Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After Haruhime's tail suddenly split into two, Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] to investigate as he was very curious about their nature. Haruhime had noticed the change in his eyes before turning around 'obediently' so Vahn could get a better look. With a somewhat wry smile on his face, Vahn observed Haruhime's lower back and noticed several things, some expected, some not so much. The connecting vertebrae for Haruhime's tail had split into a Y-shape, and Vahn noticed that, whenever Haruhime moved it, the bone seemed somewhat flexible in nature and it was a very strange sight to see. As for one of the unexpected things, Vahn could see that Haruhime's tails both had the same illusory blue color trailing them and he suspected this was the sign they would split in the future. For the moment, the coloration was very light instead of the prominent, rich, blue coloration of the previous phantom tail.While he was observing the tails, Vahn noticed they swayed about in a strange pattern for a brief moment and, by the time he realized something had happened, Haruhime was turned around facing him while asking, "Is everything okay, Vahn~?" Because she had previously had her back to him, Vahn was surprised that Haruhime was now facing toward him while staring up with her pale-golden eyes with a hint of concern contained within. Shaking his head, Vahn used [Will of the Emperor] before explaining, "It's fine, Haruhime, but it seems like your tails have some kind of hypnotic effect that creates a gap in the awareness of others. You should have noticed it earlier when you were fighting, but the monsters would always attack your previous locations instead of where your actual body is."Haruhime tilted her head to the side for a moment in confusion before nodding and saying, "I didn't notice it too much, but I believe you're correct, Vahn. All I was doing was following the tempo of the monsters and moving slightly faster than they were. From what I can tell, they can't move beyond their own tempo, so as long as I keep the rhythm they can't touch me...well, that is unless they stop trying to hit me and go crazy." Hearing the way Haruhime described it, Vahn was somewhat curious and asked, "Do you want to spar with me for a moment? I'm curious about how that 'tempo' you're mentioning works..."For a brief moment, Haruhime seemed to consider Vahn's words before eventually shaking her head and saying, "Even if it's just sparring, I don't want to ever fight you, Vahn. I'm sorry, please forgive me..." As she spoke, Haruhime bowed very low in an apologetic fashion that made Vahn feel slightly uncomfortable so he said, "No, it's fine...when we get to the surface, I'll have you spar with Mikoto and the others though." Haruhime raised her head with a smile and said, "Of course, I'll do my best~!" Vahn wanted to remark about why she was so 'eager' to fight the other girls, but he decided against it before they both wandered deeper into the depths of the Dungeon. Since Haruhime had cleared the 14th floor with relative ease, she was now going to be facing one of the most dangerous monsters in the upper floor, even for those that have reached the early stages of Level 2, the 'notorious' Minotaurs...---Vahn was watching Haruhime deal with her twentieth Minotaur and he couldn't help but release a short sigh because the ugly bull monsters had let him down yet again. Even when he fought them in the past, he couldn't help but feel like they were actually much weaker than rumored. Because of his training with Tsubaki, bipedal creatures were simply easier to deal with than almost any other type of monster. Though they had incredible strength, their agility wasn't impressive to the point where it was a major threat to experienced fighters. Their biggest weakness, however, was the fact that they were rather dumb and typically just flailed their arms about trying to smash things. Since Haruhime's skill allowed her to exploit the gaps in someone's thoughts, the Minotaurs just kept smashing random areas long after she had moved away. With the added benefit of a powerful sword, Haruhime had absolutely no trouble dealing with small groups of Minotaurs at all.Now that he was no longer 'hiding', Haruhime spent the majority of the time walking at his side as if they were enjoying a date. She had a happy smile on her face and let Vahn lead her around in order to more efficiently locate monsters. They didn't talk too much, but Haruhime would often wrap her dexterous tail around his wrist while maintaining a complacent smile on her face. If not for the fact that her ears were twitching about from various sounds, Vahn would have lightly reprimanded her for not paying attention. Though he was leading the way, Haruhime would release his arm long before they arrived near the monsters and spend a few seconds thinking about the best way to engage them before walking out. This showed that she wasn't simply 'playing around', but was also keeping her senses trained on her surroundings and treating the matter, at least a little, seriously.This time around, Haruhime was facing a group of eight Minotaurs, three more than any other group she had faced. To add to the difficulty, one