Ginelia is very thorough with her master and contestants.

“I know all of you viewers are excited for this season to really begin! But before we open the polls, I will explain the rules to the master and contestants,” said Ginelia to the camera. “You all know them, but they don’t! And, if we have any first-time viewers with us today, this will help them too! Caelan, and contestants, please save all questions until after I am done explaining the rules.”

In her last sentence, there was a warning note in her words. She didn’t want to demonstrate a point loss for interrupting, but she would if she had to.

Caelan looked at her attentively, but Ginelia was sure that he was also studiously trying to avoid looking at the contestants. They, meanwhile, stared at her with a variety of expressions. Mahja and Adalheid looked furious. Glyka tried to appear stoic and emotionless, but she snuck a pleading look at Caelan. Galatea looked scared, and Emilie was both scared and embarrassed, trying in vain to hide her body from the view of the cameras. Only Ionanthe seemed calm and curious about what was to come. Of course, she’d been the only one to accept the game when she learned where she was.

“Now, as you may already know, I am Ginelia, goddess of lust, passion, and ****, and currently host of Harem Hotel: Hero’s Reward. I am joined by my assistant host Sassafras.”

Sassafras’s twenty bodies held up their hands in unison, then returned to their normal posture.

“Harem Hotel is a multidimensional reality show in which contestants compete to earn the favor of a lucky master, and get transformed in various ways to make them more appealing to the master! Because the show is set in a separate demiplane, time proceeds differently here. Don’t worry, we made sure that all your duties back in the Material Plane are covered!” said Ginelia cheerily.

“The rules of Harem Hotel are simple. Earn 100 Victory Points, or VP, by the end of the show, to be counted as a favored consort of the master. The contestant with the highest amount of VP earns a Wish, which cannot be used to request more wishes, sever the bond between contestant and master, harm others, or destroy the world, the multiverse, or the Harem Hotel institution itself.”

After pausing to take a breath, Ginelia continued. “You can earn VP by befriending the master and your fellow contestants, showing the master affection, and engaging in sexual activity with the master or each other!”

At once, the contestants reacted with shock and anger, as did Caelan. Ionanthe was the only exception once more, nodding along to Ginelia’s explanations. Ginelia ignored them and continued on.

“In Harem Hotel, sex is the best way to earn points! While winning elimination challenges also awards you VP, you will not earn as much as you would have through sex, either with the master or each other. You can also lose VP, through your actions or through losing a challenge. The first contestant to perform an action earns 1.5 times the VP she would normally earn, but there is no VP awarded to a contestant for repeating the same action.”

Ginelia clapped her hands, and a list of the contestants appeared in the air in front of her, visible to everyone present as well as the cameras. “This is the scoreboard. It will be visible in every room of the manor. I’ll demonstrate VP changes right now. As you can see, you will all start with zero VP, so you are all tied for first place.”

1. Mahja -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

1. Adalheid -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

1. Glyka -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

1. Galatea -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

1. Ionanthe -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

1. Emilie -- 0 VP -- 0 BP

She then waved her hand. “As a demonstration, I will give all the contestants 5 VP.”

The point totals shifted on the scoreboard, as a happy chime sounded, showing that everyone had 5 VP now. “And now, I will remove those 5 VP from everyone.”

Every contestant’s points shifted back down to zero, and a sad chime sounded. Ginelia smiled, seeing that the scoring system worked. “Now, I will award some actual points, since some of you have already earned them!”

With two happy chimes, the scoreboard updated.

1. Emilie -- 3 VP -- 0 BP

2. Ionanthe --1 VP -- 0 BP

3. Mahja -- 0 VP-- 0 BP

3. Adalheid -- 0 VP-- 0 BP

3. Glyka -- 0 VP-- 0 BP

3. Galatea -- 0 VP-- 0 BP

Ionanthe heard a voice in her head, announcing what she had done to earn the points.

Ionanthe accepted the game: +1 VP

Emilie, while she did not hear the announcement Ionanthe received, heard one of her own in her head. As it spoke, her face flushed even harder from the embarrassment, and she wrapped her arms even tighter around herself, even knowing it was futile.

Emilie showed her boobs to the master: +4 VP

First contestant bonus: +1.5x VP earned

Through sheer clothing: -0.5x VP earned

Total: +3 VP

Ginelia continued on. “As I already said, if you earn 100 or more VP, you will be treated as a favored consort of the master. I will explain what that means if and when one of you earns that title,” she said, but then her smile faded. “However, if you manage to dip below zero points at the end of any elimination challenge, you will be eliminated. Elimination from Harem Hotel does not sever your bond with the master. It instead turns you into a caricature of your previous transformations, physically and mentally. And you will be trapped, **** to watch yourself being puppeted, for eternity, with no escape short of the winner using their Wish to save you.”

