After waiting for a few days, it didn't seem like Zeus wasn't going to try anything. His reputation had been torn to shreds by the general populace, not that he had been popular from the start, and Vahn's own had increased greatly. It seemed like all the most interesting things to talk about recently revolved around the Alliance, the Supply Depot, Lil Geirr, and the matters of the Hearth manor itself. Many Familia that had been hesitant about throwing their lot in with the Alliance had slowly been coming around, especially the smaller production Familias.
To fill out the Alliance controlled territory with their own forces, many of the smaller Familia has been shown favorable treatment and, as there was a 'seemingly endless' amount of materials flowing out of the Alliance, it made their professions highly profitable. After all, if you could exchange Drop Items from weak monsters to obtain rare materials that could only be gotten in the lower floors, anyone would be willing. This allowed the weaker Familia, who didn't want to send their 'children' into the Lower Floors, the opportunity to stay afloat within the Alliance-controlled territory.
It was 'well-known' that Vahn had an appreciation for both the trades and the arts, as they were 'required' classes in his School, so he was very popular with small Familia's that made their livings off creating items and providing logistical support to other Adventurers. Some saw this as a ploy by the Alliance to just garner support in the interim and, once things settled down, the 'true face' of the Alliance would be shown. These rumors were circulated almost exclusively by the Noble factions, however, so there weren't too many Familia that took them seriously. The general populous might be easily manipulated, but even the youngest gods usually had more than a hundred million years to their name.
The godly community was a relatively close-knit group and they were very aware that the Alliance wasn't simply trying to exploit people for temporary benefits. It was actually the complete opposite, as could be seen by the various long-term projects that had been set in motion by the Alliance. You didn't make things like Schools, build up communities, support small businesses, and strictly regulate the policies of your group if you just had a short-term plan. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders could see that, if the Alliance wasn't stopped soon, they would undoubtedly be the decision-makers of the City, in a very short period of time. This was one of the things that terrified the Nobles, especially since the Guild had shown no signs of even trying to oppose the Alliance's power grab.
And, at the center of everything, the one person that was on everyone's mind, Vahn Mason...he was currently having his hair styled by his daughter, the Vanir, Ina. The man everyone saw as the mastermind behind everything, the reputed Sage Aldrnari, had a silly smile on his face while watching his daughter play around with his hair to her satisfaction. This was an image that few could even imagine and, though it was generally well-known that Vahn was a very doting father, people would have been gobsmacked to see the extent he went to in order to make his children happy.
After styling part of her Papa's hair into a mohawk, with seventeen tiny pigtails located over the rest of his scalp, Ina giggled happily and said, "Papa looks cool like this~." If he had been back in his previous world, and knew what punk was, Vahn would have had the impression he looked like the frontman of an edgy band. Without this knowledge, he just saw his current appearance as one of the various quirks of his adorable young daughter, now wearing her own hair in a 'unique' fashion. Of course, as Vahn had been the one to style it for her, it looked neat and professionally done, at least compared to the rather interesting style she had concocted for him.
Ina's hair looked elegant and tidy from the front, with two neat braids tying around to the back of her head. When you looked at her from behind, however, you could see that the hair was arranged in a complex pattern that formed into a braided ponytail that had seven unique segments intertwined together like a mesh weave. It had taken him almost two hours to style her hair until she was satisfied with the final appearance, not that he felt like the time wasn't well spent. Ina's smile was so impactful that Vahn actually believed she had an Innate ability to amplify the effect. He wasn't the only one either, as many of the girls actually talked about it on the network as they all tried hard to make Ina smile when they could.
While Ina had started to change parts of his hairstyle that she thought weren't up to standards, Vahn was also sitting in another room with Syr, Ryuu, Arnya, Lunoire, and Chloe. The entire Hostess of Fertility group was present, excluding the temporary staff like Milan, Tina, and Shizune, and they were talking about refurnishing the Hostess of Fertility, still located opposite the main gate. Mama Mia, no longer having to look over the five girls she had been worried about, ended up 'retiring' from her position as Proprietress and now managed the 'chain' known as the Hostess of Fertility. They now had three locations within the Alliance-controlled territory and one located within Melen, maintaining their affiliation with the Njord Familia. The god, Njord, had been the one to look after Chloe in the past and he had an amicable relationship with Mama Mia herself.
