章節 810: Intuition
After letting the expedition rest for a couple of hours, all the while monsters continued to besiege the barrier, it was time for them to progress into the 37th Floor, the beginning of the White Palace. Though Vahn had initially wanted to make it all the way to the 39th Floor and rest on Lil Geirr, the number of monsters inhibiting their advance was far beyond his expectations. At any one moment, the corridors and caverns would be filled with tens of thousands of monsters that were trying to halt their advance. Since he had been worried that Lil Geirr was also under attack, Vahn had even sent Ais, Tiona, Maemi, and Emiru to break through the blockade and go provide support.
Since there were only a few Floors separating them, Vahn was able to maintain contact with the girls and learned that, against expectations, Lil Geirr had only been assaulted a few times. This meant that Enyo's forces were specifically targetting the expedition and, quite possibly, there could be something carried by one of its members that was drawing them in. After all, he hadn't expected Enyo to put so much effort into stopping their progress since it made it very apparent that something 'unnatural' was occurring. In his original calculations, she should have already learned about the plans to build a settlement on the 50th Floor and would have been planning some kind of ambush for them, not proactively wasting forces just trying to stall...
Vahn had told the girls to continue defending Lil Geirr since there was no way of knowing if the situation would change and, though the defenses of the small fortress were rather high, the combat capabilities of their individual members left something to be desired. Other than people like Gareth, Bete, and a few other Elites, the only means by which they could turn away a wave of monsters was entirely dependent on the defensive wards and ballistae that had been installed. Other than that, the defenders would have to rely on ranged weaponry while anyone capable enough to fight up close would struggle to try and hold ground against the numbers that the expedition was currently facing.
Once the expedition had prepared to move out again, Vahn slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a sigh as Alexa quickly released his back and relied on her own wings to remain airborne. She looked down at the monsters that were futilely striking at the barrier, a cold glint in her aquamarine eyes as she asked, "Papa, can I kill them...?" Vahn stretched his body, as he had been stationary for nearly six hours, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, but don't overextend yourself. It would be best if you barrage them with a few big attacks and then return to my side."
Alexa smiled excitedly, saying, "I understand, Papa, leave it to me~!" as she flicked her wings and created a shockwave with her sudden acceleration. Vahn slowly began moving along with the expedition but kept his back towards the front as he observed Alexa wreak a bit of havoc on the enemies. She created green spheres of condensed magical power in her hands that had dark black cores that radiated with what looked like green electricity. Whenever she tossed them into a group of monsters, the spheres wouldn't simply explode, but instead expanded in an instant before persisting for several seconds. When they finally faded away, the only thing remaining was a perfect hemispherical hole where monsters had previously stood.
The attack spell that Alexa was using is something she had created for herself, an unnamed spell that was comprised of Space, Darkness, and a small amount of source energy to contain it. This was why the attack was nearly soundless as, even though the destructive energies inside were terrifying, they still couldn't overwhelm the thin membrane of source that had been used as a stabilizer. Anything unfortunate enough to be trapped inside was devoured by the Darkness as the space around them was completely isolated for external energies. Even if they had a teleportation ability, unless it was an Innate, there would be few means by which most enemies could even escape Alexa's attacks.
After lobbing eight of her terrifyingly destructive magic sphere, Alexa quickly created a few shockwaves as she zipped back to his side, breathing a little heavily but still smiling. Vahn extended his arm and let Alexa come forward to hug him while he helped to replenish her energy and keep pace with the expedition. This cycle repeated a few times and, though he knew she would probably be okay, Vahn didn't let his attention fall away from Alexa whenever she was fighting monsters. Even if she was a True Dragon, he couldn't help but worry about her, regardless of the fact that most enemies couldn't threaten her even if they landed a direct hit.
