Chapter 1958: Conditioning
Though he didn't exactly require support, Vahn knew the quickest way to break the Lo Po Bia trio's delusions was to introduce them to the existing members of his harem. More specifically, he invited Artoria, Fenrir, and Yoruichi to accompany him, each representing one of three distinct sub-factions that had gradually formed among the residents of the Emerald Grove.
As both a Dragon Goddess and his official Empress, Artoria had the highest official status among the women comprising Vahn's harem. She also had to most regal bearing among his women, and, despite the many setbacks she had faced early in life, her leadership capabilities and understanding of Authority were second only to Vahn's. This, combined with the fact she was excessively kind and dutiful, made her the de facto leader of the faction that supported the existence and stability of the Empire. In layman's terms, she was the leader of the Imperial Faction.
A close second to Artoria's Imperial Faction, largely due to the fact they didn't care about status and authority, were the members of Fenrir's 'Pack'. This was a group comprised of so-called 'good girls', or, more specifically, women with animalistic features who had embraced their instincts and desires as a result of Fenrir's teachings. In many ways, this was the group most loyal to Vahn, as, rather than caring about more complicated matters, their primary focus was self-improvement, receiving praise, and supporting him to the best of their ability.
Due to their animalistic features and the substantial influence their instincts had over their behavior, it was safe to assume that any members of the Lo Po Bia Family, Pram, Iifa, and Nio included, would most likely become a member of Fenrir's Pack. They simply lacked the selfless perspective required to enter the Imperial Faction, so, with the third option being Yoruichi's faction, a group comprised almost entirely of Templates with no particular ambitions, it wasn't difficult to imagine where they would end up.
The most important thing was that Artoria, Fenrir, and Yoruichi were all remarkably powerful, and, while they might not care about official status or titles, the members of Fenrir's Pack adhered to a strict hierarchy. At the very top was Vahn, and, due to her standing as his most faithful and beloved companion, Fenrir represented the pinnacle of what every pack member endeavored to become. As a result, she set the example for everyone else to follow, and, unless Vahn superseded her authority, stepping out of line would quickly earn you the label of a 'bad girl'.
Though there were no serious consequences associated with the label, it did result in a noticeable decrease in the amount of pampering and praise you would receive. This might not seem like much of a penalty from the perspective of an outsider, but, for the members of the pack, it was one of the most severe punishments they could imagine. Many of them had become irreversibly dependent on the pampering and praise they received, and, while it might not compare to an actual addiction, just the thought of a life without Vahn's affection made them anxious. Fortunately, no matter how great their mistakes, they could be certain their Master would always be willing to forgive them so long as they apologized and made a sincere effort to learn from their mistakes...
---
Despite being the weakest among the three faction leaders, Fenrir was still more powerful than the average High Ranker. Her unique bloodline and advanced mastery over various laws also provided an absolute advantage against those who relied on their instincts, so, after some expected tension, both Pram and her daughters had begun referring to the former with the suffix 'sama'.
Observation of the established hierarchy was one of the most important things taught to members of the Lo Po Bia Family. Thus, after recognizing that even the weakest among Vahn's followers was stronger than them, it was only natural that they lower their heads. Pram even went as far as setting the example for her daughters by defaulting to a support role and offering no resistance even when Yoruichi decided to tease her. This greatly perturbed her daughters in the beginning, but, after a bit of careful guidance from Fenrir and a fair amount of pampering from Vahn, they quickly adapted to the peculiar situation and became noticeably more servile.
Truth be told, Vahn wasn't particularly fond of women with servile natures, but, understanding the impossibility of attending to the countless women who would readily throw themselves at him the moment he took over the Lo Po Bia Family, establishing a precedent like this was necessary. Though it might come across as a little scummy, he had no intention of letting individuals such as Pram and her daughters become official members of his harem. They were far from truly loving him, so, while he was more than willing to appease them for the sake of a peaceful transition, he had no desire to become something like a Grand Chieftain or a Great Father.