Wrapping up her request, Syr smiled lightly and implored Vahn with a slight plea to her voice, "Ano...would you please consider giving Mama Mia a loan so that she can increase the wages of the pub's employees and refurbish some of the properties...?" At the same time, Ryuu, Arnya, Lunoire, and Chloe all had 'pleading' looks on their faces but, much like Syr herself, Vahn could see the playful glint in their eyes.
Though it wasn't quite the case, Mama Mia was essentially his Mother-In-Law, having entrusted to him her five 'daughters', two of which he had already knocked up. If he didn't help her out on such a simple matter, Vahn would have felt like he had betrayed her somehow. It helped that he was also a billionaire, so Vahn put on a casual smile and said, "Of course. Mama Mia did a lot for me in the past; if I can't do this much, I would have treated her kindness with contempt." Then, making eye contact with Syr, Vahn's smile became marginally larger as he asked, "I trust you already prepared the paperwork~?"
Syr stuck her tongue out at him before pulling a small folder out of the book bag she kept her 'various' network logbooks and communication scrolls in. She passed over the folder to Vahn, who readily accepted it and began to peruse the contents of the contract. It was a larger sum than he expected, but 2MV didn't even put a dent in his personal net worth, now exceeding 5BV. Vahn quickly penned his name at the bottom of the document and then, using the seal that Hephaestus had given him, stamped a magical seal to validate the signature was his own.
Though it might not look like it, the small seal he used to stamp his signature was an S-Grade magical artifact that Hephaestus had given to him shortly after their wedding night. On the surface, it had his own personal emblem as the representative of the alliance and was surrounded with five petals, each indicating the five original Familia. To give the seal power, it was mixed with, not only his ichor, but that of Hestia, Loki, and Hephaestus. Since it had the effect of serving as a minor vow, it was completely impossible to replicate and, attempting to do so, could actually cause a backlash on the culprit. Any document approved by him, as the representative of the Alliance, needed to be stamped by the seal to have any credibility.
Syr happily accepted the contract from Vahn, smiling lovingly towards him as she said, "Thank you, Vahn~." in a subtly sultry voice. Vahn lightly chuckled in response, looking around at the gathered girls as he said, "Visiting the Hostess of Fertility has always been one the greatest fortunes in my life. This is the least I can do to express my gratitude..." His words earned laughter and smiles from all the girls, especially Chloe and Arnya, both prone to bouts of laughter even in serious situations. The latter was currently holding the tiny Meinya in her arms, however, so, when she began laughing loudly, the adorable little kitten began to show a face of frustration before crying loudly.
Silence immediately descended upon the room as Arnya gently rocked Meinya in her arms, soothingly saying, "Shhhh...it's okay...everything is fine...Mama is here..." Seemingly unconvinced by her mother's comforting words, Meinya continued to cry, voice filled with a great deal of vitality and an incredibly adorable intonation. To Vahn, Meinya's and Anise's cries were almost like music to his ears because they were like high pitched 'Nyaaaaa-' and 'Miau' sounds, causing his stomach to feel fluttery. Of course, he wouldn't just stand there and listen to his daughter crying, regardless of how cute it sounded.
Walking to Arnya's side, she gave him a pouting look while maneuvering to 'shield' Meinya from him as she said, "Nyo! Let me do it, nya!" Vahn immediately turned statuesque, earning laughter from Syr, Lunoire, and Chloe as the latter commented, "Nyahaha, Papa got given the cold shoulder~." Syr, still lightly chuckling, added, "Well, I can understand Arnya's concerns. Its hard to be a good mother when the Papa is so 'exceptional'. At this rate, Vahn will tame all his daughters and make it almost impossible for them to ever leave the Manor...ara, could that have been your scheme~? How sneaky, Vahn..."