At the same time that Alexa was helping the Haruhime's Rearguard Unit thin out their pursuers, Lefiya was surrounded by a perpetual pink magic circle as dozens of smaller magic circles formed behind her back like wings. Whenever she would see a large group of enemies, she would send forth a beam of magical power that would cut through any enemies unfortunate enough to meet its path before exploding against the ground and creating an explosion nearly 20m in diameter. The fact that she could send out 79 such attacks at once made Lefiya's role within the group of Mages the most important. It also helped that, standing a short distance from her, Ryuu was using her bow to immediately pick off any variant monsters that might appear. They couldn't even hope to defend against her arrows, each compressed Star Elemental energy that naturally counteracted the very existence of mana constructs like monsters...
Though the girls were the most dominant forces on the battlefield, it wasn't as if they were doing all of the work. In fact, if not for Vahn's ability to replenish their energy reserves and the large number of consumable items they had available, it might not even be possible to progress as smoothly as they had been. Fortunately, the girls were able to conserve the majority of their strength to mislead Enyo's forces, instead, allowing the expedition itself to do handle most enemies. Having hundreds of Adventurers that were Level 3 and higher made short work of most monsters, as each of them was able to fight off dozens of enemies with ease while the 'normal' Mages were able to clear out large groups that exerted pressure on the convoy.
Even the construction crew and Supporters were helping out, using crossbows, miniature ballistae, and a few of the [Burst Oil] potions that Asfi had mass-produced within the sub-space orb. Each potion was enough to create a small inferno that could cover an area of around 8m, tearing through the defenses of most monsters with ease. With the help of Naaza, Chloe, Shizune, Lili, and Vahn himself, they had made more than three thousand of the highly useful explosive potions. If they ran low, Vahn could even purchase more from the system shop but, given the fact that they had the resources and it also saved him a great deal of OP, he preferred having them made from scratch.
Thus far, other than a few light injuries that had been easily dealt with, everything was proceeding relatively smoothly. This fact, however, caused Vahn to be on even higher alert, especially during the moments when Arnya, Mikoto, and Lili were clearing out the Coliseums. Since it was very difficult for those inside to get out, Vahn was worried that an unexpected attack would occur while their forces were split. Fortunately, the three girls were able to completely annihilate the monsters barring further passage while he had been waiting with Alexa, Haruhime, Ryuu, Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. The latter two hadn't had the opportunity to showcase their skills just yet, but Vahn knew they would have a chance in the near future.
Using this same strategy, the expedition continued forward in relatively high spirits as Finn directed everyone in a tight formation. The second Unit, comprised of a large number of members of the Ganesha Familia, was their weakest spot. However, as this was also where Vahn and Alexa were located, it was simultaneously the safest place to be for the weaker members of the expedition. Things were intentionally designed this way to draw attention to the 'center' of the formation, especially if there were someone intelligent guiding the monsters' actions. The majority of those making up the leadership of the Alliance was very aware of the existence of Enyo at this point, so morale had been high, even under the constant barrage of monsters.
After clearing through the White Palace, the expedition filtered into where the Udaeus would normally spawn but, after the girls passed through the previous day, it had been easily defeated. The room had been so damaged from the fight that, even though the Dungeon would heal over time, there were several indicators of the battle that had occurred. Vahn knew that Ais, Tiona, and Tione had let Maemi and Emiru take it on by themselves, so it wasn't too surprising to see how much damage remained in the area. After all, Maemiru was powerful enough to defeat the combined efforts of many of the other girls, assuming she wasn't already injured beforehand...
While the expedition made its way through the wide-open room, Vahn didn't drop his guard for a single moment, even though the waves of enemies had temporarily stopped. His intuition was telling him that something was 'wrong' but, even after they had clearly progressed into the next Floor, nothing had happened. As a result, the expedition continued forward until they were very near the entrance to the 39th Floor. The waves of monsters had started from the moment they entered into the 38th Floor, but the open space was actually to the advantage of the Alliance and made it relatively easy to continue forward since they were no longer 'funneled' inward.
