Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

For the next few days until Friday, Vahn spent the majority of his time moving between the orb, home, and the Hostess of Fertility. Some important developments in those three days had been the change in his treatment from various people. Whenever Vahn visited the Hostess of Fertility he still had his private booth but now, instead of just Chloe, there was a rotation between the girls that served his meal. There seemed to be an agreement between Chloe, Syr, and Ryuu, and Vahn had the opportunity to spend time with all three girls in private.Whenever he was with Chloe, she liked to act affectionate and be spoiled, and Vahn found her presence to be very comforting. There was something tantalizing about having a woman lay in his lap and act playfully as he got to tease and feed her treats. Since she allowed him a few liberties, Vahn had a lot of fun spending time with her.When Syr had served him, she acted with her characteristic cheerful manner, but she also tried to act less reserved than normal. Though she understood that Vahn wasn't willing to be with her for the time being, it didn't stop her from sitting next to him close enough for their legs to touch. Unlike Chloe, she was trying to spoil Vahn and even held the fork as she fed him small bites of the food he had ordered. Throughout the entire time, she would make small and casual contact for very brief moments and Vahn could subtly feel that each time she did so, it was for a slightly longer period of time.Of the three girls, Ryuu was the most peculiar when she entered the private booth. She acted in a very reserved manner and sat across from Vahn as she quietly listened to his stories. She would periodically ask questions about his past travels and what he wanted to do in the future, and Vahn answered each question with moderated enthusiasm. Since he could see her aura, Vahn understood she was enjoying their time together and slowly transitioning from her taciturn self to a slightly more cheerful demeanor. Since Ryuu had her hands on the table, Vahn wanted to tease her a bit and tried grabbing her hand to see how she would react. He didn't know why, but teasing elf girls seemed to be an instinctual habit for him and he wanted to break her expressionless guise.The placid expression on her face changed slightly as her brows raised and she opened her eyes by a marginal amount. She removed her hand out from under his and turned her head to the side with the slightest hint of a blush on her face as she broke eye contact with Vahn. He couldn't help but think she was adorable, so Vahn said, "You look cute when you smile and have a slightly bashful expression." Though it wasn't much, the blush on her face grew slightly deeper as she 'ignored' his complement and just refilled his tea.In response to her actions, Vahn just smiled and received the cup gratefully before taking a sip and saying, "Thank you, Ryuu." After his words hung in the air for several seconds, Ryuu showed a hint of gentleness in her eyes as she responded in a curt and soft tone, "You're welcome, Vahn." After that, Vahn continued to enjoy the atmosphere and made small talk while periodically trying to tease her. Though she never reacted in a drastic manner, Vahn was always able to get a very slight rise out of her which made him smile.When he wasn't at the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn spent the majority of his time in the real world at home teaching Nanu about forging and attending the lessons with the other children. Tina had pretty much cemented herself as the second highest authority in the house as even Anubis was slightly deferential to the small cat girl. All of the kids were making rapid improvements, and Vahn had high hopes for their future lives and accomplishments.The most significant change in his general living at home was the change that had occurred in Tina in the last few days. She wasn't in nearly as high tensions as she had been previously, and she acted a lot less shy and bashful around Vahn, though not in an overly intimate way. Whenever they would return to the room in the evening to sleep, Tina didn't act shy or concerned at all when she changed her clothes. When it came time for bed, she would quickly crawl in after Vahn and snuggle up at his side before falling asleep with a happy and contented smile on her face. Vahn noticed that she didn't seem to have bad dreams anymore and her trust toward him had increased by a fair amount.Vahn felt slightly protective of the small girl, and it felt like his self-control had improved a lot in the last week with her at his side. Now, whenever he interacted with girls like Anubis and Nanu, Vahn wasn't so influenced by their change in reaction to his petting. He showed them affection and felt warm feelings for them instead of being overly-reliant on getting a rise out of them. They