Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After returning to the Inn, Vahn lay in his bed alone as he stared up at the roof and contemplated how things would be changing soon. Though there were already several things happening simultaneously, Vahn felt like he needed to increase his focus on the promises he had made in the past. The most important thing was to forge an item for Hephaestus, and then he needed to increase his own influence within the City while guaranteeing the security of his friends and loved ones.Since he would likely have several children in the future, Vahn was beginning to worry about being able to provide a proper upbringing for them. Though most of the women he associated with were very capable and would probably provide for them well, Vahn didn't want to take a back seat when it came to his own family. It might be difficult, but Vahn wanted everyone to live together at some point, and even considered turning a large part of his residence into something akin to a daycare. Anubis was already very fond and considerate of children, and Vahn felt like Hestia would be a good influence on them as well when he thought about her divinities.The only people he was genuinely concerned with was Loki and Tiona, since their relationships were guaranteed to have complications. Loki would probably want to heavily influence their child when it is born and Tiona would have to return to the Amazon Country, Telskyura when she got pregnant. Vahn had to increase his strength and confront the goddess named Kali that he had seen from her memories. Hopefully, he would have a lot of strength and support from others to give him some leverage, since Vahn didn't want to start a war between Orario and an entire country. The Amazons were one of the most powerful and war-like races in the entire continent and, though their population wasn't too great, they would be a nightmare opponent for any other Country, Kingdom, Nation, or even Empire.With these various thoughts and troubles on his mind, Vahn slowly relaxed his body and prepared to sleep. The solution always seemed to be to become more powerful or have more authority, so he would pursue both in the future. Instead of trying to think about the matters on his own, he would talk about them with the involved parties and they could come up with a solution together. Content with this thought, Vahn fell asleep while looking forward to the coming day. Everything would officially begin the moment Hestia descended tomorrow.Unexpectedly, Vahn detected a presence enter his domain in the early morning that he recognized. Shortly after, he heard a scratching sound before the latch on his window had been undone. The quiet and lithe figure of Chloe snuck into his room before he heard the sound of muffled clothes falling to the floor before she whispered, "Pretending to sleep~nya?" When her words fell, Vahn felt a weight shift in the bed as Chloe crawled under the covers next to him in nothing but her underwear.Vahn hugged around her body and cradled her in a similar manner as the previous night as he whispered, "I was wondering if you would try anything sneaky." Feeling the warmth coming from her body, Vahn also felt a similar heat coming from his heart as the 'eternal flame' in his chest danced about rhythmically. Chloe laughed in a silent and tired manner as if she was about to fall asleep. She wrapped her tail around his leg again before saying, "I thought this might be one of the last times we could be together in this manner...you're a pretty popular guy~nya."In response to her words, Vahn kissed the back of her head and stroked her hands which were holding his. He whispered in a loving tone with a small amount of teasing in his voice, "Even if it's the middle of the day, or late in the evening, I'll always hold you if you're feeling lonely. Spoiling you makes me feel happy after all..." He then held her closely as she gave a silent 'Nn' sound and the two fell asleep once again.Other than when he woke up to enter the orb, Vahn continued holding Chloe until around 9 AM when he woke her up so she wouldn't be late for work. He had the opportunity to see her sleepy expression and lazy figure wearing nothing but creamy, light-beige, colored underwear. She had also brought the sundress Vahn had given her yesterday and wore it with a happy expression on her face. Vahn had curiously asked what happened to the panties and it caused her to laugh in a mischevious manner as she referred to them as her 'victory' underwear for the future.Vahn escorted her to the Hostess of Fertility before separating in the side alleyway after a short embrace. He had noticed earlier that she removed the white bow around her tail almost as if she was trying to display the bright blue ribbon for everyone to see. The thought made Vahn feel somewhat happy and he began to wonder what he could do to get more [Proof of Affection]'s in the future. Giving the girls he liked gifts that they desired made him feel happy, and he also knew they were happy to receive them.Though it was still early, Vahn spent the morning talking with Tina after Mama Mia made an exception and let him enter before they opened. They then ate an early lunch since Vahn would probably be busy in the afternoon before parting ways after Vahn affectionately stroked her head. Before he left, Tina told him something that made his heart palpitate slightly. She had said in a very serious manner, "When you buy me a ribbon, make sure it is the same as the one you get for Mom. Her favorite color is green, and I think it is a nice color also~nya."