“Andy Coins.”
It’s a private currency created for my inner circle, modeled after the “Isabelle Coins” used by Isabelle, the deputy manager of Cosmos General Store. Well, calling it “currency” is a stretch; it’s more like service vouchers. If someone presents one to me, I have to make something and give it to them, or use a dragon to support them on a journey.
Recently, a “secret technique” has been spreading where people present a coin and say, “Make as many babies as you want♪.” However, unless they are of the legendary stamina level of Cosmos or Hilda, it won’t last very long, so I really hope people realize that using it that way is a waste. I mean, if I’m asked properly, I’ll always provide sex that is thoroughly satisfying. Besides, even Hilda says that with my ejaculation volume, the probability of pregnancy doesn’t change much even if you don’t “rapid-fire” multiple times.
As for these “Andy Coins,” I do allow them to be transferred to others. I suppose there might be some female slaves who don’t find much charm in my handmade items, and there are probably girls from outside who would rather exchange them for actual cash. Vapor Palace isn’t just for female slaves and dragons; Northern Elves, the Onyx Maid Corps, the girls from the Cat Colony, and the prostitutes of Cosmos General Store all come and go. Since I occasionally give coins to those girls as well, I figured it would be fine for a wealthy female slave to buy up the rights. Well, that was my intended way for things to flow.
“Papa, look, this!” ”…Ria, why do you have that?” “Mama gave it to me for my birthday!” ”…?”
Floria. Narys’s daughter. Seven years old. Narys is one of the relatively few heavy users of the coins among the female slaves (for transportation for sightseeing and adventures), so she seems more like the type to use them herself rather than give them to her child. Since she tends to use them herself, I wonder how she secured enough to give to Floria. If I recall, trying to buy them from the other girls was quite expensive. Also, why would she give it to a child? Because there have been so many submissions lately for sexual purposes, I braced myself, fearing that Narys had finally been corrupted by the madness of trying to teach her child lewd things under the guise of a father.
“If I use this, I can go on an outing to wherever I want with Papa, right?” ”…Eh, ah, uh… yeah, that’s true.” Strictly speaking, “with Papa” isn’t a condition, but if my child is pleading, I have no qualms about accompanying her, so I kept that to myself.
“I want to try going into the Northern Forest! I heard Krisma’s village is really beautiful!” ”…Ah, I see…” Since Narys is an elf from the Southern Great Plains, her daughter Floria is treated as an “outsider” regarding the forest. Lately, things have become relaxed enough that even half-elves from Anzelos or the forest elves’ children are let through easily, but since Floria is being raised outside of the Palace, she lacks any connection to the forest. Even if she wanted to go, she likely has very few people to rely on to take her. Come to think of it, I realized with a sense of guilt that Narys is quite isolated in many ways…
“You’ve been there before, right, Papa?” “Well, a few times…” “Take me! I’ll give you a kiss!” “Alright, leave it to me.”
Now, let me clarify upfront: it is absolutely not the case that I feel any sexual desire toward Floria. If you’re a father, doesn’t it make you want to do your best when your daughter says she’ll give you a kiss? Besides, the Sakura Clan Manor has a much more relaxed atmosphere than the Red, Blue, or White clans, so it should be fine. I only worry about the stares when passing through the Silver clan. …The reason Blue is more relaxed than White is because I ended up producing the great-grandchild of the Clan Leader, Old Man Voice, in my house. Though it was already a clan that didn’t care much for trivialities, I am now treated almost as a member of Old Man Voice’s family. In recent clan meetings, it seems Old Man Voice has become a complete guardian for Irina. I’m grateful, but honestly, am I not just running amok in the forest all by myself? Well, that aside.
◇◇◇
I make an appointment with Christi.
Christi gave birth to her child at roughly the same time as Naris; the boy was named Wedge.
As is typical with those in power, her family did not approve of him being raised in the Palace mixed in with the other commoner children. Despite being a half-elf, he has been raised in the Clan Estate since infancy, so Christi only visits him occasionally.
Every time she visits, she appears flustered by the Palace’s “all-naked paradise” atmosphere, which leads the amused cats and courtesans to cling to him and tease him relentlessly. I worry that he might grow up to be a twisted individual.
Christi says, “I thought it would be better not to hide the fact that he is the child of such a person,” and chooses to take a hands-off approach to Wedge’s experiences.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
“So, that’s why I want to take Lia on a trip to the Sakura territory for about two nights.”
“Couldn’t you just take her normally?”
“Now that a coin has been paid, I have to host her with a proper itinerary. I’ve decided that this particular endeavor is worth moving even a dragon for. If I just gloss over it with a half-baked outing plan, it’ll damage my credibility later. …I’m planning to fly to Sakura on the dragon’s own strength, without using a teleportation circle.”
