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12.34% Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos / Chapter 287: Awakening

章節 287: Awakening

Vahn awoke, not in the comfort of his bed, but in an infinite, cold, dark, void-like space. Even though it felt very lonely at first, Vahn recognized this space and wasn't afraid as he tucked in his body and began expanding his domain. Blazing flames slowly filled the space with an intermixture of azures, golds, and vermillion reds. Vahn enjoyed the powerful feeling as the sphere of flame slowly spread from his body until it became several hundred meters in diameter. Once it reached a stopping point, several pairs of eyes appeared within his domain and slowly took the familiar shapes of his [Rakshasa Body] transformations.

Directly in front of him, Vahn could Báihǔ standing proudly but he noticed there were strange runes covering its body compared to the past. Though he wasn't sure how, Vahn could tell that Báihǔ was slowly undergoing a transformation that would likely benefit him in the future. Reaching out his hand, Vahn placed his palm against the crown of Báihǔ's massive head and pet it for a little while as a show of gratitude. Báihǔ had been an important transformation and had been the core of Vahn's fighting style for the last few months. Under his hand, the 10m long white tiger laid down in the void with a 'thud' and began purring ripples of energy that destabilized the surrounding space with a please look in its icy-blue eyes.

After a short while passed, Vahn turned his attention to his other three companions, even though they were yet unnamed. Vahn knew he was unable to name them until he had reached the awakening status of [Rakshasa Body] in the real world. He could see a longing look in eyes of the regal looking azure dragon to the east and an almost fervent gaze from the vermillion bird to the south. When he turned his attention to the black turtle to the north, Vahn saw, not longing, but pride within the black and green eyes of the giant turtle. From around its 20m frame, a giant head peaked out and gave a curious glance at Vahn with golden eyes. Vahn had never noticed it before, since he wasn't able to spend much time in this space, but he could see a golden snake-like creature surrounding the body of the black turtle.

Vahn floated toward the duo and they bowed low with their heads near each other with an expectant glimmer in their eyes. During his fight with Tione, Vahn had gone from 94% awakening in his turtle form to 100% when he completed his transformation. It had actually been this notification that distracted him a bit and allowed Tione to use his face as a springboard. When he told everyone that it wasn't all her fault, Vahn had meant it...even though he felt very embarrassed to try and explain why he had been in a daze. If possible, he'd like everyone to forget about the matter in the future so he could bury his own shame in the passage of time.

Shaking his head, Vahn put the matter behind him and pressed his palms to the heads of the giant turtle and snake before him. For several long seconds, there was absolute silence within the space as a gentle light began closing from the interior of Vahn's pupils. Since he was naked within the space, the tattoo of a turtle and dragon began to appear of Vahn's body as scales began to grow along his arms, shoulders, head, and legs. Green runes began glowing on the scales as a confident look appeared on Vahn's face and he uttered a series of words that shook the entire space around them with their echoes, "Henceforth...you shall be Xuánwǔ."

Vahn could see green runes begin to appear along Xuánwǔ's body as it roared powerfully toward the empty void above. Follow its cue, the other three sacred beasts began to release their calls all well. Báihǔ released a deep roar that felt like it could shake the soul, while the vermillion birds cry sounded like the wrath of nature itself. Most impressively was the roar of the azure dragon which overpowered the other three and sounded truly tyrannical as electricity spread around the space around its body. Vahn turned his attention to the two unnamed beasts and promised, "One day...I will name you two as well." With his words finished, Vahn could feel his mind begin to fade and he knew his time in the space had come to an end.

When he next opened his eyes, Vahn could feel the comfortable heat of Hestia's body atop his own. He absentmindedly began to stroke her hair and she wriggled about on his body a bit before finally waking up and staring into his face with her clear blue eyes. Without saying anything, she laid her head back down on his chest and Vahn could feel a powerful clamping feeling coming from his nether region that made him clench his teeth slightly without his smile breaking. He could tell she was 'refusing' to part for the time being but Vahn had already expected something similar to happen so he traced his finger along her spine using [Hands of Nirvana].

Hestia released a sensual moan as her body began to tremble powerfully before all the tensions in her body faded away. Vahn could feel a trickle of moisture around his member, but the painful clamping had ceased as he pulled up Hestia's body and freed himself from her interior. She had a dissatisfied look in her eyes, but Vahn just continued to kiss her and tend to her body for a bit until she had calmed down. He wasn't certain, but Vahn felt like Hestia was not only trying to adapt her body to him, but his body to her's. Even after they separated, Vahn could feel a phantom sensation coming from his own penis and a strange longing inside of him to be together again.

