Surviving a Harsh Fantasy with Cheat Items (WN)

「That hits the spot.」

Came a mechanical-sounding imitation of Ria’s voice, spoken by none other than the Mother of Chaos, who was now soaking in the open-air bath in the palace courtyard.

This outdoor bath had been hastily created by Kaara in just over an hour.

It seemed the Mother of Chaos had taken quite a liking to baths, refusing to leave for ages. Since no one else could use the bath while she was in it, they decided to dig a hole in the courtyard and craft a makeshift bath, which the goddess happily accepted. Once she settled in, the tentacles calmed down, meaning the immediate problem was solved. What a relief.

「Well, I guess that’ll do for now.」

「I’ll make a proper bath for her later.」

To Kaara and the others, this tentacle oneesan was their creator god. Naturally, they wanted her to reside in a clean and beautiful place, so Oracle had already offered to bring marble from the labyrinth to build a proper bath.

I wondered how a marble bath in the middle of the courtyard would look, but with the garden’s rest area already doubling as a teleportation magic circle, I figured aesthetics were a lost cause at this point.

Near the terrace of the harem, little Coil and Orakeru, barely a year old, were practicing flight magic. With Kaara having some spare time, she had started giving them lessons in magic.

Of course, I couldn’t allow them to practice attack magic in the garden, so I had arranged for a training ground on the outskirts of the royal capital. But flying would make getting there much easier. 「I did it! I’m flying!」

「Ugh… I can’t do it…」

Orakeru, despite being more physically mature than his little brother, was at a disadvantage when it came to magical talent. Poor thing—Coil had already surpassed him in that department.

「Well done, Coil. Orakeru, you’re doing great too! You managed to lift off the ground at your age, which is impressive.」

「Father, I can’t do it as well as Coil…」

Orakeru whined, tears streaming down his face.

He was still just a baby after all. I hurried to comfort him.

「Don’t rush it, Orakeru. You’re already amazing—you’ll be flying in no time. Look at me; I can’t even use magic!」

「That’s right, Orakeru-sama! You are of the noble lineage of the Nation’s Father and the legendary Immortal King Oracle-sama. You have the talent to become a Great Demon King someday!」

Kaara chimed in, attempting to encourage him.

Kaara meant well, but wasn’t that putting too much pressure on him? He’s only a year old.

「Father, I’m going to fly to the other side.」

「Wait for me, Coil!」

Coil, who had already mastered flight after just a little practice, took off into the sky with ease. Orakeru tried his hardest to follow him but could only hover a little above the ground.

「Kaara, keep an eye on them. It looks dangerous if they’re left alone.」

「Understood, I’ll watch over them closely.」

She gently cradled Orakeru in her arms and flew after Coil.

「Good grief…」

「Exactly. Can’t even accompany her own child. What a bad mother.」

Sharon teased as she walked over, holding Kaara’s child, Kaaru, in her arms.

She had likely been keeping an eye on Kaara and the others ever since the garden was damaged during magic training yesterday.

「Kaara is a bit reckless herself, so I’ll leave it to you to keep an eye on her too.」

「Yes, mast… I mean, husband. The harem is under my care, so I’ll make sure to keep a close watch.」

「I’m counting on you.」

Also, it’s about time Sharon stopped calling me ‘master’. After the last battle, where she led the slave girl musketeer squad into combat, it seemed her old habits had resurfaced.

「I wish she’d take more care of her own child too…」

I took Kaaru from Sharon’s arms, lifting him up.

「Daa.」

He cooed, smiling.

He really is a cute kid.

「Kaara does come by frequently to nurse him, so it’s not like she neglects him.」

「Is that so? Well, that’s a relief.」

Just then, two babies flew over, flapping their tiny wings. They were the dragon maid babies, Arere and Ukkari.

Following close behind were their mothers, Are and Queen Dareda.

「Hey, Are, why are your babies flying?」

「Why do you look so surprised, Hero? These little ones cannot yet stand on their feet, so flying is their only option, duh.」

Uh… normal newborns don’t typically fly, do they? Coil and Orakeru, mastering flight magic at just one year old, were already impressive enough. But these dragon maidens really defied all biological logic.

「Sharon, can we destroy this rock?」

「Yes, it’s just in the way. I was planning to get rid of it.」

「Alright, little ones, you may proceed.」

「Kyah!」 「Kyasha!」

At Are’s command, Arele started clawing away at the meteor, and Ukkari gnawed at it with her razor-sharp teeth.

The massive meteor was quickly reduced to dust, as the center of the rock crumbled under their relentless attacks.

「Hey, Are, what the heck was that…?」

「Even though they can’t stand yet, they can still swing their hands, you know? Dragon maid babies start sharpening their claws and teeth just two days after birth to prepare for battle. Having a nice hard rock like this was perfect for them.」

Preparing for battle on their second day of life… Well, I guess that makes sense for dragon maids, being half-dragon gods. You can’t apply normal logic here.

With a crack, the meteor shattered, collapsing into a cloud of dust as it fell apart under the strength of the two’s attack.

「Not again!」

Sharon cried out in dismay, as the garden was further destroyed.

「Well done, both of you.」

「Kyah!」 「Kyasha!」

The dragon maid babies looked incredibly proud of themselves, though it was hard to tell exactly why. These newborns were absurdly powerful.

Am I really fit to be their father?

「Sharon, let’s head inside.」

I said, trying to calm her as she fumed over the ruined garden. Maybe seeing the more ordinary kids in the nursery would help lighten the mood.

But then Sharon dropped a bombshell on me.

「Husband-sama, is it true that your reward from the last battle is to make everyone your wives?」

「Wait, what? Who is ‘everyone’?」

「Everyone, of course. All of the slave girls like Sherry, and also, well, Rara-san and Sarah-san… no, wait, she’s now Countess Sarah, isn’t she?」

Sharon began counting them off on her fingers, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

「What?!」

When did this happen? I had no idea!

「There’s talk of expanding the harem, so a harem council is being planned, and they’re bringing Princess Caroline, Princess Eleonora, and Queen Celestina from the capital to help sort things out.」

「When did all of this start happening?」

「They’ve already started bringing in materials to expand the harem by the pond. I thought I could have them take care of this big rock too, but now look at the mess…」

「Wait… is this really happening?」

「Over by the pond, yes.」

Sharon pointed to a small bridge leading across the pond, toward where my old home, the Outer Leaf Palace, used to stand. Could they really be planning to tear that down?

This was all happening way too fast. Completely overwhelmed, I took off running toward the construction site to see for myself.