“Ah… Da… Daddy…”

“You can just call me ‘Papa’ if it makes you more comfortable.”

The father wears a clumsy smile, and the daughter clings to his embrace. Breathing raggedly, she inhales her father’s scent. The father feels the warmth of her body—not her plump breasts, definitely not—melting into his own. To any onlooker, the two would look like a father and daughter from a harmonious, ordinary household.

…If we ignore the fact that the father is a demon and the daughter is a dragon, making this a very bizarre family tree—a ‘Gag Family,’ so to speak. A daughter harboring a twisted, singular affection, and a dimwitted father who remains oblivious to his daughter’s warped love.

And then there was her.

“…….Ma… Master…”

A pitiful elf, abandoned by her own master, was calling out to him desperately with teary eyes. Whining like a possessed pet dog, she reached out her hand, only to hesitate and pull back repeatedly. It looked as if Elaina’s trembling hand was praying for its turn to be prioritized.

…Of course, she is a strict atheist; no matter which heaven she prayed to, the situation was already decided.

“Hehe… Papa’s arms are so warm.”

Libera, the Gold Light Dragon, looked up at her father with an innocent smile, letting out a small giggle. Keyaru smiled with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, the girl licked her lips. When he opened his eyes, she looked like a sorrowful, weeping lamb; but the moment his vision was obscured by a smile, she immediately revealed her true nature—a female predator savoring the thought of her prey.

Of course, Keyaru had no way of knowing this.

Ever since possessing the body of Keyaru Klein, everything had been strange and demanding. First and foremost, the compulsiveness of the System made his head spin. Never mind the cluttered interface. It was quick to pop up threatening messages, yet in actual emergencies, the only “help” it provided was a generous reward after the fact.

Fine. I can understand that with my vast magnanimity. But playing the role of a mother bird feeding a bunch of computer equations? I found it harder and harder to accept why I was brought here. Bringing me here to “save the world” without giving me any starting perks was crappy enough, but shouldn’t they at least be considerate regarding my finances?

I’m fated to carry out life-threatening tasks. Shouldn’t I be allowed to live a little comfortably? Keyaru was flabbergasted.

“…Libera.”

“Mm?”

“Are there really zero gold coins in Libera’s lair?”

Internally, he had imagined a literal mountain of wealth. He questioned how a lair preserved for thousands of years didn’t have a single speck of gold.

And that hope was—

“None.”

—shattered by the young dragon’s single word.

“N… Not even silver?”

“Yep, no silver either.”

She said it so resolutely that he almost wondered if she was hiding it somewhere. The ‘Loli-Baba’ dragon who had lived for thousands of years was penniless. A dejected Keyaru decided to stop asking.

‘…If this is how it’s gonna be, we’re screwed.’

“Huh?”

The party returned to the lair. Before their eyes sat a massive dining table—the kind royalty might use—laden with rare delicacies and every imaginable feast.

“What… on earth is this…?”

“……”

Even Elaina, who usually wouldn’t spare a glance at anything not directly related to her master, stood with her eyes wide and lips parted in shock. It was a sight to behold. After all, this was a rundown lair with no gold or silver, yet a feast fit for a king’s table was spread out.

Libera puffed out her chest, crossed her arms, and looked down on Elaina.

“Sister, you can’t do things like this, can you?”

“Khhh….”

Elaina flinched. Libera smirked.

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Well, Spirit Arts involve spirits imbuing the user with the elements of nature; they cannot reach the realm of “Creation” like magic can. Even if they use the same elemental powers, Spirit Arts are strictly the power of the World Tree, while Magic is power wielded through Mana. There is a fundamental difference between what is borrowed and what is self-attained.

“Sigh, my poor Papa~”

Hng!

“Ugh…?!!!”

Libera lunged into my arms. Elaina’s eyes bulged as her expression crumpled. Libera wrapped her arms around my waist and began to sniff my scent. Elaina tried her best to look away in a huff, but she couldn’t help her eyes constantly darting back to the enviable sight.

“He’s my Master… my Master…”

“Mmm? What was that~~? I can’t hear you~~!”

Libera had returned to her “original” self in an instant. Or rather, it was more like she had “regressed” to it.

Squeeze.

She pressed her skin against mine, feeling my pulse. As if determined never to let go, Libera’s scent and her warmth drew closer.

“Hehe, I love Papa.”