Though he knew they were just teasing him, Vahn felt like he was taking mental damage with each of their comments. The fact that Arnya had stepped away from him to soothe Meinya had dealt an especially critical blow. However, it was when Lunoire suddenly muttered, "I'll have to take make sure I give birth to a son...how troubling..." that Vahn took the most damage. His reaction earned another round of laughter from the girls but, as a result, Meinya began to cry even louder. Arnya looked towards them with furrowed brows as her tails flitted about in a frustrated manner. Vahn found her appearance to be cute but the 'cold' look in her eyes had silenced the other girls.
Using the small 'gap' created, Vahn slightly twitched his index finger and began to infuse a thread of calming energy into his domain. Very sneakily, so as to avoid detection, he sent the thread into the crying Meinya's body while still showing a defeated expression. When Arnya went back to trying to soothe her daughter, Vahn sent gentle pulses of energy through the thread that quickly made the crying infant calm down. This brought a radiant smile to Arnya's face as she looked towards the girls before resting her eyes on Vahn and saying, "See, I can do it too, nyahaha~."
Vahn smiled, giving Arnya a small nod as he said, "Of course, after all, you're a fine woman, and an even more capable mother..." Arnya's cheeks flushed slightly and, much like Syr had done previously, she stuck her tongue out before turning away. However, this allowed everyone in the room to see her tail flickering happily though, remembering the previous two incidents, nobody laughed. This didn't stop Chloe from taking advantage of the situation, though, as she came over to Vahn's side and clung to his arm while whispering, "Would I make a good mommy too, Vahnyaa~?"
Without any hesitation at all, Vahn nodded, wrapping his arm around Chloe's waist as he responded, "Almost since the time of our first meeting, I always thought you were an amazing girl, Chloe. You're already so good with children, so you would make an excellent mother..." Chloe's eyes widened marginally as a result of his words and there was a very thin layer of moisture building up on her green irises. Still, she managed to silently inhale a deep breath through her nose before simply resting her head into the nook of his neck and shoulder. Chloe didn't want to develop a habit of crying every time Vahn said something that caused her heart to tremble, so she just decided to show her affection instead...
Ryuu, who had been silently sitting on the sofa, noticed the mood was becoming a bit pink so she lightly teased, "If you're going to get intimate, go into another room...show some consideration..." Even though she was giving what sounded like a reprimand, Ryuu had a gentle smile on her face, currently framed by a few curls of her golden hair. The light green she used to dye it had completely faded by now and, as a result of her pregnancy, Ryuu had developed a softer and more mature look. To her lamentation, her breasts hadn't grown that much but the round belly showed that she was very nearly ready to bring a child of her own into the world.
Chloe laughed silently and gave Vahn a small lick on his chin before breaking away from him and saying, "I actually have something else to take care of right now, so I'll be heading back to the orb. If you want to do something later though...nyufufu~" Chloe's tail flickered playfully as she grabbed Lunoire's hand and dragged her out of the room. They had come into the real world just to show support for Mama Mia so, now that everything was taken care of, they needed to return to the Sub-Space orb. Shizune was at an important stage of their training and she and Lunoire had both been looking after her to give Shizune a more balanced skill set. Her main weakness was her physical body, so Lunoire had been helping train her since the other girls were a bit 'too intense' in their training regimens.
Vahn watched the two girls leave and decided he would definitely make an appearance in the orb later. He spent a large portion of his time in the real world, but he had been getting better at splitting his focus lately. Though he would have to take breaks periodically, he could even tolerate the mental strain of using one of his bodies inside of the orb while the other remained outside now. Since he had always had a basic affinity with Time and Space, Vahn had been adapting much faster than he initially expected. It would still take time, but the dilation effect within the orb gave him a lot more than he would have otherwise had. If he could get to the point where one of his bodies could always stay inside the orb, he would simultaneously be able to spend a year in the real world while six years passed inside the orb...
