Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After making their way inside, Vahn looked over the Manor and noticed Hestia was still asleep in the room. Since she had some bags under her eyes, Vahn assumed she either didn't sleep last night or had trouble sleeping before he finally woke up. Thinking about the best course of action, Vahn just walked toward the study that was nearby the dining room and sat on one of the large sofas that were spread throughout the Manor. Milan sat next to him while he quietly pampered Tina who had tucked her face into his collar and soaked his tunic with warm tears.Milan leaned against Vahn's shoulder and laid her head next to where Tina's was as she gently stroked the back of her own daughter. She knew why she was acting this way, as she too felt a bit of melancholy after seeing Vahn in his Cat Person form. Though Vahn didn't look much like her husband, they actually had the same chestnut brown hair and somewhat similar heights and builds so it was easy to overlay them atop each other especially when he treated them kindly.If not for the difference in facial structure and demeanor, it would have been easy to mistake Vahn for her former husband at a glance. Since Tina had lost her father at a very young age, she didn't have the greatest memory of him and only the primary features stuck in her mind. This made it so that, even though she knew it was Vahn before her, the trust and comfort she felt from him triggered her recollection of her father and caused her to have a small breakdown.After a few minutes, Tina's choked voice sounded out through the silence, "You aren't my Papa..." Even though her words sounded harsh, Tina still hugged Vahn tightly and shook a bit before repeating the words, "You aren't my Papa..." Vahn continued to stroke her back gently and made eye contact with Milan who stared back at him with her golden eyes with a somewhat tired look. She didn't seem to know what to say either since Tina's word were the truth and they actually didn't have the relationship where Vahn would be considered her step-father either.Vahn hummed slightly before a small smile appeared on his face as he cocked his head to the side to look into Tina's face. When she saw him look at her, Tina turned her head away as if she were refusing to look at him while he was still in his transformation. When he was about to speak up, Tina interrupted his words by saying, "I don't want this...I don't want you to treat me like a child..." However, even though her words were a refusal, Tina didn't let go of Vahn's neck and continued to cling to him.Since he could sense her struggle, Vahn wasn't sure of what to say and just continued consoling her by rubbing Tina's back gently. He wanted to say he didn't treat her like a child, that he actually considered her more sensible than himself, but Vahn didn't know how to say the words in a way that would benefit the current situation. As if she had never expected him to say something to begin with, Tina continued, "I will continue to work hard...I will become stronger and stronger...so for now...please just comfort me for a little longer..."Until the end of the outside training session, Vahn sat aside Milan as they leaned into each other while both comforting the small cat girl. They all remained silent and enjoyed the atmosphere between the three of them until Tina's ears twitched at the sound of people entering through the back door. After taking a few deep breaths, Tina finally pulled her head away from Vahn's shoulder and looked into his aquamarine eyes with a somewhat sad, yet hopeful, expression. Vahn returned a small smile and moved his hand to stroke her hair, but she leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the lips before crawling down from his lap and the sofa.Milan and the blankly staring Vahn watched Tina trot away and exit through the door without saying a word. Vahn saw her presence bolt through the corridor as soon as the door closed and she seemed to be running off to the girls changing room before anyone else was able to get there. He suspected she probably wanted to jump into the water and hide the evidence of her tears or potentially relax a bit before returning to her usual self.From his left, Milan suddenly said, "Vahn...do you really think all of this is okay?" Since they had still been leaning into each other, Vahn could feel Milan's warmth as he turned to look into her golden eyes. He could see the same kind of hesitation that she had when he first asked her and Tina to live with him. Vahn thought about his answer for a moment before saying, "I just want the both of you to be happy. It might seem strange, maybe even rude, but I don't see you and Tina as romantic interests currently. Though I think you're very beautiful and would like to be with you someday, I don't think we're ready for that type of relationship at all. Tina is cute, but she is also very young... I can tell the affection she has for me is warped slightly and I think exposing her to people that can help her grow is better than ignoring her..."Even though Vahn expressed that he didn't see her in a romantic light, Milan didn't pull away or have an adverse reaction to his words. She also didn't see Vahn in that way and was simply trying to help ease her own daughter's tensions. Though she thought he was very handsome and had even 'comforted' herself to his image, Milan was bound by her own sensibilities and the fact that her daughter was also interested in Vahn. She did want to spend time with Vahn, because it had been a long time and she had some minor frustrations, but Milan also knew what kind of situation they were all in. Milan knew that, if she was truly hurting, Vahn would care for and protect her...even if she took some liberties with him. The only thing that kept her from taking that step was the existence of Tina, the only person she truly loved in her life presently.Since Milan remained quiet and just snuggled against him, Vahn mentally sighed in relief since he thought she might be offended by his words. With a small smile on his face, Vahn continued, "There is a lot of time...we don't have to think about