บท 1249: Consolidating Power
With the birth of Sophia, Vahn was only waiting for Circe and Luvia to give birth before the number of pregnant women in the castle was reduced to zero. Though he quite enjoyed spending time with his children, he could only look back on his past self with a wry smile. His life had become even busier now so, remembering he had thought about impregnating 'everyone', Vahn realized he still had a long way to go before maturing to the level he desired.
In spite of his busy schedule, Vahn had no real complaints since even Scáthach had let up on him a bit. During one of their recent training sessions, she told him to take an extended break as despite the effort he was putting in, he had reached a bottleneck of sorts. His power was growing without end but, as one of the primary goals of their training was to help him regain a Divinity, it was clear something else was required. With this in mind, she wanted him to focus on his family life and the management of the Empire while using his newfound free time to take care of his children.
As a result of his Shishou's concerns, Vahn currently found himself watching Mordred, Sakura, Mash, and now Zoë, conduct training drills at the behest of Galahad. This took on the form of one person holding a weighted club-like sword as they used it to strike against the heavy shield of their training partner. Since Galahad had taken over, he had been educating the girls in the use of swords, spears, lances, javelins, shields, maces, flails, and bows. He wanted them to have comprehensive training in many of the most common armaments so they would properly understand how to use, and counter, them.
Mordred seemed somewhat bored to be on the defensive but, with him sitting at the side, Vahn saw that she was at least pretending to put in an effort. She dutifully held her shield at chest level, using its slightly curved surface to skillfully deflect the strikes of Sakura. Despite having a strong distaste of shields, Mordred was extremely proficient in the usage of almost every type of armament. She also had incredible kinetic vision and the [Instinct] Skill to cover for any gaps in her knowledge.
To her credit, Sakura's blows were heavy enough to make small dents in the shield, causing Mordred to have to focus at least a little to avoid straining herself. At this point, the adorable little brunette had the strength of ten grown men while, due to her monstrous reserves of Od, she would channel a bit into each of her attacks almost instinctually. Every now and then, what appeared to be a thin blue mist would radiate out from where she struck, causing Mordred to tense up slightly to avoid being pushed back.
Vahn was genuinely proud of Sakura's growth and, since he started watching their training, he made sure she knew it. She seemed embarrassed by this at first but, after a while, Sakura had learned to accept his praise with a bashful smile rather than awkward dismissal. Mordred had helped her a lot in this regard as, whenever he praised her, she would always accept his words with a toothy smile and, more often than not, a hug. She also had a bad habit of climbing on him, which was becoming more awkward as she continued to grow, but Vahn didn't mind letting his tomboyish little monkey get away with mischief, at least for the time being.
It wasn't just Sakura who benefitted from Mordred's unabashed willingness to accept praise either as, with Mash and Zoë both working hard, Vahn complimented their efforts as well. They acted a lot like Sakura at first, especially Mash, but now Vahn could easily pat the girls' heads whenever they completed hard training. This seemed to motivate them quite a bit as, with their treatment being similar to his children, it left a deep impact on the parentless girls.
Now, Vahn watched as Zoë used her own superhuman strength to bash against Mash's shield as she shouted, "Ei! Ei! Ei!" in a cheerful tone. A stark contrast to the pale-haired girl's playfulness, Mash had a determined and focused gaze as she bent her knees slightly and leaned into each strike. She was also deflecting the blows to the side but, rather than accept the blows outright, Mash had learned to intercept the path of the blow and disperse the force. This not only significantly reduced the power behind the blow but it also opened up the opportunity for a counterattack by slamming the shield into the attacker's body.
Fortunately for Zoë, Mash couldn't use her 'shield bash' against her in this particular training as she was required to remain purely on the defense. This allowed Zoë the opportunity to freely flail away at Mash's shield, a testament to the fact that she was lacking proper discipline. Since she had only been at this for five days, however, even Galahad remained silent and only corrected her when she made serious mistakes. He knew the past of the Designer Babies at this point so, despite lacking any facial expressions, Galahad had a lot of empathy and tolerance towards the playful girl's antics.
After a thousand timed strikes from Sakura, and three-hundred from Zoë, Galahad, in a calm voice, plainly stated, "Five-minute break, then switch."
With the set completed, Mordred began rolling her left shoulder with a cheeky smile on her face as she remarked, "You're becoming pretty strong, Sakura-chan. At this rate, my left arm is going to be useless in the future! Shishishishishi~"
Sakura rolled her eyes in response to Mordred's words before walking over and placing her palm against the latter's shoulder. Mordred didn't try to evade this and, after a few seconds, a pale green light illuminated the area as Sakura used a very rudimentary form of healing magic to remove any muscle strain. Since he had started training her personally, Vahn had been teaching her [Hands of Nirvana] and sense the structure of a person's body using her monstrous magical power in a non-destructive way.
