Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-519

Eina sat up from the table with Vahn’s help, feeling as though she were in a completely new body compared to the past. She saw the fatigue in Vahn’s demeanor, his tired expression, and the incredible amount of concern he had in his eyes. Even though it was hard to understand what he had gone through, Eina knew Vahn had worked very hard so she showed a gentle smile and said, "Thank you, Vahn...you worked very hard. After this, let me take care of you for a while~." The reason why she had taken the entire weekend off, instead of just the day required, was so that she could adapt to the changes in her body and tend to Vahn, who she knew would be exhausted after the fact.

Without Vahn’s support, it was a little difficult to even stand properly right now and it felt like every sensation, even the air against her skin, were somewhat ’sharp’ now. Vahn had set up a mirror for Eina to view herself and she immediately noticed various changes, fortunately, none too drastic. Her face hadn’t changed much, except that her complexion had become lighter, but the rest of her body seemed a little ’off’ compared to her memory. She felt like her body was now more ’sculpted’ than it had been previously, with her b.r.e.a.s.ts appearing more visually appealing. There was a bit of discomfort around her armpits and around the side of her chest, but it felt more like ’tenderness’ than an actual ache or pain.

The thing that stood out the most, other than the fact her skin seemed an entire shade fairer, was the tightness in her abdominal muscles. She could feel a ’tension’ in her stomach and, when she twisted her torso to inspect around her sides, Eina noticed the line of her stomach was more prominent than in the past. There was always a subtle crease in the past, because she dieted properly, but she seemed more ’fit’ now. However, her concerns about her belly flew to the back of her mind when she had turned to the side. Her butt had never been that big in the past but, though it wasn’t really that small either, now it seemed ’fuller’ even though it didn’t appear to have changed much. Eina touched her own rump with a bit of hesitation and felt it was somewhat more ’resistant’ than normal, compared to the somewhat plush feeling from the past...

Vahn scratched the side of his cheek awkwardly and said, "When I was rebalancing your muscles to make things easier for you in the future, I improved the flexibility and tension of your glutes and leg muscles. You may feel a bit of discomfort for a short while, but you’ll have a stronger foundation for the future if you want to start exercising and stuff..." Eina knew Vahn was telling the truth, but she could also see a bit of an ’apologetic’ look in his eyes. Instead of being upset, however, Eina showed a gentle, albeit somewhat bashful, smile as she said, "It’s okay, Vahn...though I haven’t done it too often, I had been trying out Hephaestus’ exercises lately. This saves me a bit of trouble~."

Though Vahn didn’t ’believe’ he had a preference for butts, he ’knew’ it was always better to have more toned muscles and increased flexibility. People moved around on their feet, after all, so having stronger legs and developed glutes simply made life easier. Though his wasn’t ’round’ like some of the girls, even Vahn’s butt was toned and solid because of how he moved around and fought. The biggest difference, however, was that the lines of Vahn’s body were very visible compared to the girls and, though his muscles were strangely supple, it was easy to see the power contained within his figure. Even the stronger girls, like Tsubaki and Lili, only had muscles visible when they strained themselves whereas Vahn’s were always clearly defined.

After confirming the changes to her body, Eina was relieved that there hadn’t been any ’drastic’ changes like what she had expected to happen. Other than her body feeling incredibly sensitive, the only ’strangeness’ she felt was an urge to stretch and a bit of discomfort as a result of the subtle changes in the structure of her bones and muscles. According to Vahn, most of the sensations would fade away after a day or two, but the sensitivity could persist for up to two weeks depending on her exertions. It was actually better if she moved around and stretched often over the next two weeks so that her muscles didn’t tense up in a strange manner because she was unwilling to ’use’ them.

Vahn gave Eina the clothing that had been prepared for her before they sat down with Riveria and all started eating a meal. It had been slightly under twenty-three hours since the procedure began, and none of them had eaten during that entire time. During the meal, Riveria had asked about the specifics and if there had been any complications during the procedure. Vahn explained the subtleties of what he had done, including the fact that he had successfully merged the mana within Eina’s body, revitalized her egg cells, and removed any signs of disease or illness that had started to take root in her body as a result of her being a Half-Elf. Because of the abnormality in their mana, most Half-Elves had medical complications later in life, even though the majority could easily live over a hundred years if they lived near the forests. This was one of the reasons why the High Elf ’elitists’ forced Half-Elves to serve at the Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves, as it would guarantee that they were short-lived...

