Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2093: Prelude to the Plot

With business picking up quite a bit after his victory in the Gift Game, Vahn found himself seated across from a nervous-looking young man with short brown hair and matching eyes. His outfit, consisting of a sleeveless top, arm warmers, a leather breastplate, blue trousers, armguards, shin guard, and a grey scarf gave him an appearance similar to a Thief. Despite this, he had a kind and caring look on his face as he wryly remarked, "Vahn-sama is quite popular..."

Chuckling in amusement, Vahn paid no mind to the chibi-esque individuals treating his body as a jungle gym. At a glance, they resembled humanoid Companions inspired by rabbits, but, in reality, they were five of his children with Usalia.

"So, what can the Sage Dragon's Hearth do for the Daybreaker Community? I trust you did your homework before coming here..."

Sitting ramrod straight the moment he heard Vahn's words, the brown-haired youth replied, "Hai! My Community and I have come to an agreement. We wish to join the Bungeoning Communities Accord. We have already accepted ten children into our ranks and I am prepared to offer my own life as collateral."

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn stared into the youth's resolute eyes before picking up the white-haired chibi nomming on a carrot plushie in his lap. Its long hair, rounded facial features, and large eyes made it appear to be a female, but, like all of his children with Usalia, they were actually genderless until they had reached their second stage of evolution.

Thinking Vahn was about to hand him the excessively adorable creature, the brown-haired youth became statuesque and nervous. Fortunately, he just manifested a large bottle from thin air to start feeding the tiny tot as he said, "Very well. Your probationary period will start this afternoon. After a month has passed, you will bring by the members of your Community for evaluation. If you pass, I'll perform the awakening process on your most promising members. Is there anything else?"

Smiling radiantly, the brown-haired youth promptly bowed low as he exclaimed, "Thank you! The Daybreakers will never forget this kindness...!"

Maintaining a casual smile of his own, Vahn manifested a large display placard for the youth to hand outside his Community's residential or work area. These signs had been popping up with increasing frequency in the past few months, as, more often than not, they were the only thing protecting small Communities from assimilation into larger organizations.

"Well, then. If there's nothing else...Leticia, please escort our guest to the entrance."

Startling the youth quite a bit, Leticia appeared from within his shadow wearing what could best be described as an 'Alice' outfit. It was predominately blue and white, and, thanks to her hair color, fair features, and doll-like appearance, the vaguely maid-like outfit suited her quite a bit.

Supplying a courteous bow towards Vahn, Leticia's replied, "Yes, Master." before looking towards the statuesque youth and saying, "Please, follow me."

"H-Hai...!"

Understanding that the petite beauty was the legendary Pure-Blooded Vampire that everyone had been talking about as of late, the brown-haired youth couldn't help feeling nervous. Sure, Vahn was absolutely terrifying, but, due to his overtly casual demeanor, his relatively famous amenability, and the veritable mountain of fluff surrounding him, it was hard to remain tense in his presence...

Watching the youth's departure with his eyes, Vahn's expression softened as he exchanged the white-haired rabbit in his hands for one with pink hair before smiling wryly as a rather foul aroma tickled his nose.

Staring down at the grey-haired, silver-eyed rabbit, Vahn helplessly asked, "Luna-chan...why do you always poop and Papa...?"

Since it was a little too early for them to speak coherently, Luna just smiled radiantly, exclaiming, "Papa~!" before giggling happily.

Supplying a chuckle of his own, Vahn lamented how his and Usalia's children were genderless but could still poop. It was quite troublesome, as, despite being as small as Companions, their poops could weigh as much as a kilogram. To make matters even worse, not that he was genuinely upset by the arrangement, most of his children tended to flock around and cling to him since Usalia was generally busy performing her duties as a member of the Sage Dragon's Hearth.

Fortunately, Vahn wasn't like normal parents, so, with a snap of his fingers, Luna's poop vanished without a trace as he mused, "I'm guessing you're hungry now, right?"

