I’d punch the sun to keep on singing just to see all the cheers and smiles (Cheer and smile!) ?
Laugh at me all you want, but I will cry all this hate away ?
Just to champion this light until my soul burns out! ?”
As Gravy silenced the orchestra at the end of my final song, I raised my hand into the air, forming it into a fist like a flag of victory. My mouth formed a wide grin as the audience’s cheers were so loud that I couldn’t even feel my drumming heart. Their hands and tails were flailing around as they jumped and called my name.
“Hestia! Hestia! Hestia!”
Oooooh, yes!
“Princess! Princess! Princess!”
Okay, that wasn’t as satisfying to hear.
“Princess Hikari! Princess Hikari!”
Although that was really nice to hear from my fellow ice dragonkin.
All in all, after about eight songs, with five of them featuring my backup dancers and two duets with Tasianna, the concert has finally come to a resounding success for my heart and soul. The fan counter didn’t rise too much, compared to how many people visited the stream and were in the city, but that was a-okay for me. As long as my audience enjoyed the entertainment I brought to the festival, I was fully okay.
Obviously, Miononbolax didn’t only have 49735 people. Dragonkin couldn’t proliferate as fast as humans or dwarves, especially the true dragonkin who have fertility issues, but that didn’t mean the dragon empire wasn’t quite populated.
The size of the ground cities of Coral Beard and Iceskale was comparable to capital cities like Inkoran-Tazul and Griffonpeak, but the former also had a sky city where the mansions of influential dragonkin clans had to be managed. There were plenty of people in the empire who were watching, since a good majority probably didn’t even have the stream on personally. They either watched me in person or the giant streams projected in the skies in some of the nests.
… Though maybe I was coping a bit. I was still riding the high of this celebration as I went backstage, and a part of me really, really wanted another zero in my fan counter. Was I being too greedy? I earned it, though.
“The island is coming down.” I heard at the end of the hallway to my changing room. Looking to the side, I saw Vifi was informing my backup dancers about the floating concert’s descent. “There will be a ‘fan meet’ for you to bask in the cheers, but do not move away from the security. We have multiple wyverns and dragoons ready to do something if it gets rough, and I suspect that it will. Stay with Hestia and Tasianna if you get separated from any of us security. Use these flares, as well. These gas bombs are made with a non-toxic sleeping agent, courtesy of Hikari. Everything understood?”
“Yes, Dame Vifi,” the girls replied, nodding vigorously to Vifi’s chagrin.
“Again, I am not a knight. I don’t appreciate having to repeat this fact.”
Though that statement probably went into one ear and out of the other to my dancers. Most people could see that Vifi was part of my clan’s dragoon order, with how often she interacted and trained with them. She might not officially be one, and she probably would reject the title if anybody were to give it to her, but you really couldn’t argue against it.
Everybody saw the stream with Hikari gaining her silver scales, which meant everybody also saw Beth protecting me when we got [Fire Ice Fusion Core] or how Shay and Vifi kept the elementals away. The publicity didn’t just reach me; I shared it with my companions.
“To be protected by Commander Estranor and Dame Vifi—this is the best thing about this job!”
“Quickly, we have to change!”
Ahh, the fine moment of—Stop, right there. Any more words and I’ll just feel old.
Regardless, Tasianna and I got changed with the help of some of my Nordor maids, getting ready for the fan meet, as Vifi said. Once the island docked at the harbor, the artificers and harbor masters started anchoring the island to deactivate the mana, as they were planning to actually ship the entire thing to me! A gift… although it was far too large to put into my [Storage Magic]. Though I could store it inside my subspace if I widened the entry a bit.
Could give it the obsidian make-over later.
Once I heard we could finally get off, I called for my dancers so I could gather them around me. I hadn’t had the opportunity to actually give a rousing speech before we had the concert, mostly ‘cause we all had one before we left Frozen Nest. After a successful event like this, I just had to speak!
