I’ve come to Tark today. Though it’s not the time of the Spirit Festival, Diane and Cosmos have accumulated some tasks that need handling. I’m here to help them out and also to foster relations with the Cosmos Main Branch and the Onyx Maid Corps. During festival times we’re both too busy, so this is a good opportunity to spend more quality time together. Also, this time, I came partly because of Kay’s mother search. Even if I ask the maid captain, she won’t tell me anything. So, there’s no other choice but for me to directly inquire around town. It wouldn’t be surprising if her relationship with Kay is kept a secret even here in Tark. I want to express my willingness to acknowledge her and also discuss Kay’s education. Even though it might not amount to much. If I completely ignore the situation, there’s no telling what kind of twisted ideas could influence my daughter. So, for future reference, I need to clearly show that I expect a proper education for her. With this in mind, as I walked through Carlos’ garden, Janet, Diane’s daughter, stopped me. “Father, I have something to ask.” “What is it?”
I had nothing to be ashamed of, and in fact I was trying to correct my son’s misconceptions about me by looking for a maid. But when he caught me doing so, it threw me off balance.
Janet looked up at her father with an unreadable expression on her face and pointed casually to the side.
At the end of her finger stood a sand-colored tower some fifty meters tall.
“I always thought that tower had been there forever, but I heard you built it.”
“Uh, I’m not a mason. I just gave orders.”
“Why did you build it? The Tower Emblem is supposed to be an organization with one horn. It doesn’t make sense for my father, who serves Onyx, to build it.”
The tower was called the “Horn of Tark,” and it had become both a new landmark in Tark and a new symbol of the Tower Emblem practically speaking, since their office was inside.
And the reason it happened… well, Ashton Minister told me to do it.
“If you ask why, I don’t really know. Maybe some kind of deal went down with Onyx.”
”…You just build something like that?”
“I think it was also a demonstration of power. In fact, for Rila and the others, this wasn’t such a long-term job.”
That’s right. They used dragons to build it. More precisely, Rila and her followers in the surrounding area—the lizardmen. Rila did all the heavy lifting with her dragon body, while the lizardmen carried out the finer details under Diane’s direction. Elves and dark elves contributed their architectural skills, resulting in a structure as sturdy as the collapsed Tower Emblem of Tark—but one that wouldn’t be destroyed even by an unprecedented earthquake. If this tower were to collapse due to an earthquake, Diane said, it would probably mean that all the sun-dried brick buildings in the city would crumble first. Since there aren’t many non-sun-dried-brick buildings here, practically speaking, Tark’s destruction would follow. …Anyway, having a dragon build this was a powerful message in itself. It meant that Onyx could easily surpass the Tower Emblem’s construction work if it wanted to. And by generously offering this to the Tower Emblem, they showed their full support on the surface while also emphasizing their absolute superiority—“This is something we consider of such little value”—and even declaring, “We’ll destroy you whenever we want” by showing off a dragon. …Probably because Minister Ashton knew about what happened when the Tower Emblem people had been mischievous before, he was even more furious than Carlos.
Carlos had merely hinted at his position as the ruler, while Minister Ashton chose a more brutal approach to instill fear. He was originally the one who laid down the family motto: “protect your allies, give to friends, entertain guests, and kill enemies.” Even though he has entrusted Carlos with running the family business in support of national politics, his true nature is likely even more radical.
…That’s what I explained to Janet rather vaguely. The vagueness comes from my uncertain sources of information. Minister Ashton still acts out whenever he meets me by getting angry over trivial matters and then leaves after being scolded by the family. The request for construction of that tower was also passed through Diane, and even Carlos is basically similar in behavior. Thus, it’s hard to gauge how seriously they take things. “So the design was done by Diane, and I didn’t do any labor on the building work. All I did was ask them to build it, then stayed inside drinking because of the heat… So, can I really say that I built it?” ”…As always, Father is truly incredible.” “Is there anything about him that isn’t incredible?” “He’s aware that he’s a key part in an ambitious plan to awe all of Tark, yet talks about it as if it were just some side job. Shouldn’t something like this be the kind of thing you’d boast about for life?” “At the time, I was really just drinking and not doing any side work… Besides, no matter what big construction project a dragon does, it’s only meaningful when Carlos or Minister Ashton give it purpose. And that’s why true power can make people happy. But I’m terrible at that kind of thing.”
