Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Hearing Tiona's proclamation, Vahn was incredibly confused by the sudden situation. He could see her aura was almost trying to wrap itself around him, and it made him feel a tingling sensation in his temples. Looking into her eyes, he could see she was very expectant and waiting for his answer, but Vahn didn't know what to say. He had never considered having children, and he didn't even understand the process very well.

While Vahn was flustering about with Tiona clinging to him, the rest of the Loki Familia had made their way over. Finn was very impressed with Vahn's fight and wanted to know what kind of skill he had used at the very end. He wasn't the only one either, as Riveria had a curious glint in her eye as she wanted to see through all of Vahn's secrets. Tione was also very impressed but seeing her sister acting in this manner made her somewhat uncomfortable.

Tione reached forward and snatched Tiona off of Vahn's body. The moment Tiona was pulled away from Vahn, both amazons stared with wide eyes at the sight before them. Tiona's eyes were sparkling while even Tione couldn't prevent a mild blush from surfacing on her face. Vahn, finally being freed from Tiona's grasp, climbed to his feet and released a restrained sigh. After doing so, he noticed a strange reaction from all the Loki Familia members and followed their line of sight.

As Vahn had once against transformed into the vermillion-bird, all of the clothing and equipment he had been wearing was incinerated. He now stood naked before the entire Loki Familia group which consisted of Finn, who was giving him an awkward look, Tione and Tiona who both had mild blushes, Ais who had a somewhat surprised look, Gareth, who seemed rather impressed, Riveria, who had a subtle and somewhat incredulous look, and Bete, who looked like he was almost in shock. Wrapping up the party, there was Lefiya whose face looked beet red as she flustered about behind Ais. (A/N: That friggin sentence~!)

While they were staring at him, Vahn was also looking between them, almost entirely unfazed by the situation. Finn felt his brow begin to twitch as the atmosphere continued to become increasingly awkward. Seeing how the members of his Familia wer acting, and the fact that it had been several seconds where everyone just gawked, Finn decided to put an end to the situation. Taking a cloak from Lefiya, Finn walked forward and handed it to Vahn.

"You can use this to cover yourself..." Finn felt rather awkward handing clothing to the unfazed Vahn. He couldn't understand what kind of person would use a skill that burned their own clothing. Vahn accepted the cloak, and without hesitation, wore it like normal. Seeing his action, Finn nearly fell over. "THE BOTTOM! COVER THE BOTTOM!"

After realizing the fact his nakedness was the source of the awkward atmosphere, Vahn frowned before wrapping the cloak around his waist. The moment he did so, he noticed everyone had strange reactions, though most of the group seemed relieved. One notable reaction came from Tiona, who seemed somewhat disappointed. She was currently being held off to the side by her sister, who was trying to prevent the situation from getting worse. The most interesting reaction though came from Bete, who seemed like he was struggling with something internally.

Now that Vahn was 'clothed', Finn sighed before trying to ease tensions. "That was an amazing fight, especially at the end. I've never seen such a powerful technique before. I heard you were only Level 2, but that type of power is generally only seen in high-level magics from Level 3-4." Finn was very interested and almost wanted to inspect the Status Board on Vahn's back. The fact he was currently shirtless only made the desire more prominent.

Before Vahn answered, Riveria also spoke. "That wasn't magic, but something I've never even seen before. It was closer to 'controlling' the elements instead of just making use of them. A physical body shouldn't be able to withstand that type of change." Even more than Finn, Riveria really wanted to know what allowed Vahn do something she considered impossible. She had lived for 99 years and was considered the most prominent mage in the City. Seeing something completely outside her understanding was a first for her.

Hearing them ask so many questions annoyed Vahn a bit. From his experience and the information he obtained, it was considered improper to question other adventurers regarding their secrets. The fact he was being asked by two of the highest ranked adventurers in the entire City made him feel frustrated. It was like they considered themselves above common sense and expected him to answer just because they were asking politely.

Though Finn and Riveria noticed his discomfort, they were still very curious and hoped he would answer. From the side, Gareth harumphed before stepping in and handing Vahn a red cloak to wrap around his back. Looking towards his companions, Gareth said in a firm manner. "Don't pressure the kid. Aren't you two supposed to be adults? Since when were the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Loki Familia lacking in etiquette?"

Hearing Gareth's words, Finn released an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of his head. Riveria closed her eyes and bowed slightly toward Vahn. "Forgive me, Vahn, I was simply curious. If you don't wish to discuss the information, I will not force you." Vahn nodded in response, but he didn't say anything about accepting her apology. He could tell that, even now, the two still wanted to find out his secrets. Though they didn't have a malicious aura, they were both an off-yellow with a sickly purple on the edges.

While the atmosphere was still very awkward, Ais had walked forward and stood in front of Vahn. "I want to fight you again." The moment she spoke, the entire Loki Familia seemed to be affected. Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all had helpless expressions. Lefiya seemed to be somewhat angry at Vahn, while Tiona on the side just shouted out, "Ehhh? No, Ais, Vahn is mine~! I want to fight him too!" While flailing about, Tiona managed to release herself from Tione and grabbed Vahn's arm.