After a few seconds, Mordred's arm had started to tingle a bit but the aching feeling had completely vanished. This caused her to smile even wider before showering Sakura in praise as they walked over to the side where their Chichue was smiling at them. Halfway to their destination, Mordred leaped the remaining ten meters, headbutting Vahn's chest as she threw her arms around him and giggled mischievously.
Vahn chuckled lightly in response to Mordred's mischief as he gently stroked her golden hair and mused, "You did well, Mordred. Make sure to keep focused during training or-" Before he was able to continue any further, Mordred looked up at him and added, "Or I'll become complacent in a real battle, right~? Shishishishi~"
With a smile on his face, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation before pinching Mordred's nose and taking a seat. She sat on his left thigh as if it were natural while Sakura, after walking over like a normal person, sat down to his right. Vahn also stroked her hair, earning a smile from the mature girl as she sat like a proper lady. She took her etiquette training very seriously and, despite aspiring to be a Knight, Sakura knew she would be representing the Empire as the Second Imperial Princess in the future.
Since they only had a five-minute break, Vahn used his [Hands of Nirvana] to revitalize the girls so that their training would be more productive. This included Mash and Zoë, albeit with the former going red in the face when he stroked her lavender-hair. When he first saw her behaving like this, Vahn had been a little confused since he thought she had a crush on Galahad. She called him Senpai and asked him lots of questions about becoming a proper Shieldbearer so this made the most sense. However, once he started showing up to observe their training, Mash would usually flock to his side with the other girls, despite rarely having anything to say.
Vahn tried to comfort himself by acknowledging the very real possibility that he had become a father figure to Mash but, given how she reacted to Mordred's and Zoë's teasing, this didn't seem to be the case. She also referred to him as Master and, despite their few interactions in the past, had a Loyalty value of 6,417. With all of this, Vahn knew Mash had likely started to crush on him now but, as she was a sensible and loyal girl, he didn't think anything would come of it. He really wanted her to find happiness with someone else so, after handling the Barthomeloi family, Vahn wondered if it wouldn't be prudent of him to allow the girls to become exchange students at the Clock Tower so they could properly socialize with people their own age.
Though the curriculum of the Clock Tower left a lot to be desired, that didn't mean he had to enroll them in the standard courses. Since he would be negotiating conditions with Solon, Vahn could have a special course created specifically for his children and a select few capable students. He could then prove to the Magus community at large that his methods were better suited to rearing young Magi than any of the existing methods. Though this class would largely focus on battling within the Spirit Tomb, the results would be very apparent when the entire class suddenly started showing greater prowess than the majority of teachers.
Vahn was intending to use the Barthomeloi Monarchal Family to set a harsh example for the entire Magus community but that didn't mean he wanted to arbitrarily cause a world war. The method he had discussed with Artoria, Merlin, Luvia, and Rin had him establishing himself as creating a strong deterrent before cementing his status and building his prestige by strengthening the foundation of the very same organization he had harmed. After all, if he just destroyed the Barthomeloi family and pretended like it was no big deal, a number of people would begin to fear and conspire against him, even amongst the common Magi.
By destroying one of the Three Monarchal Families, he would have proven that the Empire wasn't just a third-party faction without any power. Then, by extending an olive branch and helping the Association strengthen its foundation, he would have a lot of leeway for bringing about the changes he wanted to see. Since his methods would produce elites in a very short period of time, most of the younger Magi would begin to flock to him while his prestige continued to grow. The lingering threat of Angra Mainyu had made most people hungry for greater power so it was the best time to build his own faction and establish a lasting alliance with the Association.
From the moment his methods began to bear fruit, Vahn would have the leverage to end many of the foolish, despotic, and objectively cruel methods of the Mage's Association. Since they would no longer serve any purpose, as there was an incalculable number of ways to discredit them, he would be able to slowly change the curriculum to his preferences. This would eventually affect the entirety of the Magus community as young Magi, who had been victimized by the current system, would be able to directly contend against the so-called Elites and Nobles.
There was a good chance conflict would arise as a result of his efforts but, as he would have already used the Barthomeloi family as an 'example', Vahn would be able to take action against almost any family with impunity. After all, by winning over the majority and unifying them against a common enemy, one they have always resented, his actions would always be considered 'just' in their eyes. It was high time for a change so, while it was a more than a little tyrannical, Vahn was willing to take the necessary measures to strengthen the Empire and change the policies of the Association.
