章節 770: Reform
Riveria wasn't just the Princess of the Elven Kingdom in name, no, she had spent nearly fifty years preparing to become the next ruler of the Kingdom before fleeing to Orario after the revelation she had been denied the opportunity to do so. Now that she had the chance to bring about reforms, bringing forth a better future for her people, and preserving the life of her Father, Riveria had taken to the task with unrivaled fervor. Though she was still very reliant upon Vahn to bring certain changes, especially in regards to the status of the Noble families, most of the other things were easily fixed after making changes in the policies, and those charged with overseeing them.
Ultimately, after a period of nearly two months, the seven primary Noble families had been completely defanged. After conducting their investigations, and holding nearly three-hundred public trials, it was determined that none of the Noble families, including the Ljos Alf family, should keep their Noble status. They were stripped of their Duke titles and, with the exception of some ancestral lands, most of their properties and investments were also seized. Though there was a fair amount of resistance, especially in the Ljos Alf and Dal Alfan families, Riveria had been as objective and decisive as possible. After all, even though she was a descendant of the Ljos Alf family herself, they obviously had their fair share of problems and were ultimately responsible for how things had become.
During the trials, the amount of resentment the normal Elven households held towards the Nobles, including the few that believed High Elves to be 'special', had reached a critical level. The fact that five of the Noble houses had conspired together, with the support of the Sage Council, had been a very eye-opening event for them. With the Council completely dissolved, with most of its members killed or crippled, all of their wrath had been directed towards the Noble families themselves. If not for the transparency in the trials, and how Riveria had held 'all' families accountable, there could have been an internal revolution. Of course, the ultimate deciding factor, preventing things from getting that far, was the presence of Vahn, and the prestige of Riveria and Larfal.
In the end, though Larfal would remain King until he ceded the throne, it was decided that things would revert back to the past, a means of showing respect to the Elves of old. Previously, before the first Elven King had taken power, the throne had always been held by the strongest and most capable among the Elves. They also needed to be respected by the people and, any member of the royal court, was elected by the populous, not 'assigned' by a Noble family. As for the whole 'blood purity' thing, and the fact that Elves were 'superior', this was one of the first policy changes brought about.
Riveria, Larfal, and Vahn, all made it very clear that, while your birth certainly affected your starting point, the life you lived after the fact it what should define you. Blood purity was a flawed concept from the start as, without having a large enough genetic pool, it caused more problems in the future than it solved. Though most people couldn't really understand this, documentation to that effect was made publically accessible after the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing] had been revealed. A lot of people had already heard the rumors, but seeing Riveria moving around easily, even more powerful than in the past, had caused many people to begin believing the claims about how Vahn had become a Sage, to begin with. When the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing] had been revealed, there was a very noticeable shift in the dynamic of the Elven people, giving Riveria much greater momentum for other policy changes later on.
Though he didn't disclose how the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing] was made, nor how to inscribe the crest onto the stomach of Elven women, Vahn did make much of his research public. This was to give people hope for the future and, to prove that it worked, Vahn had willingly performed the 'ceremony' on a few Elven females, including some volunteers from the High Priestess Faction. Then, to demonstrate the principle that the developing fetus needed a large amount of natural energy to sustain itself, Vahn used his [Yggdrasil's Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish the vitality of many expectant mothers. At the same time, he had become something of a physician within the Elven community and was training many of their doctors in some of the medical procedures he had learned from reading books and simulating within his mind.
Previously, most of the Elven community had been utterly terrified of Vahn, especially when they realized exactly what he had done. The fact that, within the period of a day, Vahn had saved the King, defeated the Noble families' forces, extinguished the fires burning down their homes, protected the Sacred Trees, freed more than thirty thousand of their kin, destroyed the Sage Council, and become the Prime Minister...it was very difficult to accept the reality of the situation. If not for the fact that nearly a third of their population has 'witnessed' these events, many people would have thought it was just a gross exaggeration.
Now, the public opinion of Vahn had been quickly transitioning in a positive direction, especially after the blockade of the Western Forest had been immediately brought to an end. Not only was he improving the quality of life for the common citizens of the Elven Kingdom, but there was a large influx of essential goods entering in through the previously closed borders. This, added to the fact that he had publicized his research, had left a deep impression on people. He also made himself very accessible and could always be seen either helping people out, rebuilding areas that were damaged during the attack, and even revitalizing the Sacred Trees...
However, the biggest factor that changed the way Elves viewed Vahn were the people who had surrounded him. Not only did he have the support of their Princess, Riveria, but he also had a True Dragon that had dominion over nature. Terra, to the people of the Elves, was almost like a walking Sacred Tree. Not only did her aura give them an extreme degree of comfort, but she had a very kind and caring disposition, seemed to possess an infinite amount of wisdom, and was, inarguably, the strongest entity they had ever seen. She had been the one to put out the fires across the forest and, though it had caused them a great deal of stress at first, the barriers that had been erected around the Sacred Trees had been slowly revitalizing them over time.