Even now, I often borrow the power of dragons, but it’s clear that they don’t always deliver as much effect as advertised. Of course, if all you want is to kill monsters, a simple “go do it” will get you exactly what you expect. But in human society, things aren’t so straightforward. You need meticulous planning for aspects like who really needs this done, whether other methods could handle part of the problem, and how to deal with the terror that comes from having dragons move around. Without knowledge and experience, unexpected negative consequences tend to pop up. Thankfully, Diane-san and Aileen usually take care of the brainwork, so I don’t make any fatal mistakes. I’m always impressed by people who can work out such details, but all I do is tell the dragons “please” and leave it at that. It doesn’t really feel like my doing. “I often hear about your great works wherever I go. My mother likes to boast ‘my dad did this,’ but he never tells me anything.” “Huh? No, if you ask, I’ll explain for sure, even now.” “Do you actually forget who you told what to unless asked?” “U-ah, no…”
Well, it’s hard not to forget someone when you have a hundred people around. Janet flinched and then looked away.
”…I’m sorry. That was an unfair question. I can only talk to my father this way, so he probably thinks I’m annoying.”
“Huh?”
Wait, wait. Janet, that’s a huge misunderstanding!
“I’ve never thought of you as annoying!”
”…It looks like you’re trying to spend the least amount of time possible with me. You weren’t even invited to last week’s camping trip.”
“Oh, well…I wasn’t really interested in it…and besides, they didn’t call kids who might get hurt from fire or knives…”
“Floire and Ryle are my age, though…”
”…If you wanted to go, I’m sorry.”
”…Honestly, I’m just disappointed that you didn’t invite me. I don’t particularly want to camp out.”
“Um, let’s put it a bit more delicately… Sorry about that…”
Janet, who is young but looks strikingly like Diane and excels in both studies and sports, pouts childishly. It’s somehow endearing yet frustrating at the same time.
…If I had taken her along, things would have gotten really messy, I think now. Floria was shocked after seeing my father having sex with her sisters, and since then she’s been a bit distant. If I’d shown Janet something like that out of nowhere, she might not talk to me until she grows up.
When I told Diane about this, she laughed. “I don’t think you need to worry too much. She’s not an oblivious girl. She already knows how Elenia and Frena are head over heels for their father.”
“And the fact that they’ve actually had sex is a completely different matter,” I said.
“I never told her not to get close to Palas. She’s very curious, so she probably saw what you were up to there.”
“There’s one thing I want to say. Please don’t treat me coldly. You may be just one of hundreds to you, but she is my only daughter. I don’t want her to suffer because she doesn’t feel loved by her parents.”
“Is it okay for you to say that when some kids have already crossed the line of being ‘loved’?”
“If that’s what she wants, then I’ll be on her side.”
Despite appearing calm and collected, Diane has been quite influenced by Selen and the others. It doesn’t make much sense why she allows this while disapproving of Minister Ashton looking at his daughters naked.
After trying to gather information about Kay’s mother within the mansion, I ended up finding Kay talking with Janet. “So you want to be closer to your master.” “You could call him father if it means something to you.” “No, as a maid and meat hole first.”
At this point, I really wanted to interject, but since I was sneaking around, I couldn’t.
“I assume that by asking me this, you are hoping to join our ‘Doll Dildo Collection.’” “Dildo…? What is it?” “It’s a tool used to stimulate your master’s genitals and make him ejaculate.” I thought I was done for. When I tried to stop sneaking around and walk boldly over there, several maids restrained me and pushed me into the servants’ quarters. “W-What are you doing?! As her father, it is my duty to protect Janet from ideological corruption!” “Miss Janet is intelligent. She can distinguish between knowledge and ideology.” “And we’re on Kay’s side.” “I wish someone would be on my side for a change!” “In all honesty, Master… isn’t it impossible to block sexual knowledge at this point given Polka and Talc’s backgrounds?”
“No, I’m not trying to cut her off… I just want her to grow up while taking care of herself…”
I know that my words have no power now since they’ve pushed me this far.
But I still want them to listen. All I want is to be a normal father. That’s all.