everything and make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives right now. I think, when you're ready, you and Tina can live here and become stronger alongside the rest of the Familia. Even if you don't want to go into the dungeon, this place will always be a welcoming home to the two of you..."Milan nodded her head slowly and her ears tickled Vahn's neck a bit as she said, "Thank you Vahn...for everything you've done for us..." Rising from his shoulder, Milan showed one of the few genuine smiles Vahn had seen on her ever since the incident. In a manner similar to Tina, Milan leaned forward and gave Vahn a slightly prolonged, yet simple, kiss. When she pulled away, she whispered, "Thanks for everything you will do for us as well...I don't know how our lives might have been if we never met you, but I know they would have been over if you never came to save us...truly, thank you..." With one last peck on the lips, Milan smiled before flicking Vahn's cat ear and making it twitch. As she walked away to go prepare breakfast, Milan chuckled, "Cat ear's look adorable on you, but I feel like your normal appearance is more suitable~nya."As if reminded by her words, Vahn returned to his normal appearance as he watched Milan's back exit through the door. After a few seconds of silence passed through the room, Vahn laid back on the couch and released a somewhat exasperated sounding sigh. He couldn't help but feel that, even though he was supposed to be relaxing, his body was in even higher tensions after everything that had happened. He actually didn't mind physical exhaustion much, it was the mental strain of dealing with emotional situations that weighed heavily on his heart and mind. Vahn began to wonder if he needed to be more decisive at times and pay more attention to the mental states of others before he took action. Even though it was rarely his intention, Vahn's actions seemed to always trigger some event that caused emotional development in himself or others...he began to, for the first time, feel like he needed to be less invested in the lives of others if he wanted to actually relax.Since all of the girls were bathing presently, the only other presences roaming around were Hestia, who had woken up, Milan, who was in the kitchen, and a mellow aura that Vahn was almost certain belonged to Preasia. He could see her wandering about the corridors slowly, almost as if she was looking for something. Since she hadn't participated in the training, she didn't join the other girls in the bath and also didn't go toward the dining room where everyone would be gathering. Using contextual evidence, Vahn was almost certain she was looking for him...it felt like, even if he didn't take action, just like this, someone would come to find him...Though he wanted to help her, Vahn knew Preasia was in an unstable mental state and it would probably be detrimental if they got close so soon after he healed her body. It was simply way too soon and she would probably become emotionally attached to and overly reliant on him if he tried consoling her. Vahn already noticed that she was often staring at him, even when he turned his attention towards her. Though he didn't know what was going through her mind, Vahn didn't think it would be healthy for either of them if they were alone together so he stood up from the sofa and made his way toward one of the nearby windows.Vahn unlatched the lock on the window and opened it enough that he could squeeze through and step out into the cold morning air. Since he was on the first floor, it was easy to close the window behind him and then he jumped up to the roof by rebounding off one of the support struts of the Manor. Without stopping in his normal spot, Vahn continued to climb higher until he found his footing and used Shundo to leap to the highest spot in the eastern wing. He somewhat felt ashamed to 'flee' away from his own Manor, but Vahn believed it was the best course of action other than plainly rebuffing Preasia.After laying down on the cold tiles of the roof, Vahn actually enjoyed the refreshingly cold air and the breeze blowing over his body. Even though he could resist the cold with his [Heart of the Eternal Flame], Vahn restricted the skill somewhat and allowed the cold to wash over him and spread through his body for a bit. For around an hour, Vahn just laid on the roof in silence until he felt a pulse of energy pass through his body that sounded a small alarm in his mind. It wasn't his 'instincts' kicking in, but Vahn knew he had been 'detected' so he assumed Mikoto had used her skill to look for him.Warming up his body for a few seconds, Vahn tilted his body and used Shundo to connect a point between the roof and the ground. He could jump off normally without problems, but he didn't want to leave a hole in the courtyard that would have to be fixed later. After landing, he made his way through the front door and walked toward the kitchen where everyone was waiting for him. The cold air had helped to clear his mind a bit, so Vahn felt somewhat refreshed as he walked into the warm room and saw the faces of his friends, Familia, and loved ones. He even passed his eyes over Preasia, who stared at him silently through her shaggy, platinum blonde, bangs.After greeting everyone, Vahn sat at the table next to Ryuu and Hestia and looked around to notice that Haruhime and Mikoto were still wearing their kimono. Vahn even suspected that Haruhime might still be without panties so he commented, "This afternoon, Ryuu can take a few of you into town to purchase clothes and other necessary items. Our Familia increased by a large amount in the last few days and I know not everyone has a proper change of clothes to wear presently."Since Vahn knew they would probably want to go with him if he offered, he decided to throw out Ryuu's name without asking her permission. She didn't seem to mind at all and simply nodded her head in response to his words. Haruhime seemed happy at the idea of going shopping, but Vahn had an apologetic smile on his face as he said, "Sorry Haruhime, until the matter with the Ishtar Familia is settled, I'd like for you to stay in the