also seemed to have noticed his change and had happy expressions on their faces whenever he would scratch behind their ears.Though they may not have understood why he had changed so quickly, Vahn was very aware of the reasons as it related to the place he spent the most time. Whenever Vahn entered the orb, he would experience an extra six days for every one day in the real world. That meant that, by the end of the week, Vahn had more than a months time to organize his thoughts and adapt to the changes around him. In the brief few seconds where he would spend days with the overly affectionate Eva, Vahn was able to get a lot of his urges out of his system. This, combined with his interactions with the girls at the Hostess of Fertility and the members of his family back home had rapidly changed his character.Speaking of Eva, she too had changed quite a bit over the course of the week where they had been interacting with each other intimately. Instead of the black gothic dress, she liked to wear in the past, she instead wore cute and somewhat revealing clothing and often tried to tease Vahn in the moments when he wasn't too busy. The moment he would finally put down his tools, she would immediately drag him away to the bath and receive his pampering for a few hours as they both 'rested'. Vahn noticed that she sought his affection more and more as time went on, and he pampered the girl quite a bit to alleviate her needs.Because of their constant 'battles' for supremacy when she mounted his stomach, Vahn actually achieved a new benchmark in his capabilities. His [Hands of Nirvana] had finally increased from rank A to rank S, and he was now able to get a slight edge against the tyrannical vampire. Even with her near instantaneous recovery, Vahn was able to chain together the sensations long enough to get a rise out of her that made him pleased with himself. For the first time since their meeting, he was able to defeat Eva to such an extent that his abdomen had become bathed with a tantalizing and aromatic moisture.Unfortunately, she didn't seem as pleased by his actions as he was since she beat his chest with powerless strikes for nearly five minutes until he embraced her body. Though she calmed down a bit when he hugged her, that actually spelled his own demise as she regained her clarity enough to counterattack him. For nearly four hours after that, she tormented his body till the point where he had to forcefully activate his [Will of the Emperor] to escape her clutches. Though it made him feel a bit ashamed to retreat, Vahn still laughed like a fool as he ran away from the bed and toward his workshop to take out his frustrations on a piece of metal. Though she could have stopped him with her telekinesis, Eva just smiled as she followed his retreat with her eyes. After he left the room, she laid down on the bed and enjoyed the remnant heat coming from the blankets as she fell into a peaceful sleep.And this was how Vahn spent what amounted to nearly thirty-five days worth of time in a single week. When Saturday morning came, he performed his ritual of fixing Tina's posture and giving her a kiss on her forehead before he reentered the orb with more excitement than normal. Today would be a very important step on his path toward the future, and Vahn could hardly wait to see if his theory proved true.The moment he opened his eyes within the orb, he immediately opened his arms to catch the small girl that dropped on top of him. Since Eva could sense when he was entering the orb, she had developed the habit of floating above where he would appear before dropping down on him. Vahn noticed that this time, she was wearing lacy white lingerie that highlighted her incredibly fair skin and golden hair. Vahn had realized that, the closer they became, the lighter her attire had become as well. Though she originally started with pure black clothes, she transitioned to colors like reds, blues, and purples until she eventually started wearing lighter versions of the colors before fully transitioning to golds, pinks, and whites.When he pointed it out to her previously, she actually beat him up a bit with a fierce blush on her face. The entire time she did so, Vahn couldn't help but laugh and tease her for her cute actions. After she had finally forced him to 'concede', she explained to him in a low voice that she changed her clothing to appeal to him more. Vahn nodded his head in response because he often gave her compliments when she changed attires and lighter colors really did suit her well.After Eva finally released him from the bedroom, Vahn made his way to the workshop with an excited and almost giddy anticipation building within him. Eva had noticed his strange behavior and followed behind to see what he was up to. Seeing him start forging like normal, Eva couldn't help but ask, "What are you up to that is making you act like such an idiot?"Vahn had