Even as they entered into the 39th Floor, Vahn suspicion that something was 'wrong' kept nagging at his mind, almost affirming that it was something within the expedition itself that was setting off this feeling. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to sense any abnormalities, even after inspecting every single person within the expedition with his senses. Not only did he search their aura, but Vahn even went out of his way to inspect their clothing, view their bodies with his [Eyes of Truth], and even transform into his Baihu form to try and sense something. The only thing this accomplished was making the 'danger' feel even stronger, but Vahn couldn't identify the source at all...
Once the expedition managed to enter into Lil Geirr and begin setting up camp, the girls that had trailblazed regrouped with the main group and Vahn took the initiative to call together a council of all the Unit Commanders. He gathered Finn, Shakti, and Haruhime into the Command Tent while a little over twenty other executives filed in to listen to his orders. Without beating around the bush at all, Vahn explained, "I can't ascertain the source, but there is something within the expedition itself that is causing my instincts to trigger. Though that might not sound convincing, know that I'm absolutely certain there is something seriously 'wrong' about how things have been going..."
Following his words, Finn immediately nodded his head and added, "Vahn is right. My own instincts have been going off for a while now. My thumb is so itchy that I can hardly prevent myself from gnawing it off..." To emphasize this, Finn raised his hand and showed the teeth marks on his glove with a wry smile on his face. His 'thumb' was a very well known quirk so, even though they hadn't exactly discounted Vahn's words, most people were convinced by the fact that both people with the highest authority were in agreement. The only peculiarity, which Vahn was surprised he had overlooked, was that Rufina's aura began to shake a little while she sat at the side with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Seeing her behavior, Vahn wondered if his feeling was somehow related to her and, even though he was resolved to hold onto it, Vahn was tempted to use the [Fate Severing Knife] on her. For the time being, however, he just closed his eyes as if he were in deep thought and inspected Rufina in greater detail than he had before. It was his mistake to have overlooked giving a detailed inspection of the people he had already trusted, even though Rufina's fate was intertwined with the Dungeon itself. He was relieved to see that there wasn't anything particularly strange with her, even though she clearly understood he was looking based on her body language and aura...
Vahn smiled comfortingly to her and sent a telepathic message to Tiona and Chloe to try and look after her once the meeting was over. At the same time, he had started to discuss the best course of action to take in determining the cause of the abnormality. The simplest solution seemed to be separating everyone that had a 'negative' aura and spending a few extra days in Lil Geirr to determine the cause by investigating everything in detail. There were a couple of thousand people that currently resided in Lil Geirr itself, including laborers, artisans, and construction workers. It wouldn't be that difficult to rotate them out in exchange for greater benefits for those that would volunteer for the journey...
Finn listened to Vahn's plan of action before nodding his head in agreement, trusting Vahn's judgment as he said, "I believe this is one of our best options right now. However, we should also extend our investigation to everyone in the expedition while helping bolster the defenses of Lil Geirr. We've all seen how abnormal the monsters are acting and, even though we're in a 'safe area', there have already been several small attacks over the last twenty-four hours. Considering it would sometimes be weeks between similar attacks, it is clear to see that there is a greater scheme afoot here. We can't expose any weakness that could be exploited by our enemies so, until we get to the bottom of this, we should stay put and consolidate our forces."
Shakti and Haruhime immediately gave their approval and, even though that would have been all that was required, the matter was still put to a vote. The representatives of the merchant and construction Familia also acceded to the ruling very quickly, even though some of the merchant Familia members were obviously a little nervous. Many of them knew that some of their members were less than reputable individuals and would likely be weeded out by any thorough investigation. Even so, they wouldn't pass up the opportunity to set up shops within the 50th Floor this time around, even if the number of clients they had would likely be extremely few for the first few years. They were in this for the long-term investment of such an ambitious project and, missing the opportunity when they had the backing and protection of the Alliance would be one of the greatest chances they ever let slip.