Manor. There will be plenty of time in the future to do other shopping and explore the City, and I'll even escort you myself when the time comes."Though she was a bit dejected at first, Haruhime placed the tips of her fingers together and had a happy expression on her face as she said, "I'm looking forward to it~! Please make sure it's just the two of us when the time comes." Since it wasn't the first time a girl wanted a 'personal date' with him, Vahn just decided to agree to Haruhime's wish. She had lived a difficult life and a single date wasn't asking for much from him other than a bit of his time.After Vahn agreed to her request, Haruhime was in a good mood as she slowly picked at her food with chopsticks and ate happily. Everyone began to make polite conversation with each other and the atmosphere was loosening up a bit as the girls started discussing what they wanted to buy. Since Vahn had made a small fortune when he sold some high-quality equipment to the Guild in the past, he wasn't really hurting for money and didn't mind if they spent a fair amount.Many of the girls had nothing were almost forced into a life of servitude and darkness so Vahn wanted to help ease their hearts a bit. If spending a little money could make them happy, Vahn didn't mind spending it all if he had to. Since he was now a [Master Smith], as long as he put in enough effort a single piece of equipment he made could be worth several tens-of-millions of Valis. Though he still wanted to pay back Hephaestus one day, Vahn didn't think she would actually accept the money even if he offered it to her.After breakfast, the girls go together a huge group that consisted of Ryuu, Fenrir, Emiru, Maemi, Mikoto, Milan, and Tina. Though she wore other clothes every now and then, Hestia usually wore her godly dress when around the Manor. Haruhime's living essentials and clothing would be purchased by Mikoto and Preasia's would be dealt with by Milan. Since Preasia was still recovering her mental state, it wasn't safe for her to be exposed to large crowds and busy places where it would be easy to bump into other people. Even if she were in a large group of other girls, there was always a small possibility something might happen and she was the least capable of defending herself.When everyone had left, Hestia asked Vahn, "So, you have relaxation time until lunch. Did you have anything planned?" Ever since their interaction this morning, Vahn noticed Hestia had been acting rather reserved compared to her former self. She had a gentle smile and a steady aura and Vahn could see a perpetual sparkle in her deep blue eyes. After thinking about her question for a bit, Vahn said, "I think I'll just lounge about in the library in the western wing. I want to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet and simply read books for a bit." Vahn had the ability to purchase thousands of books relatively cheaply through the system, so he had devoted an entire section of the western wing into a library in the past.Hestia nodded her head before grabbing the wrists of the excited Haruhime and the timid Preasia and dragging them away. Haruhime's ears began to bob and she said, "Hestia-sama, I want to go read as well." In response to her words, Hestia said plainly, "You have plenty of books in your own room and Vahn needs time to relax on his own. He wouldn't be able to focus and stay calm if there are people around to distract him. Besides, there is a lot we need to talk about...I heard about the incident with Fenrir earlier..." Hearing Hestia's tone, and seeing the blaming look in her eyes, Haruhime couldn't help but feel like she should apologize. She remembered Vahn's earlier reaction and knew she had probably done something wrong. Just as she was about to say something, as they had already gotten far away from Vahn, Hestia whispered, "Besides, I wanted to ask you some other questions...I don't want Vahn to overhear us."Though she was briefly confused, Haruhime seemed to realize what Hestia was talking about and she muttered in a cheerful voice, "Certainly~! I'm glad to be of help Hestia-sama. In exchange, you have to tell me how Vahn reacted though..." A glimmer passed through the blue eyes of Hestia and the green eyes of Haruhime for a moment as they made eye contact with each other. Preasia, who had been silently dragged along by Hestia, was previously staring back toward Vahn but now perked her ears up a bit at the conversation.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Not the Papa!','It's like chewing five gum','Haruhime's Corruption Spreads')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $718/1200 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

(A/N: I'm going to do some intermission/side story/perspective chapters to flesh things out a bit for the future plot. Let me know what you think and if you'd like more of this kind of thing in the future~!)When Vahn finally left her workshop and returned to the Hearth Manor, Hephaestus went back inside and collapsed on the nearest chair before resting her head against the table. She had a silly expression on her face and rolled her head back and forward on her arms as she thought back to the previous day's experiences. Her first time, as well as the following 34 times after, was more than she had ever expected. Even though Hephaestus had experience with gods in Heaven, there was nothing that remotely compared to her time with Vahn.Not only did he not mind her past, but he treated her gently and affectionately from start to finish. Even when she got bold and acted out of character, Vahn was always there guiding her along the path to greater pleasures. It was a far cry from the selfishness she had experienced from others and couldn't even think of them in the same vein as Vahn. Hephaestus had never felt so loved, nor did she love someone so much in her entire long life that spanned eons.Even now, though they had already parted, Hephaestus could still feel the phantom presence of Vahn within her. There was a gentle warmth in her body that persisted no matter how much time passed and Hephaestus couldn't help but feel it was a result of her apparent