Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-718

The evening of the same day, after Vahn had taken care of Lili and Naaza individually, he eventually ended up in their room with both of the girls. Though the mood was still conducive for nightly activities, Naaza was already completely spent and, though Lili seemed to have boundless energy, Vahn couldn't easily focus on a conversation while having sex in another room. Naaza had inquired about how long he would be with Lili, while she and Vahn had been cuddling up after the fact, so Vahn eventually took 'decisive' action to get Lili to calm down. Now, he was snuggling up with both girls in Naaza's bed as they talked about the future, their hopes, dreams, and intentions.

After hearing what they had to say, Vahn felt like a soft spot had been touched in his heart because there was always something fulfilling about having a woman tell you she wanted your children. He had been a little surprised by Naaza but, after hearing her reasoning, Vahn could understand. She was similar to Aki, being that she didn't actually like the Dungeon, and, after nearing dying in the past, her distaste for the cold and dark place had increased greatly. She had put in the effort to become strong, and still intended to become even stronger, but no longer wanted to be a main combatant. Instead, Naaza wanted to focus on becoming a great Alchemist while continuing her magical studies. Now that she had her [Pactio], Spiritus Pharmacopola, there were a lot of things she wanted to research that combined the studies of both magic and [Mixing]. Her dream, besides happily raising a family, was to become the greatest Alchemist in the Alliance...

Lili was arguably more 'selfish' than Naaza, as her intentions made her want to experiences the best of both worlds. She not only wanted a happy, and apparently very large, family, but Lili also wanted to be a main combatant. Though she wasn't actually that fond of the Dungeon herself, her entire life had revolved around it and, desiring greater strength, Lili knew she would have to probe into its depths. At the same time, as one of his personal Disciples, Lili wanted to become a capable Magic Knight to further enhance her physical capabilities. As for her 'dream', she had several goals in mind that combined together to create her ideal picture of happiness. She sought strength, so that she could be relied upon, while simultaneously seeking knowledge so that she could always offer good advice when needed. At the same time, Lili wanted to become a 'special' existence to Vahn, apparently to curb his curiosity towards other races while satiating her own desires. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Lili wanted to have a big family. She wanted to 'defeat' the version of herself in the Divination but her true intention was to increase the number of Pallums in the world that could experience growing up in a happy and safe environment. Her own parents had mistreated her and, as a result of her past trauma, Lili wanted to have children of her own to break free from the cycle...

When they had both laid themselves bare, Vahn spent a fair amount of time thinking about things before eventually saying, "I don't mind if the two of you want to become pregnant, especially since you've already found your resolve to do so. I'll do my best to be a good father and also support both of your dreams, even if I don't always have the time to divert my focus in its fullest capacity." Both Naaza and Lili understood what Vahn was trying to say as, the greater number of children in the house, the less time he could actually spend with everyone. He already had to 'split' his body into two just to keep pace and, it would likely be several years until things began to calm down. Fortunately, even if Vahn couldn't always make time for the children, everyone in the Manor worked together to look after them, just like they all supported each other for their shared happiness.

Seeing that the girls were being very understanding, Vahn couldn't help but smile, even though he had to add, "Lili, you're still very young and you have to seriously consider your decisions in the future. You're at the best age to develop your magic power further and, if my intuition proves correct, there will be a lot of fighting within the next 2-3 years. Becoming a mother right now may not be the most opportune time if you want to grow quickly...not that I will stop you. If necessary, I will look for methods to help you increase your strength safely, even while pregnant..." Lili, still naked as the day she was born, tightly squeezed his arm with a happy smile and said, "Don't worry, Vahn, I've already thought about it a lot..."

As a Pallum, Lili's pregnancy was much shorter than the average and, in as little as six months, there was a high chance she would have given birth. If things worked the same way as they did in the Divination, her first pregnancy would very like be triplets. Lili felt like this would be enough at first and, even if she couldn't go into the Dungeon for the next six months, she had already intended to seriously study magic in that time. If possible, she wanted to get permission to stay within the Sub-Space orb, to give her more time to work with, but Lili didn't mind that much. Vahn spent a lot of time in the real world and it would potentially increase the amount of time she could spend with him if she also stayed outside during her pregnancy. Since Vahn had a tendency to pamper the pregnant girls, Lili was looking forward to it a little...well, a lot...