“Everybody!” I said, racking my brain for words. “We had one week to learn eight songs. Yes, only two of them were truly new to me, but to all of you, you managed to remember five choreographies that I invented by myself. Aside from ‘One Scale Amongst Hundreds’ where you helped me, you had to learn all the mistakes I made in devising the dances of the other song. I’m not the best, especially when it comes to what is attractive and appealing to dragonkin, so I cannot help but thank all of you for your patience. And, it all culminated in today! Was that not a massive riot?”
“Yes!” Everybody cheered, including Tasianna.
“Kaishta—everybody, I’ve been dreaming of this for so long now. A full performance with others and backup dancers is what I imagine an idol performance should be like! Tasianna and another friend of mine helped a lot, but we never had the numbers to execute songs that would benefit from more people. Today marks—”
“If you wanted to tell us that you want to do more often, then just say so, Princess Hestia!” Kaishta interrupted me with a wide grin, tail slamming the ground. Her partially scaled elven face was beaming with excitement. “I’ve never had the opportunity to perform on such a massive scale before; none of us had a chance. We’ve had festival work before, but it’s usually on a smaller scale as sidewalk dancers.”
“It’s easier on the colony, since the dwarves love hiring bards and dancers for their great halls. Celebrations every other week due to some clan milestone or achievement, and the major clans have massive holds. Though it does feel amazing to be able to perform on our flight and wake like this, my lady. Thank you for giving us this chance,” Aneilska, one of the dancers, added. Her draconic head showed far less facial emotion, but her wings and tails were wagging so much that I could only see her as a happy puppy.
Clapping, Epinik, another dancer, cheered, “The stream was filled with so many people! Some of them even mentioned us! Over 40000 scalekin and friends watched us, and then all the cheers from the crowd. Please, if you ever need us again, invite us to your shows. I want to be an ‘idol’ as well, not just a dancer!”
“Won’t work that easily with us full dragonewts, though…” Rrathra threw water over Epinik’s joy. “Our voices are too deep and growly. Kaishta might have some luck with her elven face, but I don’t think we can perform any of the songs Princess Hestia or Princess Hikari did.”
“Nonsense,” I interjected, noticing that I didn’t need to continue with my congratulatory speech. “Plenty of people like women with contralto. It mixes far better if we’re only performing as a group of girls, since it gives the song more dynamic and texture. Sure, the growling needs to be worked on, as you can’t afford to slur your lyrics, but I can already imagine the harmony, hiehie.”
“Lady Hestia has plenty of knowledge on music and singing theory. It might not suit throat singers, but it will help for these performances,” Tasianna supported me. “She trained me on idol work when I started as just a normal fairy. Dancing and singing were just for fun; nothing professional.”
“Hear that? Honestly, don’t worry about it. I want to spread idol culture throughout Miononbolax, and while I am working on a lot of tech to help out, I can’t be the only one doing this. Epinik, I’ll gladly accept you as a trainee, but you’d better worry about the training! Hikari and I survived a pretty strict regimen.”
“Yes, Your Highness! Ohhh!”
“Ooooh!” I raised my hand in the air to match her enthusiasm, although Hikari was telling me to calm down a bit.
Though why would I? I just got my first trainee outside of my party, so why would I not enjoy this moment a bit more?
After this “motivational speech,” the fan meet went as you expected from a crowd overwhelmed with excitement—chaos. Aside from the deafening cheers, dragonkin were swarming around the booth I had prepared close to the harbor master's building.
Fan meets was a new concept to Kargryxians, and to Peolynca as a whole. Singers and musicians, at least, would have nobles fawning over them during balls and after parties, so meeting your fans in person wasn’t a far-fetched idea. To us dragonkin, though, meeting with singers and dancers like this wasn’t typical. It was even rarer for a commoner dragonewt to personally greet a high-ranked true dragonkin, not to mention an imperial member.
Fan meets back on Earth was similar to the one I gave in Cedaraille, where idols or musicians greet fans with handshakes, autographs, or other things that count as fan service. Here, though, I wasn’t allowed that much freedom. For one ‘cause I was a princess, and the second reason was that it was dangerous, to the point my empress-mothers vetoed physical interactions.
