Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 203 - Grasping the Situation

After the trio arrived in the dining room, both Naaza and Lili had headed towards the kitchen while having Vahn wait for breakfast. Even though he offered to help, they insisted that he relax and leave the cooking to them since it was a rare opportunity. Vahn accepted their offer before sitting at the low table and laying back on the floor while looking up at the ceiling. He wasn't particularly focused on anything, just relaxing in a daze while allowing his thoughts to wander.

Closing his eyes, Vahn tried listening for the various sounds of life going on around him and used his ability to perceive auras to see if he could feel the presence of others around. He saw Lili and Naaza with yellow-ish auras while Lili's had a touch of pink compared to Naaza's sky blue. In the distance, through the walls, Vahn could detect the auras of the other children and realized they had already awoken. Though they weren't training in the normal area, Vahn noticed that the boys seemed to be doing various kinds of exercises while the girls were sitting around in a circle, probably conversing.

Vahn allowed his domain to expand slowly from his body, almost as if it was gently radiating instead of the instantaneous speed he usually used it at. He tried to visualize the world around him and it seemed to take on a muted, somewhat hazy view as his senses continued to spread further and further until his domain had reached beyond the structure of the house. Though it wasn't clear, Vahn could detect the forms of everything within his domain to a might higher extent than just relying on his normal perception.

Because of his mental and spiritual growth, his domain had reached the point of 314m when it was fully spread, and Vahn could now see the outskirts of Tsubaki's Manor in his mind while catching the briefest hint of pedestrians that crossed through the outer perimeter of his domain completely unaware they had fallen into his area of influence. Vahn remembered the men that had been tormenting Milan and how he had used [Enkidu] to kill them all in an instant. Though he felt nothing but rage at the time, now he felt disappointed by his own actions. Not for having killed them, but for doing so in such an impersonal way. It was very likely they hadn't even been aware of what had happened by the time they had died since he targeted their heads.

Vahn felt like, if the men had lived to be judged, Milan might have recovered faster. She may have even wanted to take revenge on them herself, but Vahn had denied her the opportunity since he was only focused on saving her. Even though he knew she probably didn't mind, and he also didn't have many misgivings about what happened, Vahn still couldn't help but think back on the moment now that everything had calmed down.

Realizing his thoughts had begun to wander in a strange direction, Vahn released a sigh before covering his eyes with his forearm to block the luminescent light from the magic stone in the ceiling. He realized he still needed to mature and apply the teachings of those that had been helping him deal with his problems in the past. Getting caught up thinking about negative things was almost instinctual for him since it had been something he did often ever since his previous life. Vahn decided to focus on more positive things instead of worrying about stuff he couldn't change.

Strangely enough, the first thought that came to his mind when he wanted to think about something positive, Vahn imagined snuggling up next to a fat-bellied Hephaestus. A smile immediately touched his lips as he began to imagine what it would be like to have children with some of the women he had grown close to. Since Hephaestus and Eina were his 'wives', they would obviously have his children someday. Imagining Eina, who he liked to tease, nursing his child made Vahn almost burst out laughing. He had pictured himself nibbling on her ear as her face turned red while she tried b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding their son.

Vahn began to run through images of the other girls in his mind and pictured Tiona training their feisty little Amazon daughter in martial arts. For Ais, she seemed to be the gentle and reserved type that would read to their children in a garden, similar to how her mother had done for her. Since Anubis and Loki also wanted children, Vahn imagined Anubis playing with a small dark-haired chienthrope boy and Vahn realized for the first time that some of his children wouldn't be 'human' in appearance. As for Loki and his child...Vahn had trouble picturing the mischevious goddess pregnant at all, much less with their son or daughter in her arms. Picturing her looking 'affectionately' through her slit-like eyes at their child made Vahn feel a bit unnerved.

Shaking his head to clear that thought from his mind, Vahn pictured Naaza holding their child and acting in a very motherly manner. For some reason, Vahn felt like she would make a great and caring mother that would raise their children to be capable and reserved. After that, Vahn had to cut his imagination short when he pictured the image of the incredibly petite Lili with a big belly and it made his mind buzz a little. Though the image of Loki being pregnant was somewhat scary, imagining the 110cm tall Lili in the late stages of pregnancy made Vahn feel a sense of danger. Even though he had nothing against Pallums, Vahn felt like Lili was someone he needed to protect and couldn't easily picture her as a mother at all.