Vahn understood what the merchants were thinking but didn't mind it that much as he had discussed their participation with Minerva and Fortuna before following their advice. Though he could easily establish a monopoly for various goods, the two goddesses explained that it was good to at least create the semblance of competition. This would give people the illusion that things weren't exclusively controlled by the Alliance and encourage more merchants and business owners to make the migration. At the same time, the Alliance would be establishing a Merchant's Guild in conjunction with the actual Guild representatives, this time comprising of a group of three people, one elderly Elven man, and two youthful looking Human women.
With the 'unanimous' approval to conduct an investigation, everyone was denied 'leave' to explore Lil Geirr until they had provided the proper documentation and had both their personal belongings and bodies thoroughly investigated. Though some of the female members had complained about this kind of treatment, they had quieted down after learning that Vahn would personally conduct the search. For better or worse, it was times like this where his reputation, the amicable aura he emitted from his body, and the influence of his [Charm] Development Skill were able to show off their usefulness. Fortunately, he was still back at the Manor and was able to vent some of his frustrations on the surprisingly docile Fenrir, having become more affectionate and submissive after their first few days together...
Given the fact there were more than 1300 people to go through, the investigation would obviously take a few days. To expedite things, Vahn had started off by identifying each of the members with dark and 'negative' auras, giving a list to Finn so he could call them forward first. It wasn't that surprising to Vahn that the majority inevitably confessed to various crimes they had committed, nor that nearly thirty people admitted to being plants by the Noble faction. As for how he was able to get them to admit to this, it was a combination of mental suppression, calming incense, and implanting suggestions in their mind using a few advanced hypnosis techniques. Though he would never use such things on the people he cared about, nor would he shamelessly exploit those under his influence, it was a very useful technique for prying information out of 'enemies'. At the very least, it was better than having to 'torture' it out of them, the method that Loki and Freya were a little 'too' fond of...
Other than the plants of the Nobles, and those that 'admitted' to the fact they intended to commit crimes in the new settlement, Vahn let the rest of the people go free. Many of these people, while having dark auras, were the victims of circumstance, pressured by criminal Familias on the surface, or simply wanted to 'migrate' into the Dungeon to escape from a difficult past. Vahn took pity on people like this and, after planting a ward inside of them that was designed to absorb negative energies, he let them go free.
As long as they didn't make any trouble in the future, he had no reason to put pressure on people that were trying to improve their lives. For those that had been victimized by other people, to the point that they were drawn into the darkness against their will, Vahn had them identify the people that pressured them. He would investigate them back on the surface and try to remove them so that they were unable to pressure other people into living similar lifestyles. In total, the number of people that were detained numbered 58 people, the majority being planted by the Nobles, those that had committed horrible crimes like rape and murder, and those that intended to try and illegally smuggle goods back to the surface.
After the first wave of people, everyone that followed came from the queue that had been situated outside. Vahn noticed that nearly every person to enter the tent after calling in the first person was a female. Some of them, taking the 'inspection' a little too seriously, even tried to strip down the moment the tent flap closed behind them. Since this type of behavior could be used to mislead him, Vahn remained unperturbed and closely inspected each person, even while explaining that he didn't require them to remove their clothes and just wanted to ask them a couple of questions.
The majority of such women pouted slightly but still answered his questions honestly. Some, however, took notice of the fact that he was 'eyeing' their bodies rather seriously and thought it was an opportunity to push their luck. By the end of the first evening, Vahn had lost count of the number of breasts he had seen while some of the more bold women had even entered the tent without panties from the start. The fact that the majority of such girls were Beast People and Amazonesses was something deeply ingrained into Vahn's mind...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's just sitting in the air, casually maintaining a barrier around 1300+ people while tens of thousands of monsters smash against it...','Alexa is a clingy little powerhouse','Wealth, Fame, Power...all of these could be yours...you just need to claim the one Vahn~!')(A/N: Even I think the last one is some sharp cheddar...)
