By the time Vahn arrived at the Hearth Manor, his tensions had increased a great deal and he felt like, instead of entering his own home, he was about to face a floor boss in the depths of the Dungeon. However, even though he felt some inhibitions, Vahn was somewhat looking forward to what might happen. He continued forward with a subtle smile on his face and tried his best to maintain a casual demeanor all the way up until they made their way into the foyer.
Because they were able to detect when people arrived at the gate, the group's arrival had already been noticed by various people inside the Manor, including the 'fearsome' four. Soon after their entrance, several girls came into the foyer from connecting corridors including Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Anubis. The very moment they laid eyes on him, Vahn could see a visible shift in their auras as they began to flare up with vibrant and warm colors. Vahn released an awkward laugh as he held out his arms to make it easier for Hephaestus, who had walked over with a fast gait, to pick him up.
For what felt like the tenth time today, Vahn was squeezed into a pair of breasts as Hephaestus practically squealed, "Hnnnnnn, how can you be so cute!? I didn't believe it at first, but you really have become adorable, Vahn! Ahhh, I just want to keep you for myself~fufufufu..." Vahn was getting somewhat accustomed to being 'handled', but he wasn't going to let her go at her own pace as he sneakily fondled her butt a bit with his tiny hands. Hephaestus made an 'Eh?' sound before tilting her head down toward Vahn and saying "Uuuuhh, even if you look like a little boy, you're still a 'man' after all..."
Unwilling to be left out, Vahn ended up having to be hugged by Loki, Anubis, and eventually Eina. Loki, as expected, had teased him a fair amount before whispering in a low voice, "Your curiosity knows no bounds...did you want to give it a go~?" Without Vahn having to say anything, Loki took a fist to the top of her head for her troubles. Anubis had strong motherly instincts, so she behaved in a relatively tame manner and just cuddled Vahn a bit before turning him over to his new protector, Eina. Though Vahn had expected her to have a reaction, Eina surprised him a bit with her somewhat flushed expression as she 'gently' hugged his body and patted the top of his head.
When she thought the others weren't paying attention, she had whispered into his ear, "Can you...call me big sis? Just once is okay..." Vahn had already expected something like this to happen so he leaned forward, very close to Eina's pointed ear, and whispered in a gentle voice of his own, "Big sis..." Eina released a strange laughter and hugged him tightly before taking Fenrir's place as his temporary 'caretaker'. Though he had to interact with everyone, Eina was almost always at his side for the rest of the afternoon as they discussed the plans for the Monster Feria the following day. During dinner, Vahn was sitting in her lap while Hephaestus and Loki sat at his flanks. Even if there were a schedule for the other girls to sit with him, it was superseded by the presence of the 'head wives' and Loki.
By the time the discussions had come to an end, Vahn had another interesting experience where he had to send off each of the girls after allowing them to hug his body. Vahn felt it was a little strange, since he was actually in the form of an adult Pallum. The fact all of the girls were treating him like a child left Vahn a little confused so he had asked Eina, "Eina, why is everyone behaving so strangely after I became a Pallum? I don't think there is anything wrong with the image I used for my transformation..."
Eina's response was to hug him tightly and laugh before explaining, "Even if you're a Pallum, you look like a younger and frailer version of your usual self. It's almost like you've regressed and become a child, much like Shizune. I'm sure everyone just wants to protect you because of their motherly instincts...after all, we all know about your past and many of us would have wanted to help you...myself included. The only thing I've ever wanted for you is to allow you to live a normal life, Vahn..."
As they had all been in his room, Eina's response was heard by the other girls and Hephaestus nodded her head and continued, "Eina's right, Vahn. Especially now that I'm pregnant, I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to take care of our child...seeing you like this is like seeing what our own child would grow up to look like...haaaaaauuu~." Loki also began to laugh as she rubbed her own exposed belly and said, "I'm actually wondering what my kid will look like since Vahn is so easily able to change his form, kekeke, the future is looking more and more interesting every
single day~!"