long grown accustomed to her 'insults', so he didn't pay it any mind as he responded, "I have an ability to imbue the 'legend' of a name into entities without names. It has a very long cooldown, and the cooldown will be up in just a few hours. I really want to try it out on a sword to see how it influences the final product."Eva's eyes opened wide in surprise as she asked, "You have naming magic? That is one of the most powerful systems of magic generally only used by the gods and those that emulate them." If what Vahn said was true, it meant that he had far more magical potential than she had realized. She already knew that he was likely very compatible with the Magia Erbea from his 'transformation' magic, and now he even had one of the rarest types of magic from her world and mentioned it casually, almost as if it weren't an important matter.Vahn nodded his head and set down the metal he was working with to be treated by the 'eternal flame' as he pulled out a beautiful rainbow-colored crystal. Before Eva could ask, Vahn said, "Follow me, I'll show you something pretty cool." The two made their way out of the workshop and into an open area where Vahn didn't have to worry about accidentally breaking anything. Infusing his energy into the crystal, it began to glow with a beautifully resplendent color before purple mist began to explode rapidly from the crystal as he threw it forward.A large black dragon that was nearly 7m in length emerged from the crystal and flew into the sky before releasing a loud roar that echoed through the empty black and white world. Eva was surprised by the emergence of the dragon and asked, "Summoning magic?" Vahn shook his head in response as he explained how he had met a wyvern in the dungeon and tamed it. Shortly after, he used his 'naming magic' to give it the name of a legendary dragon which had forced it to evolve from a frail pink wyvern into the powerful black dragon flying in circles above their head.Eva listened to his explanation with a bit of disbelief on her face since, if his words were true, which they likely were, it meant that his 'naming magic' was far more powerful than she expected. She could sense that the dragon Fafnir had the same energy signature as Vahn, even though their auras were completely different. To her, it seemed more like summoning magic, but she also knew that Vahn wasn't lying to her. This meant that he actually had 'Mythic Grade' magic, even though he didn't even know anything about the basics. She suddenly felt like the promise he had made to save her had much greater credibility.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Go, Fafnir, I choose you~!','Daily Life of the Harem Emperor','Voracious Vampire Baba')If you'd like to support me on ******* so I can become a full-time writer, please follow this link~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $504/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if I'm able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D

Vahn had to spend nearly half an hour after releasing Fafnir explaining all of the details about its capabilities to Eva. She seemed to suddenly become very interested in his naming magic as well as any other skills he had yet to reveal to her. When she found out that Fafnir had 'magic immunity', she even tried testing a small scale magic that wouldn't damage it to see if it was as Vahn had claimed.The ice that would have built up normally when she used her domain seemed to turn into steam in an area surrounding Fafnir. It was almost like there was an invisible sphere surrounding its body that encompassed the maximum spread of its wings. This meant that, for an area of 10m around its body, it completely broke down the structure of foreign magical elements. Eva realized that, unless she used her ultimate magic or physical prowess, there would be no easy way to deal with Fafnir. It wasn't an exaggeration to say the black dragon was the nemesis of all mages.When she learned that it was capable of using magic but hadn't learned any, Eva became even more curious of the 'evil' looking dragon. She actually found its appearance quite cute and convinced Vahn to allow it to stay with her for the time being. Though he was a bit surprised by the request, after a bit of consideration, Vahn decided to allow Fafnir to stay in the orb. He gave it a mental command and told it to follow Eva's orders and be nice to her. He also told it that, if it could, try to learn magic from her in the future.Fafnir stood before the two of them for a few seconds before it leaned down and tried nuzzling its snout toward Eva. She immediately became enthusiastic as she pet the hard and somewhat jagged scales of the malevolent-looking dragon. Vahn was also happy since now Eva wouldn't be alone in the space when he was in the real world. Though he was somewhat worried about Fafnir dissipating from a lack of energy, Vahn