One of his biggest concerns wasn't the Association itself, but the happiness and mental wellness of his children. Vahn felt like they were becoming detached from reality by staying inside the Projection so, while he was fine with them staying inside to increase their strength, he also wanted them to be happy and functioning members of society. They needed to be able to build their own social circles and interact with peers that shared similar mentalities to them. If they only ever interacted with the people inside of the castle, their perspective of the world would become increasingly skewed as they would be aging and developing several times faster than their peers.
By having some of his children attend the Clock Tower as exchange students, he also opened the door for the reverse. The Empire was going to go public before the year's end and, as he intended for Avalon to essentially serve as a massive Academy, he would obviously need students. He had even started to work on four different curriculums alongside Da Vinci, including the Standard, Mage, Knight, and Hero courses. The Standard course served as a filter that provided a proper foundation to all students before they fell into one of the other three courses.
Once students had a clear goal and had chosen their path, they would enter into one of the other three courses based on their capabilities. It would be possible to freely transfer between them, but this was predicated on the fact that the student had put in the requisite amount of effort. As could be expected, the Mage course would focus on teaching children actual Magic according to Eva's methods and Da Vinci's Unified Thaumaturgical Theory.
The Knight's course would be, quite literally, a curriculum designed to teach children the necessary knowledge to become a Knight. This training would primarily focus on strengthening the body and increasing magic resistance. Since Od was used to power both spells and strengthen the body, the biggest difference between students of the Mage and Knight course, other than mentality, was the lengths they went to in order to strengthen their physical foundation.
After building a proper foundation for themselves, students would then be able to enter the more advanced Hero course which, as the name suggested, had them training under Heroic Spirits and applying what they had learned in actual combat scenarios. Vahn was intending to create his own Dungeon in the future and had already discussed the matter with the Dwarves and Vulcanae below. They were capable of reshaping the land freely and, though it would take some time, creating a Dungeon wasn't even that difficult for them.
The deeper you went into the earth, the closer you got to the Reverse Side of the World. By making a Dungeon that neared the membrane separating the Surface and Reverse Side, known as the Land of Faeries, the Dungeon would naturally begin to change and evolve. It would begin to produce a variety of different monsters of progressively higher strength the closer you got to the Reverse Side and, by seeding various plants and minerals, it would even be possible to harvest high-quality herbs and magical metals like Mithril and Adamantine in the future.
Regardless of what he decided to do, Vahn knew his presence in the world brought the Surface and Reverse Side closer together. Unless he proactively tried to seal the other away, which was possible due to Artoria's presence, it was only a matter of time until the boundary between the two textures ceased to exist. Before that happened, he needed to make sure the world was ready for the jarring changes it would experience so it was necessary for him to seize control or, at the very least, come to a compromise with the various world powers.
Vahn was starting with the Mage's Association, as it was the most obvious target, but it wouldn't be long before he set his sights on the Holy Church as well. He doubted they would listen to reason if he pointed out that Alaya was the God they worshipped but, after recruiting a number of Saints to his cause, it wouldn't take much effort to destabilize the Church. All he really had to do was perform various miracles, such as healing the sick and bringing stability to war-torn regions for most normal humans to venerate him. Since this was the information era, they would be hard-pressed to paint the Empire as some kind of evil organization if the only thing they ever did was save people, rather than asking for money and offering false salvation.
War was inevitable between the Empire and the Holy Church but, with Alaya at his side, they had already lost the battle before it even began. This was doubly so with CHALDEAS as, with the ability to peer into the past, present, and future of the entire planet, he would know what they were scheming before it could even be implemented. Alaya could also move freely within the Holy Church, unlike the Mage's Association, because the people within literally prayed to her for guidance. She provided an absolute advantage against the Holy Church and, if he wanted, Vahn could even enter their most sacred grounds freely.
At this point, it felt like there was very little that could stand in his way from seizing power as, given enough time, he had an infinite number of ways to do so. By the year's end, he would even have an additional twenty Heroic Spirits serving to strengthen the foundation of the Empire. Since this would include some of history's most powerful figures, including literal Gods and Goddesses, there wasn't much anyone could do against them. By the time Angra Mainyu appeared, he could have built a small army of nearly two-hundred Heroic Spirits, each stronger than a standard army on their own merits.
This was, however, a consideration for the not-so-distant future so, for the time being, Vahn was just happy to be able to spend time with his children. The Empire and ruling the world would always be of secondary importance to him as, if he couldn't even make his children happy, he didn't deserve to spew platitudes about making others happy. With this in mind, Vahn hugged Mordred and Sakura in his arms before sending them off to resume their training with a few encouraging words. He then gave Mash and Zoë a head pat before sending them off to do the same, earning a bashful smile from the former and a cheerful laugh from the latter...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mash has been corrupted...!?','RIP Barthomeloi...at least they would have the achievement of unifying the Magus community?','So, Vahn+Da Vinci+Alaya=Batman')
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