“That… certainly sounds like something the other clans would take issue with, calling it a serious matter if you didn’t clear it with them first.”
Christi agrees with my reasoning.
The area within the barrier of the Northern Forest is vast. Attempting to travel without a teleportation circle turns it into a massive expedition, at least as far as the shores of Celesta or Lake Valery.
My plan is to take Floria—who wants to see beautiful scenery—on an aerial tour of the forest as we make our way to Sakura.
“Even so, it sounds quite extravagant…”
“Lia is a child of a dragon rider, too; there’s nothing wrong with letting her experience that.”
“No, I mean… using a dragon for the price of a single coin, all to have your undivided attention…”
”…That’s not the point?”
“I recall that the idea of using a dragon for a single coin was a proposal from Ms. Emma to reduce your burden, Master.”
”…Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
The burden that the dragon was supposed to shoulder has instead been shifted elsewhere. In fact, I’m essentially getting double the benefit.
“N-no, but look, I want to be proactive in responding to requests like this. Because Lia is also my precious daughter. She might be just one of hundreds already, but that doesn’t mean I can take her lightly.”
“I am not saying you shouldn’t do it. I am simply saying it is extravagant.”
Then, Christi holds up a finger.
“We female slaves can sense the implications, but if the children begin to complain… it will be difficult to settle the unrest.”
”…Y-yeah.”
The female slaves go out of their way to uphold my dignity, maintaining the facade that everything is purely at my whim and my free will. If their demands were to exceed my intentions without limit and I became overwhelmed with work, all my motivation would be drained, which would defeat the whole purpose.
Setting aside the female slaves, who are somewhat restrained, what happens if the children start making various demands of me?
Since they are children, they certainly have the right to speak up. And as a parent, it is my duty to reject them if their requests are far too much. I should be able to handle it… in theory. But there are hundreds of them.
Tasks that could be carefully scrutinized in a small, intimate parent-child relationship become impossible to manage at this scale. If a sense of favoritism develops among the children, creating temperature differences and factions, it would turn into a living hell.
Therefore, I believe what Christi is implicitly suggesting is that I shouldn’t just be soft on them because they are my cute daughters, but rather maintain a certain level of distance.
However.
”…But, I want to do a proper parent-child event like this… I want to have memories as a normal father more than anything else…!”
”…I-I suppose so.”
Christi averts her eyes.
She understands. In the Palace, Elenia is now aggressively pursuing me with a full-on “go-getter” attitude.
Using the fact that she practices contraception as her shield, she has moved on to everything from sex in every possible position to trying on hand-me-down collars, and even demanding anal sex. Overwhelmed by Elenia’s intense drive to explore all sorts of sexual experiences, several of the other girls have begun to feel restless, wondering if they should follow Elenia’s lead.
With the girls who are already living in the Palace, even if I try to act like a normal father, they only meet me with expectations like, “You’re going to lead this into something erotic, right? Like an erotic picture book.” Because of that, a pure request like Floria’s is actually quite precious.
◇◇◇
I chose Lyra to be the dragon carrying Floria, simply because Floria is most attached to her.
Lyra herself has a strange fondness for Naris, and during our time in Polka, she often takes on a role similar to Naris’s guardian. Perhaps because of this, Floria tends to view Lyra as an aunt. In terms of intimacy, she’s probably more like family to Floria than I am.
Well, I suppose everyone is family, but it’s hard to help it—the connection is a bit different from the children living in the Palace or the colonies.
“Lyra is fast. You have to make sure your clothes are tucked in tight, or the wind will blow you right off.”
“Ho-ho. To ride upon my back is a great honor. Be on your guard, Floria.”
I helped Floria up and climbed onto the black dragon, who was lying flat on his belly. To ensure both of them could ride comfortably, I had constructed a seat between the spines of Lyra’s dorsal spikes using forest timber and dragon materials. If it were a smaller creature, I might call it a “saddle,” but it functions more like a proper seat.
I had worried that a dragon might dislike having such equipment strapped to its back, but Lyra simply laughed it off, saying, “Why should I bother with such reservations now?”
Well… yeah. From the perspective of a dragon that claims to endure even having parts of its body severed if a rider requests it, my concern might have seemed a bit distant or cold. Still, I thought there was a slight possibility that something like this could be incredibly humiliating for her.
As it turned as it turned out, my worries were unfounded, and we took off as we entered the forest barrier.
“Ria, make sure your belt is fastened. It might feel tight, but if you fall, you’ll die.”
