Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn felt something poking at his cheek, and he was slowly awakened from his unconscious state. While he was worrying about the future, he had finally managed to fall asleep and get some rest. Opening his eyes, Vahn froze up a bit as he saw Tiona smiling at him while poking his cheek. "Wake up sleepy head. It's time for us to go~" Tiona no longer had her amorous, and mad appearance, from earlier. Instead, she had returned to her normal and cheerful state which allowed Vahn's body to relax a bit.Accepting the hand she had offered, Vahn was raised to his feet and noticed that all the tents that were previously in the area had vanished. Now there was a large group of people being briefed and split into groups as they made their way toward the stairs. "Were you able to rest any?" Tiona, who was standing to his right, seemed to be overly concerned about the state of his body. Since she was unable to control herself earlier, she worried she may have injured Vahn.Vahn stretched his body before smiling toward her. "I feel great. Turns out I just needed a bit of rest after being high-strung for so long." Tiona nodded and showed a cheerful smile, and just as she was about to say something, Vahn placed his hand on her head. "Don't worry about it Tiona, I don't blame you for anything. I'd rather we put everything behind us and look toward the future from now on." Vahn had noticed she was acting down, and he wanted to cheer her up a bit.Tiona rubbed her hair against his palm and let out a satisfied laugh as she nestled herself closer toward him. Vahn didn't shy away from her affection, but he could see people giving them stares from the distance. Amongst the group of onlookers, Vahn saw Finn sighing with his hand on his forehead. Next to Finn, Riveria and Ais both looked over with their blank expressions, while Lefiya seemed to have calmed down a lot as she looked toward him with a small smile on her face.Though everyone had different reactions, there was one person who seemed to be genuinely upset by the show of affection. Bete, who was standing amongst the elite members of the Loki Familia, looked at Vahn with a glare and a grimace. "You two gonna keep acting like idiots, or are you ready to do some actual work?" Tiona, who had been enjoying the moment, looked at Bete with a fierce expression. Ais also seemed offended as she muttered in a low and cold voice. "Jerk."Bete's hair seemed to rise a bit as his expression turned very sour. It looked like he had just swallowed a bug, but instead of saying anything, he just glared toward Vahn with a dark expression in his eyes. "Really, a manly man. Hiding behind women suits you..." He spoke the words in a cruel and condescending manner which caused Vahn to frown deeply. Vahn didn't know what Bete had against him; there hadn't been anything between them, but Bete seemed adamant about trying to pick a fight with him.Looking directly into Bete's face, Vahn asked, "What do you have against me? I have never done anything to you." Even if it was his 'normal' personality, Vahn was dissatisfied with the common poor treatment he received from Bete. Hearing Vahn's question, Bete smiled and said snidely, "It is because you're weak, yet you have people building expectations for you. Without strength, what can you do!? How can you protect anyone!?" Bete's voice cracked a bit as he shouted out.Vahn hadn't known at the time, but Bete had lost most of the people he cared about due to his own selfishness and weakness. Nearly three years prior, Bete had been the Captain of the Vidar Familia. After he had obtained level 3 and became confident in his strength, he left the City to seek revenge against a fierce monster that had wiped out his clan. Unfortunately, when he should have returned back to the City in glory, he was instead met with tragedy. The majority of his Familia had been killed or injured while on an expedition, and to make matters worse, his Vice-Captain and lover had also died. Devastated, Bete spent the next few months squandering away all of his money while wasting away in pubs. It wasn't until he had picked a fight with Finn and Gareth in a drunken stupor that he was torn away from his cycle of self-destruction.After those events, Bete's personality had changed a great deal. He was now focused entirely on increasing his strength, and whenever he saw those weaker than him, especially other males, he became irritated seeing how complacent they were. He couldn't tolerate how they went about seemingly without a care, unaware that a single moment of carelessness could cost them everything they loved.Though Vahn didn't understand the reason, he could see Bete's aura fluctuate as a deep blue color began to spread until it encompassed the green that had been present till now. He understood that, though Bete was trying to hide it behind his anger, he was suffering