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章節 811: Rumination
After the first round of the investigation had been completed, Vahn was sitting within the same tent that he used to inspect each of the expedition members. Sitting across from him was Finn and, having arrived to welcome the expedition much earlier, Gareth. They were all sipping on some [Dwarven Stout], with Finn partaking of a diluted solution that had been mixed with a much weaker ale. Gareth had snorted upon witnessing this but kept his opinion on the matter to himself as their discussion progressed. He was eyeing the liquid in his own mug as he asked, "So, what're the odds of Enyo attacking Lil Geirr? Do we need to start preparing for a war...?"
Vahn, tapping against the desk in a rhythmic fashion, brought his index finger to a stop as he responded, saying, "It's hard to be certain, especially with how things have been progressing. This is definitely not the limit of Enyo's forces so it almost doesn't even make sense that she would be trying to stop us. It would have made more sense for her to stage a massive attack the moment we tried setting up camp on the 50th Floor, especially since it should be closer to their base of operations. These actions are exposing her hand before there has even been any direct contact between our main forces...it doesn't make any sense..."
Because of how strange this matter had been, Vahn even went out of his way to meet up with Freya, Minerva, Nike, and Polemos, all gods possessing War and Wisdom Divinities. They were similar to his 'war council' and served as his advisors during situations where he might not be able to infer the answer from his own limited perspective. However, even they couldn't understand why Enyo, who had been keeping hidden for so long, would suddenly oppose the expedition in such a direct manner. In fact, Nike pointed out that, since Enyo obviously had the means to control monsters, she would have forced the expedition to retreat by sending waves into the upper Floors and trying to attack the City directly.
Though the City certainly wasn't helpless, having enough powerful monsters climb up through the upper Floors would effectively wipe out most weak Adventurers, potentially destroy the settlement on the 18th Floor, and force a restructuring of the defensive forces on the surface. If Enyo truly wanted to prevent them from entering, it would have made sense for her to completely ignore the expedition and pull their focus away entirely. Instead, she was clashing head-on with the expedition, which was the main reason Vahn began to suspect there was 'something' else going on.
Finn, seemingly a little tipsy at this point, gave a nasally 'hnnn' before making a speculative guess of his own, saying, "Maybe the point of their strategy is to throw us off by acting in an unexpected way from the very beginning. The feeling you have may not be coming from within the expedition itself, but may pertain to something going on 'away' from the expedition...maybe this is a big misdirect, or a means to buy more time so they can finish their preparations on the 50th Floor...?" Though he was speaking in a somewhat absentminded manner, Finn's words rang with a bit of wisdom that had caused Vahn to fall into reflection once again...
Though he might not have investigated every small detail, his cursory look over the expedition when they were traveling hadn't exactly been performed hastily. In fact, as everyone else was focused on the battle occurring, it would have been more difficult for them to keep secrets from his eyes and senses. Even when they announced the investigation, though there was a bit of dissatisfaction, nobody tried to sneak away or cause a scene. In fact, after getting some alcohol, setting up an entertainment tent, and making some delicious food available, most people had gotten wrapped up in a festive atmosphere. Now that Finn made his speculation known, Vahn was beginning to think there might be a fair bit of truth to the matter...
Gareth also seemed to be entertaining the idea and, after taking a hearty gulp of his stout, asked, "Ye' have one of yer bodies up on tha surface, right? Think you ought to issue an alert through the Alliance 'n start preparin' for an attack. If Finn's right, I expect that Enyo might be tryin' ta get you to focus more on what is going on in the Dungeon. By tha time ya get down to the 50th Floor, it would be a little difficult to turn around if somethin' started happenin' on the Upper Floors." After working alongside Finn for more than a decade, Gareth had a great deal of trust in the Pallum's intuition and didn't want to leave anything to chance.
Vahn just nodded his head, remaining silent because he had already issued the alert at the same time as his 'war council'. It was impossible to have a gathering of War and Wisdom gods where they wouldn't have already come up with such an idea. Though their speculation didn't run down the same line as Finn's, they were very aware of the possibility of a misdirect and, knowing about the divinations of Cassandra and Sylfia, they weren't going to take chances. Since a lot of the Alliance's war potential was concentrated inside of the Dungeon right now, it was even more important for them to maintain proper accountability for their members and the situation within the City in general.