Sitting up from the floor, Vahn decided that he wanted to actually meet a Pallum that was already pregnant so he could see how the image in his mind matched up with reality. According to the books he had read, they were an incredibly fertile race that got pregnant easily and had lots of children. The typical pregnancy only lasted around six months, and the children themselves matured much faster than most races. Though they would never be very tall or powerful, most Pallums reached physical maturity as early as age ten and didn't change much from then onwards until their late sixties. This meant that Lili wouldn't change much at all, and Vahn had long realized she looked nearly identical to her manga counterpart already except for the fact she was significantly more fit.

The Lili in the manga had been somewhat emaciated and in poor health, but the Lili he was familiar with was incredibly lively most of the time. She had healthy skin and had put on a few kilograms of weight to the point that she didn't look emaciated at all. Since she usually wore clothes that showed off her midriff, Vahn had noticed that he could see the outline of her abdominal muscles if they caught the light properly. Her training had been primarily focused on physical strength and flexibility, so she had an incredibly lithe, yet petite, figure.

A few minutes later, Vahn had detected a few auras that he recognized enter within his domain. Since three of them were much larger than normal, Vahn assumed they were Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis. The smaller auras showed that they were amicable toward him, so Vahn imagined it was probably Eina and Tsubaki given the situation. There was a chance they could have also been Tiona and Ais, but Vahn didn't think they would show up so early after their parting the previous night.

As expected, the five that showed up were precisely Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Tsubaki, and Eina. Vahn immediately noticed they weren't in the best of moods and Loki even seemed to be genuinely angry. Hephaestus had a sad look on her face the moment she locked eyes with Vahn while Eina had a slight frown as well. Anubis didn't seem to be affected much based on her expression, but Vahn could see her aura was slightly chaotic. The least affected seemed to be Tsubaki, but her serious expression contrasted her typical cheerful expression and it made Vahn feel like something bad had happened.

Vahn rose to greet them as Hephaestus stepped forward and handed him back his [Lævateinn] which he quickly put away in his inventory before she embraced him. Vahn reached his hands around her back and rested his face atop her b.r.e.a.s.ts and felt like her way of comforting him was very similar to how Eva had done so. Vahn wondered if it was an instinctive trait of girls with bigger b.r.e.a.s.ts.

While she was holding onto his head, Hephaestus had misty eyes but it hadn't progressed to the point where she was about to cry. Things had actually gone very well for them during the negotiations, but having Vahn leave her Familia sooner than she expected made her feel somewhat sad. Even though she hadn't told him the news yet, she felt like she needed to comfort him after everything that happened last night. Of course, she had no way of knowing that Vahn had already been comforted for three days prior to their reunion so he was already in a much better state of mind.

Since he disliked seeing her sad, Vahn decided to ease tensions a bit by teasing Hephaestus for the first time in what seemed like a long time. He spent so much time in the orb, that it had actually been more than a month since he showed her any real affection and, though it may not have been the most appropriate moment, Vahn decided it was necessary to take action now. While she was still tense and holding onto his head while trying to comfort him, Vahn reached his hands down her back and once again firmly gripped Hephaestus's butt.

He had also used his [Hands of Nirvana] a bit, so the moment he gripped her butt, the melancholy she had been experiencing immediately flew away and she released a slight and audible m.o.a.n. Realizing what had happened, she gave Vahn an incredulous look before turning to look at everyone else in the room while a fierce blush began to appear on her face. Turning back to Vahn, she frowned slightly before hugging his head tightly into her chest and shouting, "You little rascal! I'm trying to comfort you!"

Hephaestus's outburst and peculiar actions had caused the tensions in the room to ease by a large amount as everyone realized Vahn had recovered by a great deal since they had last seen him.

They thought that, since he was in a bad mental state previously, when they broke the news about the negotiations he would be depressed. Contrary to their expectations, he had seemingly returned to normal and even had enough wherewithal to tease Hephaestus when the atmosphere had been so serious.

After a brief delay, Tsubaki started laughing out loud and shouted, "I guess I'm not going to have to beat you up this time! You recovered a lot faster than I expected, Vahn. Looks like you're growing up and becoming more reliable~!" Tsubaki stood with her arms akimbo and began laughing heartily to the point that it drew the attention of most people within the house.

Loki also decided to tease them, but focused her attention on Hephaestus instead as she said, "Oh~? So Vahn really is the type that like big butts, isn't he? I was wondering why you had seemed a little different lately...have you been exercising your butt Hephaestus?" Since Loki was lecherous by nature and preferred to associate with women, she was actually incredibly perceptive to even minor changes in the physical appearance of the girls she associated with.