inside as he lashed out at Vahn.It was very frustrating seeing how complex people could be, but he still didn't think Bete had any right to take out his emotions on him.Staring into the light-grey, pain-filled eyes of Bete, Vahn spoke, "Two years." Bete frowned after hearing the low voice of Vahn. He screamed out, "What 'two years', huh!?" Vahn held the eye-contact as he continued in a firm voice, "In two years, I will prove to you that I am not the weakling you think. I will become stronger than you, strong enough to protect everything! Just because you failed, doesn't mean I will fail!" The longer Vahn spoke, the more his emotions began to build, so by the end of his words, he had practically shouted.Bete gnashed his teeth and looked like he was about to charge at Vahn. He had anger in his eyes and the onlookers thought he wanted to tear the brave dark-haired boy apart. Ais, Tiona, and Tione became alert and prepared to intercept if he tried to attack. However, contrary to expectations, Bete spoke through clenched teeth, "Don't fuck it up." With those parting words, Bete spit onto the ground and went to stand next to Gareth.The moment he stood next to him, Gareth reached his hand over and patted Bete on the shoulder with a proud look on his face. Bete saw the look and clicked his tongue as he looked away from everyone. As nobody had expected Bete to suddenly stand down, there was a moment of silence among the entire group until Gareth loudly 'harumphed'. Finn, who was also among the stunned onlookers, immediately clapped his hands to get everyone's attention."Okay, it's time for us to move out. We don't have long to get everything set up, so we need to make haste to the 14th floor. Everyone keep your wits about you and stay safe." Everyone in the area nodded toward Finn while some made small cheers and tried to psyche themselves up. Vahn could see that the morale of the group was actually pretty low, as most people had little to no confidence when it came to fighting something like a Juggernaut.Vahn wanted to do something to change the atmosphere, so he let his domain expand until it covered the majority of the expedition party. Most people didn't notice, but he got a few curious looks from some within the crowd. The one who was most interested was obviously Riveria, as she began to wonder what he was trying to do 'this' time. Reaching out his hands, Vahn tried channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] and infusing the effects into the domain. As he had been able to infuse almost all of his previous skills, Vahn was hoping he would be able to do so this time as well.The gentle white light in his palms slowly dispersed as an almost imperceptible wave passed through the crowd. Suddenly, everyone felt warm energy penetrating their bodies, and all of their anxieties were slowly dissipating. Looking toward the boy who was standing with his arms outstretched toward them, they realized he was trying to help cheer everyone up. Some of the people in the crowd recognized Vahn from the earlier 'events', while others knew about him from the images that had circulated in the Hephaestus Familia recently.Vahn noticed his attempt was a success, so he began trying to infuse the energy with greater efficiency this time around. The white light began to spread from his palms, as some people in the crowd began to get riled up due to his efforts. Some of them began laughing while others looked toward their comrades and saw the conviction in each other's eyes. Nobody wanted to die, but it didn't mean they had to go into the situation expecting to. Seeing such a small boy working so hard was a powerful motivation for a lot of the veteran adventurers.Finn gave Vahn an appreciative smile as he loudly shouted out, "Let's go kill ourselves a Juggernaut! Nothing can stop us if we work together~!" This time, instead of a dismissive acknowledgment of his orders, everyone in the camp loudly cheered, "Oooooooou~! Kill the Juggernaut!!" They loudly began making their way toward the stairs in much higher spirits.Tiona, who had been standing next to Vahn, gave him a hug from behind and laughed in his ears. "Ahahaha, you really are a hero~! Just a casual wave of your hands and everyone became so much braver!" Feeling Tiona on his back, Vahn noticed there was a soft, yet very subtle-feeling pressing into him. His emotions began to rise a bit as a notification sounded in his mind.