Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos-Novel

Chapter 2083: Pandering: Behind the Scenes

"Vahn, Vahn, buy this for me~!"

Smiling in spite of the fact Seraphina had been dragging him around for several hours, Vahn stared down at the piece of jewelry that had caught her attention, asking, "Are you sure? I can easily forge you something similar..."

Giggling in response to Vahn's words, Seraphina nestled a little closer to him before saying, "It's not about the items we purchase. It's about sending a message to the masses. Besides, if you're serious about forging me something..."

Drawing her lips closer to Vahn's ear, Seraphina seductively whispered, "I'd rather you focus your efforts on making me a wedding band..."

Ever since Vahn had introduced her as his fiancee, Seraphina's body had been burning up from the inside. Instead of returning to the workshop to have a bit of fun, however, she forced him to take her on a date. After all, she was the Supreme Overlord of Gorgeous. She would feel itch if she didn't spend a lot of money. Since Vahn had a functionally unlimited amount of resources, Seraphina felt it was only natural that they flaunt their wealth in front of others.

Returning a smile of his own, Vahn waved down the store clerk, a young woman with blonde hair, pointed ears, and emerald-green eyes. If not for the fact she was around 140cm tall, she could have easily been mistaken as an Elf. Instead, Vahn supposed she was something like a halfling or a half-breed between an Elf and a Dwarf.

"Y-Yes...? H-How might I be of assistance...?"

Since Seraphina stood out like a polished gemstone among a pile of unpolish opal, she and Vahn had garnered a considerable amount of attention with their public displays of affection. The people of the East Side were relatively conservative compared to the other regions of the Little Garden so it was rare to see a couple happily flirting without any regard for their surroundings.

Earning an amorous giggle from Seraphina and a blank look from the petite blonde, Vahn inclined his head towards the display case, asking, "How much for everything?"

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While Seraphina was satisfied with shopping, at least until they returned, there was really only one thing on Usalia's mind these days. Thus, the moment they entered the workshop, she immediately pounced on Vahn before they even left the foyer. She was feeling frustrated after having hundreds of people staring at her with lust-filled eyes, so, now that they were alone together, she was unable to hold herself back.

Fortunately, Vahn wasn't oblivious. He was well aware of the condition she was in, so, the moment Usalia pounced on him, he teleported them to her bedroom before his back could hit the ground. As a result, he ended up landing on her bed as the voracious bunny used her inordinately fluffy yet deadly paws to tear at his clothes with a voracious expression on her face. This might sound like an exaggeration, but it really wasn't. After getting a taste of him the previous night, there was literally a line of drool running from the side of her mouth as she eyes him with a hungry glimmer in her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one eating you up..."

Stopping in the middle of tearing apart Vahn's tunic, Usalia tilted her head to the side, her rabbit-like ears following her movement as she asked, "Did I do something wrong, plip...?"

Though she was familiar with matters related to sex, all of Usalia's experience was with Vahn. Thus, the moment she heard his words, she briefly believed she had made a mistake.

Smiling in response to the befuddled bunny's inquiry, Vahn sat up so that Usalia was straddling his lap before answering, "I don't particularly mind, but there's no need to be so aggressive. We have a few hours until I need to go pick up the girls. Let's take things nice and slow."

Despite believing that sex was supposed to be a passionate affair comparable to a climactic battle, Usalia didn't hesitate to nod her head, answering, "Okay, plip."

With his expression softening, Vahn pulled Usalia in for a prolonged, tender, and affectionate hug. This left her feeling slightly confused, but, after a few seconds had passed, she eventually wrapped her arms around him. Then, for the better part of half an hour, Vahn simply held her in his embrace, gently caressing her back before removing his tunic and silently guiding her mouth to his shoulder in a manner similar to how he might treat Eva when she was feeling pouty...

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With his time split between training the No Names, taking care of the workshop, and tending to the needs of his growing number of women, Vahn could feel the days beginning to blend together. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Rather, he quite enjoyed being busy. He didn't actually require sleep, so, even when he had time to rest, he would generally go and hang out with Shiroyasha so that she wouldn't feel lonely.

If there was anything that Vahn felt troubled by, it was the rapid progression of Usalia's pregnancy. He had seriously underestimated a Wererabbit's reproductive capabilities. It had only been a week since they started having sex yet her stomach had begun to swell as though she was in her seventh week of pregnancy. Even more frightening was the fact that she had a total of twelve little buns in the oven, far more than he had anticipated.

In hindsight, Vahn realized that he shouldn't have underestimated Usalia's desire to fill multiple planets with their offspring. It turned out that Wererabbits had a gestation period of around 42 days. Even more terrifying was the fact that their 'average' litter size was around five kittens, the colloquial term given for rabbit babies. When environmental factors were in their favor, however, the total number of kittens they could give birth to often exceeded ten with the record being a startling twenty-seven. When you factored in that they could become pregnant mere hours after giving birth, it was no wonder that Wererabbits were among the most infamous races in the entire Netherworld when it came to their reproductive ability...