Other than Riveria and Terra, Vahn eventually brought Lefiya and Ryuu over as well, causing a stir within the Elven community when they learned that Lefiya was not only a Dal Alfan, but a Spirit. As for Ryuu, she had simply wanted to return to her family for a short while. Her family had been part of the loyalist faction that served the High Elves and, as a result of their foolishness, the majority of them had been killed by Vahn, or tried after the fact. The only survivors ended up being her aunt and three children who had avoided the conflict outright. Vahn had agreed to let them attend the School in the future, but only because Ryuu didn't want to entrust them to her rather despicable Aunt...
The reason Vahn had asked Lefiya to come over was to deal with a troublesome situation that had been occurring with the High Priestess Faction, though it had a lot of its authority removed and was no longer a standing faction. Sealing of the Sacred Trees, and forcing the Priestesses to mingle amongst normal civilians, had hurt the prestige they enjoyed for the last thousand years. Though they had never taken direct action to try and 'control' the people through force, it was easy to see that the High Priestess Faction had enjoyed many privileges due to the power base they had established. With the Nobles and Sages being dealt with, they also had to make several concessions and had the majority of their authority outright stripped away from them.
At first, the High Priestess Faction had opposed these changes, as all powers that had held onto their power and authority for too long were ought to do. However, the fact that their current High Priestess, Sylfia, had been working alongside Riveria made it very difficult for them to make a case against it. Vahn also publicized the fact that, unless all of the standing powers gave ground on the issues of reform, he would never publicize the blueprints of the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing], nor would he teach anyone how to carve the crest. He wasn't here to empower a broken system, but to bring about real and lasting change that would benefit all Elves in the present, and future. Sylfia had made a public statement as the High Priestess, giving her full support for the idea and asking that all of the other Priestesses, and those faithful to their beliefs, took this as an opportunity to revitalize the Elven people and create a better future for themselves...
This had caused a bit of a problem, however, as Sylfia had never made any major public appearances and, though she had a fair amount of support, there were a lot of rumors going around about how she had become Vahn's slave, even temporarily. Though they had felt a certain amount of gratitude and anguish when she had originally agreed to the terms of the people keeping them captive, all so they might go free, people couldn't forget how 'readily' she had lowered her head to Vahn. The fact that she supported him so strongly, after the fact, had caused people to wonder if she was simply a maiden that had fallen in love and, though this wasn't exactly a bad thing, tensions had been very high during the time these rumors were going around.
What made matters worse was, during one of her public appearances, shortly after she had gotten a crest carved into her abdomen, Sylfia had publically admitted to the fact. Vahn had already been very aware of her feelings, as she had been very awkward during the time he was applying her crest, but he hadn't expected her to essentially announce that she had fallen in love with him to the public. This caused things to take a strange transition and it almost ended with Sylfia having to announce that she had given up her title as High Priestess. If not for the fact that she had the support of the King, Riveria, Vahn, and, after making her existence public knowledge, Lefiya, things might have become even more troublesome.
Lefiya's involvement had been predicated on the fact that she was a Spirit, the object of worship by the Elves and the High Priestess Faction in general. Though they respected all Spirits, those that had direct ties to their Ancestral Spirits were significantly more important to the Elven people. The whole reason Sylfia had even become a High Priestess herself was that she had descended from the line of Wishe and possessed high potential, startling intellect, and the ability of foresight. With Lefiya also being revealed as a daughter of Wishe, with a purified bloodline, her existence had garnered a lot of attention, especially from the now-defunct Dal Alfan family. There was a big push to have her be the next High Priestess, something Lefiya had adamantly refused while publically giving her support to both Vahn and Sylfia, though not towards any romantic developments between them.
With Lefiya's words, people began to consider things in greater detail and, after learning that her blood purification was also a result of Vahn's efforts, public opinion immediately swayed to their side. Though 'blood purity' had been invalidated and treated as a matter of lesser significance, it was still something deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of almost every person of Elven descent. Knowing that Vahn had not only come up with solutions to their infertility issue, but could also purify their bloodlines, the public couldn't blame anyone for wanting to support him, especially the High Priestess. After all, she was a very rare female High Elf and, though she didn't exploit her status, she was an important figurehead to her people and there was a big push to have her engaged with Vahn as a result of their heritage.
Though it was still very difficult to believe, it had already been made public that Vahn was a 'Progenitor' who had already sired a child with their Princess, resulting in a High Elf of extremely high blood purity. Since he also had the ability to purify a person's blood after the fact, a lot of the older families, and those that had previously supported the idea of Elven superiority, believed that Vahn would be able to 'revitalize' their people. It wasn't just Sylfia who the people had tried to push onto him, but almost every unmarried High Elf, totally thirty-seven people, with Sylfia being the youngest.
Eventually, Vahn had to publically announce that he had no intentions of taking additional wives, nor would he be accepting mistresses. Though he appreciated the feelings directed towards him, it was his goal to change the standard of living for all Elven people, not create a new generation of High Elves to be worshipped and respected by virtue of their birth. Though he would help ensure that High Elves, and Elves in general, were able to safely give birth, he wouldn't have any direct hand in impregnating them. Since the majority of people couldn't really understand why he would refuse to bed so many beautiful women, Vahn outright admitted that he was already in love with too many women and it would simply be wrong for him to accept even more into his life. Since he also refused to sire children that he could not care for personally, this meant he had absolutely no interest in becoming 'breeding stock' for the benefit of a broken system.
