บท 1169: Leading
Contrary to Olga's expectations, even after Vahn took her to an obscure and secluded area of the castle, he never made any moves against her. Instead, after reaching their destination, he used a variety of different kinds of Magecraft, many she had never even seen before, to help reshape the structure of the Magus Tower for her purposes. He was skilled at building and, with skills like Telekinesis and machine-like movements, it only took Vahn a few hours to alter the structure of the tower, making the roof able to rotate on an axis in conjunction with a platform he had inserted into the floor.
Throughout this whole process, Olga was left to watch at the side after arranging all of the materials and equipment that Vahn had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. It made her feel awkward, watching an Emperor perform manual labor on her behalf, but much of Olga's nervousness had faded as she just sat at the side with an absentminded expression. Seeing Vahn work tirelessly, with a determined and focused look on his handsome face, had Olga sitting listlessly with her head supported by her hand. She wondered how he could throw himself so wholly into something as, even when she was at her best, Olga would need a break after an hour or two of focused research. Even then, she would feel a great deal of fatigue and, without a cup of tea or coffee, it was hard to build up the motivation to hit the books once again...
Vahn managed to complete a task that would have taken a team of skilled carpenters several days of strenuous effort in only five hours. He had even skillfully re-applied the formations that he had taken apart while deconstructing the top of the tower, something even First-Rate Magi wouldn't be able to manage. Fixing breaks in formations often required reforming everything from scratch and, with the complex array present in the Magus Tower, it would have taken Scholars years just to make sense of it all. Vahn, however, completely ignored these facts and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, inscribed the formations with extreme ease and mechanical dexterity...
After the basic construction was finished, Vahn caused Olga's eyes to glaze over slightly when he pulled an entire Observatory Telescope out of thin air. She didn't recognize the make or model but, based on the materials and structure, Olga could tell it was an artifact that any Magus studying Astronomy would go mad to obtain. It almost looked ancient in design, a far cry from the telescopes that were used in modern times, but that didn't matter when it came to the Thaumaturgical study of Astronomy. Their telescopes were less about seeing the planets clearly and more so for analyzing the path, orientation, color, and effervescence of stars and planetary bodies. Then, by interpreting these values through complex formulae, it was possible to make predictions about the future...
Taking another forty minutes to make sure the telescope was installed properly, Vahn finally wrapped up the installation process, releasing a contented sigh and a satisfied smile. The telescope had only cost him three-million OP and, though this wasn't exactly cheap, it was a bargain compared to some powerful weapons and armor. According to its description, it should greatly enhance the Astronomy of the Animusphere family as, by using his system shop as a bit of an exploit, Vahn had compiled a lot of their documented research in his mind. Though there were some things that were only passed through their Magic Crest, most of the basics were shared with the Clock Tower so that students who had taken an interest in the stars would be able to research at their leisure.
With his task completed, Vahn looked toward the gawking Olga, smiling as he said, "If there are any issues, you just need to inform me. Da Vinci will probably want to take a look at your Workshop later but, so long as it doesn't interfere with your work, you should let freely modify things. Her abilities allow her to innovate upon anything so you would benefit greatly from any alterations she made to the equipment I provided." Then, now that Olga's attention had been focused on him, Vahn pat the back of the telescope's chair, saying, "Go ahead and try it out. I'll stick around to make adjustments so that it is comfortable for you to use."
Though she felt a powerful incongruity in her heart, Olga gave a small nod in response to Vahn's words as she made her way over to the rather beautiful telescope. The main tube was created from a material that looked like lacquered wood, possessing a rich brown coloration. As for the yoke, lens shade, and viewfinder, they were all a pale golden color that, at a glance, seemed to glow slightly. Even the attached chair was adorned with comfortable looking leather and, though there were several components that were a little out of place, Olga could understand their usage from her past experiences.