Fortunately, Vahn had managed to convince Usalia to treat her first litter with the same care and attention her parents had given to her. In other words, they would raise her first twelve kittens to maturity before worrying about producing more. He convinced her this was to allow her to accrue experience, but, in reality, Vahn was genuinely concerned that she would pop out more than thirty children by the time the problem children arrived.

As ridiculous as it might seem, Vahn realized that Usalia could literally produce more than a million offspring by the time the first generation reaches maturity around the age of 1500. In other words, she hadn't been exaggerating in the slightest when she suggested filling multiple planets with their offspring. She was willing to do whatever it took to ensure her species wasn't pushed to the brink of extinction a second time, even if it meant giving birth to millions...

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While most of the people present were watching Usalia caress her small yet noticeable baby bump, Vahn did his best to keep everyone focused as he explained, "There are less than two days until the Gift Game hosted by Leviathan's Tail. Given...recent developments, the people participating will be Fenrir, Hime, and myself."

Adopting a slightly pouty look, Seraphina was about to object when Vahn focused his gaze on her and said, "I want you to look after the No Names and keep Usalia safe. Don't worry. This is only the beginning. Once the name Sage Dragon's Hearth begins to spread, the entire Divine Realm will be talking about the beautiful Demon Goddess managing its treasury." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovelꜰɪre.ɴet

Hearing that she would be in charge of the treasury, Seraphina's pointed ears began to wiggle ever so slightly as she enthusiastically replied, "Of course~! It's only natural that the wealthiest Overlord in the Three Realms would be placed in charge of our Community's finances! Oh-hohohohohoho~!"

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn made a mental note to construct a vanity vault for Seraphina before going on to explain, "We won't know the details until the game has begun, but the basic format follows the King-of-the-Hill ruleset. The Community that occupies the centermost position on the Game Board at the game's end will be declared the victor. As for the time limit and any other victory conditions, we'll have to wait and see. Every Host Community tends to include some kind of gimmick to give themselves the advantage in situations like this. Any questions?"

As one of the people who would be participating, Hime raised her hand, waiting for permission to speak before asking, "Is there a plan for if we get separated? Though our individual might should far exceed that of our opponents, we could be placed at a disadvantage if the other Communities combine their efforts to oppose us."

Smiling in response to Hime's words, Vahn pushed his chair away from the table a bit before using his Unit Management to teleport the befuddled beauty directly into his lap. Sarina and Nono were having a sleepover with Lily so he didn't have to worry about the former blowing up if he resorted to a bit of playful theatrics.

With the tips of her ears turning red, Hime averted her eyes from Vahn as she muttered, "My Lord..." in a nervous yet slightly heated tone. She wasn't accustomed to public displays of affection, so, with Black Rabbit, Fenrir, Usalia, and Seraphina staring at her with envious expressions on their faces, she felt as though she had suddenly been asked to give a speech to a crowd of thousands.

Enjoying Hime's reaction, Vahn placed his right hand on her hip as if it were the most natural thing to do as he explained, "I possess the ability to freely teleport my companions to my side. I can also freely teleport people within space designated as my territory. The best part is that this ability has nothing to do with spatial transference. Even if the enemy tries to block it, I can still call you to my side whenever I please..."

Swallowing audibly in response to Vahn's words, Hime began to realize that her Lord was in one of his 'active' states. This caused the agonizing heat that had already begun to permeate through her body to drastically increase in intensity. Most of her nervousness began to fade away, and, though she was still hyper-aware of everyone else's gazes, she responded to Vahn's words by leaning into his embrace with an expression that could best be described as puppy eyes.

"Well then...if there are no further questions..."

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While Vahn was enjoying the company of five remarkable beauties, a youthful-looking woman with a petite frame, long golden hair, red eyes, and a disposition reminiscent of an emotionless doll was staring up at the full moon visible from the window of her cell. Since the only piece of 'clothing' she was wearing was a large black ribbon and the manacles around her neck, wrists, and ankles, it was possible to see that there wasn't a single sign of injury anywhere on her body.

"My, my, it seems our favorite Knight has found herself in a rather pitiable situation...ufufufufufu~."

Accompanied by the sound of chains grinding against each other, the chained beauty turned her attention towards the hooded figure that had appeared outside her cell. This caused the smile on the person's face to become more prominent, their voice simultaneously feminine with masculine undertones as they said, "You're in luck. It would appear our mutual acquaintance was wrong. Not only did the No Names not take the bait, but your little predicament has drawn the attention of a rather...peculiar individual. This may very well be the last time we see each other for quite some time. I'm going to miss you, Princess..."

Believing that the woman was just trying to give her false hope, the golden-haired beauty simply returned her attention to the moon lingering in the sky. This caused the hooded figure to chuckle, her sonorous laughter echoing through the prison even after she disappeared into the shadows...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Seraphina is a hoarder...','Usalia be like, "Stonks...!','Longing beneath the light of the Moon...')