Chapter 1940 Expectations
Around the same time that Vahn was learning of the state Elder Pram, a gentle pinging sound could be heard echoing throughout his suite. Fortunately, this particular ping was something he had been anticipating, so, after forcibly removing the perpetually-clingy Law of Identity from him, Vahn made his way over to the door to find the expected trio of Boro, Sachi, and Aka waiting anxiously for news related to Roen.
Offering a casual smile, Vahn invited the trio inside before manifesting the Little Garden and calling upon Mira and Lisanna to make tea and snacks. At the same time, he notified Daniel, Roen, and Poe of the group's arrival before asking Rindo if she could begin preparations for a reunion celebration.
Fortunately for the trio, they had enough sense not to gawk despite the sudden appearance of two remarkably beautiful women. Their only reason for being there was to learn of Roen's fate, so, after the initial surprise had worn off, they managed to control their line of sight well. This earned them a cursory nod from Vahn, who, after receiving his tea, asked the two girls to flank him before casually revealing, "She is alive.". Then, before the trio could bombard him with questions, he added, "Relax. You will be able to meet with her, Daniel, and Poe shortly. I've also tasked my people with preparing a feast, so, for the time being, shall we talk?"
As the de facto representative of the group, it was Sachi who nodded his head, answering, "Though I would rather confirm Roen's return beforehand, I will trust in your words...with your power, I doubt you would go out of your way to lie..."
Though Aka didn't seem to agree with this sentiment, Boro offered an affirming nod before asking, "Is there something you wanted to know...?" with a glimmer of confusion in his eyes.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtUnderstanding the man's thoughts, even without the Law of Identity's assistance, Vahn adopted a smile as he explained, "Oh, trust me, I am well aware of the contents of your mind. If I wanted to, I could narrate your entire childhood up to the meals you ate yesterday. However, when you get to a position such as mine, conversing is far more important than peering into a person's mind. It allows you to ascertain the type of person they are, and, most importantly, shows their willingness to part with information without deceit or subterfuge. In my line of work, if you can call it that, ascertaining whether or not someone can be trusted is of paramount importance."
Supporting Vahn's declaration, Mira offered an amused giggle that drew the attention of all three of the men. Then, as if guided by instinct, Boro's eyes briefly wandered to the former's rather sizeable breasts before promptly averting them to look at nothing in particular. This was one of the reasons that Vahn had asked the sisterly duo to come out, as, simply by being present, they provided him a considerable amount of leverage in the conversation.
Squinting his eyes without losing his smile, Vahn watched as Boro became increasingly unnerved by his gaze. He felt as though he had erred grievously, but, rather than calling him out for his faux pas, Vahn simply passed his cup to Mira before saying, "I'll make things easy for you to understand. The three of you currently stand on the precipice of one of your life's most important decisions. Simply put, you must choose between climbing the Tower under the scrutiny of various forces or retiring in isolation. I have made a few adjustments that will prevent you from ever boarding the Hell Express again, so, regardless of your decision, the routine you have practiced these last six-hundred-years is no longer an option."
As one of the most notable Ticket Hunter's in the last thousand years, Sachi couldn't help frowning in response to Vahn's words. Despite this, the look in his rust-red eyes remained fiercely determined as he replied, "I understand. So long as Roen has been returned to life, my reason for boarding the Hell Express will no longer exist. If there is something you ask of me, I will comply to the best of my ability."
Though it probably wasn't proper to laugh in the face of someone's resolution, Vahn couldn't help himself. This caused the trio to tense up, but, before they could further misconstrue his intentions, Vahn wiped away a tear from his eye as he said, "You are far too serious for someone that has lived for more than eight-hundred-years. You also think too highly of yourself, and, while that isn't always a bad trait to possess, jumping to conclusions is rarely a good thing."
Confused by Vahn's words, Sachi was about to ask what he meant when the latter waved his hand in a dismissive manner and explained, "I don't need you to do anything for me. So long as you stop acting like entitled asshats that willfully suppress others, I could care less what the three of you do. I resurrected Roen because I wanted to, not because I expected you to repay me. I mean, seriously...if I was in a situation where I needed to rely on Regulars who have been stalled around the 40th Floor for more than six-hundred-years, I would be pretty screwed..."
With the trio looking remarkably offended by his words, Vahn was tempted to lambast them further when both Lisanna and Mira gave him slight nudges with their elbows. Then, before he could speak further, the former adopted a disarming smile as she explained, "Don't let Vahn's words bother you too much. He actually empathizes with your situation quite a bit. If he didn't, you wouldn't be here right now. You should treat his words as if they were coming from a father admonishing his son for deviating down a dark path. So long as you make an earnest effort to improve, you'll never have to hear him talk like this."