---While Vahn was dealing with future problems, Hephaestus was also preparing to do the same but in a distinctly different location. She had visited Babel Tower accompanied by Loki, Anubis, and Eina in preparation to receive Hestia after she descends. Though she wore her normal attire, Loki had changed into a more casual outfit that consisted of a white long-sleeve button-up shirt as well as a pair of black shorts that were slightly longer than what she normally wore. She had on a muted-black pair of stockings and a pair of brown dress shoes. Even though she looked 'casual', it was actually a much more formal look than normal which made Hephaestus feel 'underdressed' somehow.Anubis had even worn an elegant ceremonial dress with various golden ornaments that were studded with gemstones. Since Eina had also been wearing her professional Guild Staff attire, Hephaestus felt like the odd one out amongst the four present. She had worn her normal black form-fitting pants and the loose-collared white shirt that she always wore when forging. She had on a bluish-black pair of arm and leg protectors as well as a small belt where her hammer was stored. Though it was an outfit she enjoyed, and one Vahn had complimented her own, Hephaestus still felt out of place as she waited for the heavenly rays to converge on the platform in front of them.Around noon, the lights converge and solidify into a figure that was kneeling down on the ground. The white light took on a rosy hue as it slowly began to fade and revealed the person contained within. It was a small woman with long black hair styled into twin-tails that were fastened by a pair of bluish-white ribbons in the motif of a flower. There were small bells hanging under the ribbons that glittered with a resplendent silver color. When she stood up, her height only came to around 140cm and she had a somewhat childish face with a large smile and a pair of clear blue eyes. She was attired in a short frayed white dress that clung tightly to her body and emphasized the pair of large breasts that were framed by an opening in the dress that showed off the cleavage. Around her neck, there was a blue ribbon that matched her eyes as well as a second blue ribbon tied to her upper arms that went around her whole body and hugged under her breasts almost as if to emphasize them even further.Loki immediately clicked her tongue but didn't say anything else as Hestia made eye contact with Hephaestus with a gentle smile on her face. Soon after, Hestia tilted her head slightly as if confused before her eyes widened and she pointed to Hephaestus and shouted, "Y-y-your eye! It got better!?" Before Hephaestus could even explain, Hestia's expression turned into one of pure jubilation as she ran down from the platform and hugged Hephaestus while laughing with a hint of tears in her eyes.Since there was a 25cm height difference between them, Hestia ended up hugging around Hephaestus's ribs and it brought her face right to the fairly amble bosom on the forging goddess. Since Hestia herself actually had larger breasts, it created an awkward scene where they were stacked on top of each other while the two girls hugged. Hephaestus had adapted to not wearing her eyepatch and had forgotten to mention the matter of her eye being healed since the main reason she had contacted Hestia was about the problem regarding Vahn.After a while, Hestia also noticed that her eternal rival and a beautiful woman with dark skin and hair were also present next to a very secretarial looking half-elf woman. Since Oracles were very ambiguous, she hadn't been made aware of everything yet and her expression soured a bit when she saw Loki watching her and Hephaestus. While still hugging Hephaestus, Hestia frowned while looking at Loki and asked, "What is this washboard goddess doing here?"Though a vein popped up on Loki's temple, she forced herself to remain calm as her smile deepened a little. She said in a very casual manner, "We'll be allies in the future, so it won't be beneficial to either of us if we fight like in the past." Her words caused Hestia's eyes to widen because she had expected Loki's usual outburst and insults about the size of her breasts and height. At no point in their relationship had Loki ever not given her some kind of quip or barb, and she felt incredulous about things since she had been the one to say something rude first.Hephaestus managed to free herself from Hestia's embrace and said in a very casual and 'cool' manner reminiscent of her past self, "We'll talk once we get somewhere more secure. There are various things we need to catch up on, and there is a lot of things that need to be explained." Then, Hephaestus's eyes turned very gentle as she smiled at the goddess she considered her best friend, "Thanks for coming, Hestia..."Hestia's mind was being overloaded by everything that was happening, especially after the matter regarding Loki. Hearing Hephaestus speak seriously before saying kind and gentle words, she remembered the purpose of her descent a bit and smiled widely and said in a very confident and caring manner, "You can always rely on me! We're best friends after all~!" She placed extra emphasis on the 'best friends' part and thumped her ample bosom as if performing a mild salute. Loki flinched at the side because she had seen, almost as if in slow motion, the ripple of the impact pass through Hestia's breasts. Looking