After dressing, Vahn made his way down and rinsed of his body before making his way to the training area and greeting Ryuu. The other girls were still getting ready, and Ryuu was the only one in the backyard for the time being. Vahn noticed she had been looking around at the various holes and craters in the ground with a curious glint in her eyes. Noticing his presence, Ryuu showed a small smile and said, "Good morning Vahn." For some reason, Vahn felt a strange pang of emotion in his heart so he stepped forward and loosely embraced Ryuu's body which caused her eyes to widen slightly.

She didn't resist his embrace and eventually put her arms around his back as well and rested her head against his shoulder. Vahn whispered in her nearby ear, "Sorry...I just felt like holding you for a bit." Even Vahn didn't know why the smile of Ryuu had triggered him to take action, but it felt like the right thing to do and he followed his intuition. Angling her head to the side, Ryuu spoke in a low voice, "You don't have to apologize for holding me Vahn. Even I want to enjoy your affections when there is no one else around."

Vahn's smile widened and his pressed his head against Ryuu's forehead and rocked their bodies slowly from side-to-side in silence. Just before some of the other girls arrived, Vahn gave Ryuu a short kiss on her light-peach colored lips and enjoyed their softness for a few seconds before parting. Ryuu had a thoughtful look in her eyes as a gentle smile touched her lips until she noticed the arrival of the other girls and turned serious. Afterward, Ryuu met with Aki and they discussed how to help the others girls train and even sparred a bit to get a better understanding of each other's capabilities.

Aki used a shortsword and was very agile with impeccable technique, but she wasn't the opponent of Ryuu. After a few minutes of exchanges, Aki had taken on a completely defensive posture and could only deflect the attacks of Ryuu's wooden swordstaff in a vain attempt to prolong the fight. She eventually fell onto the cold ground with a wry smile on her face as she complimented Ryuu's capabilities and commended her for being a capable vice-captain. Ryuu helped her up and paid her a few compliments as well before they started training the slack-jawed girls that had been watching from the sidelines.

Vahn had also been watching the fight, and he couldn't help but find the figures of the two girls in combat to be captivating. Ryuu's attacks were smooth and had a fluid-like quality while Aki had a very beautiful and lithe figure with incredible flexibility. She was able to use her sword to parry Ryuu's comparatively heavier attacks and gain some small advantages during the beginning of the fight. Unfortunately, she had no way to keep up with Ryuu's stamina and the fact that her attacks got increasingly stronger based on how fast she was moving.

When they were splitting into groups, Aki began training the twins since they didn't seem to have much talent for magic and would likely be pure agility-based fighters. Ryuu ended up training with Haruhime, Fenrir, and even included Mikoto in their routine since she had noticed the 'fluidity' of Ryuu's movements and also used a bit of magic. Haruhime was going down the route of an agile support caster while Mikoto seemed intent on remaining a vanguard unit that specialized in crowd-control magic. Vahn had finally gotten the opportunity to see her gravity magic, Futsunomitama, when she used it to crush a relatively large area of the backyard. Upon activation, a purple sword that triggered his danger senses fell from the sky and collided with purple circles that had isolated a space in the yard. Every time the sword hit a new circle, the gravity within the area compressed further until the ground, approximately 15m in diameter, had flattened and sunk several inches.

The major downside behind the magic was how much mana it required to actually use. Since Vahn could see the 'mana' of others if he focused his [Eyes of Truth], he could tell that Mikoto used more than 70% of her total mana just using the spell once. Since she also focused on swordsmanship and keeping her status balanced, Vahn felt like she wouldn't be able to efficiently use the spell in the future unless he could come up with a method to help her expand her mana pool. He wondered if he would be able to make a talisman, or a piece of equipment, that would be able to store excess mana for later usage and actually pulled out a piece of diagram paper and started sketching out the idea. Preasia looked over at his actions from the side in silence since she wasn't participating in the training at all.

