Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Vahn sat down the sofa alongside Hephaestus and Hestia. Nanu had separated from him easily enough, but Lili held on for a few seconds longer before she was inevitably peeled away by Naaza. As for the other girls present, there was Loki, Anubis, Riveria, Syr, Ryuu, and last, but not least, the somewhat youthful looking Tsubaki. Vahn knew there were several other presences inside the Manor, but he hadn't identified them all yet. When things calmed down a bit, Vahn learned about everything that happened at the Denatus from Loki, including the fact that his new alias had been set as 'Aldrnari'. After learning what it meant, Vahn had a happy smile on his face because he thought it was very suitable given everything he had been doing lately. Though he'd have liked a 'cooler' nickname, Vahn couldn't help but feel that it was better to have something that sounded 'good' than something that inspired fear in others.Vahn also explained to the group the changes that had occurred when he was training with Haruhime which spurred Ryuu and Riveria to go track her down out of curiosity. Ryuu was the closest thing to a mentor that Haruhime had, while Riveria had only arrived to explain in person that an envoy was coming from her country in order to confer Vahn his title and verify the veracity of his accomplishments. Now that the 'probation' was formally revoked, Vahn was able to freely move about between the various Alliance headquarters without restriction. This went both ways, of course, and Vahn learned about all the changes that were occurring in the district surrounding the Hearth Manor.Though it would take time, there were a total of eight expansions and several other Manors that would be built in the area within the next few months. The renovations Vahn had planned in the past were also being approved and construction was going to begin in the next couple of days. Though the basic structure wouldn't change too much, there were going to be several add-ons to the Manor including a western annex intended to serve as an alchemy lab and an extension of the onsen area that would be converted in a private massage parlor and salon for Vahn's personal use. The barrier between the men's and women's bath was going to be torn down, but there was going to be a private bath installed in each wing of the Manor for anyone that didn't want to enjoy the 'communal' bath.When Vahn heard this, he frowned slightly and asked, "Is it really a good idea to take down the wall? It doesn't bother me too much, but I don't want to put pressure on any of the girls within the Familia. It would also prevent any guys from join-" Before Vahn could finish, Hestia shook her head and said plainly, "Vahn, I understand you might want to have some guys to hang around with, but I have no intention of accepting any into the Familia at this point. There are too many girls that are involved with you that will be residing here in the future to let other men walk about freely. Not to mention, in the very near future there will even be several children wandering around..."Seeing Vahn's somewhat dejected look, Hephaestus laughed before leaning against his shoulder and saying, "Don't worry, one of the things we have being worked on is a 'clubhouse' for your personal use that will be located near the Manor. It'll be a hangout spot for you and the other men that you decide to invite over and it'll be a restricted area for all the girls unless there is an emergency. The Miach and Takemikazuchi Familia are going to be moving nearby and there are several boys in the other Familia that you can make friends with. I'm also having Welf move his workshop in the area since I'll be building a research division of my Familia nearby. If you find any good guys that you want to recruit, you can always have them join one of the other Familia and still adventure together without any problems."Listening to the explanations of the girls, Vahn understood they were taking his needs into consideration but were also doing their best to protect the women around him and his future children. The only reason he was 'concerned' about the matter of no men joining the Familia is that he had intended to recruit Bell when he came to the City in the future. Vahn felt it was strange that Bell wouldn't be joining the Hestia Familia, but he also understood that there was no real necessity for him to do so either. Bell wouldn't have to start from scratch with anything but gear issued by the Guild, instead, he would be nurtured from the very moment he becomes an Adventurer. Since Vahn had 'inadvertently' taken many of the girls that Bell might have gotten involved with, it might be better that he got a fresh start in another Familia this time around.After ruminating over the matter for a bit, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Okay, I can agree to that...however, I want the 'clubhouse' to be bigger than normal and have workshops attached to it. If possible, I'd like it to be located next to the research facility of the Hephaestus Familia and Welf's workshop since I plan to help him out with his research on magic weapons in the future." Hephaestus nodded her head and said in a low tone while hugging Vahn's body, "Sure, that sounds like a wonderful idea..." Vahn noticed that Hephaestus was behaving somewhat strangely and instinctively activated his [Eyes of Truth] and turned his attention to her stomach. Seeing the change in his eyes, Hephaestus began to laugh before poking Vahn's cheek and saying, "Don't worry, I've been told it's normal to feel a little sick after about two weeks of pregnancy. You should have seen me this morning...hahaha." Vahn nodded his head but still decided to rub Hephaestus's back while using his [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm the bout of nausea she was having.Loki saw their interaction and laughed in a mischevious manner before saying, "Oh, I'll make sure you rub my back when I get sick as well~. After you knocked me up, it's the least you can do, shishishishi~!" Vahn shook his head while rolling his eyes before saying, "Sure thing, Loki, just call me whenever you need me. I need to be checking up on the two of you periodically anyways to ensure nothing goes wrong." Loki laughed at his words before standing up and saying in a teasing manner before plopping down on his lap, "How reliable~." Vahn suddenly felt a little nervous as Loki moved his hand to her belly because he could feel the aura of Hestia flaring up to his left. The atmosphere was suddenly turning a bit awkward since he had one goddess sitting in his lap, one goddess 'raging' on his left, and another goddess leaning against his shoulder on the right. There were several other people present, and they hadn't even finished their discussion from earlier.Almost at the exact moment he had reached the 'breaking' point, Loki stood up from his lap and laughed mischievously before sending a glance at Hestia and some of the other girls before saying, "Regarding the matters of pregnancy, children, and all that 'fun' stuff...well, that was a big point of contention at the Denatus this time around. We managed to get the support of a large number of goddesses, but there are several gods that are somewhat pissed off. I'm sure you saw the crowd of people outside~? Well, those are the Children of various Familia and they're probably here representing their gods. Even though we tried to set up a system to prevent people from trying to hassle you directly, there are bound to be a few that ignore the 'rules'. Just ignore them for the time being and we'll sort it out over time."Vahn nodded his head as he loosely embraced Hestia who had taken Loki's spot on his lap and asked, "They aren't going to endanger the people I care about, are they?" Feeling the subtle pressure emitting from Vahn, Loki began to laugh before saying, "As I said, you don't have to worry about that for the time being. We already informed everyone important that it'd be at least a month before you can perform the 'ceremony' again. Also, there are a few goddesses that have 'booked' your help and, though you have the right to refuse, they would be very helpful in supporting the Alliance in the future." Seeing that Vahn's look change from a serious one to a slightly inhibited one, Loki continued, "Don't worry, though there are a number of goddesses that might want to try and pursue you, we've pretty much shut down the majority of them...however..." Loki looked over toward Hephaestus and they both sighed at the same time.Before Vahn could ask, Hephaestus began explaining from where Loki left off, "The goddess at the top of the list is one of the more troublesome ones, but she is also one of the most influential and powerful supporters we can have...it's Freya. We have prevented her from doing anything to endanger you, or those around you, but she will undoubtedly try to approach you in order to bear your child in the future. However, for the time being, we've managed to reign her in and she had instead decided to bear the child of someone else..." Vahn's brows furrowed for a moment as he considered the matter. He knew he didn't need to be the one to do the impregnation, but he felt slightly awkward when it came to helping Freya get impregnated by another person. Even though he had never met her, Vahn knew what type of person she was and how dangerous she could be if allowed to do as she pleases. The thought of her having a child of her own to do whatever she'd like made him slightly uncomfortable. Even impregnating her himself seemed to be a more agreeable thing since he would be able to watch over the child after it was born...Loki frowned after seeing Vahn's expression change and she said, "Vahn, though it is your right to use your power however you like, it will create problems if you try to bear everything on your own. Though it may not be pleasant, there isn't any practical way to prevent gods and goddesses from acting in accordance with their Divinity. Unless you plan to only pick and choose the goddesses you like, there are bound to be children born to them that won't be happy. However, this is the case all over the world, and not just for goddesses. You can't help everyone...please remember that. Besides, Freya wouldn't do anything as long as she hasn't been able to bear one of your children, and we already have strict regulations for what she'll be allowed to do when that time comes. If you'd like, I'll show you the contract we created for her if you want to add anything on to it."Vahn knew Loki was correct, and there were a number of children born every single day that would struggle for the rest of their lives simply due to the situation they're born into. With Syr present, Vahn recalled the orphans that he was trying to help without directly interfering with their lives as well as the street orphans he had met the other day. He already knew he couldn't help everyone, but it still made him a little upset knowing that there was a high chance a child would be born with his help that may not be happy in the future. While he was lost in thought, Hephaestus had grabbed his right hand and squeezed it tightly as she smiled and said, "Focus on taking care of your own children, Vahn...we'll all do our best to support you as well, so don't worry too much about things you can't influence. Just do your best and follow the path you want to take, okay?" Hephaestus then leaned over and kissed him gingerly on the lips before pulling away with a gentle smile on her face.Seeing her expression caused Vahn to smile as well before he turned to Loki and said, "Fine, I'll help Freya out...not for her, but for everyone else that I want to protect. As for her having a child of mine, she will always be at the bottom of the list unless she can prove that she would be a capable mother. The thought of my own son or daughter having a half-sibling that is living an unhappy life away from them makes my heart feel a little cold..." Loki nodded her head in a serious manner and said, "Don't worry, once you take a look at the contract you'll see that we thought of almost every contingency. Trust in us, Vahn, we're not going to let anything bad happen as long as it's something preventable." Vahn nodded his head and said in a serious manner, "I know that, together, there is nothing we can't accomplish!"