down at her own lackluster bosom and releasing a sigh, she resolved herself to ask what exercises Hephaestus had been doing to tone up her butt.After a few short words, the group of five made their way to the private residence of Hephaestus within the tower of Babel. Since she was the head of the 3rd ranked Familia, Hephaestus had a huge temple-like private residence on the 48th floor. Loki had a residence on the 49th floor, but they had decided to use Hephaestus's since there would be fewer issues if anything happened.Once they had arrived, everyone sat around a large rectangular shaped beautiful wooden table while Anubis saw to making tea. Hestia was surprised since she could tell Anubis was a goddess and yet she was acting in a very servile manner even though there was a mortal girl present. Her impression of the beautiful goddess increased exponentially because she liked people that were kind and considerate without using their status and authority against others.After everyone had their tea, Hephaestus and Loki began to explain everything that had been happening in the mortal world for the last few months in regards to Vahn. Even Eina pitched in to help fill in some of the blanks while Hestia listened on with a mixture of emotions. She was very happy that her best friend had met a kind boy that was also able to heal her eye. When she found out the two were engaged, she was ecstatic and congratulated her. However, soon after that, she found out that the half-elf girl named Eina was also engaged to the same boy.She then heard the story about Vahn's origins and how he interacted with people and their interpretation that he was 'broken'. Hestia felt terrible for the poor boy for having been made to suffer such a tragic fate but was happy to see that he had found several people that cared deeply for him. It was said that he was making rapid progress and maturing quickly, but that had also caused other problems because he overextended his boundaries and pushed himself too far at times. They then told her about everything that had happened during the events of Milan and Tina's kidnapping as well as the death of Laverna before they finally contacted her after negotiating with Ouranos.It was a lot to take in, especially the part about how Vahn was likely able to impregnate goddesses with some kind of magical chains. When she had heard that, not only Hephaestus but Anubis and Loki also intended to bear the boy named Vahn's children, Hestia wasn't entirely sure how to feel. She was happy, excited, scared, and somewhat annoyed all at the same time. The proud look that Loki had on her face as she talked about her interactions with Vahn irked her a bit, especially when Loki proactively teased her about still being a virgin.After everything was said and done, Hestia had been brought up to speed on the matters regarding Vahn and was essentially asked by the women present to help Vahn 'create a home'. It was Hephaestus and Eina's desire that Vahn has a place that he created for himself that wasn't provided for him by anyone else. Though it seemed strange, since they were essentially 'providing' Hestia to him, it would still be a place created with his own interests in mind.Hestia agreed to their request because she was also very interested in the boy called Vahn Mason and wanted to see if she could help him live a happier life. Strangely though, when she gave her assent, the mood turned strange and everyone present began cautioning her about Vahn's 'tendencies'. Other than Eina, every goddess present had experienced Vahn's [Hands of Nirvana], and they believed it wouldn't be long before Hestia became another victim. Since she had a somewhat lazy personality and loved to be spoiled by people, Vahn would likely get pulled into her momentum and tend to her needs. Being lectured by each of the girls, Hestia's curiosity grew alongside her concerns as she looked forward to the meeting with the boy that she would likely be spending the rest of his life with.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Is it night crawling if they show up in the morning?','Hestia's Shock','Hestia gets brought into the inner circle')https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

After leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn leisurely made his way toward the cafe near Babel Tower where he was told to wait. He was in high spirits because this would be the first time he would be meeting Hestia and would likely be able to join her Familia on the spot. Though he enjoyed his time in the Hephaestus Familia, he never really did his job or acted the role of ones of its members. Other than interacting with a few of the key figures in the Familia, like Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and Welf, he didn't even talk to many others.Though his intentions changed a bit as his relationship with Hephaestus developed, Vahn had always dreamt of joining the Hestia Familia ever since he came to this world. One of the reasons he had joined the Hephaestus Familia in the first place was so that he could meet Hestia in the future. He originally expected it to be closer to the start of the original storyline, but he had changed events to such a significant extent that she descended earlier. The fact that she was specifically descending for his benefit and to help Hephaestus made Vahn a little giddy with excitement.After arriving at the cafe, Vahn was escorted by the staff to one of the VIP lounges where he was served coffee