Still, to follow up on Gareth's advice, Vahn went to talk with Eirene to have her increase the number of patrols occurring throughout the City, especially around the regions where construction was ongoing. Since this included Daedelus Street, and the artificial dungeon underneath, Vahn figured it would be prudent to focus their efforts there. If Enyo wasn't going to come up through Babel Tower, she would undoubtedly move her forces through the artificial dungeon. At the same time, he sent a personal message to Freya, even though Loki also had a paired logbook, asking her to station her Familia in the area as well. She almost immediately responded back, agreeing without any debate whatsoever before Loki added a few words of her own...
So that Gareth didn't think he was ignoring him, Vahn matched gazes with the amicable Dwarf and said, "Don't worry, we won't be caught off guard so easily. The Hearth Manor will be safe as long as Terra and myself are there, especially since we didn't bring all of our reserves into the Dungeon. I'm more worried that you and Finn hit the nail on the head, just with a different target than the most obvious. It's possible that Enyo may specifically target Lil Geirr and Rivira before she makes a move for the surface. The chances of her trying to cut off our escape from the Dungeon itself are quite high..."
Vahn's mind was brought back to the strange flowers that had produced the aphrodisiac, which his Inventory had been able to identify as [Viscum Eudicotyledons]. They were a type of flowering mistletoe, which was somewhat ironic, that had several different possible toxins contained within their spores depending on the structure of a special type of protein called 'lectins'. Other than the aphrodisiac spores, the most common spore produced would cause severe gastrointestinal problems, including debilitating stomach pain and spontaneous diarrhea. It was obviously a plant that had been designed for the sole purpose of serving as a distraction or causing chaos. Most Adventurers would have [Abnormal Resistance], which would prevent the majority of such effects, but it would be very effective on the general populous. Just imagining several million people running around like sex-crazed fiends, irrespective of age, race, or gender, was a terrifying thought...
However, using such methods in an open area would have a significantly reduced effect, leading Vahn to believe that Enyo may try to 'flood' the Upper Floors with the spores to cut off their route of retreat. Eventually, though it could take several months, it was possible for her to slowly extend the influence of the spoors between the 18th and 24th Floors until the entire area became almost impassable without specialized equipment. Fortunately, such equipment was easily purchasable through the system shop but it still didn't discount the fact that Enyo's forces could easily wipe out, at the very least, the settlement on the 18th Floor...
After Vahn gave his take on things, the tent became very quiet for several minutes as all three men ruminated over the best course of action. Vahn himself was starting to feel a nagging frustration that had been replaced by the familiar cooling energy from his [Will of the Emperor]. Honestly, he was getting fed up with these types of situations and was very tempted to throw caution to the wind and dive into the Dungeon with a small group of Elites and just target Enyo directly. He could even go on his own and, even if his body ended up getting destroyed, his soul would be entirely unaffected and reform with his Avatar on the surface. After that, he could always produce a second Avatar and then just repeat the process until Enyo's forces just 'break'...
The only thing preventing him from taking this course of action were things like Eva's advice, the guidance from Sis, and the non-negligible chance that Enyo may have a way to seal him away, at least temporarily. Though he would potentially be able to destroy his own body, or even call Terra to his side for assistance, there were simply too many unknowns to make such a bold risk. It was infinitely safer to put pressure on Enyo's forces, focus on the establishment of Haven, and slowly whittle them down through overwhelming power and resources.
Eventually, something would have to give and Enyo would be forced to try and contend with Haven directly, exposing the errant goddess and giving Vahn the chance to deal with her directly. He even had the option that, after finishing the establishment of Haven, diving into the Dungeon with Haven serving as a waypoint. This would save him a lot of time and effort while also creating a place for the girls to fall back to if things got dangerous. Since they would undoubtedly be involved in the fighting that was to come, having a base of operations to rest and recuperate were incredibly important...