pregnancy. It was hard to believe, but she knew Vahn wouldn't mislead her on the matter to Hephaestus affectionately stroked the area above her womb with a dazed and joyous expression on her face.Everything she would experience from now on would be a unique experience that had never been shared by another goddess before. Even though goddesses of fertility could conceive children, they didn't do it through the normal method at all. Instead of ovulating naturally, their Divinity would allow them to conceive at any time and the child would always, without exception, be a normal mortal of the same race as the father. What Hephaestus was experiencing was a landmark achievement for any goddess, something that had long been desired by thousands without any hope to obtain.Though she didn't care much, Hephaestus knew she and Vahn had written a new chapter in the history of this world and she was looking forward to every small step along their shared path. While she was thinking about the future, Hephaestus had a thought and a big smile appeared on her face as she made her way to her office and pulled out a scroll from the shelf. Nearby were several color-coded quills that, when used, would cause the words she wrote to appear on a variety of other scrolls throughout the City. Ever since their meeting, which was joking referred to as the 'Vahnatus' by some, Hephaestus had issued partnered scrolls to each major 'faction'. By using a colored quill, she could write messages that only went to a specific group while the black quill went to everyone on the entire network.Taking a peach-colored quill, Hephaestus wrote a message to one of her old acquaintances who was in charge of a small D-Ranked Familia in the western section of the City. She was a kind goddess named Epona and her principle Divinities were in Fertility and Equestrianism. Hephaestus had known her for a long time and, though they weren't good friends, she knew Epona could be trusted. The main reason her Familia had never grown large was due to the fact that she ran it like a Hostel that accepted short stays from adventurer's down on their luck for little to no cost. Even after fifty years, her Familia only had nine people, and three of them were her actual children.While waiting for Epona's arrival, Hephaestus started sending more messages on the network to inform the other girls about Vahn's movements. It was common practice that, whenever Vahn showed up somewhere, someone would try to inform the network just in case something happened. When he left, they would send another message with his intended destination and to let the people on the other end prepare if necessary. It wasn't meant to constrain Vahn's actions, just to give the girls time to prepare themselves for his arrival. Though it wasn't commented on too often, Vahn had a propensity to take things very seriously in any given moment and it could be a trying experience for both him and the girls he was involved with.The main holders of the scrolls were Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, Hestia, Syr, Tsubaki, and Anubis. Of course, after the network became more popular, Hephaestus and Loki had teamed up to give a smaller scroll to each of the main girls around Vahn. Because communication scrolls weren't commonly used, the ink was incredibly expensive and they actually purchased a large quantity that was meant to be distributed at each of their planned meetings. To facilitate their own use, Loki had actually taken on a request for an expedition to venture to the 28th floor and actually acquire more materials for its production. Though they hadn't told Vahn, it was ironically their desire to maintain the network around him that lead to the current expedition of the Loki Familia.Remembering the amount of effort Loki had been putting into the matters concerning Vahn, Hephaestus couldn't help but release a sigh. She was the most aware of how badly Loki wanted a child of her own since they had known each other for a very long time even during their stay in Heaven. Since she had been acquainted with Hestia, Hephaestus often interacted with the somewhat troublesome goddess and she had even maintained a cooperative relationship between their two Familia even before the Alliance was formed.Now that she was pregnant with Vahn's child, Hephaestus only had to confirm it before letting Loki, Anubis, and Hestia know about the matter. They had already discussed it in the past and, even though Hestia and Loki have something of a rivalry between each other, Hestia agreed that she wouldn't do anything that would affect the relationship between Loki and Vahn. Since Hestia had been on the fence about her own feelings, she didn't have much say in the matters of who Vahn had children with especially since they had a prior promise with each other. As for Anubis, though she also wanted a child in the future, she wasn't in any rush to put pressure on Vahn at present and didn't mind waiting several years if necessary.Ever since the negotiations between the Alliance and Ouranos, Anubis had been focusing her efforts on helping her Familia improve their strength and provide them with a proper education. She knew Vahn was in a tricky situation and wanted to increase the independence of her own Familia so they wouldn't be a restrictive force in his life in the future. This was why, even though she was unnaturally fond of Vahn's massages, Anubis had avoided contact with him much since their separation. Since she intended to serve Vahn for the rest of her life, Anubis wasn't in a hurry to push things forward and force Vahn to take their matters into consideration for the time being.For the other girls, Tsubaki had made some jokes in passing about her record with Vahn but most of the girls in the network saw through her facade. To try and incite her further, Anubis had actually avoided the date they had arranged between her, Vahn, and Tsubaki just to bring the two somewhat closer together. When they heard that Tsubaki actually punched Vahn and left him kneeling in the streets, they couldn't help tease her when they found out about it later. She tried to play it off as just getting another