Eina listened to Vahn’s explanations while Riveria made addendums to her notes and asked several more questions about each process. Toward the end of their meal, Eina’s expression had become somewhat pensive and she suddenly said, "Vahn, it may be a lot to ask right now, but I’d like you to help my younger sister in the future when she finally gets married or falls in love." Hearing her request, Vahn didn’t think about his answer at all and simply nodded his head and said, "I’ll take care of it, Eina. Just let me know when she needs my help and I’ll do my best." Right now, Eina’s sister was only fourteen so there were likely many years before it would be a cause for concern. However, bringing it up right after she learned about the changes in her own body was somewhat expected and understandable. After all, it was a very significant thing to be ’cured’ of the problems that plagued most Half-Elves, especially those related to infertility.

With the topic shifting slightly, Vahn pulled out one of his own private journals and showed it to the two girls as he explained, "I’ve been thinking of a device that would help High Elves, Elves, and potentially even Half-Elves conceive in the future. The fundamental issue seems to be related to the complications with ovulation and ensuring that the egg is properly nourished during pregnancy. Likely as a result of the fact they descended from Plant Spirits, Elves are dependant on natural energies, such as wood elemental energy, water elemental energy, plant energy, and, most importantly, life elemental energy..." Riveria nodded her head and added, "Many Elves also have an affinity with Air and Light..."

Vahn made a small correction in his notes before explaining, "I got the idea from the mana batteries I’ve created and figured it would be possible to create a band or belt that would be able to wrap around the abdomen and absorb specific elements from the environment. It would likely require a formation to be inscribed in the body as well, but there is a good chance it would be able to provide a permanant solution without requiring me to perform ’Nirvana’ on millions of people. By having the w.o.m.b nourished by the band, you can ’trigger’ ovulation with external mana and then the belt would be able to protect the fetus as it develops over time..." Vahn had gotten the idea after sewing formations into fabrics and saw the belly bands that were worn by the pregnant women. It was a minor epiphany and he figured it would be a pretty practical solution since it was possible for skilled enchanters, blacksmiths, and even those with the [Mystery] Development Ability to reproduce them.

Riveria had a strong foundation in formations, so she knew it was possible to draw in energy from the environment. However, such things typically required a catalyst like a magic core to actually function and it was very difficult to inscribe formations into the body of a person. If it were such a simple thing, mages would likely be covered in runes so that they can replenish their mana reserves and cast even more spells. Though it wasn’t unheard of at all, it was very rare due to the difficulties involved. Knowing this didn’t actually worry her too much though, because she was confident Vahn would also find a solution for that as well. In just a short six months he had already identified the problem and had made headway on several potential solutions, something that scholars had struggled with for thousands of years previously...

Within Vahn’s notes, there was a diagram of the band Vahn had been thinking of and Riveria’s mind stalled a bit because she could see that the ’templates’ he used to draw the designs were herself and Lefiya. Even though it wasn’t that detailed, Riveria could easily tell that the image was of her and it made her brow twitch slightly. This made it seem like Vahn was planning to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her in the near future, perhaps as a means of testing if the belt actually worked properly. Though it was subtle, her face began to turn red and she noticed that Vahn had flinched slightly as he gave her a strange look. Because of his ability to see auras, she knew he could sense the change and it made her a little annoyed seeing him turn slightly fl.u.s.tered.

Eina had also noticed the image and blushed slightly because it was difficult to imagine someone as ’noble’ as Riveria wearing nothing but a small pendant around her belly. Because Vahn had been thinking of ’stylish’ designs, Riveria’s looked like a silver belt that loosely hugged the waist and rested slightly below the navel. There was a diamond-shaped pendant in the center that had a red gemstone encrusted in it. They weren’t aware of it, but that gemstone was a ’blood crystal’ that Vahn had been working on developing. He also knew a catalyst was necessary to help the bands function and he couldn’t think of a material better at absorbing mana than his own blood. Unfortunately, all of his attempts to make his blood crystalize while being exposed to the air had failed thus far.