From the corner of his eye, Vahn suddenly saw Arnya pull down the top of her thin white blouse to begin feeding Meinya. His eyes flickered over towards the exposed breast, a reaction that had been noted by Syr, Ryuu, and, being the target of his gaze, Arnya. She gave a light snort before playfully saying, "This isn't for you, nyahaha~." He had been getting better at controlling his emotions lately, but Vahn still blushed when he heard Arnya's words. In truth, after watching so many girls breastfeeding, Vahn couldn't help but feel slightly curious. However, the first person to tease him about it had been Juno, which had unnerved Vahn to the point where he never sought to sate his curiosity.
Scratching the back of his head, Vahn gave a wry smile and said...nothing. He didn't really know what to say in such a situation since he didn't have the habit of lying to the girls. They would easily be able to see through him, unlike the people he would negotiate with on behalf of the Alliance. It was fortunate that Syr deigned to take pity on him at this time, as Vahn was starting to feel strangely guilty about his 'unnatural' curiosity. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where Ryuu was seated, allowing him to sit down on the soft sofa next to her. Ryuu didn't move much on her own lately, especially if they were big movements, or she would have gone to Vahn's side earlier.
After lightly stroking his hair, Syr gave a comforting smile and said, "Stay with Ryuu for a bit. I'm sure she would enjoy your company~." At the same time, Arnya was hanging her head slightly and, after matching gazes with Syr, sighed before following her out of the room. There were certain things that would trigger Vahn these days and, even though she had just been playing around, his reaction showed that he had been overthinking that subject lately. They all knew he almost 'couldn't' lie to them so, if he was in a situation where he would have to say something very shameful, Vahn would just freeze up. It was another reminder to them that, though Vahn was an incredible father, a capable figurehead for the Alliance, and a powerful warrior...he was still, very recently, just a broken boy.
Syr and Arnya left the room behind rather quickly, leaving only Vahn and Ryuu within the silent room that had previously had a lively atmosphere. As he was prone to do, Vahn loosely held Ryuu's body and rubbed her belly while she rested against him. Vahn himself knew he had just made things awkward but he actually preferred this situation over developing a habit of lying to the girls. It was one of the quirks he was trying to work through recently but, as he was currently split between two bodies, it was a little hard to deal with complex emotions like this in such a setting. If it had been 'just' him, Vahn would have been able to laugh it off more easily, instead of letting the thoughts run rampant in his head...
Ryuu, who had been relaxing against his chest while watching Vahn's hands trace around her abdomen, suddenly raised her head. Vahn looked down into her sky-blue eyes and noticed that her face had started to turn progressively redder as she meekly said, "I don't have much...but, at least until our daughter is born, you can...use my milk...?" Hearing Ryuu's statement, which sounded like a question, Vahn mechanically nodded his head before looking up at the ceiling. He had a distant look in his eyes as he slowly processed what Ryuu had just said, words he never expected to ever leave her lips.
Yes, she had changed a lot over the duration of her pregnancy, but this was an 'advanced' development he had never expected. If it was someone else, he would have just simply accepted it as them teasing him but, coming from Ryuu, Vahn knew she was absolutely serious. Thus, though a large part of him was somewhat resistant to the idea, he eventually turned back to match her wavering eyes and said, "Thank you...Ryuu..." Then, in the relative privacy of the study they shared together, Vahn partook of the opportunity Ryuu had provided him, satiating his curiosity and seeing another side of Ryuu, this one possessing various shades of red...
---
Feeling the light slap against his face, Vahn blinked, shook his head slightly, and then made eye contact with Ina as she repeated, "Papa?" The 'event' happening in the other room had caused Vahn to stall momentarily and his eyes had glazed over slightly, causing Ina to worry as she lightly pat his face with her tiny hands. Vahn smiled, patting his daughter's head as he said, "Sorry, Papa was just a bit distracted. You know how I can be when I'm using two bodies. Here, let me make it up to you~." Without waiting for her response, Vahn began to lightly tickle Ina's sides as she began giggling and trying to escape his clutches.