point over him, but it was dismissed by the rest of the group.One of the most troublesome girls, and this was something both Hephaestus and Eina realized early on, was the girl named Syr. Since Vahn spent a lot of time with Chloe at the Hostess of Fertility, they had long been aware that he might influence some of the other girls as well. When they learned of the existence of Syr after their first meeting, Hephaestus and Eina quickly realized she was a central figure in the group. Ever since then, even though Vahn mainly just pursued Chloe, Syr had slowly broken down his defenses and introduced other girls into his life.Now, other than Chloe, Vahn had advanced his relationship with Ryuu while also developing some small degree of familiarity with girls like Arnya, Lunoire, and especially Syr. Though she didn't act in a way that showed she was trying to interfere with others, Syr's actions had been a big red flag within the upper echelons of the group on the network. They had heard about her confession to Vahn and knew she was pursuing him and, as time progressed, her influence in his matters increased imperceptibly to the point where she had become a powerful voice within the network. Matters only accelerated further when she assumed protective responsibility for Milan and Tina after the 'incident' and how she was the first to pitch the idea of Ryuu protecting Vahn in the dungeon.Remembering the elegant and gentle grey-haired, grey-eyed, girl, Hephaestus couldn't help but release an exasperated sigh. Syr seemed to be the type that was great at managing things behind the scenes and even Loki complimented her ability to subtly manipulate people. They thought she would be a good choice in helping manage things around Vahn, but they also had some inhibitions about her motivations. Since they all knew that Syr liked Vahn, it was a little strange to them how she was steadily building up his relationships with other girls instead of trying to progress on her own...While she was lost in thoughts, Hephaestus heard a knocking on the door and was broken from her reverie as happy feelings began to push away the negativity that had begun to build up. Without wasting any time, Hephaestus opened the door to her workshop and welcome the very motherly looking goddess inside with a smile on her face. Epona was around 160cm tall and was a rather plump, yet beautiful, goddess with curly orange hair that had been arranged into a loose bun. She had light-purple eyes and a perpetual smile on her face that made everyone that saw her feel calm. For her attire, she wore a traditional yellow dress that went down to her ankles and had something similar to a red smock overtop.Before Hephaestus even broached the topic, Epona had a curious expression on her face as she tilted her head and viewed Hephaestus. She wasn't sure why, but something seemed to be different about Hephaestus and it caused a peculiar feeling to buzz in her mind. After a while, Epona saw that Hephaestus was wearing her normal outfit and there didn't seem to be anything different about her appearance at all, excluding the happy expression that had replaced her perpetually 'cool' look. Thinking about why she might be happy, Epona curiously inspected her a second time and noticed that Hephaestus was actually pregnant.With a gentle smile on her face, Epona was about to congratulate Hephaestus before her own words got stuck in her throat. Hephaestus had just been about to ask and had seen Epona's reaction which caused the smile on her face to become incredibly vibrant. Though she believed Vahn's words, it was a distinctly different feeling to get confirmation from a source she knew to be reliable regarding such things.Epona's eyes widened and she asked, "How?" Hephaestus still had a big smile on her face but she shook her head and said, "I'll be explained later at the upcoming Denatus. I need you to keep this an absolute secret for the time being." With her eyes still opened wide, Epona nodded her head like a chicken and said, "Yes, sure, certainly, I won't tell a word. But, Hephaestus, how is this possible? I can tell you didn't suddenly develop a Divinity related to fertility...the energy in your body is like the convergence of life energy...it is far different than how I get pregnant."Since Hephaestus couldn't explain matters yet, she just talked a bit about how things would be revealed at the upcoming Denatus. Unable to press Hephaestus further, Epona put the matter to the back of her mind as they began discussing how the pregnancy would likely progress. Since Epona had more than twenty children over the course of the fifty years, she was a wealth of information for prospective mothers. She told Hephaestus about what she should expect, the signs to watch out for, and also cautioned her on the dangers of overworking and ingesting anything that could alter the body and affect her mental state. Since Hephaestus's experience would be a completely unique development, Epona even offered to be Hephaestus's midwife, to which he happily agreed and thanked Epona for.After nearly four hours of lecturing from the razzled and jubilant Epona, the two finally parted ways and Hephaestus nearly skipped back to her room to share the news on the network. Not even twenty seconds later, she got a response from Loki who was suddenly in very high spirits. If not for her being leashed in by some of the other girls that showed up, she might have gone knocking straight on Vahn's door. Loki was eventually settled by none other than Hestia, who reiterated that Vahn was currently on a mission to track down a girl named Haruhime. Afterward, Loki calmed down a bit since she knew it would be adverse to her position if she tried to pressure Vahn on the matter. Instead, she said she would pass information to the expedition party and have them return early in the event that things grew out of their control. She also told Hestia that, if Vahn was in any kind of trouble, Loki would be willing to mobilize all her forces to help Vahn out...Once the conversation had calmed down a bit, Syr actually changed the atmosphere a bit by asking about Hephaestus's experience with Vahn. Though Hephaestus didn't immediately answer, Syr's question caused some of the other girls to express interest, including Loki and Hestia. Since she wasn't ashamed of her interactions with Vahn, Hephaestus eventually caved in and started recounting several of the details about their interaction. The more she talked, the more heated things became and she even boldly declared to the group that she had let Vahn leave his maker's mark on her backside...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hephaestus's Doki Doki Time','Baby in the Oven : Confirmation','Story Time With Hephaestus...')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $718/1200 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

