Picking up Girls With My System

"Captain Arthur, are you alright?"

A voice came from the dungeon\'s corridor, straight from the cell of one of the captains, the tall, muscular man who wielded the ax.

"For now, yes. And what about the rest of you?" Arthur asked, sitting in the corner of the cell.

"Some are still asleep, but none of us are dead. What do you think will happen to us?" he asked, but before Arthur could answer, one of the priests went inside.

It was not the bishop but someone with a low rank in the church.

"Dinner time for you, demonic creatures," the priest said, giving each captain a cup of blood to keep them alive.

After that, the priest involuntarily gazed at the last cell, where the Bishop said no one should get close to it.

"What demon is in there?" the priest thought, slowly walking toward the cell, passing through all the other captains.

But, as he was getting closer, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. It was the Bishop.

"What did I tell you about going there? Leave it to me."

"I-I am sorry, Bishop. I\'ll return to the church and prepare our night session."

"Good."

The priest got out of the dungeon in a hurry, afraid the Bishop would get angrier at him for disobeying his orders.

As for Arthur, he could only hear what was happening and wondered if the priest had been taken over by curiosity or if his pact technique was starting to take effect.

"You know your situation isn\'t good, right?" the Bishop said as he stopped right in front of Arthur\'s cell, tossing a cup of blood, but differently from the other captains, Arthur only got a drop of it.

Arthur grabbed the cup but did not drink it and said, "I know. But getting anxious will not help, and sometimes we must accept our fates."

A poetic way to think. The only reason Arthur was not scared was that he had a plan to escape from that place, and also, it was not his main body that was trapped. So even in the worst-case scenario, Arthur would still live, which was good.

"I see you are wise, expected from a demon whose words can entice the purest heart. I have come here to give you this tiny drop of blood. But, you know, it is not the time for you to die yet. Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do," the Bishop said, leaving the dungeon afterward.

Arthur kept gazing at his back as he left.

"I will get out of here, and you will see what\'s good!"

~~~~

Leonard, Malak, and Tessa made their way to the dragon valley. They wore cloaks and traveled without attracting too much attention, afraid someone would steal their precious item.

"Look, that\'s the mountain! But what are dwarves doing in there?" Tessa asked, pointing at the snowy mountains far from where they were standing.

The dragon valley had new citizens: the dwarves! Arthur went there and showed them his mighty, converting them into new dragon priests, and they were now building a temple for worshiping the dragons!

When Tessa and her group got close to the mountains, a red dragon flew toward them, intercepting them. It was Valethar, and he had recovered from the previous wound.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he said, roaring.

"H-How majestic," Tessa said, and for a moment, she had the urge to kneel in front of such a creature.

Leonard felt the same way, and Malak was the only one who was not, as he was a rank-four mage.

Speaking of Malak, he was the one who took the lead and said, "we are here to speak with your lord. We came with gifts."

Valethar felt the powerful aura coming from Malak, and he was scared Malak was a threat to the other dragons, but before he could do anything, someone came from the mountain, flying toward them.

It looked like a human with long hair that touched the end of his back, completely dark. The man had toned muscles but did not look big, yet the power emanating from that young man was extraordinary.

Malak, a rank-four mage, knew the man coming toward them was not simple. And was someone Malak had met before!

"Why is a human here?" Tessa asked.

"This is no human," Malak said.

That youth was Arthur, and Malak recognized him from when they met on the island where he was trapped, and Arthur was the one who freed him!

"Who are you? Wait, aren\'t you that crazy old man?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, my name\'s Malak. I\'m glad you still remember me. This is Tessa, and that one is Leonard, vampires from the Von Stein family. So we have an important thing to discuss. Can we talk privately?"

If Arthur did not know them beforehand, there was no way he would let someone enter just like that. Still, Malak was a rank-four mage, and even if Arthur denied his entrance, if Malak truly wanted, he could make his way through the dragons, and no one could stop him.

"Follow me."

~~~~

Arthur led them to the dragon\'s valley, a beautiful place that the humans usually did not have a way to see it.

"This is gorgeous! I could live here," Tessa said, looking at the waterfall near Arthur\'s cabin.

Jane and Wisa were there, training, but Arthur did not bother them, as Malak said he wished for a private conversation.

"This is where I live. Cozy, isn\'t it? Please, sit," Arthur said, pointing at the wooden chairs around a table.

They did what he told them to, even Malak, acting as respectfully as they could. Sure, he was stronger, but that would not last forever, as he knew dragons were not creatures to underestimate.

"Now, tell me exactly what is going on here."

Malak and Tessa told Arthur about the Blue Rose Order and how they wished to end the Von Stein family and give the continent to the dragons.

"I still cannot believe you are a dragon. That never crossed my mind when we met," Malak said, drinking a mug of beer Arthur gave him.

"Crazy, right? Why would you give the continent to the dragons to rule when you could rule yourself?" Arthur asked.

"I cannot win against all the other rank four mages alone, especially after I lost my powers. After we are done here, I plan on leaving this place to look for someone I lost long ago...."

The way Malak said, looking down at his mug of beer, reminiscing about things from the past. It touched Arthur, and he could tell Malak was genuinely looking for someone, just like Arthur, who still did not find Hiley.

"I also have other plans for the future, but someone else from my race can rule this place, like Selen or Valethar."

Arthur then looked at the box Malak had in his hands.

"What\'s this?" he asked, pointing at the box, making Malak smile.

"Honestly? I have no idea what\'s inside, but legends say only the lord of dragons can open it, and it must be something good for you. Here, take it; this is my gift."