Since Lili seemed sure, Vahn just nodded his head while stroking her arm gently in support of her conviction. She had always been the type to seriously consider things so, having already made the decision, Lili had likely thought about everything in detail. He would just need to make sure she wasn't in danger during her pregnancy but, if his speculation proved correct, there shouldn't be any issues. Even though he wasn't a Pallum when they had sex, Vahn was confident that Lili's children would still be pure-blooded Pallums. It might have been a quirk of his body being comprised of source energy, but Vahn didn't seem to have a normal genetic structure at all. Instead, his 'contribution' towards the children seemed to purify their racial traits instead.

Vahn first noticed this when Aki gave birth to Anise, as their daughter had the appearance of a pure-blooded Cat Person, instead of a Half-Cat Person. As for the differences between them, Half-Cat Persons would generally have smaller tails, or none at all. Their ears would also be smaller and wider than normal with a small chance of them having human ears as well. Anise, however, looked perfectly normal and, though her ears and tail were currently adorable, they were actually more distinguishable than a normal Cat Person child, something which had been pointed out by Aki, Arnya, Chloe, and Milan almost immediately after they saw her.

With Anise as the precedent, Vahn got even more support for his suspicions with the birth of Meinya, his daughter with Arnya. Like Anise, Meinya seemed to be a pure-blooded Cat Person, something that Arnya was excited about since she had been secretly worried about birth defects. Many Half-Races had a lot of issues in their youth and there weren't many mothers that wouldn't worry about the healthy development of their children. Vahn had also been very happy that both of his daughters were healthy and, as they were both very adorable little kittens, Vahn was looking forward to having them running around the Manor in the future...

The final nail in the coffin, almost confirming his suspicions entirely, was when Tsubaki gave birth to their daughter Sakuya. Since Tsubaki was already a Half-Dwarf, she had been very nervous about if their child would be healthy. Vahn wasn't nearly as worried since he had seen their daughter in the Divination, already having become a powerful warrior. As for what was special about her birth, it was the fact that she obviously had inherited the traits of a Half-Dwarf, but her features were more 'refined' than normal. She didn't look entirely Human, nor did she look like a Dwarf and, much like when he had 'purified' Eina's blood, Sakuya had enhanced characteristics of both races. She would undoubtedly have a large amount of physical strength in the future while possessing the capabilities of casting magic without any of the difficulties that would have been expected of her heritage.

With several precedents having been observed, Vahn was almost certain that his race actually didn't matter whenever he impregnated a woman. Instead, his bloodline just seemed to purify and enhance the characteristics of his partner's race further. If this was the truth of the matter, it meant that Lili's pregnancy should proceed without any of the dangers typically associated with the union between a Human and a Pallum. This was assuming, of course, that Lili didn't something manage to give birth to a trio of Amazonesses. Fortunately, though her body seemed to emulate the characteristics of other races, it didn't change Lili's actual race. Vahn had even confirmed with his own eyes that the flow of energy in her body didn't change much, meaning she was still undoubtedly a Pallum...even if she was 'very' unique...

After cuddling and talking for the better part of two hours, the conversation was naturally reaching its conclusion. It was already well after lunch time so Vahn asked, "Are the two of you hungry? We can go get something from the kitchen, or I can just pull some dishes out of my storage dimension." At this point, Naaza made what Vahn felt to be a very adorable yawn before she rested her head against his chest and said, "I'm only a little hungry, but I'm very tired...I think I'll take a nap and then just eat a bigger dinner later." Vahn smiled, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then smiled even wider when he saw her tail begin to wag happily.

Unlike Naaza, Lili was still raring to go, almost like she had an unlimited amount of stamina while her body was still in high tensions from earlier. Seeing Naaza 'giving up' so soon, Lili lamented internally because she wasn't sure what decision was the best. She wasn't actually that hungry either, but she also didn't want to just take a nap. Deciding to eat in the room had the possibility of Vahn just giving her some food while he snuggled up with Naaza and joined her for a nap. If they left and ate something in the kitchen, however, the chance of things heating up again was somewhat less likely. Since she would also feel a little guilty about leaving Naaza alone in the room, this only gave her the option of joining them for a nap or trying to convince Vahn to split his body again...

