#1063 Curtain Call and Awarding

It’s me again.

We’ve wrapped up this year’s Orkubo’s Castle without a hitch.

Since it was our first festival after that massive baby boom, I think the dads were extra fired up in the competitions this time to celebrate the birth of their kids and to show appreciation to their wives who did all the work.

Huh?

Complaints from the wives?

“If you really want to show appreciation, maybe help out more with childcare and housework”?

Come on, don’t be like that!

We do help out plenty, you know!!!

It’s just that guys like to make a grand gesture sometimes!!!

...So, what I’m trying to say is, Orkubo’s Castle was more exciting than ever this year.

Especially the kids’ event we held as the grand finale was absolutely thrilling.

Why, you ask? Well, for starters, Demon Prince Goetia made his debut.

Naturally, when the future ruler of demons steps onto the public stage, it draws quite the crowd.

Plus, our Junior gave Goetia a real run for his money, making things even more exciting.

At the climax, when Goetia slipped and was about to fall into the abyss, Junior reached out and saved him. It was a touching moment that bonded them in friendship.

In the end, though, Junior was disqualified because he flew over a section where you’re supposed to proceed step by step.

Ever since that time when Golden Bat transformed into a bat and tried to fly through the course, we’ve had strict penalties for that sort of thing.

Thanks to that, Junior’s long-held record of consecutive clears came to an end.

But he had no regrets.

Because he’d done something far more important than any record: saving a friend.

With Junior’s help, Goetia was able to conquer Orkubo’s Castle on his first try.

In his victory interview, he said his success was all thanks to his friend’s help.

What they gained from this event will surely be the most valuable thing in their lives from now on.

And that is... friendship!!!

Yep.

But because all the attention was on Junior and Goetia, the efforts of the dads who worked so hard in the morning kind of got overshadowed.

Our Junior is sneaky, you know?!

He may have been disqualified partway, but he somehow joined the final interview and declared, “I dedicate today’s competition to my newborn brothers.”

Everyone in the audience was moved to tears, saying, “What wonderful big brothers they are!”

Even though the dads ran around so desperately this morning... And for the same purpose, too.

Yet no one paid attention to the dads’ efforts, and all the focus was on the kids. I mean, I get it, but still...!

Please, give more attention to our kids... to my son!

Please praise my wonderful boy more!!!

In the end, I just turned into a doting parent.

Also, this year’s Orkubo’s Castle had more highlights than just that.

Another big attraction was, of course, the wild antics of the Hero Momoko.

A beautiful woman who joined the afternoon event as a last-minute entry and caused quite a stir.

Given her stunning looks, seeing such a woman perform so spectacularly grabbed the audience’s attention.

But I was a bit at a loss when the event’s purpose shifted and it turned into a series of intense all-out brawls.

Some people said she should be disqualified for completely ignoring the usual proceedings, but since Arowana, Ritheseus, and the Demon King on our organizing side accepted her challenge, it was partly our fault too, so we decided not to disqualify her.

Moreover, there was debate about whether Momoko had actually conquered Orkubo’s Castle properly.

Because by defeating the Demon King, she had, in theory, cleared all five stages set for this year’s event.

Normally, that would count as conquering Orkubo’s Castle, but then, a problem arose.

Letasreit barged in, completely overpowered her, and whisked her away.

How should we judge this?

After all, reaching the castle keep is the main goal of Orkubo’s Castle.

Momoko cleared the final obstacle.

But she was taken away by Letasreit before reaching the keep.

This is like Super Mrio defeating Bwser but leaving without rescuing Princess P*ach.

So, can we consider that a clear or not?

Considering this, should we count Momoko as having cleared it or disqualify her?

We had a heated debate—me, Orkubo, Zoth Syra, Sensei, and Cronus the God—but couldn’t reach a conclusion.

Just when our decision seemed deadlocked...

“Why not just let her have the clear?”

It was my wife, Platy, who chimed in.

She’s cuddling our newborn third son, Shotaro.

“This year’s Orkubo’s Castle is to celebrate Shotaro and the other babies’ birth, right? We shouldn’t spoil such a joyous event. Just let her clear it with a bang.”

And with that decisive statement, Momoko’s complete conquest of Orkubo’s Castle was recognized.

The event was truly held for the moms this year.

Thanks to that, Momoko stood on the winner’s podium as one of the champions.

***

“Congratulations on reaching the castle keep! How do you feel right now?”

“I don’t feel any different! After all, clearing Orkubo’s Castle is only natural for me!!!”

She responds haughtily during the interview.

She seems to show a provocative side here and there.

All eyes from the audience are on Momoko.

Someone not used to such attention might be too nervous to speak, but she handled the interview with confidence.

“But even though I could have won purely on my own ability, I actually won thanks to all of you in the audience! Thanks for your support! Thank you for your cheers!”

But she remembered to throw in some fan service here and there.

Where did she learn this precarious knack for navigating the world?

Well, never mind, let’s proceed smoothly as organizers.

Next, we will present prizes to the participants who conquered Orkubo’s Castle!

This has been a tradition since the event’s inception; after all, part of the reason participants give it their all is for the prizes.

The awards given to top performers are all first-class items produced on our farm.

From among them, we’d like to present Momoko with this.

A year’s supply of silk lingerie!!!

“Sexual harassment!”

No, no! That’s not it!!!

Sure, from the looks of it, giving a woman a bundle of panties and bras in front of a crowd seems like pure harassment.

It’s a creepy and cringe-worthy sight.

But please understand, there’s a reason why this is definitely not harassment.

The thing is, at Orkubo’s Castle, the most popular prize is women’s underwear!

The reason? They’re super comfy!

In this world, textile technology hasn’t advanced much. Most fabrics are coarse, like hemp.

Naturally, for people with delicate skin like women and babies, it’s quite uncomfortable and could lead to rashes or illnesses.

On the other hand, our farm succeeded in producing silk a long time ago and has been making lots of undergarments from it.

Since the early days of Orkubo’s Castle, we’ve offered this underwear as a prize, and it’s remained the top choice ever since.

Even though they should be widely available through the demon merchants nowadays, their popularity hasn’t waned.

So as per tradition, we’ve prepared a large quantity of women’s underwear as the main prize!

If a husband works hard to win underwear and gives it to his wife, she’d be happy too!

But even just reading that sentence makes it sound even more perverted... What’s up with that?!

Anyway, I think this prize will make women themselves very happy!!!

So, what do you think?!

“Yesssssssss!!! This is that high-quality stuff you can’t get unless it’s via the Demon Kingdom! Now I can be comfortable every dayyyyyyyy!!!”

Great, I’m glad she seems to like it!

And so, the prize-giving, which marks the end of Orkubo’s Castle, endeed smoothly.