of the Minotaurs actually had a large greatsword covering in nicks and scratches that was also missing the tip. Vahn was wondering how she would deal with it, but before Haruhime got anywhere near the Minotaurs she simply called out in a sing-song tone, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" However, instead of the singular ice spear, this time there were two that appeared at Haruhime's flanks that both shot toward the Minotaur wielding the sword. It tried it's best to cut them out of the air, but the second one managed to slip through and impale it in the ribs with enough force that the tip of the spear jutted out from the back of its body. As it had been on the side where its heart would have been located, the Minotaur quickly succumbed to its wound before collapsing to the ground without ever getting a chance to use its sword.Seemingly happy about the change in her magic, Haruhime laughed in a dulcet tone before calling out, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!", "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!", "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" as she began raining down ice spears on the 'poor' Minotaurs that were trying to rush at her. Vahn was worried about her mana consumption, but he noticed she was using the equipment he had forged for her instead of her own reserves. He also noticed that every time Haruhime was saying her short chant, the illusory blue of her tails would sparkle for a brief moment just as she finished the chant. Just like her [Kokonoe], her extra tails seemed to be able to simulcast the spell she was using without the need for an extra chant. If this remained the case as her tails grew in number, it was theoretically possible that Haruhime would be able to cast nine spells with a single chant in the future...For the rest of the day, Vahn told his speculations to Haruhime and they both worked hard in order to learn the best use for her skill. Knowing that she would one day be able to grow even more tails, Haruhime was very excited to learn more magic in order to make better use of her gift. As a Renard, she was very aware that her rare skill was named after their patron goddess, so she felt especially motivated to master it in the future. There was also the fact that, if she could grow nine tails, the time she would be able to spend with Vahn would increase a great deal whenever she could convince him to brush them. Since they were very soft to the touch, Vahn didn't really mind helping girls like Fenrir and Haruhime brush their tails as he felt like it was a very therapeutic thing for his mind.By the time they decided to rest, it was nearly 9 PM and Haruhime had slain a total of 744 monsters. Though he was worried about it initially, it seemed like Haruhime would easily be able to reach the required 1,000 now that he had started to track down the monsters for her. He felt that her pace was 'slow' in the past, but now that her Innate skill had awakened Haruhime was able to dispatch groups of enemies without much difficulty. Even though he had a number of powerful Innates at his disposal, Vahn couldn't help but feel like Haruhime's was a bit of a 'cheat'. Monsters were simple-minded creatures, often incapable of complex thought, so they had no resistance at all against her skill. There was something a bit 'sad' when watching monsters attack nothing over and over again for several hours, but at least he was able to see Haruhime's 'dance' being polished in the process.One thing to note was, Haruhime's 'control' over the skill had, at the very least, stabilized a bit and she was no longer acting as untoward as she had previously. She was still overly affectionate compared to her past self but seemed to be behaving better after he resisted her advances over and over again. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to offend him, but Haruhime began behaving in a more reserved and elegant fashion in order to get closer to Vahn without putting him off because of her behavior. The only problem was, Vahn had the ability to see auras and her 'act' wasn't very effective when her aura was coiling around him like it was trying to fuse with his body. However, Vahn didn't simply turn her away since she was making an effort to control her power so he meticulously brushed her long hair and tails before updating her Status Board now that the day had come to an end.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------[[STATUS]]Name: Sanjouno HaruhimeRace: RenardLV. 