Though it wouldn't actually be that difficult, Vahn had no intention of siring dozens of children just to appease each branch of the Lo Po Bia Family. He might sleep with quite a number of their Elders and chosen representatives, but, unless something drastic were to occur, he would most likely leave Templates behind to advise and protect each respective branch as he continued his ascent up and beyond the Tower. This method had worked with the various Tribes he had consolidated within the Little Garden, and, while it wasn't a 'perfect solution', it provided him with valuable perspectives and experiences that might aid in his future governance of all reality.
As selfish as it might seem, the goal Vahn was aspiring towards was, perhaps, the most selfish thing anyone could ever hope to achieve. He was effectively trying to subsume all of reality just to placate his desire to reunite with his family and loved ones. This ultimately put him at odds with the current Order of Creation, and, most importantly, everything responsible for maintaining the current order. Thus, regardless of how guilty it made him feel at times, he could continue pushing himself forward following the notion that any and all experiences he could gain prior to his ascent would make him a better ruler.
In the end, Vahn was aiming to become what some referred to as 'Chaotic Good'. He understood that 'balance' was one of the fundamental forces of reality, and, as a result of free will and intrinsic need of the Soul to experience new stimuli, the natural state of creation was chaotic in nature. Thus, the more he leaned towards any particular side of the spectrum, the greater the forces opposing him would become.
Simply put, if Vahn decided to become a being of 'Absolute Good', a being of 'Absolute Evil' would naturally come into existence in order to counteract his influence. This would potentially result in a never-ending conflict between good and evil, so, rather than representing either extreme, the least destructive path seemed to be skirting the boundary between the two forces in order to enforce his own form of balance. This would also ensure the relative neutrality of his counterpart as a Tier 7, so, even if he was labeled as scum by some, Vahn would continue accumulating experiences in order to appease his personal desires and ensure the stability of the future...
---
With Iifa receiving training from Fenrir and Pram departing to personally express his intentions to Lord Lo Po Bia, Vahn was enjoying a bit of leisure time in a suite prepared for him by the Lo Po Bia Family. At his side, purring contentedly like a cat despite the beads of sweat covering her face and body, Nio could be seen staring off into space with a dazed expression on her face. He had agreed to Pram's request to help her prepare for her impending ascent, so, for the past few weeks, most of which had been spent in the Little Garden, Vahn had been training her rather exhaustively.
Gently smacking the dazed girl's spats-covered backside, an action that caused her tail to spiritedly flick, an amused smile spread across Vahn's face as he teasingly inquired, "How long do you intend to rest? Your mother wouldn't even struggle to lift a mountain. How do you intend to surpass her when you can barely do more than a hundred pushups without taking a break...?"
Groaning in response to Vahn's words, Nio did her best to right herself before adopting a princess-like pout and complaining, "You're so cruel, Vahn-sama...I can't even use Shinsu outside of the Little Garden. How can you expect me to compete with my mother under these circumstances...?"
Ruffling the pouting girl's ashen-silver hair, Vahna adopted a stern tone as he said, "When it comes to personal ambitions, never blame others for holding you accountable to your own words. This is a path you decided upon after learning about forms of energy other than Shinsu. If you think it's hard now, you should give up trying to develop your Ki and wait to gain access to Shinsu along with the rest of the 'Regulars'. I won't be there to pamper and encourage you during your ascent, so, if you aren't going to take this seriously, don't expect me to continue pushing you forward..."
With Nio's ears twitching in response to the emphasis he had placed on the word 'Regulars', Vahn knew his words had had the desired impact. Emphasizing this, Nio grit her teeth as she forced herself to a standing position despite the strain placed on her by the weighted compression suit covering most of her body. Its total weight was only 500kg, but, without the blessing of Shinsu, it was a substantial sum for a petite girl of only 34kg to lug around. She also had to fight against the resistance of the suit itself, so, despite her heritage, Nio had to strain herself just to be able to move around.
