“New festival?”
“Yes, indeed. I would greatly appreciate your cooperation.”
It was late spring evening when the Baron approached me with this proposal, scratching his head which had recently turned completely white from abandoning dyeing it.
“Are you planning to add another one?”
“As far as Polka is concerned, there aren’t that many yet.”
”…Ah, no, I see. For Polka alone, there’s roughly the New Year Festival, Spring Festival, and Harvest Festival.”
I counted them on my fingers.
Adding Breakcore’s Sacred Beast Festival, Celesta’s twice-yearly Spirit Festivals, Rapal’s Tide Festival, the Capital City’s Founding Day Celebration, Renfanggas’ Hero Festival, Carlwin’s “Dragon-Exchange Day,” and Grange’s Liberation Festival… personally, I find myself constantly aware of festival preparations almost every month.
Moreover, the Elf Spirit Temple operates on a unique calendar measured in units of 100,000 days, occasionally resulting in festivals at bizarre timings that summon sudden calls to action. Consequently, my schedule often gets thrown off, much to Tetes’ displeasure.
With such circumstances, I’ve become so accustomed to constant festival preparations that my perception has grown distorted.
“I understand you’re busy, but if you simply give the word, the Elves will mobilize, and through Lady Diane, communication with Celesta’s populace should also be smooth.”
“Right. Well, I get that part, but what kind of festival are we talking about?”
“It’s an Art Festival.”
”…Eh? An Art Festival?”
“Yes. I truly wish for it to succeed.”
Currently, in Polka, a circle of artists is gradually forming around Gloria and Lanz.
I can’t quite recall how many years ago, after Goat married and fully embraced domestic life, Lanz became Gloria’s apprentice.
Blessed with an excellent master, and aided by his innate concentration and understanding of the female form, he now energetically produces original erotic artworks that rival professional standards.
Witnessing this, young men from Carlwin in Grange who aspired to become painters began to emerge. Furthermore, figures like Julio, the acrobatic sculptor (brother of Lady Diane), and various sculptors from the Northern Forest naturally gathered, leading to a rapid proliferation of artistic works across certain districts.
The Baron, who had supported Lanz as a patron since he first picked up a brush, has been progressively constructing galleries to house these artworks. However, given that Gloria and Lanz are the primary creators, most collected pieces are nudes—not exactly something widely promoted.
Yet, he apparently reasoned: “Perhaps we should boldly showcase these alongside other sculptures, highlighting the brilliance of Lanz’s works…” Feeling the times shifting as diverse cultures began to gently loosen their traditional constraints, he considered this approach.
Indeed, limiting enjoyment to a small circle of enthusiasts feels somewhat wasteful. The district housing ateliers resembles an entirely different world, lined with sculptures and murals so captivating that one cannot believe they’re merely hobbyists from rural areas doing it for fun. The galleries are even more impressive; currently, nothing is priced, yet the fact that works by Gloria and her apprentice are simply displayed without clear valuation seems almost unbelievable.
Gloria, now no longer struggling financially since becoming my female slave, lacks any desire for fame. Instead, she continues painting steadily, motivated by the joy it brings me, Lanz, the Baron, Grandpa Harry, and others whenever we admire her creations.
Though somewhat delayed in frequency, she has been blessed with children and is gathering disciples from Grange and the Northern Forest, appearing genuinely happy. However, the Baron apparently felt this wasn’t sufficient.
“Thus, a new Art Festival will be held in autumn. Since this is the occasion, I want to make sure our household contributes enthusiastically.”
That evening…
Returning to “Vapor Palace,” I discussed such matters with the girls gathered in the dining hall.
Among those present were female slaves wearing collars, dragons, cat-beasts visiting merely for fun, courtesans from “Cosmos Shop,” and Elf women from the Northern Forest.
Within the palace, free undressing is primarily a rule for Blue Dragons and some female slaves who have awakened exhibitionistic tendencies. Excluding Elf women unfamiliar with nudity and those frequently entering or exiting the outside world, more than half of the girls spend most of their day completely naked.
