Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After coaxing Sarina with the use of his Petting Laws, Vahn waited for the two to finish eating before they all headed over to the nearest Outer Gate.

Though it wasn't strictly necessary, any Community aiming to improve their rank or claim territory needed to have an official name and banner. They also needed to register at least one Player, the official designation given to those with the capacity to participate in Gift Games.

Fortunately, there were no other requirements, so, after a brief interview at the nearest Outer Gate, Vahn, Sarina, and Nono were all given Player status. After that, they were given an ancient-looking grimoire to serve as an official record for each member of their Community. It also allowed those in charge to set Commandments, inviolable rules that other members of the Community would have to follow.

For the time being, the only Commandment Vahn and the girls agreed upon was, 'Be good to each other.' As for the name of their Community, the former decided to change things up a bit by calling it the Sage Dragon's Hearth. He would eventually go on to found the Aldrnari Empire, but, for the time being, he wanted to pay homage to his roots.

In Vahn's mind, a Hearth was synonymous with peaceful coexistence, warmth, and family. He even had a few Gift Cards associated with Hestia, so, for the sake of acting as a mediator between both Demons and the Divine, Vahn wanted his first Community to be founded on the principles of peace and civil discourse.

With that taken care of, Vahn decided to accompany Sarina and Nono until the two girls invariably became tired. He ended up taking them shopping, and, thanks to his various Gifts, he didn't have to worry about things like lack of funds. He could have simply produced clothes for them to wear, but, after traversing numerous Records and dozens of Actualized Worlds, Vahn had come to understand that girls, be they mortal or God, enjoyed shopping.

Since Nono had grown up in a rural desert village, her only experience with shopping was perusing a bazaar for imported goods. As for Sarina, she had grown up in a no-name Community, and, while her clothes were rather stylish for someone in her position, the truth of the matter was that the Nun in charge of their Community had splurged quite a bit in order to purchase the outfit as a gift for her tenth birthday.

Needless to say, Sarina and Nono enjoyed their first shopping spree quite a bit. Sarina ended up treating it as a mock date of sorts, asking for Vahn's opinion every time she tried on a new outfit. This gave Nono a similar idea, but, unlike her more rambunctious counterpart, most of the outfits she picked were relatively tame and modest dresses. Sarina had even attempted to convince Vahn to help her pick out a bra and panties, but, rather than humor her, he ultimately left the girls in the care of the female staff while they were picking out undergarments.

Unsurprisingly, the two girls had exhausted themselves by the time lunch was rolling around. This prompted Vahn to purchase the services of a Coolie, the colloquial term used to describe a person who pulled a rickshaw. There was nothing like automobiles or airships in the 7-Digit Gates, so, while it wasn't the fastest way to get around, traveling via rickshaw was a popular method to get around in the East Side.

During their shopping spree, Vahn ended up purchasing himself a turquoise yukata to compliment the stylish kimonos he had purchased for the two girls. They were going to be living in the East Side for quite some time so he figured they might as well embrace the culture. Besides, it was technically the traditional wear of the Aldrnari Empire, so, while he had resorted to wearing western clothes in the Tower, Vahn was most comfortable in the loose clothing associated with eastern cultures. Sarina and Nono also seemed to appreciate it quite a bit so there was no sense in overcomplicating things by defaulting to more 'modern' styles...

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With the rickshaw ride taking quite a while, Vahn decided to make conversation to ease a bit of the awkwardness that had resulted from being sandwiched by two lolis. Sarina, in particular, was sitting a little too close for comfort, and, while she did her best to maintain an impassive look on her face, Vahn noticed Nono's aura flare up whenever their legs or arms briefly touched.

"I promised a member of Twice Twilight that we would spend a few days at La Papillion. After that, I intend to open up a shop near one of the Thousand Eyes branches. I wouldn't exactly say I have any connections among their senior membership, but I imagine we will be working closely with them in the near future. As for our actual territory, well, unless you girls have anything in mind, I intend to create a sub-space beneath the shop until I can leverage some territory from another Community."

As the Sub-Leader of Sage Dragon's Hearth, Sarina felt compelled to contribute something, so, in response to Vahn's words, she supplied, "Thousand Eyes has a bit of notoriety in the East Side due to their Leader being a former Demon God. Are you sure you want to work with them...?"

Despite being the former Rank 10 and the current Floor Master of the East Side, very few people knew that Shiroyasha was the Leader of Thousand Eyes. She generally introduced herself as a senior executive, and, more often than not, holed herself up inside of her room unless someone important came by. Thus, unless they knew her personally, very few people knew the specifics of Shiroyasha's involvement with anything.

Adopting a confident smile, Vahn answered, "Our Community isn't going to just pander to people who purport themselves as good and righteous. When you've lived as long as I have, you come to realize that good and evil are just words that people just arbitrarily assign at their leisure. Justice is the weapon of the strong, and, more often than not, the heads of most religious organizations are among the most corrupt individuals in any world. Thus, regardless of whether they be god, demon, human, or even animals, I intend to help everyone. Besides, if I can convince a Demon to enter into a contract that prevents them from harming people, that will help a lot more people than providing a weapon to some righteous fool who cuts down anything they identify as evil."

