I’ve come to Tark today. It’s not the time of the Spirit Festival, but Diane-san and Cosmos-san have a backlog of tasks to clear, so I’m here to help with that. On top of that, I want to strengthen ties with Cosmos Tenpo and the Onyx Maid Group. After all, during festival seasons everyone is too busy; in peacetime, we can give each other our full attention. Also, this trip includes searching for Kei-chan’s mother. Even though I asked the Head Maid, she wouldn’t tell me anything, so I have no choice but to investigate directly, including around the area. There’s no way a mother-child relationship remains completely secret all the way in Tark. I want to express my intention to recognize her and discuss Kei-chan’s education. It might be futile, but… If we simply leave things as they are, more and more strange-minded daughters could emerge, so I must clearly convey my desire for proper upbringing for the future.
With that resolve in mind, as I walked through Carlos-san’s garden, Janet, Diane-san’s daughter, stopped me.
“Father, I have something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
I had nothing to hide; in fact, I was stepping forward to correct unhealthy thoughts into healthy ones, so I should have remained composed. Yet, being caught by my daughter while searching for a maid made me flustered.
Janet stared up at her father with an unreadable expression, then slowly pointed sideways.
At the tip of her finger stood a sand-colored tower about fifty meters away.
“I thought that tower had been there for a long time, but I heard you built it.”
“Oh, I’m not a stonemason. I just gave the orders.”
“Why did you build it? The Tower Emblem is supposed to be a single-corner organization. It doesn’t make sense for your father, who serves Onyx, to construct such a thing.”
That tower was named “Horn of Tark,” becoming not only a new landmark in Tark but also, in essence, the new symbol of the Tower Emblem. Their offices are located inside it.
As for why it came to be… simply because Minister Ashton told us to do so.
“If you ask me why, I don’t really know either. It feels like some kind of deal was struck with Onyx.”
”…Is that how such a thing gets built?”
“I think it was also meant as a demonstration. For Laila and her people, it wasn’t even a long-term job.”
That’s right. It was built using dragons. More precisely, by Laila and the lizardmen from the surrounding areas who worship her. Laila, whose body is that of a dragon, handled the rough labor, while the lizardmen worked efficiently under Diane-san’s instructions for the detailed construction. Bringing together architectural techniques from elves and dark elves, they created something as sturdy as the collapsed tower once known in Tark—the “Tower Emblem”—yet so strong that it wouldn’t be destroyed even by an unprecedented earthquake. Diane-san said that if an earthquake capable of destroying this tower ever occurred, all the sun-dried brick buildings throughout the city would likely collapse before the tower itself did. Since such durable structures are rare in this region, this effectively means Tark would fall when it does. …But above all, having dragons build this carried a powerful message. In other words, Onyx can easily surpass the work of the “Tower Emblem” whenever they choose—a clear display of superiority. And by generously offering it to the “Tower Emblem,” they outwardly showed full support while simultaneously emphasizing their absolute dominance: “This is all we consider its worth.” Furthermore, by showcasing dragons, they issued a declaration: “If you defy us, we can destroy anything at any time.” …I suspect Minister Ashton was even more furious than Carlos-san after the Tower Emblem members caused trouble in the past. Carlos-san merely subtly demonstrated the status of a ruler, whereas Minister Ashton chose to instill far greater fear. Originally, he was the one who established the family motto: “Protect allies, reward friends, entertain guests, and kill enemies.” While he has entrusted Carlos-san as the main pillar of the family to support national affairs, he is inherently someone with an even more extreme temperament.
…I explained these things vaguely to Janet. The vagueness stems from the questionable reliability of my sources. Minister Ashton continues to act erratically whenever he meets me—losing his temper over strange matters before being scolded by his family and leaving. The request to build that tower was also passed down through Diane-san. Even Carlos-san generally behaves similarly, making it difficult for me to gauge how serious they truly are or what exactly they’re reacting against.
“Since the design was all Diane’s and I didn’t do any of the construction labor, and after I begged her to stop drinking in the heat instead of working outside, she somehow ended up building it anyway… so, is it really accurate to say that I built it?”
”…As usual, Father is truly formidable.”
“He isn’t formidable at all, is he?”
“While fully aware that he became the driving force behind a grand plan that intimidates the entire Tark, he speaks as if it were just some casual odd-job. Surely this should be something he boasts about for the rest of his life.”
“Truthfully, I was only drinking alcohol at the time and wasn’t even doing any side work… Besides, no matter how much construction a dragon undertakes, it’s people like Mr. Carlos or Minister Ashton who give that work meaning. Only then can great power truly bring happiness to others. I’m not good at things like that.”
