Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1174

With ORT's fragment now hidden behind his ear, Vahn decided not to dally too much within the Crystal Valley. Even though it was admittedly beautiful, with hundreds of crystallized trees, shrubs, and tall, rainbow-hued spires, each of these things represented danger. Just grazing against one was like tracing the blade of an S-Ranked weapon across your skin. If ORT helped them make weapons and armor in the future, their quality would be higher than masterfully forged equipment by virtue of nothing more than the raw materials themselves. Vahn felt like he could just break off any random twig off a tree and it would become a weapon that might even be able to pierce Siegfried's [Armor of Fafnir]...

After exiting the Crystal Valley, Vahn noticed a strange feeling of incongruity as, while inside, he had felt rather 'refreshed' in the presence of the foreign energy. It didn't use mana, at least in a form he recognized, but something akin to a mutated form of Divine Energy. Considering ORT structure, and the way the landscape had changed around it, Vahn felt that it must have something akin to 'Crystal Laws', something he had no comprehension of. However, just remembering how things like Mana Crystals, Dragon's Hearts, and Blood Crystals formed, it was obvious there was 'something' going on to drive the process...

Though Artoria and Luvia wanted to come to Vahn's side, Da Vinci had them both waiting inside her barrier as she used a tablet-like device to scan his body from a distance. Her own eyes were just as capable of analyzing things but, as she had failed to see through much of Vahn's anomalous nature, even after more than six months, Da Vinci had developed tools to assist her. Most of the time, she would just use her customized goggles but, knowing how dangerous Type: Mercury was supposed to be, she decided to play it safe.

Only a few seconds after her scan started, Da Vinci furrowed her brows slightly, asking, "Is that little passenger of yours supposed to be there...?" Though it would be impossible to sense through most of the common methods, especially if they relied on detecting mana, Da Vinci's tablet was tuned in order to try and sense the mysterious energy around Vahn's body. Thus, with ORT's alien energy present in her scans, she wanted to make sure that Vahn wasn't 'infected' with something.

Hearing Da Vinci's question, Vahn gave a disarming smile while answering, "Type: Mercury ended up being around forty meters tall so I asked that it create a fragment of itself so that we could remain in contact, just in case." While he spoke, Vahn folded his ear forward, revealing the small emerald-like gemstone embedded behind his ear. In response to this, Da Vinci gave an understanding nod but, without leaving the barrier, continued to operate her tablet to record ORT's unique signature for further study. When she was finished with this, she asked, "Can I take samples from within the Crystal Valley...?"

Assuming ORT would not respond, especially after he asked that it remain hidden, Vahn repeated Da Vinci's question in his mind. Though it responded in the same broken speech as before, the message contained was very clear, stating, ("Sample...danger...grain...infestation..."). Vahn relayed these words to Da Vinci but, undaunted, she now wanted to take a sample even more. Since ORT didn't actually deny the request, Vahn gave an understanding nod before taking Skoll V2 inside, allowing it to try and analyze the crystals as he spent more time than expected to try and break off a few leaves, tree branches, and even a few crystallized fruit.

The crystals had the inherent property of converting other forms of energy into the alien energy it was comprised of, greatly increasing its own durability further. It was only by using his 'Oblivion' to destroy the connection outright that Vahn had any success in his harvest. Then, after placing the samples into containers Da Vinci had prepared, Vahn moved them into her established Quarantine Zone to make sure the chance for 'infestation' was reduced to negligible levels. With his [Eyes of Truth] and Da Vinci's [False Eye of God], combined with her handy little tablet, they were able to confirm that there was no leakage. When they returned to the Workshop, Da Vinci was intending to create a new addition to the existing layout, adding a quarantine room and developing a new body that would only be used inside the isolated space.

After spending a little more than two hours collecting and analyzing samples, Da Vinci was satisfied that the risk of exposure had been mitigated. She even had Vahn discard the clothing he had arrived in before forcing him to stay inside a barrier that served as a vacuum chamber. Then, modifying the parameters of her Noble Phantasm, Uomo Universale, she 'cleansed' his body of any foreign bodies, the obvious exceptions being Alaya and ORT's gem. Since Vahn's body actually lacked bacteria and other microbes entirely, the magical light that caused his skin to itch madly was designed to make sure there were no microscopic 'passengers' he had picked up during his foray into the Crystal Valley.

