บท 284: Awareness

After Vahn collapsed powerlessly into their arms, both Tiona and Ais had somewhat concerned expressions on their faces until Lefiya reminded them, "Vahn said he would pass out after the item wore off...but he would be unable to move for a while." Now that Vahn was 'asleep', Lefiya had calmed down a lot as well and walked over to check if he or Tione needed her assistance with healing. Huruhime wanted to step in and help, but she could tell that the two girls were much closer to Vahn than she was and didn't have any easy to step in with her current capabilities.

When everyone had calmed down a bit, Vahn was laid on the ground while Ais gave him a lap pillow and watched over him like a hawk. Even though it had been an accident she, as well as Tiona and Haruhime, weren't able to easily forgive Tione for what she had done. Right now, Tione sat off to the side with a defeated look while Lefiya checked over her body to make sure there weren't any sequelae from the fight. Haruhime sat near Vahn on the ground, even though she didn't have any real resistance against the cold. Mikoto watched over the group while standing next to Anakitty, who had been watching everything play out as if she had been viewing a drama.

After a few minutes passed, Tiona looked over at Tione and said, "If anything had happened to Vahn..." Without continuing her words, Tiona gripped her hands a bit with a conflicted expression on her face. Her words echoed through the area and weighed heavily on several of the girls' minds. Tione herself was affected greatly as she looked over at the sleeping Vahn and said, "I'll leave it to him to decide my fate...even if he calls it a draw, I won't accept that. I know he has a lot of powerful equipment that he didn't use, and there is also those chains of his that never made an appearance...even though he went easy on me, I lost control of my own power and made a grave error. I lost..."

Since they were close to Vahn and had read everything on the network, most of the girls present know about the existence of [Enkidu] and Vahn's sword [Lævateinn]. The members of the Loki Familia also knew that he had a third form, not just the two that he had used during the fight. If Vahn had turned into the form he used to kill the Goliath, there would have been no way for Tione to come out ahead. He had held back his strength to ensure that he wouldn't accidentally kill Tione, and had even given them both life-protecting items to protect them in the event of an accident. No matter how any of them looked at the situation, it was obviously Vahn's win considering the outcome.

Tiona looked down at Vahn and said, "He said he would be awake...so that means he can hear everything we're saying now, right?" Looking over, Tiona saw Lefiya nod her head so Tiona continued after staring at Tione, "I know Vahn...he will probably forgive you and even accept you in his heart...but I don't want you to approach him like this. It isn't fair that you're using him as a substitute for Finn and had almost killed him because of your own frustrations. If Vahn hadn't planned a countermeasure for the worst case scenario..."

Ais had a somewhat serious look on her face as she stroked Vahn's head and said, "Tione...punishment." Hearing their combined words, Tione released a long sigh and said, "I wouldn't be able to avoid Loki's wrath anyway...I'll accept whatever punishment you can come up with. I'm not going to shirk my responsibility in this matter." Tione shrugged her shoulder to escape Lefiya's inspection and said, "You should tend to Vahn for now, I'm fine..."

Lefiya nodded her head and walked over to where Vahn was laying down before kneeling next to him. Magical light emerged from her palms and she was looking for any injuries he might have sustained that needed to be treated. After scanning him from head to toe, Lefiya noticed there weren't any abnormalities and she released a relieved sigh that made Ais ask, "Is he okay, Lefiya?" Lefiya nodded her head and explained, "I remember he said that the item should have healed all his wounds...he is in perfect condition except for the fact that the mana in his body seems to be dissipating instead of gathering inside. It is like he is in Mind Down...but I think its just a side effect of the item he had used. Other than...all the blood and stuff...he is perfectly fine."

When Lefiya finished her diagnosis, her words caused everyone to look over Vahn's body and realized that, though he had changed clothes, he was covered in a bunch of dirt and caked-on blood. Since most of the girls were adventurers, they didn't mind that much but it was still a sorry sight to see someone in. Tiona looked at Mikoto and Haruhime before asking, "Where is the bath? I will clean off his body and help him wear some clean clothes." Incited by her words, Haruhime responded, "No, Vahn is the Captain of my Familia, I'll take care of him myself..."

Before she could get out of hand, Mikoto placed her hand on Haruhime's shoulder and shook her head. She then turned her attention to Tiona and asked, "What is your relationship with Vahn?" Though Mikoto was somewhat informed, she wasn't one of the girls on the network and didn't know most of the information related to Vahn. She spent most of her time training and searching for Haruhime in the past without paying much attention to other matters.