and pastries while he waiting for the arrival of Hephaestus and the others. Since he loved the taste of sweets and had grown fond of the bitter and robust flavor of coffee, Vahn was enjoying the leisurely and pleasant atmosphere. He was originally told Hestia would be descending around noon, and it was currently close to 1 PM, so Vahn had high expectations while his tensions continued to grow.More than three hours later, Vahn had gone through several cups of coffee and had even excused himself to use the luxurious bathroom once. Though his tensions were still high, he was beginning to feel slightly concerned with how late it was getting. He assumed nothing had happened, especially considering that Loki would be certain to attend, but he still felt a little nervous as the day continued to progress. Eventually, it came time for him to enter the orb and, after the three days inside, he had completely lost all of his tensions by the time he returned.Instead of worrying, Vahn decided to focus his mind and try to comprehend the [Mantra of Eternity] while he waiting. Since he could enter a meditative state relatively quickly without losing his awareness of the outside world, it was an easy way to pass the time. After a few more hours had passed, Vahn checked the system time and saw that it was nearly 8 PM and there hadn't been any word from the staff about their arrival. He even began to suspect he had come a day early, but the room had been specifically reserved for today or he wouldn't have been able to enter so easily.Since the cafe closed at 8, Vahn had to leave the VIP lounge and exit the cafe with a bit of concern. Convincing himself nothing serious had happened, Vahn just released a short sigh before returning to his default state. The night air was cool and the stars were visible in the sky, so he decided it would be best to just walk back to the Inn and clear his head a bit. He would check with Hephaestus tomorrow and see if anything happened and likely meet Hestia then.As he walked through the streets, Vahn passed by a stall where a small figure caught his eye and he paused for a bit because he immediately recognized her. She had also been watching him and showed a bright smile as she said, "Good evening~!" After her greeting, she held her hand to her chin in a contemplative fashion as she 'appraised' his body and asked, "Why are you walking around so late at night with such a sad look on your face?"Vahn smiled at her antics and responded, "I was waiting for a kind and gentle goddess to come meet me. Unfortunately, it looks like today wasn't my lucky day..." The girl began to laugh in a cheerful manner before she said, "Well, at least you got to meet a beautiful girl like me~!" Vahn nodded his head in response and said in a gentle tone, "Indeed, if only the goddess I had been waiting on was as beautiful as you, I don't think I would have minded waiting for another few years if necessary."His 'suave' and 'playful' words made the small girl beam as she puffed out her ample bosom with a mock haughty display full of cheerfulness as she said, "Ehehehe, do you really think I'm beautiful~?" Vahn nodded and said confidently, "Yes, you seem exactly like the goddess I had imagined in my mind. If only I had been so fortunate to have met you sooner..." Vahn looked toward the sky and stared at the stars as he wondered why Hestia was playing around with him.The 'beautiful girl' he had been talking to and had greeted him was, in fact, the Hestia he had been waiting to meet at the cafe. Vahn wondered what had transpired for her to be waiting outside near the cafe while none of the others members he expected were present. Because of his reverie and genuine confusion, Hestia thought he was feeling sad since she had left him waiting for so long.After the meeting earlier, she had convinced Hephaestus and Loki to allow her to meet and judge Vahn for herself before she made her final decision. Even though she still intended to let him join her Familia, regardless of her impression, Hestia wanted to know what kind of person he was without having anything formally arranged. From her perspective, she could see that he was a very expressive boy that had a gentle and somewhat lonely expression. He treated people kindly and carried himself in a casual manner that almost seemed to blend into the night air. If she had known he was using his domain with stealth active, she probably would have realized her impression was partially skewed since Vahn often stood out normally.While he was still thinking, Hestia grabbed his hand and asked in a gentle voice with a caring smile on her face, "If I were a goddess, would you want to join my Familia? Even if I wasn't the person you were waiting for, I believe I can help you find happiness." Her words caused Vahn to turn his attention back to her and he still had a smile on his face as he shook his head, "You may be beautiful and kind, but I already decided to join the Familia of the goddess I was waiting for. Even though we haven't met yet, she was the goddess recommended by one of the most important people in my life."At this point, Vahn figured out that Hestia had probably arranged to meet him in this manner after he was finally kicked out of the cafe. Though he wasn't sure why he somewhat understood she was probably testing him. Because he knew her so well from the manga, Vahn was willing to play along and see what she wanted to try. When she offered to let him join her Familia, he nearly said yes, but