1(+)POW: G222-&gt;F318END: F371-&gt;E444DEX: E419-&gt;E483AGI: E448-&gt;C607MAG: S929-&gt;SSS1218Skill: [Inari:Innate(H)-&gt;(F)], [Prometheus's Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G],[Featherfoot:D-&gt;C]Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:C],[Icicle Edge:F-&gt;E]Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:C-&gt;B], [Mage(sealed)]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Because her Innate seemed to be tied to her Magic parameter, Haruhime's growth had broken the 'limit' and exceeded the S-Rank in parameter growth, which was the limit for the majority of people. All of her mobility parameters and skills were increasing rapidly as well and Haruhime was very quickly proceeding down a somewhat rare path where she was focused on both mobility and magic. Though she didn't have [Concurrent Chanting], she may not even need it now since her Innate seemed to be able to allow her to chant withing needing the skill at all. As long as she followed the 'tempo', Haruhime was able to continue chanting without having to stop her 'dance' at all. As a test, Vahn tried to get her to do it in a normal state and, from this experiment, he was able to confirm his speculation that it was another benefit of her Innate.It seemed as though Innates named after gods and goddesses were a great deal stronger than normal, especially if the person using the ability had a good understanding of the traits associated with the god in question. Since Inari was the patron goddess of the Renard people, Haruhime knew a great deal about her since she was the daughter of a noble family. Ironically, the reason for her 'exile' from the clan was because of a shrine offering she was accused of eating which had been intended as a tribute to Inari herself. Vahn wondered if the two had some kind of interconnected fate and if he would be able to see the purportedly beautiful Renard goddess in the future.(A/N: 'Innately Dangerous','Dance Dance Haruhime's Evolution~','The Whims of Fate')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;3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!)https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

The final day of the Denatus was far more laid back than the previous two days and, after spending the morning in the discussion, the godly assembly had moved on to the final topic and has started to assign aliases. Since gods were typically very gossipy and liked to fool around they quite enjoyed assigning aliases to Adventurers and often chose things that weren't always that appropriate in order to 'tease' them and encourage them to work harder. The exceptions were in the cases of Adventurers that had noteworthy achievements, had set records, or were from powerful Familia and had their god's backing to get a 'normal' name. A good example of this was Finn, from the Loki Familia, who had joined only after having Loki vow to ensure his alias became 'Braver' so he could assume the mantle of the Pallum's hero.As he was a 'hot topic' right now, Vahn had actually been the first person brought up when it came to the discussion of aliases. Since he belonged to the Hestia Familia, she had been given an opportunity to pitch a name before the floor was opened for discussion and voting. Hestia had already discussed the matter with the other goddesses, so when she was put on the spot she stood up proudly and said, "I put forth the name 'Aldrnari' as Vahn's alias. Vahn's affinity with fire is incredibly high and he can also be easily associated with someone that nourishes life after the efforts he has put into resolving the issues with infertility in the various races. It also ties him to his [Master Smith] skill, since it isn't incorrect to say he breathes life into his creations as well."Shortly after Hestia's words finished, there was a great deal of support for the name from the majority of goddesses present. Although it was almost a confirmed matter, the topic was still open to discussion for the sake of formality and several gods tried assigning somewhat derogatory names to Vahn but they were all shot down quickly. Though they were just trying to be snide, they had very quickly been 'marked' by Hephaestus, Loki, and Freya as 'problems' that needed to be dealt with in the future. Even though they expected some backlash from Vahn's 'exploits', it was still very annoying to see relatively obscure, weak, and arrogant gods making trouble when Vahn clearly had far more support behind his back than they could afford to offend. Unfortunately, it was the nature of many gods to act without consideration for consequence and now they would have to pay the price. Ouranos had seen this as well, but he had decided not to take sides on the matter and allow the Alliance to remove some of his future problems for him.After Vahn's alias became 'Aldrnari', it was decided that the other members of the Hestia Familia would receive aliases as well, since they had lost their previous ones after changing Familia. Ryuu was still a fugitive under her original identity, but that wasn't known amongst the godly community and her new alias became 'Zephyr' after a bit of discussion regarding her capabilities. As for Aki, she got a rather unfortunate alias as 'Wandering Cat' because she had left the Loki Familia very recently. There wasn't much known about Mikoto, so she received the alias 'Earnest Blade' after the gods learned of her personality. In the case of Fenrir, even though she was technically a monster, this was a relatively well-kept secret so they managed to get her the alias 'Vanargandr' after Loki pushed for the name earnestly. Loki had originally wanted to give the name to Bete when he obtained Level 6 because his current alias was actually 'Fenris', which was very similar to Fenrir. Now, however, she wanted to secure the name for Fenrir because she thought it was far more suitable for the somewhat unruly wolf girl.Once all the members of the Hestia Familia got their titles, there were a few more