After finally rising to her feet, Nio took several deep breaths, an action that was, fortunately, directly supported by one of the suit's functions. Then, with her icy-blue eyes firmly fixated on Vahn, she did her best to perform a series of one hundred star jumps. She had yet to realize his 'fascination' with the backsides of various races, so, in the hopes of appealing to him and receiving a greater reward, she did her best to maintain eye contact as her modest breasts bounced up and down with each of her movements...
---
At the very center of a massive forest, which, from the outside, looked like a giant briar bush, Pram could be seen bowing before a man with leaf-green hair, cat-like ears, and pale-yellow fur covering much of his body. This was none other than Lo Po Bia himself, the greatest Anima in existence and the man responsible for the name and creation of the entire Lo Po Bia Family.
With a distinctly cat-like smile, Lo Po Bia retracted his hand from the head of the blue-haired who had been lying across his lap, waiting for the latter to move before rising to his feet and musing, "It seems the King's suspicions were, once again, correct...unfortunately, it would complicate things if I were to personally seek out the Sage Dragon Emperor. Instead, you will guide him here once he has finished with his business inside of the Nest. If he is unwilling to agree, tell him the entire Lo Po Bia Family will stand against him during his attempt to free the Princess..."
Bowing her head even lower, Pram adopted a highly reverential tone as she unhesitantly replied, "I will carry out this duty without fail. Thank you for entrusting my Snow Leopard Family with such an important task..."
Though the truth of the matter was that Lo Po Bia had been planning to sacrifice the Snow Leopard Family in order to appease Vahn's wrath regarding the events related to the Name Hunt Station, this kind of outcome was far more preferable than culling an entire branch. Thus, with a 'genuine' smile on his face, the inordinately tall Lo Po Bia approached Pram before kneeling low enough to pat her on the head as he said, "You've done well. Depending on the outcome of these events, the status of the Snow Leopards may become second only to the Forest Cats..."
Hearing his father's words, the dark blue-haired man sitting near the base of the throne couldn't help glaring at Pram, his peculiar green and red eyes glimmering with apparent envy. At the same time, however, Pram's own were expressing minor doubts, as, despite looking forward to receiving her father's praise more than anything, his caress felt strangely lacking...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Yourichi's faction sounds lazy...','Nio-chan, fighto~!','Pram be like, *anxious snow leopard noises*')
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Chapter 1959: Compression Syndrome
Making the most of his free time, Vahn was watching the girls perform their morning routine with a relaxed smile on his face. This was easily one of his favorite ways to spend the morning, and, while it might not be particularly intense, seeing the girls stretching in little more than sports bras and yoga pants always improved his mood. It also demonstrated to the girls that he had a bit of free time on his hands, so, if they had nothing, in particular, going on, he was more than willing to make himself available for them.
Fortunately, the girls had come up with their own system to determine, in advance, who would approach him during such situations. This was to prevent him from spending days, months, or even years just to pander to each particular person's needs, and, more often than not, the number didn't exceed five. The only exceptions were when the girls were struggling with their training or feeling a little lonely, but, given Vahn's propensity for monitoring each and every one of them, such instances were 'very' uncommon.
With this in mind, Vahn always looked forward to seeing who would approach him following the morning routine. He could always find out by simply spying on the meetings the girls had at the end of every day, but, similar to when his original harem had adapted their 'network', Vahn did his best to respect the girls' autonomy when it came to their management of his harem. The was one of the most important lessons Loki had bestowed unto him, and, while it left him feeling left out at times, he understood that the private affairs and interpersonal relationships between women were least chaotic when unobserved by men.
As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn was somewhat surprised to see Mikoto break off from the larger group of girls after exchanging a few words with Artoria. Even more surprising was the fact that she was the only one to approach him, a rare instance in and of itself.