While Lili was stuck considering her options, Vahn had already noticed the abnormality in her aura and managed to deduce what she must be thinking. He produced a wry smile inside of his mind because it was apparent that Lili's 'appetite' matched that of the other battle-crazed girls. Ais, Tiona, Tione, and, to a lesser extent, Tsubaki all had this trait, not that Vahn really minded it that much. He was just worried about Lili's body, even though he had already healed all of the internal damage she had suffered previously. Still, considering that it was her birthday today, Vahn decided to pamper her a bit more than he normally would have. Thus, while resting his head against the top of the slowly dozing off Naaza, Vahn formed his Avatar next to the bed before silently gesturing to the shocked Lili.

Seeing Vahn bring out his second body, Lili couldn't help feeling very happy with how considerate he was towards her. She didn't even have to bring it up herself and Vahn had already figured out what she wanted. Though she knew it was likely that he was giving her special treatment today, Lili didn't mind at all. Instead, she intended to take full advantage of the fact today was birthday and 'celebrate' until the date changed. Thus, only bothering to wrap her body in a blanket, Lili happily accompanied Vahn back to his bedroom where they ate a delicious lunch. She enjoyed the unique experience of sitting in his lap, still completely naked, as he fed her sweets and fruit by hand. Afterward, in order to 'thank' him for his consideration, Lili used her [Cinder*Ella] to emulate the features of a Werewolf girl. She knew Vahn had an interest in Rose from the Guild branch and decided to sate his curiosity to prevent the already large number of women around him from increasing...

Vahn awoke early the next day with two naked girls sleeping atop his body in entirely separate rooms. Seeing Lili with floppy rabbit ears, Vahn had a soft smile as he lightly ran his fingers through her pale-blue hair. At the same time, he was hugging Naaza from behind, enjoying the scent of her hair and the natural fragrance from her body. He found her mature form, and how 'natural' their interactions had been the previous day, very pleasant. Though he was more than a little intrigued with how 'unique' an existence Lili was, Vahn didn't think he would be able to keep his sensibilities if he only associated with someone like her. By the time the night had come to an end, Lili had emulated the characteristics of an Amazoness, Werewolf, Weretiger, Elf, and Hume Bunny. Vahn had been a little overwhelmed by her form as a petite, yet busty, blond-haired Elf girl. However, the biggest impact had been when Lili tried to assume the form of a Vanargandr, which had been the only transformation he refused outright...

Sensing his movement, Lili opened her hazy purple eyes and released a silent yawn while stretching her small body. When she was finished, Lili smiled and crawled onto his chest and kissed him on the lips before hugging him tightly and saying, "Yesterday was amazing...I hope I can get this kind of birthday present next year...ehehe~." Lili knew that, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be able to get away with nearly as much as she had the previous day. However, now was a good opportunity to at least guarantee that she would have the opportunity in the future. She couldn't behave in a spoiled manner all the time, but that didn't mean she would give up trying to have Vahn spoil her plentily...

Vahn embraced Lili's thin body, firmly holding her in his embrace as he reciprocated her kiss before saying, "Sure...I'm certain things will be even better for both of us in the future..." This answer seemed to please Lili a great deal, as she tightly squeezed his face against her plush little bunnies with a happy 'squee'. If not for the fact they both had things to take care of this morning, Lili would have tried to press her luck and made full use of her current Hume Bunny traits. Instead, Lili held herself back and, knowing she couldn't act selfishly all the time, decided she would have to tempt Vahn into action without directly asking.

When Lili separated him from, Vahn was somewhat surprised until he saw her crawling toward the edge of the bed with her butt waggling towards him. She didn't have the most shapely and mature figure, by a long shot, but Vahn felt his eyes drawn to her pale buttocks and the fluffy pale-blue rabbit tail lightly twitching on her backside. He could tell from her aura, and the way she was acting, that Lili was trying to tempt him with her body. Still, as enticing a sight it was, Vahn cooled down rather quickly since Lili's young body almost forced him to think calmly. In fact, he was more impacted by the 'sad' look she gave him when she made it to the edge of the bed than when she was wagging her butt in an effort to tempt him...

