Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn awoke somewhat earlier than normal the next day because he had smelled something unexpected, blood. Because he had copied the traits of Fenrir before he went to sleep, Vahn had an enhanced sense of smell and he could detect a strong odor of blood laced with a heavy amount of womanly pheromones. Though he had expected it to be coming from Milan, Vahn knew it was coming from the opposite side of his body and he opened his eyes and looked toward the origin, Tina. She was still sleeping normally and didn’t seem to be in any pain, but Vahn was absolutely certain the smell was coming from her body.

He hadn’t been the only one stirred awake by the odor as both Fenrir and Lili had woken as well, seeking out the unexpected scent. Fenrir was especially sensitive to blood and there was a subtle glow in her eyes and she tilted her head to the side and stared at the sleeping Tina. To keep her calm, Vahn pat the top of her head with his right hand while wiggling his left arm that was being hugged by Tina. Since she wasn’t a morning person, Tina didn’t wake up immediately and Vahn’s movements had actually awoken Shizune and Milan as well. Milan had a thoughtful expression on her face which suddenly turned soft before she released a chuckle. Before Vahn asked what she found funny, Milan sent him a playful wink and said, "Looks like today is a big day for Tina. Don’t worry about it too much, Vahn, she isn’t hurt or anything like that. Why don’t you head down early and let me take care of things here?"

Vahn stroked the head of the sleepy Tina who was confused about everything that was going on as he said, "Sure, let me know if you need my help..." Milan laughed at his concerned expression before shooing him out of his own room with a soft smile on her face. Lili and Shizune had accompanied him, even though they were still just in their nightgowns. They both had clothes in their own rooms, so Vahn suggested they head over and change since everyone else would be waking up in about an hour. Before they left, however, Shizune laughed in a mischevious manner and asked, "Do you know what that smell was, Vahn~?" Vahn blinked in confusion as Lili released a sigh before answering in lieu of Shizune, "Tina probably just had her first period, so she will probably be a bit in the dumps today."

Hearing the phrase, Vahn scanned through his memories for all the information he had related to the phenomenon and understood what Lili was talking about. Vahn knew a method to help relieve any discomfort that might arise from a difficult period, but he decided to leave it to the women in the Manor. This was a sign that Tina was actually beginning to mature, so she would probably enter her growth phase pretty soon. With this thought in mind, Vahn felt like teasing Lili for reasons he couldn’t quite understand so he said, "Looks like you and Tina won’t be the same height for my longer...I guess she really is the big sister?"

Lili had still been somewhat sleepy, but the moment she heard Vahn’s words she opened her eyes wide and said in a tone much louder than was appropriate, "Ah~! Vahn, I can’t believe you would say something like that! Boooooo, boooooooooo~!" Though he had expected her to react to his words, there was nothing that could have prepared Vahn for the tiny fist that flew toward his stomach. Even though his Endurance was much higher than Lili’s power, Vahn still felt a hard impact on his gut and he felt a shockwave pass through his body that made him feel weak in the knees.

While he was holding his stomach, Lili gave him a somewhat ’threatening’ look as she blew away the steam rising from her fist. Vahn’s body was very ’hard’, so she had felt a lot of resistance from the punch and now her hand hurt. She ignored it and, now that Vahn was bent over slightly, grabbed his face and said in a stern tone, "If you make fun of my height, I will show you how much of an ’a.d.u.l.t’ I can be in the future~!" Lili was still in her Vanargandr form, so she bit in a pseudo-aggressive manner with her somewhat sharp teeth before sticking out her tongue and walking towards her own room. Shizune gave Vahn a teasing look and remarked in a playful tone, "Ara~? How unexpected, to see Vahn on the receiving end of a ’pounding’ to the stomach~."

Without saying anything further, Shizune ran over to the door leading to her own room while laughing in a very amused manner. Vahn didn’t understand the implication behind her words at all and asked himself in a low voice, "What does she mean...I’ve never pounded anyone’s stomach before?" Deciding she was just being mysterious in order to tease him, Vahn rubbed his stomach with [Hands of Nirvana] and made his way toward the stairs. He hadn’t made it too far before Aki appeared at her door and looked through the corridor before asking in a curious voice, "Did something happen, Vahn?" Though he had put the matter behind him, Vahn decided to ask Aki since she had appeared at a convenient timing, "Aki, have I ever pounded someone’s stomach before?"

