Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

When the two entered into Hephaestus’s workshop, they were immediately identified by Zaff who sent a very professional looking woman to inform Hephaestus. Zaff, seeing Eina and Vahn holding hands, couldn’t help but ask, "You’re a pretty bold one, to be bringing a girl to the house of the woman you’re trying to court." Though Vahn could see that Zaff was joking with him, he was also aware of the serious glint in Zaff’s eyes.

Since Vahn had already found his resolve outside, he said in a confident manner, "This is something I have to do. It would be even worse if I tried to keep it a secret and rumors began to spread." Zaff raised an eyebrow at Vahn’s confidence as he looked toward Eina while asking Vahn, "Like the rumors with Ais Wallenstein and Tiona Hiryute?"

Eina could see that Zaff was trying to ’scare’ her away, but she remained unphased as she said in a very professional manner, "I am well aware of Vahn’s exploits; thank you for your concern." Zaff was surprised by how firm Eina was as he just shook his head and patted Vahn on the shoulder while saying in an exasperated manner, "Kid, you really know how to pick ’em." After that, he made his way to the side before the woman that had sent the message returned and told them Hephaestus was waiting in her office.

Vahn and Eina entered the room and Hephaestus looked at the two of them while she sat at her desk and was drawing up a new design. Seeing Vahn and Eina holding hands, Hephaestus couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed as she saw the new face. She had never seen Eina before and had no idea when the two of them had become a couple. Hephaestus even thought Eina may have approached Vahn just recently and was trying to take advantage of his current reputation and popularity.

The tension in the room had increased a bit, but Vahn just led Eina toward Hephaestus and began explaining the situation. Learning that Vahn and Eina had gotten engaged and intended to marry, Hephaestus suddenly felt a little tired as she looked at the sneaky half-elf girl. According to the story, Vahn and Eina had only met a few times, yet they ended up getting engaged on their first date? Hephaestus couldn’t help but feel like Vahn had gotten wrapped up in a scheme to take advantage of his nature.

Eina noticed the anger in Hephaestus expression and felt a little intimidated, but she stood her ground and asked in a challenging manner, "Let me ask you, Hephaestus-sama, do you think Vahn will be happy if things continue to progress as they are?" Hephaestus furrowed her brows as she stared at Eina and asked, "What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Vahn will be happy if he marries you?"

Eina shook her head and continued, "It isn’t about Vahn marrying me, its about all of the burdens he is being asked to carry. You should know about his past and how difficult his life has been, but instead of helping him overcome his trauma, you just made a safe place for him. Though it would have been fine if he never had to bear any burdens, the moment he began bearing them, he continued to pile up more and more. If things continue at this rate, how long do you think Vahn will last!?"

Hephaestus was a bit surprised by her words, but she was also angry and couldn’t help but stand up and shout, "Do you think I’ll just let Vahn carry everything on his own!? No matter what, I’ll help him overcome everything and ensure that he is able to become happy!" Eina flinched a little, but then asked in a low and accusatory tone, "And how will you help him carry your burdens, Hephaestus-sama? Vahn cares about you more than anyone else and is trying hard to meet your expectations. But, is your burden something so light that a fourteen-year-old boy can carry it?"

Eina’s words stunned Hephaestus and she looked toward Vahn in a somewhat questioning manner. Vahn saw her gaze and smiled before interjecting between the two women, "Eina, you can’t blame Hephaestus. She already does so much for me, it is only right that I put in my best efforts. Just like she is trying to make me happy, I will do everything I can to make her happy as well."

Both Eina and Hephaestus frowned at Vahn’s words and Hephaestus calmed down a bit as she considered everything Eina had been saying. She remembered that, only recently, Vahn and her had a misunderstanding between each other. Hephaestus had long fallen for him and started taking actions to help solve his problems behind the scenes.

When Vahn had fallen into a coma, she was so worried that she spent every day at his bedside until he finally woke up. After that, she realized that he wasn’t pursuing her, but just wanted to forge an item to ’drive away her loneliness’. Vahn didn’t know anything about love before he left the dungeon, and all of her affections had been primarily one-sided. When she tried to clear it up and free Vahn, he instead pursued her almost like he was desperate and afraid to lose her. He held her in his arms and continued coaxing her until she finally let down her resistance against him. After that, Hephaestus tried guiding him a bit and pushing him to continue working hard so they could finally be together...

Hephaestus realized that everything Eina had been saying was the truth. Though she hadn’t intended to do so, Hephaestus had taken advantage of Vahn’s willingness to bear her burdens and had constantly been putting pressure on him. She even tried restricting him a bit by forcing him to work five days a week and warning him not to put his hands on Anubis. Even though she was willing to allow Vahn to have other girls, she contradicted her own intentions just because she was impatient.