"Feed me~!"

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After escorting their guest to the entrance, Leticia flipped around the sign on the door to show that the Sage Dragon's Hearth was closed before returning to the Library where she and another version of Vahn had been lounging.

Noticing Leticia's arrival, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn's face as he mused, "Welcome back." in a slightly teasing tone.

Exhaling a helpless sigh through her nose, Leticia made her way over to Vahn before climbing onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, and asking, "Where were we...?" in her characteristically flat monotone.

Setting aside the book he had been pretending to read, Vahn wrapped his hands around Leticia's waist as he answered, "I believe a certain naughty Maid was trying to seduce her Master..."

"Mmm...I see..."

Tracing her finger along the line of Vahn's collarbone, Leticia maintained a remarkably calm look on her face as she licked her lips, turned her ruby-red eyes up at him, and said, "Be seduced..." in a flat, ostensibly commanding tone of voice.

Chuckling in amusement, Vahn's hands phased through Leticia's dress as if it were a projection as he said, "You're good at this...". Then, resuming where they had left off, he began kissing the petite Vampire until her body gradually inflated into that of a mature beauty. This was another parallel she shared with Eva, and, the first time he learned of it, Vahn couldn't help wondering if the creators of the Akamatsuverse and the Transcendental Path to Heaven were familiar with each other...

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"Tell me. Is there ever a moment when you aren't making out or playing around with someone...?"

With Shiroyasha seated in his lap, Vahn adopted a sagely look on his face as he answered, "When I sleep?"

Despite snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha didn't stop Vahn from caressing her stomach. It was a very pleasant sensation, and, if she had to choose between this and pretending to be serious, she would always choose the former.

"Are you going to let Black Rabbit do the summoning alone? It's supposed to take place in less than an hour..."

Issuing a light hum in response, Vahn appeared to consider Shiroyasha's words before asking, "Do you think that would be wise? If they are half as troublesome as you presented them to be, things might become complicated if I interact with them too soon. Would it not be better to let them join the No Names before introducing myself?"

Nodding her head, Shiroyasha answered, "Probably. However, what will you do if they try to tease or hit on Black Rabbit? That girl has mellowed out quite a bit ever since you got together but she is still rather high-strung. The birth of Usalia's kittens didn't help..."

"Right..."

Releasing Shiroyasha from his embrace, Vahn motioned to rise as the petite demoness adopted an accusatory pout and said, "I didn't mean this version of you should go..."

Restraining the urge to extend his hand and caress her hair, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he said, "Come on over to the workshop. I'll be preparing lunch in a few minutes. You're welcome to join us."

Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha's expression melted into a look of helplessness as she saved him off, saying, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Just go..."

Nodding his head, Vahn was prepared to teleport away when Shiroyasha added, "And Vahn..."

Turning back, Vahn raised his brows in response to Shiroyasha's uncharacteristically serious look as she said, "Try not to break them..."

Responding with an amused chuckle, Vahn gestured a casual farewell before musing, "That depends on them, doesn't it~?"

Without waiting for Shiroyasha's response, Vahn promptly departed the Thousand Eyes Community store. This left the petite demoness exhaling a sigh, but, almost immediately thereafter, an amused smile developed across her face as she remarked, "This should be interesting..."

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Having spent the last three years preparing for this day, Black Rabbit was feeling nervous as she paced around in front of Jin.

Though his appearance hadn't changed much, the present-day Jin gave off a markedly more confident aura as he maintained a relaxed smile and said, "Black Rabbit. Please, calm yourself. I'm sure everything will work out. Even if we can't convince them to join us, I'm positive we will be able to manage something on our own. We're not the helpless children we used to be."

With her ears drooping in response to Jin's words, Black Rabbit replied, "I know. I just can't help feeling nervous. I mean, today is the day everyone has been waiting for. How can you stay calm?"

