“A new festival?"
"Yes. I’d like your cooperation.”
The baron, scratching at his now completely white head—having given up dyeing it recently—brought this proposal to me on a late spring evening.
“Are we adding another one?"
"As far as Poruka goes, you don’t have that many yet."
"…Ah, right, I guess not. If we’re just counting Poruka festivals, there’s the New Year Festival, the Spring Festival, and the Harvest Festival.”
I counted them off on my fingers. Then there’s Breakcore’s Holy Beast Festival, Celesta’s biannual Spirit Festivals, Lapal’s Tide Festival, the Royal Capital’s Founding Festival, Renfangus’ Hero Festival, Karlwin’s “Dragon Exchange Day,” and Granze’s Liberation Festival. Personally, it feels like I’m constantly preparing for a festival every month.
Plus, the Elven Spirit Temple has its own unique 100,000-day calendar, so sometimes they have festivals at weird times and call me in on short notice. Thanks to that, my schedule gets messed up all the time, and Tethes gets mad at me.
With everything always being a festival, I’d almost lost track of what was normal.
“I know you’re busy, but if you give them a word, the elves will move, and we can reach Celesta through Lady Diarne."
"Yeah, well, I get that, but what kind of festival?"
"An art festival."
"…G, geeijutsusai? An art festival?"
"Yes. I want it to be a great success.”
Right now, Gloria and Lantz are at the center of an emerging artist’s circle in Poruka. How many years ago was it that Lantz became Gloria’s apprentice after Goat got married and settled down into domestic life? Blessed with a good mentor, his natural concentration, and understanding of female forms, he now energetically draws original erotic picture scrolls that rival professionals.
Seeing this, young people from Granze who used to live in Karlwin started aspiring to be painters, and even Julio—Diarne’s brother, the acrobatic sculptor—and the sculptors from the Northern Forest naturally gathered, leading to an explosion of art in certain districts.
The baron, who had been supporting Lantz as a patron since he started painting, had been building galleries one after another to house these artworks. But, well, with Gloria and Lantz, most of the pieces were nude paintings. It wasn’t something he’d pushed too hard.
But now, he thought, why not boldly promote them alongside other sculptures, spreading the word about how amazing Lantz’s and others’ works are? He felt the time was right, as traditions had become lightly shaken by diverse cultures.
It’s true that it would be a waste to only enjoy these pieces among a small group of enthusiasts. The district with the studios is like another world, lined with sculptures and murals so impressive you wouldn’t believe they were done as a hobby by volunteers from the sticks. And the galleries are even more amazing—currently, nothing’s priced, and they just casually display whatever Gloria and her apprentice draw, which is hard to believe.
Gloria, now one of my female slaves, doesn’t need money anymore, so she has no ambition for fame. She just keeps drawing because I, Lantz, the baron, and Old Man Harry get so happy when she does.
She’s had kids a bit later than usual but seems happy with disciples gathering from Granze and the Northern Forest. But the baron decided that wasn’t enough.
“So, apparently, we’re having a new art festival in early autumn. I want to make it a big deal.”
That night, back at the “Vapor Palace,” I told the girls gathered in the dining hall about it.
Some of them were wearing slave collars, some were dragons, and others were just visiting—catfolk, courtesans from “Cosmos Shop,” even Elven women from the Northern Forest.
The palace has a “free to undress” rule, mainly for Blue Dragons and some exhibitionist female slaves, but excluding Elven women who aren’t used to it or those who frequently go outside, more than half of the girls were basically naked all day.
“So, what are we doing? ‘Model for you!’ I’ll stand next to your painting?"
"Well, that might be effective in a way, but it’s not exactly that.”
While feeding two of the girls, Cosmos casually said something bold. In fact, Lantz has drawn quite a few pictures with Cosmos, Hilda, and Leila as models.
But that’s exciting for viewers, but not really what we need for an art festival.
“We have plenty of people here at the palace. How about some kind of amateur art contest?"
"Doesn’t the city already do something like that?”
“Sounds like nobody’s really up for it, though.”
The canvases, paints, brushes—art supplies aren’t exactly something you can just grab on a whim. For families with zero experience, painting is a pretty high hurdle.
But inside this palace, we’ve got all the tools readily available and can share them easily. Getting stuff from the city using dragons is a breeze too. And it’s not just paintings—sculptures work just as well. Jeanne and I can even provide the carving tools if needed.
“Gloria said she’d handle the beginner instruction, so anyone interested should give it a shot."
"Any rewards?”
Oregano raises her hand to ask. Rosemary and her kid are next to her. And, of course, they’re all naked.
“Rewards… hmm, let me think.”
I scratch my head and ponder for a moment.
Then—
”…Participation prize: This. One Andy Coin. For everyone.”
I snap my fingers.
