With nothing better to do until later in the evening, Vahn split his time between lounging about in the nursery, spending time with Seraphina and Usalia, and watching over Sarina and Nono.
Now that his contract with the No Names had come to an end, most of Sarina’s and Nono’s training would now take place within the Sage Dragon’s Hearth. To this end, he had them don uniforms that made them appear like young students in a military-sponsored magical academy.
When asked why they had to wear such uniforms during their training, Vahn answered similarly to the explanation that Chloe had given him all those years ago. Specifically, he told them that one of the most important steps to changing one’s mentality was changing their attire. If they were serious about pursuing the paths they had chosen, dressing the part was very important.
Fortunately, neither of the girls really protested the sudden change. Rather, ever since they learned he was the one making all of their clothes, they were generally grateful for everything he prepared for them. Sarina, in particular, had giggled rather creepily when she learned that even her bloomers and pumpkin pants had been hand-stitched by Vahn’s hands. As for Nono, she did her best to take care of every piece of clothing he gifted her as if they were some kind of treasure. After all, back in her previous world, fancy clothes were both exceptionally rare and valuable…
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In the midst of overseeing Sarina’s and Nono’s attempts to resuscitate a small bird, Vahn sensed a subtle fluctuation in the barrier surrounding the estate. Shortly thereafter, a gentle chiming could be heard to indicate that someone had entered their reception room.
Gesturing for Hime to relax, Vahn said, “I’ll take care of it.” before vanishing into thin air. He could have made another version of himself, but, unless he had something important to take care of, he generally limited himself to three vessels at a time.
“Welcome to the Sage Dragon’s Hearth. What can I do for you…?”
“Oh? I never expected a Pure-Blooded Dragon such as yourself to greet guests. It would seem the rumors regarding your eccentricity are true.”
Raising his brows, Vahn eyed the young man that had entered his store. He had dual-colored hair with a peculiar pattern of golden blond and black. It was styled in such a way that his bangs hung over his piercing blue eyes, and, despite appearing rather weak and wiry at first glance, a powerful aura emanated from his body. More specifically, it emanated from the stone pendant attached to the choker around his neck. As for his attire, well, he looked like a punk rock enthusiast.
“I’m not fond of repeating myself. If you’ve no business here, the door is right behind you.”
Batting his bangs like an arrogant young noble, the wannabe rockstar adopted an arrogant smile as he said, “You have something that belongs to me. I came to get it back.”
Furrowing his brows, Vahn’s teeth became noticeably sharper as he asked, “Is that so? Enlighten me, brat. What do I possess that belongs to you?”
Seemingly undaunted by Vahn’s toothy smile, the dual-haired man stepped forward and said, “The Pure-Blooded Vampire, Leticia. I don’t know what those idiots-”
Before the man could finish speaking, Vahn already had his hand around his neck, a vicious smile on his face as he exclaimed, “Wrong answer!”
Though he had no idea who the man was, Vahn didn’t particularly care. He was quite protective of his women, but, more than that, he disdained people who believed they had some inherent right to possess other people. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, he opened his mouth far wider than humanly possible as a rainbow-hued light built within his throat.
Fearing for his life, the dual-haired man pulled out a golden khopesh, but, even after striking Vahn directly in the face, it was the blade that cracked.
Just as a laser-like beam of light was about to erupt from Vahn’s mouth, a paper fan smacked him in the head with a surprising amount of force. This spared the man from having his head removed from his shoulders, but, due to the close proximity of the breath, all the hair on the left side of his head had been burnt to a crisp.
“Vahn! You can’t just ignore the rules…!”
Dropping the now catatonic man to the ground, Vahn looked back at Black Rabbit, Fenrir, and his other self with a wry smile on his face as he said, “I was going to revive him. I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Stamping her foot in frustration, Black Rabbit’s hair began to turn pink as she shouted, “You know I can’t just ignore such egregious violations! No means no…!”