“So what exactly are we doing? Will you stand beside paintings saying, ‘Here’s a model!’ ♪?”
“Well, that could certainly be effective in its own way, but it’s not quite what I had in mind.”
While feeding two young women, Cosmos speaks boldly and matter-of-factly. In truth, Lanz has created numerous works featuring models like Cosmos, Hilda, and Leila.
However, while such pieces may excite viewers, they don’t quite align with the goal of promoting an Art Festival.
“There are plenty of girls here at the Palace. I think we should hold something akin to an amateur artwork competition among them.”
“But isn’t the city already issuing similar calls for submissions?”
“I’ll do it, but I don’t think we can gather everyone.” Gathering art supplies like canvas, paint, and brushes isn’t something you can just snap your fingers for. For a truly inexperienced family, taking up painting is a high barrier to entry.
But within these palace walls, such tools are easily available and shared among us. We can even have dragons fetch materials from the city if needed. It doesn’t have to be paintings—sculptures would work just as well, and I or Jeanne can prepare whatever specialized tools are required.
“Gloria offered to teach beginners,” he said. “So, anyone interested should give it a try.”
“Is there any reward for participating?”
Oregano raised her hand to ask. Beside her stood the Laurye family—both of them, naturally, completely naked.
“The reward… hmm, let me think.” He scratched his head, pondering for a moment.
Then, suddenly: ”…Here’s a participation prize. One Andicoin each. For everyone.” With a sharp ping, he flicked his finger.
It was a “reward voucher” modeled after the Cosmo Shop’s “Isabel Coin.” Using it allowed one to demand a handmade gift from me or ask a dragon to take them anywhere they pleased.
At first, no one used the dragon transport option, but Emma proposed it later to lighten my workload. Its usage rate isn’t high, though—it happens occasionally. Naris uses it most often.
A “gift” could even be a few hours of dating. While dates often lead quickly to sex, when I’m just hanging out aimlessly, things tend to spiral into group play before I know it. So now, openly requesting one-on-one intimacy has become quite a rare privilege.
Though some might think this coin isn’t very appealing to those who aren’t female slaves, the current me is so focused and intense that even the brothel girls can reach their absolute limits when I go all out. It’s been overwhelmingly popular.
After spending over a decade working hard every night with Hilda, Cosmo, Gloria, and others, my skills have definitely improved. They’re up there now.
“So, if you win… what should we make? Something special, no matter what.” He declared it with full enthusiasm, hoping to spark their interest. To his surprise, the girls erupted into excited chatter.
Was I really being evaluated so highly—even as a craftsman?
He thought that for a moment.
”…If you win… could we try making something serious?” Mia asked timidly. Of course, she was naked too.
”…Well, I’ll consider it, but don’t you already do this kind of thing regularly?”
“Not just two or three times and call it a day,” Mia replied. “I want to go on for dozens of times until we actually get pregnant.”
”…Alright, then.” He was about to add that since there were children around, they shouldn’t talk like that—but the girls’ excitement completely drowned out his words.
…So everyone really wants that? Well, true enough, this is Polka, so even if things get a bit rough, it heals quickly anyway.
Usually, only children under four or five—those who haven’t fully developed mentally or physically—live in the palace. Once they grow older, they move out to establish their own living bases.
Some girls like Jeanne and Serein still live with the Smayson family, but most female slaves now have their own homes and spend most of their time there. As for those who aren’t female slaves… well, they’ll mostly return to their hometowns to be raised. Most girls who engage in sexual activity but haven’t entered slavery simply can’t bring themselves to completely sever ties with their origins.
By the way, several daughters from the Cosmo Shop’s brothel have carelessly given birth to my child. In fact, after returning to Tark, none of them contacted me before giving birth. I accidentally got involved with the eldest one (Miss Felicia, daughter of the White Fox girl) without realizing it—she just casually mentioned it right after finishing a battle.