remembered that he had claimed to be waiting for a goddess he had never met. Since they hadn't introduced themselves yet, Vahn thought it would be strange if he immediately accepted her offer.Hestia beamed after he 'refused' to join her Familia and Vahn noticed that her affection had increased from 66 to 75 in an instant. Since she had grabbed his hand earlier when she made her offer, Vahn was able to see the values and noticed her Intrigue, like almost every goddess he had met, was already at 100. Lowering her head like she was uttering a silent prayer, Hesta held his hand between both of her for a few seconds before looking back at him with a gentle, yet mischevious, smile.She asked, "What if I was the goddess you were waiting for this entire time~?" Vahn's smile grew by a marginal amount as he looked into her crystal clear blue eyes and said, "I think I might be afraid..." His words caused Hestia to tilt her head and asked, "Afraid~? Why?" A gentle expression touched Vahn's eyes as he said in a low tone, "I'm afraid I may have used up all my luck in this lifetime. If the goddess I was waiting for was someone like you, I think the Familia they created would be a wonderful place."His words made the smile on Hestia's face grow even wider and she said in a very excited manner, "Greetings, Vahn~! I'm Hestia, Hephaestus's best friend! She sent me here to meet you, but I wanted to see what kind of person you were, so sorry for making you wait!" As her words fell, Hestia bowed low for a brief moment before standing back up straight. Vahn's brows raised a bit because of the degree her breasts had jiggled in the process, but Hestia assumed he was surprised by her reveal.She began to laugh as if she found his disbelief to be entertaining and asked, "So, what will it be~? Do you still not want to join the Familia of this 'beautiful', 'kind', 'gentle', and 'caring' goddess~!?" As she asked her question, Hestia placed emphasis on each of the compliments Vahn had given her earlier. Though he was a bit surprised by her liveliness, it was one of the reasons she had been one of his favorite characters in the manga. With a genuinely happy smile on his face, Vahn said, "I would love to join your Familia, Hestia...that is, if you'll have someone like me."The moment he agreed, Hestia seemed to lose her restraint as she launched herself at Vahn's face with her arms spread wide. Vahn caught her body and noticed she was somewhat awkward to hold since he nearly grabbed her butt when intending to grab where the waist would have been on a 'normal' girl. She rubbed her face against him and said in a lively tone, "Ahaha, Vahn, why are you so cute~!? Of course, I'll accept you in my Familia, that is why I came here~!"Though he expected Hestia to be the 'clingy' type, since she always seemed to be dangling off Bell in the source material, Vahn was surprised that she immediately dropped her guard against him. He wasn't aware that she had spent a good three hours getting a crash course about him from the other goddesses and Eina earlier and had already opened up to him quite a bit. Not only was he the future husband of her best friend, but he was also a kind and caring boy that paid her compliments easily without showing any signs of deception on his face. From Hestia perspective, and with everything she had heard about him, she thought he was an amazing boy and even had some mild expectations about being 'spoiled' by him already cemented in her mind.After a few seconds of over-affectionately rubbing her cheek against his, Hestia seemed to realize something and jumped down from Vahn's body as if she was shocked by her own behavior. She panicked for a few seconds and looked like she was struggling with her own thoughts before she pointed at him and said, "From now on, you'll be in my Familia~! In exchange for my blessing, you'll have to provide me with a place to stay, food, and entertainment!"Vahn nodded his head and listened to her words 'attentively' as he marveled at her unique behavior. Seeing that he was properly listening, Hestia's expression turned gentle and she said, "If you work hard to make me happy, I'll work twice as hard to make sure you're happy as well. Happiness is something that is shared between people and, if we work together, we'll be able to grow alongside each other and create a better future for us, our Familia, and everyone around us."Her words had a bigger impact than Vahn expected as he felt a warmth spread through his heart and could even feel his eyes mist over a bit as a pressure built up in his nose. He knew she was the type that could say inspiring things that always struck at the heart of the matter, but he never expected to be on the receiving end of her speeches so soon after they just met. Her words were similar to the things he had been learning and trying to work on as of late, so they hit especially close to home at this moment.Seeing how emotional Vahn was acting, Hestia's smile grew especially gentle as she reached out her hand and said, "Let's go home, Vahn..." Vahn stared at her tiny, outstretched, hand and hesitated for a brief moment before placing his into it. Though it was much smaller than his own, Vahn felt a strange sense of security in its grasp. His actions made Hestia smile as she looked toward his face in silence for several seconds without breaking eye contact. Eventually, she seemed to have realized something as her smile turned slightly awkward and she asked, "Which way is home~? Ehehehehehe."(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The awkward moment when you meet someone for the first time that knows a lot about you','Prank'd','Bestia is quite airheaded')https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