would be able to replenish it when he next visited. As long as it didn't use its mana in excess, it shouldn't be too difficult for it to last for the four years it took him to return.As Eva flew around in the sky on the back of Fafnir at around 3700km/h, Vahn returned to his workshop and began forging what would be his weapon for the time being. Though he didn't rely on equipment nearly as much as in the past, Vahn didn't want to take chances and end up in a situation where he needed a weapon and didn't have one on hand. Because he assumed that the make and design of the weapon would matter when he named it later, Vahn had studied a bit about suitable legends that he could use.Since he had grown somewhat fond of the mythos related to the northwestern gods, especially after naming Fafnir and [Gram], Vahn decided to keep to the theme and was now forging a weapon that would be capable of withstanding his vermillion-bird transformation. The sword he was forging was based on a legendary weapon that was wreathed in flames that could even burn through the foundation of the world. It was called Lævateinn, and Vahn was excited at the prospect of having a flaming sword to swing around and cut through his enemies.Vahn spent nearly twelve hours just shaping the core of the sword and had used pure Orichalcum as the base. He then painstakingly carved hundreds of small runes into the core with the intent of gathering fire-elements from the air and reinforcing the structural integrity of the future blade. Though he believed that naming it with the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] would fill in some of the gaps, Vahn wasn't going to cut corners since each use of the Innate ability had a certain significance to it.After forming the core, Vahn took the pure white Adamantine that had been soaking in the blood essence of a red drake that could only be found rarely in the Iron Hills. This caused the pue white metal to take on a crimson red hue as absorbed the energy within the blood. By the end of the process, the blood had turned almost clear as water and Vahn used to the final product to shape around the core a form a large claymore-like structure. Since Vahn would only need the weapon if he was fighting something large or above his strength, he wanted the sword to be large and powerful enough to cut down anything.After the Adamantine had been shaped around the core, nearly thirty hours had passed, but Vahn was supplementing his energy with mana potions and senzu beans. Eva had shown up several times, but she left him to his own devices without bothering him. Instead, she just sat at her desk and watched his actions with a bit of intrigue in her eyes. Seeing how hard Vahn worked always made her feel pleasant and she had grown accustomed to admiring his figure as he worked the metal.By the time Vahn had finished carving more runes and creating the handle and guard of the sword, nearly sixty-five hours had passed. Even with the use of items to supplement his energy, he was incredibly tired as he looked at the result of his efforts with a fervent expression on his face. The final result of his sixty-five hours of strenuous exertion had been the created of a crimson-red claymore that was 220cm long, with the handle making up about 50cm of the overall length to allow for an easy double-handed grip. The guard itself was nearly 30cm wide and the entire figure of the blade had a bit of a malevolent feeling to it with the runes carved into its surface in an intricate pattern.Vahn spent the next few hours in focused meditation as Eva contemplated whether or not she should drag him away to rest. However, seeing the serious demeanor of Vahn, she couldn't bear to disturb him so she just sat quietly and observed at the side. Fafnir had been left in her garden after she rode it around for a bit earlier, and it seemed perfectly content to lay there without being disturbed.After his mental energy had recovered, Vahn took the prototype Lævateinn into his hands and began focusing his mind on the image of the sword he wanted to create. Eva had noticed his actions and marveled at the energy that had begun to converge around Vahn. Even though he shouldn't be able to draw mana from the atmosphere of the orb's space, she could sense an incredible amount of energy seemingly appearing from the void without explanation.Vahn held up the sword with both hands and arranged it to point straight toward the sky as he looked into the crimson blade with his eyes and spoke in a low voice that seemed to echo through the surroundings, "You shall be called [Lævateinn] from this point on. Become a sword that will burn my enemies to ashes." The moment his words sounded through space, Vahn felt his energy begin to rapidly drain from his body as the sword in his hands began to glow with a powerful ruby-red light.Eva had been paying attention throughout the entire process