At the side, her Celestial White Tiger, Kuu, lifted its head out of curiosity and, seeing the familiar scene of its host and her 'Papa' playing, it simply set its head back down. It was now the size of an average adult tiger, but this was still its juvenile phase as it wouldn't reach maturity until Ina was fully grown. Still, much like its host, Kuu had grown a lot both physically and mentally within the last seven months. It knew now that the 'Papa' that its host always played with wasn't dangerous and, though it would never admit it, far more capable of protecting its host than Kuu itself. Thus, instead of wasting energy by trying to 'protect' its host from her Papa, Kuu just went back to sleep, allowing the rays of the sun shining through the room to warm the black and white fur of its body...
(A/N: This is the real Chapter 725. I hope you enjoyed it more than my little prank xD...please forgive me...m(。≧Д≦。)m~!)
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tanned skin, punk rock hair, good looks...Vahn would be popular in S. Korea','Being a good son-in-law...xD','Here I am, a plate full of Oreos and an empty glass...')
m(。≧Д≦。)m
Though he had been making great progress in his use of two bodies, there was one activity that required Vahn's 'entire' focus, which was visiting his young daughter, Alexa. It wasn't that difficult to set aside time each day to enter inside the orb and see how she was doing, so Vahn always made sure to do so around 10 AM every morning. He tried to keep it consistent so she would always know when he was arriving. This allowed for the memory fragments to go about their own business without interruption as well, something Vahn himself was grateful for since he inherited the memories of the fragment.
Things could get awkward if he suddenly showed up and then monopolized Alexa's attention when his memory fragment had been playing with her. Since Vahn inherited the awkwardness, and any negative emotions contained within, he had tried to be more considerate towards himself. As for what his memory fragment had been up to, he spent most of his time forging the template pieces for the Aegis set items, which had now actually started to stockpile since nearly twelve years had passed within the Spirit-Time orb at this point.
After materializing, Vahn looked over to see a completely flattened tree stump where Alexa was currently seated. She still had a lot of the same habits from her time as a genderless entity so Vahn smiled lightly and said, "Alexa, sit properly..." Though she was wearing spats, Alexa had been sitting with her legs crossed while wearing a skirt. There weren't really many people for her to interact within this space so she had yet to develop the awareness necessary for a young lady. Of course, if he went by her physical age, it would have actually been somewhat strange for Alexa to have that kind of awareness as a three-year-old toddler.
Without showing any appearance of shame or embarrassment, Alexa tucked her knees under herself and sat the way her Mother had taught her. Still, sitting like this on a hardwood surface wasn't that pleasant so she eventually just flicked her wings and jumped off of the stump as she asked, "Will you teach me something new today, Papa?" She hovered in the air around him, slightly below the height of his head so she could look up into his face. Alexa knew this was supposed to be a method to act cutely and, after having seen Ina use the same method in the past, she was confident it would work on her Papa.
Vahn felt like Alexa had reached her tiny hand forward and squeezed his heart with her hands since her look had dealt critical damage to his mind. Reaching his hand out, Vahn began patting Alexa's head as he said, "It's ultimately up to you, Alexa. I know my fragment has taught you a lot of things, so I'm personally fond of just spending time with you. How that time is spent, though, that is for you to decide..." Because Alexa had to spend nearly 56 days apart from him every time they were together, Vahn had always left it up to her to choose what she wanted to do. For these one-hundred hours, he would do his best to make sure she was happy and content.
Alexa 'giggled' in a somewhat awkward manner before flittering away from his palm and moving near his shoulder. Vahn habitually raised his arm, letting Alexa sit down while wrapped her left wing around his shoulder for stability. With a happy smile on her face, she said, "Today, I just want to spend time with Papa. Even if it's just sleeping under a tree, that is good enough for me..." Vahn smiled enough that his eye squinted slightly. He reached out his thumb and index finger, lightly pinching Alexa's button-like nose as he said, "Let's go for a walk and find a good spot to nap then, shall we~?"
