Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-265

After Hestia's body relaxed, Vahn could feel her taking long and drawn out breaths and she laid powerlessly with her head on his pelvis. Knowing she probably wasn't going to come down any time soon, Vahn eased his mind and pushed away the tensions in his body with assistance from [Will of the Emperor]. After a few seconds, his penis calmed down and he fixed Hestia's panties before gingerly rolling her off of his body. She seemed to regain a bit of her clarity as Vahn stroked the side of her face and whispered, "You did well Hestia...thanks for your efforts." Leaning down, Vahn kissed Hestia on her lips for a brief moment before wrapping her body in a blanket.

Hestia stared at Vahn's back like she wanted to say something but felt like she didn't have the ability to form rational thoughts for the time being. Even now, her body would feel a wave of vibrations originating from her lower body. The only thing she really knew was that she was sad to lose Vahn's warmth as she reached out her hand and grabbed at his tunic only to falter forward. Vahn caught her before helping her lay back down on her back. Looking into her watery blue eyes, Vahn could see a bit of the longing contained within. Releasing a helpless sigh, Vahn re-entered the covers before hugging Hestia's body for a while longer. He could sense that some of the other girls were awakening, but it would take them a bit of time to get ready for the day.

Feelings Vahn's warmth, the sad feelings that had begun to spread in Hestia's heart were dashed away as she put as much strength into her powerless arms as she could and held onto him. Vahn was a bit distracted since Hestia was clinging to him with her soft, naked, body from the front. He had unequipped his tunic earlier and could feel the heat of her body and the rigidity of the tiny protrusions on the tip of her breasts. Though she didn't have much strength, Vahn felt like Hestia was trying to merge her body into his as he gently stroked her glossy black hair.

Vahn angled his head before tilting Hestia's chin up so he could see her hazy expression that was still within the stages of a deep blush. There was even a bit of fluid dripping down from her nose even though Vahn could see clarity deep within her eyes. He knew she had recovered for the most part and was just seeking has affection in the heat of the moment. Vahn wiped away the stray trail before leaning in and giving Hestia a brief series of kisses. He didn't want to push her any further for the time being since some of the girls had already made their way downstairs.

Hestia eventually loosened her grip by a bit and tried to sit up in the bed as she began to regulate her breathing. She looked into Vahn's face and asked hesitantly, "Vahn, do you love me?" Vahn also sat up in the bed and continued to hold Hestia's gaze as a natural smile covered his face. He knew Hestia wasn't asking for any compliments or embellishments of the truth, she simply asked the question that was on her mind and wanted an equally simple response. With a gleam of confidence in his eyes, Vahn said proudly, "I do, I love you, Hestia."

A small smile appeared on Hestia's face and she bobbed her head a bit as if having confirmed something before asking, "But you love other people as well, don't you?" Though it was a marginally more difficult question to answer, Vahn still nodded his head without any hesitation and said, "I do."

Hestia released a long sigh in response and hung her head thoughtfully for several seconds. She stared down at her own figure that was still covered with a blush and a light layer of sweat and began to think about all the time she spent with Vahn. She knew he was a demigod and they would likely be together for hundreds of years. In that time, she knew Vahn would have several wives, lovers, and a host of children with girls and goddesses other than herself...

However, even though she knew all of that and still felt uncontrollable pangs of jealousy, Hestia still wanted to be with Vahn. He was the most caring and gentle person she had ever seen and he never gave up no matter how hard things got. Though he had moments of weakness, he never shied away from his emotions and willing sought comfort and support from others. He was both incredibly strong while also being remarkably fragile at the same time...Hestia wanted to protect him and be one of the pillars that supported him in the future.

After affirming her own feelings, Hestia decided to support Vahn however she could without trying to restrict him. Just like he showed leniency toward her behavior, she would tolerate his actions and even try to bring him closer to the people he cared about. With her resolve found, Hestia's expression returned to normal as even her aura turned remarkably calm and stable. Looking into Vahn's eyes, she could see the care, concern, and a brief hint of fear before it was dashed away when they made eye contact. She showed Vahn her most loving smile as she stated confidently, "I love you too Vahn. Please take care of me from now on...I'll do my best to make your dreams a reality."

