章 1391: Dense
With little else to do, Vahn spent most of his time training, attending meetings, spending time with his children, and tending to his myriad of lovers. This was all he could really do to avoid stressing out over the fact his enemies were still skulking about in the shadows but, fortunately, even half of these things were enough to distract him. He genuinely liked spending time with everyone and, though his training was getting progressively harder, he was only his tenth of twelve challenges.
Though he might confide in Siegfried or Karna about how stressful it was tending to the needs of so many people, Vahn, honestly, couldn't complain too much. There was nothing quite like waking up in the early hours of the morning with someone like Nero surprising him with an impromptu lesson for Artoria and Gray about how to properly fellate a well-endowed man. Just seeing the fretful looks on the girls' face as they watched Nero work was a sight to behold and, while not the 'best' way to start the day, it was certainly near the top...
Nero, as could be expected, was a very proactive woman and, though there had been an interim period where she was under the guidance of Boudica, it hadn't taken long for her to mingle with the rest of the Inner Sanctum. After all, while she may have a peculiar personality, the fact she could emulate up to EX-Rank [Charisma] wasn't something that could be looked down upon. As a result of her close association with Artoria and others with remarkably high [Charisma], it had only ever been a matter of time until she was accepted.
Vahn could still remember the night when Artoria requested his presence in their chambers, only for Nero to burst in wearing nothing but white bridal lingerie moments later. Though he had sensed her coming, the fact Artoria seemed prepared for Nero's arrival indicated they had worked together to basically ensnare him. Thus, without too much unnecessary talk, Vahn ended up facing off against a whole host of women with similar appearances, an event that turned into a competition of stamina and technique against the 'equally' skilled Nero.
Fortunately, Vahn's stamina was inexhaustible so, while Nero had lasted a lot longer than expected, his victory had been a foregone conclusion. After all, he hadn't even been going 'all-out' as, unless it was someone like Illya, Aoko, Arcueid, or Ishtar, most women would end up a broken mess for a very long period of time after the fact. His union with the Tier 5 women had enhanced his capabilities far beyond the tolerance of most women so, out of consideration for his harem, Vahn generally paced himself to match their tempo.
It was because of this that Nero ended up lasting a considerable amount of time as, going at her pace, her stamina seemed inexhaustible. Rather than sex, it was almost like they were performing an increasingly complex dance, becoming one in a way not all that dissimilar to the process of melding. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that she could rival Ishtar but, considering the latter had an actual Divinity related to Sex, it could be said that Nero was peerless among her peers. This had also taught Vahn just how scary [Imperial Privilege: EX] could be as, midway through their intercourse, she had started to use Petting Laws and other emulated techniques against him.
Now, though Nero wasn't actually considered one of his wives or Empresses, she was often allowed to stay within his chambers. This wasn't an expression of favoritism, however, but by request of none other than Artoria herself. The latter could be blamed for Vahn awakening his Sex Divinity and, for reasons he could only guess at, she seemed determined to rival him in the bedroom. Thus, despite Artoria being a modest woman at most times, she had request Nero to be her teacher, specifically with the intent of learning sexual techniques.
Needless to say, Artoria was a very determined and dutiful woman so, ever since they had come to an agreement, Vahn had become rather fond of the time he spent in his chambers. Though this had always been the case, it was very different to have the women be both proactive yet submissive. In most situations, he was left to control the pacing so, to be serviced without having to guide them through the process, he was, understandably, pleased...
---
Though he could almost always be found with a smile on his face, Vahn's change in 'atmosphere' had been noticed by everyone who commonly associated with him. He always seemed to be in a positive mood and, even if something troublesome came up, it didn't seem to phase him nearly as much as they would have expected. This could be seen in moments like the present where, after a particularly fierce bout of training, Mash had most of the bones in her left arm crushed by her own 'Servant', the Heroic Spirit, Richard the Lionheart.
Richard was a handsome man with pale-golden hair, set with three crimson streaks, and similarly red eyes. He also had a thin and athletic build, standing at approximately 178cm and weighing roughly 66kg without armor so, with a generally amicable personality, he was very easy to get along with. His only real character flaws were his obsession with Arthurian Legend and his indomitable competitive spirit. The former compelled him to name his personal sword [Excalibur] while the latter meant he was horrendous when it came to holding back.
As the Heroic Spirit summoned by Mash, he had been charged with her protection and, as a result of his disagreements with Galahad's training methods, he also become a secondary teacher for her. He wanted Mash to become more skilled in the use of swords and spears as, prior to his insistence, she had spent most of her efforts on learning defensive techniques, healing magic, and various support spells.
