บท 618: Motivation
Vahn awoke early in the morning and peeled Hestia from his body, having slept with her the previous night. She had a habit of using him as a bed, something Vahn enjoyed greatly because she still had an inexplicably soft body. Though Preasia's fur was a strong contender, Vahn would describe her softness closer to being 'smooth', whereas Hestia was more of a 'pliant' or 'malleable' softness. Whenever Vahn touched her, it was almost like there was a super soft layer of flesh covering her entire body, which deformed slightly under his palms. The most notably soft parts were Hestia's breasts and butt, something Vahn felt very drawn to at times since Hestia usually slept on top of his body, pressing her breasts into his chest.
Hestia didn't wake up when he moved her and instead remained sprawled out in a very unladylike manner with a loose smile on her face. She seemed to be having a naughty dream because her aura was intermixed with pinks and reds while her face was somewhat flushed. Focusing his mind, Vahn could actually connect with Hestia, feeling the 'excitement' in her body almost as if they were one and the same. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts from his mind, Vahn covered Hestia's body after giving her a large plush pillow for her to cling to. He had specially designed it to have a liquid core that was heated by replaceable magic cores, allowing Hestia to always have a warm object to hug since she got very clingy in bed.
Almost as if she had been drawn to it like a magnet, Hestia clung to the large body pillow and began rubbing her cheek against it, mumbling, "Vahn...you're so bad...ehehehe~" Hearing her words, Vahn didn't know whether he should laugh or cry since Hestia had been the one to take the lead last night. She wanted to ride on top of him to see how her stamina had improved, holding his hands as support while rocking her hips in different directions. Compared to the past, she did last much longer than normal but inevitably needed Vahn's assistance to finish the 'ride'. Seeing her breasts bounce had been quite the sight but it was always a little hard to focus since, even though she had sex dozens of times at this point, Hestia's vagina was still like a highly stimulating vice that threatened to 'devour' him if he lost focus...
Moving to the side of the bed, Vahn pulled out Eva's orb to check if there had been any changes, nearly dropping it when he saw that the complex magic circle had almost completely vanished. He had been checking it twice a day, around 5 AM and 5 PM, just to make sure he didn't miss the timing of its activation by too long. At this point, Vahn was certain Eva wasn't simply sleeping inside the orb so he was pretty worried about her, hoping she wasn't feeling too lonely inside that endless black and white space. Seeing the progress of the orb, he felt very excited because it was looking as though it would be active before the Expedition even started, or at the very least during it.
Vahn's intuition had told him it would be after his children were born, but that didn't seem to be the case, a fact he was actually grateful for. Learning Magia Erebea would give him functional immortality within the Danmachi record and, unless he managed to get sealed or suffer immense damage to his soul, there would be almost no enemies that could stop him. Though he might not be able to defeat them at first, Vahn would be able to outlast them and eventually get the advantage since they simply wouldn't be able to kill him. Though some Innates might prove dangerous, it was still an ability from a Tier 5 record, which made Eva one of the strongest Mages in her original record.
Stowing the orb back into his Inventory, Vahn found himself to be in a great mood and immediately set off for his workshop. Though some of the girls would likely be doing morning training, everyone had been given the week off so he didn't have to make an appearance himself. Instead, he sent a note to Lili and asked her to stop by with Fenrir later on so he could start working on their bottoms. He already knew their sizes, but they would be upset if he didn't involve them in the process since it was one of the 'popular' things to do these days. Lili had made major improvements in her behavior, but she still had small bouts of jealousy and sometimes acted a little petty when offended. Fortunately, this passed rather quickly and she had grown mature enough to seek out people and apologize after the fact.
Vahn had actually been surprised by her a few days ago when she suddenly came to him with Syr and Aki, holding a 'voucher' for a private bath time. Because she wasn't an adult yet, Lili had to compromise and have a chaperone which, in that instance, ended up being Milan. It ended up being a scenario where he took on the form of a Cat Person, alongside Lili, and they all spent a little over an hour together experiencing a little skinship. Vahn pampered Lili, washing her body, scrubbing her hair, meticulously cleaning her ears, and also using a fine brush on her tail. A Cat Person's tail was 'very' sensitive, but Vahn knew it was a reward and let her get away with misbehaving a bit until she released an adorable mewl that made Milan burst out laughing...
Remembering the incident, Vahn had a smile on his face because he really was proud of how much progress Lili had made in the last 2-3 months. Previously, she still had a fair bit of baggage to work through but, after awakening her Innate, she had undergone a major transformation. Not only was she far more powerful, but this also made her more confident and allowed her to get much closer to the other powerhouses in the group. She often trained with Tiona, Tione, and Lunoire, harnessing her combat skills by fighting against people that were far more advanced than her. Tiona, especially, was a monster that had become Lili's 'goal' to surpass in the future, as they were both omnidirectional physical fighters.