Such admissions had hurt his impression within the community at first but, after a few weeks had passed, most people had accepted his reason and had started to open up to him after witnessing all the things he was doing to make good on his promises. Anyone that knew him closely could see that Vahn was a very kind and caring man and, though they didn't have too many public displays of affection, it was easy to see that he was very close to the girls around him. Though some of the hardliners from the old factions were still trying to press the issue, most of the High Elven women respected Vahn's decision as, both directly and indirectly, he had shown his respect for them as well.
The only one who didn't seem to give up on the idea was Sylfia herself who, if she wasn't busy, would linger around the areas Vahn's frequented. If she couldn't find him, she would go to where Terra could usually be found or, using her status as High Priestess, seek out Riveria or Lefiya to simply chat. She had also started wearing a two-piece robe that had a crop-top design that exposed the navel and a loose robe that hugged her slender hips. This was a 'fashion' that had been popularized by Riveria herself, and the public display of their crests had become a matter of pride for the women who already possessed one.
Riveria wasn't actually that against the idea of Sylfia pursuing Vahn and, as they worked together a lot, the two had started to become close over the two-month period they had been traveling back and forth between Orario and the Elven Kingdom. As for Lefiya, she wasn't that fond of her 'cousins' attempts to 'seduce' her Master, especially when she heard how Sylfia had also tried to become a 'subordinate' during the chaos of the first day. Though Lefiya didn't mind Vahn's relationships with other girls, as some of them were also very exciting for herself, she actually didn't like the idea of him being involved with other girls. The people at the Manor had been like one big family for a long time and it was much easier to accept her Master being involved with them than any 'outsiders'.
Even though this was the case, and Sylfia could tell that her younger cousin wasn't too fond of her pursuit of Vahn, she never gave up trying to get close to them. The first time she had been able to receive a 'head pat' from Vahn, Sylfia had happily talked about the event to everyone in her social circle. That night, Vahn had to pacify a frustrated Lefiya, promising that he wasn't going to let other girls break into his heart so easily. As this was the truth of the matter, and Vahn was still living his dual life between the Manor and the Elven Kingdom, she eventually forgave him. After all, Vahn genuinely had no intention of giving into Sylfia's advances and was actually more focused on managing things with the School and spending time with his children.
Each of the Vanir had been growing like beansprouts, now appearing to be around the ages of 5-6 years old each. Eina was also due to deliver her child any day now and it had been a big distraction for Vahn's other duties. This was compounded by the fact that Naaza had been seeking him out a lot more than before, simply wanting to spend time together, while Lili actually looked like she was already halfway into her pregnancy. The fact she was carrying triplets, with her small body, always made Vahn feel very fretful. If not for his ability to travel the distance between Orario and the Elven Kingdom in less than a few seconds, he wouldn't really be able to keep up with all of the things he wanted to take care of right now.
Vahn was stuck between helping manage the affairs of the Elven Kingdom, dealing with the fallout of the Alliance between the Elves and the Dwarves, renegotiating trade agreements, spending time with the girls, making sure his children were happy, and trying to fit in small moments of training. All the while this was going on, Vahn also had to make sure things with the School were running smoothly and, though he still struggled with controlling two bodies, Vahn was starting to consider trying to make a third. Even [Shadow Clones], which he had neglected as a solution in the past, were starting to look like a very useful ability...
Even so, Vahn still felt like every day was very fulfilling, especially since his children seemed to be very understanding of things. He still played with them when he could and, almost every night he wasn't within the orb, Vahn would sleep with them and their mothers. Loki and Hephaestus had been very helpful during all of this, while all the girls in the Manor showed their support in their own ways. Vahn even summoned over the girls to the Elven Kingdom to start getting people used to the idea of foreigners visiting their lands in the future.
Vahn also noticed that many of them had, temporarily, even stopped using the orb and spent more time in the real world. Since he couldn't really make use of it himself right now, they didn't want to be away from him for long periods of time, especially when they knew he was working very hard. Though they would still drop in for an hour or two each day, generally to get in some morning training and work on some projects, most of the girls had been outside playing with the Vanir, taking care of the children, or even serving as assistant teachers at the School. It was moments like this, when everyone was working together to share the burden that would have been impossible for one person, that made Vahn feel truly gratified...
---
Though Vahn had been busy with a variety of different issues, he had become the primary talking point for a certain group that resided in a City above the clouds. Presently, located within a cold stone sanctum, there were three gods sitting around a circular table talking about Vahn's recent exploits. On one side, there was a youthful god with onyx-black hair, starling blue eyes, and a strange golden eye patch covering his left eye. On the other side, there was a god who appeared both elderly and youthful, possessing similarly striking eyes and currently wearing a loose robe that exposed his muscular body. To his left, leaning into his shoulder, there was a proud goddess who had a glimmer of wisdom in her golden eyes as she rested her auburn red hair against the previous god's neck.