As for Anubis, she was sitting silently in the bed and looked like she wanted to take Eina's position and hold Vahn but kept silent about the matter. She just had a gentle expression on her face as her moonlight eyes glowed in a very subtle manner. If not for the fact that her tail was gently beating against the bedspread, it would have almost been impossible to tell she was affected by the situation. There was also the existence of her large aura, but that was someone only Vahn could see.
Though it might have been an 'opportunity' to experience something new, it became a situation where Vahn was simply pampered by the four 'motherly' girls until it was time for bed. Even though his body was still 'mature', it was somewhat difficult to see him as anything other than a childlike version of himself so the girls, with the exception of Loki, were more interested in showing gentle affections than doing anything more intense. When it finally came time for bed, Vahn ended up sandwiched by Hephaestus and Eina in a combined embrace and he realized just how small his body was when there were two mature girls surrounding him. Vahn felt like he was going to be enveloped by the two girls and went to sleep fully immersed in their warmth.
---
Since he had made no effort to maintain the image, by the time Vahn awoke the next morning he looked more like a Half-Pallum than a pureblood Human or Pallum. His body had increased to around 150cm while he was asleep so, before the other girls woke up, Vahn focused his mind to fully transition back to his normal appearance. One thing he had decided to change, however, was his original height. Though he liked to be the same size as the women around him, Vahn had developed a desire to be 'taller' than they were now that he experienced being small. It wasn't much, just a few centimeters, but Vahn's final height had come to 170cm.
As one might expect, the girls began to wake up as Vahn's body was literally 'growing' in size in their embrace. In his Pallum form, he only weighed around 37kgs and was very small. Now, however, he had become much taller and weighed around 80kgs with a lean and athletic body. Hephaestus and Eina had watched the later part of his transformation quietly until Vahn opened his aquamarine eyes and hugged them tightly against his bare chest. He had removed his clothing since it had been tightly sticking to his body earlier and was now completely naked while the two girls rested against his body.
Vahn heard Eina release a silent sigh and laughed a little before giving her an 'unexpected' kiss. When he finally released the bashful half-elf, Vahn teased her a bit by saying, "Big sis...do you not like me unless I'm smaller than you?" Hearing his words, Eina's face flushed even more and she buried her head into his shoulder and mumbled, "Hauu, I miss the small Vahn...no you're going to bully me freely...ehehehe~!" Vahn had started to panic a little bit at Eina's reaction, but she sneakily gave him another kiss when he tried to say something to 'console' her.
Hephaestus wasn't willing to remain second fiddle while the two flirted, so she proactively sought a kiss from Vahn as well which eventually required him to kiss the now awakened Loki and Anubis. If not for the fact that Eina was 'reserved' for the future, Vahn expected things might have developed in an interesting direction afterward but they instead just flirted and made out a bit before finally leaving the bedroom around an hour later. From this experience, Vahn realized it was actually more difficult to manage multiple girls when they 'weren't' having sex with each other. Showing simple affections was somewhat difficult since it was harder to regulate things and make sure everyone was enjoying it.
As they needed to head out and arrange the security for the Monster Feria, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Eina ended up leaving soon after having an early breakfast. In exchange for allowing his exhibition, the Alliance had guaranteed they would provide security for the event and would be seated alongside Ganesha during the opening ceremony. Though they wouldn't be handling all the matters personally, there were still several hundred people that needed to be assigned throughout the area. As for why Eina was also leaving, she had asked a friend of her's to cover her shift the previous evening in order to visit Vahn. Since her replacement had been on during the morning shift, it meant she would have been at the Guild for nearly 24 hours by now and Eina needed to hurry back before an incident occurred.
Since the Hestia Familia was also part of the Alliance now, they also had some duties to perform but it wasn't going to be as normal security. Their task had been designated as ensuring that Fafnir didn't cause any damage 'if it lost control'. It was a pointless assignment, but that was only due to the fact that Vahn's 'taming' was fundamentally different than normal. Other monsters could actually betray their tamers, but Vahn's would continue to follow his every 'order' unless their Loyalty had reached 0. Vahn couldn't give this type of information to anyone, as it was a function of The Path, so it was a well-kept secret and anything that had been intuited by the girls around him was simply speculation.