After sitting down in the chair, Olga felt her body sink into the cushions, giving her the impression she would be able to sit for hours without getting uncomfortable. Then, though it made her feel very nervous to have Vahn watching her, she went through the rather arduous process of performing a predictive calculation. Fortunately, with the time dilation of the Projection, which also reflected the night sky perfectly, Olga had a lot of leeway compared to the norm. Though she had to make a few adjustments to the normal formulae, she noticed that Vahn had already calibrated the telescope when he was setting it up. This caused her to furrow her brows slightly but, as it made her job much easier, Olga focused on familiarizing herself with her new telescope which, by the time she was done making her prediction, was already starting to feel as if she had been using it for years...
Using a pen to record her findings in a journal, double-checking the values several times, Olga's face became somewhat red towards the end of her observations. In hindsight, she realized it would have been better to make a different kind of prediction but, as it was one of the most requested types of predictions she would perform for other students, Olga had habitually predicted her 'fortune in love'. This was one of the faster calculations that could be made and, since she didn't want to waste too much of Vahn's time, Olga had defaulted to something she was comfortable with. Now, however, she was regretting her lack of foresight as, with the value she had determined during her calculations, it implied that her current fortune related to 'love' implied 'great luck'.
Since he could see Olga's rather elegant handwriting, Vahn knew what kind of calculation she had made, including the results. He couldn't help rolling his eyes outside of her view and, instead of asking what she had tried to predict, he feigned ignorance, asking, "Did it go well...?" Olga's only response to this was to slowly nod her head as she snapped the journal shut, seemingly afraid of its contents being deciphered. Then, even though he didn't ask 'why' it had gone well, Vahn gave an approving smile before causing Olga's mind to completely blank as he extended his hand, stroking the top of her head in a gentle manner as he stated, "Good work, Olga. For now, you should focus on familiarizing yourself with your new equipment. Make sure you eat and sleep properly as well...I don't want to see you getting sick out of the blue."
With his praise finished, Vahn withdrew his hand and began making his way towards the exit in the most casual manner he could manage. On his way out, to prevent Olga from saying anything, Vahn waved with his back to her, adding, "The most important thing to me as that you are just working hard, not what you're working on. When you are comfortable with using this equipment, I may have some other tasks for you. Make sure you aren't staying in here for too long..." Then, without waiting for Olga's response, Vahn set out to tend to other matters. With her propensity to overthink things, this was enough for Olga to keep herself occupied for several days and, so long as he continued to emphasize specific points, she would progressively open up to him without the previous tension.
Though it might be a good idea to just be straightforward with Olga, such methods only really worked on people who already had a stable mentality. If you tried to be 'direct' with them, they wouldn't take your words at face value and instead think about 'why' you would tell them such things. Then, depending on the conclusions they had made from their own delusions, they could even have a mental breakdown due to the pressure they had created on their own mind. It was better to guide Olga towards the road of recovery without 'forcing' her onto it, allowing her to find the way forward on her own.
The more direction and guidance he gave her at this point, the greater the chance of relapse as, instead of becoming more confident through her own action and decisions, she would always be reliant on affirmation from him just to function. Though they weren't inviolable truths, Vahn had learned about things like this when he was studying child psychology in preparation for being a father. Olga might be twenty-two years old but, based on how she behaved, Vahn felt like she hadn't reached the same level of maturity mentally as her body had physically...
---
With Vahn having worked for nearly six hours without rest, only to leave her behind suddenly, Olga had no words to describe her current emotions. She could only watch his back until he had started descending the spiral staircase that led to the lower levels of the Magus Tower and the connecting corridors that gave access to the rest of the castle. Then, when the sound of his footsteps had faded, Olga opened up her journal, her brows furrowed as she looked at her supposedly 'great luck'. She was certain her calculations had been done correctly, meaning the fortune itself was 'inaccurate' or, in a way she couldn't understand, her luck had actually been good...
Remembering the strangely comfortable feeling of Vahn's palm on her head, Olga touched the area with her own hands, a slightly giddy feeling welling up in her stomach as she remembered his words of praise. Though he didn't ask what she had tried to predict, Vahn had been watching her closely throughout the entire process. Just as she had been captivated by watching him work, it seemed that he had appreciated her own efforts. Thinking this was the closest point to the truth, Olga buried her face into her hands while bringing her legs up and burying her face against her knees. Then, after repeating his words a few times within her mind, Olga sat properly in her chair before smacking her own cheeks and exclaiming, "Okay! Let's do this...!"