The onyx-haired god, Odin, looked at the two lovebirds across from him and asked, "So, do you think we should intervene with the Alliance, or let it continue to grow? I do not believe Vahn is a threat to the world, but I believe the changes he is introducing will fundamentally alter how people live in the future. I even had Frigga and Urðr look into the future...I believe Vahn's actions to be just and in the interests of everyone..." Though he had only interacted with Vahn once, Odin had been watching over the boy and his exploits often ever since. Yes, Vahn was very ruthless at times, but only when he 'needed' to be. Most of his actions generally had far-reaching consequences, almost exclusively for the betterment of a large number of people, so Odin had a very favorable impression of the boy.
In response to his words, however, Zeus snorted and said, "I'll admit, the boy truly is deserving of the title of Hero, but he is also far too arrogant. Though he hasn't become a threat yet, he is only a few steps away from being a repeat of that golden-brat, Gilgamesh. We need to seriously consider dealing with him soon or it'll be too late to have regrets after even more goddesses support him!" Unlike Odin, Zeus' impression of Vahn was that of a petty and arrogant mortal that thought too highly of themselves. Though he couldn't fault Vahn for wanting to protect the dignity of his women, the fact he had been so disrespectful to a 'god' had ruined most of Zeus' favorable impression of the arrogant youngster.
As was often the case, Hera nodded her head in agreement with Zeus, parroting, "Even though he is still a little weak, he was able to defeat Siegfried after the latter went all out. It seems he has abilities that grant him 'instant regeneration', 'unlimited mana', and 'elemental transformation'. Combine with his status as a demigod and Progenitor, he is simply too dangerous to leave be. Once he matures, even Heracles and Theseus may not even be able to pose a threat to him...depending on how things develop, he could become the greatest enemy of Legend and slowly conquer the entire Continent. Even gods are siding with him, making him a lingering threat that might also affect us when we return to Heaven...!"
Feeing into the loop, Zeus nodded his head and added onto Hera's words, "If we cannot get Vahn under control, we need to take actions to remove him from the equation in the future. Though it will probably upset Hestia, and some other troublesome goddesses, we can't simply let one person bring about such change in such a short period of time. People can't adapt that quickly and, if left to his own devices, Vahn will probably bring about reform to all countries, not just the Elven Kingdom. If the policies he enacts are just, that is good, but we all know that power will eventually get into the head of any mortal. Now that he has progeny of his own, they will slowly change how he sees the world and, in order to make sure they are able to live as they please, Vahn will undoubtedly change his own perspective to suit them...troublesome..."
Odin looked at his two companion gods with a dull expression, supporting his head with his fist as he said, "As I said, the path Vahn is creating towards the future seems to be the 'correct' path. The prosperity he will bring to the world far outweighs any of the damage he is doing in the present. He is also increasing the strength of common men and pushing the strength of those that seek the peak even higher. For our purposes, the reforms he is bringing are actually more beneficial than any actions we ourselves have taken. The number of potential Heroes will undoubtedly increase in the future and, as long as we don't make any mistakes now, our Organization may grow even larger. I also believe that, if we leave him be now, Vahn will actually be much easier to convince once he matures. He is still young right now and, though power can easily corrupt mortals, the number of goddesses around Vahn will keep him in line...if we take action now, there is no guarantee we can even defeat him. In the process, we will earn the ire of hundreds of goddesses, both in the Mortal World and in Heaven...you're letting your own frustrations cloud your judgment..."
Hearing this, Zeus frowned and Hera finally stopped leaning against him as she sat up straight and hardened her expression. She actually agreed with Odin's words a bit, especially after watching the battle between Vahn and Siegfried, but she would still support Zeus if it came down to it. Thus, she sat by and watched as the two gods, who had shared a kinship lasting for eons, glared towards each other. Neither was willing to back down and, even though Zeus also knew Odin was likely correct, he couldn't easily give in on the matter. Vahn had hurt his pride and, as petty as it might seem, Zeus had never allowed anyone to step on his pride without some form of retribution...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Where the King at...?','Sylfia wants them good genes...?','Petty AF')
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章節 771: Time Flies : Don't Blink
Getting involved with diplomatic affairs and trying to help a Kingdom prosper wasn't a simple task to tend to. Though Riveria had borne the largest burden in ensuring things went smoothly, it had required a great deal of effort on behalf of everyone. The Alliance became the main trading partner with the Elven Kingdom and, though there were accusations from some that this had all been an elaborate takeover of the latter, it ultimately didn't matter. With the power and authority of the Alliance, it was almost impossible for anyone to oppose their decisions and, time and again, it was easy to see that the actions taken by their group had been for the benefit of everyone.
Unless you were an organization that made a living through exploiting others, association with the Alliance guaranteed you would prosper, a simple fact that had caused their numbers to increase so much that they had started to expand into a second district of the City. Previously, they had only taken up a large part of District 4 of the City but, with so many small organizations throwing their lot in with the Alliance, the territories they managed bled into District 3 as well. This meant that the Alliance had slowly started to assimilate the area that contained Daedalus Street, home to the impoverished and downtrodden.