Her expression turned severe. “I have no desire to visit such a fate on any of you here today, but if you have less than zero VP at the time of an elimination challenge, I will.”

At that, Caelan, Mahja, Adalheid, Glyka, Emilie, and Galatea stared mutely at her in horrified shock. Even Ionanthe looked apprehensive upon hearing elimination from Harem Hotel fully described. Ginelia supposed that it was much scarier when one was actually at risk instead of viewing it through a crystal ball or screen or the mind’s eye. Sassafras merely gave her a somber nod. Evidently the maid knew her duty well.

“That is not all,” said Ginelia sternly. “If any of you contestants attack each other, or the master, with intent to harm or kill, you will lose 20 VP at the very minimum. If that brings you below zero VP, you will be eliminated on the spot. Am I clear?”

All of them nodded. Ginelia took a few moments to let them calm down, before continuing her explanation. Her smile returned, but it was noticeably dimmer than before. “Now, all of you are probably wondering what BP means. It stands for ‘Bonus Points’. They do not affect your status in the game. Rather, they act as a currency, which you can spend at Sassafras’s two shops--one in the library for books and references, and one in the den for clothing, tools, and hints, among other things. Sassafras will give all the contestants a tour of the manor after we conclude the first transformation, and the shops are part of it. You can earn BP through your performance in challenges and popularity polls, and through your actions.”

Ginelia smiled wide once again. “And that concludes the explanation of the rules! I will now take questions. Caelan, as you’re the Master, I’ll hear yours first.”

“I have two,” said Caelan warily. “What is Lucs’ reward, if…being the Master of Harem Hote…” he tried out the title as though it would explode if he was careless, “is mine? And did Aldir really want me to be on Harem Hotel?”

“Such a good party leader indeed!” cooed Ginelia. “No, Lucs will not be part of the harem, nor will he be receiving one of his own, since he’s devoted to his fiancee. You will see and get to help with his reward soon! And as for your second question, Aldir wanted you to relax, enjoy mortal life, and find love in this time of peace. I just decided to help him, and you, accomplish that, and he understood and gave his blessing.”

Caelan relaxed, appearing to believe her for now. Ginelia smiled. She was also the goddess of trickery, and both her answers were truthful--although she was definitely stretching it when she described Aldir’s reaction as ‘giving his blessing’. She then nodded to Galatea, telling her to speak.

“What are these transformations?” asked Galatea. There was a warning note in her voice. Ginelia could understand why.

“I know why you’d be afraid of transformations, given what happened to you. But fear not!” replied Ginelia. These transformations are designed to bring out parts of yourself that you want to reveal, but keep hidden for fear of mortal society’s judgment! And besides, every winner of the show has enjoyed their transformations!”

Galatea nodded. She was still worried about what the transformations would be like, but maybe it would be fine, like Ginelia said.

Ginelia looked at Ionanthe next.

“Why were all of us chosen for Caelan’s harem?” asked the dragon directly.

“A very good question,” said Ginelia. “It’s because Caelan knows all of you, cares about you, and could easily grow to love all of you, and you all care for him and could love him. As his reward for saving the material plane, we gods and the wonderful producers of Harem Hotel decided that he can have all of you to love, instead of choosing just one!”

Ionanthe had the feeling that there was much more to it than that, but she nodded anyway.

Before Ginelia could give her permission to speak, Mahja asked her a question that had burned her ever since Ginelia explained the premise of the show. “So, if everyone who gets 100 VP is a favored consort, are we all in a complex marriage with Cay?”

For a moment, the goddess looked a bit annoyed that Mahja spoke without permission, but let her continue, and answered her question with a smile. “Yes, you are correct. If there is more than one favored consort at the end of the game, then all of them will be treated as though they are in a complex marriage with the master.”

Mahja grinned widely, hearing that. “Okay, challenge accepted! I’m in!”

Mahja accepted the game: +1 VP

“It’s good to see more than one contestant accepting the game,” said Ginelia with genuine warmth.

Adalheid, hearing that, nodded grimly. She hated having to share Caelan, but that was infinitely preferable to total loss of autonomy. And perhaps she could be the only favored consort…no, no. Mahja was her friend. She couldn’t let her be eliminated, right?

“Then, without further ado, let us begin the first transformation poll!”