Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1584

With Asuna dangling her feet at the side, Vahn lightly hummed a song as he mixed together the ingredients for everyone’s lunch. Around him, preparing additional ingredients and side-dishes, a total of three identical doll-like women were silently supporting him. They had each been created by Eva’s Innate skill, [Doll Maker], and, though they were mass-produced automatons with limited cognition, they skillfully took care of things like cooking and cleaning.

Like Eva’s ’partner’, Chachazero, each of the dolls had mint-green hair and eyes, but, unlike the chibi marionette, they were modeled to appear around 16~18 years old. Since their main function was to provide support, primarily assisting with cooking and cleaning, each was attired in an old-fashioned Maid outfit, and, if not for their visible joints, unnatural complexions, and the cat-like antennae that framed their heads like a pair of stylish headphones, they would have been indistinguishable from normal, aesthetically pleasing, human women.

By making use of a magical link, giving them a limited hive-mind, the ’Chachameido’ were able to work alongside each other completely seamlessly. This made the process of cooking similar to an assembly line, and, if not for his presence, meals would always be prepared quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, without an actual skill related to cooking, the dolls were limited to emulating dishes prepared by first-rate or expert Chefs. This wasn’t bad, not in the slightest, but, compared to Vahn, it was like the difference between eating sand and a perfectly cooked Dragon Steak.

Even if he made something as simple as Onigiri, Vahn’s food always tasted inordinately good due to the influence of his Source Energy and the ’heart’ he put into every meal. As a result, he became the de facto Chef within the group, preparing meals with a smile in the hopes of putting a similar smile on everyone else’s faces. Since even Eva didn’t have the heart to complain about his cooking, Vahn was quite proud of every meal he prepared...

With most of the cooking completed, Vahn quickly washed his hands, and, after drying them off on a towel he kept tucked into his apron, he smiled towards one of the Maids, saying, "Chachasan, I’ll leave the rest to you and your sisters. You’re free to arrange things as you please."

Hearing Vahn’s orders, the doll known as Chacha 003 neatly folded her hands before performing a perfect bow as she said, "I understand, Master. We will have everything prepared shortly. Thank you for your efforts."

After a curt nod in response, Vahn folded up his apron before he and Asuna exited into the dining room. There, the eldest Chachameido, Chachaichi, was dutifully serving tea to everyone while her youngest sister, Chachanana, was setting the table. Though they both stopped to give him a polite bow, they quickly returned to their work as Eva, with a smile on her face, mused "I smell something pleasant. I wonder what you’ve prepared today~?"

Rather than reveal the surprise, Vahn sent a playful wink toward Eva before passing his gaze around the table as he said, "You’ll have to look forward to it. I’m certain you’ll be pleasantly surprised..."

As Vahn spoke, he gauged the reactions of everyone at the table, and, though it was very subtle, he quickly picked up on a citrusy aroma lingering in the air. His draconic senses could directly compete against Fenrir’s base state, so, while he selectively blocked most pheromones, Vahn had memorized the unique aroma of his companions. He could also detect the traces of the various different soaps and oils they used, so, even without Arika giving it away by quickly averting her eyes, he knew what she had in mind for the afternoon.

Contrary to what Arika and Theo believed, Vahn actually decided whether or not he would massage them based on the ’preparations’ they had made beforehand. He had warned all of them about the ’dangers’ involved with receiving too many of his massages, so, even without him putting an actual restriction on it, the girls would remain patient for around five-to-seven days before they began to give him hints that they wanted one. This usually involved using a higher quality soap, so, whenever Vahn smelled the familiar aroma, he instantly understood their intentions.

Tactfully choosing to keep his thoughts to himself, Vahn just smiled slightly as he took his seat next to Eva. Then, for the remainder of the rather pleasant lunch, he made casual conversation about the girls’ training and the various rumors circulating around Ariadne...

After entrusting Asuna to Eva for her afternoon theory lessons, Vahn, accompanied by a tense and silent Arika, made their way to an isolated chamber beneath the beach house. Since it was a good way to nourish the Elementals that had made the diorama home, there was now an underground network filled with various different types of workshops, production facilities, and ateliers. Vahn had even constructed a massive forge near the once-faux, now-real, volcano. It was truly amazing to see what Elemental Spirits could accomplish when put to task, as, compared to the state he had found it in, the interior of the diorama had practically become a ’real’ world.

Once inside the sealed, heavily reinforced, and soundproofed chamber, Vahn turned to Arika with a gentle smile on his face as he repeated the same warning as usual, saying, "Though this procedure will help unlock your potential, continued exposure will severely limit your growth. While this might help fool those in the outside world, you still need to properly consider whether or not you want to remain in your current state for the next couple of decades..."