“There are many guards. Don’t make it harder on them,” our defence minister, Empress Gyadiosa, lectured. She had a far more winding reason, but these two sentences summarized what she wanted to convey.
And, honestly, probably for the better. The idol industry sold dreams and “dateable” men and women, which was why handshakes were considered fan service. Fans and stans go wild if they could “become closer” to their idol, and while many kept the “idol-fan” relationship as a wall to not overcome, plenty ignore courtesy. Some idols and musicians would do it, as well.
Therefore, I wasn’t too unhappy about it. I did want to change idol culture, so this was another step to make it less toxic like on Earth.
In the end, the activities we kept for the fan meeting were writing autographs, accepting scales as a sign of respect or gratitude, marketing merchandise, and also gestures. Heart sign attack! Chuu, chuu! … Ooookay, maybe Hikari was right about me cooling it down a bit.
“Princess Hestia! Me, me! Let me be next! You looked ravishing!”
“Miss Aneilska, I love your dance! The way you swung your tail was absolutely the best!”
This was why I didn’t actually do a “heart sign attack.” Moving your tail can be considered seductive. “Entwinning one’s tail with another” wasn’t just a lizardman concept. Mom already showed me how rubbing tails together could be considered a kiss or hug to us dragonkin, so the way I danced today showed a lot of fan service. Our dance probably… agitated plenty of guys.
While none were giving me any weird looks since they knew I was a kid, my backup dancers and even Tasianna bore the full brunt of their gazes.
That was where the chaos came, as people weren’t respecting queue etiquette, to the point that Vifi and Estranor had to step in, using their auras to crowd control. Eventually, it got so hectic that Neill and her mother appeared, stopping the entire event altogether. Honestly, I didn’t like that, but Kaishta and the others were looking anxious with how rowdy everything was. I had to remind myself that not everybody knew proper etiquette yet.
“Thank you very much, Princess Hestia!” Kaishta and my dancers said before they were escorted back to their temporary lodgings by my bodyguards. Meanwhile, Tasianna, Vifi, and my wyvern retainers joined me in the sky city as it was time.
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“Eltharion is waiting for you,” Yuilengreill informed. “Weeeee… let’s say, your siblings and Eltharion got the other dragonkin to leave. So the meeting between you and your father will be almost alone.”
She then looked up, knowing Kramps would be watching.
Once we landed on the sky island, she called for everybody to let Hestia continue alone, but only after she came over with slightly trembling hands.
“Dear… don’t worry about your safety. Unlike in his lair, all the empresses are around to do something, okay?” she emphasized, gulping. “He won’t do anything that could potentially cause trouble, especially with what we talked about yesterday. Speak with him truly. Our family sees you as a proper member of the Kargryxmor clan, so do not let his anger for his father change how we think of you, all right?”
I nodded, thanking her for the encouragement.
I was dropped off at the edge of the sky city, right next to the railing. Walking through the darkened streets, illuminated by a few lamp posts, I ended up at an open theatre built into the floating city’s ground. There was a set of stairs that allowed you to walk down, but since the ceiling was removed, you could also just fly down.
Technically, we dragonkin did not have to change into our dragonewt form to enjoy stuff, since there was a large park next to this place, spacious enough to accommodate a couple of ancient dragons despite their massive size. Though it was always better to have gigantic dragonkin, like Mom and Eltharion, stay on a separate floating island since their rank SS forms were faar too large. They would eclipse an entire section of a city.
Deciding to fly into the built-in theatre, I jumped off the edge and glided towards the only person still sitting here. Placed on the highest seat to act like a throne, my dragon father remained there in solitude until I brought out a chair to sit on his left, eyeing him with anticipation as I tried to squash my breathing.
“… Nonchalant,” he said, not turning to me.
Shrugging, I replied, “Because I don’t think it would be correct to continue this without being on ‘even’ footing. I had Mom request you on my behalf for two reasons.”
“My father and for you to talk to your father.”