By the time the training had come to an end, Vahn had drawn several basic designs for a pair of bracers and even a necklace that could be useful for Mikoto. The bracers could be used to replace her current guard, and Vahn figured the necklace would also be suitable for her. He wouldn't admit it, but he had been thinking about Mikoto's visible cleavage and wondered if the necklace would be able to nestle between the growing pair of breasts similar to how the [Sapphire Star] was almost always present between Hestia's.

Since it was still a work in progress, Vahn placed away the diagrams and kept it a secret since he didn't want Mikoto to get her expectations up and lose focus of her own progress. Vahn was very aware that an over-reliance on equipment could lead to stagnation and actually affect how parameters increased. For proper growth, you had to fight against monsters of similar skill and constantly push yourself to overcome your limits. If you used powerful equipment to avoid having to fight directly, the only thing you'd affect is your dexterity and magic parameters while your physical stats showed minimal increases.

After the training ended, the girls went to bathe while Vahn walked to the library as it had become his habit as of late. Preasia left for the dining room and was going to wait for the others so they could eat breakfast together. She wanted to follow Vahn, but was doing her best to socialize with the others and try to find out how she could be useful. Preasia had no desire to be an Adventurer since she didn't like the idea of killing monsters and facing hardships in a cold and dark environment. Since she had spent a few weeks within a foul 'dungeon', Preasia wasn't in any hurry to return to a similar environment. She instead spent her time reading up on things like mixing, alchemy, and magical formations in the hopes of being able to support everyone without having to actually enter the dungeon herself.

In the library, Vahn had been laying down and reading a book related to a hero that slew a red dragon the size of a mountain. It was a foreign fairy tail from another record, and Vahn found the contents very interesting. He was actually very fond of hero stories and had developed a dislike for the tragedy and horror genres since he felt like most of the situations were forced. Since he knew his own capabilities, Vahn couldn't help but put himself in the shoes of the protagonist and wonder why they made such terrible decisions that usually led to themselves, or their friends, getting hurt or killed. He preferred the stories where the hero constantly strove forward and overcame obstacles to eventually achieve his goal and save the greatest number of people. There were still some tragic elements, but Vahn felt like they made the journey of the hero more impactful and gave their inevitable triumph more meaning.

After about an hour of solitude, Vahn could feel a gentle, sky-blue, aura tinged with yellows walking toward the library. Since it was different than most girls, Vahn knew it was probably Aki so he sat up from the sofa and placed the book on the table before waiting for her arrival. She entered the room shortly thereafter and looked around at the thousands of books lining the shelves before turning her gaze to Vahn and showing a kind smile that reached her eyes a bit. She performed a small curtsey and flared her short white skirt a bit before saying, "I figured we had a few things that needed to be discussed in private. Sorry if I'm interrupting your relaxation time..."

Vahn couldn't help but pass his gaze over Aki a bit and take in the sight of her peculiar beauty. She had the typical lean figure of a cat person but showed an impeccable sense of style with her black, white, and gold attire that enhanced her youthful qualities. Her features were very beautiful and she had a natural smile on her face that emphasized her seemingly kind nature. The only thing that seemed strange was how her tail was almost always curved upwards instead of dangling downwards like most of the cat people he had seen. It drew a natural, s-shaped, curve from the top of her hips and came up till around her shoulders.

(A/N: If you're confused about Aki: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oi76HY_tJyQ/maxresdefault.jpg )

After releasing a short sigh, Vahn smiled at Aki and said, "It's no bother at all, Aki. As you said, there were several things I wanted to talk to you about. This is a good opportunity..." Vahn placed out a set of tea and snacks on the table which made Aki's smile widen as she put her hands behind her back and walked over in a somewhat cheerful manner before sitting down on the sofa with an appropriate amount of distance between her and Vahn. Before she sat down, she smoothed out her skirt and kept her legs close together to prevent the contents from being accidentally visible. Vahn's brows raised slightly because it was actually almost 'abnormal' compared to some of the girls around him.

Aki giggled slightly before picking up a small fish-shaped cracker and nibbling on it a bit before taking a sip of tea. Her tail twitched about slightly and Vahn thought it was an interesting reaction so he ate a few snacks of his own before enjoying the fragrant black tea with a small amount of honey. After a short while, Aki tilted her head a bit and asked, "Are you not going to ask me anything?" Vahn finished sipping his tea before placing it on the table and nodding, "I was thinking about how and what I should ask you. For now, how about you explain your reasoning for coming here. I can't really speak about Loki's behavior...but I know there is a reason behind all of her actions. For you specifically to appear, there must be a greater reason behind it than is apparent from the surface."