Since then, whenever a young girl starts seducing me, I make sure to confirm whether she might be carrying my child.
“I want to do something erotic with my daughter in a very special way.”
“If we don’t force it, wouldn’t that be fine?”
“I think Selen should be the one most upset about this situation, you know!?”
“If a father forces himself on his child, they’ll absolutely develop a hatred for intimacy. But if the child loves their father deeply and is aroused by him, only to be rejected by him… I believe that would cause them to reject their own instincts, leading to some kind of distortion.”
”…”
“I just think that my children’s happiness is what matters most.”
Selen washes the dishes, smiling at her own pace.
Hmm.
Is Selen considering not whether having sex with a child is wrong in itself, but rather whether it causes harm?
As for casually accepting that I sleep with others… well, even if we set aside how outdated that attitude seems now, social concerns like reputation… As a half-elf who grew up being publicly ridiculed by society, I simply don’t care about such things.
And regarding the issue of my bloodline becoming more concentrated… Elina has always said something like, “It’s not a big deal if it happens occasionally; magic can fix anything. But if you keep doing it dozens or hundreds of times, that’s a different story.” So I suppose she sees it that way too.
No, no, no. But still…
“I can’t accept Peter attacking his mother or other female slaves, no matter how much they might want him to.”
“Well, yes, of course. Aside from the children, the female slaves belong exclusively to you, Mr. Andy.”
“That part I understand, but why do you just overlook it when your daughter takes action against her father?”
“I think Mr. Andy should realize more clearly that he is a special case. Whether it’s dozens or hundreds of women, he has the ability to make them happy. Only those who accept this can approach him. But unfortunately, Peter isn’t like that… Yes. Even if it were his own daughter, or any woman for that matter, I believe Mr. Andy could still make her happy.”
”…”
“Hmm, sometimes…”
”?”
“I just want to confirm again that you have rather dangerous thoughts.”
“So? I’m just a realist, after all♪”
What does “realist” even mean? Let me think about this philosophically for a moment.
Among the children, Peter was naturally the first to be accepted as my son. However, being a half-dwarf, his growth has been slightly delayed. Although he should be a bit older than Elenia, who recently outgrew her toddler appearance and became slimmer, he still looks like he’s barely reaching ten years old. Dwarves generally don’t grow very tall, and before you know it, they develop facial hair and excessive muscle mass while retaining their childlike features. But Peter hasn’t shown any of those characteristics yet. Still, his voice is a bit too deep and rough for a ten-year-old—it’s almost like he’s going through puberty.
“Hey, Dad. Can I enter the Vaper contest too?”
“You can… but have you ever drawn anything?”
“I haven’t drawn much, but I can make small dolls.”
Peter looks slightly proud and brings out a handmade doll from the room. It’s a knight figure made of lead… Ah, we made this together with Dad back then.
“I’ve already made twenty of them. Grandpa Jackie says they’re ready for sale.”
“Please stop calling Mr. Jackie ‘Grandpa.’ It confuses me.”
Usually, it’s Mr. Jackie who spends time with Peter. He’s in his fifties but remains a skilled blacksmith.
Since Sara got married and seems lonely lately, she’s been especially doting on Peter.
“But saying these are ready for sale is a bit of an overstatement. The details are sloppy. You need to finish them more carefully, Peter.”
“Chk! Dad always looks for flaws!”
“Your taste isn’t bad. I’m telling you not to cut corners. If you keep pulling tricks like this in a contest, people will laugh at you.”
“Hey, hey… so if I win, you’ll give me an allowance increase?”
“What are you going to do with all that money anyway?”
“Well… uh, whatever! You can spend it on anything!”
The son stammers slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. He probably thought he could fool his father. With this Polka, there’s no way the kid would have any legitimate reason to spend money. Most likely, he’d buy some trinkets from peddlers and give them as gifts to his girlfriend.