Since the Inn Vahn stayed at was on the same road between the Hostess of Fertility and the Babel Plaza, the two arrived outside the pub after a short ten-minute walk. Along the way, Vahn held Chloe's hand just like he had done so on their date long ago. To other pedestrians, they looked like a young couple walking through the City and enjoying each other's company. Though they were supposed to be in a hurry, Chloe had waited for him outside of the Inn and they leisurely enjoyed the stroll and sunny weather.After arriving near the Hostess of Fertility, Chloe went toward the side entrance to change into her waitress clothing. She said that it would be a death sentence is she walked through the doors in her current getup while being accompanied by Vahn. Since she was already late, Chloe didn't want to do anything that might trigger Mama Mia's ire. Before she left, however, Vahn used the [Proof of Affection] that he had obtained from Chloe reaching maximum affection. The item that appeared was a beautiful blue ribbon.Though Vahn found it somewhat strange that the item Chloe wanted was something so simple, she seemed to be very happy as she received it with a cheerful smile on her face. She hugged the ribbon to the side of her face with her eyes closed as if it was some great treasure. After a few seconds, she looked at Vahn with gentle eyes before handing the ribbon back to him. Vahn was somewhat confused until she turned around and said, "I want you to put it on for me..."Vahn ran through the knowledge in his mind to find a hint for what she was implying, but none of the books he had read mentioned anything about a ribbon and cat people. Unsure of what to do, Vahn held the blue ribbon and stared blankly until he noticed Chloe's tail had been twitching while she silently looked away from him. Inspired, Vahn reached his hands forward and very gently tied the ribbon near the base of Chloe's, right under the small white bow. Though it clashed with the clothing a bit, Vahn felt like the pure blue color complimented the silken black hair of Chloe's tail quite a bit.While he was lost in thought, Chloe said in a quiet voice, "You have to tie it tighter, or it will fall off~nya." Vahn followed her words and pulled the ribbon marginally tighter until it pressed into the fur a little. When he was done, Chloe's tail danced about before she turned around and threw her arms around Vahn's neck and gave him a kiss. Vahn held her by the waist and reciprocated her affectionate display until she finally separated from him. She touched the ribbon with her fingers and made sure it was firmly fastened to her tail before she laughed in a silly manner and walked inside without saying anything.Vahn decided to ask her about it later or try to find out if there was some hidden meaning from one of the other cat people he knew. Since Milan and Tina were in a unique situation, that meant the only person he could ask was Arnya. Making his way through the front doors of the pub, Vahn looked around a bit before approaching the bar and explaining the situation to Mama Mia. As expected, she had already heard about the matter from Syr previously, but Vahn still left her a tip as compensation for the trouble. She took the money with a boisterous laughter and made comments about how he was growing up into a 'fine young man'.Afterward, Vahn ate lunch with Milan and Tina after asking Arnya to be their server. She seemed to be surprised by his request and even acted a bit flustered before eventually accepting. The whole time she was serving the trio, Arnya acted in a somewhat sheepish and clumsy manner and even knocked over the pitcher of juice they had ordered at one point. Vahn immediately contained the spill with one of the towels he had in his inventory while Arnya apologized in an embarrassed manner.When lunch was finished and Vahn parted with Milan and Tina, he decided to ask Arnya about the matter of the ribbon since they were alone. He approached her and asked in a quiet voice, "Arnya, is there a special significance between cat people and ribbons?" Arnya was acting strangely since earlier and she tilted her head like she was confused about his question for some time. She was always a bit on the clumsy and foolish end of the spectrum, so it took her some time to make sense of what he was asking.She asked in a curious manner while tilting her head far to the side in a cutesy and contemplative manner, "It depends~nya? Where did you put it?" Vahn, without thinking about his response, pointed at the small brown tail of Arnya that had three lighter colored stripes and a bushy end and said, "I put it on the tail." Arnya tilted her head to the other side and thought about what he just said before looking at her own tail in confusion. After a few seconds had passed, she became very shocked and began waving her hands from side to side as she stuttered, "Nya-na-na-na-na, I'm nyot ready for that~!"Without explaining what she 'wasn't ready for', Arnya ran outside the door of the private booth as if she were escaping. She had a strange laughter and flustered expression that caused a bit of commotion in the pub until Mama Mia threw a wooden cork that bonked her on the head. Vahn watched the entire scene play out with confusion on his face