When he reached his workshop, Vahn pulled out a few materials he had already set aside previously and immediately organized them next to his forge. This forge had been modified to contain his eternal flame after Hephaestus moved in, so Vahn summoned the wispy gold-crimson flame and tossed it into the forge as it danced around excitedly. Vahn's connection with the tiny flame had become much stronger than in the past and they now had an almost instinctive understanding of what each other wanted. It wasn't nearly at the level of Hephaestus and her Eternal Flame, as they were one and the same, but it was still a vast improvement.
Vahn tossed some of the treated Adamantine into the forge and began refining it using the eternal flame. He was making good on his promise to develop weapons for Tione and wanted to forge everything from scratch since he knew focusing on each individual step was necessary if he wanted to make it at the peak of A-Rank, or even S-Rank. Using materials he purchased from the shop, as 'perfect' ingots were accessible, didn't necessarily mean the final product would be better since 'mentality' and 'intent' were very important. If you didn't prepare the materials yourself, you were already cutting corners from the very beginning and, though he wasn't sure how it 'knew', the [Master Smith] ability was less effective as a result. Fortunately, he could purchased unrefined ore and process them into ingots himself, typically averaging around 93-95% success rate on most advanced materials.
Though he detected the arrival of three presences, Vahn continued focusing on the metal and slowly beat it into the shape of an ingot. He had gotten much better at shaping metal and, in less than twenty minutes, had completely formed the incredibly durable ingot before heating it up once again to remove any blemishes. After wiping away any excess slag, using his hand since he was completely resistant to heat, Vahn set it into a chemical quench that would make it become more durable after soaking for a few days. That was already the fourth ingot he had made, often using some of his spare time for the preparation, so he was getting close to finalizing his preparations to make Tione's twin swords. As they were intended to be semi-permanant, Vahn wanted to make them as close to S-Rank as possible since she really had waited for a long time at this point.
Turning his head, Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, saying, "Good morning, Lili, Fenrir, Preasia..." They were a bit earlier than he expected but Lili had probably gotten a little excited when she read his message, likely going to fetch Fenrir almost immediately afterward. Since Fenrir usually stayed with Preasia, especially after the latter awakened her Innate, it wasn't unexpected that they would both come by. Lili had an excited smile on her face as she said, "Good morning, Vahn, I got your message and came over as soon as I could. Should I strip down now, or was there something else you needed help with first?" As she had been around during the forging of Tiona's, Tione's, and Lefiya's sets, Lili knew they would sometimes just sit around in their underwear. Spending the day in Vahn's workshop eating snacks, assisting with his work, and getting some attention from him was like a dream come true for Lili.
Fenrir seemed to be excited as well but, instead of just standing around and talking, she ran over and hugged Vahn's waist, wagging her tail as she said, "Good morning, Master~." She rubbed her head affectionately against his chest, causing Lili to 'dull' a little after realizing she had lost a good opportunity for herself after seeing Vahn pet Fenrir's head. As for Preasia, she smiled in a manner that nobody would have expected her to pull off a few months ago. Instead of her somewhat dreary and quiet demeanor, she could now pull off a radiant smile and had even stopped hiding her fur away a few days ago. With slightly sleepy light-grey eyes, Preasia looked at Vahn and said, "Good morning, Vahn...I had a good dream last night."
Vahn felt a little awkward hearing those words but just smiled and said, "Tell me all about it later. I'm curious to know how far you've developed your rare skill...controlling dreams is a very unique ability." Preasia nodded her head happily and moved over to the side sofa where there was also a wooden table and materials to make tea. Vahn waved his hand and set out some breakfast foods, causing Preasia to giggle slightly as she sat down and began eating. Right now, she was wearing a pair of small shorts and a somewhat form-fitting sweater that was similar in color to her actual fur. At this point, other than her chest, abdomen, palms, and feet, Preasia's body was covered in a thin layer of silky platinum blond fur that glistened a subtle gold color when exposed to light.
Preasia actually let other people touch her fur now, at least when the asked, as she quickly realized that people were more intrigued by her fur than off-put by it. Most of the girls in the Manor were very understanding and she even became somewhat popular among girls like Tiona, Ais, Fenrir, and even Tsubaki. Vahn wasn't the only one that found her fur to be 'ridiculously' soft and smooth, meaning Preasia had essentially become a popular hug-pillow amongst to more straightforward and bold girls. She had been a little worried at first but, after walking around with normal clothes for a day, Preasia realized she never had any reason to worry at all. Everyone had already accepted her as part of the 'family' and, instead of ostracizing people for being unique, they were incredibly supportive.
Vahn watched her happily eating away at a citrus parfait before turning to Lili and answering, "If you're going to strip down, make sure you're wearing spats. You can keep your top on but, if you don't want to wear it, make sure you at least have a sports bra or a top to cover your breasts. The bottoms I'm making for you will be able to replace your spats in the future, but they will already be made of a stretchy material so you can still wear other clothing under it for the time being." Though she had improved a lot, Vahn knew it was still important to make things clear with Lili so she didn't try to exploit any loopholes in his words. She wasn't nearly at the same level as Terra, but Lili was a very intelligent girl who often tried to use logic and reasoning to talk around a situation.