After idling about and spending time together in the morning, everyone began to leave the Manor in one large group with Vahn leading the way. They needed to walk all the way to the eastern side of the City where the Coliseum could be found so there was quite a distance to cover. Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Lefiya had all left with Loki, since they were part of the security detail, but Riveria had stayed behind because she would be taking part in the exhibition. Vahn led the group of sixteen girls through the City while drawing a lot of attention from passersby. Since they were moving as a Familia, Vahn was proudly carrying a large banner that he had made which displayed the Hestia Familia Emblem. Though they weren't well-known for any achievements yet, the Hestia Familia was incredibly famous in the City because of Vahn's exploits and their inclusion in the Alliance.
When they had talked about it the previous night, Loki and Hephaestus had mentioned that Vahn should focus on 'exposure' and publicizing the Familia more often if he wanted to avoid all the negative rumors circulating. Though it was commendable to help others, the only way he could truly influence public opinion was the advocate to the public and garner support from the masses. Staying low key would just make him look mysterious and cause even more rumors to circulate so it was suggested that, if he truly wanted to increase the rapport the Hestia Familia had with the public, he needed to act more openly and slowly change the impression of people through his actions in public.
The Monster Feria was an important first step, but displaying the forces of his Familia was equally as important. Even when the Loki and Hephaestus Familia's returned from expeditions, they would turn it into a minor event by marching all the way to the Guild in order to report the successful completion of the mission. This publicized their forces and increased the reputation of their Familia and also made it easier to recruit people in the future, though that probably wouldn't apply to the Hestia Familia for the time being.
After nearly two hours of travel, the group arrived at the Coliseum and were escorted to their designated area by a woman who introduced herself as Shakti Varma, Captain of the Ganesha Familia. She was a beautiful woman with short, azure blue, hair, a cool and confident expression, and a professional and stoic disposition. Shakti was around 175cm tall, which Vahn paid special notice of since he had just adjusted his height to 170cm earlier, and she had relatively modest breasts that were around a B-Cup.
When they had arrived carrying their banner, a messenger asked them to wait for a moment before returning alongside the cool beauty. After introductions were carried out, Shakti looked around and asked, "I heard from Ganesha-sama that you were going to be performing an exhibition with a dragon? All I see is a horde of girls behind you..." Though Vahn didn't understand the reason, he could sense that Shakti was somewhat 'hostile' toward him ever since her earlier introduction. Though her aura didn't make her appear to be an enemy, it was very obvious she wasn't fond of him for reasons he was unaware.
Deciding not to mind it too much, Vahn smiled as best he could manage and said in a polite tone, "I have a method to keep it concealed so as not to cause trouble for others. Don't worry, I'm ready to perform the exhibition as soon as the arena is prepared." Shakti gave a curt nod after hearing his explanation and said, "Very well, you will be called when the time comes. Please don't wander around as you will be held accountable for any monsters losing control as a result of your negligence. If your Familia members would like to look around, they have access to the waiting area and the viewing stands alongside everyone else..." Without explaining things further, Shakti gave everyone a glance before quickly leaving the area.
Vahn didn't know what he had done to upset the woman since they had never met before this moment. Hestia, however, seemed to have seen through something as she commented, "That woman, she is viewing you as a man. Even though she is old, I can tell that she is still a virgin...that elephant fool had probably tried to set her up with you. He talked about it a lot during the Denatus, saying that he wanted to see if you were capable of taming the Captain of his Familia as well. Looks like she got mad seeing how many girls you had accompanying you, tough luck for her I guess, shishishishi~."
Though Vahn wasn't sure Hestia's intuition was on the mark, her sentiments seemed to be shared by many of the girls present and Vahn couldn't help but remark internally about the dangers of a woman's intuition. Shakti was a very beautiful woman, almost remarkably beautiful, but Vahn could tell she was also on the mature side of the spectrum. He couldn't tell her exact age, as she appeared very youthful, but Vahn could determine by the complexion of her skin and the flow of energy in her body she was likely in her thirties, perhaps even older. Since she seemed to be a normal human, it was very peculiar that she had remained single and pure well after what was considered the 'prime' of a woman's life in the Danmachi record.