Though he didn't like to get his fur wet that much, Vahn bathed while in his Báihǔ form so he could ensure that Hestia's smell was removed from his body. When he first transformed, he noticed that her scent was overpowering his olfactory senses and understood why all the girls were giving him strange looks. If he didn't have better control of his own body, Vahn very well might have gone back up to look for Hestia due to the sense of excitement he felt. Even though it wasn't nearly as powerful as someone like Hephaestus, it was a very enticing, mind-numbing fragrance. Vahn also took the time to check on the system notification he had ignored earlier after getting wrapped up in the atmosphere with Hestia.---------------------------------------------------------------------------//Hestia Has Reached Maximum Affection////Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]//Completion Grade: SRewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Hestia]Grade Rewards: 1x[Divine Hearth], 1x[Virgin Promise], 9,000OP[Divine Hearth]Rank: UniqueUse: Creates an inviolable space in an area where no harm can befall those within. Forces those within to remain calm and regenerates any pre-existing wounds. Duration: 72H[Virgin's Promise]Rank: UniqueUse: Baptizes the user in a holy light and restores their body to a pristine condition. Danger: This item places a heavy burden on the soul and can only be used a single time without irreversibly damaging the user.(A/N: Since it might not be clear, all Unique items are single-use consumables. However, it is possible to get more than one Unique item, thus the specification for 'single time' on [Virgin's Promise])---------------------------------------------------------------------------Though he was tempted to use her [Hearts Desire], Vahn decided to not be so overly reliant on the items for the time being. Since he wanted to always use them in sequence, as long as he didn't activate Haruhime's, Vahn decided to hold onto Hestia's. He was sure both desires would be things he would want to complete when he viewed them and it would likely interfere with the intentions of the girls which was for him to relax. Though he couldn't bring the item up, Vahn imagined Hestia telling him to not worry about it while gently stroking his head. From now, all the way until he was forced to leave this record, Vahn would always be nearby Hestia and part of their shared Familia. There was no need to rush the progress of their relationship even further, especially with the major steps they had taken this morning...After around half an hour, Vahn showed back up at the practice field and watched the girls following a routine that had been created by Ryuu. Other that stretches, they seemed to be focusing on running back and forth while navigating obstacles, similar to the training he had designed for Lili when they first met. Ryuu was trying to improve their reaction time, kinetic vision, proprioception, and dynamic movement abilities. Vahn could see that the beast girls were naturals at it and believed Ryuu's decision to conduct this type of training was correct.Since he had just taken a bath, Vahn decided to train his mental abilities and magic instead of doing anything strenuous. He sat down on the ground and continued to watch the girls dash about as he took notice of their form and figure. Since he had been flustered earlier, Vahn hadn't gotten a good look at the clothes that the girls were wearing and was only just now taking notice. Because they hadn't yet gone shopping for clothes, the girls were all wearing clothing that he had purchased previously and had been stored within one of the several large closets in the Manor.The twins had matching outfits with triple-layer pale-blue vests without sleeves. Though it wasn't as noticeable as someone like Lili, Vahn could see glimpses of their midriff as they dashed about the obstacles. They had on matching tan shorts and long black leggings with a pair of black boots. Since their tails were much thicker than normal, Vahn's eyes were drawn to them a bit as they were somewhat uncommon. Both girls had medium-length hair with rounded ears that were speckled with black spots while their bushy, rounded, tails had rings along the length. They had pale, somewhat silver hair and looked at home in the cold air since they were so lightly dressed.Haruhime was wearing a modified red kimono that Vahn was certain he hadn't purchased himself. After gazing at it with intrigue, Vahn noticed a sewing line along the hem of the short skirt and realized she, or Mikoto, must have modified it during the evening. Vahn really needed to purchase Haruhime some new clothes since she seemed to like wearing her kimono-like clothing. With her current modifications, the kimono now only went up to the middle of her thighs instead of down to her ankles, similar to Mikoto's lavender kimono. Her long and incredibly fluffy tail dangled around behind her as she struggled to keep up with the exercises. However, no matter how much she struggled, Vahn could see a glimmer of confidence in Haruhime's eyes as she continued putting in efforts.Because her skirt was short, Vahn got a little distracted since Haruhime wasn't wearing any leggings. She had long, almost pale, white legs and Vahn noticed that, while her moves were inexperienced, there was a dance-like quality to Haruhime's steps. Since her tail swayed around behind her, Vahn kept giving it glances