Hephaestus's body turned completely rigid after hearing Loki's words and she couldn't find a way to respond at all. Ever since Vahn had complimented her on her butt in the past, she had actually been spending an hour each morning and afternoon exercising to tone her butt more. Though she didn't think much of it, since she didn't think anyone would notice other than Vahn, hearing someone point it out was a big impact to her mind.

Vahn had also heard Loki's words and continued to develop the momentum as he focused on the feeling in his palms. He squeezed her butt with more force and realized there actually was a bit more resistance than there had been in the past. His actions had caused the petrified Hephaestus to squeeze his head even harder as he spoke in a muffled tone, "It feels better now; it has a nice resistance...thanks, Hephaestus." Since he knew she had done it to appeal to him, Vahn genuinely thanked her in a low voice even though it was getting to the point where he couldn't breathe.

Since the majority of the people in the room were chienthropes or had sensitive ears, everyone except Tsubaki and Loki had heard Vahn's remark. Hephaestus's face immediately flushed to the point where it looked like it was trying to compete with her red hair while Anubis began to chuckle in a somewhat elegant manner as her tail wagged back and forth. Some of the other girls used their palms to check the feel of their own butts, and several of them had somewhat dejected expressions that Vahn had been fortunate to avoid seeing.

Lili herself had also been fondling her own butt and was thinking about developing her magic skill to the point where she could alter her physical appearance more. As if a strange thought had crossed her mind, Lili looked toward Tsubaki who was standing off to the side with a big smile on her face. She noticed Lili's look as well as all the strange reactions of the other girls in the room and asked, "What happened, did I miss something?"

Loki seemed to realize something as well, since she was probably the most perceptive person in the entire room. She had seen Vahn squeeze Hephaestus's butt again before mumbling something that caused the majority of the girls in the room to have a strange reaction. When Lili look at Tsubaki with a 'fierce' look in her eyes, Loki made the connection and began to laugh in a cheeky manner as she addressed Tsubaki, "I think she is jealous that you have the biggest butt in the entire room~? You had better be careful or Vahn might use his hands-"

As Loki mentioned Vahn's hands, she remembered the 'massage' she had experienced previously and her expression changed multiple times before it turned absolutely serious as she continued, "You have to be very careful, Tsubaki. If Vahn gets his hands on your butt, you might never be able to walk again." Remembering that she had been completely paralyzed as her muscles were forced to relax if Vahn was serious and lost control while fondling someone, they may very well be unable to walk for a long while.

Loki's unusually 'serious' words caused everyone in the room, including Vahn and Hephaestus, to look at her strangely. Vahn himself lifted his hands away from Hephaestus's butt as he recalled the fact that he wanted to tease Tsubaki more in the future. He turned his hands into claws as a gentle light radiated from them as he said confidently, "If it came to a massage, I don't think I'd ever lose another point to you again."

Vahn's words made every girl in the room have a variety of different reactions ranging from fear and excitement to actual anticipation and curiosity. Tsubaki had been one of the curious ones as she recalled the parting blow he had given to her abdomen previously. It had sent a literal shock up her spine and caused a bit of moisture to build up in the fundoshi-like cloth she wore as underwear. Imagining a full massage session of similar things, even she didn't have confidence that she would be able to last long. However, she wasn't the type to back down, especially from someone that had once been her disciple, so she said in an arrogant voice, "If you think you can get an advantage on me, feel free to try. However, come prepared to suffer some pain~!"

All three goddesses heard Tsubaki's words and looked at her like she had just signed her own death warrant. They had all 'suffered' at Vahn's [Hands of Nirvana] in the past, and there was absolutely no way to resist if they let him take control of the situation. Though Tsubaki was much stronger than they were, she was still a mortal and had much lower mental and physical tolerance. If even they, as goddesses, couldn't resist, Tsubaki will have lost the battle as soon as it started.

Vahn saw the confident look in Tsubaki's eyes and felt like the flame of competition had been ignited in his mind. Ever since he polished his skills against Eva, he refused to believe there was someone that could resist his massage technique if he got serious. With a glint in his eyes and a serious expression on his face, Vahn spoke in a confident tone, "I'll get back all the points you owe me then."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Serious chapter with lots of butts','Tsubaki's Death Sentence','The Godhand stirs from its slumber')

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