//[Hands of Nirvana] increased to rank: B//Suddenly, the light glow from his hands intensified as his emotions seemed to be conveyed into the area of his domain. Accompanying the 'healing' light, now people felt an excitement begin to well up inside of them. They began to cheer even louder, and Vahn felt like the entire atmosphere began to shift toward a peculiar direction. Tiona, who had been leaning on his back began to laugh out loud as she gave Vahn a big kiss on his cheek.Releasing his neck, she lifted up the huge weapon she had left on the side and hefted it onto her shoulder. "Let's go, let's go~! Onwards to victory~!!" Tiona was in incredibly high spirits as she flailed her left arm about and practically danced while following along with the marching party. Vahn was in a slight daze as he watched her figure, and it wasn't until the main group of the Loki Familia passed by him that he snapped out of it.Ais approached him and stared at the light emitting from his hands. Reaching out her own, she traced her fingers through the light before she issued a small smile on her face. "It is a good feeling. Is this what you used on Lefiya?" Hearing Ais mention her name, Lefiya, who was standing behind her began to blush after recalling the earlier events. She had been the first to notice that the 'light' was what had 'healed' her earlier, but hearing Ais mention things made her blush slightly.Vahn nodded his head at Ais's question which prompted her to grab his hand and place it on top of her head. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth slightly as she enjoyed the sensation coming from his palms. "Nnn, it is very comfortable." Vahn was shocked at her actions, and his energy fluctuated a bit and almost dispersed.Sensing his struggles, Ais blushed a bit before removing his hand. She began to follow along with the rest of the group before looking back toward Vahn. "Let's go Vahn..." She extended her hand out and Vahn walked forward to grab it. Ais had only intended to motion for him to follow, but seeing Vahn grab her hand and feeling the warm energy, she decided to keep her mouth shut. She walked alongside Vahn as they trailed slightly behind the main group. Lefiya, who was not much further behind them had a befuddled expression and looked like she was suffering from conflicting emotions.Vahn and Ais noticed the writing elf, and after a brief hesitation, Ais extended her other hand. "Lefiya, come..." Lefiya, who had been losing herself in her own delusions, immediately snapped out of it. Seeing the extended hand, her face beamed and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. She quickly closed the distance and grabbed the outstretched hand. She now had a content smile on her face as she walked side-by-side with Ais...and Vahn.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hand holding? Lewd!','The Lonely Elf','Will of the Emperor is bae')

Though Vahn enjoyed walking alongside Ais (and Lefiya), it wasn't long before the happy atmosphere began to fade. By the time they had reached the stairs, even with Vahn's domain, the mood was beginning to turn grim. When they made it past the 'Wall of Grief', the site where Vahn had recently slain the Goliath, everyone had solemn expressions. However, after Vahn inspected them, he noticed they weren't expressions of helplessness, but conviction and determination.Due to the nature of the 17th floor, it eventually came time for Vahn to release Ais's hand or else it would be difficult traversing through the dungeon. The atmosphere had influenced him as well, and Vahn continued forward without speaking much. Along the way, there were a few monsters that spawned, but they were all instantly annihilated by the vanguard. Each successive kill seemed to increase the atmosphere a bit, so Vahn was thankful for the dungeons 'cooperation'.The group made fast progress through the 17th floor and arrived in the corridor before the stairs that led to the upper floors. Everyone began to break off into their assigned groups, so Vahn had to move ahead of the majority and stand amongst Tiona, Tione, and Riveria. Lefiya ended up joining as well, while Ais continued forward and joined the advance group. Seeing the small party of adventurers, Vahn felt slightly concerned. Ais was still just a very small girl and watching her join the team that was expected to draw the attention of the Juggernaut, Vahn couldn't help but feel worried.Vahn noticed that the sword Ais was carrying wasn't of a very high quality, even though the materials it was made of were very sturdy. Remembering that she seemed to destroy her weapons commonly in the manga, Vahn made his determination and ran up to the vanguard group. Seeing his approach, Finn frowned slightly before saying, "Vahn, I know you are strong, but it would be very difficult for you to fight against the Juggernaut. You should stay with the second group and provide support with your unique skills."Shaking his head, Vahn ignored Finn and walked up to Ais. Pulling out his tamahagane sword from his inventory, Vahn selected the gift function with Ais as the recipient. As he had just recently got her affection to 90, he was able to gift her a single item per month. "Ais, take this with you. It should be much stronger than your current sword." Seeing the concern in his eyes, Ais smiled and received the sword. She was shocked