Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Following the conclusion of his meeting with Solon, Vahn, accompanied by his new entourage, consisting of Okita and Altera, made a quick stopover at the Edelfelt mansion. Though he could send her a direct message, Vahn preferred to deliver news personally as, with the ability to teleport, other methods just seemed impersonal. He also knew Luvia herself would appreciate his visit so, with the silent and attentive white-haired duo standing on his flanks, Vahn teleported into the foyer where, as per usual, an entire team of Maids and Butlers were waiting to greet him.

Despite the 'The Fall', and the penultimate collapse of the global economy, the Edelfelt family had continued to prosper. Luvia unashamedly made use of the Empire's resources and, though her core forces still consisted of the Edelfelt elites, they had recruited tens of thousands in support of relief efforts all over the world. Since they were one of the only military forces in the world that still had operational aircraft and a small naval fleet, it hadn't taken long at all for Luvia to cement her family as one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Though they were intrinsically related to the Empire, the Edelfelt family was given autonomy to act in their own interests. As a result, they had been able to help people with the stigma of being directly associated with the Empire. The fact they still used technology from the 'old era' encouraged a lot of people to rally behind them and, though there were quite a number of opportunists that had tried to take advantage of this, the solidarity of the Edelfelt combat forces prevented any major uprisings.

After a short trek through Luvia's fortress-like mansion, renovated as a courtesy of the Dwarves, Vahn found himself in an auditorium-sized training room. There he found Ulla happily clapping her hands while at the side while, on oversized wrestling ring, Oliva and Luvia were flying around like luchadores as they performed a variety of acrobatic feats. This wasn't entirely unexpected but, seeing that Ulla had also been dressed up in an adorable little leotard, Vahn couldn't help but adopt a wry smile...

Almost immediately after he had entered the room, Olivia slid underneath Luvia as the latter used the ropes of the ring to vault through the air. She managed to land nimbly after missing her catch but, before she was able to turn around, Olivia snaked up behind her with surprising agility, her arms wrapping around Luvia's waist. In the next moment, despite their height difference, Olivia managed to bend backward, performing a perfect arch as Luvia was suplexed into the ring. As a result, her legs froze in a rather compromising position but, fortunately, things came to a swift end when the referee slid across the ring on their stomach, quickly counting her out.

With her victory determined, Olivia raised her first toward the sky, a victorious smile on her face as Luvia pretended to be knocked out. This caused Ulla to fret a great deal as, while she was happy her Grandma had won, she was sad that her mother had lost. Her doll-like face formed into a worried expression and, seemingly determining her mother was more important than the match, she climbed up the side of the ring, shouting, "Mommy!"

The moment she heard her daughter cry out, Luvia rose to a seated position, a vibrant smile on her face as she caught Ulla out of the air. Then, while happily rubbing her cheek against the latter's face, she chimed, "Ah, my darling Ulla, your voice awakened me~! I feel ten times stronger than before, ohohohoho~."

Though they were both well aware of the fact Vahn had arrived, Olivia and Luvia were still putting on their play so, hearing Luvia's comment, Olivia crossed her arms proudly and claimed, "You'd have to be at least eleven, no, thirteen times stronger if you want to defeat me, kukukuku~."

Hearing her Grandma's remark, Ulla showed a serious expression and, as this wasn't her first time in this situation, she hugged her Mother tightly as she said, "I believe in you, Mommy! You have to go for the legs! If you go for the legs, you can win...!"

As if her greatest secret had just been exposed, Olivia took a few faltering steps backward, surprise visible in her countenance as she exclaimed, "No! How did you learn about my injured left knee!?" Then, seemingly realizing something, she lightly pat her own chest before adopting a taunting smile and saying, "Well, it's too late! The referee already declared my victory! If I rest properly, my leg will be good as new before our next match...!"

With an expression that looked like she had swallowed a bug, Ulla glared at her Grandma before rising to her full height, a diminutive 85cm, as she shouted, "I'll just have to defeat you myself...!"

Moving 'faster than Olivia could react', Ulla launched herself toward her Grandma's right leg. She still had a bit of trouble determining her left from her right, at least when it came to other people, but, in spite of this, Olivia fell to the ground, a howl of pain escaping her throat. Then, as Ulla did her best to perform a leg lock, Olivia helped position her arms and legs properly, lending a rather ridiculous quality to the whole scene...

While Ulla was busy 'defeating' her Grandmother, Luvia reclined onto her elbows, leaning her head back to smile at Vahn. This brought an even bigger smile to his face as, despite knowing Luvia had a lot going on, the fact she always made time to play with their daughter made him feel even more attracted to her than normal. There was nothing more beautiful and endearing than a good mother so, when they both had a free moment, Vahn decided he would reward her plentily.

With her 'weakness' targetted, Olivia ended up tapping out, unable to bear the pain of Ulla's leg-lock. Afterward, Ulla copied her Grandmother's previous display, raising her tiny fist high into the sky to proclaim her victory. Just as she was about to cry out, however, she noticed Vahn standing at the side of the ring and, seemingly losing interest in the match, shouted, "Daddy~!" before running over without hesitation.