Adventurers who had been brought up, including Lili who had achieved Level 2 not long ago. She had yet to awaken her Innate ability, but Hephaestus had learned about it from Vahn and decided to tempt fate a bit by trying to secure her the alias 'Atlas' after discussing Lili's relatively rare skill [Artel Assist]. Unfortunately, the name was considered 'too impactful' for someone that didn't have any achievements as an Adventurer. Instead, since she had been a support for so long, it was eventually decided that her alias would be 'Super Supporter' since she had the ability to carry ridiculous loads. Hephaestus tried to take a stance on Lili's behalf, but Ouranos eventually dismissed her attempt and told her to encourage Lili to try harder to earn the alias herself if she wanted it. Regardless of how 'strong' Lili became, it would only breed discourse and cause people to complain unless she proved herself worthy of such an alias.The banquet discussing aliases lasted for nearly two hours before every Adventurer that had recently leveled up received an alias of their own. When the godly congregation was finally dismissed, a large number of goddesses gathered around the members of the Alliance and began trying to arrange meetings or to try and get their names added to the nonexistent 'list' they assumed would be going around. Loki took charge to reign in the wild goddesses and explained that the procedure wasn't easy to perform and required a number of resources and time to set up. They also needed to screen each goddess privately and have them take their vows if they wanted to move forward and have a child of their own. As for the few that wanted to have Vahn's children specifically, that was another matter entirely and many of them had been set aside for the time being after pointing out the fact that Vahn was about to marry Hephaestus after New Years arrived.As for the 'list', there actually was one going to be created but it wasn't any of the new goddesses that were placed at the top. Freya had secured the spot for herself in order to strengthen the bond of the 'Tripartite Cooperative' and had intended to choose one of her children as the father, with the candidate at the top of the list being Ottar. It was a well-kept secret, but Ottar was actually a partial demigod with a blood purity of 25%. His father had been a demigod born between the union of a god and a human woman while his mother had been a Boaz prostitute that had coincidentally gotten pregnant after several sessions of lovemaking between the two.Freya had learned of Ottar's birth and secured him early on in order to nurture him into being the 'ultimate warrior'. With her care, he had grown to become one of the most powerful Adventurers in the entire world and currently holds the alias 'The King' after reaching Level 7. Though he likely had several decades left to become even stronger, Freya wanted him to devote some of that time to raising their child in order to be his successor in the future. The child born of their union would also be a demigod, but the purity of their blood would be 62.5%, much higher than Ottar's own purity.---After finally breaking free from the horde of goddesses, Hestia left Babel tower with Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis as they made their way toward the Hearth Manor with an escort by the Loki Familia who had been prepared to receive them. Along the way, the goddesses talked about various matters that needed to be dealt with in the future including the procural of the land around the Hearth Manor for the Alliance. They had already purchased the majority of the surrounding properties, but they were now talking about building various residential houses and facilities before turning the entire area into the headquarters for the Alliance. With the Hearth Manor as the core, each core member of the Alliance would have a Manor of their own surrounding the area and it would become a central hub for their future cooperation.This would prevent any other Familia or organization from treading into the territory and would allow them to greatly enhance the overall security of the region just like things had been arranged for the Hephaestus Familia workshops in the past. With Eina as the liaison, there was even going to be a private Guild branch established within the Hearth Manor itself to serve as a direct line of communication between the Alliance and the Guild. Since their combined might was inarguably the greatest within the City, there was a very high chance they would be the first to be contacted in the event of an emergency.The goddesses didn't mind this too much as it would give them leverage to use against the Guild for any future projects they want to bring forth. It also increased the reputation of the Alliance while having the dual purpose of expanding their authority and protecting the Hestia Familia at the core. Though it hadn't been discussed with Vahn yet, there was even a move to have the Hostess of Fertility itself relocated to the area since they would be able to receive the patronage of the literal thousands of members within the Alliance that would be staying nearby. With Freya consenting to the idea, Mama Mia had no reason to refuse the move and didn't oppose it since all the girls within the pub were already 'taken' by Vahn and it might cause problems in the future if they were split up. There was also a very high chance that many, if not all of the girls, excluding Syr, would end up joining the Hestia Familia in the future. As for the new location, they had already started construction on the new Hostess of Fertility almost directly across from the main gate of the Hearth Manor so that it would be easily accessible by those heading there in the future.