A tiny colony nestled right in the heart of the desert.
Only about two decades ago, it was nothing special—just an ordinary colony of feline ogres. But then a few years passed, and the gender balance tipped so far that their future hung precariously in the balance.
“Looking back, quite a change has occurred, hasn’t it?” Gazing down from atop a modest rocky hill upon the colony, one could see numerous large structures added to what was once a small village. Amidst many simple mud-brick dwellings, these stood out conspicuously; they were stone edifices I’d ordered my dragons to construct each within a short span of time. Their uses varied: some served as community halls, others as water cisterns prepared for droughts, and still more as child care facilities. …And initially, I had intended at least one of them for… explicit purposes. No, that’s not what I mean; don’t start with “Oh really?” or “Come on now.” I do have a certain level of judgment here, truly. It was just that, after visiting multiple times, I began to think we shouldn’t so casually hold the kind of event where the entire village engages in a massive orgy day. Sure, starting out might be one thing, but eventually, the children I’ve impregnated will grow up too. Since the whole village operates this way anyway, just letting them get used to such things from the beginning seems very problematic. Even Vesper Palace can only justify nudity during early childhood for caretaking reasons; once they reach an appropriate age, we gradually move them out into normal society. Leaving them to live through full nudity paradises until adulthood, constantly exposed to sex, would surely lead to severe distortion. So, at least for the cat colony, I wanted them to adopt a reasonably decent lifestyle. If their entire lives were spent within the colony, perhaps such distortions wouldn’t matter much—but dragon travel shuttles run frequently with Polka, and they can step out alone into regions like Polka Autonomous Zone, Basson, or Tark. Now, their futures hold immense potential. Considering that, I thought it made sense to have segregated facilities marked as, “Let’s keep explicit stuff contained within these buildings.” That was the plan then… …but things didn’t quite work out. “H-hmm? How long do you intend to dwell in such strange reflections?” “S-strange?… Well, never mind.” I chuckled dryly, casting a glance at that rock where Old Lady Dona had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Then we leisurely descended the mountain. There was no lavish reception awaiting us. Once our presence was sensed, everyone simply understood that instead of chaotically swarming over us, proper preparations for welcome were more appropriate—and indeed, the cats had grown accustomed to our existence by then.
Compared to those days, things are truly much livelier now. “Welcome, Master.” Welcome—!! At the center of the colony, before the oasis, Anis, who has settled into a composed beauty, greeted us on behalf of all. Once she and my mother, Tanya, jointly courted me sexually as a set duo, since then she has been pregnant numerous times and is now the mother of seven. Tanya herself bore four additional children during that same period. Moreover, Anis’s daughters are nearing an age where their physiques are beginning to acquire a slight feminine contour. Those girls, alongside other small catmaidens, stood together shouting greetings in unison from around us. The scale of children gathered at the colony numbered nearly three hundred. The majority are my offspring; while Polka holds many too, in terms of total count, those present here form my largest faction. “Everyone, thank you for welcoming me.” Striving as much as possible to project a soft fatherly face, I raised my hand to greet the children, their mothers, and even young catmaidens eyeing the possibility of joining us as part of the motherhood collective. …Though given what lies ahead, I can’t help but wonder each time just which facial expression is appropriate. “Will you be staying over this time?” “Ah… Well. I suppose my schedule is fairly open lately, so why not take advantage of it and stay for about a month or so.” “A whole month? Is that really okay with all that?” “Selen has already given her approval. Soon several other female slaves will also join us; we’ll arrange their food and caregivers here…
Before he could finish explaining what came next, the gathered cat-people erupted in a cacophony of cheers.
My very presence was their festival.
The peace and tedium of colony life—the primal throes of instinct they’d been wrestling with—suddenly transformed into pure excitement the moment my existence arrived to greet them.
For them, it was truly that simple…
“Aaah? No, wait, stop undressing so fast! Too soon! You think you’re not gonna wear clothes for a whole month now?! And seriously, I ain’t sleeping with no one’s kids around here! Even if we use protection, it’s still off-limits! Sleeping with your own father is totally out of the question!”
By the time I could even muster an objection, both adults and children had tossed their clothes aside, set them ablaze right there on the spot, and burst into dancing with uninhibited joy.
“Given how precious clothing is here…?”
Staring in stunned silence at the naked women dancing cheerfully nearby, a half-elf woman near us broke into an embarrassed smile and said, “They don’t mind not wearing clothes all that much when they’re stripped down like this. But it’s definitely eye candy for the boys.” With that, she peeled off her own garments and tossed them straight onto the fire with a casual “poof”.
“Wait, you’re burning me too now?!”
“If you enter a village, you follow its customs,” she sang lightly. ”♪” …That woman was Kashka, a half-elf wanderer who’d once been sheltered in Lord Gardner’s territory before settling temporarily in Grangi. Though she’d initially taken on the role of caretaker for those Karlwin folk moving into Grangi, she’d struck up a deep bond with the cat-beastkin during the festival and moved back here earlier this year, captivated by their carefree desert way of life.
In truth, enough people had even volunteered to relocate deliberately to a cat colony like this one; within the settlement, a dozen or so beings of other races—including Kashka herself—had already put down roots.
Since the cat-beastkin had visited Polka countless times for medical care, injury recovery, or enrollment at Polka Academy, they received these resettlers with open arms and great tolerance.
…Though occasionally a male also expresses interest in moving here, I’ve flatly rejected every such request on my own authority.
Because once things reach this state of affairs, even if a man were virile enough to satisfy several partners energetically, starting a haphazard mating festival inevitably leads to an intensely awkward situation for everyone involved—it’s all too obvious.