Hearing Hestia's words and seeing her expression, Vahn felt a profound feeling of happiness well up inside him as his instinctually cradled Hestia's face within his hands and smiled widely. Unable to keep his thoughts to himself, Vahn stated, "I'm so glad I met you Hestia...thank you for loving me." Leaning forward, Vahn sealed Hestia's lips with his own and she passionately reciprocated his advances. It was almost like she threw her inhibitions away and just lost herself in the moment to the point where they both forgot to breathe normally and ended up inhaling and exhaling powerfully through their noses.

While they were enjoying each other's embrace, a knock sounded on the door that startled both Vahn and Hestia back to reality. Hestia quickly smacked the top of Vahn's head and hissed, "Don't keep the others waiting!" Vahn went from startled to stunned as he looked as Hestia bashfully covering her breasts with the blanket. From around the bed, petals started to converge toward her body and Vahn knew she was getting dressed. She looked up at him with a fierce blush on her face and said, "Don't look at me like that...we can continue where we left off later. I also have a lot of things to do today..."

Vahn laughed a bit before ruffling Hestia's hair and jumping out of bed. After wiping himself down with a towel, Vahn used the equipment function of his system to change instantly before opening the door and greeting the patiently waiting Ryuu. Her sky-blue eyes squinted slightly but she didn't say anything other than, "Good morning Vahn." Vahn smiled in response and said, "Sorry for having you wait, lets head down and begin our training." Ryuu nodded her head and they both made their way downstairs and toward the back entrance of the Manor. The other girls were already waiting in the area designated at the training area that had been decorated with several different types of training equipment.

Since he was in an incredibly good mood, Vahn greeted all the girls happily and inspected everyone's current state before noticing a peculiarity. Even Preasia, who was sitting off to the side with Milan, had a strange look on her face and Vahn looked around to see it was mirrored by almost everyone else. Tina had also decided to join the training and Vahn could see a small blush on her face and he quickly began to realize why everyone was behaving strangely. Though it wasn't by any intent of his own, the majority of the girls present were all Beast Humans.

Milan and Tina were Cat People, Emiru and Maemi were Snow Leopards, Preasia was a Sheep Person, and Haruhime was a Renard. The only exceptions present were Mikoto and Ryuu, but Vahn had suddenly realized what the squinted eyes of Ryuu meant earlier. Because he had been 'tending' to Hestia so attentively, Vahn's face and chest had been completely soaked in her scent. Since the majority of the girls present were sensitive to smells, they were all giving him strange and somewhat bashful looks.

Perhaps the most affected, since she had the strongest senses by a large amount, was Fenrir who stared at Vahn with intensely glowing eyes. She didn't know about matters regarding sex, but that didn't mean her instincts weren't kicked up by the powerful smelling aroma that was coming from Vahn's body. She walked over while everyone else was quiet and arched her head towards Vahn as her nostrils opened and closed rapidly. Vahn stepped back a bit, but Fenrir pressed her nose against his chest and said, "Vahn smells like Hestia. Very strong scent!" Though he knew everyone was already aware something had happened, Vahn couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at being called out by Fenrir.

He was trying to come up with an excuse to explain things away but Haruhime said in a manner that sounded like she was eager-to-please, "How wonderful~! It seems like Hestia-sama took my advice and succeeded~!." Vahn looked over into her glowing green eyes and felt a bit of blame for the somewhat air-headed Haruhime that had a gentle and pleased expression on her face. As the only one unaware of the situation, Mikoko leaned over and asked, "What did you tell Hestia-sama to do?"

Vahn's eyes widened and he shouted, "Haruhime, don't say things that would be a bad influence on Fenrir and the other girls!" Since she was just about to tell Mikoto, Haruhime paused for a bit before tilting her head far to the side as her ears twitched a bit. Perhaps due to her 'training' and three-years captivity, but Haruhime's sensibilities seemed to have been corroded a bit. She responded matter-of-factly, "It isn't anything to be ashamed of if two people love each other. I wouldn't mind doing it myself...if you'd have me." Towards the end of her words, Haruhime held her cheeks and blushed as she released a strange laughter.