---As for the source of Mama Mia's headache himself, Vahn was just beginning to leave the Dungeon after Haruhime successfully completed hunting one-thousand monsters consecutively without assistance. Even after she had cleared the required amount, Haruhime wanted to stay inside with Vahn and spend some extra time together until the early afternoon had approached and they enjoyed a light lunch. By the time they had left, Haruhime had cleared all the way to Rivira on her own, even though she was still only Level 1. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared to be Level 2, as her parameters had all increased greatly in the short three days they were inside, it was just that Vahn wanted Hestia to be the one to perform the final ceremony. She had never helped someone level up before and Vahn was somewhat worried that he would 'invalidate' her purpose as the goddess of the Familia if he became the one responsible for training and updating everyone's blessings. There was also the fear that, like himself, he wouldn't be able to allow the girls to pick the Development Abilities when they leveled up.The trip back to the surface didn't take long, as the stairs leading up only took about a half hour to walk if you took your time, and it was only around 2 PM by the time Haruhime and Vahn returned to the Hearth Manor. Vahn had noticed an incredible amount of construction crews working in the area and the entire district around his home had become abuzz with various people running about performing their duties. As it was one of the 'high-end' regions of the City, there typically weren't many people in the area in the past, but now there were thousands of people going about their business. When he approached the actual gate of the Hearth Manor, there were a large group of people surrounding it and trying to gain access to the interior but were barred passage by the formation protecting it.Vahn frowned because he could see several grey auras with a few black ones mixed in with the other relatively warm colors of the group. Though they didn't make up the majority of the crowd, there were a number of people with obviously malicious intentions 'hiding' amongst the rest of the people gathered outside. Unwilling to deal with the situation from the outside, Vahn picked up Haruhime before using Shundo to jump over the wall surrounding the Manor and heading inside. His presence had been noticed by the crowd since the gate was a straight shot to the front door but Vahn just ignored them as he set Haruhime down and walked through the front door. He wasn't going to enter through the back door of his own house just because there were a few people blocking the gates.Soon after he entered inside, Vahn heard the pitter-patter of footsteps before he saw two people he hadn't quite expected to see running toward him with somewhat fervent expressions on their faces. Vahn opened his arms to catch the two girls, one laughing, the other crying before he kneeled down so they could put their feet on the ground as he asked, "Lili, Nanu, what are the two of you doing here? What's going on outside?" The one to answer his question had been the beautiful and exotic goddess who walked out from the corridor leading to the study as she said in a gentle tone, "Master, everyone is waiting for you in the study. Please bring those two with you...Haruhime, you should take this time to go and get cleaned up."Haruhime observed the beautiful goddess with suspicion before seeing Vahn nod his head so she walked off to the side after bowing politely and excusing herself. Since they were very light, Vahn picked up the two small girls and asked, "Anubis...I'm guessing things went well at the Denatus?" while he was investigating the interior of the Manor with his domain. He could tell there were a number of people present and was able to intuit that the restrictions placed on his cooperation with the Alliance had probably been removed. From within the study, Vahn could detect the presence of three other goddesses, likely Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia, alongside more than a dozen other presences all gathered together. Answering his question, Anubis bowed politely and said, "Yes, Master, everything will be explained by Hephaestus-sama, Loki-sama, and Hestia-sama. Please come this way..."Vahn nodded his head before carrying the two girls along with him into the study as Anubis fell into her formerly reserved spot at his left, slightly behind him. Of course, Vahn also recalled the very recent experience where he had taken her for a 'walk' and couldn't help but feel a little flustered before stepping through the threshold of the door and being greeted by a plethora of beautiful girls. Vahn habitually smiled at the site before turning his attention to the small goddess walking over to him with a massive grin on her face. Before anything else was said, Vahn's expression turned soft and he said in a gentle tone, "Hestia, I'm home."