I’m in Tark today.
It’s not the time for the Spirit Festival, but Diane and Cosmos have been letting things pile up, so I’m here to sort through those pending matters. I’ll also take the opportunity to strengthen our ties with Cosmos Honpo and the Onyx Maid Corps.
During festival season, everyone is too busy to spare any time. Times of peace are better for giving things our full attention.
Also, this trip doubles as a search for Key-chan’s mother.
The Head Maid refuses to tell me anything, so I have no choice but to ask around myself, including the surrounding areas. Despite the circumstances, I doubt their strict secrecy regarding their parent-child relationship extends all the way to Tark.
I want to formally convey my recognition of her status, and we need to discuss her upbringing. It might be a wasted effort, though.
But if I act as if I’m completely ignoring the situation, there’s a risk that one after another more daughters warped by strange ideologies will emerge. For future sake, I must strongly demonstrate my intention to provide proper education.
With that resolve in mind, I was walking through the garden of Carlos’s house when I was stopped by Diane’s daughter, Janet.
“Father. I wish to ask you something.”
“W-What is it?”
I had nothing to hide. In fact, I was stepping forward to correct things into a healthier direction, so I should have been standing my ground, but finding myself caught up by my daughter while searching for a maid made me flustered.
Janet stared at her father with an unreadable expression, then slowly raised a finger to point sideways.
In the distance, about fifty meters away, stood a tower of sand-colored stone.
“I had always believed that tower was there long ago, but I heard you were the one who built it.”
“W-Well, I’m not a mason. I merely gave the orders.”
“Why was it built? The Tower Emblem should be an organization with a single horn. It defies logic for your father, bound to Onyx, to erect such a structure.”
The tower is named the “Horn of Tark.” While serving as Tark’s new landmark, it has effectively become the new symbol of the Tower Emblem, as their offices are housed within its walls.
And the reason it came to this was… simply because Minister Ashton told us to do it.
“It’s hard to say why even I am unsure. I suppose a deal was struck between Onyx and them.”
“…Do you build such things just like that?”
“I imagine it serves as a display of power as well, though. In reality, for Lyra and the others, it wasn’t really a long-term project.”
Right.
They used dragons to build it. Specifically, Lyra, a dragon herself, and the lizardmen from the surrounding regions who revere her.
Lyra in her dragon form handled the heavy, coarse labor, while the lizardmen executed the fine construction work efficiently under Diane’s direction. Combining architectural techniques from elves and dark elves, they produced a structure as sturdy as the collapsed tower of the former “Tower Emblem” that once stood in Tark, yet one that would not crumble unless struck by an unprecedented earthquake.
Diane mentioned that if such an earthquake were to occur, all the sun-dried brick buildings throughout the city would likely be wiped out before the tower did.
Given how rare sturdy structures are in this area, that day would essentially mark the destruction of Tark itself.
…Moreover, above all else, having a dragon build it carried a powerful message.
It was a flex: Onyx could easily produce architecture far surpassing the “Tower Emblem’s” capabilities if they so chose.
By graciously gifting this structure to the “Tower Emblem,” they demonstrated full support on the surface while emphasizing their absolute superiority—implying that such a thing held little value to them—and simultaneously declared through the display of dragons, “If you oppose us, we can destroy you whenever we please.”
…I probably know why Minister Ashton was angrier than Carlos when the Tower Emblem lot acted up previously.
While Carlos demonstrated the “class” of a ruler who controls things subtly and effectively, Minister Ashton chose to inflict more intense terror.
Originally, he was the one who established the family motto: “Protect allies, give to friends, entertain guests, kill enemies.” While he has entrusted the role of the clan’s pillar to support national politics to Carlos, he is fundamentally a man of an even more radical temperament.
…I explained this at length to Janet. My explanation was somewhat vague because the sources of my information are inherently murky. Minister Ashton still repeats his pattern of getting into bizarre rages when he sees me, only to be knocked out by family members and retreat from the scene. I received the commission for building that tower through Diane. Carlos is basically similar in this regard, so it’s hard for me to gauge how serious they are or what exactly they are reacting to. “So, the design was Diane’s work, and I did no labor on the construction. They just said ‘build it,’ so I stayed indoors drinking alcohol because it was hot, and before I knew it, it was finished… So saying I built it is a stretch.” “…As always, Father, you are truly astonishing.” “I’m not doing anything astonishing here.” “You speak of becoming the keystone in a grand plan that intimidates all of Tark as if it were a casual side gig. In reality, isn’t it work one would brag about for a lifetime?” “That’s true; at the time, I was just drinking and it wasn’t a side gig… Anyway, no matter how massive a project a dragon performs, it is Carlos or Minister Ashton who gives it meaning. Only when that happens can great power truly bring happiness to people. I’m not good at that kind of thing.”