The reason for such a happening was rather simple, being that Vahn placed a much greater focus on improving the quality of life for those who struggled to make a living in the current social structure. With the reforms taking place in the Elven Kingdom, he slowly started putting pressures on the Nobles of Orario and, with the support of an increasing number of gods, the Nobles had no choice but to back down and consolidate their power, entirely incapable of contending against the massive military and financial might of the Alliance.
The biggest factor that prevented them from taking direct action was knowing that Vahn had not only 'slaughtered' the majority of the Elven Nobles' forces on his own, but also stripped them of their titles after the fact. At this point, the Nobles of Orario simply wanted to avoid earning his ire and, at least publically, they had started to reign in their own troublesome members and trying to appear more 'clean' to the public. They had even tried to 'resist' against the Alliance's efforts to influence the poverty-stricken of Orario by enacting policies to open a larger number of Orphanages and food distribution centers, fighting against 'progressive reform' with 'charity'.
Even these efforts didn't amount to much as, even though there were a few people that enjoyed getting things for free, the 'opportunity' provided by the Alliance offered them an actual solution to their problems. The Alliance had created hundreds of thousands of jobs that paid much better wages than similar positions around the City. Most of these jobs were manual labor, construction, and maintenance work, but these were things that most people could do if they were physically fit. Since the work paid more than a Low-Class Adventurer, it meant anyone who was employed through the Alliance was easily able to support their basic living expenses and, by working hard, they could easily earn as much as a High-Class Adventurer without endangering their lives.
Wages like these had greatly increased the civilian workforce of the Alliance and had even drawn in people from other Districts who sought stable work that paid well. The fact that the Alliance also provided three meals a day to contracted workers was one of the biggest factors behind this, as people enjoyed the delicious food and drink provided to them while also being able to save their earnings for their own personal use. To capitalize on this, and also earn back a bit of the money that was being paid out, several restaurants, taverns, and entertainment facilities were opened in the populous regions.
The taverns were supplied with unique food and drink that had never been seen in the City previously and, as for the entertainment facilities, they were often fitted with [Projection Sphere]s that were constantly showing the sports matches that were often being played these days. Since being an athlete paid 'very' well, and there were far more females in the City than males, the number of teams had quickly increased.
Many women, who previously were only able to make a living in the service and entertainment industry, if they didn't want to fight for their lives in the Dungeon, were drawn to the idea of becoming athletes and earning high pay for relatively safe and easy work. This did result in something rather unexpected, however, as sports were becoming an increasingly popular spectator sport with all current teams, for both Soccer and Volleyball, being women only. It might have been because of the social climate, but most men were still either Laborers or Adventurers and would rather watch the rather scantily clad women play sports than try to play themselves. There were also far fewer organizations that wanted to support and sponsor men's teams and, without enough interest to make a league, there were currently no matches played by men within the Coliseums.
Though this had bothered Vahn at first, there were actually very few complaints among the general populous and, as the interest for men was simply lacking, he didn't try to force the issue. One thing he did push for, however, was the inclusion of Amazonian women into 'sports' as it had always bothered him that their only means of living previously had been either being prostitutes or Adventurers, most of the time both. The fact that they had amazingly athletic figures, as a result of their training since childhood, made them incredible athletes and, after a bit of effort, they had become the dominant force within the industry.
Vahn had been hoping to change how the various races were seen in the City and, to ensure that he had more sway when going to Telkyura in the future, he figured actions like these would have far-reaching effects on the future. This also had the side effect of making him 'very' popular with Amazons in general, to the point that groups would sometimes stop by the Hearth Manor or linger around the areas he sometimes frequented. Fortunately, as he was often very busy, he was able to avoid the mobs of healthy brown flesh 'most' of the time.
It wasn't just his popularity with the Amazons that had been increasing, as his reputation and rapport with the general public had reached the point that he was a common name in almost every meaningful conversation, for better or worse. Within the Elven Kingdom, there had actually been a push to make Larfal step down and, instead of being the acting Prime Minister, the people had wanted him to become King. The reforms he had introduced to the Kingdom had already started to have a major impact on the lives of everyone within the Kingdom's borders.
Though he had held onto it at first, Vahn had eventually started teaching a few skilled Elven [Blacksmith]s how to create a basic template for the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing]. The key components still needed to be created by him, so as to protect the 'secret' of his and Terra's blood, but it was still possible for the main band to be produced by others. As for the crest, Vahn had actually reached out to the skilled Priestesses of the former High Priestess Faction and started teaching a few of them how to apply the crest. He also took time out of his day to apply a few and, as a result of his proficiency increasing, Vahn could complete the entire pattern within a short fifteen minutes. This made him a little too popular with some of the Elven women, but his 'obstinance' in not increasing the number of girls around him had held out, thus far.