and, seeing the ruby-red light, her eyes widened as she spread her magic throughout the entire workshop and teleported the entire structure and its contents away several hundred meters. Vahn was left behind as he stared in a daze at the ruby light emerging from the sword as the stark white ground around him began to char black from the heat coming from the sword in his hands. Eventually, the ruby light expanded into a sphere nearly 10m around his area and burned everything within to ashes. Strangely, no matter how hot the temperature was, it didn't seem to affect Vahn or his clothes as they just gently swayed about as if blown by the wind.After a few minutes, Vahn had nearly been completely drained of his energy and the ruby light receded back into the sword in his hand. Now, instead of crimson claymore he had forged previously, it now had a charcoal black color as all the runes shone with a ruby-red and vibrant orange light like the fire of a forge. The entire figure of the blade looked profoundly evil but also had a strangely noble appearance if you looked at it for a while. It was like a sword that stood above anything that could be made by mortal hands, and Vahn even felt like it possessed 'pride' within its blade.In a somewhat dazed state, Vahn swung the sword with a bit of force to test its capabilities. The moment he drew the sword into an arc, the runes glowed and the entire blade traced a long trail of fire behind the main body. When Vahn suddenly stopped the blade mid-swing, the fire trail continued outward in the direction he had swung and burned a large swathe of the stark white floor. The result was eerily reminiscent of a dragon's breath as it continued to burn into the ground like it possessed a powerful acidic quality.Vahn couldn't prevent a large smile from appearing on his face as he held the majestic looking burned blade in his hands and read its description in the system menu. He had obtained a total of more than 17k OP when he had named it, so Vahn had high expectations of its status.[Lævateinn]Rank: S (Magic)Slots: 0P.Atk: 1708+170M.Atk: 1153Ability: Lævateinn(S), Flame Wreath(A), Explosive Thrust(A), Piercing(S), Sharpness(B)A sword possessing the legacy of the legendary Lævateinn. The flames emitted by this sword cannot be extinguished by normal means and will continue to burn until the entire world turns to ashes as long as the user does not extinguish them.After reading the description, Vahn's smile grew even larger and he felt a great excitement build within his body. The original sword he forged would have only been Rank-A, but naming it had actually pushed it to Rank-S. Though it didn't give him the [Master Smith] ability, Vahn felt much closer to obtaining it now that he had experienced forging such a powerful item.Pointing the sword tip toward the flames that continued to burn into the white ground, Vahn willed the fires to extinguish and noticed them slowly burn out and stop dissolving the floor. He was incredibly satisfied by the result, as he now had an incredibly powerful weapon that could be used to deal with troublesome enemies. Even if he couldn't defeat them immediately, as long as he could get a few good attacks in and cover them with the flames, they would continue to burn and cause more damage even if Vahn ran away.Vahn put the sword into his inventory and turned toward Eva who had appeared next to him long ago. She looked at him with a smile and a slightly flushed face as she said, "That sword is incredible. Your 'naming magic' is far more powerful than I imagined." Vahn nodded his head and responded, "It is the greatest masterpiece I ever forged, but it will not be the extent of the items I'll create in the future. I still have a long way to go..."Eva smiled before disappearing using Shindo and reappearing next to Vahn with her hands on his chest. With a slightly fervent expression in her eyes, she whispered in a low tone, "It's good that you're working so hard...let me give you a reward." Before Vahn could reply, the two disappeared from the spot after Eva used her teleportation. Fafnir, who had been sleeping in the garden, lifted its head and looked toward the house where it could feel large energy fluctuations. It could vaguely sense that its master was in danger, but it also knew there was nothing it could do to help him against the 'enemy' he currently faced.After it received its name, Fafnir had been developing its intelligence and was capable of reasoning through problems instead of acting solely based on instinct as it had done in the past. Now, unless its Master specifically requested its assistance, Fafnir decided to avoid trouble as it laid its head back down on the garden floor and enjoyed the smell of the various flowers surrounding it. After a few minutes, it once again fell asleep as it completely ignored the plight of its Master.Title: [Lævateinn](A/N: Alternate Titles: 'See no evil, hear no evil','Burn baby, burn~!','Akashic Tome OP')(A/N: Getting closer and closer to the ******* goal~! Thanks everyone that has already put in their support, I love you all &lt;3)If you'd like to support me on ******* so I can become a full-time writer, please follow this link~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $504/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if I'm able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D

