Chapter 1340: Acceptance
In a relatively secluded area, located near the Armory of Camelot, a climate-controlled Atelier could be found. Here, the incubating body of Illya could be found, her figure floating within a crystalline chamber filled with glowing, greenish-blue, liquid. Nearby, Iris could be seen resting with her head against a large desk. She didn't like to leave her daughter alone so, for the last year or so, she spent much of her time idling about within the Atelier.
Rather than just sit around waiting, however, Iris was making use of one of Da Vinci's inventions, a [Space-Time Orb] that reduced the amount of time experienced, rather than increasing it. Though it was only capable of halving the flow of time, it made a pretty big difference considering Illya's body was within the Projection. This meant she was experiencing a fourteenth the standard flow of time, using the outside world as the standard...
Seeing Iris sleeping at the side with a slight smile on her face, Vahn couldn't help but adopt one of his own. Then, even if it didn't really matter, he pulled out a blanket to cover her shoulders as the interior of the Atelier was near-freezing. This wouldn't really affect her but, knowing she would still appreciate the gesture, Vahn felt compelled to cover her. Afterward, he turned his attention to the gently pulsating chamber or, more specifically, the developing figure within...
Originally, Illya was around 133cm tall, weighing around 34kg when soaking wet. She had what could only be described as a 'petite' figure, even if the more apt description would be prepubescent. Those that were unaware of her true age would assume she was around 10-12 years old, discouraging any untoward thoughts in all but the most deviant of individuals...
Now, after more than a year spent within the chamber, Illya had grown to 145cm in height, placing her just two centimeters shorter than Circe. She still lacked the charms of a mature woman but, when compared to her former appearance, there was a 'very' noticeable difference. Her secondary sexual characteristics had now started to blossom, giving her breasts that were slowly approaching a B-Cup in size. Most notably, so long as you ignored her fur, ears, and tail, Illya's thighs had started to round out a bit while the development of her butt was outpacing her breasts by a fair amount...
Still, more so than the development of her actual body, the things that stood out the most were, as could be expected, the traits Illya had developed as a result of her fusion with Cath Palug. She hadn't lost her human ears but, at the top of her head, very large, almost rabbit-like ears were now present. They were covered in the same fluffy white fur that now covered much of her body, giving her what could only be described as a 'pettable' appearance. She even had tiny red paw pads on the inside of her palms and the underside of her feet while, most notably of all, a fluffy white tail curled behind her to form an S-shaped curve.
At this point, the only areas bereft of hair were parts of Illya's face, her chest, abdomen, and, for reasons he could only blame on the creator of the Nasuverse, her delicates. If you looked at her from behind, the exposed skin actually formed a heart-shaped area of tender flesh, something Vahn found both curious and peculiar. As for how he came to learn of this, well, Ilya herself pestered him to give her period checkups to make sure there weren't any issues with her body. He knew she was worried about the changes taking place within her body but, at the same time, it was really just an excuse to have him develop an interest in her body...
Vahn, of course, would never abandon Illya but, as actions spoke much louder than words, he made it a habit to give the tank a full circle, observing Illya from every angle before coming to a stop near a glowing purple orb. This was the special [Time-Dampening Orb] developed by Da Vinci and, after pressing it, Vahn had a full minute to get into a comfortable position before it sent out a pulse that sucked his consciousness inside. This was a feature Da Vinci had developed for convenience as, if it always required you to be in contact with the orb, the number of people accessing it would be very limited...
After taking a seat in a nearby reading chair, Vahn pulled back the lever on the side, kicking up the footrest and reclining backward. Then, moments later, an invisible pulse passed through the room, kept within by wards that had been placed on the walls, floor, and ceiling. In the next moment, he found himself in an expansive field, one dotted with various statues of Cath Palug defeating other Phantasmal Species...
Having grown accustomed to the peculiar setting in the past, Vahn largely ignored the statues as he made his way to a large temple within the nearby valley. This was where Illya and Cath Palug spent all their time together as, within a [Space-Time Orb], they were able to manifest as unique entities. It was fundamentally impossible for Illya, a Tier 3 entity, to completely integrate with a higher-tiered existence like Cath Palug. It had to let her take control, meaning they would always be two unique existences, even if, outside, they appeared to be one and the same...
Before Vahn even reached the ornate stone temple, a tiny white figure bolted out from the interior and, in what felt like less than an instant, it had already leaped into his arms. This peculiar creature, which had an appearance similar to a squirrel and a fennec fox was none other than Cath Palug itself, complete with a pale-blue mantle and a large red ribbon.
As usual, Vahn cradled Cath Palug in his left arm before digging his fingers into the plush white fur on its chest. In response, Cath Palug kicked its leg like a dog, cooing a contented 'Fooou~', despite the fact it could actually speak fluently within the [Time-Dampening Orb]. It had fully embraced the idea that Vahn was its Master so, unless the situation required, Cath Palug behaved like a spoiled pet whenever it could get away with it.