With the availability of the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing], the very obvious increase in the number of women possessing what was now being called the 'Sage's Mark', and the techniques Vahn had been teaching Elven Physicians, the Elven Kingdom was now experiencing a population boom. Within the course of a single year, the number of children being born, which typically hovered between 300-500, had jumped up to a monstrous 10,908. Even several older Elven women, who had already stopped having children for fear of death, had 'helped' out. Riveria eventually had to put restrictions on this, so as to prevent a situation where there were too few adults to tend to the children, but it was still a major event that had elevated Vahn's status to one of reverence from the perspective of the Elves.
One troublesome matter was that Sylfia had never given up on her pursuit of him and, after interacting with many of the girls he brought to visit the Elven Kingdom, she had 'integrated' herself into the girls' social circle. Even Lefiya, who had opposed the idea at first, had started to come around on the issue after learning how much she had in common with Sylfia. They were both rather unfortunate, made orphans in their youth while Sylfia actually had to keep her existence a secret for decades. Then, though she wasn't as prodigious as Lefiya, Sylfia also had a keen interest in Magic and had been able to reach Level 5 without ever leaving the Elven Kingdom. This, combined with the fact that they were both considered 'Daughter's of Wishe', eventually made the two girls as close as sisters, instead of distant cousins.
Even so, Vahn had continued to be 'obstinant' and it seemed, at least on the surface, that Sylfia had stopped pressing the matter. This, however, didn't mean she had given up as, instead of rushing things, she had confided in Riveria and Lefiya that she was willing to wait for up to a hundred years if it meant she could eventually bear his child. When Vahn had learned of this, it had caused him to seriously consider the matter for a while but, with the birth of even more of his children, it prevented him from acting on his thoughts. After all, as Sylfia herself pointed out, she was still very young and had her duties as High Priestess, even if the organization itself publically held very little power now...
With the passage of a year, Eina, Lili, Naaza, Freya, Eirene, Demeter, and Preasia all ended up giving birth to beautiful and healthy children. Eina's daughter, Eiko, had been an adorable little Half-Elf with slightly darker hair than Eina but similarly emerald green eyes. Her Guardian was a Gemcutter Squirrel, a tiny creature with chestnut brown fur and green stripes along its back. As for Lili, she gave Vahn a rather big scare during her pregnancy but had managed to give birth very easily, even though his expectations had caused him to fret over her safety. Pallum children were actually 'very' small and he could hardly hold them without feel a bit of panic after they had been born.
The triplets ended up being identical to each other, possessing light brown hair and pale green eyes. Though Vahn and Lili could easily tell them apart, they ended up having unique baby clothes that had the names Rose, Iris, and Daisy. It was common for Pallum names to be related to their origin, sometimes even having names like Pot, Pan, and Stone, but Lili had chosen flower names for her daughters, hoping they were able to bloom into beautiful and vibrant young girls under the care of everyone in the Manor. Each also had the exact same Guardian, a creature that didn't previously exist with Danmachi, known as Mountain Corgi. They were small, dog-like creatures that had tiny legs but contained a very pure Earth Elemental energy, just like Lili's daughters.
Naaza had become an almost overly affectionate girl during her pregnancy, often showing a melancholic expression whenever she interacted with others while Vahn wasn't around. As a result, Vahn tried to tend to her whenever he could and, when she finally gave birth, it ended up being to a very healthy young Chienthrope boy with brown hair and an adorable little tail that trembled and wagged slightly whenever he was happy. He ended up being named Macht, a strange name that she had apparently been brooding over during the times he was absent. As for his Guardian, Macht ended up have a strange creature called a Deepwater Salamander that looked like a somewhat rounded lizard, close to an eel, that had moist and cool skin.
Wrapping up the mortal births, Preasia had ended up getting pregnant during one of the times she and Vahn had made love. It had come as a bit of a surprise to both of them, as Preasia spent most of her time sleeping and Vahn was often busy with other things. She was nearly five weeks pregnant before anyone noticed the signs, the result of Preasia's constitution making it so that she never had morning sickness. It wasn't until Demeter, who had been visiting the Manor, pointed it out that anyone had been aware she was expecting. Preasia had been very happy and wondered if her child would inherit her 'fluffy' body, an important question that Vahn was also very curious to see the result of. He knew it should be possible to inherit Innates, as could be seen with Milan and Tina, but he had never been able to 'confirm' this theory as of yet.
When Preasia finally gave birth, Vahn was blessed with his third son and, to their pleasant surprise, the young Sheep Person did indeed have a light layer of downy fur covering his body. Vahn actually felt it was more surprising to see two tiny nub-like horns poking out behind his son's temples, as it seemed like something that could have injured Preasia during the delivery. However, when he touched them, Vahn discovered they were very soft and should even be malleable. Later on, he actually learned that some tribes of Sheep People actually 'shaped' their horns during their younger years to express themselves. Those that typically became warriors would force their horns to stick out to points while most females allowed their's to curve naturally.