Aki's expression didn't change much, but she released a short sigh and said, in a very quiet tone, "Loki-sama already gave me permission to speak openly, so...well, it all started...with an idiot boy..."

(A/N: I know some people are concerned about my health, so I'll tell you that I'm beginning to recover. I'm still down in the dumps a bit, but I'm feeling much better after sleeping for a good fourteen hours, followed by an additional nine after eating a hearty meal and replenishing my fluids. I'm hoping to be fully recovered by the end of today, so thanks for all your support <3)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Xuánwǔ','Clash Between Vice-Captain and Lieutenant','Don't tell me Aki has a tragic past too...')

If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the Patreon link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=14397149


創作者的想法
Einlion Einlion

Level 1 Vahn: https://imgur.com/a/zFOLFrT

Courtesy of https://www.deviantart.com/robusta-mania

章節 288: Lieutenant

Aki had a reminiscent glint in her eyes, but Vahn could also see a touch of disappointment contained within as she narrated her story. She showed a 'sad' smile and continued, "You see, I joined the Loki Familia around seven years ago, when I was only twelve. Since I was too young to be an official adventurer, I acted as a support on the expeditions into the middle levels. There was a boy who joined around the same time as me, and we were both of a similar age and ended up working together a lot. His name is Raul, and he is the current commander of the second party of the Loki Familia..."

Aki's ears flickered once before she turned to Vahn and asked, "Do you know why most girls become Adventurer's when there are so many other professions available?" Vahn furrowed his brows in contemplation before saying, "Because they want to be stronger...this world isn't that kind to people that are weak." Aki nodded her head approvingly before saying, "That is one of the main reasons, but it is also because we want to be able to create a better future for ourselves. One of the best ways to make a lot of money and secure your own future is to become an Adventurer and eventually meet a capable partner to spend the rest of your life with. I don't actually like fighting...it's very stressful and I constantly have to put my life on the line if I want to earn enough money to support my equipment needs and living expenses."

Looking toward empty space, Aki said with a melancholic smile on her face, "With a few exceptions, most girls want to meet a good guy before we get too old so that we can settle down and raise a family properly. The stronger you become as an adventurer, the greater the dangers you face. If we wait too long, there is a good chance that we could get killed, or the person we fall in love with would die and leave us alone in the world to take care of the children..." Hearing Aki's words, Vahn remembered Milan and Tina and couldn't help but frown slightly.

Aki laughed a bit and continued, "You see, I wanted to actually be done with adventuring before I reached twenty. I've already worked very hard and have been doing this for a large portion of my life. I've seen girls younger than me die within the dungeon, including some of my very good friends...I don't want to be doing this forever, even though I don't have any real aversion to the dungeon. I just want my life to have something more than struggles and hardships...but, it doesn't seem like things were fated to be easy for me." Aki began to laugh derisively at herself before a gentle smile appeared on her face and she stared into Vahn's eyes.

Vahn thought she was expecting him to say something, but her smile widened a bit before he could find the words and she continued, "I got off on a bit of a tangent...well, as I was saying earlier, everything started with an idiot boy. Because we joined around the same time, Raul and I worked alongside each other and helped to support one another as we slowly increased our strength. After two years, we became official adventurers and even joined one of the smaller parties that went into the dungeon. We always watched out for each other, even though Raul has a very unreliable personality...he still put in a lot of efforts to protect everyone from harm."

Aki breathed in shortly and released a sigh through her nose as she said, "But he really is an idiot...even though we spent so much time together...we even purchased similar types of weapons with matching guards so we could be closer to each other. However, even when I told him about my feelings and we became an actual couple...the only thing we ever did was hold hands on occasion. He always got very flustered and even started avoiding me when I tried to push his boundaries a bit. When he was finally made commander of the second party, he actually acted like we were never in a relationship in the first place, which I guess was true since we never even kissed."

Shaking her head, Aki had a wry smile on her face and continued, "You know, after one of our successful expeditions, he even accompanied a group to the red light district." Aki released a strange laugh before saying, "I heard later that, even though he paid for a prostitute and took an aphrodisiac, he actually just held the girl's hand and slept quietly without actually doing anything. To make matters worse...that idiot actually picked a cat person prostitute with black hair!"