Ironically, though he wasn't exactly fond of the idea, one of the best options was to simply wait for Bell to become strong enough to 'trigger' whatever events fate had machinated for the boy. Vahn was trying to accelerate Bell's growth so that he would become useful, not necessarily to resolve the problem, but to serve as a means of directing the problem in a controlled manner. Vahn believed that, if he and Bell were both involved in the situation, events would undoubtedly transpire around Bell. This made it much easier to plan around things because they would always know the approximate location where events would take place. By simply observing Bell's actions, and comparing them against other variables, it might even be possible to predict the future, even without someone that has an ability related to divination. After all, 'fate' and 'karma' were far more reliable things than any form of future sight that wasn't directly related to looping through time.
To bolster Bell's growth even further, Vahn intended to try and strengthen the people around him since it would constantly urge Bell to grow even faster. At this point, it was easy to see that Bell had imprinted on him as the 'target' for his [Liaris Freese], so Vahn had been trying to make the boy feel somewhat indebted towards him. Though there was certainly no resentment coming from Bell about the help he had received, Vahn could tell that it bothered the boy. It was because of this that Vahn had 'challenged' Bell to become stronger without having to use the second [Effigy of the Hero], as it would become a powerful motivator for the boy's growth. Once he obtained equipment that would allow him to push himself even further, Bell might even skyrocket to higher Levels in a very short period of time, especially with fate as his guide...
Realizing the 'best' option was to simply 'react' to whatever Enyo threw at him, the icy feeling in Vahn's mind increased in intensity. In truth, he didn't like the idea of simply waiting around, even if everything seemed to point towards that as being the best solution. He had already 'put off' several other things that were bothering him, especially the matters related to the Rakia Kingdom and the Iron Hills. If not for his resolution to avoid becoming the 'Emperor' version of himself from the Divination, Vahn felt it would just be easier to charge into the capital and 'remove' the cancer as he had in the Elven Kingdom.
The difference was, he had a very real reason to take action at that moment, especially with the coup that had been staged...if he just charged into two nations where he had no real power or influence, it would take much longer to bring about changes than it had with the Elven Kingdom. There, he had the support of the King, the High Priestess, and was even made the Prime Minister...none of which he would have once he essentially declared war on and slaughtered a large number of people...
Though he knew it wasn't likely the case, Vahn couldn't help looking over at Gareth and asking, "Gareth, you wouldn't happen to be some landed noble from a powerful family in the Iron Hills, would you...?" To this, Gareth began to laugh as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke in the world, even hammering the table a few times before he said, "Ah'm afraid not, ma boy. Before I came to Orario, I was nothing more than a miner who had a little bit of an ego, constantly gettin' myself in'ta trouble by accepting dangerous missions around volcanoes. Even so, I managed to make a name for myself an' have quite a few connections back in the Hills."
Vahn just waved his hand in a dismissive manner, not wanting to ruin any relationships that Gareth had established with his kinsmen. For someone like Gareth to associate with them, Vahn didn't believe they were part of the 'problem' and, even though it was a potential 'in' that he could make use of in the future, it wasn't opportune to do so right now. Still, the impatience he was feeling about everything was starting to wear at him and, at the very least, Vahn intended to vent a little bit when Enyo began moving. He intended to venture progressively deeper into the Dungeon after establishing Haven and harvesting a plethora of materials and OP that would serve towards completely his current goal. At the very least, he needed 10,000,000,000OP to complete his current objectives, meaning he needed to be somewhat frugal with his expenses whenever possible...
After another hour of drinking, Finn had been taken out of commission and was currently producing a pool of drool on the table, mumbling something about being too busy to change another diaper with an almost 'pained' expression on his face. Vahn and Gareth both laughed when seeing this, prompting Gareth to follow up and mention, "You know, I have a daughter of my own back in the Hills. Haven't talked to her after havin' a falling out though...damn, hard to believe it's already been thirteen years since I saw the lass...make sure you treasure the time you have with your children, Vahn, they grow up faster than you'd think..."