Repeating the words Vahn had quite literally beaten into his head, Jin answered, "A capable Leader must appear calm under any circumstances. Truth be told, I'm just as nervous as you are. I just keep it hidden."

Feeling marginally more at ease now that she knew Jin was also nervous, a smile developed across Black Rabbit's face as she shifted her attention to Lily and inquired, "What about you, Lily? Are you also feeling nervous?"

"Hmmm~?"

Tilting her head to the side, Lily maintained her usual smile as she asked, "Why would I be nervous? Even if things don't work out today, I'm confident we'll be okay. I believe in Vahn and the hard work everyone has put in these last six months."

Punctuating her words, Lily's smile became even more radiantly as the trio of tails behind her body twitched playfully. With the singular exception of Black Rabbit, she was now the strongest member of the No Names. She had no intention of participating in any Gift Games, but, if it was for the sake of her Community, she would do everything in her power to protect them.

Exhaling a sigh, Black Rabbit found herself wishing she could be half as mature as Lily. Fortunately, the latter, while remarkably fond of Vahn, showed surprisingly little interest in him as a member of the opposite sex. Rather, she even viewed Seraphina and Usalia, people who were much older than she was, as children who needed to be looked after. It was a very strange phenomenon. Almost as if she possessed an Innate related to maternal instincts...

"Having fun?"

"Waaaaah!?"

Despite recognizing the voice in an instant, Black Rabbit was so startled that she nearly jumped into the ceiling. Fortunately, Vahn managed to catch her with his telekinesis, a soft chuckle emanating from his throat as he pulled her toward him and said, "You appear to be nervous..."

With her hair turning a vibrant shade of pink, Black Rabbit found herself wholly unable to respond to Vahn's words as he wrapped his arms around her body and gave her a gentle hug. This caused the ears atop Lily's head to twitch, her expression practically beaming as she pressed the tips of her fingers together and softly mused, "How cute~."

Though Lily's remark made him feel a little exasperated, Jin did his best to maintain the facade of a capable leader as he cleared his throat and said, "Welcome, Vahn. It's good to see you."

Returning a curt nod, Vahn ignored the slightly uncomfortable aura radiating from Jin's body as he asked, "How've you been, chibi? It's been a couple of days since I last stopped by. You haven't been slacking off, have you?"

Paling quite a bit, cold sweat began to break out across Jin's body as he forced himself to continue smiling and said, "I would never..." in an honest yet slightly awkward tone. He never felt like he was doing enough to meet Vahn's expectations, as, every time he made any kind of progress, it was like the goal post had been moved exponentially further away...

Adopting a slightly serious look, Vahn said, "I'll confirm it for myself later on. For now, what are your plans regarding the problem children? Have you considered how you're going to convince them?"

No longer able to maintain his facade, Jin exhaled a defeated sigh before explaining, "I don't know anything about them so I planned to rendezvous with them at the Outer Gate before taking them to one of the Cafes run by the Six Scars Community. From what I have learned thus far, they come from relatively normal worlds that run parallel to one another. I'm hoping that the presence of cute Catgirls and other beast people will make them more receptive to discussion..."

Stroking his non-existent beard, Vahn resisted the urge to mutter naruhodo as the Cafe in question appeared within his mind. He was a regular at quite a number of kemonomimi cafes so he was well acquainted with the Six Scars Community. After all, despite being located in the East Side, they were actually affiliated with the Draco Grief Alliance governing the South.

"Tell me...how did you learn about the cafe operated by the Six Scars Community?"

Blinking in confusion, Jin shifted his gaze towards Black Rabbit. In response, the befuddled bunny tilted her head to the side, an adorable yet airheaded expression on her inordinately beautiful face as she naively replied, "Shiroyasha-sama recommended it...?"

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is basically a Carrier-class Fluff Lord..','Lily is a good girl (UwU)...','The machinations of Shiroyasha never cease xD...')

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