Vahn's third son was named Lucas while his Guardian ended up being a Stonebreaker Mountain Ram, a somewhat 'peculiar' guardian that was strangely suitable. They were a species of Ram that were used as mounts in the highlands regions on the Continent, which is where many of the warrior tribes of Beast Humans resided. This made it appear as though Lucas would become a warrior himself but, Vahn had a suspicion that his son would actually take after his mother a great deal. Though all infants slept a lot, Lucas almost never seemed to wake up, even when he was feeding or had soiled his diaper. The only times Vahn had seen his son 'awake' was when he spent time with Preasia taking care of him within the Dreamscape...
Though the births of each of his children had been impactful moments, it was the arrival of three new Vanir into the Manor that had caused the biggest stir. Freya ended up giving birth after only seven months, making her pregnancy one of the fastest thus far. As expected, she ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl with silver hair and silvery-blue eyes. However, confirming Vahn's speculation, their daughter did not seem to take after the Lenneth from the Divination, even though Freya had come up with the same name. Instead of an unstable young Vanir with a pseudo-Divinity related to 'Sex', this Lenneth seemed to possess fragments related to Love and War, giving her a simultaneously calm, yet fierce, disposition.
Though Lenneth was very attached to him, it wasn't greater than the attachment Ina had when she had first been born and she hadn't shown any signs of a more troublesome inclination. As for her Guardian, it ended up being a True Silver Dragon which, as its name implied, meant it was a True Dragon covered with silver scales. However, instead of having reptilian wings that were covered with scales and dragon leather, it had beautiful white feathery wings that were soft, yet retained a metallic property similar to Terra's and Alexa's...
Eirene's pregnancy had been a 'standard' nine months and the delivery itself had been one of the smoothest Vahn had ever experienced, after Tsubaki's rather 'magical' delivery. Like the other Vanir, and Vahn suspected this would always be the case unless they 'wanted' a son, Eirene also gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with aqua blue hair and similarly blue eyes. Eirene named their daughter Aisha, meaning 'Hope', as she claimed it was very similar to his own name which, to Vahn's surprise, also meant 'Hope'. It was Eirene's wish that their daughter takes after him and become a person that always helps other people, giving the young Vanir a smile that seemed to melt the hearts of anyone that looked upon her, much like how Ina had.
Aisha's Guardian ended up being a Starweaver Pegasi, possessing a beautiful fur that was hard to discern between blue and black. All over its body, small lights would glimmer like stars and it had eyes similar to galaxies that seemed to swirl around if you stared into them for too long. It's most striking feature, however, were its beautiful wings, possessing a similar color as its pelt but appearing almost crystalline in structure. Whenever it would extend its wings fully, it would appear as though there were constellations glimmering across it, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight that had caused even Fatina to humble itself, just a little...
Demeter was the last of the goddesses to give birth, for the time being, and her pregnancy had lasted nearly ten months. Vahn's relationship with Demeter had been more than a little peculiar as, though they did the deed, it had been less passionate than he expected. The first time he had sex with Demeter, she behaved a lot like Eina and simply took care of him, trying to help him relax. He had been very busy with several matters at the time and Vahn always felt a little guilty when he interacted with her after the fact. Demeter herself, however, didn't seem to mind it at all and would instead always try to comfort and pamper him, giving Vahn the impression she was far more 'motherly' than he had expected. When she started staying at the Manor during the latter half of her pregnancy, Demeter had actually replaced Tsubaki as the Manor's 'de facto' Mother, often giving people advice and simply being someone you could easily confide in.
Demeter, not breaking the trend, also ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, bestowing the name Autumn upon her. She had the same honey-colored hair as her mother but, instead of orange and placid eyes, Autumn's were a rich green that could almost rival Eina's and Riveria's in purity. Like her mother, Autumn almost seemed incapable of having an expression that didn't include a smile. She was a very quiet and gentle girl, rarely speaking unless spoken to and, when you did speak with her, she would silently listen and just smile. Her Guardian was somewhat strange, compared to the other Vanir, as it took on the form of an Ox known as a Heaven-Bearing Ox. When it had popped up in the middle of the delivery room, it had been a bit of a shock since it was the size of a small cow and had already weight more than 500kgs...
With the birth of Autumn, Vahn now had a shocking eighteen children, even though it hadn't been that long since the birth of his first. Among the Vanir, there were Ina, Vana, Erika, Lenneth, Aisha, and Autumn. On the side of the 'mortals', comprised of numerous different races, there were his daughters, Meinya, Anise, Sakuya, Alise, Eiko, Rose, Iris, and Daisy, as well as his sons, Masonia, Macht, and Lucas. Wrapping up everything, though they were technically not related to each other by blood, was his clever and prodigious little Alexa, now more than 116 years old while appearing around ten years old, physically...
Alexa wasn't the only one with an age that didn't match her appearance, however, as Vana, Ina, and Erika, now being around two years old, had appearances that would cause others to mistake them as teens. It was a little sad, seeing his daughters grow up so quickly, as it felt like time had passed by far faster than he would have liked, especially since he had been busy over the last fourteen months. Though he was still very close with all of his daughters, to the point that they often all slept together, it was still heartbreaking how independent they were all becoming. Fortunately, Lenneth and Aisha, now appearing around 3-5 years old, were both adorable and very affectionate young Vanir. Autumn was also developing quickly and, even though she only had the appearance of a toddler around fourteen months old, she had already been able to speak a few words fluently...