Though Da Vinci's measures seemed a bit extreme, Vahn offered no complaints, knowing full well that, while he may be prone to oversights, Da Vinci rarely made any. She wasn't caught off guard by anything and, even if it was something she had no understanding of at first, her 'Omnipotent Genius' would quickly allow her to fill in the blanks through deductive reasoning, analysis, and intuition. With that in mind, Vahn would defer to her during situations like this as, even with ORT under his control, risking the lives of anyone within the Ivory Castle was something he would rather avoid.

After returning to Avalon and escorting Da Vinci back to their Workshop, it was finally time for Vahn to enter London, the heart of the Mage's Association, for the first time. Gray had awoken by the time of their return from the Crystal Valley so, even though she could barely look directly at Vahn without her face turning bright red, she joined Artoria and Luvia in accompanying him. As for Rin and Olga, the former was obviously going to stay with her daughter, partnering up with Fenrir to 'child sit' the two sisters. Olga had cooped herself up inside her Observatory, working hard in her own way so, for the time being, Vahn was content just letting her do her own thing as she acclimated to life inside the castle.

When everyone was ready, they all moved to the transfer room where, as a precaution to avoid a conflict from breaking out instantly, Luvia explained, "When we reach London, I will need a few hours to make preparations. At lunchtime, we will head to the Clock Tower directly, appearing in public to appear as disarming as possible. During that time, you should be on your best behavior, Vahn, as you can expect that the Aristocratif faction and the Association Director will be looking for excuses to paint you as a threatening individual. There is still a chance they may try and detain you but, well, they'll be hard-pressed to get away with such actions after the most recent incidents, ohohohoho~".

With many people being skeptical of the Clock Tower right now, any heavy-handed actions they took would be heavily scrutinized. If Vahn willingly appeared to try and clear up any misunderstandings, they would be 'forced' to meet with him in an above-board fashion. Any attempts to try and silence or seize him at this point would be met with public outrage, especially with several powerful families expressing their dissatisfaction with the Mage's Association and their cooperation with Vahn.

Though the chance of a Civil War breaking out wasn't zero, the Mage's Association would do everything in their power to avoid such an outcome. If they lost the confidence of the Magus Community by trying to eliminate a potential ally, there was no way they would be able to recover by the emergence of Angra Mainyu. They would be forced to 'seize' the assets of other families in order to prepare for the inevitable war, further cementing their image in the hearts of the Magus Community that the Clock Tower had become irreparably corrupt. This would exacerbate the Civil War further, to the point it may very well be going on by the time Angra Mainyu emerged.

Even if the Association Director seemed a bit 'extreme', they would not have been able to hold their position for more than two-thousand years if they weren't competent. Unless they had determined that Vahn was even more dangerous than Angra Mainyu, a conclusion that wouldn't make sense in the current setting, there was no justification for trying to capture and imprison him. Luvia, and many other Magi, already felt that the Association Director and Zelretch had overreacted a during their most recent appearance. Just the fact that Vahn had been given a Sealing Designation, meaning they wanted him alive, not dead, was a huge indicator that they simply lacked the information to make a clear judgment...

With Luvia finished explaining her take on everything, Vahn gave an understanding nod while, with no other purpose than 'protecting' their Emperor, Artoria and Gray hadn't cared about the politics of the situation at all. Artoria had spent nearly twenty years of her life campaigning around to deal with dissent and restore order to the British Isles so, even if Civil War broke out, she had already prepared her heart and mind to carry out her duties. Gray's thought process was even simpler as, if anything were to threaten Vahn, she would use every ounce of her power to eliminate them completely. She currently felt unfathomably powerful and, if not for Vahn telling her she needed to avoid conflict, for the time being, Gray might have carried Add around in scythe-form just to deter potential enemies...