Tiona explained with a happy smile, "I am Vahn's first lover~! Ais is also his lover..." When Tiona had responded to Mikoto, a small flame ignited in Ais's eyes as she looked over and nodded her head and said, "I accepted everything..." Unaware of the implication behind Ais's words, Mikoto turned her attention to the other girls present and asked, "And what about everyone else?" Releasing a sigh, Tione said, "Well, I might be one of his future lovers...and we've already bathed together. Besides, even if I shouldn't be near Vahn, I need to help keep my sister under control..."

Mikoto nodded her head before turning her attention to Lefiya who immediately blushed fiercely and hung her head low as she hugged [Heal] in her arms. She stated in a very bashful manner, "I-I-I'm just a...f-friend..." As if disagreeing with her, Ais shook her head and stated plainly, "Lefiya is too young..." Tiona piggybacked her words and added, "Yeah, but she has already bathed with Vahn and seen him naked a few times~! As long as Ais is around, I imagine she would probably be involved one day, ehehehe~." Lefiya's face blushed a beet red and she didn't respond to anyone as Mikoto turned her gaze to Anakitty who waved her hands and said, "This is my first time meeting Vahn, but I'll probably be joining the Familia and staying here from now on? I think Ryuu is the Vice-Captain, so I'll be the Lieutenant unless Vahn finds a better option."

Mikoto's brows raised slightly before she bowed politely and said, "Please take care of us in the future..." Haruhime also bowed politely but was still focused on Vahn's condition and wanted to volunteer her support. Mikoto, now understanding the situation a bit, looked around and said, "I'll entrust Vahn to everyone here while explaining the situation to Hestia-sama...I'll also take-" Mikoto looked over at Anakitty who responded, "Ah, my named is Anakitty Autumn, it's nice to meet the two of you." Mikoto nodded again and said, "I'll take Anakitty with me so she can talk to Hestia-sama about joining the Familia."

Before Mikoto could finalize things, Ais spoke out and said, "Secret for now...you should let Vahn explain later." Mikoto looked at the serious expression of Ais before furrowing her brows slightly and agreeing to her words. She knew things might get blown out of proportion once Hestia knew about what happened and Vahn would be the best person to control the situation. After that, everyone made an agreement before Mikoto showed the way to the onsen before dragging along Haruhime with Anakitty accompanying them.

In the changing room, all of the girls began undressing without minding the situation at all with the exclusion of Lefiya. She wanted to follow along with Anakitty and the others but had been asked to stay back with Ais just in case anything happened. Since Tiona couldn't be trusted to wash Vahn, Tione and Ais were required to look after her which left Lefiya as the person to take care of Vahn. Lefiya knew that Vahn was aware of everything happening around him, even if he wasn't able to see or say anything. She felt very embarrassed to undress and bathe with him again, but also wanted to make sure he was okay...

After she had undressed, Ais walked over to where they had laid down Vahn and began to peel off his clothing in an awkward fashion. Since she actually struggled with her own clothing sometimes, it wasn't easy for Ais to help another person, especially if they were unresponsive, undress. It eventually turned into a situation where she had unbuttoned his top and had been trying to pull off his trousers but she just dragged him along the bench a bit without removing them.

Tiona wanted to help out, but she already had a slightly flushed expression on her face and had even swallowed a bit when she thought nobody was looking. Ironically, Tione was having a somewhat similar look even though it wasn't nearly as obvious. Fearing for Vahn, it once again came down to Lefiya to help Ais undress him. Though things went smoothly, Lefiya's blush had spread all the way down to her budding breasts with how fair her skin normally was. She felt incredibly embarrassed but was able to keep her cool since the naked Ais was nearby.

When Vahn was fully naked, every girl present let their eyes wander a bit before Lefiya looked away and started trotting toward the interior of the bath as if she was escaping the room. Tione and Tiona followed behind her shortly after while Ais picked up Vahn in a princess carry and took him toward one of the larger pools where everyone had gathered. Even though he was unresponsive, the briefest hint of a blush appeared on Vahn's face after being carried in such a manner by a girl that was more than 10cm shorter than he was.

Ais helped lay Vahn in the water and served as a literal 'Vahnguard' to keep the two Amazon sisters at bay. From the moment Vahn was fully naked, Tiona had been very quiet and was obviously restraining herself while Tione also had a moderately fervent expression creeping in her eyes. Since she now recognized Vahn, the way she saw him was undergoing a rapid change within her heart and mind. Ais was very perceptive of the situation and ushered them to the far side of the pool away from Vahn while leaving his care to Lefiya.

From the moment Ais walked away and left behind Vahn's body for her to tend to, Lefiya's heart began beating like a frightened rabbit and she had trouble finding a spot to focus her eyes. She noticed that Vahn was very handsome and had an incredibly toned body with lean muscles. There didn't seem to be any imperfections or abnormalities in his form and most of his features were perfectly symmetrical. The most distracting thing was, of course, the fact that Vahn's 'dragon' was clear to see in all its intimidating glory. Though she tried to avoid it, Lefiya would periodically glance over at the submerged member as she used her shaky hands to wipe down Vahn's body.