Tiona had an almost hostile look as she stared at Ais, but Ais just frowned slightly before saying, "We can both fight. I will wait." After her curt response, she stood to the side and Tiona made a triumphant 'guts' pose. Opening up some distance between the dumbfounded Vahn, she took a relaxed stance with both palms facing toward him.

Vahn just stood there like he couldn't make sense of the situation when, very suddenly, Tione fiercely smacked the top of Tiona's head with her fist. "You dumb monkey girl! Does he look like he is in any condition to fight!?" While rubbing the bump on her head, Tiona looked towards Vahn who was only garbed in two cloaks. Remembering that he was nude previously, her eyes were drawn to the crack in the bottom cloth before another fist hit her head.

After things had settled down, Vahn agreed to fight Tiona, Ais, and then Tione when he got back to the surface. Bete also wanted to fight, but all three of the girls refused saying he was unable to restrain himself and it would be counterproductive. Once they had made the agreement, Vahn moved over to collect his spoils. The Goliath crystal had been massive, and when Vahn broke it, it had shattered into thousands of small fragments. Some of them had burned up, but Vahn was able to recover 1,018 pieces which were all worth 150OP each. In a single battle, he had earned an additional 152,700 OP, so he was in a great mood.

Seeing the massive pile of crystals disappear, both Finn and Riveria were able to understand Vahn had 'storage magic'. As they had previously caused tensions, they didn't say anything, but, Finn very much wanted to ask why Vahn didn't have a change of clothes. And, if Vahn did have spares, why he didn't wear them immediately after the battle ended. Fortunately for their curiosity, they didn't have to ask since someone else had done so.

"Ehhhh? How did all the magic core shards disappear!?" Tiona was inspecting the area with a befuddled look. Since Vahn had used it right in front of everyone, he decided it wasn't worth 'lying' about it so he explained that he had 'storage magic'. Hearing his response, Tiona was smiling but also had a confused expression on her face. "Do you not have any spare clothing?" Though she didn't mind much, it was still strange to her how Vahn had been standing completely unfazed, especially after she had tackled him previously.

Vahn nodded his head and took out some of his spare clothing. All of his equipment had burned up, except for his weapons, but he still had a few pairs of casual clothes. While he was getting dressed, he noticed Finn's, Bete's, and Lefiya's auras began to fluctuate. Unable to contain himself any longer, Bete shouted out, "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU WEAR ANY CLOTHING, YOU BASTARD!? DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WANT TO SEE YOU NAKED!?"

His shout seemed to echo the sentiments of most of the group, but Vahn just frowned and responded. "I would have eventually; I didn't make you look." Vahn's words seemed to have set Bete off as he jumped toward him and tried to deliver a kick. Vahn was much slower than Bete, and tried to take a defensive stance, but it proved to be unnecessary. Before Bete had gotten anywhere near him, Ais and Tiona had both intercepted the attack. Ais smashed the sheath of her sword into Bete's armguards while Tiona launched a kick of her own into his stomach.

Bete, though he didn't take much damage, held his stomach as he looked incredulously at his two 'companions'. "What the fuck are you two doing!? Are you trying to fight me over some nudist brat!?" In response, Ais spoke quite a bit more words than normal. There was even the undertone of anger in her voice as she said, "He is right. Nobody made you look, and he had just finished a fight when Tiona ambushed him." Hearing the words 'ambush', Tiona faltered a bit before responding herself, "Y-yeah, it was my fault. You can't blame Vahn just because you have wandering eyes!"

Seeing the two berate him while defending Vahn, Bete scratched his head with both hands in a demonstration of frustration. "I am much stronger than him! Why are you taking his side in this!? Don't tell me you two actually LIKE him, HUH!?" Bete stared directly into the two girls faces as he shouted the last word.

Without any hesitation, Tiona shouted out while triumphantly throwing her fist in the air. "Of course! Vahn is the person I've chosen to sire my children! There is no way I don't like him!" She said the words with a big smile on her face as she glomped the startled Vahn. She just dangled off his neck and laughed in a childish manner. Ais, who was also being stared at by Bete, looked between Vahn and Bete a few times before giving her own response. "He is better than you. You are just older."

Hearing both girls refute him, Bete released a loud yell before smashing his leg into the dungeon wall. His kick left huge cracks as he put his hands into his pockets and started walking toward the stairs. "Fuck this shit! I'll be in Riviria when you assholes finish playing around." Without waiting for anyone's response, Bete continued walking away without turning back.

The whole time this play was going on, Vahn just stood idle with a blank expression. Even with Tiona leaning herself against his body, he was too distracted by the information he had read in his system.

//'Tiona Hiryute' Has Reached Maximum Affection//

//Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]//

Completion Grade: B

Rewards:10,000OP, 1x [Hearts Desire: 'Tione Hiryute']

Grade Rewards: Skill [Fist Strike:B] obtained.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tiona's Decisiveness','Bete feels 'inferior'','Airhead','Hearts Doki Doki for Various Reasons')