until he noticed something that made his brows rise slightly. His desire to purchase clothes for Haruhime increased several folds since he realized, for whatever reason she might have come up with, Haruhime wasn't wearing panties.Turning his attention away from the sight, Vahn watched Tina also doing her best to keep up with Ryuu's instructions. She was wearing a small brown sweater that went down to her upper thighs. Perhaps inspired by Ryuu, who she had gotten to know in the recent weeks, Tina was also wearing something like black 'short' that looked closer to the gym shorts he saw girls wear in manga. Vahn wondered if it was some unspoken rule for female adventures, especially the agility-based ones, to wear small shorts or hot-pants that didn't constrict their legs. He also suspected it could simply be because of their tails and that looser clothing might be uncomfortable for them to wear...While he was watching Tina, Vahn felt a gaze from his right and looked over to make eye contact with the smiling Milan. He returned her smile and also noticed that Preasia had been staring at him as well. She had a somewhat blank expression on her face and kept her head low, but she still peered toward him with her light-grey eyes. Perhaps she was weak to the cold, but Preasia wore baggier clothes than most girls even though she still wore a pair of small shorts hugging her hips. Though it wasn't conclusive evidence, Vahn figured she also wore the smaller clothes so it would be restrictive on her shaggy tail.After waving to the two girls, Vahn watching Mikoto's swordplay for a bit before turning his eyes to Ryuu who was watching over everyone attentively. Since Mikoto was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, Vahn's only thought was to have her go get several changes from the Takemikazuchi Familia later. He could also take the girls shopping and get Fafnir to protect their small group from the shadows. Since the kimono Haruhime was wearing was the same one she had one when he saved her, Vahn knew that it had only been cleaned once since then. Even though she was bathing, Vahn didn't think it was hygienic for her to wear the same thing every day. He wasn't sure if she ever had panties at all and blamed himself for the oversight since it was quite an ordeal...So that he wasn't accused of simply gawking at the girls, since Vahn had noticed their gazes would periodically turn to him, he began using [Thria*Mimos] to see if he could emulate the races of the girls around him. Since it was a skill he didn't use often, Vahn wasn't that great at controlling it and it still heavily restricted his other abilities. Other than his Innates, all of his other skills were unusable while under the influence of the magic, and this was the primary reason he hadn't taken action against Shauntac at the time.Since they were periodically paying attention to him, the twins noticed that Vahn's hair grew slightly longer and matched the color of their own. His human ears eventually vanished and he instead had two roundish ears on his head as a long tail grew out from his back while he was seated. As they came from an entire tribe of Snow Leopards, they immediately recognized that Vahn had somehow transformed into their race. For various reasons, they suddenly felt more excited about the future prospects and put more efforts into their training.Unaware of the small event he had triggered, Vahn then returned to his human form for a moment to recover his energy. Even though it didn't take much energy to sustain, the actual transformation using [Thria*Mimos] was incredibly costly. After resting for a few minutes, Vahn turned his attention to Haruhime and noticed that she was staring at him with a somewhat fervent gaze and gleaming eyes. He wasn't aware of it, but she had also seen him transform into a Snow Leopard and was expecting that he would also become a Renard.Though Vahn wasn't sure of Haruhime's gaze, he used [Thria*Mimos] and his hair turned from dark brown to a light blonde as pointed ears grew from his head with a slight curve. He also had bushy white fur growing out of them while a long tail grew from his backside. Haruhime's eyes widened at the sight and Vahn couldn't help but smile seeing her reaction. Because he was curious, Vahn also tested the feel of his own tail to see how it compared to Haruhime's. Seeing his action, Haruhime had an elegant, yet excited, smile on her face as she was tempted to walk over and let Vahn compare to two directly before she got a stern look from Ryuu. Sticking out her tongue slightly and laughing, Haruhime returned to her training in earnest and pushed herself even harder.Since he had been watching from the sides, Vahn noticed that the twins and Haruhime had both increased the intensity of their training after his transformations. He wondered if he had somehow inspired the girls and it brought a small smile to his face as he returned to his human form and meditated. His next target was Fenrir and the moment he looked over at her Vahn could see her scarlet eyes and she shouted, "Me next, do me next~!" Though some of the girls faltered, Milan began to laugh from the side as Vahn ground his teeth slightly.After a brief hesitation, Vahn's hair turned sharp and bristly as it transitioned from dark brown to midnight blue. Before he even finished the transformation, Fenrir stopped her training and ran over with wide eyes even when Ryuu called her back. Other than his eyes, which remained aquamarine, the rest of Vahn's body changed to match the racial traits of Fenrir. Since he used her image as a reference, Vahn grew hair on his forearms and calves as his finger cracked a bit before shrinking back into claws. Fleshy pads grew on his palms and fingers as small claws sprouted from the tips. Vahn never realized how top-heavy Fenrir's ears were since he could feel them flop slightly when he moved his head. Her action of tilting her head from side-to-side suddenly made a lot more sense to him.As she had stopped right in front of him, Fenrir had seen Vahn's complete transformation and patted the ground a bit before 'happily' plopping into his lap and shouting, "Same, Same, Vahn