that was only made worse after he checked the notifications that had sounded in his head from earlier.Arnya's affection for him had always been in the lower seventies, but it just shot up to the upper eighties after he asked her the question about the ribbon. Since she wasn't one of the girls he had a 'peculiar' relationship with, Vahn was somewhat confused by the sudden increase. He almost wanted to retort that she was misunderstanding, but Arnya was often treated like an idiot by those around her and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Seeing that the value was constantly increasing and decreasing and the fact that her status was kept fluctuating between (Curious) and (Love?), Vahn lost any ability to comment. (A/N: Yes, that is Love with a question mark xD)Syr had approached through the door while Vahn was confused and he decided to explain the matter to her while also asking if she knew anything about tying a ribbon to the tail of a cat person. His question had made her brows raise a bit before she started laughing in a cheerful manner while covering her mouth. She looked at him and Vahn could see a gleam pass through her eyes as she said, "I saw Chloe with that blue ribbon, so you must have given it to her. Though there isn't any significant meaning most of the time, some cat people let their significant other's tie a ribbon around the base of their tail. It is kind of a way to show they have been marked...after they marked someone."As she spoke, Syr had placed her hand on the collar of Vahn's tunic and moved it aside to see bite mark Chloe had left in his shoulder the previous night. Vahn grabbed her wrist and pulled it away gently as she gave him a strange and soft look with a small smile on her face. Vahn now knew why Arnya acted in such an 'explosive' manner since she might have thought he was inviting her to bite him as well. Since she considered herself and Chloe to be the 'poster cat girls' of the Hostess of Fertility, she had an inclination to act similarly to Chloe at times. This was the reason she had taken to serve him on the days Chloe had taken off in the past and how they became friendly with each other over time.Since she had disappeared to the back of the kitchen where Chloe was washing dishes as 'punishment', Vahn assumed she would probably see the ribbon he had tied for Chloe and hoped things would be explained. As an extra precaution, he even asked Syr to try and explain things if there were any misunderstandings. Though he didn't mind Arnya and probably wouldn't turn her away if she liked him, Vahn didn't want their relationship to start because of a misunderstanding. He had learned that lesson because of his interactions with Nanu and wanted things to progress in a more natural manner if possible.After parting with Syr and leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn once again had nothing significant to do so he wandered around the City and inspected a few of the available properties that were for sale and lease. Though he still intended to take Hestia around and search, there was no harm in investigating things himself. Some places had formations and even escape tunnels that were hidden and were likely used by criminal organizations or disreputable types. Vahn even confirmed his suspicions once when he found a group of four people exit from a house that was supposed to be unoccupied.Since they all had muted grey auras, Vahn decided to follow them to see if they were up to anything bad. Though he didn't intend to act as the role of a vigilante that clears the streets in secret, he couldn't overlook shady behavior if it happened right in front of him. There was also the fact that he was rather bored at the moment, so Vahn had been searching for something interesting to pass the time.The men eventually entered another building that looked like a bar and Vahn could detect several different types of auras inside. Not all of them were grey as there were some neutral colors and even some warmer colored auras inside. Through his perception, Vahn could sense the men approach the counter as their aura became slightly brighter. Realizing that they had just come to the place to drink, Vahn shook his head and decided to not bother the men. He would just tell the Guild about the hidden passageway and have them investigate the building the men had used.Just as a precaution though, Vahn returned to the building himself to see if there was anything strange. There didn't seem to be any traps or anyone else present in the building so Vahn followed the corridor until it came to an end at another building that was also unoccupied. The four men from earlier likely knew the network of tunnels between some of the buildings and used them as a shortcut to evade the foot traffic aboveground.Exiting the building, Vahn looked around the area and didn't find anything suspicious even when he expanded his domain to the maximum. There were hundreds of people on the streets at this time, and there were a variety of different auras that could mean anything. Since there was nothing he could do, Vahn decided to just move on from the empty house and walk around for a bit to see if he could spot anything abnormal. It was somewhat exciting for him because Vahn felt like he was a detective tracking down a mystery even if there was no actual trail to follow.By the time 5 PM came around, Vahn had returned to the Inn before entering into the orb and spending another three days with Eva. Even though he had looked