If any cats here wish to marry some outside guy, fine—they can do it off-colony grounds. But within the colony? Everyone becomes my wife. (Except the kids.)
This policy remains unchanged to this day.
“And besides, since we’re already residing in the colony… does that mean we’re now breeding targets, right…?” Kashka asked with flirty eyes, having thrown even her panties onto the bonfire and exposing everything from her nipples down to her genitals beneath the sun.
”…Ugh.”
“Yes.”
”♪” She wasn’t wearing a collar, yet every woman who settled in this colony had already given tacit consent to joining the mating festivities themselves.
Conceiving children was perfectly acceptable, if not expected. Birth itself was an unconditionally celebrated joy, and any newborn would be raised freely by the community as one cohesive family.
Seemingly charmed by this cat-colony’s refreshingly upbeat disposition and its straightforward embrace of pleasure, nearly every applicant expressed a longing to join them.
…Besides Kashka—the half-elf connected to Almeida’s hidden sanctuary project who chose the same path as her among those selecting colony life—there were also many ex-maids and former prostitutes settling here, plus one young Karlwin girl and one elf maiden from the Northern Forest.
Though I suppose I could just invite everyone like this directly into my harem, choosing where to live matters deeply in its own right too. Some are stuck here precisely because they hate the cold out there.
“But seriously, since you folks just arrived, let’s skip the smut for now, yeah?” Leaving that behind as the dancing cats and Kashka continued their revelry, I headed back toward Lyra with plans to exit the village perimeter.
Beyond the dungeon entrance lay an oasis separating two clusters of settlement on opposite sides.
Standing alone at a rocky outcrop was a single staff protruding sharply into the air.
Lyra poured her carried sake liberally over that rock until it dripped heavily. ”…Here. Sip and savor this properly. It’s elite-grade wine from the Elf Forest.” Then, taking a mouthful herself, she stared off into the distance with glazed eyes.
…Lady Dona had passed away several years prior.
No one noticed her deteriorating health until too late; even right up to her final moments, she remained spirited and sharp-tongued as usual—only to turn cold and still upon waking the next morning.
Her body was buried in sand some distance outside the colony, following local custom.
The desert insects, or perhaps sandworms—some unseen thing of that nature—will return this body to the natural cycle.
If left buried within or near the labyrinth, it might merely become another corpse abandoned to die in place, which is surely the hardest fate for those closest to them. That is why, in the Colony of the Great Labyrinth, interring one in the sand is considered the most fitting and natural form of burial rites.
”…It’s not the first time I’ve seen someone off, yet you seem truly special.” Lyra spoke thus, taking another swallow before tossing the dregs onto a rock and casting the ceramic flask into the distance beyond the sands. It was their usual ritual. Someday, Dona’s staff will break, the stones will weather away, and no one will remember what they all meant to be preserved.
If I asked whether we needed spells or magic to safeguard it, she would reply that such efforts are unnecessary. Clinging too tightly to grave markers or mementos only dilutes the affection we hold for them; bonds with those who can no longer meet again should simply reside within each person’s own heart, as the things they lived for and guarded during their time remain preserved in this way.
”…I suppose that man had his fair share of happiness too. To pass away while witnessing the Colony flourish to such heights.”
”…Maybe. Though calling it ‘flourishing’ is something only I would dare call after trampling everywhere myself.”
“Heh. Still, given who you are, I calculated that even wild outcomes could be managed by entrusting matters to you.”
“Even if it flourishes now, won’t incest become rampant?”
“Colonies born from such beginnings already abound… as Dona herself warned. Besides, elves know how to handle close bloodlines, don’t they? There’s no need for hesitation; simply embrace your daughters and granddaughters however you wish.”
“I just hope my children can look forward to a future and find happiness…”
“That won’t work if you aim at Eliena or Frena. Come on, the felines lose all sense of purity when the full moon rises, driven by instinct. There’s nothing worth worrying about.”
“I suppose that’s true…” …Ah.
Seeing my reluctant, self-tortured misery, Lyra quietly ceased her complaints and began peeling off her clothes with cheerful confidence as she walked, striding boldly toward the open square where the felines danced.
“Hey! That outfit is some seriously high-end elven fabric, right!? Don’t burn it!?”
“Heh. Nonsense—anything with form will eventually break. If you need another, simply craft one when the time comes♪” Without waiting for the campfire to ignite, Lyra set her garments ablaze using only the heat of her own hands.
“You know that makes a craftsman feel utterly violated by this kind of thing!?” …Still.
Leaving behind only her collar, the now completely naked Lyra stood there just as she had when we first met—a gorgeously alluring nude form. As for me, under the bright sky, exposed to Lyra’s nakedness and filled with anticipation for the impending nude dance party of the catgirls visible in the distance, my groin was thoroughly agitated.
“Damn it!” With resolve, I tore my pants open right there on the spot. There was no point in pulling them back up when everyone here would be standing naked anyway; nothing to feel ashamed of. No one would laugh.
Here stood a lecherous old man displaying his fully erect cock alongside a woman of unearthly beauty, under a sapphire sky with the desert stretching out before us. …Huh? What kind of scene am I involved in here?
“Heh. Shall we begin right here, then♪? I’m your sexual service pet; whenever or however you wish it.”
”…W-well, let’s head over there first!” Though it nearly snapped under the strain for a moment… after spending a month playing about, maybe starting with Lyra wouldn’t be so bad. Yet still—I came here for the sake of the cats. Scolding everyone to stay away and secretly making my move with Lyra first… no, I’d better not do that.
Striding alongside naked Lyra, clutching my own genitals as I walked with legs splayed apart while suddenly glancing back at the gravestone behind us. …I genuinely doubt Dona would have felt happiness in a scene like this before passing on; thinking so is merely excessive optimism.