Eina had been paying attention to Hephaestus, and the moment she realized that Hephaestus recognized her mistake, she spoke out, "Vahn is right, Hephaestus-same, you did nothing wrong." Hephaestus heard her words and looked in the emerald eyes of the half-elf girl. Eina continued, "The only mistake you made...was failing to realize Vahn was broken. He wasn’t simply traumatized, nor did he need a safe place to avoid being taken advantage of. The most important thing Vahn needed...was a normal life. Normal people caring for him without any expectations other than him being happy."

Eina, let her words sink in a bit before she continued even further, "You should be aware, better than anyone, how abnormal Vahn’s growth has been. Though it is commendable, it isn’t normal for a fourteen-year-old boy to increase two levels in less than two months. Not to mention, he puts himself at risk to fulfill the role of a hero and even took in both of the girls after the fact to care for them. Because he always had a ’safe place’ to return to, Vahn pushed himself much harder and kept compounding the amount of stress he had to deal with. The best example is the matter with Anubis-sama and her Familia, surely you understand that is a very abnormal situation. Even if Anubis-sama decided to serve Vahn, the fact that he is now responsible for eight other people isn’t a light burden."

Vahn realized that things were heading in a bad direction, so he wanted to help ease the atmosphere and said, "Eina, I made all those decisions myself. Even if it was because I got caught up in the moment, I don’t have any intention of shirking my responsibility. I’ll continue to do my best to make everyone happy." Though he said the words with strength and conviction, both Hephaestus and Eina looked at Vahn with sad expressions.

Hephaestus released a long sigh as she looked toward Eina and said, "I can see now. I don’t know how I was so blind before..." Vahn noticed that things had turned strange, but Hephaestus stopped him from speaking by raising her hand. After mulling over her words, she looked to Eina and asked, "As the person that noticed it earlier than anyone else, what do you think is the best course of action?"

Eina, without any hesitation, looked into Hephaestus’s eyes and said, "That is easy. Vahn needs people to proactively reign him in and help him live a normal life. The best course of action would be for him to marry someone. Because he is so deferential and considerate, he would always take his wife’s opinion into consideration before he acts." Hearing Eina’s words, Hephaestus released a sigh and asked, "And I guess that is where you come in?"

Unexpectedly, Eina laughed at Hephaestus’s question and seemed to find the words amusing. Both Vahn and Hephaestus looked at her with questioning looks as she explained, "You misunderstand Hephaestus-sama. Though I’d like to fulfill that role myself and intend to marry Vahn for that purpose, I shouldn’t be the only one to marry him. If he is going to be in a relationship with you, or other goddesses, in the future, Vahn would need a wife with a high enough status to reign in his actions against people with more status or authority than he has currently."

Though Vahn was confused, Hephaestus seemed to realize what Eina was implying and she couldn’t help but blush a little. Vahn became even more confused, but before he could ask the question, Eina continued, "Indeed. The best course of action would be for Vahn to marry both of us. If he has both a mortal and goddess as his first wives, he will have a broader consideration for others in the future. I wouldn’t be able to prevent other goddesses from approaching him, since I don’t have enough authority and status, but you have both of those things, arguably more than anyone else in the entire City."

With Eina’s continued explanation, Vahn finally realized that she was telling Hephaestus to marry him as well. Vahn could feel an excitement welling up inside of him and couldn’t prevent himself from smiling due to all the happy feelings he was experiencing. Hephaestus had been watching Vahn, since he was standing right in front of her, and she saw how happy he was at the thought of marrying her. She could feel his heart beat excitedly in her own soul, and it made Hephaestus feel confident about the half-elf, no, Eina’s plan.

After a bit of consideration, Hephaestus smiled at Vahn and said, "I would love to marry Vahn...but there are several other factors that need to be considered as well. It is very difficult for a goddess to marry, especially one that has descended to the mortal plane..." As she was thinking the matters through and rationalizing things, Hephaestus became annoyed at the sound of her own words. She noticed that Vahn seemed to be a little disappointed as she was explaining, so she decided to stop caring as she said, "Fine, I don’t care about all of that anyways. If you want to marry me...I won’t refuse..."

Hephaestus started to blush as she continued, and couldn’t help but wrap her arms under her b.r.e.a.s.ts as expectation began to build inside her. The moment she said she was willing, Vahn immediately entered a high tension state as he shouted, "Yes! Please, marry me Hephaestus!" Though he had expected to marry her in the future, Vahn found the idea of marrying both her and Eina at the same time to be an incredible notion. This way, he could prevent Hephaestus from facing criticism for falling in love with a married man in the future.