Deciding to trust in Vahn's words, Sarina just nodded her head, smiling as she attempted to convince herself that not all Demons were bad. After all, not all Gods were good, and, when it came to people, there were countless examples of individuals representing both good and evil. She could understand this much, so, while she had no desire to interact with Demons, she decided she would do her best not to judge them for what they were. Instead, just as she regarded her fellow humans, she would judge them based on their behavior.

Noticing Sarina's aura stabilize, Vahn decided to reward her with an affectionate smile and a head pat. This earned him a somewhat listless look from Nono, so, despite the looks it garnered from the surrounding passersby, he ended up caressing both girls' heads for a short while before retracting his hands and asking, "Have the two of you thought about what you would like to contribute to the Community? I won't give you a Gift associated with it, but I can teach you pretty much any skill. So long as you are willing to put in the effort, there is nothing you can't become."

Demonstrating just how little she had actually thought about it, Sarina unhesitantly answered, "I just wanted to get to know you better. I don't really know how to become stronger or help people so I'll just listen to the Leader's orders. Even if it's just a Secretary or a Maid, I'll do my best not to let you down...!"

Seemingly inspired by Sarina's exclamation, Nono responded with a meek nod, answering, "I was afraid of Justinian...you're a lot nicer than he was. If you want me to...I wouldn't mind becoming a Maid...I don't want to be useless..."

In an effort to uproot the two flags before they could cement themselves in the girls' minds, Vahn responded with a light chuckle before explaining, "Rather than thinking about how to repay me, I'd rather the two of you think about how you can best help the children we'll be taking in. To that end, I think I'll teach the two of magic related to healing, sealing, and barrier creation. Other than that, it would be best if you figure out for yourselves the paths you wish to tread."

Though his words didn't seem to have much of an impact on Sarina, Nono's mind immediately wandered to the conversation that had taken place at breakfast. She wanted to believe that it was only a matter of time before she could be reunited with her parents. To that end, she intended to follow Vahn's advice by doing everything in her power to be happy. She didn't really understand what that entailed, but, having always enjoyed helping people, she was looking forward to taking care of the other children that would invariably join their Community.

As that thought crossed her mind, a delicate smile spread across Nono's face. At the same time, Sarina, having organized her thoughts a bit, asked, "Can't I just become your Apprentice? I might not be experienced, but I'm confident I can become more skilled if I follow your teachings. I'm also the Sub-Leader of the Community so it would make sense if I worked alongside you."

Though it brought a wry smile to his face, Vahn briefly imagined training Sarina in a similar manner to Nanu. There was nothing particularly wrong with this, but, due to the teachings of Tsubaki, this would invariably involve her forging alongside him in little to no clothing. That would be a disaster and a half, so, after quickly coming up with an alternative, he nodded his head and answered, "Sure. Since you lack the physical strength and stature necessary for forging, I'll teach you Alchemy. At the higher levels, it's one of the most powerful and profitable skills you could learn. If you stick with it, you could even produce potions that cure all diseases and make people immortal. How about it...?"

Having heard about Alchemy in the past, flames of excitement burned in Sarina's amethyst eyes as she balled her hands into fists and exclaimed, "Yes! Please teach me alchemy, Vahn-sama...!"

Chuckling lightly in response to Sarina's enthusiasm, Vahn extended his hand to caress her head even as his eyes shifted further up the road. The familiar figure of Dorothea had appeared near their destination, but, unlike before, she was now wearing relatively risque armor while supporting a massive sword on her shoulder. If their auras weren't perfectly identical, Vahn would have thought this was Dorothea's twin sister, as, compared to the modest outfit she had worn previously, her current attire was bold enough that she could intermingle amongst Amazons without standing out...

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Dorothea looked over before smiling as she raised her left hand in a gesture of greeting. At the same time, the people accompanying her looked over, confusion visible on their faces for a brief moment until they noticed the approaching rickshaw. After that, pure and unadulterated rage colored their expressions, as, instead of belonging to Twice Twilight, everyone surrounding Dorothea was a member of Nono's previous Community, Silver Adonis...

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From within a room resembling a traditional Japanese living space, a petite girl with bluish-white hair, golden eyes, and tiny horns immediately perked up the moment she saw Vahn staring down the members of Silver Adonis. Her excitement caused her to begin shoveling rice crackers into her mouth, an impish smile on her face as she mused, "This should be interesting~." before wiping her hand on her dress. This earned her a helpless sigh from the slender Japanese woman sweeping the floor, but, paying the blue-haired beauty no mind, Shiroyasha continued shoveling snacks into her mouth as she focused all her attention on the [Omnipresent Television] in front of her...

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