Vahn walked along for around twenty minutes, following the directions of Alexa until they came to a tree that was around 5m thick. There was a nook in between two of the larger roots and Vahn could see that the canopy overhead had been cleared out. Though there wasn't a sun in the sky, there was gentle while light that radiated down from above and illuminated the worlds below. Vahn found the temperate atmosphere of the completely silent forest to be both eerie and calming at the same time. Of course, with his adorable little dragonling at his side, the eerieness quickly faded away, replaced by a content feeling.
After sitting in the nook, Vahn noticed a bit of moss on Alexa's wings so, before they took their nap, he smiled and said, "Here, let me groom your feathers..." He knew Alexa had probably avoided cleaning them in preparation for his arrival and, as expected, she happily consented to his assistance. Alexa spread her wings, which could now stretch outwards for nearly 140cm, and held onto her knees while resting her chin against them. It wasn't a very lady-like way to sit but, considering that her Papa was behind her, Alexa knew he wouldn't comment on it.
Using a very fine comb, Vahn went through each of Alexa's feather individually, confirming there were precisely 23,808 feathers present. He noticed the number had increased slightly over the years and it would probably get close to 29,000 when she reached maturity. Unlike her mother, Alexa had beautiful black feathers instead of the leafy-green one's possessed by Terra. They were also very glossy and had a subtle metallic sheen to them, creating a tinkling sound as he moved the comb through. She also had little black horns growing out of her emerald green hair, now looking like two round nubs, while the scales covering her tail, ears, hands, and feet were a similar glossy black to her feathers.
As if she had read his mind, Alexa fluttered her wings with a satisfied expression on her face before asking, "Papa, will you help clean my scales too?" Holding up her hand, Vahn could see the gentle black gradient of the paper thin scales on Alexa's forearms and the backs of her hands. Like Terra, she had small runic markings all over her body with a small swirl near the palm of her hand. Vahn accepted her hand and began looking over the glossy scales, noticing they didn't really require his attention at all. As for the scales on her feet and tail, Vahn didn't want Alexa to develop any habits so he had to reluctantly shake his head, explaining, "You'll have to ask your Mother how to take care of sensitive areas on your own. Sorry, Alexa..."
Without arguing, Alexa just nodded her head in understanding, blinking her leaf-green eyes that were as placid as a lake. Vahn, however, noticed that she distinctly flicked her tail when he refused the request. Currently, Alexa's tail couldn't really touch the ground just yet or she would have tapped against it, just like her mother did when she was upset. Vahn realized that Alexa, for better or worse, seemed to be developing a temperament similar to her mother. He wondered if this was because Alexa had become a female, or if it was just a trait all True Dragons had. If he got some alone time with Fafnir and Khaos in the future, Vahn would have to ask them.
Before she sat down, Alexa began to wiggle in a strange manner and Vahn could see that her features began to distort slightly. The horns on her head became sharper, instead of rounded, and the emerald green hair around her head began to shrink towards the scalp. When she was done, Alexa surprised Vahn by saying, "There. Now I'm no longer a girl, so it should be fine." As if it was a signed and sealed matter, Alexa sat down on the ground in front of Vahn and raised up its tail. It was very clear that 'Alex' was waiting for him to grab its tail and begin grooming it. Vahn had never seen Alex so willful before so he was a little taken aback by the sudden change.
After holding its tail up for a few long seconds, Alex looked back and released a small sigh before standing up and saying, "Look. See?" Vahn wanted to facepalm when Alex lifted its skirt and pulled down its spats, revealing that it was, in fact, genderless at the moment. Still, though he avoided facepalming outright, Vahn massaged the bridge of his nose and explained as calmly as he could, "Alex, I understand how sensitive a True Dragon's tail can be, especially after dealing with your Mother. Regardless of your gender, it would be inappropriate for me to touch your tail haphazardly. You should understand this...which makes me wonder what you're thinking to make such a request so suddenly...?"
