Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though it would not prevent her from carrying out her duty, the appearance and performance of Vados were enough to give Ahirani a reason to reconsider her approach. Thus, while the mages of her tribe prepared the ritual spell to destroy the planet, a delegation comprised of Attutyaptish and his most prominent children, an all-female group that referred to themselves as the Seven Sages of Wisdom, teleported to the core.

Looking around the antechamber, Attutyaptish wasn't particularly surprised to find it empty. Vahn, very clearly, didn't take their invasion seriously. This irked the petite Rakshasa quite a bit, but, as it was also something they could take advantage of, he maintained a relaxed expression as he turned towards the group of rather eccentric-looking girls that had teleported alongside him. ——

"Remember, we did not come here to fight. We will defend if attacked, but, unless the Sage Dragon or his followers make the first move, we will attempt to communicate with them…"

Though their true purpose was to stall for time, Attutyaptish couldn't exactly come out and say it when they were right outside the enemy's throne room. Fortunately, with the exception of his sixth eldest daughter, a ditzy-looking girl who wandered around with a cartoonish bear and a pile of faux poo on her head, the others were intelligent enough to easily ascertain the true meaning behind his words.

Representing the group of girls as both the strongest and the eldest, a 258cm tall woman with fox ears, a large fluffy tail, half-lidded eyes, and an exceptionally mature figure inquired, "Should we be concerned with preserving face…?"

Shifting his attention to the rather slovenly-looking woman, Attutyaptish remained silent for several seconds before crossing all six of his arms and saying, "Just keep in mind that billions of people are watching…"

Seemingly unperturbed by her father's words, the vulpine woman licked her lips in an overtly suggestive manner before directing her enervated gaze towards the ornate stone doors separating the antechamber from the throne room. Then, with her hips and tail swaying with each of her steps, she meandered toward the door as all but two of her sisters fell into step behind her.

Restraining a sigh, Attutyaptish directed his gaze towards his most loyal daughter, an inordinately petite Rakshasa with short white hair and large horns reminiscent of an axolotl. She was even more diminutive than he was, so, while he often pretended his height didn't bother him, it was no secret that the girl in question was Attutyaptish's favorite daughter.

"Ama…watch over Dhasi and make sure she doesn't wander off. If communications break down, I will be relying on you to destroy the teleportation nexi…"

Nodding her head in affirmation, Ama grabbed the hands of the much larger Dhasi, saying, "Come, Dhasi. Let's go play over there…"

"Da~?"

Though she briefly looked towards her father, the 228cm tall Dhasi didn't resist as Ama, standing a mere 108cm, dragged her towards the far side of the antechamber. Dhasi, despite being one of the Seven Sages of Wisdom, wasn't particularly known for her mental acuity. Her inclusion in the group was entirely the result of her combat potential. She was far from the strongest or the fastest among Attutyaptish's children but her Gift, The Oblivious King, was one of the most terrifying in a battle of martial prowess.

Trusting that Ama would be able to keep her sister under control, Attutyaptish levitated from the ground before quickly following after his other daughters. He hated walking on his hind legs, as, due to his feline appendages and three pairs of arms, his bipedal motion resembled waddling. His younger brothers used to make fun of him for this, so, unless flight was strictly prohibited, his most common method for getting around was via levitation…

Entering the throne room, Attutyaptish nearly became the victim of gravity when he found his two most troublesome daughters, one seated atop Vahn's lap and the other dangling her legs from the armrest of his throne.

Despite feeling as though a vein had popped near his temple, Attutyaptish did his best to maintain a neutral expression as he floated forward, hands cupped politely as he said, "I see you are getting along surprisingly well with my daughters…?"

Feeling a strange sense of incongruity, Attutyaptish's pointed statement turned into a question as he habitually tilted his head to the side. Something about the present scene just felt off, but, even after tilting his head nearly forty degrees, he couldn't quite figure out what it was…

Retracting his hand from the vulpine woman's head, Vahn maintained a neutral expression of his own as he stated, "I wouldn't exactly say that. These two rascals kind of just walked in and made themselves comfortable…"

As the group showed no hostility, Vahn prevented Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita from appearing. He was still interested in learning about Ahirani's condition, so, even when the unnamed woman took advantage of his silence to sit on his lap, he just habitually caressed her head.

Instead of paying attention to Vahn's words, Attutyaptish was still attempting to make sense of the strange feeling of incongruency that had washed over him. It was only when he drew closer to the group that he realized what it was.

"Your human form is quite a bit larger than I was expecting…"

Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask why it mattered when the voluptuous woman seated atop his lap suddenly grabbed the sides of his face and remarked, "Oh my…are you ignoring me…?" in an overtly seductive tone.

Instead of responding to the woman's words, Vahn simply snapped his fingers. As a result, the busty Rakshasa promptly found herself teleported several meters away, her compromised balance forcing her to collapse onto the stone floor with a surprisingly loud 'thump'.

Taking advantage of the vacancy, the second of the two vulpine women, Prurmubhi, the very same woman Chronoa had encountered on the defensive satellite, silently entreated Vahn with her eyes. In response, he simply patted his right thigh, an indecipherable expression on his face as he allowed the comparably petite beauty to make herself comfortable.