Aki tilted her head in a confusion for a moment before placing her hand over her own stomach in an absentminded manner. Vahn had followed her action and, even though she hadn’t really connected things and verbalized the words herself, he suddenly understood the sneaky innuendo Shizune had thrown his way. He could feel a warmth touch his cheeks and Aki also started blushing before she stuck out her tongue and said, "I don’t mind...it feels pleasant, nyahaha~." Hearing her words, Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva before scratching his cheek and saying, "Maybe tonight..." Aki laughed before throwing him a coy look and disappearing back into her own room. She had only been wearing her underwear, so she still had to get ready for the morning training as well.

As he made his way down the stairs, Vahn felt like his tensions were suddenly starting to increase. He had ’held back’ while he was with the twins in the Dungeon, and had even taken a break to relax last night. Now, however, he felt like his switch had been flipped as a result of Shizune’s remark and Aki’s behavior. There were quite a few things Vahn was planning to do today, but it now seemed like he would have to carry a bit of frustration with him until the evening came around. After arriving on the first floor and making his way to the study, however, Vahn had a thought and realized he perhaps didn’t have to wait at all.

Vahn looked through the logbooks in his possession and started looking through the posted statuses of every girl out of curiosity. Though he wasn’t sure he was going to do anything, Vahn still wanted to see if anyone was available...after briefly perusing the list, Vahn swallowed a bit and began to tap his leg in a somewhat impatient manner as he thought about his next course of action. Though most of the girls didn’t actually list themselves as ’busy’ during the night, Vahn could tell by the comments next to the status if he would be inconveniencing them. He knew many of them would be preparing for the morning training, but there were two names on the list that he knew wouldn’t be.

After thinking it over for a few minutes, Vahn released a sigh before rising to his feet and making his way towards the west wing of the Manor. He had detected Lili making her way down and knew that, depending on the form she took, she would be able to smell his arousal. He could use his [Will of the Emperor] to calm his mind, but Vahn knew he gave off a scent that ’excited’ some of the beast-girls when he was ’in the mood’. He hadn’t thought about it much in the past, but it had been pointed out by Emiru and Maemi when they were in the Dungeon together.

Vahn had wondered why some of the girls would suddenly behave far more forward than normal, and they explained it was due to the scent he gave off. When he was thinking ’perverted’ thoughts, the girls could smell it and knew he was thinking about them. This encouraged them to push the boundaries a little and was the reason why, when the became Maemiru, they could hardly control themselves. Their sense of smell was doubled during their fusion, so Vahn was almost like a walking aphrodisiac to them since they were attracted to him.

After walking for around two minutes, Vahn arrived at the second floor of the West Wing and began to feel a little nervous as he walked to the room at the far side of the corridor. Though he could have gone to Syr, Vahn knew it was somewhat ’dangerous’ to be with her, especially if it were ’just’ her. He would likely be even more excited as a result of visiting Syr, so he went to a place where he knew he would be able to release tensions, instead of building them further. After verifying the status once again inside the log, Vahn gently knocked on the hardwood door and began to feel very nervous as he stood in the silent and dark corridor waiting for a response.

More than a minute passed without anyone answering the door, but Vahn could sense the aura inside moving about, probably getting dressed. The longer he waited, the higher Vahn’s tensions grew and he nearly abandoned his plan of action before noticing the aura finally coming to the door. After the surprisingly loud sound of the lock faded, the door opened to reveal the confused face of Lunoire. When she saw Vahn, her confusion turned into a gentle smile and she said, "Good morning Vahn, I hadn’t expected your arrival. Was there a matter you needed me for?"

Vahn felt very awkward and rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Good morning...Lunoire...I, um, saw your status in the logbook and I thought..." Lunoire’s eyes opened marginally before her expression turned softer and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She peeked out into the corridor to see if anyone else was present before grabbing Vahn’s arm and pulling him inside of her room. Vahn’s inhibitions turned out to be pointless as, from the very moment she understood his purpose, Lunoire became very proactive. There was only around a half hour, as Vahn would have to go take a quick bath, but it was more than enough time since it was very rare to have Vahn alone.