According to Richard's take on things, Mash's desire to protect people, while noble, was flawed on a conceptual level. After all, if the only thing she could do was protect, her enemies simply needed to learn how to circumvent her shield. If she lacked the ability to incapacitate an enemy in the shortest amount of time, it wouldn't matter how strong her defenses were. There would always be a way for a determined enemy to circumvent her best efforts, rending them ultimately invalid.
Richard wasn't known as the 'Wandering King' for naught as, while on a battlefield, he moved about in enemy lines completely unobstructed. He had an Innate named [Godspeed] which, when used to its fullest, allowed his Agility to reach the EX-Rank in an instant. There was no theoretical limit to how fast he could move and, as a result of its influence over various Laws, Richard could, for about three seconds from his perspective, move unobstructed through time.
Three seconds was a monstrous amount of time when you reached the apex but, when people like Aoko could emulate the same feat almost indefinitely, it wasn't as powerful as it might seem. In fact, against opponents with considerable fate, massive amounts of Od, or other factors, the skill was all but useless as the amount of Magical Power required to influence such people was truly monstrous. He couldn't even activate it with Vahn's domain as, due to the influence of the latter's Source Energy, manipulating Time was a luxury only Tier 5 existences could afford.
Even without his ability to move beyond the flow of time, however, Richard's Agility could allow him to reach near-lightspeed without too much strain on his body. Thus, he was a very proactive man on the battlefield and, as a result of his mentality, he wanted to help Mash grow much stronger. While this wasn't necessarily a problem, in and of itself, Richard was what many of the women referred to as a 'Prodigious Idiot'.
Rather than someone who had put in a serious effort into comprehending his Skills and abilities, Richard was the type that had been blessed with unbelievable prowess from birth. The very first time he had held a wooden sword, he managed to defeat every instructor arranged for him within three moves. By the time he was eight, he had already made a name for himself throughout Europe as a peerless swordsman without equal. This had earned him the title of 'Little Brave' and, by the time he became a man, his courage had elevated him to the status of 'Lionheart'.
As was often the case among those naturally skilled in martial discipline, Richard had no idea why he was as skilled as he had become. To him, it was the result of his prowess and his sincere desire to be the greatest knight of all time. To others, however, he was an anomalous existence who had gained an inexplicable amount of power with an inordinately small amount of effort. He very rarely trained and, though he had tried to take on many proteges and establish his own version of the Knights of the Round Table, every single candidate had been 'broken' as a result of his guidance.
When asked direct questions such as, 'How do you perform that technique?', Richard would always answer with complete nonsense, despite his serious expression and tone. Even Vahn had been taken aback by his inability to convey simple technical information as, after making a direct inquiry from the young Knight, Richard had answered, 'You just go 'whoosh' and then, when you feel a tingle in your wrist, you go 'fwaaaah' as fast as possible.'
Despite his failings, however, Mash did her best to follow Richard's training, albeit with a lot of input from people like Kenshin. She could understand his logic and, while she had no intention of harming people, reaching a point where she could disable them without much trouble would be ideal. It was with this conviction that she threw herself into Richard's training and, as a result of trying to follow his inexplicable teachings, she ended up getting her arm crushed after trying to punch 'through' an object.
In Richard's mind, the only thing you needed to do in order to overwhelm a target with high defense was 'hit harder and faster'. This was possible for people like him as, with his ability to basically ignore some of the Laws of Physics, he wouldn't break from coming into contact with objects at high speed. If that were the case, even moving about would be impossible as, the moment his foot struck the ground, his limbs would be destroyed. As for Mash, she was still a relatively normal young woman so, despite some serious misgivings in the back of her mind, she put her full power into striking a metallic pillar she had no hopes of breaking.
Had it not been for Richard bowing his head low enough to touch the ground, combined with Vahn's positive mood, he would have been a lot harsher on the golden-haired youth. Instead, he punished the man by having him apprentice under Scáthach for a week, allowing him to learn how senseless his own training had been by experiencing something similar. He also lost the privilege to train Mash without someone nearby observing, specifically Kenshin or one of the more level-headed Imperial Knights...
Since he was a good-natured man, Richard accepted his punishment with a resolute spirit. He also apologized to Mash, lowering his head despite his former status as a King. He had always held his status as a Knight in higher regard than the weight of his crown so, having brought harm to the girl he was pledged to serve and protect, there was little he wasn't willing to do if it could make amends. Fortunately, Mash was a very kind-hearted young woman so, rather than blame Richard for his poor teaching methods, she simply smiled before softly stating, "Next time, I'll be sure to punch through it properly..."
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'TFW you kind of want Scáthach to be even rougher with Vahn...','Richard is basically a 'Hero' from an old JRPG xD...','One day, Mashu will learn to smashu~!')
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