Vahn was tempted to retort something along the lines of 'you have no idea', but kept it to himself since he could see that Gareth had become melancholic after mentioning his daughter. Since he was currently 56, that meant Gareth had been 43 the last time he met his own child, something Vahn couldn't really imagine doing if he was in the same record as his children. Considering that Gareth was a Minor, that meant he was probably in his late teens or early twenties when he had a kid, making her around her mid-thirties, at the very least. Since it didn't seem like Gareth really wanted to talk about it, Vahn shelved his curiosity for the time being and intended to inquire about her later. After all, if he truly waged war on the Iron Hills, it would be a terrible tragedy if he accidentally deprived one of his few male friends of his own flesh and blood...
Slowly but surely, Gareth also started to succumb to the heavy alcohol and eventually ended up excusing himself after picking up the small keg and carrying it with him. He knew that Vahn couldn't actually get drunk and had only been 'humoring' him for the last few hours. Since he also knew that Vahn wouldn't mind if he took the 'remnants', Gareth happily snatched the keg and laughed boisterously as he made his way out of the tent. Finn had stirred a little from the loud laughter, enough to fall out of his chair and onto the ground, but ultimately remained asleep. As for Vahn, he finished the remainder of his glass and set a potion on the ground next to Finn before heading to his own tent. He had been able to sense that most of the girls had been waiting up for him and knew that Alexa was probably growing impatient with his absence.
After reaching the 'Hestia Familia' tent, Vahn was reunited with the girls and noticed the presence of two people he hadn't quite expected to see, Rufina and Shakti. It had turned out that, while he was watching over the encampment and busy with things back on the surface, the two girls had somehow found themselves staying within the Hestia Familia's tent. They were actually somewhat surprised to see him, as he hadn't slept a single night since the expedition began, with Rufina even asking, "What are you doing here?" in a mock hostile tone. Vahn, however, just released a small sigh and said, "I wonder..." before walking into the side room where the giant futon was and dropping onto his face with a thump.
Alexa had, very quickly, followed behind him and seized the initiative to claim the area immediately surrounding him. As if she was afraid the other girls would try to make a claim, she even used her wings to blanket him, something that made Vahn unsure of whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Ultimately, he just decided to let them sort it out themselves as the other girls had also started to meander into the room as they began teasing Alexa for her clingy behavior. At the same time, Haruhime and Lili had also moved to his immediate surroundings with Lefiya, showing a great deal of concern, even changing into her [Pactio] as she hesitantly asked, "Master...do you want me to wash your body...?"
To this, Vahn just sent her a telepathic message saying he was fine and saying he simply wanted to sleep for a bit to recover his mental energy. Though he had only sent this message to Lefiya, she quickly relayed it to the other things, causing the tent to become silent very quickly. They had wanted to talk about a few things before bed but, seeing Vahn appear genuinely tired, knew it could wait until the morning. As for Rufina and Shakti, they suddenly felt awkward for having intruded into the place they knew was Vahn's domicile.
In truth, they had just gotten a little carried away after having gotten along well with all of the other girls. When they received an invitation to stay in the tent, it had been pointed out that Vahn would undoubtedly be sleeping there as well. They had accepted this at the time but, until now, Vahn had never even shown up for a single moment. Now, they suddenly felt out of place and Shakti brought forth the idea of leaving to go set up a tent of their own nearby.
Around the same time that Shakti made this proposition, Haruhime poked her head out of the side room and said, "Come now, what are you two acting so shy for? We even have children sleeping in the room so you don't be afraid of just one sleeping boy...besides, will you really be satisfied if you keep hesitating~?" With a somewhat mischevious look on her face, Haruhime retreated back into the room and left the two girls alone with their thoughts. Eventually, Rufina got up with a huff and made her way towards the side room but ended up hesitating before making her way inside. Shakti, seeing this, released a sigh and, even though she felt like her life had taken a turn she had never expected, stood up to push Rufina into the room, following behind with a small blush on her face...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'War is never simple...','Vahn can't even drink his troubles away...','YOLO')
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