Following her self-motivating gesture, Olga began performing various predictions and calculations, both as a means of familiarizing herself with the new telescope and getting a proper grasp of the location and orientation of stars within Avalon's night sky. From her measurements, Olga was even able to accurately determine the location of Avalon, at least if it had been back in the physical world. She knew it was currently separated from the Surface Texture of the World but, just knowing where it 'should' be located felt like a minor achievement. With this information, she could perform many of her past predictions by making slight adjustments to the values that would have been observed if she were still back in London.
Though the data undoubtedly had a bias in it, as was always the case when making such predictions, Olga was content with her results. Without even realizing it, she had already spent seven hours in the chair, performing more than thirty predictions before her eyes began to feel fatigued. Fortunately, the chair hadn't become uncomfortable and, with a built-in reclining feature, Olga adjusted the lever at the side until she was laying nearly flat against the comfortable and surprisingly plush material.
While resting her eyes, Olga once again mulled over Vahn's words in her mind, wondering how he would react if he came back to the Observatory and still found her hard at work. However, since he also told her to avoid overworking, Olga ultimately collected up her journal as she began to drag her tired body the surprisingly long distance between her Magus Tower and bedroom. She had only made it halfway, however, when an embarrassing grumble resonated from her stomach, reminding Olga that she hadn't eaten in over half a day. Thus, with a red face, Olga adjusted her heading, the dining room and kitchen her new destination...
---
As Artoria and Gray had already retired for the night by the time he was finished setting up Olga's workshop, Vahn had spent a few hours just pampering Circe and Medusa back in his own room. He could only go so long without showing the rather mischievous girls attention before they would begin to pout so, while he had been tempted to pay Luvia another visit, Vahn decided to pander to the two petite girls while he had the opportunity. Fortunately, they were easy to deal with when it was just the two of them so, after a few hours, Vahn had left the two girls clinging contentedly to each other as he left the room behind. Though he had only caressed and massaged them, this was more than enough to completely satisfy the two girls, at least until Circe decided to abandon her blessing and Medusa had matured a bit further...
Though it hadn't been his original intention, Vahn could sense Olga making her way towards the kitchen and, considering she had been in her Observatory until now, it was pretty clear she was seeking a late-night snack. Thus, after remembering her earlier prediction, Vahn decided to reward her a bit as he also made his way towards the kitchen ahead of her. He had a few minutes until her arrival, as it took a good twenty minutes to move from her Magus Tower to the Inner Sanctum, much less the large dining hall they used for most of their meals. She had even gotten lost along the way so, after asking a Golem to guide the way, Olga showed up in the kitchen just as Vahn had finished up his second dish, lightly braised sea bass that had a very potent and hunger-inducing aroma.
Olga had heard the sound of someone cooking as she approached but, never expecting Vahn to be the one present inside of the kitchen, her curiosity quickly turned into lamentation as her stomach proudly made its presence known in response to the delicious aroma. Even more so than all of her past expressions, Olga's face became red from her neck to her ears, her mouth slightly agape as words completely failed her. Vahn used this an opportunity to issue an amused smile as he playfully remarked, "I'll cook you up something. Go wait at the table and I'll be out in a few minutes..." Then, as she vanished like a phantom from the doorway, Vahn began to lightly chuckle in response to the scampering sound of Olga's feet as she fled the kitchen...
While continuing to cook, Vahn kept Olga in his perception, finding it rather amusing that she had tried to stand up and leaving the dining room several times before ultimately returning to the table. He knew she was probably thinking about her own prediction and, based on how she was fidgeting in her chair, Vahn felt it wouldn't take much to tease her. Since it was still too early for such things, however, he decided to play the fool, placing most of the dishes into his Inventory as he carried out Olga's plate by hand. She looked like she wanted to say something, rising to her feet as if to greet him but, with Vahn still having an amused smile on his face, Olga's words got stuck in her throat.