Vahn could fee the stagnant air and frozen time thaw around him as the vision ceased within his mind. Syr's past had been something far different than he expected, and he couldn't help but pity her upbringing. Though Vahn had yet to meet Freya, he got to experience what type of person she was through Syr's vision, and now his apprehensions toward her had increased by a large amount. As for Syr to his right, he wasn't too sure how to feel, especially given how tragic the events were leading till moment in her life.Syr, who was waiting patiently for Vahn's response, felt something in his demeanor and bearing change. When he opened his eyes from his contemplation and stared at her, she had the feeling that he had seen through her entirely. It was both scary and exciting, but the gentle and compassionate look in his eyes made her fearful feelings more prominent. She could see that he 'understood' her somehow, and it terrified her to think what kind of person he saw her as.Vahn looked into Syr's light-grey eyes and could see her aura had begun to fluctuate with a slightly purplish hue. He understood that, though her cheerful expression hadn't diminished, that she was currently feeling afraid. Vahn was astounded by her perception and ability to read others, especially after experiencing how she developed the ability within the vision. Eventually, he noticed the aura begin to stabilize and he released a long sigh.Syr had noticed that, though he seemingly saw through her, he didn't seem to judge her for her character. The fearful feelings she had began to diminish when she saw the concern in his eyes. Curiously, the moment her fear ceased, she noticed that he was aware of the fact she had been afraid and now had calmed down. For the first time in her life, other than Freya, Syr thought she found someone that could understand her. Vahn's perception rivaled, or even exceeded, her own. The only difference between them, other than gender, seemed to be Vahn's inability to control his own expressions.Vahn never had a bad opinion of Syr, and the vision of her tragic past hadn't changed how he viewed her in the slightest. Though she might have done things that could be called to question, she never truly took advantage of anyone or hurt anybody. If not for Freya's manipulation and the circumstances of her childhood, she would have likely lived a happy life once she learned to control her own abilities.Looking into her light-grey eyes, Vahn could see a gentle and happy expression veiling a hint of sadness. He gave her a gentle, albeit awkward smile, as he responded to her earlier question, "I don't know how to answer your question, Syr. I don't understand my own heart well enough to give a coherent response. I'm already wrapped up in several relationships and have a great many things to think about and take care of. Until I return a bit of stability to my life, there isn't any easy way to accept others..."In response to his words, Syr's eyes squinted a bit as she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed cheerfully. Vahn's serious response after everything that happened made her feel like it was a very 'Vahn' way to reply to her question. She already knew about part of the situation from Chloe, as well as some of the details she had heard directly from Vahn himself. Fortunately, they were both young and they had plenty of time to build a friendship for the time being.After Syr laughed for a few seconds, she removed her hand and showed a wide and cheerful smile as she said, "I understand, Vahn. For now, let's just be friends; we can think about the future at a later date. As long as you treat me a bit kindly and continue to come to the Hostess of Fertility, I'll be satisfied...for the time being." Toward the latter end of her words, Vahn could see a playful gleam in her eyes as she stood up from the booth and dusted off her dress and apron.Syr turned to Vahn and showed a gentle smile as she bowed slightly before leaving the private room. Vahn stared at her departure with unveiled concern in his eyes; It wasn't easy for him to simply turn her down, even if he did it in a somewhat roundabout manner. However, his words had been true, and he could tell by her actions and response that she understood his intentions. Until he could meet the expectations of the women around him and become a stronger person, both mentally and physically, he couldn't easily accept more people.The biggest reason was, though Syr had a troubled past and various difficulties in her life, she was a very strong person with strong sensibilities. She wasn't in need of his help right now, and they would still be able to interact with each other of the next several months, or even years, without there being any issues. Vahn wanted to try growing closer to her and developing their friendship for the time being since he also had concerns regarding other girls for the time being.