As teleporting directly into London wasn't exactly the best idea, the group was transported to an a small rural city called Swindon, around 140km west of London. From here, though it was much faster to travel by foot or air, the group boarded a train that would take them to Paddington Station, one of the central railway terminus for trains moving in and out of London. With Luvia's efforts, they were able to book an entire car for themselves as, from the moment the group entered Swindon Station, they had already been drawing quite a bit of attention. Though most people were rather polite, just greeting the girls in passing, there were some who tried sneaking pictures with their phones, only to find their devices short-circuiting moments later.

Since they had the first-class car all to themselves, there was a considerable number of spacious seats available but, not outside of expectations, Vahn ended up seated next to Luvia while Gray and Artoria sat in the pair of seats across the aisle. While waiting for the train to depart, Luvia was tracing her index finger playfully around the back of Vahn's hand as she mused, "I don't travel by train often but one of my businesses builds and maintains the bullet trains that move throughout Europe. If we use this method in the future, I'll let you ride my personal line...ohohoho~." As moving materials by ship and train were some of the most effective means to transport bulk goods, Luvia had invested in having private railways installed throughout the country. Her private line had a car that could double as a mobile residence and fortress, outfitted with all the comforts that could be expected in the high society of Magus families...

Taking Luvia's hand into his own, Vahn gave a small nod, answering, "That sounds interesting..." while looking outside at the station as it began to depart. Though he didn't sense any danger, his intuition was acting up a bit so Vahn felt like he might have overlooked something. When the train had left the station completely, Vahn just shook his head before paying more attention to Luvia. She told him a lot about her other business ventures, seemingly gauging his interest in such things as, even if she became Empress, it wasn't as if all her businesses would fall to the wayside. If there was something Vahn was interested in, Luvia wanted to invest in it as, the more she learned of his capabilities, the more she learned about him, the more it felt like she hit the jackpot...

Though many of the things Luvia brought up were moderately interesting, Vahn's intrigue had been piqued when she mentioned medical sciences. This was a conversation he could actively engage in, using Paracelsus', Da Vinci's, and his own ideals as a baseline talking point. As treating the symptoms of diseases was far more profitable the curing them, many of the more affluent Magus families had invested in things like medical insurance firms and hospitals. Not only did this allow them to acquire 'materials', but it also served as proving grounds for some of their more errant practices. At the same time, they were able to make a veritable fortune by benefitting from the continued suffering of the masses, even though most modern diseases were easily curable using various forms of Magecraft.

Vahn didn't appreciate such 'business' so, when Luvia began talking about her family's efforts to vaccinate children in various third world countries, he had gotten a bit riled up. Since he knew even the Holy Church profited from the suffering of the masses, it was one of the things he wanted to change the most about this current world. To that end, he discussed viable methods to start curing people all over the world, using the transition period from the 'modern era' to the 'magical era' that he was planning to bring about.

Since the Edelfelt family didn't place much of its stock in medical research, as they were the type to contend against the upper echelons of society, not take advantage of the lower ones, it didn't take much effort for Luvia to shift her mentality a bit in order to pander to Vahn. She was beginning to acclimate to his nature and, with her 'mastery' of etiquette, negotiation, and guiding a conversation, it was easy to keep him talking until the train had reached its destination.

Seeing him so passionate about something caused Luvia's own heart to beat a little faster than normal and, though it wasn't one of her primary concerns, she promised to make the necessary arrangements. She intended to use the network Da Vinci wanted to establish as a means to spread Paracelsus' research to the general public, allowing Vahn to keep his promise while also serving as a platform for promoting more financially sustainable technologies into the world. Even if the future Vahn and Da Vinci envisioned almost made money unnecessary, that didn't mean it would lose its value any time in the near future...

By the time the train had come to a stop, there was already a large contingent of Edelfelt security personnel that had cordoned off an entire platform. Though this annoyed quite a number of people, that didn't stop them from gathering around on the periphery, phones waiting. They were curious about who was important enough to clear an entire platform, some speculating it was a high-profile celebrity while others joked it was a member of the Royal Family. The one thing most of them had in common was that they intended to immediately post the images they captured to various social media platforms, some even going out of their way to live-stream the event using video cameras as they pandered to their fanbases...