It’s a “reward voucher” modeled after the “Isabelle Coin” from Cosmos Shop. Using it lets you demand a handmade present from me or ask a dragon to take you anywhere you like.
…The dragon ride option wasn’t there at first, but Emma came up with it to lighten my workload, and we adopted it. Usage rate’s… not super high, but it happens sometimes. Naris is the biggest user.
“Gifts” can be anything from a few-hour date to… well, things tend to get sexy pretty fast during dates. But if I’m just hanging out without purpose, they’ll all gather and turn it into a group thing. So being able to demand a one-on-one romp is actually a pretty rare privilege these days.
I half-wonder if the non-slave girls would be thrilled about this coin, but when I really focus on them, even the prostitutes get to go wild, so it’s surprisingly popular.
After grinding with Hildegard, Cosmos, Gloria, and the others every night for over a decade, my skills have definitely improved. Improved a lot.
“So… if someone wins… what should the prize be? I’ll make something special, anyway.”
I declare something super vague, thinking they might not be motivated by that, but the girls erupt in cheers.
Wait, am I that respected? Even as an artisan?
…But then—
”…If you win… could we maybe… have a real baby?”
It’s Maia, asking shyly. And, naturally, she’s naked.
”…I’ll consider it, but aren’t you already doing that?"
"Not just two or three times and calling it a day—I mean, going at it like I’m gonna impregnate you dozens of times!"
"…Fine.”
I was about to add “We have kids here, so let’s not talk about this too much,” but the excitement drowned me out completely.
…Is that what everyone wants?
Well, yeah, this is Polka, so even if we go hard, they’ll heal up fast. But still.
Most of the kids who live in the palace full-time are only four or five years old—basically pre-pubescent. Once they get older, they move out to their own homes.
Some, like Jeanne and Seren, stay with the Smysom family, but most of the female slaves now have their own houses, usually living with their mothers.
The non-slave girls… well, they mostly go back to their hometowns to be raised. Even if they’re having sex, most can’t bring themselves to completely sever ties with their families.
By the way, a few of the prostitutes from Cosmos Shop have casually popped out my babies. Or rather, they’ve all gone back to their villages after a session and had them without telling me, so I accidentally messed with the oldest one (who was Felicia, the white fox girl’s kid). They just casually mention it after the session’s over.
Since then, if a younger girl tries to tempt me, I make absolutely sure she’s not my own kid.
“I want to stop doing anything lewd with my daughters."
"Isn’t that fine as long as it’s consensual?”
“I think Serena should be the most pissed about this kind of thing, you know?"
"If Papa forces himself on me, I’ll definitely hate sex. But if I’m all hot for him and he’s the one who doesn’t want it, I’d resent my own instincts and get warped in a different way."
"…Huh."
"I think a child’s happiness is what matters most, you know?”
Serena laughs at her own pace while washing dishes.
Hmm.
So Serena isn’t worried about me having sex with the kid, but whether it’ll hurt him?
Ignoring that I’m sleeping with other people like it’s nothing… well, that’s beside the point now. But as for social stigma and all that… she doesn’t care at all because she grew up ostracized by society as a half-elf.
As for problems from bloodlines getting too thick… Irene always says, “A little bit isn’t a big deal; magic can fix it. It’s different if you’ve been screwing around for decades, though.” So that’s probably how it is.
No, no, wait. But still.
”I don’t care how much he wants it, I won’t allow Peter to attack his mother or any of the other female slaves."
"Well, yeah, that’s true. The female slaves are all Andy’s property anyway."
"You’re okay with him accepting that, but you’ll just ignore your daughter sleeping with her father?"
"I think Andy should realize he’s special, an exception to the rule. He can make any woman happy—whether it’s dozens or hundreds. Only the girls who accept that get close to Andy. But unfortunately, Peter isn’t one of them… Yeah. If it’s Andy, even his own daughter… any woman, he could make her happy."
"…Sometimes…"
"?!"
"I’m just reconfirming how messed up your thinking is sometimes."
"Oh, really? I’m just a realist~”
What is realism, anyway? Makes me want to philosophize.
Of all the kids, Peter was the first to recognize me as his father, of course.
But he’s a half-dwarf, so he grows up a bit slower.
He should be a little older than Elenia, who’s recently outgrown her baby fat and gotten slender, but he still looks like he might not even be ten yet.
Dwarves don’t grow very tall to begin with, and apparently they stay in their childlike bodies until they suddenly sprout beards and get overly muscular, but Peter hasn’t shown any of those characteristics yet.
Still, his voice is a little too deep and rough for a ten-year-old. Sounds like he’s already going through puberty.
”Hey, Dad. Can I enter the Vapor Contest?"
"You can, but… can you even draw?"
"I don’t really draw, but I can make some pretty cool dolls.”