I nodded. “Yes. To be honest, my dislike for you has waned a bit since you were being quite fair about my rule-breaking, not to mention how you abolished it entirely. At least, concerning me entering my subspace. Sooo, yes, I wanted to talk because that’s the only way for anything to be resolved. I know why you don’t like me, but I don’t agree with it since I am not at fault for the decision of the gods. At the same time, as a father, you have a right to speak with the person actually responsible for everything.”
“Making the body of my daughter a mouthpiece for her grandfather does not lighten my mood.”
Haaa, tough as heck…
“Aaand it shouldn’t be. You have the right to think that. Yet… this is the situation we find ourselves in. As you said, ‘laws have to be flexible,’ and so does reality. Soooo…” I clapped my hands, trying to form the next word as the awkwardness was getting worse. Clicking my tongue a bit with how dry my mouth felt, I tilted my head. “It just makes sense to t—”
“You changed your clothes,” he suddenly stated, though he hadn’t looked at me once yet.
Raising an eyebrow, I threw what I planned to say away and worked with his inquiry. “I’m an idol. Work clothes and personal clothes.”
“Do your work clothes have to be so… lacking?”
“Lacking?” I tilted my head, now in confusion. “That’s a bit mean, considering my seamstress put in a lot of work to get it done. It looked good.”
“Whether it was well made or not wasn’t the question.”
“Then make your question clearer.”
He finally turned around, glaring at me with this look as if he couldn’t believe I was so slow on the uptake. “Young scale, you are a whelpling. Have you no decency?”
… You gotta be kidding me. I’m not having this talk here of all places, right? Right?
Smacking my face, I groaned a bit as I leaned back on my chair, feeling a bit irritated that he was that sensitive to a mere outfit. “Lacking? As in revealing, then? Cool, I showed my tummy for one outfit; otherwise, I was wearing mostly dresses or the usual cutesy idol outfits. Are you seriously focusing on a single moment?”
“… And are you seriously asking me why I am appalled by this? Have you seen yourself in a mirror?”
Eltharion preferred his moderate elven body whenever he assumed his humanoid form, and that also meant his emotions were far easier to read. His eyes were widened, his long, sharp ears were pointing up, and his slight grimace made it clear he was pretty angry. This guy was showing more emotions about some random outfit than what during our dinner yesterday.
“Not to mention all that dancing… You should know that your older siblings made sure that the whelplings and younger fledglings won’t harass you for what happened today. Were you trying to find a mate, or something?”
“It was a love song… but I wasn’t trying to get into a romance. That’s how idols work. We try to make dreams come true through song and dance, and if it makes people happy, why not show some fan service? As long as people stick to the lines.”
“Most dragonkin do not know such a line exists!” he shouted as he stood up, growling loudly before sitting back down, massaging his temples. “… Has your mother told you anything about how we dragonkin court each other?”
“Plenty enough, that’s why the lyrics were made in that manner. I also made sure to reveal my magical control. I thought I should have—”
“Yes, you should have used your Territory or showered the area with an aura attack!” He, somehow, guessed my thoughts. “It would have at least scared off the weaker cowards, and especially the other whelplings. Haaa, young scale, you cannot just do those movements and not accept the repercussions.”
“Well, that’s where you got it wrong. I understand what I did. But if I don’t do it now, then I won’t be able to do it any other time. This is my idol culture, and you heard plenty of cheers. I have to get people used to it,” I argued. “It worked on Altrust. I never got into trouble back in Artorias, Ankor-Nazta, and other human cities, despite looking like an adult there.”
“… I cannot speak for them. It’s just… different here. Though I guess to make a difference, you have to take the first step like we are doing,” Eltharion finally relented, sighing as he turned silent. After what felt like thirty seconds, he turned to me, eyeing me with those dull eyes he showed me yesterday. “May I speak with you in that… Uh.”
“Hikari,” I answered. “Hikari is my former self, the one from Earth. Due to how our soul works, our body is forced to split our draconic lineages between us, which I don’t really understand how that actually works. The System is a mysterious thing sometimes.”
“Yes… then I wish to speak with your other self.”
I nodded before using [Fire Ice Fusion Core] to give Hikari time to speak with our dragon father. Once our scales and hair turned silver, Eltharion’s eyes widened once again, but only this time in shock. His mouth fell for a single second before he started grinding his teeth, looking like he was holding himself back.