Lunoire had opened her heart to Vahn when she recounted her past to him during their first time together. Though she was ’content’ with just living a stress-free and happy life, receiving Vahn’s affection and care made her feel very satisfied. Though she couldn’t keep him for herself, just spending a bit of time alone together eased her heart a great deal. Though he couldn’t be called a ’master’, Vahn was what could be considered a ’technician’ when it came to pleasing girls. He was very attentive to their needs and, even though he had come to her to relieve his own stress, Vahn paid more attention to Lunoire’s responses and made sure she enjoyed it, likely far more than he himself did.

This made Lunoire put in a great deal more effort than even she had expected since she wasn’t ’satisfied’ knowing that she was the only one getting off in the moment. Unfortunately, her efforts just resulted in Vahn getting even more of an advantage against her since he could retain his rationale while she was straining herself a bit and pushing her body in ways she wasn’t quite accustomed to. Lunoire realized that, unless Vahn didn’t use his [Hands of Nirvana] at all, it would probably be impossible for her to ever get the upper hand against him. She already knew that Vahn couldn’t really be satisfied by one person and having him alone emphasized this point greatly. Even though she was Level 4, Lunoire realized he had far more stamina than she could cope with...

Contrary to Lunoire’s ’misunderstanding’, Vahn had actually enjoyed himself greatly and felt very relieved by the time he left the room. He didn’t really have s.e.x for the ’release’ aspect since his body’s natural regeneration would almost allow him to continue indefinitely as long as he had sustenance. Vahn liked to have s.e.x for the experience itself and the emotional connection he could build with the girls through their shared union. As long as they were receptive to his intrigue, Vahn was happy just seeing their various responses to his actions. Like Loki had pointed out in the past, Vahn just liked to experience new things and had a curiosity that sometimes made him push the limits of things at times. Vahn genuinely liked getting a rise out of the girls, and the reason he paid so much attention to their responses was to make sure he didn’t overstep his boundaries and ’traumatize’ them...

After helping Lunoire clean up, Vahn gave her a short kiss filled with a healthy amount of affection and passion. Her face had a heavy flush on it and her eyes were slightly glossed over, but she reciprocated his kiss as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to help restore some clarity to her mind. Though she didn’t have fuzzy ears atop her head, Vahn still liked stroking the hair of girls and Lunoire was no exception. After their kiss persisted for around a minute, Vahn pulled away with a smile on his face and said in a soft tone, "I need to go take a bath so I’m not late for training. Go ahead and take a rest for as long as you need...I’ll explain things to Syr if you want to sleep in." Lunoire laughed with a happy smile on her face as she used her hand to remove a bit of Vahn’s hair out of his face. She brought her hand to a stop on his cheek and said in a low tone, "Thank you for coming to me Vahn, I feel like a heavy burden has been removed from my heart now..."

Vahn mirrored Lunoire’s actions and placed his own hand against her cheek in a similar manner as they just locked eyes with each other for a moment. After thinking about how best to order his words, Vahn said with as much tenderness as he could manage, "Lunoire...just like you asked me to, I will do my best to make sure you know what it means to be loved. Please tell me if there is anything you need...I will always be here when you need me. You don’t have to be alone anymore, no matter what you decide to do in the future...promise me you’ll do your best to be happier from now on, okay?"

For a brief moment, Lunoire’s eyes began to moisten before a strange clarity took over them and she playfully pushed Vahn away and said, "Get going you doofus, you don’t want to be late. If the girls know you’re late because you were crawling into my bed, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do." Lunoire’s expression had turned to her characteristic gentle look but Vahn could see a happiness in her smile that reached her eyes ever so subtly. Though she didn’t have max affection for him, Lunoire’s has always hovered in the lower nineties in the past. Now, however, her affection had increased all the way to 99(Love), instead of the bracket parameter being stuck at (Trust). Vahn knew there had been a fundamental change in the way she saw him so, before he left her room, Vahn shared another embrace and a very deep kiss with Lunoire until she literally tossed him out of the bed...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Vahn smells blood...’,’Shizune’s Mischievousness’,’Lunoire’s Happiness’)

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