around for about three hours, Vahn didn't find anything too suspicious so he just reported the existence of the tunnels to the local guardsmen. Though they had wanted to question him, Vahn just used Shundo to disappear from their sights while leaving a few 'mysterious' parting words for the confused men.Within the orb, Vahn continued to improve his forging and even acted as a live model for one of Eva's paintings. When she was finished, she tried to goad Vahn into painting one of her, but he didn't have the technical or artistic ability that she had developed over her hundreds of years as a Shinso Vampire. He did give a try, however, though things became overly complicated since he tried to put too much detail into things and got caught up fixing minor mistakes. Painting her face was easy and Vahn thought he might enjoy painting in the future, but when he moved on to try and shape out her body, Vahn couldn't keep his focus at all and made several mistakes.By the time he left the orb, he had created something that would have qualified as modern art in his previous world, though he didn't know this personally. Leaving the Inn, he went back to the Hostess of Fertility to eat dinner with the girls and was tended to, surprisingly, by both Chloe and Arnya. She was still acting in an overly flustered manner and Chloe teased her throughout the entire dinner while playing with Tina. The young cat girl had started to grow closer to the other women at the Hostess of Fertility and Vahn was happy that she didn't seem reliant on sticking to him as much. Milan always had a gentle smile on her face, and Vahn could see she was still heavily affected by the events, however.After dinner, Chloe approached with Arnya while holding her hands on Arnya's shoulders so she couldn't run away. She had a somewhat devious smile on her face as she pushed Arnya in front of Vahn. Seeing the look in Chloe's eyes, Vahn felt like something troublesome might have happened as he stared at the sheepish appearance of Arnya. She saw him look at her and lowered her head as she brought her index fingers together in an overly frustrated display of hesitation.Vahn released a short sigh and asked, "Did Syr and Chloe explain about what happened earlier?" Vahn was somewhat concerned that the misunderstanding had never been addressed, so he wanted to clarify things before they got out of hand. His words caused Arnya to fluster a bit as a blush covered her face and she groaned slightly under her breath. Things had indeed been explained to her earlier, but she couldn't stop her mind from getting carried away afterward and had been in an extra-clumsy mood all day since then.Since Arnya didn't respond, Chloe explained that she and Syr had talked to Arnya earlier but that Arnya still wanted to say something personally to Vahn later. As if prompted by Chloe's words, Arnya looked at Vahn's face and said, "Can you...pet my head~nya?" Though he was somewhat hesitant, Vahn showed an awkward smile as he placed his palm on Arnya's head just as she asked. Since she wanted him to 'pet' her, Vahn also stroked her hair and ears gently as she closed her eyes with a slightly frustrated expression on her face.The longer he stroked her head, the greater the number of notifications about her rising affection sounded in his mind. Vahn felt a bit nervous and pulled his hand away when it had reached 93 since he was afraid of the possibility that it would suddenly reach the cap if he continued. When he stopped, the frustrated expression on Arnya's face didn't go away as she gripped her own head with both hands and writhed about in a strange manner as if she didn't know how to express what she was feeling.Eventually, Chloe began to laugh at her actions before suggesting, "Arnya, you don't have to immediately push things so far. Vahn will be coming here to the Hostess of Fertility often, probably for years to come. Just relax and take things slowly~nya." As if grasping a lifeline, Arnya looked as though she had a revelation as she began to laugh in a cheerful manner. She looked at Vahn before leaning forward slightly and holding up one of her index fingers like she was about to lecture him and said, "You'll have to pet me a lot more than that if you want to win my heart~nya!"Vahn almost wanted to retort that he could have brought her to 100 affection if he hadn't stopped earlier, but he just laughed away her words before saying, "Sure, I'll pet you lots in the future." His words caused Arnya's eyes to widen by a large amount as she stood frozen in her earlier pose. After a few seconds passed and she had processed what he said, she once again ran through the doors in a similar manner as earlier as she shouted, "Nyaa-nya-naaa, I w-on't let you pet me so easily~nya!"Her words caused another commotion, especially since there were several people that drank in the pub in the evenings, and Mama Mia shouted as she flicked three bullet-like corks towards Arnya, Chloe, and Vahn's heads. Though he could have avoided the attack, Vahn had seen the 'fierce' look in Mama Mia's eyes, so he let it impact him right in the forehead as she yelled, "We don't offer those kinds of services you brat!"http://danmachi.wikia.com/wiki/File:Arnya_Flomel.png(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tiny blue ribbon','Petting Fiend Returns','Arnya, the Dunce')https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be accessible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images &lt;3

Chapter 214: Descent