---After Syr had left the private room, her cheerful smile couldn't help but show a bit of melancholy as she stared back at the closed door. She understood that Vahn had affections for her, and he was likely willing to accept her along with his other girls in the future, but she still felt a bit saddened by his dismissal of her feelings in the present. In the four years she had been working at the Hostess of Fertility, he was the only one that managed to pass her evaluation, so she felt a bit of apprehension just walking away.While she was lost in her own thoughts, another girl approached her silently from the side. After a period of silence, Syr noticed her presence and showed a cheerful smile as she asked, "Did you need me for something, Ryuu?" Almost as if her previous mood had been an illusion, she immediately returned to her characteristically cheerful disposition as she stared into the sky-blue eyes of Ryuu.Ryuu had seen Syr enter and exit the room, and had been curious about what had transpired in the short few minutes for her to have such a 'sad' look when she left the room. After a brief hesitation, she asked, "Did something happen?" Though she was asking out of concern for her friend, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the closed door for a brief moment.Syr saw her actions and began to laugh in a playful manner as she teased Ryuu, "Are you worried about me, or Vahn?" After her words fell, Ryuu's plain expression softened a bit and she averted her eyes as she responded, "You're not acting like yourself...so I was worried." In response, Syr began to laugh cheerfully as she looked into Ryuu's averted eyes and said, "You're also not acting like yourself, Ryuu~. Don't worry though, nothing serious happened...Vahn just turned down my confession." As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue playfully and closed one of her eyes.Hearing Syr's words, Ryuu's eyes widened a bit as she asked, "You confessed to him?" Syr nodded her head and 'pouted', "Mou~, it's really heartbreaking...Even though he has so many women, he doesn't have a place for me right now. Ryuu, help me break down his resistance in the future. He seems to like you, so maybe we can work together and catch his attention~?"Though her expression hadn't changed much while Syr was speaking, the moment she heard the words, 'he seems to like you', Ryuu looked toward the door and asked, "You said he liked me?" Successfully baiting Ryuu, Syr nodded her head and explained with a low tone, "Isn't it so? You know, even though I had met him first and talked to him, he never showed me a gentleman's courtesy and grabbed my hand. You seem to be a bit special to him, don't you think~?"As she was listening to the quiet voice of Syr goading her further, Ryuu showed a small smile that was very uncharacteristic of her usually placid expression. Before she responded, Syr grabbed her arm and said in a playfully urgent tone, "Come on, Ryuu, let's go talk to Chloe. If we can convince her, our chances of getting to Vahn will increase~"Ryuu allowed herself to be pulled by Syr as she continued to contemplate her words. Ever since Vahn had grabbed her hand, Ryuu already had a special affection toward him. However, she knew there were already several women around him, and she didn't want to trouble him or get in the way of others. Though she had some slight inhibitions, if Vahn truly likes her as Syr said, she was somewhat interested in trying to pursue him. Remembering the words of her dead best friend, Alise, Ryuu didn't want to easily let go of the handsome boy that had easily grabbed her hand.---Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility completely unaware of the minor scheme he had incited behind the scenes. He made his way toward his house while thinking about various matters and how best to go about resolving issues in the future. However, a few minutes after he started ruminating over his thoughts deeply, Vahn stopped in the middle of the street and looked toward the slightly cloudy sky before exhaling a sigh through his nose.Though he knew it wasn't possible to make everyone happy, Vahn still wanted to treat those with high affection towards him well. He was especially interested in the characters from the original plotline who had a special place in his mind just by virtue of their existence. Every time he interacted with them, Vahn couldn't help but feel a bit excited and expectant