Vahn decided to put the matter to the back of his mind, especially considering the fact that Shakti was the Captain of a Familia. Even if he wanted to pursue her, she wouldn't move into the Manor and would have to tend to her responsibilities, same as Tsubaki. Vahn had become somewhat promiscuous after his exposure to so many women, and he couldn't deny he was interested in Shakti as well, but he wouldn't go out of his way to pursue her at all. Just as he had done for Senna, Vahn wasn't trying to 'build up' the number of girls around him.
Though he wasn't against a temporary 'rendezvous', Vahn wouldn't do anything without discussing it with some of the girls on the network first. Just like he was treating Freya, Vahn was very interested in the potential experience, but he wasn't going to ignore his current relationships just to sate his own curiosity. There were very nearly twenty women he could 'visit' if he was feeling lonely, so it seemed somewhat shameless to even consider sleeping with other girls.
It was currently slightly after 10 AM and the Monster Feria had officially started with the opening ceremony and speech of Ganesha. Hestia had left to join the other gods of the alliance and they were all seated around the somewhat outgoing and flamboyant god. As Vahn watched him move about excitedly and yell loud enough that the entire Coliseum could hear him, he couldn't help but feel a desire to befriend the strange god wearing a red elephant mask. He seemed like a really interesting person to hang around with and Vahn considered trying to approach him in the future. If he had really sent Shakti to him earlier, Ganesha was also likely considering working with the Hestia Familia in the future and had probably been trying to establish a 'connection' between the two Familia through his intervention in Shakti's love life.
As if he had been able to read Vahn's mind, Ganesha turned toward the waiting area where Vahn was currently standing with a large grin on his face as he loudly shouted, "Aaaaand without further ado, Ganesha says let the Monster Feria officially begin~! Today, the Ganesha Familia, in cooperation with the Alliance between the Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Miach, and Takemikazuchi Familias proudly presents a special treat for your enjoyment! You may have heard some of the rumors, but let Ganesha be the first person to officially introduce you to the one, the only, the Legendary Sage Aldrnari, Vaaaaaaaahn Maaaaaaaasooonn~! Ganesha welcomes you, young hero, graaaaaahahahahahahahahaha~!"
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'This is mine now...','Shakti is not impressed','Ganesha is very excited, Gaaaaneshaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha~!')
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Though there were rumors that had been spread throughout the City, it hadn't been highly publicized that Vahn was going to participate in the Monster Feria. Because of this, though there had been a great deal of excitement in the crowd earlier, there was a strange discordant stir passing through the crowded Coliseum that held more than 50,000 spectators. Many people had heard of Vahn, several even knew what he looked like, but very few had ever actually seen him. When he walked out of the waiting area accompanied by a small girl and the relatively famous Riveria, many people didn't know how to react and simply began discussing the matter in hushed voices.
Vahn had felt more than a little nervous at first, especially since his perception was overwhelmed by the number of people packed into the Coliseum. However, now that he experienced the reaction of the crowd, a cool sensation passed through his mind and he simply shook his head. Though he might care about the people individually, after getting to know them, Vahn realized it was pointless to worry about their reception of him. The only reason he was here was for Fafnir, not the ignorant masses that placed more value in rumors than their own understanding of a situation.
After patting Tina's head, the young Cat Person showed a nervous smile before walking out into the center of the arena with somewhat mechanical movements. Unlike Vahn, she was still very nervous about how many people were staring at her with curious, confused, and some derisive expressions. She hadn't been part of the original routine, but Vahn had told her that she had the 'cutest' and 'most innocent' appearance, so she mustered what little courage she could manage and pressed forward. Once she reached the exact center, Tina turned to the stands where the gods were seated and waved in an awkward, yet happy, manner to the gathered gods.