Since she had grown up surrounded by girls, Lefiya had always been somewhat wary of men and had even developed a crush on Ais after she had saved her in the past. Though she didn't think she was a lesbian, Lefiya had never found a boy that she genuinely liked and hadn't been considering matters of love since she was still young. Elves followed the customs of other species and also became 'adults' at fourteen, but they didn't reach physical maturity until their early twenties due to their longevity. Lefiya was currently only thirteen, so there was still a long time before she would have normally considered matters of love. However, she felt like she had been 'exposed' to Vahn a lot and had slowly been worn down by his presence. He was always kind and gentle to her and, even though they weren't in a relationship, Vahn always paid attention to her mental state while encouraging her and even giving her gifts. Since it was her desire to accompany Ais on her journey to slay the One-Eyed Black Dragon, Lefiya knew she would be spending a lot of time with both of the people she idolized...

Wiping away the blood from Vahn's face, Lefiya released a warm sigh and muttered, temporarily forgetting Vahn could hear her, "You really are handsome..." Seeming to have remembered that Vahn was 'awake', Leifya's eyes opened widely after processing her own words. For the remainder of the bath, Lefiya washed down Vahn's body in silence while avoiding the tender areas to the best of her ability. After the momentary lapse in her mental state earlier, Lefiya was now overly aware of everything she was doing with her hands. Even though she used a sponge to lather up Vahn's body, she used her hands to wipe him down after submerging him up to his neck. She had even noticed that Vahn had a slight blush on his face and wondered what he might be thinking about the situation after hearing her earlier words. Just before it was time to exit the bath, Lefiya leaned forward and whispered, "Please continue to treat me kindly in the future..."

Vahn, who had been stuck in a strange state for a while, could sense everything around him from the moment he had collapsed in the backyard. Even though he couldn't see with his eyes, he was very aware of his surroundings with his ability to sense auras and his spatial awareness. Since he could also hear everything that was being said, he knew who each aura belonged to and had heard all the words they had said about him, including the matters regarding Tione. He noticed that her aura was beginning to look very similar to Tiona's, so Vahn understood her impression of him had changed drastically in a short time. The thing he didn't expect, however, was that Lefiya would get wrapped up in taking care of him.

Ever since their first meeting in the past, Vahn never knew how he should treat Lefiya. He always treated her well, since he knew she was important to everyone else and also showed some small favor for him. However, she was always somewhat distant and Vahn never knew how to approach her at all. There was also the fact that he was aware of things like age restrictions and various customs. He knew Lefiya was too young to actively pursue, but Vahn still treated her kindly since he didn't want her to feel left out. Since she was always influenced by Tiona and Ais, Vahn thought they might be involved in the future, but he never expected her to have a momentary slip and whisper that he was handsome...being called handsome by a young and bashful elven girl made Vahn's heart tickle a little bit and he started paying too much attention to everything she did after that.

At first, Vahn had just been relaxing and enjoying the unique situation, but now each of Lefiya's actions seemed far more intimate than normal. He could feel her aura shaking and was very aware of the subtle pink that had started to color it from the edges as if it were slowly corroding away the sunlike yellow that made up the majority of her aura. When it came time for her to rinse him off, Vahn felt the water reach his neck and he actually felt slightly afraid since it would actually be very easy for her to drown him, even though he knew she wouldn't do such a thing. Feeling her smooth palms tracing over his body, Vahn could feel his own heartbeat begin to accelerate and noticed that Lefiya was aware of it too since she stopped her hand on his chest.

A few minutes after, Vahn could hear the other girls making a small ruckus and knew they were discussing leaving the bath. He had already been completely cleaned by Lefiya, who had even used a small cloth to wipe down his hair and remove the blood that had soaked into it earlier. She was very attentive in her actions and Vahn felt a hint of anxiety spreading through his body when she was laying his head back against the warm stone of the bath. For a very brief moment, Vahn could feel a soft sensation touch his arms as Lefiya leaned near his ear and whispered, "Please continue to treat me kindly in the future..." Accompanying her words, Lefiya's affection shot up to 97 and Vahn felt an urge to swallow his saliva but couldn't move even a single muscle in his entire body.

(A/N: I am still sick, but I woke up and decided to write a chapter before going back to bed. I feel like I'm recovering a bit, so I'll try to release another 6-7 later today.)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tiona Is Ruffled','Anakitty Has No Idea What She Walked Into','Lefiya's Tender Care')

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