Releasing a sigh of frustration, Aki turned to Vahn with slightly furrowed brows and said, "After that, I officially broke things off with Raul and he expressed the desire for us to continue being 'good friends' with each other. Since I was his lieutenant, it wasn't easy to get out of the situation so I just sucked it up and pretended like nothing had happened, which was pretty easy seeing as how we never did anything more than holding hands briefly...after that, I started to lose faith in several things, including my own charms as a woman..."

A light blush covered Aki's face and Vahn could see a subtle pink color appear within her aura as she continued, "Loki-sama saw my state and...helped heal my heart a bit. Though it wasn't too often, we spent a few nights together and she made me feel a little less insecure about things and encouraged me to continue trying." At this point, Vahn's brows had raised slightly and he had widened eyes as a ticklish sensation appeared in his stomach. He didn't know how the man named Raul could have turned away such an adorable girl, especially till the point where she started seeking comfort from other girls...

After taking a few, slightly hot, breaths, Aki looked up at Vahn and said, "Don't misunderstand...I'm not a lesbian or anything like that. I still even like Raul a bit, but I just don't have any confidence that he would be a good partner anymore. After talking to Loki-sama and coming to understand the situation a bit, she recommended that I help out the Hestia Familia for the next year. If Raul really cares about me, he would try to come after me and bring me back...if things go well, I'd return to the Loki Familia after the cooldown for a conversion ends."

Vahn nodded his head and said, "So, you're just staying her temporarily to try and-" Before he could continue further, Aki shook her head and had a cheerful smile on her face as she said, "Don't misunderstand, I've already set aside my desire to be with Raul more than a year ago when we officially 'split' up. The thing I'm looking for is a reliable man and safe place where I can find some solace for my heart and eventually retire to raise my own family. I've heard a lot about you from Loki-sama, and I don't mind spending time with you if you'd be willing to accept me. I might give Raul a chance if he comes to the Hestia Familia and asks for me, but I don't have any intentions to leave unless he puts in a lot of effort. I heard you were very affectionate and treated the women around you very well, so I'd like to experience what its like to be around a man that has a little more backbone...besides, Loki-sama told me that Hestia-sama would probably be in an unstable state for a while after you first had sex. If you need my assistance, I can help reign her in for you..."

At this point, Vahn's expression was somewhat incredulous because of Aki's words and how casually she brought up somewhat heavy topics. With a bit of apprehension, Vahn asked, "So, if I wanted to do something..." Aki's smile widened a bit and a somewhat playful look appeared in her eyes as she said, "As long as you're willing to take responsibility for me in the future, I don't mind helping take care of your urges a bit. One of my roles here is to help keep stability within the Hestia Familia and help you have a somewhat normal relationship with girls. I might be willing, but that doesn't mean I'll go out of my way to act uncouth when we're supposed to be doing other things."

Vahn was confused and Aki could see it in his expression, so she continued, "It means, keep intimate stuff for the night-time hours while focusing on business the rest of the time. If you're always receptive to the advances of girls without regards to the time, place, and occasion, it'll cause a lot of problems in the future. I heard you have a bad habit of 'petting' girls, so you'll need to curb that habit a bit if you want to have normal relationships. For now, I'll help keep the other girls under control and act as your secretary and lieutenant since I have a lot of experience managing the affairs of a Familia. I've noticed there are a lot of things missing around here, including an actual command structure and rules that everyone needs to abide by. You may not be aware of this, but most people that join a Familia undergo a contract-type vow with the god or goddess so they can't easily jump ship. You have a lot of secrets to protect, but you're surrounded by people that have no restrictions placed on the information they can spread to others..."

Vahn could feel his lips pursing instinctually as he listened to the 'lecturing' tone of Aki as she explained everything he had been overlooking since the Familia's establishment. Since he treated everyone like 'family', Vahn didn't want to place any restrictions on them at all. He trusted they wouldn't say anything to bring him harm, but realized that Aki had a point, likely one that had been rooted in her mind by Loki herself. Even though Vahn was the Captain of the Familia, he hadn't actually been doing anything other than taking care of his own matters while leaving everything else to others to deal with. Ryuu was very reliable, but she was only around during the mornings since she still spent the majority of her time at the Hostess of Fertility. This left a large gap in the chain of command and prevented any organizational regulations from ever forming to keep people in line. It might not be a problem now, but it could eventually become a big problem in the future if there wasn't a proper command structure and rules for everyone to abide.