when she felt how light it was, so she gave it a few practice swings and was amazed at how easy the large blade was to handle.Finn also noticed the unique quality of the blade and asked if he could take a look at it. Vahn tried to stop him, but Ais had handed it over without thinking. The moment Finn's hand made contact with the handle, the blade jerked away and spun until it had stuck into the wall of the dungeon. Finn stared in shock at the display before he turned toward Vahn with a questioning look on his face. Vahn said plainly, "The items I have are made with a special technique, and they can only be used by myself and those I gift them to. Right now the sword belongs to Ais, and nobody else can touch it."Finn seemed surprised by the claim as Ais walked over and grabbed the sword from the wall. Vahn quickly explained its uses, "The blade has an enchantment that greatly increases its sharpness while reducing the weight. It might be a bit awkward at first, but I think it is very suitable for your style of combat." Hearing his words, Ais focused her energy into the blade and saw the runes begin to glow. By the time they had spread across the body of the blade, she noticed that the weight had almost disappeared.Ais had the biggest smile on her face that Vahn had ever seen. It was almost like her eyes were glowing as she marveled at the sword's capabilities. Turning towards Vahn, Ais stepped forward and in front of the entire gawking crowd, she kissed Vahn. She held the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away and saying, "Thank you Vahn." She then separated from him and started practicing using the sword a bit away from everyone else.Finn, who had been unaware of the 'progress' that had been made between Vahn and Ais recently stared between the two of him as if he had just witnessed the most unbelievable scene in the world. After a while, when he finally managed to compose himself, he looked toward Vahn and said, "I thought you would end up with Tiona...I never expected Ais to fall for you as well. It hasn't even been a day..." As he spoke the last words, Finn just shook his head and sighed.Motioning towards Gareth, who was giving Vahn a 'thumbs up', Finn began to lead the fuming Bete and the 'excited' Ais away. Before she had joined them, Ais removed the sword from her hip and ran over to give it to Vahn. "Here, just in case." Vahn received the sword with a smile before watching her join the rest of the Vanguard team. Seeing her 'happily' move away while carrying his tamahagane blade made Vahn feel a little less worried about what would happen.Rejoining the 'ambush' party, Vahn noticed that Tiona was looking toward him with a smile on her face. Once he got near, she closed the distance before saying, "I am really jealous she got a gift before me~ Make sure you remember that for later, okay~?" Though she was 'acting' mad, Vahn noticed she was very happy for some reason. He decided to ask her, "You seem very happy?"Tiona laughed cheekily before saying, "That's because I realized you're the type that worries about people, even if they are stronger than you. It makes me happy knowing you look at us like girls, instead of just strong warriors. It was my dream to be treated like a princess, ya know~?" Vahn noticed that she mentioned 'was', so he once again spoke. "Was? Why not anymore?"The smile on Tiona's face froze a little as a small amount of melancholy appeared, very briefly, in her eyes before fading away. "I learned when I was very young that you can't always wait for a prince to come and save you. Now, I've become much stronger than I was then...so I guess it just kinda faded away naturally~?" Tiona spoke in a chipper tone, but Vahn understood she was having sad thoughts as he could see her aura flicker slightly with a bluish hue.Vahn reached out his hand to place it on her hair, but before he finished the motion, he changed the trajectory of his hand and placed it on her cheek instead. Tiona stared at him with wide-eyes as Vahn gently stroked her cheek and passed his fingers through her hair in an affectionate manner. "I may not be able to do so now, but I will try to treat you like a princess in the future. Don't be sad, okay?"A red hue began to appear on Tiona's face as her eyes began to slowly build up moisture. Vahn could feel his instincts begin to trigger, and he realized he may have pushed his actions a little too far. Luckily, since everyone seemed to be interested in what Vahn was going to do, Tione had stepped in after noticing the change in her sister. "Alright you two, break it up! We don't have time for your lovey-dovey stuff right now. Stay focused!"Tiona was dragged away by Tione as she stared at Vahn with a somewhat heated expression on her face. Fortunately, she hadn't lost her mind like earlier as she allowed herself to be pulled away without resisting. Vahn just stood there watching as