Lili had a wry smile on her face and removed the thin white tunic she had been wearing, revealing a grey sports bra underneath. She had actually been planning to do some morning exercises so her training outfit was already under her clothes. After some quick movements, she was standing in a pair of form-fitting spats and neatly folded her clothes up and set them off to the side before joining Preasia for breakfast. Vahn wasn't really surprised that she was already 'prepared' and just helped Fenrir strip out of her nightgown before giving her a band, similar to Tiona's, to wear around her breasts while she just wore her normal bottoms for the time being. He was already 'immune' to seeing their petite bodies wearing thing clothing and joined them at the table for breakfast once Fenrir was ready.
After sitting down, Lili was already 'prepared' this time as she 'politely' asked, "Vahn, may I sit in your lap, please~?" Fenrir had already been 'eyeing' the coveted spot and showed a startled expression when she heard Lili ask before she had been able to claim it for herself. Even before Vahn answered, Fenrir had a defeated expression with her large fluffy ears drooping as she sat next to Preasia and began cuddling her without warning. Vahn watched all this play out as Lili hopped up into his lap and grabbed a grape, saying, "Say aaaaaaahn~." with a happy smile on her face. She had sat on his knee and was sitting sideways, as they were currently on the sofa and sitting directly on his lap would have gotten in the way. Vahn gave her a wry smile and accepted her 'offering' before patting her head, which had sprouted a pair of Chienthrope ears at some point, saying, "Thank you, Lili..."
Vahn knew that there was a bit of 'competition' amongst the 'smaller' girls and that they had already sorted out their own rules. Since he thought it was just a way they expressed their friendship and strengthened their bonds, Vahn allowed them to 'play' around a bit. Fenrir typically won most of the time, but Lili, Tina, Shizune, Preasia, and even Hestia often 'competed' in the little game to claim Vahn's lap. The only person that had a 100% win rate was Loki, who always ended up claiming the spot for herself whenever she was around, with nobody even stepping up to contend against her. Vahn wasn't the only one that was 'worried' whenever he saw Loki as many of the girls in the Manor actually hovered around her out of concern because of how big her belly had gotten.
For about half an hour, Vahn just ate breakfast with the girls, surprised by the fact that Lili eventually gave up her spot to Fenrir after completing her 'recharging'. This was yet another sign that she had matured a lot since the 'old' Lili would have clung to him for as long as possible, sometimes to the point that it made the atmosphere turn awkward. Seeing small changes like this made Vahn want to treat her better, something she had noticed herself and used as motivation to change even more. Her birthday was around five months away at this point and Lili didn't want to continue being a 'burden' to Vahn since she really did love him, almost to the point it was 'painful' at times.
Though nobody was thinking about it right now, Lili's birthday wasn't the only one coming up as Lefiya's was only nineteen days after Lili's. They would both be reaching adulthood around the same time and it was something Vahn had been worried about at times, though many of those concerns had faded at this point. He still worried about Lili's size, but that was something he could work around and there wasn't any need to treat her differently just because of her racial traits. She had actually been putting a lot of effort into trying to grow more, even changing her diet to include nutritional supplements in the hopes of earning a few more centimeters. Vahn knew this well because he had actually given her the list of ingredients, though he told her it wouldn't make a big difference since her growth phase had already ended...
Lili actually wasn't that small, as far as Pallums are concerned, but her growth had been stunted a bit as a result of her severely lacking nutritional intake when she was younger. She sometimes had to go several days without any food at all, so some parts of her body were a little underdeveloped when Vahn first met her. Now, she had fleshed out a great deal and had visible muscles when she exerted herself, which was strangely cute and terrifying at the same time. She was still soft and flexible, as those were the traits she focused on the most during training, but the amount of power in her small body could even make veteran Adventurers sweat when they saw her in action...
After breakfast, Vahn went through the process of measuring Fenrir's and Lili's bottoms in detail, including measuring the distance between the base of their tails and the start of the cleft in their butt cheeks. Lili often transformed into races with a tail, so Vahn obviously had to make sure her permanant bottoms accounted for that fact and wouldn't pinch or ride against it. It could be 'very' uncomfortable to have something scrape against your tail, something Vahn himself was very familiar with from when he first transformed into his Báihǔ form.
Since being a Vanargandr would give her the thickest tail, Vahn had Lili transform so he had two adorable wolf girls standing around him while a sheep girl watched from the side, laying on the sofa. To make it more 'fun' for them, Vahn also transformed and it completed the scene of a single sheep being surrounded by wolves when it finally came time for lunch a few hours later. The fact that Preasia ended up sitting in his lap, while Lili and Fenrir stared at her with 'hungry' eyes would have unnerved any random passersby that witnessed the scene without understanding the context...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I miss Eva (TT^TT)','Therapy Works','Passerby be like (◑,...,◑)'
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