For nearly two hours, Aki continued to lecture Vahn about responsibilities and how he should carry himself around others. She said that, unless he planned on turning his Familia into his own personal 'harem', he needed to place restrictions on how the girls acted. She even used the fact that Welf had refused to join the Familia as justification and explained that he wouldn't be able to invite men into the Familia unless a lot of changes took place in the future. Since so many of the girls had him as their focus, any other guys would only cause turmoil within the group and potentially cause problems if not managed accordingly. The best thing he could do, if he truly wanted to recruit men, would be to create a men's dorm or split the Manor into sections for males and females while restricting 'intimate' relationships to being maintained outside of the Manor.

It was a strange revelation for Vahn, because he had never actually considered another person having sex inside the Manor other than himself. He imagined one of the guys he recruited sneaking off to a hidden area, like one of the studies, and making love to one of the girls in the Familia and it made him feel strangely uncomfortable. He even imagined what it would be like to accidentally stumble onto the scene of someone else's intimacy and how awkward it would be to brush aside the matter and return to normal.

As if she could understand his thoughts, Aki laughed a bit and explained, "You see, when people are in a relationship like that, they normally move outside of the main residence of the Familia and move into the surroundings. If they want to stay in the dorms, they normally go out on dates before visiting one of the private rooms in the red light district to enjoy some time together. It's actually very rare to be in the type of Familia that you've currently created...if it's just you and a bunch of girls, things shouldn't be too difficult to manage as long as you designate spaces for that type of activity. Since there are three sections to the Manor, you could specify a specific room for 'intimate' actions and then you'd know if a girl was seeking you out if you stopped by and saw them within...besides, I know you probably sleep with Hestia-sama every night, but that won't always be the case in the future. There is also a problem with the scent...I was in your room last night, and it has a very powerful aroma all over the room. For some of the girls, that would be a big problem, so you might want to have multiple rooms that you sleep in where you can create sound dampening formations without having much furniture within so they can be cleaned easily..."

Vahn could feel his brain buzzing a bit, because it almost felt like they were discussing turning the entire Manor into his own personal residence where he could sleep with any woman he wanted as long as they were 'present' within certain areas. He could feel a heavy pressure and a cold sensation in his stomach since it actually seemed somewhat 'wrong' to treat his relationships in such a casual manner. There might be a lot of girls around him, but Vahn had never considered them to be 'available' whenever he was in the mood. Other than someone like Loki...Vahn actually didn't think it was that easy to approach the girls and always waited for them to take action. He knew, especially after the incident with Hestia, that this wasn't necessarily a good thing, but Vahn wanted to keep things in moderation without pressuring the girls around him.

Seeing his silent and contemplative state, Aki smiled and said, "You really don't have to worry about it so much Vahn. You're still very young, and there are a lot of things you've yet to experience in life so don't get too caught up in the details. I'll help manage things while you focus on your own work, so just let me know if there is anything you want to change I'll do my best to implement it. Your focus right now should the Ishtar Familia and dealing with Hestia-sama's current state of mind. Loki-sama told me that she would probably be trying to make you do several strange things because of her own insecurities, so you'll need to find a way to reign her in without hurting her too badly. The best method would be to invite other girls to sleep with you, since the biggest problem would be Hestia-sama trying to monopolize you...I can't speak from experience, but Loki-sama said it isn't uncommon for virgin goddesses to go a little crazy after they first lose their virginity."

Vahn nodded his head mechanically because he was the most aware of the changes in Hestia ever since their initial union. Every time they were alone, she was practically glued to his body and was always doing very uncharacteristic things. She had a bit of desperation in each of her actions and Vahn felt like it wasn't getting any better just because he spent more time with her. In fact, the more time they spent together, the more her nature was changing and she was becoming increasingly more possessive...at least at night and in the mornings. Vahn even feared that she was developing a strange dependency on sex, similar to what he had been encouraged to avoid after he first lost his virginity.

Aki's tailed flickered a bit and she said, "I was told that, if you couldn't find a solution on your own, I could help you reign in Hestia-sama a bit. If you weren't receptive to that, you could just implement a rule that everyone sleeps in their own rooms at night to prevent future complications. It might be difficult at first, but it'll probably be better for everyone in the long run and give us enough time to come up with a solution for the future. I can discuss it with the other girls on the network and tell them about some of the things that Hestia-sama has probably been keeping secret from everyone. She won't be able to easily oppose the consensus of the group, so that would probably be the best course of action if she begins to spiral out of control. Ultimately, it's up to you what you decide to do...I'll just be here if you need my help with anything."