---After discussing a few other important matters, Vahn found out from Syr about the Hostess of Fertility moving right across from the Hearth Manor and that they had actually worked things out with Hestia to use the west wing of the Manor as their new dormitory. Starting a few days from the present, all of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility were going to be moving in since it wouldn't take long for them to refurbish the large residence across from his Manor into a pub. When Vahn asked about what would happen to the old pub that was currently being worked on, Syr told him that it was actually going to stay in business, just that they would be hiring new employees to manage things. Though that had previously been the main branch, there were actually several other Hostess of Fertility branches located in other small Cities and villages like Melen and Rinka.Other than the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, there were several others that were taking the opportunity to move in while things were somewhat chaotic. Naaza and Lili would be moving into the Manor, and had even moved in the majority of their luggage the moment they found out that Vahn's probation had been lifted. Nanu wanted to move in as well, but she was going to be staying with the Anubis Familia in their own Manor for the time being. She was the current Captain of the Anubis Familia, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to suddenly leave just so she could stay with Vahn. Of course, this wouldn't stop her from visiting very often and spending time familiarizing herself with the other girls surrounding Vahn.The biggest impact Vahn had received was when he found out that the girls from the Loki Familia were also planning to move in while Loki herself had arranged to have the northern wall broken down so it can connect with the Manor she had purchased on the adjacent property. There were several gods and goddesses that didn't live at the Familia Residence, and now Loki was going to be using the Manor as her private home and was remodeling the interior for various 'recreational' purposes she decided to keep hidden for the time being.Though he didn't mind, Vahn asked why the girls were going to be moving in and the answer he received was that it was simply more 'convenient'. Since they were girls associated with Vahn, it would be better for everyone to acclimate to living together sooner rather than later. It also allowed him to easy find them for things like designing weapons and armor and also put everyone close to the Dungeon. If it came down to people threatening the Hestia Familia, the greater number of powerful people present, the better. There were simply endless 'justifications' for the move and Vahn had to take a step back after being barraged for a few minutes.With the inclusion of the girls from the Loki Familia, that brought the total number of people that were going to be living in the Hearth Manor to an astounding twenty-four, excluding himself and Hestia. Those that would be staying were Eina, after they married, Ryuu, Aki, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, Preasia, Fenrir, Milan, Tina, Shizune, Naaza, Lili, Syr, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Mona, and the girls from the Loki Familia, Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and apparently Riveria, who was to be the caretaker of the girls and planned to help Vahn's research. Compared to the original members staying within the Manor, their numbers suddenly increased by two-hundred percent. Vahn felt like things were going to be very chaotic, but he was also looking forward to being able to spend more time with the girls without having to traverse half the City.Vahn now understood why it was necessary to tear down the wall in the onsen since there were simply too many people present for him to be the only person taking up half the space. Just imagining taking a bath with more than twenty girls made Vahn feel a little light headed and he considered using the private bath for the foreseeable future. However, no matter how the thought about it, Vahn didn't think he would be 'allowed' to use that bath for too long...well, not that he really minded that much. Even if he didn't plan to turn the Familia into a 'harem' Familia, it didn't seem like he really had much choice considering how freely he allowed his affections to influence others. The only thing he could do was resolve himself to act more reservedly and defer to Eina more often when she started living with him in the near future. With her managing things alongside Syr and Hestia, Vahn believed everything would work out...hopefully.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sharing Information','Pregnancy is an important subject','There is no escape now, Vahn-boi~!')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. 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 361: Twenty-Four