Piggybacking off of Lisanna's words, Mira drew the attention of the trio as she offered a beaming smile and added, "That's right. Vahn is actually a big softie on the inside. Once you reunite with your friends and taste the food that is being prepared, you will understand that he just wants you to be better. The options he is providing you are for your own benefit, and, should you require the support of the Empire, we will do everything in our power to ensure you have the best chance at securing your happiness."
Not expecting the sisters to interrupt his lecture and thoughtfully explain his intentions, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss for words. This earned him amused giggles from both women as Mira playfully winked before telepathically communicating, ("They have suffered quite a bit over the last six hundred years. If you want to lecture them, do so after the reunion. It will be more effective that way.")
Realizing she had a point, Vahn ultimately nodded his head before returning his gaze to the trio of tragic men and saying, "It seems I have been unnecessarily harsh. We will continue the conversation a little later. For now, we should change venues. I'm sure the three are you are eager to reunite with your former friends and comrade. We'll talk about your options once you have had the opportunity to celebrate and relax."
With that said, Vahn manifested the Little Garden, promptly returning the Strauss siblings to the Emerald Grove before transporting the trio to the Second Layer. There, they were finally reunited with Roen, an affair that resulted in the exchange of quite a number of playful barbs and a rather sizeable quantity of tears...
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Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmDeciding to leave unimportant matters till later, Vahn left the reunion group to their own devices in order to spend some quality time with the two sisters. He had had time to reflect on their actions by then, so, as an expression of gratitude, he ended up tending to the girls for the better part of half a day. Most of this time was spent simply relaxing, but, as could be expected, there were also quite a number of instances where the playfulness of the duo led to their inevitable destruction. Lisanna, in particular, had a penchant for setting things in motion, as, more often than not, she couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes before saying or trying something perverted. This was exacerbated by her ability to adapt the traits of various animals, and, though she wasn't a true masochist, she had become rather accustomed to being 'bullied' by her not-so-secretly sadistic 'Onee-sama'...
Though they had originally been watching a movie, Vahn currently found himself witness to a rather licentious scene that involved Lisanna, transformed as a fluffy white rabbit, suspended in the shibari fashion as Mira, transformed as a demoness with a thick dragon tail, traced her claws menacingly across the former's body. This was a surprisingly common exchange between the two sisters, and, though it was something he had seen numerous times, Vahn couldn't shake the impression he was observing something 'forbidden' whenever he beheld Mira eagerly developing her younger sister's sensitivities...
Finished with her preparations, Mira spun Lisanna around a few times to lightly disorient her before pointing the latter's exposed bottom towards Vahn and asking, "What do you think? Thanks to her rabbit form, her entire body is basically an erogenous zone. After my teasing, she is several times more sensitive than normal. If you were to impale her right now, she would probably pass out from the resulting climax."
To further emphasize her point, Mira partially exposed Lisanna's insides by sinking her claws into the latter's pliant posterior and spreading it. This caused a rather substantial amount of love juices to drip to the floor, and, due to their viscosity, a few thin strands could be seen connecting the folds of Lisanna's pulsating pink cavern as her tuft of a tail madly twitched in response to the stimulation.
Unable to resist such an enticing invitation, Vahn ignored the fact that Lisanna was rapidly shaking her head as he positioned his glans between her excessively moist folds. This created a vacuum of sorts, and, due to the pulsating of her impassioned flesh, a potent suction force was generated as her body eagerly invited him further into its narrow depths. Before he could trespass more than a few centimeters, however, Lisanna's body began to convulse rather violently, the whites of her eyes briefly making an appearance before she subsequently became limp against the supporting ropes.
Rather than showing any concern for her sister's state, Mira giggled in a rather seductive manner as she effortlessly removed the gag from Lisanna's mouth, musing, "Perhaps increasing her sensitivity by a hundred times was a tad excessive..."
Having experienced the unique pleasures of a woman directly, Vahn couldn't help swallowing hard in response to Mira's words. This elicited an amused giggle from the playful demoness, who, after a teasing wink, explained, "Don't worry, we talked about this beforehand. She was the one who came up with this particular play. She seems to enjoy waking up to a good 'dicking', so make sure you do your part properly~."
Without waiting for Vahn's reply, Mira promptly pushed against Lisanna's body to force her against his invading member. This caused the unconscious rabbit to convulse quite a bit, and, thanks to her gag being removed, an impassioned moan was able to escape her throat before she subsequently mewled, "Vahn...shama~" in her sleep.
Though he was a little worried about her development, Vahn had never been the type to let down his women. Thus, with Lisanna's unconscious musing serving as the starting trigger, he began to steadily increase his pace until a rhythmic slapping sound could be heard echoing throughout the room. At the same time, Lisanna's sonorous moans gradually transitioned into a crescendo as she repeatedly transitioned in and out of consciousness...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is a big softie (O w O)...','Is this what they mean when they say sisterly bonding...?','RIP Lisanna...')