Catching his airborne daughter out of the air, Vahn spun around a few times before pulling her close and giving her a firm hug as she happily wriggled about in his arms. This prompted Luvia and Olivia to rise to their feet and, after being waved away by the latter, all of the staff within the room quickly cleared out.

While leaning against the ring's ropes, her hair done up in two drill-tails, Olivia cheekily asked, "Are you stopping by for business or pleasure? My afternoon is free so I can help out with both if you'd like~."

Since he had already grown accustomed to Olivia's 'propositioning', Vahn just rolled his eyes at her before explaining, "Solon and Zelretch have agreed to attend the gala. After this event, the Mage's Association will unofficially be under the control of the Empire. I thought Luvia would like to know sooner, rather than later, so I stopped by immediately after my meeting ended. I'm glad I did, too, as I got to see just how strong my little jumping bean has become."

To punctuate his statement, Vahn gave Ulla a kiss on the cheek, making a loud 'mwah' sound that caused her to giggle happily before returning the favor. At the same time, Luvia adopted a far more serious expression than before, asking, "Will they be announcing their full support of the Empire or is the intention to officiate the current Alliance?"

Rather than go into the finer details, Vahn set Ulla onto his shoulders before saying, "Unless you are busy, we can talk about it later. For now, how about we enjoy a light lunch? It's getting pretty close to lunchtime and I have some time on my hands."

Though he was generally very direct and honest with his children, Vahn didn't like talking about the affairs of the Empire in their presence. He liked to make them the center of attention, not bore them to death with long, and often droll, conversations.

Understanding his intentions, Luvia hopped over the top rope, landing smoothly next to him with a smile on her face as she answered, "Certainly! I'll have the chefs cook up something scrumptious~!"

Luvia wasn't particularly hungry but, as it was an excuse to spend time together, she wasn't going to pass on the opportunity. She and Vahn were generally very busy during the daylight hours so it had been a while since they dined together within the mansion. Though they almost always ate together during the evenings, it was hard to enjoy the moment to the fullest when there were between twenty and thirty people present...

Before Vahn and Luvia could wander off with Ulla, Olivia reminded them of her presence by saying in a firm tone, "Wait a minute you two love birds. Before you eat lunch, make sure to wash up properly. Don't go teaching Ulla any bad habits or I'll put you into a full nelson when you least expect it!"

Hearing Olivia's warning, Vahn just waved his hand, tiny beads of sweat pooling together from the bodies of Luvia and Ulla. At the same time, a fragrant aroma began to spread throughout the area, a technique he had stolen from Da Vinci. He had previously modified his 'Cleaning Magic' to have a deodorizing effect but, as the lack of an aroma caused a bit of incongruity, he spent a considerable amount of time learning how to infuse an aroma into his domain.

With Vahn seeing through her plan, Olivia clicked her tongue before hopping up and using the ropes to bounce herself backward. She landed nimbly on one of the corner posts before pointing down at Vahn in a theatrical way and proclaiming, "You can't use magic to solve everything! Be a responsible parent and take Ulla to take a bath! Don't the Japanese teach the importance of skinship between a parent and child!?"

Though Vahn was going to ignore Olivia's outburst, his plans changed when Ulla leaned against the top of his head, doing her best to look into his face as she said, "Daddy, let's go take a bath. I want to wash my hair and change my clothes."

Since his children's 'orders' were absolute, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, causing Ulla to bob happily. Before he alighted from the room, however, he looked toward Okita and Altera who, from the beginning, had been standing like a pair of statues at the side. The moment he turned his eyes toward them, they seemed to 'boot up', eagerly awaiting his next order.

Nipping any of Olivia's plans in the bud, Vahn adopted a somewhat malicious smile as he said, "Will the two of you please keep the Edelfelt Matriarch company? I wouldn't want her to feel lonely while Luvia and I take Ulla into the bath. Don't worry, we won't be too long. Until then, however, ensure we are not disturbed."

Hearing their Master's orders, Okita and Altera both nodded in understanding, the former saying, "I understand..." while the latter chimed a monotone, "I see...". Then, as if they had a highly advanced auto-targeting system, both girls locked onto the grimacing Olivia. She had been intending to invite herself into the bath but, as Okita and Altera were impossible to reason with, bypassing them would be all but impossible. If she made a serious effort to break into the bathroom, there was a very real chance they would become destructively hostile...

Satisfied with Olivia's response, Vahn turned away as Luvia followed behind, her amused laughter echoing throughout the expansive room. She enjoyed the interactions between her Grandmother and Vahn, even if it sometimes gave her a strong desire to reward her Grandmother with a fist to the top of her noggin. She, like Vahn, knew that Olivia was 'mostly' just playing around but, as there was a part of her that seriously vied for a chance to get a taste of her husband's 'godly' capabilities, she couldn't drop her guard...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Hyenas became the Kings of the Jungle','Wrestling is real, I swear~!','The ultimate matriarchal technique, 'Cougar Stalking Dragon'~!')