“Hello, Father. My name is Hikari Schartner,” my other self introduced herself. “If the whole memory wipe thing hadn’t happened, then I probably would be the one in full control of this body.”
Eltharion looked away, avoiding our gaze again. “… I see. Then why do you not take over? You are the original.”
“Because this is Hestia’s life. ‘Hestia and Hikari’ had diverted long ago due to the fact that her memories were fractured since the beginning, and I was trying to make her forget about everything. I wanted to die, while she wanted to live. I didn’t want some memories to torment her, while she wants me to live. That is how our relationship started. I might be her, but I think you can see the difference between us if you talk to us more often,” Hikari stated. “Not to mention, every connection, aside from maybe one, was done through Hestia. She is more ingrained in Peolynca, and people cheer for her more often than for me. ‘Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor’ is what connects her to every single facet of this world, and for me to take over, just because I am the original soul, would be selfish, unfair, and… illogical. To me, Hestia is the ideal, and she deserves to be the main personality of this body.”
Eltharion clenched his hands as he closed his eyes. “… Hestia smelled like Melloxtressa, but she shared more of my scent. You… exude the beauty of an ice dragonkin. The full frosted air. Everything about you resembles your mother.”
Hikari chuckled slightly, though she didn’t look elated to hear that. “You are being unfair again. She can hear you.”
Eltharion lowered his head. “Is that so? Yet, what do my words matter? I grumble like any other ancient, while you young scales are taking the steps forward to your future. Let it not affect you.”
“But it does,” Hikari rejected. “Because you are our father.”
“A father who does not acknowledge you.”
“A father whose sixth wife wants you to be our father. A father whose wife wishes for a happy family,” Hikari argued, shaking her head a bit in disbelief. “Mom accepts us. Mom cheered when she saw me with these silver scales, but she loved Hestia even before all of that. Even when her scales were crimson, showing no signs of similarity to you or her, she gave her undivided attention to Hestia. We owe her love in return, because she showered us with love despite the fucked up situation. She wants you to be our father. You acting like this hurts everybody, Father.”
Eltharion remained silent, and no matter how much Hikari waited, it didn’t seem like he would open his eyes. Therefore, she continued speaking.
“As Hestia said, none of this is our fault, right? You have to agree with that.”
“I know. Aurena and Kargryxmor are at fault for despoiling my child.”
Hikari grimaced, noticing that Eltharion still hadn’t let go. “Then why direct any of that hate to me? To Hestia? What has she done but extend a hand when she initially wanted to reject all of this?”
Eltharion did not answer.
“I know for sure that there is no ‘third’ soul in this body. I’ve checked, since I was dwelling in the ‘darkness.’ Hestia and I are the only ones here,” she said, causing Eltharion’s eyes to open. “Which… doesn’t alleviate your grievances, I know. I can’t prove that there wasn’t a soul in this body before we were born, since my consciousness lay dormant until Hestia recovered her first memory. Hestia ‘kept the body safe’ because she just wanted to survive in the Belzac forest. That mindset doesn’t work either, I know. Yet… the truth is the truth.”
“… You speak of dreams—creations that have to be made real. Ambition is the will and need to bring your dreams to reality. I dreamed… of becoming an emperor who ensures the survival of my father’s legacy and dreams, while making sure that Kargryx would grow and prosper into a nation where every dragonkin can find the ability to dream.” Eltharion shook his head, clutching the armrest of his chair until it broke apart from his grip. “That dream died when the civil war erupted because of Kargryxmor’s ascent to a god, and his lack of foresight that his clan needed him here first, after the demon war. I had to kill each of my siblings personally, as that was my duty as… prince of Kargryx. At the very least, I had hoped I could create an empire where our children might flourish and learn from our mistakes. I had hoped… I could at least grant my wives, those who followed me, a chance for happiness.”
“They did, and they still do.”