Ganesha had been a little confused about Vahn's plan, especially after seeing a small girl walk into the arena, but he couldn't help but show a toothy grin when Tina waved toward 'him'. Even though the crowd was very loud, Ganesha was somehow able to be heard clearly amongst the various noises as he shouted, "Gahahaha, greetings little lady~! This Ganesha welcomes you to his arena~!" Tina had flinched a little at the strangely loud voice before remarking in an awkward tone, "Umm, hello Mr. Ganesha...samnyaa. I want to show everyone that Fafnir is a cute and kind dragon..." Ganesha began laughing in an amused manner at Tina's words before spreading his arms wide as if he were addressing the crowd, "Well, Tina, you have all of our undivided attention~! Everyone, let's give a round of applause for the bravery of this young girl!!!"
Though they didn't all start clapping immediately, it wasn't long before there was a loud applause resonating through the arena in order to encourage Tina. Even though she hadn't done anything yet, she was an adorable little girl that had the courage to stand in the center of the large arena on her own. If nothing else, she deserved their encouragement and it wasn't long before the crowd mentality kicked in and everyone got caught up in the festive atmosphere once again.
Tina's tail was twitching furiously due to her nervousness, but she still managed to squat down to the ground and place her hand on the shadow beneath her feet. In a loud, cracking, voice, Tina shouted, "Fafn-nya, it's time to come out~nyaaaaa!" Because of the overwhelming noise of the crowd, nobody could actually hear what she said but it didn't stop them from all coming to a complete silence several seconds later when a massive dragon began to slowly emerge from the shadows beneath the small girl. Other than a few powerful adventurers, everyone felt an almost instinctive fear at the 'evil' looking creature that was appearing right before their very eyes.
Since it had emerged right beneath her, Tina was lifted by Fafnir's head until she was nearly 10m off the ground as it stood proudly before the crowd and said, (*Yaaaay, Tina, lets play~!*). Though Vahn had expected some reaction, nothing could have prepared him for the large mass of people that nearly 'collapsed' after hearing the cute voice of Fafnir respond to Tina. Ganesha had also stumbled slightly but immediately recovered as he leaned forward over the railing of the balcony and shouted, "IIIIIIINNNCREDIBLE~! Ganesha is impressed that such a powerful dragon is tamed to the level where it even responds to people other than its master! And that voice, absolutely adorable! Ganesha is very satisfied and the exhibition hasn't even started yet! More, show us more, the crowd demands it, gaahahahahahaha~!"
Ganesha's outburst brought the crowd back to life and it was like his voice transmitted excitement throughout the entire Coliseum. Though they had been afraid by the sudden appearance of the 17m long Fafnir, seeing Tina sitting safely on top of its head was enough to let them calm down. This was, after all, the Monster Feria; it wasn't strange to see powerful tamed monsters put on display, as that was the very purpose of the event from the start. Now that they knew this was 'part of the show', the crowd began to get hyped up and started cheering loudly for the 'show' to begin.
Vahn was impressed by how easily Ganesha could control the momentum of the entire Coliseum but put that matter aside for the moment as he said in a casual tone, "Fafnir, bring Tina to me." Hearing Vahn's words, Fafnir remarked, (*Aye aye Vahn~!*) as it, very smoothly and gently, moved its body before lowering its snout to Vahn so that Tina could safely jump into his arms. Vahn easily caught her and gave her a few head pats as he whispered, "Thank you, Tina, you were great." Vahn could feel her body shaking a little bit from how nervous she was, but she still showed a happy smile and said, "I'm not a little girl anymore...I'm not afraid of the crowd at all!"
Vahn chuckled before setting her on the ground so that he could continue the performance and show off how 'tame' Fafnir was. After rubbing Fafnir's snout, Vahn gestured with his hands and Fafnir opened its mouth wide in response. Then, amidst the gaps of horror from the crowd, Vahn placed his upper body inside the massive maw until he had nearly inserted his entire body. The inside of Fafnir's mouth was surprisingly dry, and it didn't seem to care that it had its own Master sitting down on its tongue. Fafnir then lifted its head, mouth still open, as it slowly moved around so that everyone could easily see inside of its mouth where Vahn was waving casually.
After completing a full revolution, Fafnir angled its head and Vahn jumped out and vaulted through the sky as Fafnir continued a second rotation and sent its tail into Vahn's trajectory. It almost looked like Fafnir was 'attacking' Vahn, but the skilled adventurers easily saw through the truth of the situation long before Fafnir's attack came to a sudden halt, allowing Vahn to nimbly land on its scaly surface with his arms flared wide. Vahn performed a polite bow for the benefit of the crowd as Fafnir's tail dropped slightly before launching him high into the sky.