I still borrow the power of dragons frequently, but I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t always yield results commensurate with the cost.
Sure, if all you’re doing is slaughtering monsters, a simple “Go get them” usually gets the job done as expected. But when it comes to human society, it’s not that straightforward.
You need meticulous planning for things like “who actually needs this,” “couldn’t part of the problem be solved by other means,” or “how do we leverage the fear dragons instill?”……Without knowledge and experience, unexpected downsides are bound to erupt.
Normally, Diane and Irina act as my brains, so I don’t make any fatal blunders.
I usually just stand there amazed at the skill of those who can work out such details, while telling the dragons, “Count on us,” and leave it at that.
It’s hard to call it a personal feat of mine, honestly.
“I often hear about Father’s great deeds in my various travels. Mothers always brag, ‘Your father did that,’ but Father never tells me anything, does he?”
“Eh? No, I’ll explain things if you ask. I do that now.”
“In truth, if no one asked, you probably wouldn’t even remember to whom you revealed which achievements, would you?”
“Uhh, ah, not that……”
Well, I can’t deny that with hundreds of people around, I’d forget some details.
Seeing her falter, Janet looked away for a moment.
“…I’m sorry. That was a mean question. It’s the only way I can address Father, so it must make you uneasy.”
“What?”
Hold on, hold on. Janet, that’s a massive misunderstanding.
“I’ve never once thought of you as unwelcome!”
“…It seems obvious that you’re trying to keep the time you spend with me to an absolute minimum. I wasn’t invited to the recent camping tournament, either.”
“Ahh, no, it’s just that I might not be that interested in it……Besides, we use fire and sharp objects, so the policy was not to bring young children……”
“Floria and Leila are my age, though……”
“…Yeah, really. If you wanted to come, then I’m sorry.”
“To be honest, I’m just dissatisfied that no one invited me. It’s not like I particularly wanted to go camping.”
“I mean, try phrasing it a little less bluntly……I know I was wrong, though.”
Even though she is young, Janet resembles Diane in her dignified demeanor and excels in both studies and sports, yet right now she’s giving a pout that feels unusually childish. It’s troubling, yet simultaneously overwhelming with affection.
…On second thought, taking her along would have been a disaster.
Floria has felt a bit distant since the shock of seeing Father and her sisters having sex live. And Janet, who usually shows no sign of interest in such matters, might become unable to even converse with us properly if forced to witness it so suddenly.
When I mentioned this to Diane, she laughed. “I don’t think you should worry that much. She’s not a naive girl. It’s already known that Elenia and Frena are smitten with their father.” “But that’s totally different from having sex, isn’t it?” “I haven’t told her to stay away from the palace. She’s curious by nature. I assume she has seen pretty much everything you do within its walls.” “…!?” “All I can tell you is one thing: Don’t be cruel to her. To you, she might just be one of hundreds, but to me, she is my only daughter. I don’t want to see her grieve at not being loved by her parent.” “Are you really going to phrase it that way when there are several girls who have already crossed the line of ‘loving’?” “If that’s what she wants, then I will stand on her side.” He may seem calm and composed, but Diane has been pretty well influenced by Selen and the others. The Minister Ashton hates seeing his daughters in a state of undress with sloppy expressions, yet giving permission here is somewhat baffling.
Afterward, while sneaking around the mansion to investigate Kay’s mother, I accidentally discovered Kay talking to Janet. “So, you want to get closer to the Master.” “He would be your father as well. Why don’t you call him that?” “No, before anything else, I am a maid and a meat toilet.” I wanted to interject with full force at that point, but since I was sneaking around, it wasn’t possible.
“I take your seeking an answer to mean you wish to join us, the ‘Daughter Onahole Collection.’”
“Ona-ho…? What on earth is that?”
“It is a tool used to stimulate my master’s genitalia, bringing him to ejaculation.”
At this point, I figured there was no turning back. Thinking as much, I stopped my sneaky behavior and took large strides toward them, only to be restrained midway by several maids and shoved into the servants’ quarters.
“W-What are you doing?! As Janet’s father, it is my duty to protect her from ideological contamination!”
“Miss Janet is intelligent. There is no need to worry; she will surely be able to distinguish between knowledge and ideology on her own.”
“And besides, we are on Kei’s side.”
“I’d like a little support from you guys too, at least once in a while!”
“With all due respect, my master… given that she currently possesses the roots of Polka and Tarku, is it not already impossible to shield her from sexual knowledge?”
“It’s not that I want to shut it out from her… I just want her to grow up cherishing herself… that’s all.”
Honestly, knowing full well that my words hold no persuasive power at the point where I’ve already been overpowered by Elenia and the others.
I know that much, but please hear me out. I just want to be a normal father. That is all I want.