With Vahn's eyes following her unerringly during her approach, a ruddy hue gradually developed across Mikoto's face as she briefly considered whether or not she should use her [REquip] system to change clothes. Her outfit might be a lot tamer than the other girls, consisting of a sleeveless white top and matching shorts with red trim, but it still emphasized her figure quite a bit...
Though he was largely to blame for the girl's quirks, Vahn couldn't help adopting an amused smile as he saw Mikoto stall before she was even halfway to him. She had a penchant for letting her mind wander whenever she was feeling anxious, and, every now and again, she would even begin talking to herself without any consideration for her surroundings.
Taking advantage of the hazel-haired girl's absentmindedness, Vahn teleported directly behind her, his hand naturally gravitating towards her head as he mused, "It's rare for you to seek me out first. I wonder what you had in mind~?"
Though her first instinct was to release a Thunderbolt, Mikoto ultimately managed to suppress the urge due to anticipating this exact outcome. She knew that approaching Vahn, at least in her case, was the same as asking to be teased, so, after some initial tensions, she managed to bat his hand away before saying, "I wanted to talk with you about visiting an Actualized World. We recently hit a bottleneck of sorts in our research, so, before we start having to do guesswork, I wanted to try and collect information directly from the source. I also have a few resentments to sort out related to my original source material, so, even if it's only for a short while, I wanted to explore that world and see if I can't improve a few things."
With virtually all of his Templates sharing similar sentiments, Vahn wasn't particularly surprised by Mikoto's words. Rather, knowing the many tragedies set to occur in her world, it took quite a bit of self-restraint for Vahn not to interfere. Worlds with modern settings and extremes between science, magic, and religion were rarely pleasant once you peeled back the cute and often comical veil used to conceal the horrors hidden beneath. Mikoto's world, in particular, was one of the most atrocious examples of this, as, despite appearing as a romantic-comedy on the surface, it was a place where Scientists would unrepentantly make twenty-thousand clones of a middle-schooler just to sacrifice as part of an experiment...
Without even needing to consider his response, Vahn offered a curt nod, saying, "I understand. How did you want to go about it? The simplest method is to adapt a version of the world with the Isekai sub-genre. Being 'reborn' with the memories of the person you wish to replace is significantly easier than trying to live their life from scratch. Of course, with your power, you could always just bulldoze your way through after assuming a different identity entirely..."
Shaking her head in response to the last suggestion, Mikoto adopted a serious expression as she said, "Even if I'm my origins are that of a Template, my identity is still precious to me. I feel a little guilty about appropriating someone else's memories, but, for the sake of a better future, I will do what I can to correct the injustices that will have occurred by the time I enter the world. I also want to experience what it's like to have a mother, father, and childhood friends, so, even if it might be a little inconvenient, I will assume the identity of a transmigrator with the identity of Misaka Mikoto..."
Unsurprised by Mikoto's decision, as several of his Templates had made similar choices, Vahn just nodded his head a second time, saying, "No problem. My only real question is, what role do you want me to play in all of this? For you to approach me in this manner, you must have thought of something, right?"
With a remarkably potent blush spreading across her face, Mikoto averted her eyes to the side, fingers pressed together as she meekly replied, "I was thinking you could either be my guardian angel or a teacher that had just recently transferred into the city..."
Though he knew she wasn't overtly suggesting anything, Vahn couldn't help raising his brows in response to Mikoto's words, an amused smile on his face as he mused, "I never expected you to have a preference for forbidden romance...well, at least you didn't ask me to be your step-father or something. Hahahahaha~"
With illusory steam exploding from her head, Mikoto didn't hesitate to send Vahn flying into the sky with her variation of a Thunder Punch. Almost immediately thereafter, however, Vahn reappeared in front of her, a wry smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head and whispered, "It was just a joke..." before following it up with asking, "So? When did you want to head out?"