“Yes, I can see that with how all of them forced me to watch… you wag your tail like a—never mind.” He groaned, causing me to ignore what he wanted to say, as that wasn’t appropriate to comment on. “I know that they are happy. My attendants keep mentioning how Melloxtressa loved gushing about you, showing the other empresses ‘recordings’ of you through the manatech you invented. She was smiling as I wanted her to. The last of those I loved—six life partners who could not accept the other from being my only—”
Stop there!
“Stop right there, you harem protagonist,” Hikari repeated what I wanted to say, interrupting Eltharion in an emotional moment. “I know well enough about our history, so please don’t bring any of the lovey-dovey talks. Uurgh.”
“… You just sang a song about love, yet you do not like talking about how your empress-mothers fell in love with your father?”
“Call us hypocrites, I don’t care. But I don’t think most daughters would like to hear about you getting along with six women. I know enough about it, so please?”
“Very well… the talks most likely would have turned into a rant. I presume you are aware of my… ‘seventh’ lover?”
“I asked you to stop… yes, I do.”
He nodded. “She was not a bad person, but I didn’t feel anything for her. I didn’t feel much for all my wives until the civil war happened. I was fully focused on my dream to become an emperor who could deliver this empire into a new era. Maybe that side of me was inherited by both Kahalameet and Wendriosa with how they strive forward. No, we all inherited it from Kargryxmor. That zealousness was what helped him survive until he became our emperor, and he only took on a life partner when he couldn’t avoid it any longer.”
“… And by that, do you mean grandmother attacking him?”
“Yes. She initiated the courtship, but despite her being far weaker than him, Kargryxmor accepted her, even with the risk of weaker children. That was the first step in the right direction to ‘cure’ our culture of power—in the way we take on mates. I thought, maybe if Kargryx was in peace and indulging in it, we might be able to take on mates who are weaker than us, similar to my father taking on elven women as concubines.”
Why are we talking about polygamy again? Can we stop?
“Ha… how strange that my dream went against what my father had wanted the dragon race to become. We have survived a civil war without the empire collapsing, yet he still thought it wise to tell me how he made the dragons ‘Peolynca’s peacekeepers’ to be used by Aurena’s pantheon. Do you believe I would have endured his words then? After I had to kill my own siblings to end this nonsensical war?” Eltharion asked rhetorically. “We have started to drift apart then. Then it came after my children, and how he saw each one as unworthy for the throne, even demeaning Yuilengreill and my little Fargryneill. I have lost trust and faith in the Light Pantheon, and I have no love for Aurena or Kargryxmor.”
“… I understand, but that still doesn’t mean you cannot treat us as your daughter.”
“Rationally speaking, no, I shouldn’t have told Melloxtressa my rejection. Our relationship was breaking apart because of me, and I blamed it on Kargryxmor, Aurena, and you, Hestia. I am a failure of an emperor and husband. I have left Kargryx to descend into this chaos where my trusted dragon rulers harm my youngest children under the guise of education, ignoring it all due to my lethargy for life. I am tired of living, yet I wish for my family’s happiness. What a paradox.”
“Apologies alone can’t fix that.”
“Yes. Mere words cannot heal your wounds, either.” Eltharion stopped before turning back to me. “Thank you, Hikari. I wish to speak with Hestia now.”
Hikari nodded before our body turned back into a fire dragon.
“I think I am ready… do what you have to now.”
I grimaced, letting out a silent sigh before I nodded. Taking a deep breath, I said, Kramps, please speak.
… You gotta be kidding me.
“Speak. What did he say?” Eltharion demanded.
“… Nothing you need to know.”
Yet, the old man shook his head. “Every word is necessary if we are to speak as ‘father’ and ‘son.’ I want every word translated. Do not hide his arrogance and prideful remarks behind lies, Hestia. Speak.”
“He really said nothing special.”
“The grimace you made says otherwise. Speak! This conversation cannot continue unless you are truthful with me! What did Kargryxmor s—!”
“He said, ‘Never wag your tail like that again!’ Shut up! Uuuurrrgh, you two old men really had to share the same thoughts on the most mundane of problems!”
… And without any further complications, Kramps, Eltharion, and I finally started this family therapy session.
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