Though he was nearly as flexible as in his Báihǔ form, Vahn was still able to contort his body as if he were a circus performer. When Fafnir launched him into the sky, he spun around several times in a controlled manner before landing on Fafnir's wing tip. Without any delay, Fafnir launched him even higher into the sky and followed along as they began what could only be described as a hair-raising dangerous routine. Even if it was the most skilled Tamer in the entire Ganesha Familia, they wouldn't be able to emulate what Vahn and Fafnir were doing. It wasn't simply the 'bond' between a Tamer and their Monster, no, even to the untrained eye it was very apparent there was a deep level of 'trust' between Fafnir and Vahn.
After a few short minutes had passed, the crowd was cheering loudly at the display and were egging the show to continue. Then, very suddenly, the entire Coliseum was brought to a stunned silence for a brief moment when Fafnir, who had been 'dancing' around with Vahn in mid-air, suddenly accelerated towards the sky at a speed faster than many could follow with their eyes. All the saw was the literal after-image of Fafnir before a powerful burst of wind spread out and it was suddenly gone. Some of the more powerful observers had pointed to the sky and now everyone was angling their heads towards a small black dot several hundred meters above the arena.
A tense atmosphere passed through the crowd as, several seconds later, they could see Vahn falling from the sky without Fafnir anywhere to be seen. Some people shouted out in horror while others even tried to break through the magical barrier to 'assist' the falling Vahn. Just as he was about to reach the top of the Coliseum, a ridiculously fast blur passed overhead for a brief moment and Vahn disappeared from sight entirely. Before anyone knew what had happened, Vahn had actually reappeared in the center of the arena as if nothing had happened at all. Fortunately, his presence was quickly noticed as there were more than 50,000 people present and they all began to shout loudly in both excitement and confusion.
Without explaining anything, Vahn had already expanded his domain within the confines of the arena and started populating it with a total of thirty mannequins. Even to the untrained eye, everyone could tell that the armor worn by the humanoid mannequins was a very high quality. Some of it was even made out of Adamantine, and the combined cost of the display likely reached into the billions of Valis range. Though the majority had no idea what the purpose of the suits of armor was, there were some that waited with solemn expressions on their faces for what they expected to come.
However, as if refuting any expectations they might have had, black spikes emerged from the shadows beneath the mannequins and easily penetrated clear through the exquisite suits of armor. Before most people could comprehend what had just happened, the entire floor of the arena under Vahn turned dark, almost as if a massive shadow was obscuring the arena from above. Moments later, Fafnir appeared looking something like a deadly porcupine as it had used the shadows beneath the mannequins to attack with its spear-like scales. Though he originally planned to have Fafnir 'shoot' the spears out from aboveground, Vahn thought it would be more 'intimidating' to show that he could easily attack enemies from the shadows.
At this point, most of the noise from the crowd had ceased and a tense silence had gripped many people as they saw Vahn standing atop Fafnir's head as it slowly raised the suits of armor using the lethal spikes protruding from its body. Though they had opened up to it a bit earlier, there was now a dreadful aura spreading over everyone present as the looked into stark blue eyes of Fafnir as it lifted thirty suits of armor worn by mannequins, each of which could have been people if the circumstances had been changed.
Vahn could feel the atmosphere changing rapidly, but he wasn't going to pull back now since he wanted Fafnir to become a clear deterrent for anyone that would try to approach it in the future. From the earlier performance, there was no way anyone would be able to argue that Fafnir wasn't fully under Vahn's control. Even if some people tried to stop him from being able to fly around the City, they wouldn't have any real justification to stop him. If Fafnir could easily pass through, and even attack from, the shadows, it didn't matter if it was above or below ground. Unless they knew exactly where it was at the time, Fafnir would always be a 'threat' to anyone trying to harm the Hestia Familia.