to see how they would react to his presence.The biggest problem he had was one he had never expected to happen in the first place. There were simply a great number of women and girls that seemingly became interested in him within a short period of time. Vahn attributed this to his 'View Affection' function as well as his [Hearts Desire] quest, as he seemed to easily influence the women around him. Not only people from the original plot but even those he never had any foreknowledge of. Anubis, Nanu, Tina, and some other girls, never appeared in the original story, yet Vahn had quickly been wrapped up in their lives.Vahn almost felt like, if he put in the effort, he could actually get together with any girl he wanted. Though the thought made him feel excited, it also terrified him since it felt like he was manipulating them through the use of 'The Path'. But, the simple truth of the matter was, Vahn actually enjoyed interacting with the girls. The majority of his 'acts' were things he would have done regardless of being able to see auras since he genuinely wanted to make them happy. These two contrasting thoughts created a bit of a paradox in his mind since Vahn wasn't sure what he truly wanted, other than to make them happy while becoming happy himself.He felt like the matter with Syr would escalate in the future, since his response was essentially just a delay tactic like what he had with Lili, Nanu, and Tina. The hardest part to deal with was the fact that Vahn actually didn't dislike Syr at all. Now that he had seen her heart's desire, he actually empathized with her even more and wanted to help her if he could. But, there were already so many people he wanted to help, and Vahn wasn't nearly strong or influential enough to take care of everything on his own.After standing idly in the middle of the street for a few minutes, Vahn just shook his head after failing to come up with a solution. The key always seemed to be becoming stronger or having more self-restraint. Becoming stronger wasn't too difficult, and even having self-restraint wasn't something Vahn couldn't develop. The hardest part was not caring about the people that developed affections for him over time. Vahn simply couldn't turn them away, and it seemed like his future was bound to be one where he was in a relationship of sorts with a large number of women.Vahn ultimately decided to live as he pleased while deferring to the women around him for assistance in managing his affairs. As long as he communicated with them properly, Vahn hoped things would never develop to a point where they became irreconcilable. Since he knew he would have an issue with gods and goddesses the moment his [Enkidu] became known, Vahn was already preparing himself for the aftermath. Vahn knew there were several men that would envy his position, so he decided to simply do his best to make the greatest number of people happy. If he ultimately fell short, Vahn believed there would be people to help him recover and find his path again.With a bit of confidence reappearing on his face, Vahn made his way toward his house in higher spirits than the gloom he had experienced moments before. Though it might have been a strange thought, Vahn couldn't help but imagine the image of various women around him pregnant. The thought of having children of his own made him feel more excited than almost anything else, and Vahn looked forward to having the opportunity to be a father. Until then, he would just focus on getting stronger and keeping the promises he already made.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Birth of the Harem...Emperor?','Sneaky Syr','The Vahnatus is going to look like a convention in the future')(A/N: For those that think there are too many girls around Vahn, I can't help but agree with you. The problem is, given Vahn's skill-set and character, there are too many ways in which he can leave deep impacts on girls/women/goddesses. Imagine if you could always measure your actions to make the affection of people around you grow? Combine that with being young, capable, influential, nice, etc, and it's a recipe for a harem disaster! The only way around it would have been to not introduce characters, but it wouldn't make sense for some people to not show up if Vahn visits a certain place. Like the Hostess of Fertility, there are simply too many 'single' girls with tragic pasts that would naturally be drawn to Vahn the moment he has a relationship with any of them. Syr definately has a somewhat scheming/cheerful/manipulative personality, and Ryuu's hand fetish is canon~!)If you'd like to support me on ******* so I can become a full-time writer, please follow this link~!https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $495/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if I'm able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D

Chapter 177: Fafnir Makes an Appearance