Though she had appeared very nervous after entering the room, Arika’s expression became serious when she heard Vahn’s words. Then, with the same conviction she showed when talking about her ambitions, she calmly answered, "My appearance has no bearing on my ability to perform my duty. Even if I am stuck this way for a hundred years, it will be worth it if I can bring prosperity and peace to Mundus Magicus..."

Seemingly emboldened by her own words, Arike lightly touched the tiny amethyst attached to the choker around her neck. Immediately thereafter, her clothes dissolved away into motes of magical light, the resolution on her face faltering slightly as a blush quickly spread through her cheeks. She had become progressively more aware of her own body as they spent time together, her elegance and composure giving way for more maidenly emotions.

Without gawking, Vahn’s smile became slightly affectionate as he answered, "Very well...you can lay down on your back or stomach..."

Though this wasn’t her first time receiving a massage, Arika always felt exceptionally nervous in the moments leading up to the procedure. If she lay on her back, Vahn would give her a cool towel to cover her eyes and forehead, but, if she lay on her stomach, she might even fall asleep due to how comfortable and pleasant the process was. This was always very embarrassing as she would always wake up in her bed several hours later, much to the amusement of Eva and Theo.

After considering her options, Arika swallowed hard before awkwardly climbing atop Vahn’s hand-made massage table. Hundreds of years of experience had led to him developing his own model, a version that could, quite literally, change form to suit the recipient of his massage. It was graded as an S-Rank Artifact within the Akamatsuverse, making it an object that even exceeded the heirlooms and sacred treasures of most Kingdoms.

Seeing Arika lay on her back, Vahn gave a small nod before pulling out a white towel and soaking it in a bucket of chilled water he had pulled out of his Inventory. She would quickly become feverish if she could see him massaging her body, so, after triggering a catastrophic nosebleed during one of their past sessions, this was the solution he had come up with. Though blocking her sight made her even more sensitive to his touch, not being able to see allowed her to remain relatively calm during the preliminary stages of the massage. Then, once she had relaxed completely, he could remove the cool cloth, allowing her to either observe the process or just relax with her eyes closed.

After wringing out the cloth, Vahn folded it into a thin strip before carefully placing it over Arika’s heterochromatic eyes. In response, she released a relieved sigh, and, though it would take a while for her tensions to completely relax, she was already beginning to calm down. She had a breathing technique related to the cultivation method he had given her, so, after a few deliberate breaths, her chest began to rise and fall at even intervals as he gingerly lifted her hand, starting with massaging her fingers and joints...

Vahn noticed it every time he gave Arika a massage, but the structure of her body was functionally identical to both her mother and Vesperina. At this point, he was absolutely certain they had been artificially created, and, though Asuna had apparently been birthed by Vesperina, there weren’t any sequelae to indicate she, or Ana, had ever given birth. It was possible they had simply regenerated to a ’default’ state, but, considering their cells decayed like a normal person’s, albeit much slower, it didn’t make sense for them to recover so completely.

Though they each had their own ego, it was rather obvious that the members of the Ostian Royal Family were ’programmed’ to think a certain way. Even Asuna, despite being two-years-old at the time, had this mentality hard-coded into her. She was fully dedicated to the purpose she had been given, and, prior to his intervention, she had rarely even spoken to her own mother. This seemed to be perfectly natural from Vesperina’s perspective, and, if he had never shown up, Asuna would have kept studying for upwards of sixteen hours a day without even thinking about taking a break.

From what he had gathered, Asuna hadn’t even been taught how to read and write. According to Asuna, herself, she had ’always’ known how to read and write. Her very first memories were of her reading books, and, even though she couldn’t recollect everything from her first year of life, she could recount the information she had read from books with near-perfect clarity. This implied that, shortly after her birth, she had already begun researching Magic without any prompting, almost as if it was an instinct.

Asuna was the most anomalous member of the Ostian Royal Family, but, other than the structure of her Mana and Spirit Bodies, she actually had the same basic structure as every other member. Other than the purity of her aura and the subtle differences in her affinity, Asuna was functionally identical to her mother, grand-aunt, and cousin. There was seemingly no genetic deviation, only a difference in the purity of their energy.

While systematically linking all of Arika’s nerves, to the point her entire body would ’vibrate’ when he lightly pressed one of her pressure points, Vahn couldn’t help wondering if her hair color would gradually change from pale-gold to the characteristic orange of Asuna. If she tied her hair up into twin-tails and stood next to Asuna, it would almost be like looking at past and future versions of the same person, albeit with inverted eye colors.