(A/N: 'Aldrnari roughly translates to 'Life-Giving Flame', or 'Flame Which Nourishes Life','RIP Lili','Vahn's Domain')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;3. 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The first day in the Dungeon concluded much earlier than Vahn had expected, and it wasn't without a fair amount of trouble. He had tried to help Haruhime recover her mana by channeling his energy into her abdomen, but the moment she had enough mana to support her Innate skill she would immediately start to transform. Vahn was able to tell exactly when the skill activated since her aura would always turn from a rosy pink into a passionate red with the strange golden aura that would extend its tendrils toward him in an almost possessive manner. Though her expression wouldn't change much, Vahn noticed that Haruhime would show a slightly enamored look deep within her eyes the moment the red markings appeared. He decided to just have her go to sleep early in order to naturally recover her energy while helping recharge her accessories in the process.When she laid down, Haruhime didn't immediately fall asleep and Vahn could hear her humming the same strange tune as earlier while he was replenishing the energy within her accessories. Though he wasn't looking directly at her, Vahn was aware of everything Haruhime was doing and he could feel her gaze on his back for several minutes as she continued humming. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could feel the 'domain' of Haruhime extending outwards for about nine meters and he felt like all of the mana contained within had taken on an illusory nature. Eventually, he finished recharging the accessories before turning around to see Haruhime supporting her head with both hands as she watched him with a 'playful' smile on her face. Her tail continued to sway about behind her until she rolled over onto her back and asked while staring at him upside down, "Vaaahn, do you want to rest with me~?"Vahn looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and tossing over the various accessories in his hands. Haruhime startled as she spun around on the bed and grasped all the accessories before they could touch the ground. She released a relieved sigh before happily wearing them in the blink of an eye. After she had returned them to their rightful places, Haruhime plopped down onto the futon and fluttered her pale-gold eyes toward Vahn until he said firmly, "Haruhime, go to sleep. Staying awake longer is only going to delay things and that isn't the reason why we came into the Dungeon." Hearing his words, Haruhime's curved ears drooped downwards before she rolled up under the blankets and popped out her head one last time and asked with a 'pitiable' expression, "Are you sure? I think I would sleep even better if we were together..."Shaking his head, Vahn's expression turned softer and he said, "You're being influenced too much by your own ability right now. Until you learn to control it, it's too dangerous for us to interact closely. Don't get me wrong, Haruhime, your power isn't the issue here, it is your lack of control that is the problem. I will do my best to help you understand your power, but the only surefire way is to acclimate your body to its use. When you're able to keep your skill active without it influencing your mind, I don't mind giving you an appropriate reward." Though it looked like she was going to 'pout' for a moment, Haruhime's expression turned into a smile before she snuggled up into her futon and whispered in a sultry voice, "I'll work even harder...make sure you think of my reward properly, Vaaaahn~." From within the 'darkness' of the futon, Vahn could see Haruhime's pale-golden eyes staring at him with a subtle glow present in their depths.---The second day in the dungeon was relatively uneventful except for the fact that Haruhime had to take a long break after traversing each floor. Though the eleventh floor had been her temporary limit, she had made her way down to the 14th by the time the afternoon had come around. Her total monster count was 403, and there was slightly more than half the time remaining before they were supposed to return. Of course, they could stay longer and let Haruhime hunt even more monsters to guarantee things, as it didn't really restrict the person to attempting the feat a single time. When Familia's trained their members to acquire the skill, they usually stayed in the dungeon for an entire week and generally followed an established route that was well-documented by veteran members within the Familia.Vahn had noticed that Haruhime's power made her a capable fighter since the majority of monsters didn't seem to be able to see through her illusions at all. Her dance had become increasingly complex over time and Vahn felt like she was already fighting at the capabilities of a Level 2 even though she hadn't leveled up yet. When they returned to the surface, Vahn wanted to see how she would fair against Mikoto since they wouldn't be that far apart in actual