Even now, I occasionally borrow the power of dragons, but I vividly realize that it doesn’t always yield results proportional to its stated value.
Of course, if the goal is simply to slaughter monsters, a single command—“Go do it!”—can produce the expected outcome. But in human society, things don’t work that way.
Careful consideration is needed regarding questions like “Who needs this?”, “Can’t some aspects of the problem be handled through other means?”, and “How can we transform the fear instilled by the dragon’s actions into something constructive?”… Without knowledge and experience, unexpected negative consequences are likely to arise.
Fortunately, Diane and Ielina usually serve as my brain trust, so I rarely make fatal mistakes.
I always marvel at those capable of such meticulous planning while simply telling the dragons, “Leave it to us,” feeling that these achievements hardly seem like my own accomplishments.
“I hear about Father’s great works everywhere we go. The mothers often boast, ‘Your father did this,’ yet he never shares anything with them.”
“Eh? No, if you ask properly, I’ll explain—just like I’m doing now.”
“Truthfully, when no one asks, I can’t even remember which accomplishments I’ve told whom about.”
“U-uh, a-ah, no…”
Well, with hundreds of people around, it’s undeniable that some details slip my mind.
As she hesitated, Janet suddenly looked away.
”…I’m sorry. That was a mean question. Since this is the only way I can speak to Father, I suppose he finds it bothersome.”
“Eh?”
Wait, wait. Janet, that’s a huge misunderstanding.
“I’ve never once thought you were bothersome!?”
”…It seems like you’re trying to minimize the time you spend with me. You didn’t even invite me to last week’s camping event.”
“Oh, no, I guess I wasn’t very interested… Besides, since it involves fire and sharp objects, the idea was not to call younger children…”
“But Floria and Lyrel are my age…”
”…No, honestly, if you really wanted to go, I’m sorry.”
”…To be honest, I’m just upset that you didn’t ask me. I don’t particularly want to go camping or anything.”
“W-well, let’s not push it too far… I was wrong about that.”
Young though she is, Janet resembles Diane with her dignified demeanor and exceptional aptitude for both studies and athletics; yet here she is, pouting in an unusually childish manner. It’s simultaneously troubling and endearing.
…I wonder if taking her along would have led to a disaster.
Floria still feels somewhat distant after the shock of witnessing Father and her sisters’ first sexual encounter, and suddenly exposing Janet—who usually avoids such topics—to it might mean we’ll never be able to talk openly again until she grows up.
When I mentioned this to Diane, she laughed.
“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. She’s not a girl who lacks intuition. It’s already clear that Elenia and Frena are utterly infatuated with their father.”
“But isn’t having actual sex completely different from just talking about it?”
“I never told her to stay away from the palace. She’s naturally curious. I’m sure she’s seen at least one thing you’re doing in the palace.”
”…!?”
“There is only one thing I can say: do not treat me harshly. You may be just one among hundreds to you, but to me, you are my only daughter. I cannot bear to see her grieve for lacking parental love.”
“Is that the kind of thing you’d say when there are already several girls who’ve crossed the line into loving you?”
“If she wishes it, then I will stand by her side.”
She appears calm and composed, yet Diane seems quite influenced by Selen’s words. Ashton Minister clearly dislikes seeing his daughters in such a state of undress, so allowing this here feels somewhat contradictory to me.
Later, while quietly patrolling the estate to gather information about Kay’s mother, I stumbled upon Kay talking with Janet.
“I see. You wish to get along better with your master as well?”
“He is also your father. Why not call him ‘father’?”
“No. Before being a daughter, I am a maid and a sex toy.”
At this point, I desperately wanted to interject, but since I was sneaking around, I couldn’t make a move.
“If you seek an answer from me, we’ll take that as your application to join our ‘Daughter Dildo Collection’.”
“D-dildo? What’s that?”
“It’s a device designed to stimulate your master’s genitals and induce ejaculation.”
This is definitely beyond the point of no return.
Just as I decided to stop sneaking and approach boldly, several maids restrained me and shoved me into the servants’ quarters.
“W-what are you doing! As her father, I have a duty to protect Janet from ideological contamination!”
“Miss Janet is wise; don’t worry, she can distinguish between knowledge and ideology.”
“And we are on Kay’s side.”
“I’d really like some allies once in a while!”
“That’s kind of you, Master… but given your current roots in Polka and Tark, cutting off sexual knowledge is no longer feasible?”
“No, I’m not trying to cut it off… I just hope you can grow up cherishing yourself…”
Honestly, I know that once I’ve been pushed aside by Eleri and the others, my words lack persuasiveness. I understand that, yet I still want to be heard. All I really want is to be a normal father. That’s all there is to it.