Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After pampering Anubis for around half an hour, Vahn freshened up before leaving the Southern Manor and preparing to return. He had come across the sweat-covered Nanu on his way and healed her body for a short while, encouraging her to continue working hard. Nanu sat on the ground and let her tail beat from side-to-side as she enjoyed his caress and the healing energy spreading through her body. Hearing Vahn’s words, she looked up into his face with clear resolution visible in her eyes as she said, "Yes, Master, I will work hard every day to prove my worth as your mate!" Nanu felt a lot of pressure from the other girls because she knew there wasn’t any way she could compete with the majority of them. She had decided to simply be satisfied with being his apprentice and receiving his affections while doing her best not to let down his expectations...

Vahn massaged Nanu’s ears while stroking the side of her face, saying, "Nanu, the only thing I want for you is that you’re happy. Work hard, but never push yourself to the point where you’re straining your body too much. Remember, it isn’t your worth that concerns me, but your stability and happiness...try to enjoy yourself more and try to make friends with the other girls, okay?" Nanu had her eyes partially closed as she enjoyed the ’heavy’ petting and lazily nodded her head in response to Vahn’s words. Because of the position she had found herself in, she was the member of the pack that had adapted the least to society. Nanu always worked her in her training and spent large amounts of time improving her forging capabilities. Even though he often stressed that she should relax more, it didn’t have much effect because of her ’pride’ as his ’mate’...

Leaving the Southern Manor, Vahn walked the relatively short distance to the Hearth Manor and was surprised to find that there was a large procession outside the gate. Judging by the large tree emblem on the carriage, Vahn immediately understood what was going on and released a long sigh before hardening his resolve. He opened up his logbook and saw the messages present, including several from Riveria explaining the situation further. The procession obviously belonged to the envoy from the Elven Kingdom and there were a total of forty armed guards with matching uniforms, each wielding long and ornate spears that also acted as staves. Within the carriage, Vahn could sense three marginally stronger presences and peered through the protective barriers to observe the interior.

Though he had plenty of women around him, Vahn felt a cold sensation spread through his mind because he could see a handsome High Elf with green hair and an arrogant face ’molesting’ two other Elven women. They were obviously used to his touch, as both girls had complacent and dull expressions as the put on a pretense to satiate the man’s ego. Knowing this man was the ’arranged’ fiance of Riveria pissed Vahn off a great deal. He knew the two women were likely highly capable mages that had likely been forced to serve as the man’s escort. Much like Ryuu, they were probably girls that had been scouted and taken from their homes simply to ’serve’ the ’noble’ High Elf. Vahn could see that the man was likely around the same age as Riveria, as a person’s aura mellowed out as they aged, making him around 95-100 years old while the two girls looked less than twenty, which was very young for Elves that were still within the forest. This meant he had secured them early and had been ’cultivating’ them over the years as ’servants’, even though it was very clear they were ’slaves’...

Instead of confronting them right now, Vahn used [Shundo] to enter the Manor’s grounds without drawing the attention of the guards. Riveria had wanted to meet him directly before discussing the matter so Vahn headed toward her study, where she was currently massaging her left temple, clearly annoyed by the situation. Sensing Vahn’s arrival, she turned toward him and released a sigh after seeing his expression. In a somewhat dull tone, she asked, "You already saw him, didn’t you?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "He is outside the gate blocking the entire street with his escort...while playing with two Elven women in the comfort of his carriage..."

Riveria showed a mixture of disdain and disgust on her face because she knew her fiance’s character well. Just as Vahn had speculated, Riveria also believed the two were being ’forced’ to serve him in order to protect their families. Depending on the situation, they may have even been given up as servants in exchange for benefits since he was a cruel, callous, and corrupt man. After snorting through her nose, Riveria said, "In order to get the jump on us, Alosrin, my ’fiance’, brought the smallest escort that would allow them to enter the City freely. Without dealing with the Guild, they came directly here to try and force me into a difficult situation...I already messaged Loki-sama, but can you send Fafnir to go retrieve her?"

Vahn sent a mental command to Fafnir as he walked over and, against her expectations, hugged Riveria tightly as he said, "That man is a fool that will be dealt with accordingly. I’ll let you guide the discussion, but if he thinks I’ll tolerate sleights against myself and the others, I won’t tolerate it for too long. Just like how I dealt with Bete, I don’t mind teaching him a lesson that he won’t be able to forget..." Though he had previously promised to do his best to exercise restraint, Vahn felt like Alosrin would definitely say something to set him off.