To ease the awkward atmosphere that had started to permeate through the room, Vahn tried to continue the conversation without drawing attention to the diagram any longer. Fortunately, both Eina and Riveria also wanted to move on so they continued the conversation along with him, even though it was still a little tense. Riveria, especially, kept looking through Vahn’s notes on the subjects he was researching before copying a few of them in her own journal. Most of the information in the text he had given her was related to his studies on High Elves, Elves, and Half-Elves, so it was all very interesting to her, even though his ’subject’ for High Elven studies was none other than she herself. This was both helpful and troublesome at the same time because it meant she could easily understand the information, as it pertained to her, but also showed that Vahn’s knowledge of her body far exceeded her own...

After nearly an hour-and-a-half, Vahn was beginning to feel the effects of his fatigue and also noticed that Riveria was quite tired. She had been up watching him the entire time, so it made sense that she required rest and relaxation to process everything. Vahn had already answered most of her questions, so there were plenty of things she could ruminate over in private even without his presence. After releasing a short yawn, Vahn smiled apologetically and said, "Even though my energy has almost replenished, my mind and body still need rest so I can function properly later on. I’ll go ahead and take my leave now, and I’ll suggest that you also rest when you can, Riveria. It’s not good for your body if you strain yourself, and it is much easier to process things when your mind is refreshed."

Hearing Vahn mention her body, Riveria’s brow twitched but she still showed polite smile before grabbing her staff and saying, "Very well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your own devices. And don’t worry, I’ll inform everyone outside what has happened so you should be able to ’rest’ without worrying." Right now, they were within Vahn’s private forge, which was connected to his room, so, while Vahn said he was going to take his leave, it was actually Riveria that would need to exit the room. Everyone was probably still in an alert status within the Manor, so it was a good idea to explain things so they could relax. On her way out, Vahn and Eina escorted her to the door before allowing Fenrir, who had been camping outside, to come in.

When Fenrir saw Eina, she tilted her head slightly and let her ears flop as she said, "Eina has become more beautiful with Master’s help..." Hearing Fenrir’s compliment, Eina giggled before patting her head and saying, "That is very kind of you to say, Fenrir. Thank you very much~." Fenrir bobbed her head in affirmation before asking, "Will you sleep now, Vahn? Fenrir came to comfort you~." Everyone had been talking about how difficult the process of ’Nirvana’ was, especially with Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili there to affirm things. They had even expected that he might pass out right after the procedure, so Fenrir had been waiting to watch over him while he couldn’t protect himself.

Vahn stroked Fenrir’s head alongside Eina and said, "Yes, Eina and I were going to take a long rest." before turning to Eina with a questioning look. She understood what he wanted to ask so she smiled and said, "Fenrir, since you are such a good girl, would you like to stay with us for a while?" Since she and Vahn weren’t actually going to be doing any ’a.d.u.l.t’ things right now, especially given how tired he is and how sensitive her body was, Eina didn’t mind having Fenrir sleep with them. After all, Fenrir was actually very cute and her hair was very soft to the touch, assuming you avoided the bristly ends. She also had a very high body temperature so she was very comfortable to hug in the relatively cool atmosphere of Vahn’s bedroom.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Fenrir nodded her head and raised one of her paws in affirmation before shouting, "Fenrir will stay and protect Vahn and Eina~!" Though she didn’t mind simply sleeping with the two, Fenrir’s highest priority was actually just watching over her Master when he lost consciousness. After exerting himself greatly, she knew his perception would take a big hit and this would leave him temporarily ’exposed’. She trusted the other girls to protect her Master as well, but not more than she trusted in herself. Besides, she knew that Eina was very close to her Master and there were lots of things she could learn from her...

After things were decided, Vahn ended up laying face-first on his bed as Eina ’taught’ Fenrir all of the massage techniques she had been learning. Fenrir couldn’t replicate them, as paws and claws weren’t the most appropriate tools for the job, but it was still very interesting for the wolf girl since she could see how happy her Master was. Since Fenrir was kind of like his ’comfort’ or ’therapy’ companion, while Eina was one of the girls he was most ’comfortable’ with, Vahn quickly dozed off with a happy, albeit tired, smile on his face. Eina and Fenrir noticed his sleeping expression and both girls had smiles that were somewhat soft and caring, even though Fenrir’s was a little possessive at the same time.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Another butt sculpted by the Godhand’,’Riveria’s awareness...’,’Fenrir will protec the Master (O,...,O)~!’)