Peter looks smug as he brings out a doll he made from his room.
It’s a knight doll made of lead… Ah, I remember making those with Dad too.
”I’ve already made twenty of them. Old Man Jackie says they’re sellable now."
"Please stop calling Jackie ‘Old Man.’ It confuses me.”
Jackie is usually the one who looks after Peter. He’s past fifty but still a fully active blacksmith.
Since Sarah got married, he seems lonely and has been especially doting on Peter lately.
”But saying they’re sellable is a bit too generous. The details are sloppy. You have to finish them more carefully, Peter."
"Tch, Dad’s always finding fault.”
“Your talent isn’t bad. I’m just saying, don’t half-ass it. If you try to pull that crap in a contest, people’ll laugh at you.”
“Okay, okay… So, if I win, can I get an allowance increase?”
“What are you gonna spend all that money on anyway?”
“That’s… well, whatever! It doesn’t matter what I use it for!”
My son stammers, looking a little embarrassed. Hmph, thought he could fool his old man?
There aren’t many things a kid in this town would spend money on. Probably just some trinket from a peddler to give to his girlfriend.
“If you win, that is. Everyone’s an amateur, but there’ll be elves and dragons too, so it won’t be easy.”
“Heh. I don’t think anyone but Mom can beat me anyway.”
I feel a twinge of anxiety at my son’s needless confidence. Has he been coddled too much?
By the way, the reason for his allowance request was later revealed to be because Cosmos-san’s… well, let’s call her a ‘lady of the night’ at the Palace had shown off her assets and when he tried to sneakily touch her, she said, “If you wanna get frisky with us, you better bring some money!”
And then, about a week passed.
The girls from the Palace started going outside for sketching and other artistic activities, suddenly making Plocka all artsy.
“This is a good opportunity. Plocka is a fine town, but it lacked this kind of cultural enrichment,” said Kristi, narrowing her eyes at the burgeoning art boom that even the townspeople and the stationed Crossbow troops were joining in on.
Now that she mentions it, I have to agree. The people here are healthy and beautiful thanks to the Spirit Spring, but the town itself lacked any real design flair.
…Though a lot of that was because Gloria, our resident artist, only drew erotic pictures.
And among them was Elenia, seriously sketching the forest scenery.
”…Eh, Elen? You want an allowance increase too?”
“Allowance? There’s nowhere to spend it around here. Besides, who started saying that? Peter? Claudius?”
Claudius is Hildegard’s kid. He’s about the same height as Peter right now.
He’s much shyer than Peter, and a real mama’s boy, soaking up all of Hildegard’s maternal love.
”…Don’t you want any rewards or anything?”
”…I do, but I’ll tell you if I win.”
Elenia says that with a scowl as she draws.
…Even her scowling face is cute, thanks to my doting parent bias.
And after watching Elenia like that for a while, I felt satisfied and thought maybe I shouldn’t voice my crude concerns.
Maybe the reason Elenia comes to the Palace naked more than before, or tries to get me to touch her all the time, isn’t because she’s just lost her sense of shame about nudity due to the environment, but simply because she feels a stronger desire to be good daughter and to be affectionate with me.
Yeah. That must be it. Mom Seren being weirdly lax about incest is just a coincidence.
And then came the art festival.
People gathered from Granzi, from the north, from Celesta and Renfangas, taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the paintings and sculptures placed throughout the town.
…The works of Gloria & Lantz, our master-apprentice duo, accounted for only about twenty percent of what was displayed outside, but their undeniable skill captivated viewers, guided them to the gallery, and secured many buyers, so it was a success in practical terms.
And then came the main contest at the Baron’s mansion.
The grand prize, chosen by the judges… was Mya’s “Scale Statue.” She collected broken dragon scales and made a miniature dragon statue.
Some people thought it was too much of an advantage to use dragon scales as materials, but since it wasn’t prohibited, excluding her from winning wouldn’t be fair, so she won.
And while the gold and silver prizes went to others, Elenia’s “Forest Pine” barely managed to win a bronze.
“Yeah."
"Ugh… um, Eren? If possible, as your dad…"
"You won’t grant my request even after winning the competition?”
In the palace’s bath area, tucked in a corner.
As expected, I’m pinned down by Elenia.
”…Listen, I want to grant Eren’s request too, if possible. But—"
"You’re not listening!"
"…"
"I hate you."
"Guh… uh, Eren, it’s not that I absolutely won’t listen. It’s just… I think it’s a little early for you, you know?"
"Then how old do I have to be!?"
"No, seriously, just wait a little longer, Eren. Okay?”
The girls in the palace are all watching this with such a peaceful, almost heartwarming expression.
…I begged and pleaded until they let me off for just today.
I… I don’t want to be hated. If Eren hates me, I’ll die.
…Though I might not last that long anyway.