Riveria released a sigh after hearing his words, but there wasn’t anything she could think to say to convince Vahn otherwise. Even if he didn’t take action, it was likely she would do so herself depending on how things played out. Alosrin was a capable Mage, but he was only on the higher end of Level 4, far weaker than she was at present. He also engaged in debauchery and licentious acts so his actual capabilities were far lower and, if not for various elixirs and ceremonies, he wouldn’t even be as strong as he was.

After considering the matter, Riveria was surprised to find she had turned Vahn’s embrace and pulled away from him after this realization and said, "If you want to take action, you would need to challenge him to a formal duel unless you plan on starting a conflict with the Elven Kingdom. With his personality, defeating him in a duel would cause him to try and conceal the matter to protect his ’dignity’. It might give us a bit more breathing room for future negotiations..." Riveria could already imagine Alosrin trying to goad Vahn on using the title of ’Sage’ as leverage against him. Though he already possessed the title, Alosrin was here to ’confirm’ it which meant he also had the power to contest it if he wanted. Given his past behavior, it was almost guaranteed he would try to pressure Vahn and this would probably be the point of contention that brought them to ’blows’.

Vahn nodded his head and said, "Let’s discuss our course of action with everyone else so that there isn’t any trouble. I’ll have Eina and Lefiya stay back so they don’t draw his ire and attention...hmm, and I think having Terra accompany us in her dragon form would be ideal. Though, we might be able to incite him to act like a fool if she is in her humanoid form..." Given Vahn’s understanding of Alosrin, he could imagine the egotistical High Elf taking a liking to Terra instantly, potentially even trying to push his luck at the same time. There wasn’t a chance that Terra would fall for his plot and her intelligence and aura would be beneficial for controlling the situation, especially if Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia were all present. Thinking to this point, however, Vahn felt a little awkward about having two pregnant goddesses attend the ’negotiations’...

Riveria was also considering the best course of action to take and, other than showing some of their research notes, getting an advantage against Alosrin by ’tilting’ him wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea. The more off-kilter they could make him, the more beneficial the negotiations would be since there was a high chance he would keep the matters hidden if he was embarrassed enough. However, Riveria could imagine things taking a strange turn so she said, "If you show off Terra, Alosrin will likely try to force you into a ’bet’ during the duel. I’ll deal with the aftermath personally, but I think you should use it as an opportunity to liberate those two girls...when he returns to the Kingdom, he will likely even fabricate an excuse like leaving them as a point of contact and we’ll have more leverage for future actions..."

Vahn wasn’t fond of the idea of ’gambling’ with his companions, but he also knew Riveria’s plan wasn’t that bad. They could exploit the ’arrogant’ nature of Alosrin to secure advantages for the future and there would be no greater embarrassment for him than to ’lose’ his prized possessions. When they went to the Elven Kingdom in the future, Vahn could even elevate the two girls to the status of dignitaries and give them a chance to embarrass him further. It was a bit vindictive, but Vahn felt like it was what many would refer to as ’just desserts’ for the arrogant ’prince’. Considering there was no chance of his defeat, Vahn nodded his head but said, "I will leave the decision to Terra, but we’ll go that route if things develop that way."

Riveria knew Vahn was making concessions for her, so she smiled lightly and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." and pressed her palm gingerly against his chest. Vahn’s serious expression softened a bit and he said, "We’re already inextricably linked, Riveria, so you don’t have to thank me for such things. Try to rely on me a bit more...it’ll make me happy, you know?" Though she resisted slightly, Riveria didn’t stop Vahn from leaning forward and pressing his forehead to her’s as he whispered his words. A light blush appeared on her face and she wanted to comment about Vahn’s ’reliability’ but kept it to herself as she lowered her head and muttered, "Let’s do our best..."

Unaware of the ’plot’ that had been hatched against him, Alosrin was sitting in his carriage aggressively groping a petite Elven woman with honey-colored hair and light blue eyes. He had her sitting on his knee, as her diminutive 145cm height made her appear much smaller against his 183cm lanky frame. She had somewhat large b.r.e.a.s.ts for an Elf, especially one that was only 21 years old, which had been the original reason she had been ’scouted’. She had a dull look in her eyes and an almost sickly pale hue to her ruddy skin. The constant harassment of Alosrin had caused her body to react against her will, which had dulled her mind over the years as she passively made mechanical m.o.a.ns to satiate his sadistic ego.

The other woman looked far more mature than the petite girl and, as Vahn had noticed earlier, she was somewhat similar to Riveria with her emerald green hair and stoic expression. Unlike Riveria, however, she also had somewhat large b.r.e.a.s.ts for an Elf and, instead of jade-green eyes, she had watery blue eyes with an intelligent glint to them. Unlike the petite Elf, she didn’t show much reaction at all even while Alosrin was using her back as a footstool to degrade her. Ever since she had lost her purity to him, she had stopped caring about many things and became very cold and distant. If not for the fact that he threatened to make her little sister his plaything in the future, she would have tried to kill him or commit suicide to restore her honor.