With the fluffy bundle cradled in his embrace, Vahn made his way to the center of the temple where Illya and Iris were both awaiting him. Contrasting her external appearance, Illya's mental image made it so that her spiritual body still looked like her ten-year-old self. Unlike the past, however, she lacked the various scars that had covered her body, a fact easily discernible by the pure white sundress she was wearing.
Before Vahn could even greet the two women, Illya glared at him with a pouting expression, saying, "I heard you slept with another woman...didn't you promise me that you wouldn't sleep with any new women until my body was ready...?"
Vahn didn't really have an excuse for his actions and, just as Illya had stated, he did, in fact, make such an irresponsible promise. After all, she was forcibly aging her body using both alchemy and the Fifth Magic, courtesy of Aoko. The problem was, as a result of her fusion with Cath Palug, combined with her already slow-aging body, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Illya's body had been aged by several thousand years. Despite this, she only had the appearance of a girl between 15-16 years of age, a little younger than she would have liked.
Knowing there was no way to talk himself out of his own responsibilities, Vahn ultimately just took a deep breath and said, "I do not have an excuse, Illya. All I can do is make it up to you as best I can..."
Hearing Vahn's words, Illya gave a curt nod before hopping up to her feet and stating in a firm tone of voice, "I've already waited long enough. I don't even think my body has changed at all in the last five months so it is time for me to wake up. You'll have to...convince me that you're sorry back in the real world..."
Though she started off strong, Illya's face became progressively red towards the end. At the same time, her mother began to laugh in the background, accelerating the reddening process by several orders of magnitude. As for Vahn, he already expected this outcome from the very beginning so, after lightly scratching under Cath Palug's chin for a short while, he nodded his head and said, "I'll properly spoil both of you..."
Vahn had obviously been talking about Illya and Cath Palug, something everyone understood, but Iris would never miss the chance to take advantage of his poor choice of words. She expressed the fakest example of shock any of them had ever seen, hand covering her mouth with wide eyes as she asked, "My, you really are a voracious Emperor, Vahn. To think you are aiming for both mother and daughter...I'm not sure my heart is ready~"
Hearing Iris' words, Vahn and Illya had deadpan expressions on their faces while Cath Palug, ears twitching, broke the awkward silence by cartoonish tone, "Mama, don't get in the way. You have to wait your turn. Vahn is ours right now."
Though it didn't speak all that often, Cath Palug was very direct when it opted to do so. It didn't appreciate the fact that it's 'Mama' was getting in the way at the penultimate moment, something it and Illya had been looking forward to for a very long time. As a result, its hair had started to stand on end and, while it would never attack Iris, its violet eyes were glowing with visible annoyance.
Being glared at by a Tier 5 creature might scare others but, having already accepted Cath Palug as her child, Iris showed no discernible signs of fear. Instead, she simply giggled mischievously, playing off Cath Palug's words as she mused, "I suppose I'll have to wait my turn then. I really am curious to learn what all the fuss is about. For now, I'll just have to be patient. Make sure to tell me all about it later on, okay, Illya-chan~?"
Without waiting for her daughter's replay, Iris immediately vanished into thin air, her laughter still echoing for a few seconds due to the vast chamber and smooth stone surfaces. This caused Illya to fall silent for nearly a minute before ultimately looking back at Vahn with a serious expression and saying, "I blame you for this..."
Despite her words, Illya had actually been helping to build the relationship between her mother and Vahn over the last two years so she knew it wasn't really his fault. She had even been the one to have them all sleep in the same bed and, while it was a rare occurrence, they had even bathed together a few times. This was largely the result of her fear that, after developing a relationship with Vahn, there was a chance her mother would slowly distance herself. Illya didn't want to lose her mother a second time so, for the sake of both of their happiness, she had been pulling the strings, something both Iris and Vahn were aware of...
Since he had already made up his mind on the matter, quite a while back, Vahn just answered Illya's accusation with a small smile before carrying Cath Palug over to her and saying, "I guess I'm greedy. I can't help but want to make both you, your mother, Cath Palug, and everyone else happy...will you forgive me, Illya...?"
Hearing Vahn's words, Illya puffed out her reddened cheeks slightly. Then after stepping closer to his body, she placed her forehead against his chest before muttering, "Convince me then...I don't want to hear flowery words...show me...I want to experience how you will make us all happy..."
Immediately after her words sounded, Illya followed her mother's example by simply vanishing from the [Time-Dampening Orb]. This caused Cath Palug to vanish as well since, despite them being two different entities, they shared a single primary consciousness. Now, when Vahn made his own exit, he would have to deal with their fused form and, after a few past experiences, he knew it wasn't going to be easy. Cath Palug experienced a phenomenon similar to 'heat' so things would get intense in a very short period of time...
Despite this, Vahn's smile didn't fade. Rather, he just took a deep breath through his nose before, moments later, vanishing from within the temple's interior...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Da Vinci knows no limits','Illya is a closet pervert with exhibitionist tendencies xD...','Vahn's lamentations are other people's dreams...')
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