parameters. Unless she managed to catch Haruhime with her gravity magic, Vahn didn't think Mikoto would actually be able to win against the somewhat 'broken' Innate skill of Haruhime.However, though her use of the skill was improving, her 'control' seemed to be slipping further and further. After a somewhat difficult fight where she had slain a group of twelve Hellhounds, Haruhime actually looked over toward where he was hiding before walking over in a slow manner with an elegant smile on her face. Vahn was certain he hadn't done anything to alert her to his presence and he could tell that his [Stealth] hadn't actually been broken even though she seemed to understand his location. Without calling out to him, Haruhime stopped a few meters away from his hiding spot before looking around with a blushing face as if confirming no one was present. She released a 'relieved' sigh before squatting down after pulling down the black spat-like shorts she was wearing. Vahn immediately turned his attention away from her as he listened to the trickle of fluids colliding with the Dungeon floor...After around a minute, Vahn heard the rustling of clothes as Haruhime slowly made her way further into the dungeon without looking over at his location again. Though it could have been a 'coincidence', Vahn had seen the smile on Haruhime's face before she walked over and knew she had somehow detected his presence even without actually locating him. It was a strangely disconcerting thought since Vahn was confident he could avoid almost all forms of detection, both physical and magical. He was even able to avoid Mikoto's detection spell and could hide right under the nose of a Juggernaut...yet he couldn't avoid the senses of a Level 1 Renard girl?Once Haruhime had left the room, Vahn walked out from behind his hiding spot and stared at the damp puddle on the ground that had a small amount of steam rising up from it. He released a sigh before shaking his head and following along behind Haruhime while maintaining an increased distance from her to avoid further detection. However, though he maintained increased caution, Vahn was able to tell that Haruhime was somehow able to sense him now even though he remained hidden. She kept sneaking glances in his direction and seemed to be controlling her movements as if she were trying to 'show off' to him.Since he had done something similar in the past, Vahn was easily able to see through her little act. The final straw had been when she 'accidentally' stepped to short when evading an attack and a Hellhounds razor sharp teeth had caught onto the interior fold of her kimono and tore the entire thing open. Though she was still wearing the black undergarment to protect her modesty, Haruhime continued the remainder of the fight facing toward Vahn and he could see a light blush on her face the entire time. When all of the monsters were killed, Haruhime released a 'relieved' sigh before placing her hand over her heart by means of grabbing her own breast. After a few minutes of 'calming down', she walked over before staring at a magic core and turning her back toward Vahn and bending over at the waist instead of bending down to pick it up. Because of her tail, the red kimono Haruhime was wearing slid up her body and Vahn got a full view of her black spats several times as she repeated the action to pick up the remaining magic cores.Vahn released a sigh before stepping into the light and removing his cloak as he asked, "How are you able to detect my presence?" Haruhime 'startled' as she jumped up and tried her best to resume an elegant demeanor before saying, "Ah, greetings, Vahn. I'm not sure what you mean though~?" Seeing Vahn frown, Haruhime stuck out her tongue playfully and said, "Tehehe, I'm just kidding~! I don't know how I'm able to do it either, it's just like I can 'feel' you nearby. Even if I can't see, hear, or smell you, I'm able to roughly understand your location!" After her small outburst, Haruhime suddenly turned bashful as she rubbed her thighs together and asked, "Did...you see it~?" For a very brief moment, Vahn was confused about her question until he averted his eyes and said, "No, I turned my head away...I could hear it though. Haruhime...you shouldn't be doing things like that."Haruhime's ears twitched at his words before she said in a low tone with her upturned eyes, "But, I want you to see my everything...even if we're not doing anything together, I see want you to watch me. Just knowing you're the one watching gives me strength and courage...so don't turn away, Vahn..." As she spoke, Haruhime traced her hands up to her obi and began to loosen it even though they were still in the middle of a room where monsters could spawn at any time. As if she understood his concerns, Haruhime giggled before saying, "Even if I have to fight naked, I'll be able to defeat monsters of this level easily~." Though she didn't quite get naked, Haruhime striped down until she was wearing nothing but her black, semi-transparent, top and the black spats-like shorts. She still had on her actual armor, but it was a strange sight to see a half-naked girl standing in the low light of the dungeon.After standing for a few seconds, Haruhime tilted her head and asked with a smile on her face, "Are