Eina spoke out from his side before Hephaestus could respond, "Though he seems to have a bit of a misunderstanding...it is still the best course of action. What will you do now, Hephaestus-sama?’ Hephaestus had also noticed that, though he wanted to marry her, he also seemed to be considering something else. Since she was afraid of letting misunderstandings continue to build, she asked, "Why are you so willing to marry me, Vahn? I understand you like me, and it makes me very happy, but you seem to think something else as well."

Vahn was a bit confused as he stared between the emerald eyes of Eina and the red, almost ruby colored, eyes of Hephaestus. After a bit of thought, he explained, "I was thinking that, if we were to get married now, you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed in the future. I know you said you were okay with me being with other girls, but I feel like it would have been difficult for us to get married if I was in a relationship with several people."

Both Eina and Hephaestus sighed at the same time while staring at Vahn with a mixture of affection and concern on their faces. The two heard each other’s sighs and looked at each other before laughing a bit. Vahn seemed very confused by everything that was happening, but the next words he heard made his worries fly out the window. Hephaestus looked at him with a loving expression in her eyes and a happy smile on her face as she said, "Of course I will marry you, Vahn. I don’t care what other people think at all, and if anyone has a problem with it, I’ll just crush them if I have to."

Eina nodded after hearing Hephaestus’s words while Vahn felt a bit of a chill run along his back. He could see that, through all the love and affection she had for him, she was equally as serious when saying how she would deal with others. Though he was a bit worried, Vahn reached out his hand in the same manner as he had for Eina. Hephaestus seemed a bit confused, but Eina pointed to the emerald-gold ring on her finger without saying anything.

Hephaestus’s eyes widened a bit as she stood up from her desk and walked around to stand in front of Vahn. Though he hadn’t done so for Eina, since they had both been sitting at the time, Vahn remembered from the books that he read that it was proper etiquette to kneel before offering a ring in marriage. When Hephaestus stood in front of him and reached for his hand, Vahn kneeled down and stunned the two women.

Vahn looked into the beautiful eyes of Hephaestus and felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He felt very happy at the prospect of marrying the goddess that had cared for him and made so many efforts to ensure his own happiness. Hephaestus snapped out of her shock and held out her hand as Vahn revealed a beautiful platinum ring adorned with a large ruby.

Eina saw the ring and had a bit of an incredulous look on her face as she asked herself if Vahn had been planning to marry all the girls he was in a relationship with. However, remembering when she had questioned him earlier and that his response was he would likely marry Hephaestus in the future, she put the matter behind her and considered it to be a coincidence. However, she intended to ask him after the scene finished playing out. Eina realized that, when it came to Vahn, it was better to clarify things so there would be fewer misunderstandings.

Hephaestus’s hand shook a bit as Vahn put the platinum-ruby ring on her finger. After he had finished the short ceremony, Vahn stood up and, before he could say anything, Hephaestus suddenly kissed him with an intense and passionate fervor in her actions. He immediately started returning her kiss while Eina watched the two of them from the side with a shocked expression on her face. She realized that it wasn’t just Vahn who needed to be reigned in, but Hephaestus herself would have to learn some self-control.

After ’patiently’ waiting for nearly three minutes, Eina could no longer contain herself as she loudly cleared her throat to get the attention of the two passionate idiots. Hephaestus and Vahn looked at her with confused expressions before Hephaestus’s eyes widened and she separated from Vahn’s grasp. She had been too excited after he put the ring on her finger that she couldn’t keep the emotions from exploding out and kissing him. When he returned her advances and even planted his hands on her butt, she had completely forgotten that Eina was in the room.

Hephaestus and Vahn fixed their appearances as Eina stared at both of them like a big sister reprimanding her younger siblings. She turned to Vahn and asked, "Vahn, did you buy rings for all the girls you’re currently in a relationship with?" Vahn heard her question and realized that it was abnormal for him to be carrying around rings, so he just shook his head and said, "No, those were the only two I have." Eina seemed happy at his response and smiled for a few seconds before turning to Hephaestus and recovering her serious expression. He spoke in a firm tone, "Hephaestus-sama, if you’re the one that needs to be reigning in the other girls, you need to learn a bit of self-control..."

The blush that had yet to leave her face now expanded and turned a deep crimson as Hephaestus looked at Eina’s serious expression and heard her reprimanding tone. Hephaestus wanted to retort that she only acted like this around Vahn, but even she couldn’t help but feel the pressure emitted by the half-elf girls emerald eyes. Now that they were both going to be Vahn’s ’First-Wives’, they would likely be spending a lot of time together in the future. Releasing a short sight, Hephaestus muttered in a low voice, "I’ll do my best...Eina."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’C-c-c-combo Breaker’,’Everything is better in twos’,’Head Wives Alliance’