With a smooth motion, Vahn cut his hand towards the sky and Fafnir followed it almost perfectly as it launched all thirty sets of armor high into the air. Then, without any delay, beams of pure black light launched out of some of Fafnir's scales before drawing complex angles and piercing through every suit of armor within the sky. The beams were far faster than the speed of sound, so most people saw them appear before seeming to have pierced through the mannequins in an instant. Before many could process this incredible feat, the mannequins all exploded in a terrifying wave of energy that sent ripples through the barrier protecting the crowd.
At this point, after some initial panic, there was near-absolute silence in the Coliseum as Vahn pat the top of Fafnir's head and said in a gentle tone, "Way to go, Fafnir, that was excellently done." In response to his words, Fafnir responded in a happy voice as it waggled is massive wings, (*Yaaay, Vahn praised me~! Should I destroy even more things now~?" Though its words were childish, many people felt a chill run down their backs, especially when the stark blue eyes passed over several somewhat 'hostile' individuals that Vahn had pointed out silently during their performance. However, instead of attacking again, an unexpected situation occurred as a massive, emerald green, magic circle appeared on the far side of the arena.
Ganesha had been enjoying the performance greatly but, seeing Riveria priming an incredibly powerful magic, he bolted to his feet and shouted, "Reinforce the barrier~!" Since it hadn't been kept a secret that Riveria would be participating in the exhibition, there were already several people on standby to channel their mana into the giant magic formations protecting the crowd from stray attacks and wild monsters. Though it had previously been invisible, there was now a subtly yellow barrier that had appeared around the entire arena that stretched more than 50m into the sky.
Vahn felt incredibly nervous at this point, but he trusted in Fafnir's barrier as he sat atop its head and looked at Riveria in the distance. Though they were a ways away, Vahn could clearly see her clear jade eyes staring back at him with a hint of concern present. He showed a small smile and whispered in a voice she wouldn't be able to hear, "Do it..." Just as his words fell, massive red cracks began to appear on the floor of the arena as Fafnir immediately took to the air. The cracks exploded in a phenomenal display of terrifying magic power as devastating tornadoes of chaotic energy erupted all throughout the arena.
The 'fire' was so bright that it seemed to darken the very sky above as the magic barrier protecting the crowd emitted fearful screeching sounds as it resisted the horrifyingly destructive magic spell. However, while all of this was going on, there were a great number of people that had been paying attention to the colossal figure in the sky that easily bore the brunt of the magic spell without any difficulty at all. Fafnir hovered in the air in a tyrannical fashion with Vahn sitting atop its head with his arms crossed in an incredibly casual manner. Aware of all the eyes on him, Vahn actually had the 'audacity' to yawn in front of the onlookers before stretching out his body and laying down on Fafnir's head.
It wasn't just the crowd that had been watching him, unfortunately, and Riveria had also seen his display. She had agreed to help him out, but now Vahn was inadvertently 'showboating' at her expense and she could feel her left brow twitching in annoyance. Though she wasn't sure how she would do it just yet, Riveria promised to 'punish' Vahn when she found the chance. Just like when she had 'punished' Ais in the past, a glint appeared in Riveria's generally calm expression and she showed a small smile on her face...
Vahn, completely unaware of the ticking time bomb he had set into motion, continued his little charade until the destructive energy had completely dissipated. He sat back up and looked around at the now destroyed floor of the arena before releasing an 'impressed' whistle and patting Fafnir's head so it would land. Fafnir dropped from the sky with a loud thud before lowering its head to the floor and allowing Vahn to step off. He was stuck in his 'acting casual' manner still, so Vahn began to stretch a bit before turning his gaze over the crowd to gauge their reaction.
Everyone was mostly silent, for the time being, so Vahn nodded his head in satisfaction before sending a signal to Tina, who had gone back to the waiting area earlier, so that she could initialize the final phase. She nodded her tiny head before waving at the other waiting in the wing as they all began to walk out in lackadaisical and casual manners as they headed toward Vahn and Fafnir. The sudden appearance of a variety of beautiful girls brought some life back to the crowd and noise began to build once again.