Instead of sitting on the opposite side of the table, Vahn made a small compromise by taking the chair next to Olga after setting her plate down and saying, "Eat up. It is important to eat properly to stay healthy..." With that said, Vahn brought out a few dishes of his own, nearly five times what he had prepared for Olga. He didn't really require sustenance but, having long developed the habit of eating, Vahn enjoyed his hand-cooked meals quite a bit. One of his Memory Fragments was even given the task of practicing cooking whenever he wasn't busy forging and just reading books. Vahn never 'required' that his Memory Fragments worked too hard, as they had a lot of time on their hands, so he had accumulated a lot of experience related to various trades...
Though she didn't touch her food at first, feeling nervous with Vahn seated right next to her, Olga eventually began to pick at her plate once Vahn had unceremoniously gorged himself. His actions were very dexterous but also seemed rather 'wild', a stark contrast to the behavior she would have expected from an Emperor. As a result, Olga realized that Vahn was trying to help her relax so, if she kept just sitting in silence without eating, it would be the same as ignoring his efforts. Since he had gone out of his way to cook for her, Olga couldn't refuse the offered meal with, after taking a few bites, almost made her tear up with how good it tasted.
Before she even realized it, her plate had been emptied and, though she was starting to feel full, Olga's eyes briefly darted to one of Vahn's dishes. He had specifically put a plate of cheesecake on the left side of his other dishes, knowing full well that women had a 'second stomach' for sweets. This seemed especially true for the serious and studious types and, even though Olga had been acting demure as a result of her 'precarious' situation, Vahn assumed she was no exception. When he saw her eye the cheesecake, Vahn, while still eating his own food, shifted the plate towards her without saying a word. For the umpteenth time, Olga's face adopted a blush but, instead of refusing, she picked up a long and thin fork, muttering, "Thank you..." before taking a bite.
While Olga was slowly working away at the cheesecake, Vahn set out some warm chamomile tea, mixed with a bit of mint, assuming she would likely go to rest after eating. This, of course, made Olga feel even more fretful as having Vahn attend her was a nerve-wracking experience. It showed that he was extremely perceptive of her, even when focused on his own meal, making Olga feel a little self-conscious about how she presented herself. As a result, she tried to sit with her back straight and, even though the cheesecake gave her a strong urge to smile, Olga did her best to control her facial expression as she slowly and 'elegantly' finished off the creamy piece of cake...
Understanding what Olga was trying to do, Vahn decided to take the bait, commenting, "Your table manners are quite good..." This caused Olga to begin coughing as, in response to his words, she had inhaled a bit of cheesecake down the wrong pipe. Though Vahn hadn't expected such a reaction, it wasn't exactly the worst so, with a concerned expression, he began to lightly pat Olga's back while saying, "Relax..." Then, though it seemed like relaxing was the last thing on her mind, Vahn placed his index finger on Olga's throat, pulling the small pieces of cake residue from her throat as her eyes widened in surprise. He had enough wherewithal to avoid pulling it all the way out of her mouth, instead, smiling as he said, "Swallow properly this time..."
In response to Vahn's words, Olga swallowed audibly while staring back at him with her slightly teary golden-brown eyes. When she properly followed his instructions, Vahn's smile widened marginally as he gave her back a few more gentle pats while saying, "Good job..." Then, as if what had happened was perfectly normal, Vahn began eating his own meal once again. Olga had a confused expression on her face but, after taking a few small bites, Vahn seized the initiative once again, asking, "How did your work go? If there are any issues with the telescope, I can take a look-" Before he could continue any further, Olga began to shake her head, a bashful expression on her face as she began to poke at her cheesecake, muttering, "No...it is perfect...everything is perfect..."
Hearing Olga's words, Vahn gave a small nod before taking another bite of his food, allowing for a few moments of silence before asking, "I'd like you to tell me about your work. You don't need to reveal any secrets...I'm just interested in what you're working on..." These words caused Olga to hang her head, her face becoming progressively redder for a brief moment before she ultimately nodded her head. She had brought her journal along with her so, even though she felt extremely nervous, Olga began to explain some of her findings, willfully leaving out anything related to the predictions she had made about her own life...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Child psychology OP xD...','Olga wants to be praised (UwU)...','This has got to be bullying...!')
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