and Fenrir are the same~!" Since she was wearing her combat attire, the only clothes on Fenrir's body was an Amazonian inspired top and bottoms. Though she was a bit on the thinner side, Fenrir still had the pleasant feeling of a girl combine with her somewhat bristly and warm smelling fur. Since he didn't plan to transform like this often, Vahn extended his paws out, pad-side up, and held them out for Fenrir to happily grab. Though it wasn't a normal way to hold hands, Vahn noticed that their paws fit together well up until he was suddenly poked by Fenrir's claws.Realizing she had poked Vahn, Fenrir let go of his paws and bounced out of his lap with an 'apologetic' look on her face and a somewhat sad expression in her eyes. Since she was immune to her own claws, Fenrir thought that Vahn, who looked like her, was also the 'same'. Vahn laughed her reaction away as he bounded up to his fit and showed that the wounds had already healed. Though it was a bit awkward, Vahn patted Fenrir on the head with his paws before sending her back to training. Before she turned away to follow his words, Fenrir still bowed slightly and said, "I'm sorry Vahn..."Vahn was briefly surprised before a pleasant smile appeared on his face as he watched the wolf girl run back to the rest of the group. Since she had a somewhat selfish personality by default, Vahn was happy to see Fenrir being considerate of others and even apologizing. He felt like it had a lot to do with Milan's influence and maybe the introduction of Preasia into her life so he was happy to see her maturing somewhat.After recovering his energy through meditation, Vahn transformed into a sheep person under the ever-present gaze of Preasia and noticed that the balance of his head felt wrong. Since he had never had anything like horns, Vahn was somewhat uncomfortable in the form but still showed a polite smile to Preasia. Though her expression hadn't changed much, Vahn could see her aura flare up a bit when she watched him and he even gained a marginal amount of affection from her. She, like the other 'former slave' girls, had all been touched by him when he removed their slave crests previously.Though Preasia's original affection toward him was only twenty, it had slowly crept up into the lower 70s in the last few days. As for the twins, they actually had identical affections of 81 and had stabilized between 79-81. As for the girls that weren't around, Mona had an affection of 58, Shizune had an affection of 52, and Shiva, unexpectedly, actually had an affection of 85. Since she also started in the low values, Vahn wasn't sure what she was doing after they parted to grow fonder of him over time. He expected she would show up again in the future and was also somewhat curious to learn what she had been up to in her absence.After returning to his human form, Vahn continued to meditate silently for around twenty minutes until he heard Tina shout, "Aren't you going to turn into a cat perso~nya!?" Vahn opened his eyes and saw the small cat girl fuming as she stared at him with slightly moist eyes. Vahn's brows raised and he looked over toward Milan to see her covering her mouth and stifling a laugh. Realizing he had transformed into the race of every other girl, Vahn couldn't blame Tina for holding a grudge since it could have seemed like she had been left out. Rising to his feet, Vahn slowly transformed into a male cat person with chestnut brown hair and aquamarine eyes.Though she had a somewhat bitter expression before, Tina's eyes rounded when she saw the 'new and improved' Vahn. He was very handsome as a human, but she felt her heart pulse powerfully in her diminutive chest after seeing his Cat Person transformation. However, though she felt very excited, there was also a strange longing that made her feel a bit of sadness in her heart that she didn't quite understand.Vahn had seen her aura fluctuate a bit and looked over to see that Milan also had a reminiscent look in her eyes as she stared blankly at Vahn. Though he wasn't certain, Vahn felt like he was suddenly being compared to Milan's late husband and Tina's father. Both girls had a different kind of longing in their eyes and Vahn felt a strange pressure suddenly bear down on his mind as he followed his original intentions and used Shundo to appear in front of Tina. The reason he had stood up earlier was to step forward and console Tina, but now he felt a little intimidated by the small cat girl in front of him.Tina was only around 115cm tall presently, so she was much shorter than the rest of the girls in the area. Even Hestia stood nearly a full head over the small girl so Vahn usually had to kneel down if he wanted to make direct eye contact with her. Though he originally only wanted to pat her on the head, Vahn noticed the excited expression on Tina's face fade a bit when he approached as she looked up into his face with wide, slightly moist, eyes. Vahn showed a gentle smile and decided to do what felt natural so he bent down and picked up Tina by her arms before hugging her into his chest. He supported her bottom with his forearm and patted her back as he gave an apologetic expression to Ryuu and walked over toward Milan.When Vahn stepped in front of her, Tina suddenly felt a bit of sadness seize her heart and she couldn't help but look into his eyes with a pleading expression. Seeing his gentle smile, a bit of happiness fought against the sadness and Tina felt even better when Vahn picked her up. Though they had hugged a lot, and even slept together, in the past, it was a big difference from how she currently felt. Tina suddenly felt very safe in Vahn's arms as she rested the side of her head against his shoulder. She didn't know why, but she began crying a bit as Vahn carried her over to her Mother and the three shared a short hug before Vahn carried her into the warm interior of the Manor.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Caught Slack-Jawwed Staring','Fenrir's Expectations','Flashbacks to the Past')https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149I am currently at $718/1200 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 267: Strain