you going to give me a change of clothes, or did you want me to dance for you~?" Without waiting for his answer, Haruhime took a step forward in a strange pattern that traced an s along the ground as her hips swayed about gracefully with her tail following the motion. Vahn immediately snapped out of his temporary daze before pulling out a new kimono that matched the damaged one Haruhime had removed. She caught the tossed clothing with her hands before laughing in a mischevious manner and saying, "Maybe next time then~?" As she got dressed, Haruhime took about three times the normal amount of time it took to wear her kimono. Throughout the entire process, she continued to bend her body at different angles as if trying to make sure that Vahn could see everything properly.Once Haruhime and completed getting dressed, she turned back to Vahn and showed a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Thanks for watching, Vahn. Sorry for being a little selfish this time around...I just wanted to tease you a bit. I don't understand it myself, but getting a small rise out of you makes me feel happy. I'll try to be a bit more serious from now on, so please continue to watch over me as I do my best to catch up to you." After speaking, Haruhime bowed in a very prim and proper manner before the pale-gold in her eyes began to turn slightly green. Vahn raised his brow at the sight before a small smile appeared on his face and he said, "Sure, your dance is captivating from far away, so I imagine it'll be even better up close. Since I can't really hide from you, I'll just stand off to the side and watch your performance until the end. Show me how far you can go Haruhime, I won't run ahead too quickly so take your time trying to catch up."Haruhime's gentle smile blossomed into a lovely expression before she released a somewhat sad sigh and said, "I wish moments like this could last forever...just the two of us spending time together. It's almost like I'm stuck inside a dream and the happy feelings keep spreading through my body ceaselessly...I don't really want to wake up anymore." Haruhime turned her head up toward the ceiling and continued, "I will become even stronger, Vahn...strong enough that, no matter how far you run, how fast you fly, or how deep you go, I will be able to stand at your side proudly." Turning back to Vahn, Haruhime had a soft expression on her face as she said, "Please always keep a spot open for me..."Though she might have expected him to hesitate, Vahn had long ago decided to accept Haruhime in the future after she increased her own strength. He knew she would probably grow attached to him after he had saved her since he had seen how rapidly her affection developed after he carried her for the first time. Haruhime was not only incredibly gifted but extremely beautiful as well; Vahn simply didn't have it in him to turn her away after everything that happened. He considered every person he saved a part of his responsibility, so he wouldn't simply leave Haruhime to someone else since she had chosen to follow him. With a happy smile on his face, Vahn reached out and stroked Haruhime's head lovingly as he said, "Thank you, Haruhime, for doing so much for me...no matter what, there will always be a place for you at my side. I'm actually looking forward to the day you step forward to claim it..."Hearing Vahn's words, Haruhime tilted her head up with a bright smile on her face and said in a cheerful tone, "I won't keep you waiting long~! You're not the only one looking forward to it, fufufufu~!" As her laughter sounded, Haruhime's eyes turned a vibrant gold color as a wispy blue light shone from behind her. Vahn had noticed it first, but it wasn't long before Haruhime turned her head and watched her own tail begin to fray from the tip. She panicked for a moment since such a thing had never occurred before in the past. Her tail had always been one of the things she prided herself on and Haruhime couldn't even imagine what she would do if something strange happened to it. However, regardless of her will, Haruhime's tail continued to fray until it eventually started to split in a strange manner.After a few tense seconds had passed, her singular tail had now turned into two different tails that now jutted out from her bottom. Even though it had happened to her own body, Haruhime couldn't understand what was going on until she tried to move both tails simultaneously. She realized that, just like she could easily move her first tail, Haruhime had just as much control over the second one. Even though it didn't make sense to her why this was the case, she felt very happy at the realization as she turned her attention to the surprised Vahn and reached both tails around her body and rubbed them against him. He blinked before looking down at the two appendages before Haruhime whispered, "Now you'll have to spend twice as long brushing my tails, I'm looking forward to it~!"(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Haruhime's Exhibition','Rapid Growth In Both Power and Emotions','Touch Fluffy Tail(s)')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;3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!)https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 359: Tempo