As the two overlapped in his mind, Vahn could easily imagine a younger version of Arika, a slightly cold expression on her face as she buried her nose into thick magical texts. Though it was a rather adorable image, as studious children were especially cute, Vahn couldn’t help but feel it was a little sad. He couldn’t really do anything about it now, but part of him would have liked to help Arika in the same way he had helped Asuna. Though the end result might have been the same, she would have had a happier childhood if he had intervened earlier...

Shaking his head free of negative thoughts, Vahn ran his ring and middle fingers down the line of Arika’s abdomen. Her recent focus on physical training really showed, and, though she didn’t have visible abs, it was possible to make out their shape when she tensed up. She had a lean and athletic figure, and, though her development had slowed considerably due to the effect of his massages, it wasn’t as if she lacked the charms of a mature woman. Rather, she was actually very beautiful, and, due to the concessions made by Eva, Vahn felt she was becoming more attractive with each passing day.

With a slight smile on his face, Vahn lightly massaged the pressure points around Arika’s abdomen, the thumb of his right-hand pressing into her supple yet firm flesh. At the same time, without even a tiny fluctuation in his expression, he lightly pressed the index and middle fingers of his left-hand into some of the more ’sensitive’ pressure points of Arika’s body. He took special care to avoid any kind of direct contact, but, in order to ensure the greatest possible result, Vahn needed to channel his energy through ’every’ part of her body.

For a variety of reasons, the core of most females was directly linked with their uterus. It was the organ that gestated and nourished new life, and, under certain circumstances, it also served as a secondary nexus for containing power. This is the reason why females, especially virgins, had far more magical power than their male counterparts. There were even some cultivation techniques, similar to the method practiced by Circe, that created a literal core within the womb. Unfortunately, as was often the case, there were also quite a number of techniques designed for men that actively stole this energy from females in order to nourish their own...

Ignoring the heated sighs that would periodically escape Arika’s lips, Vahn took care to make sure there were no blockages in the unique pathways between her dantian and uterus. Vahn had come to understand that these pathways were instrumental in determining whether or not a woman was able to give birth. If they were closed, it was virtually impossible for them to get pregnant, and, as a result of how delicate they were, it was actually very easy for them to become blocked or damaged by the energy from the dantian. Even powerful shockwaves or strenuous activity could sever them, and, if they weren’t treated early on, most powerful women actually became infertile as a result of trying to increase their strength.

Ironically, especially for female cultivators, one of the best methods to strengthen the pathways between their dantian and uterus was to have sex. Most males, even those without an affinity for it, possessed yang elemental energy in their semen. This was one of the elements that allowed for the creation of new life, and, after mixing with the inherent yin in a female’s body, most of which was concentrated in their egg cells, a baby would be produced. When an egg wasn’t present, however, that same yang energy was absorbed by the pathways in the uterus, making them more resistant to damage, and, in some situations, greatly strengthening the recipient.

Vahn obviously wasn’t going to inject his semen into Arika’s body just to help her grow stronger, but, as his Source Energy could emulate all kinds of energy, he could use it to directly nourish the pathways in her body. It was a shame he hadn’t figured this out until a few decades prior, as, if he understood the principles behind it, Vahn might have been able to ’treat’ the Gods in Danmachi without having to bind them with Enkidu. At the very least, he could have come up with an even better solution to the various problems faced by half-breeds like Tsubaki...

Remembering the beautiful bronze-skinned woman, a reminiscent smile spread across Vahn’s face as he removed his hand from Arika’s lower abdomen. This caused her to release a profound sigh of relief, as, despite how ’pleasant’ the treatment was, it could quickly become unbearable. No amount of calming energy could prevent the gradual ache that would spread through her body in response to the heat that flowed from Vahn’s fingertips. If she had been a Cat Person, going into heat would have been inevitable as the treatment, quite literally, had the side-effect of increasing fertility and encouraging ovulation...

Unfortunately, though she wasn’t complaining, Arika didn’t have much time to breathe. Rather, she knew what came next, so, in preparation, she began to focus on her breathing, clenching her teeth as she inhaled and exhaled through her nose. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel her legs gently pried apart, supported by comfortable cushions that allowed her to splay out without straining her muscles and tendons. Then, causing her jaw to quiver despite the clenching, Vahn began to slowly and methodically massage the muscles of her inner thighs...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Chachameidos Assemble!’,’The Godhand knows no boundaries’,’Eva be like, "And you seriously expected them to fall for other people...?"’)