For those of you who missed my announcement…
By the end of this month, I will be releasing the pdf/epub for Volume 1 of PoC! The PDF/ePub is free for all Patreon supporters. However, if you’re “against” Patreon, you can pay $5 to download this file digitally. I’ll be opening up a storefront to sell my novel shortly, but I haven’t settled on where yet.
I know what you’re thinking. So, what? I copy and pasted my own free webnovel and now I have the audacity to charge you guys for it! I hope by now you guys know me better than that. Volume 1 is going to be much more than a simple pdf compilation. Here’s what you’ll get with Volume 1.
*A properly formatted novel of the first fifty chapters resembling many published works.
*The text optimized for tablet/phone reading.
*Full colored Ero Images in proper position in text.
*Two 1500+ word bonus chapters that will never be released on the machineslicedbread (yes, they contain erotic scenes and are canon, unlike the specials).
*The first ten chapters fixed into the present tense used in later chapters.
*Extra editing to repair grammar and spelling mistakes not caught before release.
*Additional corrections and additions to improve continuity and story flow.
*An Image Gallery which includes all released Ero and Portrait Images to date in higher resolution.
*Never-before-seen blooper images and concept art!
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“Now, please stand for Gaston, King of the Great Empire, and host to these festivities!” as the man speaks, an older, more regal looking man comes out on stage.
This leads to much clapping and excited yelps from his allies, and weaker clapping and disdainful looks from his enemies. The man himself seems to ignore it all, clearly lifting his head up like only a king of the realm could.
“Good Afternoon, everyone, Good Afternoon. Thank you all for coming to our wonderful and prosperous city. I hope you all have found things of interest to you.”
“Blah, blah, blah… you damned blowhard.” Reginald mutters under his breath low enough only you could hear, while wearing an unpleasant look he tries to hide.
“You take issue with the king?” You ask airily.
“AH!” Reginald makes a surprised expression, suddenly fearful that you overheard. “Of course, I am a loyal King’s man.
You snort. “I come from another land, I hardly hold any desire to get into the politics of the human realm. Plus, you’ve roomed my team, so I’m not exactly in a position to rat you out.”
Reginald let out a breath, blowing out steam. “That’s true… I don’t mean to speak ill of the King… or should I call him dear brother.”
“!!”
“Yes, I was once a prince and younger brother to the king. I should have been a respected prince. However, my elder brother fancied the woman our father had set me to marry. On the day of the King’s death, he stole my bride and kicked me out of the castle. He told me it was a mercy he didn’t kill me.
“He gave me my bride, Selena, from the third sister of a foreign nation in some profitable political deal. He gave me the mansion I live in, close by so he can have his guards keep watch on me. Everything I have is a “gift” of the King. What should have rightfully been mine from birth is an award I’m given for doing the King’s biddings. Ever since, he’s used me as his ponce to do his dirty work… eh… no offense.” He gave you apologetic look, showing that babysitting lower nobles is an example of dirty work.
“My rank was lowered, my last name changed. I was disavowed by the royal family, the Great Empire’s dirty little secret. Even Selena, I suspect she may be a spy of his majesties. That is why I’ve never given her a child, nor wish to remain monogamous. She is beautiful, which is a small condolence, but how can I love a woman I can’t trust. At best, I can trade her to enjoy myself when needed. That is why I engage in such… activities. It is a small pleasure I’ve taken from my life, which was stolen by his majesty.”
“Sorry to hear…” You respond disinterestedly. You were just asking to be polite, you don’t need his entire backstory.
It’s exactly this kind of crap why you don’t want to be a king in the first place. All of that stuff sounds exhausting. Isn’t it much better to just chill out with your hot harem and fuck all day? That’s way more enjoyable than this so-called leadership. Why do more? To be loved by the people? The people love you and you don’t really do much. Their love is fickle and entirely dependent on their own happiness. They don’t care about intent. They don’t care about the work you put in, nor the money, the effort, or the time. All they care about is that they get exactly what they want with out putting an ounce of their own efforts in! They’re as bad as Machine Sliced Bread readers!
While you are thinking such things, the king has continued to drone on about how great the Great Kingdom is, “But of course, you all didn’t come here to talk of such things. Rather, you’re here to compete, and through competition, show the value of your nation. This year, other than the support of this Great Nation, I offer another prize. I’ll let the man himself introduce the prize of the decade.”
There is some light muttering as the crowd wonders what prize would be called the prize of the decade. Another man comes up on stage, and your eyebrows raise as you recognize this man. He is the king of the border country that summoned you. He is Ariel’s father and Aurora’s ex-husband. This is that arrogant bastard who wouldn’t give his own life for his daughter, and expected you to protect his country just because he summoned you. The last few months had not been kind on him. He looks like he lost a lot of weight, and his beard and hair have become completely grey.
“Good Afternoon,” The king aged king spoke up, his voice clearly having less strength than the previous Great King. “I have prepared a prize for the winner of this competition. My wife, Aurora, god bless her, was a beautiful woman. Her death was sudden and tragic…”
While there is a moment of silence as a few give him sympathetic looks while others are just impatient that he gets to the point. You roll your eyes, now realizing what story the king concocted to cope with his wife. You had cast magic that made him forget you stole her and think her lost, but you never tracked to see how the magic culminated. It probably would have been better if he never remembered he had a wife in the first place, but for that spell to work, you’d need to cast it on everyone in the kingdom. At the time, that was more mana than you could use, especially for the kneejerk reaction you made at the time.
“I… have grown tired… of ruling. My country… I do not believe it can survive as an independent nation any longer. Without a queen, I am unable to produce an heir, and I’m getting too old to find another. And then there is my daughter, Ariel…” The king continues, causing you to perk your ears instantly. “My daughter, Princess Ariel, has surpassed the age where she ought to settle down. Therefore, the man who wins this competition, you will also win the right to marry my beautiful daughter, become prince of my nation, and upon my death, annex all the territories therein!”
“The fuck…” You mutter under your presence in confusion, but a second later you mind goes blank.
A beautiful woman walks up on the stage, giving a very elegant curtsy. Her beauty clearly affects the audience, as they immediately start cheering and shouting, many men declaring that they will win this competition so that they can have her. She smiles gently, looking across the entire crowd. Her eyes lock on yours for just a second, but then they continue on through the rest of the crowd with barely a reaction.
That woman, you are all too familiar with. She is indeed Ariel. Down to every nook and cranny, this woman is undoubtedly your first and most loyal harem girl! What the hell is she doing here?
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P.S. This is the last Ero image for Volume 1. Images for Volume 2 will start being ordered next month. The release of Volume 2 depends on the speed I can get images released as well as the success of Volume 1. This comes from Chapter 44.