As they had practiced, Fafnir saw the girls' arrival and moved toward the before rolling over 'submissively' on it's back. It cried out in a playful tone, (*Yay, praise me, praise me~! I did everything just like I was told, ehehehehe~!*) As it had requested, the girls began to climb on Fafnir's body without any noticeable hesitation and began to affectionately pet its body and rain heavy praises on it. Since the atmosphere had been tense for a few minutes, everyone was gobsmacked by the sudden change and didn't know what to make of the situation. Of course, there was a very obvious exception to this as Ganesha literally jumped from the balcony he had been standing on and performed several frontflips before landing on the ground in a manner similar to how Vahn had landed at the beginning of his presentation.
Without any hesitation, Ganesha walked over while laughing boisterously and patted Vahn on the shoulder as he said, "Very well done, Vahn! Let this Ganesha commend your performance and thank you on behalf of everyone present for showing us an incredible display of finesse, suspense, and excitement! I am somewhat regretful though, as I should have saved your performance for the very end! Now everything will be overshadowed by your 'shadow' dragon, gaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!" As he laughed, Ganesha continued to smack Vahn on the shoulder heavily. Though he knew Ganesha was playing to the crowd, Vahn felt like he could feel a little 'resentment' in the strikes on his shoulder.
The crowd started to cheer after the momentum began to shift again and there were thousands of people crying out regarding the 'amazing' performance. Many of them were commending him in a similar manner to Ganesha, though there were also a large number of men trying to call out to the girls during the confusion. Vahn passed his eyes of several of them and committed their appearances to memory, just in case, as he walked alongside Ganesha toward Fafnir and the girls. As if he were completely unafraid, Ganesha climbed up onto Fafnir's body and began patting its stomach as he said, "Well done little guy, you performed excellently. Without your cooperation, your Master wouldn't have been able to put on such a great show! This Ganesha thanks you for your effort, gaaahahahahahaha!"
Fafnir had stirred a bit after Ganesha suddenly climbed on its body, but it didn't kick him off immediately and just sunk itself into the shadows as if it were submerging in water. Ganesha laughed loudly in response and said, "Graaaahahahaha, I'm jealous, so jealous! What a smart monster!" Without tarrying too much, Ganesha said a few words to the girls present before patting Vahn on the shoulder again and climbing up a ladder that some members of the Ganesha Familia had set out for him.
Before he had separated from them, Ganesha had paused by Vahn and said in a deep baritone voice, "I'll do what I can to make sure nobody causes trouble for either of your tamed monsters...I really would like to know what method you used to evolve them like this though. Since they have the same energy signature as you, it's surely related to a skill you possess...we should talk more in the future." Though Ganesha's words sounded serious, Vahn could tell by his aura that he was simply curious and probably wanted to get along well in the future. After he had been patted by Ganesha earlier, Vahn had been able to see his affection and it was already at a whopping 92(Trust) even though they had just met. As for the intrigue, almost every god Vahn had ever met was instantly at 100 simply due to how 'unique' he was compared to other 'mortals'.
With Ganesha's departure, Vahn left with the girls after Fafnir descended back into the shadows. Even if it might be able to fly around freely in the future, it couldn't exactly stand at the side and watch the Monster Feria with other people. It would take time for word to spread about everything that had taken place and it might not even be until the next Denatus before Fafnir is 'officially' allowed to fly around. Of course, Vahn was now going to allow it to play around the airspace of the Hearth Manor and Alliance from now on.
Hephaestus, Loki, and even Freya, had purchased up every piece of land for several kilometers around the Hearth Manor and it was almost a 'restricted' area in a lot of ways. They didn't prevent pedestrians from walking the streets, obviously, but there was a heavy amount of security present and several patrols constantly making the rounds nowadays. Fafnir being in territory managed by the Alliance was easily justifiable since it wasn't the business of others what went on in the territory of other gods and their Familias. They lived in a region that had been dedicated to private residences, so there weren't any people outside of the Familias connected to the Alliance living in the area anymore. The only people that would be 'exposed' to Fafnir would be those 'visiting' the Alliances territory in the future...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Small Beginnings...','Pandering to the crowd','Shock and Awe' 'Gaaaaaaneshaaaaa~!')
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