[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-79":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705066,2177,"Chapter 76: Gilded Hierarchy","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-79",79,"\u003Cp>We were camped somewhere in the ass-end of nowhere again. Ruined aqueduct above, some crumbled statue of a forgotten fertility goddess to the left, fire crackling like it was trying to summon its dignity. I was half-dressed, as usual, feet bare, picking twigs out of my hair. Dragon was coiled nearby, staring into the flames like they owed him rent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stretched, popped a few joints, and dropped onto my blanket with a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know,” I said, conversationally, “being a harem slut is not as glamorous as people think.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t look at me. Just flicked one ear ridge. That was his way of sayingI am listening and already regretting it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I mean, you'd assume there's a system. Right? Like a rotating roster. Some enchanted ledger with columns—who gets dick on Mondays, who does laundry, who is on pillow duty. Maybe a jeweled cock-ring as a sign of current ownership. Something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still nothing from him. But the smoke curled slightly more aggressively. That’s Dragon forintrigued but pretending to be above it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned back, arms behind my head, toes tapping to some internal rhythm. “But no. That’s only for the big places. Imperial harems. The ones with eunuch accountants and perfumed schedules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned my head and grinned at him. “Most other places? You’ve got four girls. Five, tops. Which means—gossip. Backstabbing. Hair-pulling. Petty little ‘accidents’ involving depilatory powder and your favorite tunic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon exhaled through his nostrils. A judgmental puff. “Sounds... inefficient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, it’sgloriouslyinefficient,” I said. “It’s passive-aggressive warfare. It’s ‘accidentally’ breaking the lute of the girl who sings too well. It’s ‘oops, I used the last of the perfumed oil’ when you know damn well she has a client with a fetish for lavender. And of course—chores.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That got him. One golden eye opened, slit pupil narrowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chores,” I repeated. “Harem edition. Cook duty, sweep duty, bathhouse duty. And if you're the mouthy one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I raised my hand theatrically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They say:Let the mouthy one do the floors. She likes being on all fours anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon groaned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I KNOW,” I said, clutching my chest in mock offense. “Howdarethey. Just because I can arch my back like a goddess doesn’t mean I enjoy scrubbing chamber pots with my dignity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rumbled. “You had dignity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I threw a pebble at his tail. It bounced off a scale and wentplink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you know what’sreallynot my fault?” I went on, voice rising with righteous fury. “That their boring, donkey-faced husband saw me in a slave cage—topless, in chains, looking like a tragic erotic poem—and justhadto splurge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pointed a finger at him. “Not my fault I’ve got good tits and a compelling sob story.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon gave me a slow, theatrical blink. “Compelling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very compelling,” I said. “There were tears. There was a trembling lip. I might have sung something mournful in broken High Elvish. He cried. The merchant cried. I think even the camel cried.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked. “Then he bought me. Upgraded me from cage to cushioned corner. Gave me bangles. Called me ‘precious jewel’ for a week. His prime wife tried to poison me twice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Charming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, and she also made me polish her sandals. With myspit.” I waved a hand. “Eventually they sold me back to the market. Something about me being a bad influence on the junior wives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon didn’t comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rolled onto my side, chin in my palm, watching the flames dance. “You’d think sharing a bed would make women bond. That we’d form sisterhoods. Cultivate solidarity. Maybe have a little circle where we share skincare tips and healing salves for rug burn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon muttered, “That sounds suspiciously like your Sisterhood of Amazons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I snorted. “Please. Those girls would bite your throat out for putting the salve in the wrong drawer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t argue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I poked at the fire. “Nah. Harems aren’t soft. They’re gladiator pits in silk. No rules. Just who can cry prettiest, moan loudest, and stab you in the back with a sharpened hairpin when the prince isn’t looking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence for a beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Dragon said, in that dry deadpan of his, “I see you flourished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I raised an eyebrow. “Well. Let’s just say I didn’t get promotedbecauseof my embroidery skills.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let that hang for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, wicked grin in place, I added, “But Ididget one prime wife demoted after convincing her son I was his real mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon choked. “You didn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh I did. Poor boy still sends me birthday poems.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he muttered, “Gods help the next harem that gets you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stretched luxuriously. “They’ll need it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, I leaned back, tucked my hands behind my head, and stared up at the stars like I was royalty again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just not the kind they expected.\u003C\u002Fp>",790,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.620Z",1,"novelbin.me","69aaae1d07120a46eacacacc6a84fff52dd93f0c6a172323cb607f88115d8c2f","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-80","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-78",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]