Restraining the urge to hit him with a human-form Bolt Tackle, Mikoto took several breaths to calm herself before saying, "I've been meaning to ask since a while ago but you were already spending a lot of time in Actualized Worlds so I could never find a good opportunity. If you're up for it, I would like you to accompany me for the entire duration of my stay. Even if you have the power to control and manipulate time so that none passes while you're outside, I would rather not be left alone in a foreign world. With that in mind, it's really up to you when we depart. I'm pretty sure we can finish up everything within a year or two if we work together..."
With Mikoto becoming meeker the longer she forced herself to stare directly at him, Vahn couldn't help adopting an affectionate smile as he immediately replied, "I'm looking forward to it..." in a soft and velvety tone. This caused Mikoto's expression to turn crimson, but, when he extended his hand for her to grab, she didn't refuse it...
---
After little more than a blink from the perspective of others, Vahn emerged from the Internalized Realm before opening his Unit Management and promptly summoning Mikoto to his side. This left the latter at a momentary loss, as, from her perspective, no time had passed from the moment they said their farewells to the time she appeared outside the Actualized World.
Looking around, Mikoto quickly confirmed there were no other people present before looking up at Vahn, arms crossed as she pointedly remarked, "I half-expected you to bring everyone else with us. I guess even you have your limits..."
Since the mood had been pretty good just moments prior, Vahn couldn't help scratching the back of his head as he found himself at a loss for words. Fortunately, Mikoto wasn't genuinely upset with him. Rather, after the three-and-a-half-years they had spent together, she could never stay mad at him for very long. He imagined she was just feeling lonely now that it was just the two of them, so, after a moment of consideration, he surprised the perennial youth with a warm and comforting hug as he whispered, "We can always return whenever you're feeling lonely...for now, how about we go and meet with the others?"
Having grown rather accustomed to such actions during their time in the Actualized World, Mikoto made no effort to extricate herself from Vahn's embrace. Instead, she nestled a little closer to him, face pressed against his chest as her arms naturally wrapped around his body. Then, upon hearing his words, she simply nodded her head with an "Nn..." before accepting his hand and following him to the dining hall. There, she became quite emotional, but, with Vahn standing close by, she was, at the very least, able to avoid bawling her eyes out every time someone welcomed her home...
---
With his adventures in the 'Unified Toaruverse' requiring him to face metaversal threats capable of wiping out infinite universes with simple hand gestures, Vahn's interest in the politics of the Tower had waned considerably. He knew this was only a temporary side-effect of spending too much time in an Actualized World, but, with multiple Realms existing between him and the pinnacle, the notion he was spending too much time in the Tower had crossed his mind.
Though less than a year had passed since he officially began his ascent, Vahn had aged more than seventy years in that time. When he had first entered the Record, he was a relatively spry 304-year-old. Now, however, he was getting remarkably close to 375 due to the gratuitous amount of time he spent training, researching, relaxing, and exploring various worlds. He had also accumulated the experiences of more than fifty Templates, so, despite his original desire to take things slow, he was already a lot stronger than he needed to be in order to completely dominate the Tower.
With such thoughts plaguing his mind, Vahn emerged from the Little Garden to find Iifa and Nio, both completely naked, curled up next to each other in his bed. This immediately brought a smile to his face, not because he had any particular attachment to the two girls, but because their tails had coiled together naturally in their sleep. It was actually quite adorable, so, with more than three years having passed since the last time he saw the duo, an urge to celebrate their reunion swelled within Vahn's chest as fluffy ears and a rather thick tail sprouted from his head and backside. Then, eliciting a surprised yet playful 'kyaaaaa~' from the understandably bewildered duo, he practically pounced on them for the first time since their initial meeting...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'One of the 'Great Wonders' of the Aldrnari Empire...','The real question is: how big did Vahn's harem get in the Toaruverse...?','Vahn.EXE has stopped functioning. Initializing Horn.dog subroutine...')
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