“If I win, though… even though everyone here is an amateur, elves and dragons are participating too, so it won’t be easy.”
“Hmph. I don’t think anyone can beat me except Mom.”
Watching my overly confident son, I feel a bit uneasy. Has he been spoiled too much?
By the way, it was later revealed that his desire for an allowance increase stemmed from an incident at the Palace: after trying to secretly touch Cosmo and one of the courtesans while they were displaying themselves naked, she had teased him, saying, “If you want to get intimate with us, you’d better bring some money, okay? ♪”
And so, about a week passed. The girls from the Palace began going outside to engage in activities like sketching, suddenly infusing Polka with an artistic flair. “It’s a great opportunity. Polka is a wonderful town, but it lacked this kind of cultural enrichment.” Christie narrowed her eyes as she watched the townspeople and the stationed Crossbow Squad gradually join the art boom. Upon reflection, she was right. While people glowed with health and beauty thanks to the Spirit Spring, the streets themselves lacked decorative elegance. …Partly because Gloria, the town’s leading artist, had been drawing nothing but erotic paintings.
Amidst all this, there was also Elenia, seriously sketching scenes of the forest.
”…Eh, Elen? You’re hoping for an allowance increase too, right?”
“Allowance? There’s no use for it here anyway. Besides, who started talking about that—Peter? Claudio?”
Claudio is Hilda’s son; he’s about Peter’s height right now.
While the energetic Peter is outgoing, Claudio is quite shy around strangers. In exchange, he’s very attached to his mother and has grown up basking in Hilda’s maternal love.
”…You don’t have any requests for rewards or anything like that?”
”…Well, I’ll tell you if I win.”
Elenia said this while maintaining a stern expression as she drew. …Even with her serious profile, she’s so cute. My fatherly instinct kicks in.
After watching Elenia like that for a while, I felt satisfied and realized my tactless worries shouldn’t be voiced aloud. More than ever before, the fact that Elenia wanders around the Palace naked, or tries to let me touch her here and there, is probably just due to her environment damaging her sense of shame about nudity. As his daughter, she likely just wants to show more filial piety toward me or indulge in some affectionate closeness. Yeah, that must be it. Mother Selen being unusually lenient on incest is just a coincidence.
And then came the Art Festival. Many people gathered from Grangi, the North, Celesta, and Renfangas, enjoying the paintings and sculptures displayed throughout the town. …As for the much-anticipated works by master Gloria and her apprentice Lanz, only about 20% of their pieces were exhibited outside. However, due to differences in quality, they certainly captivated viewers’ hearts, guided them into galleries, and attracted numerous buyers—making it a practical success overall.
Then came the actual contest held at the Baron’s estate. The grand prize winner chosen by the judges was… Maia’s “Statue of Scales.” She had collected broken scales from dragons and crafted a miniature dragon statue from them. Some argued that giving the top award for such an unfair material advantage was questionable, but since it wasn’t explicitly forbidden, excluding it would have been inappropriate too, so she was allowed to receive the prize.
While gold and silver awards went to others, Elenia’s “Single Pine in the Forest” narrowly secured a bronze medal.
And…
“Ah… well, Ele? If possible, as your father…”
“You won’t even listen to my request after I won the prize?”
In the corner of the bath area at Night Palace.
As expected, Elenia had pinned him down.
“…well, you know? Dad would really like to grant Ele’s wish if he could. But—”
“He just won’t listen.”
”…”
“I hate it.”
“Guh… ah, well, Ele. It’s not that I absolutely refuse to listen; I just think it’s still too soon for you.”
“So when will it be okay!?”
“No, seriously, wait a little longer, Ele. Okay?”
The girls of the palace were all watching calmly, and the scene felt strangely heartwarming.
…He’d been forced into submission and managed to get off with his life for today. H-his fear was that he didn’t want to be disliked. If Elenia hated him, he’d die. …Though it might not last long.