“Ugh. I don’t need this…”
“You do need it. I’ll have Maia stay on alert too, but even in a normal ‘Shack,’ there have been plenty of people who have fallen out before.”
Maia was riding with us as an accident prevention specialist. Since Maia’s physical abilities are on an entirely different level, she didn’t need to worry about falling and was simply standing upright on the dragon’s back, though her presence might actually be a distraction to a disgruntled Floria.
“Usually, the ‘Shack’ is kept tightly closed, so you might never have seen the scenery from a flying dragon before. …Don’t go wetting yourself, okay? Mama used to wet herself a lot because she was scared of Lyra when she was little.”
“Ho. Those were the days.”
“Eeeh? Mama, you were already a knight by the time you met Papa.”
“Even knights are usually afraid of dragons.”
While listening to this trivial banter, Lyra straightened up, beat her wings, and slowly ascended. Fortunately, Floria showed no signs of the phobia that Naris has. That was a relief.
…Though, the Naris in question is currently traveling elsewhere, spending coins as usual. I had considered having them both come back together, but since it seems to be a sightseeing trip toward Queeca, they might not return for up to two weeks (there are quite a few tourist spots and dungeons near Queeca), so I gave up on that idea for now.
“Wow… so fast!”
Soon, Floria began to rejoice at the speed Lyra was picking up. I had heard she was a child who did nothing but embroidery at home, but it seems she doesn’t mind a bit of a thrill. Stroking the girl’s head as her bright red twin-tails fluttered in the wind, I basked in a sense of satisfaction as a “father” for the first time in a while.
Yes, this is what it’s all about—parental family service. Making your child happy.
“Don’t just get excited about the speed. The ground is beautiful too. Look, that’s the Heroic Peak. Apparently, what you see from here is something like a mirage.”
”…??”
Since the space is distorted, just because you can see it doesn’t mean the distance is accurate. Normally, a mountain like that would be visible from perhaps a hundred or two hundred kilometers away at most, but in reality, the Heroic Peak is supposedly over a thousand kilometers from the edge of the Silver Territory.
…There’s no point in explaining such logic to Floria. It’s just a bit of trivia that I only vaguely understand myself.
“How long until we get there~?”
“Lyra, how long will it take?”
“At most, four hours or so. We shall have the evening meal prepared promptly.”
“Eeeh! Even though it’s that far, Chris-mama is already there!?”
“There’s a shortcut.”
“I want that way too!” Ugh… My father’s master plan is being rejected. “N-now, don’t be like that. You couldn’t fly above the forest winds like this if it weren’t for this special occasion.” Lyra offered a follow-up, even adding an acrobatic loop-de-loop for good measure. Floria let out a joyful “Kyaa!” and seemed to be having a blast, but I froze up a bit. I certainly didn’t design the seats with inverted flight in mind. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. I thought Maia might fall, but she just stood there with her hands released, perfectly fine. How is she doing that? Is she using magic? “Once we get there, we’ll set up the tent, start a campfire, and the two of us will sleep together, okay?” “Yay!” This three-day, two-night trip is also a camping training session. Since it’s been a while since I used the Celesta Army’s camping gear, I’m going to teach Floria the joys of the great outdoors. Floria, whom I had assumed was an indoor person, seems incredibly excited. It makes me wonder if her “girly” hobbies are just a result of how she was raised, and that she actually longs for an adventurous life like Naris’s… Well, if a child grows up listening to Naris’s bedtime stories, it’s hard not to admire that. Teaching her the actual joys and hardships of such a life is exactly what a father should do. Yes, yes. This is shaping up to be a wonderful way to make memories.
◇◇◇
A few days later. “Daddy, you hate me!” “That’s not true.” “But… you only dote on Ria and Elenia!” “I think you’re cute, too.” “Then…” “But I’m not putting my cock in you. Elenia is enough for me.” “That’s not fair…!” “No, really, listen. I’ve explained multiple times that a father normally isn’t allowed to do that, alright?” “But you did it to Elenia!” The one who caused the most trouble with her explosive complaints was, surprisingly, Frena. “I just gave up because El is a pervert!” “She’s my daughter, after all! ♪” “As her mother, you’re allowed to protest a little, Seren.” “Even if you say that, we are literally in the middle of mating with distended bellies, aren’t we?” It’s great that she’s so strong-willed in situations like this, but Neia is also waiting her turn to mate with a distended belly. If that’s the case, then Frena is also the daughter of the same situation, making the conditions equal. “Mom, you say something too!” ”…Um, Master. I’m not sure what I should say.” “For starters, just… try to use some common sense or something.” “Please don’t make impossible demands given the current situation…” Vapor Palace is filled today, as always, with steam, bare skin, and semen.