Alosrin had been moving his feet about on the ’mature’ Elf’s back as he rocked her back and forth in a bored manner. He squeezed the petite Elf’s b.r.e.a.s.t hard enough to make her body tremble as she grit her teeth to resist the pain. Seeing her reaction, Alosrin smiled and said, "You’re a good kid, Sierra, unlike this ungrateful bitch..." Already expecting what was to come, the mature Elf tensed up her body as Alosrin kicked her hard in the ribs and sent her colliding against the metal lockbox on the other side of the carriage. Though she grunted in pain, she showed no other signs of emotion as she asked, "Is something the matter, my Master?"

A cruel and sadistic look appeared on Alosrin’s face as he looked out the one-way window at the Hearth Manor beyond and said, "I’m just looking forward to seeing my fiancee once again...it really has been a long time. I wonder how long she is planning to make me wait here..." Alosrin’s face became darker as he continued to speak because he felt like their failure to greet him even after waiting for nearly half an hour was unacceptable. He showed up early so they wouldn’t have time to prepare for his arrival, but he hadn’t expected they would have the ’audacity’ to make him wait. If not for Riveria being present in the City, Alosrin wouldn’t have even come to this ’backward’ and ’despotic’ place full of ’inferior’ creatures.

Unable to contain his frustrations, Alosrin forcibly moved Sierra to his lap, causing the young Elf’s eyes to moisten as her body trembled slightly. She raised her h.i.p.s as Alosrin grabbed her neck from behind and said, "Pram, give me a foot rub...if they don’t show up within the next half an hour, you should prepare yourself as well..." As he spoke, Alosrin pulled back against Sierra and squeezed her body tightly as she ’m.o.a.ned’ and said, "Ah, it’s so big...it’s tearing my insides..." in a very mechanical manner. Alosrin forced all of the girls he was with to compliment his size while they were ’servicing’ him since he was somewhat self-conscious about the truth of the matter...

During his first time, which had been when he forced himself upon his own handmaiden and caretaker, she had ’complimented’ him heavily about his size. Thinking himself to be a paragon amongst men, Alosrin heavily bragged to his friends until one day, when they were all going to enjoy a hot springs, he saw that, amongst all seven of his companions, he was far smaller than everyone else. That day, he had returned to his residence and beaten his former ’favorite’ handmaiden before throwing her into the dungeons. She later ended up disappearing, likely helped by some of the other staff, but that had been the catalyst for his sadistic nature. He had been heavily spoiled his entire life as a ’noble’ High Elf, but it wasn’t until he ’shamed’ that he truly became a despot. Now, Alosrin forced the girls to pay heavy compliments to him and, if they failed to appease his ego he would ’educate’ them to do better...

Because of his behavior, which was even frowned upon by other arrogant High Elves, Alosrin had few friends and even his parents had grown frustrated with him. He had been lazy in his studies so they had to spend a fortune just to make sure he was comparable to his peers and, as a result of his general incompetence, they had to ’assign’ him a position while most of the work was done by his aides, almost all beautiful girls he had ’collected’. His father, Alfred, disdained his own son but still refused to let him be shamed in ’polite’ society. Instead of trying to address the problem, he let it persist and even covered for his son on several occasions, especially when his sadistic nature got out of hand. If not for his ’friendship’ with Riveria’s father, Alfred feard that his son would never find a ’suitable’ match for his own status. Fortunately, Riveria was going through a ’rebellious’ phase, so Alfred had managed to convince her father to betroth her to Alosrin. However, soon after she found out about the marriage arrangement, Riveria had left the forest and eventually ended up joining the Loki Familia.

After her ’betrayal’, Alosrin’s sadistic tendencies had developed even further and he often spent his days thinking about how he would ’train’ Riveria to his liking. Strong and intelligent women were his favorite and, though many people expected they were never get married, Alosrin considered it a ’decided’ matter that was simply delayed. She would one day become his and he had been ’practicing’ with girls that were similar to her so that he would be properly prepared for their ’inevitable’ wedding. His record for ’breaking’ a high-born woman was 41 days, delayed somewhat by the ’interference’ of other people, especially his father. Since they were of ’lower’ households, Alosrin didn’t mind ’spoiling’ a few other noble girls, which had caused a lot of problems for their family...after all, Riveria’s status was even higher than his and he wanted to make sure he had some experience so that she would quickly understand her place...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Nanu wants belly rubs (UwU)...’,’Vahn learns how to scheme’,’Golden Spoon Laced With Poison~’)