a voice sounded out from his left. "You cheater..." Vahn turned his head and saw Lefiya glaring at him while standing next to Riveria who had a slightly exasperated expression on her face. Seeing Vahn look over, Riveria said, "Vahn, the dungeon isn't the place to pick up girls. Flirt when you get back to town, we have a mission to do."Riveria began giving orders to the 'ambush' team and the group made their way to the area outside the 13th floor. The 'garrison' group split off from the main party and went to their designated area on the 14th floor. Eventually, Vahn's group had caught up and he was able to see the 'vanguard' party acknowledge their presence before entering the 13th floor proper. The 'ambush' group waited outside the door as Riveria listened for the sounds of combat.Everyone remained absolutely silent as they were waiting for the signal to enter the floor. The 'vanguard' was charged with drawing the attention of the Juggernaut before pulling it away if necessary. In the time they were engaging the creature, the 'ambush' group would move to their assigned spot on the 13th floor, an area that connected to the 14th floor through a series of holes.Twenty minutes of soul-crushing silence later, the group was able to feel the reverberations of the dungeon. Riveria's ears twitched slightly as she signaled to the 22 members of the 'ambush' party. "Let's move, we don't have a lot of time!" Before her words even finished, Riveria began leading the charge into the 13th floor. Following closely behind her were Tiona and Tione, while Vahn ran alongside Lefiya slightly ahead of the rest of the group.While they were running, Vahn noticed that Lefiya was holding her staff so tightly that her fingers were turning white. She had a fearful expression on her face, and she looked somewhat out of place amongst all the older adventurers in the party. As she was only 12, Lefiya was the youngest person in the entire group. Though she had the option to join the 'garrison' party, she had resolved herself to join the 'ambush' team so she could be of use. Though attack magic wouldn't work on the Juggernaut, Lefiya was also a capable healer and could case various buffs with the support of her unique skill [Elf Ring]. (A/N: Elf Ring lets Lefiya use ANY elven magic, as long as she knows the chant. Because of this, she is known as the Thousand-Elf in the canon.)Vahn felt Lefiya was very brave, but it was somewhat pitiful to see her current appearance. Without notice, he reached out his hand and channeled the strongest version of [Hands of Nirvana] he could while placing his hand on her shoulder. Lefiya startled a bit at the contact, but after seeing it was Vahn, she actually felt a little relieved. Feeling the calming and warm energies enter her body, the fear that had begun to settle in her mind was rapidly chased away.After a few seconds, Lefiya blushed slightly before knocking Vahn's hand away. She continued to run in silence without making eye contact for a few seconds before whispering in a low voice. "Thank you..." Vahn was still paying attention to Lefiya, so even though she spoke the words very quietly, he was able to hear her. Smiling, Vahn said, "You are very brave Lefiya, but don't try too hard. If things get dangerous, I will try to protect you."Lefiya gave Vahn a sideways glance before sighing in an exasperated manner. She gave Vahn a strange look and asked directly, "Don't tell me you aren't satisfied with Ais and Tiona, now you're aiming for me as well?" Vahn hadn't expected the sudden words, and he nearly lost his footing on the uneven ground of the dungeon.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Can't a guy be nice to a girl without bad intentions?','Where is the Juggernaut!?','Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? Probably.','Vahn creating future troubles with his handsy hands')

Hearing Ais's words, Vahn's mind exploded. He felt like all the energy that had remained in his body spontaneously drained out and he hung his head like a marionette that had its strings cut. Ais, who had been watching him, frowned slightly and said in a sad sounding tone, "You don't...like me?" Her words made Vahn's brain buzz, and he felt like everything that happened in the last few hours was too much for his mind to handle.In a small voice, Vahn tried to muster a bit of strength as the responded, "But we're not lovers or anything...and you are too young..." Ais seemed to agree with what he said, but she said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Yes, but, I will be 14 soon. Then we can try." Each word she spoke made Vahn feel like a heavy weight was pressing down on him. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry because he could tell she was being serious.Vahn looked toward her and asked, "Why me?" Even though he knew her affection had risen to 88 after their earlier kiss, Vahn didn't think he was close enough to Ais for her to go so far. Ais tilted her head sideways in confusion at his words. "Mmm, you are different. Pleasant feelings..." As she spoke, she placed her hands on her chest and closed her eyes. After a while, she looked at Vahn again and said, "I think I can become stronger too..."Seeing the conviction in her eyes, Vahn couldn't help but release a sigh and smile at her. "I believe in you as well; I know you will be much stronger in the future." As Vahn had known the future version of Ais from the manga, he knew she would mature a lot in the next two years as her strength increases. Right now she was barely taller than he was and looked a lot like a young girl, instead of the cool beauty she was in the future.Ais, hearing the 'certainty' in Vahn's words, nodded her head and displayed a happy smile. Though it was minute compared to a normal person, Vahn could see she was pleased with what he had said. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn tried rising to his feet since he had recovered a bit of strength. Ais, seeing him try to rise, stepped forward and stopped him from doing so. Being pushed back to the ground, Vahn began having flashbacks of his earlier experience with Tiona.Fortunately, Ais didn't throw herself on top of him as he expected. Instead, she sat down next to him and locked eyes before saying, "You are tired. Rest here..." As she spoke, Ais patted her thighs which were covered in a metallic plate skirt. Her gauntlets made a 'thunk-thunk' sound as the two pieces of armor collided. Vahn knew she was trying to be kind, but he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive seeing the hard metal surface covering her thighs.Ais noticed his look and realized her mistake. Standing, she removed the clasps that were holding her armor together and revealed a pleated black skirt underneath. Setting her armor to the side, she sat back down next to Vahn and once again patted her thighs. Unlike the metallic thumping from last time, it was now a soft a muted noise that sounded much more comfortable. Seeing her actions, Vahn laughed a little before resting his head on her thighs.Unlike his expectations, Ais's thighs were a bit more muscular than he thought. They were still very soft, but he could feel the tension of the muscles on the back of his head. He lay there, enjoying the strange sensations as he looked toward Ais. As he had been laying with his head facing upward, Ais was looking down on him with a blank expression. Seeing that he wasn't properly 'relaxing', Ais remoted the gauntlet on her hand and placed it on his forehead."Sleep. I will wake you when it's time." She continued stroking her hand along his head, and Vahn felt a mild blush touch his cheeks as he felt she was treating him like Lefiya. Instead of the normal 'patting', the way Ais touched people almost seemed like she was 'petting' them. Vahn almost wanted to laugh, but he managed to hold it back as he tried relaxing. Closing his eyes, he just enjoyed the moment and tried to focus on recovering his energy.---Though nearly twenty minutes had passed, Vahn was unable to fall asleep on Ais's lap. Though he had originally been focusing on recovering, the longer he laid there, the more distracted he became. The 'awkward' patting of Ais began to become more pleasant feeling, while the sensation on the back of his head made his heart begin to beat at a faster pace. The most problematic thing though was the honey-like smell that came from Ais's body. The longer he lay on her lap, the more aware he became of the smell and it began to make his mind start to feel numb as a feeling of anxiety welled up in his temples.Vahn felt like, ever since the first kiss with Tiona this morning, his emotions had been entirely out of whack. Though the 'lesson' from Riveria was very insightful, it now made Vahn overly conscious of everything that was happening when he was in contact with a girl. He felt like, the previous him, would have been comfortably enjoying a lap pillow, much like he had been in every other situation prior. But now, instead of being comfortable, it made him feel anxious and excited.Ais had noticed he was still awake, so she spoke out, "Can't sleep? Uncomfortable?" She felt sad after thinking Vahn was dissatisfied with her attempts to help him relax. Vahn shook his head slightly before opening his eyes and seeing her sad expression. He didn't want her to misunderstand, so he explained what he was feeling. "It's not uncomfortable, but I don't think I can sleep easily either. My mind is too focused on the feeling of your thighs, the touch of your hand, and the smell coming from your body."The first part of Vahn's words made Ais feel 'fluttery' in her chest, but when he continued to the last part she couldn't help but frown."Do I stink? I took a bath..." As she asked the question, Ais couldn't help but sniff at her own body a