With a casual smile on his face, Vahn also hopped out of the bed and began to stroker her rabbit-like ears as he said, "Don't be in such a rush, Lili. From now on, there will be plenty of time for that kind of activity. Now that you're an adult, I won't place so many restrictions on you...just don't get carried away." Lili had squinted her eyes happily when he was petting her but, after she heard his words, it was like her happiness multiplied several times as she tightly hugged his waist. Vahn continued to stroke her pale-blue hair with a smile on his face, doing his best to ignore the fact that Lili was pressing her breasts against his lower body. Her height made it so that her face was near his navel and 'dangerously' close to his sleeping dragon, which was currently being 'tempted' by the two sacrificial bunnies...

Since there was still a bit of time, Vahn ended up accompany Lili into the bath as his second body brought along Naaza a few minutes later. Most of the girls used to onsen inside of the orb these days, so they had the massive bath to themselves. Vahn noticed there were some storm clouds forming overhead, meaning there would likely be a heavy downpour today. He wouldn't have cared much in normal circumstances, as he was actually rather fond of the rain, but these particular clouds made Vahn feel very solemn. His instincts towards danger, which had been slumbering for some time, seemed to have been stirred awake by the rumbling sound of thunder.

Feeling a cold drop of water hit her head, Lili looked towards the sky and mused, "Maybe we should go inside...I don't want to get hit by a bolt of lightning in the bath." Hearing this, Naaza's face turned slightly pale, something Lili found amusing as she added, "Don't worry, Naaza, I was just joking. With the Babel Tower acting as a massive lightning rod, there has never been an instance of lightning striking anywhere in the City~." This made Naaza feel a little better but, seeing the serious expression on Vahn's face, she couldn't help but feel nervous as she asked, "Vahn...? Is something the matter?" This caught Lili's attention as well, as she had been facing away from Vahn while he was previously washing her hair.

Vahn had his eyes turned towards the sky, staring unblinkingly at the storm clouds overhead while Lili sat between his legs. Both girls could see there was a cautious glint in his eyes, making the solemn expression of his face even more serious. In an instant, the tension of their bodies increased and both girls entered an alert state as Lili repeated, "Vahn, what is it...?" Shaking his head slightly, Vahn didn't know how to answer either of their inquiries as he slowly rose to his feet, eyes still trained towards the sky. Lili had been in very close proximity to him, so her mind stalled a bit when he stood up and she got a front row seat to his slumbering dragon.

He didn't know why, but Vahn felt very unnerved by the storm clouds overhead, even though they wouldn't actually pose a threat to him. To be safe, he firmly said, "Go inside...make sure everyone else is safe..." Without questioning his words, Lili and Naaza quickly extricated themselves from the hot water and ran inside the Manor. Lili even went so far as to change into her [Pactio] raiment the moment she left the water, mentally preparing herself for an attack. Vahn rarely got serious like this, especially after his strength had increased, so Lili wanted to be prepared for the worst. As for Naaza, her raiment didn't provide much in the way of defense and it consumed a lot of her magic power to activate. For the time being, she just quickly changed into her clothes while Lili went to inform everyone of the abnormality.

When the two girls left the onsen, Vahn noticed that there was a small fluctuation in his instincts, almost like whatever had caused him to feel endangered had briefly diverted its focus from him. This realization made Vahn's mind turn cold as his [Will of the Emperor] activated in full force. That small fluctuation told him everything he needed to know about the situation. Someone had been watching them and, based on how the intent had followed the girls for a brief moment, Vahn's impression of whatever entity had the gall to spy on them had hit rock bottom. Not only did they dare to peek in on them in the bath, but they had the audacity to eye up two of the girls he had, very likely, just impregnated. Even if they weren't pregnant yet, Vahn already had the mentality that they had become far more precious to him than before...just imagining someone having intentions towards them filled him with an icy cold rage...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's existence is very 'convenient' xD...','Lili is trying to get Vahn arrested...',' Eye of the Storm...')