Vahn felt like he never had enough time to spend with his children, even though he had been spending progressively more and more with them as the months continued. Some of the younger 'mortal' children were beginning to crawl around, making broken sentences and beginning to socialize with each other while a few exceptional ones had appeared as well. Little Meinya was already able to run around the house at this point and, though she was a little troublemaker, Vahn's heart would melt whenever he saw her following around Vana on their Adventures.
Vana had been a very caring 'elder' sister to most of the girls, mellowing out a bit as she continued to grow and develop. She spent her time split between training, playing with animals, and looking after her younger siblings. Though she was still a little firecracker, prone to emotional outbursts when she got excited, she had adopted a more calm and carefree disposition, closer to Tsubaki than the troublemaker she had been in the past. This change had been a result of the time she had spent with the latter, learning how to fight, and her close relationship with Rufina, who often stopped by and spent time within the illusory forest and interacting with the children.
As for Ina, the second oldest of the Vanir, and Vana's twin, she was still a very affectionate young lady who was often teased for being a Papa's girl. However, this didn't seem to bother her at all and she actually seemed to have a bit of pride about it, especially after she took over his old workshop. Ina had quickly reached a level of proficiency in forging, crafting, and mechanical skills that would have put many craftsmen to shame. She spent most of her days creating new inventions, sometimes not leaving her workshop at all until she had finished one of the projects she was working on, or someone came to pull her away from them, a task generally delegated to Vahn.
Vahn had allowed Ina access to much of his personal research and also provided her hundreds of books to help expand her knowledge on the things she had been interested in. As a result, she actually managed to make an invention that had stunned Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and himself. This took on the form of a gauntlet that covered the hand and forearm but, instead of simply providing protecting, it had an inner layer of artificial mana circuits that made the gauntlet closer to a robotic hand than a simple piece of armor. It could give the wearer a large increase in their strength, even if their Power was rather low, while also enhancing magic spells by using the artificial magic circuits as a catalyst...it was a very revolutionary invention, unlike anything the world had ever seen before...
As for Erika, she had steadily been increasing her knowledge and, similar to Vana, experienced a shift in her personality. Instead of being quiet and reserved all the time, while also being easily embarrassed, Erika had opened up a lot more. She spent a lot of time talking with others, trying to learn more about interacting and socializing so that she could help everyone solve the troubles on their heart and mind. At the same time, she spent the majority of her study-time focused on magical studies and had already become a skilled Mage, even if she was still at the 'beginner' level as far as magical power was concerned. Unfortunately, as the Vanir were unable to have Falna crests carved onto their backs, it was currently impossible to see how strong any of them had actually become...
This wasn't the case for the other girls in the Manor, however, as their strength had also reached an almost 'ridiculous' degree after spending their time between the Dungeon and the Sub-Space orb. In fact, though Vahn had been able to reach Level 6, that was now the 'average' Level amongst the girls that made up the combatants in the Manor. Even Tsubaki, who didn't venture in the Dungeon that much, managed to reach Level 7 while most of the girls within Vahn's own generation were now all Level 6 or higher. Leading the pack were Ais, Tiona, and Haruhime, annoying Tione a bit since her younger sister had clearly become much stronger than her. However, she was still around the peak of Level 6 and was determined to become the more capable Mage between them, a feat that shouldn't be that difficult considering Tiona's own capacity as a Mage was lacking, still having a whopping 0 Magic Parameter...
(A/N: Greetings, it is me, Time-Skip-sama. I actually intended Volume 15 to wrap up a little faster than it had so, in order to cut down on quite a few chapters, I'm using the reforms taking place with the Elven Kingdom to accelerate time a great deal. Though there will still be some slice of life elements, mainly related to Vahn's relationship with the girls and his children, there will be a bigger focus on plot progression for the next 200-300 chapters. I know some people will be upset that Vahn's first time with Demeter wasn't portrayed, but I intend to 'make it up' to her a little bit later on, so stay tuned. The main reason for this is that it would have taken a lot of chapters to wrap up things within the Elven Kingdom, especially with things going on within Orario and the Hearth Manor. I know there are a lot of people looking forward to Vahn's adventures in other worlds so, to ensure that we're still on schedule, I had to speed things up a bit. However, if this is upsetting for a lot of people, I will simply remove this chapter and focus on slower developments and several smaller time skips instead. Since this will be the only chapter of EPIC today, I'll wait to see the comment section's consensus on things before making the final decision. Also, I know some of you have been worried about my health but, after getting a checkup, know that there are no major issues. The reason for my migraines had been the result of an inner ear infection that spread into the bone and caused a great deal of pain that eventually transitioned into migraines. I took antibiotics and pain killers to deal with it previously and the current headaches are just a combination of improper hydration (I had to get an IV xD) and other stress factors. Don't worry too much, as I'll do better to eat healthier foods and have a water filter near my workstation to stay hydrated.)
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Change you can believe in (UwU)~!','Holy shit, eighteen children...and one more on the way!?','Ina is Tony Stark (O_O)...')
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