Alex took a deep breath and released it, obviously putting an effort into calming themselves before saying, "I saw the memory fragments of Papa and Mama...and I got curious..." Even without Alex detailing anything, Vahn had an idea of what it had seen. He knew personally that he had always sealed off the area whenever he and Terra had sex. However, this was not always the case if it was just something like a massage, or grooming. Alex must have peeked in on one of the massage sessions and, since Terra could be very...sensual, Alex's curiosity must have been triggered. It had always been a very curious child, after all, which is likely why it had snuck a peek in the first place...
Much like Alex, Vahn took a deep breath and exhaled, likely why Alex had the habit in the first place. Once he collected himself, Vahn gestured for Alex to sit in his lap and began stroking the young dragonling's head as he calmly explained, "It's fine to be curious, Alex, but you have to always consider things from multiple perspectives. If you selfishly try to force people to act in accordance with your will, it is very likely you will put yourself, and others, into tricky situations in the future. As for the thing you're currently curious about...well, I can't really help you with it. In fact, you're far too young to even start experimenting with that kind of thing. Please, talk to your Mother about this kind of thing when you're older...if you stress over it while you're young, it will only increase your frustrations in the future..."
Vahn didn't really know how to deal with this kind of situation so, like he always was with his children, he tried to be honest and explain things as clearly as he could. Alex had been paying close attention to each of his words and, though it wasn't entirely convinced, it still nodded its head before leaning into its Papa's chest. In truth, Alex knew it probably wouldn't have had any luck and that its expectations for the future would also never be met. At this point, it had experimented with being both a boy and a girl a few times but, after interacting with Fafnir, Khaos, and the memory fragments of its Mother and Papa, Alex knew it would probably want to stay a girl. Everyone treated it better when it was female and, for the few months it had spent as a male, Fafnir and Khaos had been more 'aggressive' towards it.
Alex, or Alexa, had almost decided that its future gender would undoubtedly be female, if it even decided on a gender in the first place. Since it would never be able to fulfill its instincts, Alexa believed it would probably be better to stay genderless. If it's Papa couldn't even tolerate 'small' things, Alexa didn't think she would be able to stay happy in the future. Just the thought of other people touching her tail and wings, with perhaps the exception of her younger siblings, didn't sit well with her at all. It was beginning to look like the only way forward for her was to stay genderless while assuming a more feminine appearance. At least, that way, it wouldn't have to contend against Fafnir and Khaos, nor would it have to 'suffer' being a female without a future mate...
Even so, Alexa didn't want to make its Papa's life more difficult, especially after everything he has done for her. One of the memories deeply rooted into her very existence was her Papa tearing out his own heart, bathing her in his life essence to ensure she would have the greatest potential he could afford her. She had a lot of respect for him and, remembering in his words from the past, Alexa decided to believe that her Papa would find a solution for her problem. After all, he had 'made' Fafnir, Khaos, and her Mother...Alexa believed that her Papa could do anything, even if it took him a while to figure it out. She just needed to be patient...
Vahn had noticed that Alex had assumed its female form again but he didn't comment on it as he laid his head back against the tree and let the warm rays of white light whine down on his face. He wanted her to be happy and would need to come up with a solution in the future, just as he would have to do for each of his daughters. The easiest 'solution' was simply to help Alexa become much stronger, just like he was helping Fenrir. If she reached a higher Soul Tier, Alexa would be able to change her fate and, if it was intolerable staying a True Dragon, she could even overcome that.
It was also very possible that, once he linked Danmachi to a higher tiered record, Alexa would be able to find a mate the natural way. Vahn assumed this would be how most of his children found their partners in the future, as it didn't seem too likely they would be involved with mortals, or anyone significantly weaker than themselves. He was 'almost' positive that Ina and Erika wouldn't even look for partners any time soon, leaving Vana as the only one among the Vanir that would likey 'explore' her feelings. As for his 'relatively' normal children, they would probably fall in love once they found someone they could put their trust in. Still, even if this was the case, Vahn intended to support them all to the best of his ability. If anyone tried to exploit his daughters...