Vahn gave Aki a wry smile because it felt like she was making a lot of sacrifices just to help him out. After he heard her story earlier, Vahn knew she had troubles finding love and had even spent some intimate moments with Loki. Her presence here showed that she was willing to throw herself into the chaotic entanglement of his life without any real commitment other than doing what she thought best for her own happiness. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Tiona, except that she had a very rational and stable mentality that could take the important details of a matter into consideration. The fact that she made herself open to his advances actually made it very difficult for Vahn to not want to pursue her a bit...

Reaching out his hand, Vahn wanted to pet Aki's ears but she intercepted and asked, "Do you intend to make this library that kind of place? I don't mind, but what if someone shows up and walks in on us...?" Aki had a slight blush on her face and Vahn could see her aura flare up a bit and it made him swallow at the implication behind her words. He just wanted to pet her head a bit, but she interpreted it to have a greater connotation since, as he was just now remembering, it was typically only acceptable for lovers and close family to rub the ears of a cat person.

Vahn smiled and pulled away his hand and explained, "Sorry, I just felt a bit grateful for everything you were doing...I have a bit of a habit of petting the heads of girls around me. I'll stop if you think its a problem..." Aki laughed and covered her mouth with squinted eyes as she said, "No, I don't mind at all. Like I said earlier, as long as you're willing to accept responsibility...I really do want to be treated well by an accomplished and handsome man...I wouldn't have come here just because Loki-sama asked me to if I didn't have a few expectations of my own. It's just that, unless you plan on changing the nature of the Familia a bit, you should only do that kind of thing in 'private'. Just because we're alone, that doesn't mean we're enjoying actual privacy...unless this room isn't a common area that other people can visit?"

Vahn ruminated over her words a bit and almost explained that he was the only person that really used this library, but that didn't mean it wasn't accessible by others. Haruhime usually joined him when he was reading, and Preasia had also visited in the past. Though he could detect their approach, if he actually did anything with Aki, Vahn knew the girls would be able to tell what happened based on 'smell' alone. Since there were a number of beast-people in the house, Vahn really needed to be more careful about his actions or it could cause problems for some of the other girls.

Aki saw the contemplative expression of Vahn and scootched over next to him until their hips were touching each other. Vahn looked over and saw her tail twitching about while there was a casual, kind, smile on her face as she looked up at him. She was only 158cm tall, so she had to look up a bit to make eye contact with him. With a strangely 'happy' look on her face, Aki whispered, "If it's just a bit, I'll make an exception...we haven't actually made up any rules yet after all. As long as its more than just holding hands..." Vahn smiled, but he was actually trying to stifle a small laugh because he could feel a bit of the resentment Aki had in her voice. He could tell she still liked the man named Raul, since she wouldn't harp over the matter if it wasn't important to her. Vahn could also see that, though her aura had a pink hue to it, her actual affection toward him was on the lower end at 63 points. Though he felt a little guilty, Vahn thought that Aki was a very beautiful girl and didn't have a lot of resistance when it came to dealing with girls that had already made their resolve. Placing his right hand around her waist, Vahn held Aki's body a little closer to his own and began stroking her ears affectionately. The moment he did so, her affection immediately jumped up to 80 and the pink within her aura became more pronounced.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'It ain't easy being a woman in a medieval society','Loki's Influence : Regulations','RIP Raul')

(A/N: Some people might bring up the matter of NTR, but think about it from the perspective of a girl that doesn't want to spend the remainder of her 'beauty' years fighting monsters. Life expectancy in a world like danmachi doesn't exceed more than 60 years for most races, and it is SIGNIFICANTLY shorter for most adventurers. The stronger you get, the greater your odds of dying if you continue to try and become stronger. In a society where you become an adult at 14, waiting until your mid-twenties to marry and settle down is considered very late. Anakitty is already 19, so you can imagine why she would be impatient after a while kappa.)

If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the Patreon link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=14397149


創作者的想法
Einlion Einlion

Level 1 Vahn: https://imgur.com/a/zFOLFrT

Courtesy of https://www.deviantart.com/robusta-mania

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