While the majority of passengers were directed by the bullet train staff to exit toward the back of the train, the Edelfelt security forces, attired in black suits and adorned with dark shades, pulled out large black umbrellas, blocking the view of most pedestrians while another group held up incredibly bright batons, messing with the focus, color, and light balancing of any active cameras. Though they could have easily used a specialized spell that targetted small electronic devices, this would just cause an even greater stir. Using means that the public 'recognized' would just cause them to speculate for a short while before, as was often the case in modern times, the incident faded into obscurity.

Seeing how many people Luvia could muster for something as simple as transportation, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he escorted her through the route that had been prepared by her security forces. They had burly men flanking them on both sides while Artoria, attired in a similar uniform, followed close behind with Gray. The latter just brought her hood up as, even if someone were to take a direct photograph of her face, it would cause the image to be blurred out. This was quickly noted by several annoyed pedestrians who, despite their efforts to try and focus their phones, the image quality seemed closer to the lowest resolution than the highest...

Without any major incidents, Vahn, Luvia, Artoria, and Gray were alighted to a large black car that was closer in function to a tank than a legal vehicle. There was also a large motorcade prepared, serving as the transportation for the hundreds of personnel Luvia had prepared. Vahn felt like she was being excessive but, as if she had read his mind, Luvia explained in an amused tone, "The bigger a scene we make, the harder it would be for our enemies to take action. It is all but guaranteed that we're already being monitored by the agents of the Holy Church and the Enforcers of the Mage's Association. With this much focus on us, they can only grind their teeth in frustration, ohohoho~."

As the Edelfelt family often did things in a rather high-profile manner for this exact reason, Luvia knew exactly what she was doing. She even had several prominent figures in Parliament on her payroll in order to avoid any 'serious' consequences. To emphasize this, several streets had even been blockaded by the police along their intended route, ensuring there was absolutely no traffic to interfere with them reaching the Edelfelt Mansion in the shortest period of time.

After reaching their destination, Vahn was greeted by Luvia's Grandmother and a few individuals who had a powerful aura radiating from their body. Not missing a beat, Olivia had a teasing smile on her face as she skipped an actual greeting and asked, "So, how was it...?" Though Vahn had been a little confused by the sudden question, Luvia understood what her Grandmother was asking, gaining a hint of a blush as she stated in a serious tone, "It was amazing..." This caused Olivia's brows to rise while, understanding what they were talking about, Vahn issued a dry laugh. He always felt a bit of pride when a woman complimented him in such a manner but, considering who Luvia was speaking with, Vahn was less enthused than normal.

With a mischevious glimmer in her eyes, Olivia gave Vahn an appraising look before nodding her head and saying, "Come. We have some things to discuss. Preparations for your venture to the Clock Tower are already underway so I'll have you accompany me for tea..." Then, looking toward Artoria and Gray, noting that the former was wearing a similar security uniform as their own forces, Olivia was able to deduce they were Vahn's guards. With that in mind, she turned her head toward the same red-haired woman that had received Vahn's group at the chateau in Northern Ireland, saying, "Sophia, escort these two to headquarters and get them caught up with our security protocol. They will be private forces but it is still necessary for them to coordinate with our own forces..."

Though Gray felt slightly troubled to be leaving Vahn alone, she didn't press the issue as, after staying with Luvia for more than a month, she had a great deal of trust towards the Edelfelt family. With Artoria also showing her understanding by accompanying Sophia, she didn't have much room to argue against leaving Vahn's side. Before she alighted, however, Gray looked back at Vahn for several seconds, only turning away when he smiled and said, "Go..." in a gentle tone. After that, she and Artoria left with Sophia while Vahn and Luvia accompanied Olivia to a rather extravagant study to discuss his meeting with the Association Director, meeting the other Heads of their alliance, and any important matters he would need to keep in mind when dealing with other families...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Da Vinci doesn't play around','The Medical Industry in a nutshell...','TFW bae is telling her Grandma how good you are in bed...')