Releasing an adorable yawn, Alexa rubbed her eyes and asked, "Papa...?" in an inquisitive tone. Vahn lightly chuckled before stroking her shoulders in a small circle, saying, "Sorry, I just let my thoughts get carried away. Go back to sleep..." While he had been speaking, Vahn diffused calming energy through Alexa's body, bringing a small smile to the girl's face as she nuzzled into his chest. Her tiny rounded horns rubbed against him and, instead of feeling hard, Vahn noticed they were surprisingly soft and springy. He had never actually touched Alexa's horns in the past and wondered if it was because they were still growing, making them slightly malleable.
---
The rest of his time in the orb was decidedly less 'eventful' than the first few hours. Vahn and Alexa just played together, explored the woods, and talked about a variety of things she was interested in. She also had enough decorum that, whenever they would go swimming or take a bath, Alexa would adopt her genderless form. Vahn wanted to comment that she didn't really need to worry about such things, as he didn't really harbor any feelings or thoughts on the matter, but that would have just made it more awkward for her. The fact she was trying to develop a sense of propriety was a good thing, after all, and he didn't want to discourage her.
Towards the end of their session together, Vahn carried back the sleepy Alexa in his arms and tucked her into the circular shaped 'nest' she had back at the cottage. He gave her a large magic crystal to hug while she was sleeping before moving to where his and Terra's memory fragments were waiting. After explaining everything that had happened, his memory fragment had a distant look on his face while Terra's had a surprisingly guilty look. She realized that her efforts in raising Alexa would need to be stepped up unless the latter ended up going down a 'strange' route. Though Tera herself didn't actually mind if Alexa pursued Vahn, she understood that Vahn was 'very' uncomfortable with the idea. This meant she needed to teach Alexa how to behave properly and, when the time came, how to deal with some of the urges she had in a 'healthy' manner...
As always, Vahn spent the last hour or so just talking with himself, explaining everything that was going on in the real world. It was no longer strange for him to have these 'introspective' conversations with his memory fragment and, after putting in so much effort to control two bodies, Vahn felt like his adaptability had increased greatly. He still had a few flaws to work through, and a few quirks to work out, but his progress seemed to be going well. Even his interactions with people had gotten much better, as he was far less reliant on reading their auras and instead looked at their body language.
After all, with someone as difficult to read as Terra being his conversation partner for twelve years, he was bound to pick up a few things. Since she was also very clever, almost scarily so, Vahn rarely got thrown off by other people and, unless it was one of the girls living in the Manor, or his own children, everyone else would be hard pressed to break through his mental defenses. Indeed, or at least he would like to think so, Vahn had started to mature...
"So, I finished the prototype for 'that' project you wanted me to work on...I have to admit, I think it will be perfect..." Hearing his memory fragment's words, Vahn felt his cheeks heat up slightly because he had just been thinking about how much he had matured. When his fragment suddenly mentioned 'that', however, Vahn knew that there were a few quirks that he had actually 'developed' after becoming a father. He liked to play with his children and, because they were already so cute, Vahn tried to make them even cuter. As a result of Alexa tried to adopt that type of nature, Vahn had asked his memory fragment to work on a project he had designed the list time he stopped by. Hearing that it had been completed, Vahn couldn't help but feel a little excited, and a little guilty at the same time...
Following his fragment into the nearby workshop, Vahn watched as the fragment, wearing a large grin on his face, pulled out the prototype. All of Vahn's own feelings of guilt completely vanished when he saw the finished product, absolutely convinced he had made the right decision. Walking forward, wearing a matching smile as his memory fragment, Vahn picked up the emerald green cloth and marveled at its quality, complimenting 'himself' for a job well done. Then, carrying it along with him, Vahn lightly shook Alexa's shoulder to stir her awake before handing her the one-piece garment in his hand, a pair of pajamas with an emerald-green dragon design that even had holes for her horns, wings, and tail...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Memory Fragment's Failure','Being a Parent is hard...','Being a doting Papa is easy (UwU)~!)
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