better at that."

"I noticed."

"Talk to her after this. She’ll want to know about population, territory, taxes, trade, security, responsibilities, probably sewage..."

Selene blinked.

"Sewage?"

"You’re bringing hundreds of people."

"We have magical systems."

"Excellent. Explain that to Monica."

Selene looked at Frieren.

"He really leaves all of that to someone else?"

Frieren nodded.

"It’s safer."

"I’m starting to see that."

Strax leaned comfortably back in the chair.

"The important thing is that, from my side, I have no problem with the Congregation coming to Asgard. I just want to do this without creating a mess that turns into a reason for our organizations to hate each other fifty years from now."

Selene kept watching him.

"You think a lot about long-term relationships."

"Because lasting relationships are better when no one tries to be too clever at the beginning."

She tilted her head slightly.

Strax continued:

"The more complicated you make a relationship, the more opportunities you create for someone to interpret something conveniently later. I prefer making the basics clear. You help me when I need it, I help you when you need it. You respect my home, I respect yours."

"Home?"

"If you come to Asgard, this stops being only Congregation territory."

Selene understood immediately.

"You consider the entire kingdom your home."

"Basically."

She smiled.

"So you really do like simple things."

Strax nodded.

"Overcomplicating things ruins lasting relationships."

Selene rested her chin on one hand and looked at him for several seconds.

There was curiosity in her gaze, but something more serious now as well.

The proposal Strax was offering was very different from the political negotiations the Congregation had faced in the past.

There was no attempt to extract knowledge, control research, or turn the Witches into military tools.

There were conditions.

But they were conditions for coexistence.

"I’ll talk to Monica," Selene finally said. "If what you just said can truly be turned into a formal treaty, I believe I can convince the other Great Witches."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"You don’t decide alone?"

"I’m one of the Ten."

"Ah."

"Not the Queen of Witches."

"You have one?"

"No."

Strax smiled.

"Then obviously someone is going to give me a headache before this is over."

Selene smiled too.

"Certainly."

Frieren, who had remained quiet through much of the political conversation, finally spoke.

"Can I see the archives on pseudo-souls before we go back?"

Selene turned toward her.

Her smile immediately grew.

"Of course."

Strax closed his eyes.

The negotiation was over.

The two researchers were back.