bit. To her, the only thing she could smell was the soap they had used to wash with. Vahn shook his head again before trying to explain, "No, it's not a stench, it is more like a pleasant smell that makes my body get excited."After his clarification, Ais nodded with a small smile on her lips; she was glad she didn't stink and that Vahn found her smell 'pleasant'. Curious, she bent forward and began to smell his body to see if she could catch his scent as well. Vahn, seeing Ais bend forward, became a bit flustered. It felt like Ais was about to bury his face into her breastplate, but fortunately, she stopped before he made contact with the cold metal. Vahn noticed she began to smell him, and he started feeling very nervous..."Do...do I stink?" Vahn asked the words and began thinking back to all the previous incidents where girls seemed to smell his body. He wondered if he smelled bad, and recalled that he used to have issues with hygiene in the past. Ais shook her head before looking into his face and saying, "No...it smells strange, but I don't dislike it. It smells like you?" Ais didn't seem to understand how to express the words. After a while, she just nodded her head and said, "It smells good."Vahn gave an awkward laugh for a few moments before releasing a sigh. He was glad he didn't smell bad, but it made all the times when girls were sniffing him seem more awkward. Both Lili and Naaza often took care of his laundry, and Vahn had, on occasion, caught them smelling the dirty garments. He didn't think anything of it at the time, but now he understood that girls seemed susceptible to his aroma, just like his mind seemed to be influenced by Ais's.Apparently still curious, Ais bent forward and continued to smell Vahn's body, but before she was able to do so for long, he quickly escaped from the lap pillow. Knowing that she found his smell to be 'good', Vahn felt incredibly awkward just letting her sniff him. He felt like, if he remained in that situation for too long, any benefits he gained from resting would be entirely wasted.Ais stared at Vahn who had jumped away from her body so quickly. She wondered if her actions were a bit weird, but before she asked, Vahn began waving his hands back-and-forth. "Don't worry about it Ais, I'm just going to clear my head a bit and try to meditate a bit to recover my energy. If I stay on your lap any longer, I feel like my efforts to rest would be lost due to my excitement." Vahn disliked when his actions made the girls upset, and seeing how Ais has so few expressions, he didn't want any of them to be 'sad'.Ais nodded at his words before standing up herself. After re-attaching her armor, she turned toward Vahn and stared at his face, or somewhere slightly below his face. Realizing what she was looking at, Vahn felt his tensions rise a bit, but he decided to take the initiative as she seemed to be thinking to herself. Closing the distance, Ais made eye contact with him before opening her arms slightly. Vahn reached his hands around her body and gave her a gentle kiss. He continued to do so for a few seconds before pulling away after what he thought was an appropriate amount of time.Seeing the watery look in Ais's eyes, Vahn couldn't help but ask, "How was it?" Ais, who had been somewhat dazed, blushed a bit before she looked at him. "Nnn, it was good." After that, she separated from Vahn and began to head toward the center of camp. Taking a few steps, she stopped and looked at Vahn who had been watching her departure. "It was better than the last time." With those final words, Ais turned and quickly walked away from the area.After she had completely disappeared, Vahn let himself fall backwards onto the grassy ground below. Once again, he felt like all of his energy was drained as he looked toward the shining crystals of the ceiling. He didn't know 'dealing' with girls was so mentally and physically taxing, but at least he was able to increase Ais's affection to 90 after their second kiss. She was now one of the people with the highest affection towards Vahn, and it made him feel a mixture of emotions including happiness.In his reflection, Vahn felt like there were going to be a lot of difficult situations like this in the future, and he began to worry if his body and mind would be able to hold out. He began to worry if there were any other girls that liked him, and Vahn began to seriously consider how he would deal with them in the future. According to Riveria, it wasn't uncommon for people to have multiple partners, but Vahn felt like he wasn't even capable of dealing with Tiona and Ais, much less other girls. Remembering Ais's words and her interest in sex, Vahn began to feel both anticipation and dread for the future."I should have asked when her birthday is..."(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The future is scary','Tiona smash','Thunk-Thunk')

Chapter 103: Operation Start