Libera reached out both hands and cupped my cheeks.

“Papa loves me too, right~?”

“Yes. I like Libera very much.”

‘As a parent.’

It felt like she was increasingly breaking taboos and crossing lines, but I didn’t think much of it.

“You like Libera the best out of all the sisters and guild members, right~?”

Libera wore an unidentifiable smile. Her lips curled into a grin as she waited for the desired answer to pop out of my mouth. She licked her lips as if tasting a treat, looking at the “prey” before her. Her beast-like pupils contracted sharply, and her golden hair shimmered. Somewhere along her body, dragon scales were beginning to sprout.

“Uh… well, that’s…”

While the urge to meet Libera’s expectations—even with a white lie—was high…

“……”

Every time I looked at Elaina, who stood beside us with a tearful, heartbroken face, a corner of my chest ached as if it were being torn. The words wouldn’t come out easily.

“K-Kuhm. I like Libera the best, of course.”

“Hehet!”

Elaina’s eyes turned red, and transparent liquid began to roll down her cheeks.

“A—and I like Elaina the best, too.”

It couldn’t be helped. It was the best solution I could offer in an atmosphere where it felt like someone was about to die.

“Hmm…”

The bright, smiling puppy suddenly transformed into a predator.

‘Whoa, look at this kid’s face.’

Libera, still clinging to Keyaru, narrowed her eyes. Her red pupils glowed even darker as she glared at Elaina.

“I… I like Elaina as a precious comrade. And I like Libera as a daughter.”

Looking back on it, it was a pretty perfect answer.

“…”

“Tch…”

…If only I hadn’t seen the two of them pouting and clicking their tongues.

===== Quest You have recruited the Gold Light Dragon, Libera, as a comrade. [ Quest Success ]

You are one step closer to re-establishing the Edric Guild! Congratulations.

No specific reward was given immediately after registering Libera to the party. I had no idea what the criteria were.

‘Come to think of it, the message didn’t even pop up before.’

The System was completely arbitrary. If it would at least tell me the benchmarks, I’d try to follow them. This way, there’s a time… no, a problem until I recruit the rest of the comrades.

I have to rely on the System since making a living through quests alone is tough, but in this state, there’s nothing I can do. Money is tight, and now that the party has grown to three, it’s a struggle just to live hand-to-mouth. I thought about finding a proper house, but I have no money.

“Are there no portals or doors that lead to the Lair?”

“Nope. To begin with, that was a sanctuary Libera barely managed to find again after parting with Papa. Magic depends on how you use it, but strictly speaking, I’m no longer the ‘owner’ of the Lair.”

Even trying to use the Lair as a house was out of the question.

“How about canceling Polymorph and flying there?”

“I’m… a half-dragon, so I can’t transform…”

Even if we were willing to deal with the hassle of flying, there was no one who could fly.

‘Do I need to find a Wyvern or something…? Ah, but I’m short on cash.’

In the end, it was money. From minor issues to major dilemmas, what was needed to solve them was wealth. Since I had no financial power, the only thing left to do was work my fingers to the bone.

“…First, let’s stop by the Adventurer’s Guild and look for some high-risk quests.”

Unlike the sluggish shop I saw in the beginner village, the village near the Lair had a fairly pleasant environment. Perhaps that’s why the Adventurer’s Guild was also massive.

There was internal space for lodging, and cat-beastfolk worked as servers, moving between tables. It looked more like a combination of an inn and a restaurant than a simple guild.

‘Now THIS is f—ing fantasy…!’

The gear and personalities of the surrounding adventurers varied greatly. Unlike the third-rate adventurers with torn flesh and bandages, the adventurers in this village were somewhat famous figures.

The adventurers stared intently at us as we walked through the guild. Looking at Elaina and Libera, they began to whisper.

“Whoa… you see that? Total beauties.”

“First time I’ve seen an adventurer traveling with an Elf and a Dragon.”

Was this the “harem” I had only heard rumors about? Given the marriage laws of TBG Heroes, which emphasize monogamy, it was only natural for guys like me to be treated as eccentrics while being the object of intense envy. The fact that female members are extremely rare among adventurers probably played a part, too.

“Do you have any high-risk quests left?”

Regardless of the stares, Keyaru spoke to the staff member at the far end to receive a quest.

‘Ideally, I hope it’s not a “Soul Wolf” or “Undead” subjugation…’