Unamused by the turn of events, the markedly more mature-looking Rakshasa, known to her kin as Hantemu, glared toward Prurmubhi with her half-lidded eyes. Instead of complaining, however, she simply rose to her feet before dusting herself off and standing in a pose with two arms crossed, two linked behind her head, and two more thumbing the stretchy band keeping her loincloth in place…

Coughing into one of his fur-covered paws, Attutyaptish attempted to seize the momentum in the conversation by stating, "At the behest of the Queen-Mother, I have been commissioned to inquire about the services of the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Though it is impossible for us to betray our Lord, it is not outside the realm of possibility for us to employ your services…"

Though his words were primarily intended to stall for time, Attutyaptish was also putting Vahn and the Sage Dragon's Hearth on the spot. Vados had boldly declared that their Community was willing to offer their services even in the midst of a Gift Game. If Vahn reneged on his promise and refused to provide his services, the otherwise impeccable reputation of the Sage Dragon's Hearth would be tarnished.

When public opinion influenced the power and potency of attacks, reputation was among the most important pillars supporting a Community's growth. Vahn 'fluffing' up two of his daughters in front of a crowd of billions was already putting the Sage Dragon's Hearth at a minor disadvantage…after all, people could be remarkably petty…

Playing along with the anthropomorphic cat man's ploy, Vahn proceeded to explain the services he, specifically, offered within the Sage Dragon's Hearth. At the same time, he continued to shamelessly fluff up Prurmubhi's hair and ears as he didn't particularly care if people came to associate him with petting. Though the peculiar grey blush on Prurmubhi's face might imply otherwise, it wasn't like he was doing anything overtly lewd…

Hearing Vahn casually list off his services, Attutyaptish was seized by the notion he had just given the man the opportunity to freely advertise without sounding shameless. This caused his left ear to twitch in frustration, but, as his primary objective was to buy time, interrupting Vahn's surprisingly long soliloquy wasn't an option. If anything, he needed to goad the seemingly oblivious man into continuing…

With that in mind, Attutyaptish followed Vahn's explanation by stating, "That's quite the list…I'm not entirely sure I can remember it all. Do you mind repeating the parts concerning the awakening of a person's innate talent? I believe our guests spectating abroad would appreciate it…"

Having never been fond of repeating himself, Vahn returned a faint smile as he mused, "Feel free to review the replay once you've returned home. For now, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. While I have no problems entertaining guests, the crowd outside didn't gather to watch us sit around and discuss business. If you've nothing to request, it's my turn to ask a few questions. If you're unwilling to answer, your options are to…what was they again? Ah, yes…"

Retracting his hands from Prurmubhi's head, much to the vulpine woman's dissatisfaction, Vahn adopted an expression of mock severity as he appended, "Capitulate or prove your worth." in the exact same voice and tone used by Uvashu.

Recognizing their brother's voice, the five ashen-skinned beauties immediately perked up, varying degrees of amusement coloring their expressions. This was a stark contrast to their father, who, with an adorably grumpy expression on his face, asked, "What did you want to ask…?"

Levitating Prurmubhi from his lap, Vahn crossed his right foot over his knee before getting straight to the point, asking, "Why does your mother possess such a pessimistic aura? I'm fairly certain I've already ascertained the reason but I'm curious to hear what you think."

Furrowing his brows, Attutyaptish gazed into Vahn's expression. The tragedy of the Rakshasa Tribe wasn't a secret, but, like most tragedies, it wasn't exactly polite to inquire about the details. Thus, before responding, he searched Vahn's expression for any signs that the man was trying to ridicule them. Noticing none, Attutyaptish drew in a deep breath before exhaling a profoundly exasperated sigh and saying, "The Queen-Mother grieves for the loss of her King and sisters. She also bears the burden of our entire species on her shoulders. If you were to lose everything, including the people you loved, I imagine you might be pretty pessimistic as well…"

Exhaling a sigh of his own, Vahn resisted the almost instinctual urge to apologize. As the tragedy of the Rakshasa Tribe had absolutely nothing to do with him, however, he remained silent. At the same time, Loi-chan manifested at his side, a bubbly, mood-shattering expression on her face as she bent down to whisper in his ear. It didn't help that her form currently resembled Ahirani…

Hearing the specifics from Loi-chan, a look of realization donned on Vahn's face as he offered her an appreciative nod. This greatly confused the six individuals staring at him, but, without minding their accusatory stares, Vahn adopted a relaxed smile as he said, "Inform your Queen-Mother that, once this game has ended, I will gladly remedy the plight of your people. For now, you should do your best to try and remove me from my throne. I imagine the crowd outside is beginning to grow pretty restless with all this talking."

Not expecting such a response, Attutyaptish couldn't help looking at Vahn as though the latter was an idiot. If the plight of the Rakshasa Tribe could be solved so easily, they wouldn't have spent the last three hundred years slowly rebuilding. Saying he would help them when even their Patron God was powerless to act was more of an insult than an assurance…

Sharing this sentiment, each of Attutyaptish's daughters, sans Prurmubhi, adopted moderately hostile expressions. The latter was also offended, but, after having her head pet and caressed for the better part of half an hour, it was difficult for her to direct even a marginal amount of hostility towards Vahn. She would much rather have him continue caressing her head, so, while everyone else was glaring at him with severe expressions on their faces, she felt like the odd one out as she slowly inched out of the way…

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Da~!','Vahn can be remarkably shameless at times xD…','At least he didn't crack out the 'Yo Mama…' jokes on them…')