Piggybacking off her words, the worst-case-scenario in Vahn's mind happened as Fenrir titled her head for a moment before looking up at Vahn and saying, "Fenrir loves Vahn?" Since it was in the form of a question, Vahn didn't know how to answer and Fenrir seemed to have confirmed it for herself as she reiterated, "Yes, Fenrir loves Vahn!" She clasped her claws a few times as if she was hyping herself up before looking upwards at Vahn and asked, "Vahn loves Fenrir~?"

Vahn felt like he had just walked face-first into an immovable wall using his fastest speed which could spontaneously break the sound barrier. He knew that saying yes was like stepping on a landmine, but saying no would be like walking through an entire minefield. Even hesitating and keeping silent wasn't an option as Fenrir was becoming increasingly more frustrated when Vahn didn't answer. He could even see her claws growing marginally so he reached out his hand and instinctively pat her on the head as he said, "Vahn loves Fenrir too..."

Fenrir showed the closest thing to a smile that she could manage and seemed to get hyped up as she ran over toward Haruhime and shouted, "Haruhime, teach Fenrir how to do love!" Fortunately, before Haruhime could say something out of place, Mikoto put her hand over her mouth while Milan skipped over quickly and gingerly picked up Fenrir's body. Fenrir seemed frustrated for a brief moment but Milan bounced her body up and down as she whispered soothingly, "Remember, you have to study hard if you want to know things like that Fenrir. Are you going to break your promise~nya?"

Hearing Milan's words, Fenrir looked between Vahn and Haruhime several times before hanging her arms powerlessly and letting Milan comfort her. She remembered people telling her often that she needed to study hard in order to grow up or she would cause trouble for people around her. She had made a promise to Milan and Tina to work hard until she was able to read through an entire big book and write a report about it. If she did well, Milan said she would teach her how to be an adult. Fenrir had gotten so worked up by the 'exciting' scent and the words of Haruhime that she ignored her own promise and now felt sad. However, she also seemed to realize something as she looked over toward the twins, Emiru and Maemi, and whispered, "You need to study more also, no cheating..."

The twins had been standing near each other and watching the situation with light blushes on their face since they were very aware of the smell coming from Vahn's body. Hearing Fenrir address them, they suddenly felt very bashful and turned their gazes away from the fiery eyes of Fenrir. Since she was not only their senior in the Familia, but also teaching them how to read and write, the two girls couldn't refute her words so they muttered, "Of course...", "Yes...". Though they were often in sync on everything, they were so flustered by the series of events that their 'connection' had been temporarily severed.

Vahn felt like he had made a grievous error and looked at the silent Ryuu with a wry smile on his face. As if she had understood his unasked question, Ryuu bowed slightly and said, "I didn't think about the girls' senses and overlooked the matter. I'll take care of things here if you want to go wash up." Unable to blame Ryuu at all, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sorry Ryuu, it was my own fault. Please don't blame yourself...I'll be back in about half an hour."

As he left the training area, all of the eyes within followed his back with various expressions on their faces. Even Ryuu's eyes had a slight glint as she muttered quieter than even Fenrir could hear, "It was bound to happen sooner or later, it's better to get things like this out of the way early. Now the girls can focus on their training and grow stronger faster..." Since Ryuu knew about Vahn's [Prometheus] and the fact he would probably impact the girls lives deeply in the future, she let Vahn be in this awkward situation to ensure his own happiness in the future. His greatest sense of security would come from the girls being strong enough to fend for themselves without being overly reliant on him. Since the seed had already been planted, Ryuu wanted to nurture it a bit so that the girls would have greater motivation in the future. However, because she had somewhat taken advantage of him, Ryuu swore to make it up to him in the future...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Loneliness After the Fall','Haruhime's Influence','Ryuu's Devotion')

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