Patting the frustrated bunny’s head, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression as he said, “Sorry…” in a gentle tone. This caused Black Rabbit to quickly regain her usual pep, but, before the atmosphere could turn rosy, the man on the ground recovered enough to point and exclaim, “You! Do you have any idea who it is you’re messing with!?”
“Do you…?”
Though he was momentarily silenced by the aura exuding from Vahn’s body, the dual-haired man managed to rise to his feet, cradling the burnt side of his face as he shouted, “I am Laius Perseus, Leader of the Legendary Perseus Community! You think you’re hot shit just because you managed to defeat a bunch of upstarts? I’ll have your head mounted above my bed so you can watch as I-”
Noticing the man’s sickly pink aura attempt to coil around Black Rabbit, Vahn slammed his hand into Laius’s chest with enough force to send him crashing through the front door. Fortunately, it was a lot more durable than the man in question, so, while he would need to perform some light maintenance on the hinges, the door was largely unscathed as it gently closed behind him.
“What a complete and utter nutjob. He nearly had his head blown off and still has the gall to pick a fight? Talk about a lack of awareness.”
“Vahn…”
Unamused by Vahn’s further breaking of the rules, Black Rabbit furrowed her brows with an angry pout on her face. This caused his expression to become awkward until a childish voice chimed in to say, “Calm your tits, Black Rabbit. That brat deserves everything coming to him.”
“Eh? Shiroyasha-sama!?”
Turning towards the direction of the voice, Black Rabbit was the only person surprised to see Shiroyasha seated atop the reception desk with a bag of rice crackers in her hand. She had been enjoying the show for quite some time, and, were it not for Black Rabbit’s timely interference, she would have been the one to intervene.
Ignoring Black Rabbit’s outburst, Shiroyasha stared directly at Vahn as she said, “We need to talk. Come by my office when you get a chance.”
Having said what she intended to say, Shiroyasha, alongside one of the Vahn’s, disappeared without a trace. This left Black Rabbit with a frustrated expression on her face, but, before she could throw a tantrum, Vahn handed her Luna and said, “Let’s go back. I’ve already closed the shop so there won’t be any additional interruptions. You’ve got a Gift Game to officiate this evening so you should try to relax as much as possible…”
Unable to stay mad with an infant in her arms, Black Rabbit quickly calmed down. In truth, she was still a little frustrated, but, having already decided to place her trust in Vahn, she elected to just let him and Shiroyasha settle things. After all, the only time Vahn really got angry was when someone attempted to threaten the people he cared about. If she stayed mad at him because he was worried about them, that would be a little silly…
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“Though I can’t say I’m surprised, this wasn’t what I had in mind when you said we needed to talk…”
Giggling in response to Vahn’s words, Shiroyasha nestled even closer to him as she said, “Words are the least meaningful way to communicate. Besides, you know damn well I can’t interfere in personal matters between Communities. Unless that idiot comes here or you purchase the information, there isn’t really anything to discuss…”
“I see…”
Enjoying the texture of Shiroyasha’s hose beneath his palms, Vahn gave her small yet pert buttocks a squeeze as he teasingly added, “Does this count as a form of payment…?”
Snickering in her characteristically mischievous manner, Shiroyasha linked her arms around Vahn’s, her cat-like eyes glistening as she mused, “That depends on whether or not you can satisfy me…”
Just as Vahn was reaching for the cord binding Shiroyasha’s obi, a gentle knocking could be heard from outside the room as Nadeshiko softly informed, “Shiroyasha-sama, you have a guest arriving from the Perseus Community. He is awaiting your presence in reception room three…”
“…”
Seeing the mischievous smile on Shiroyasha’s face, Vahn remained silent for several seconds before asking, “You really want me to teach this kid a lesson, don’t you?”
“Who knows~?”
Rising from Vahn’s lap, Shiroyasha playfully pinched his cheek before refastening the cord of her obi and making her way towards the room’s entrance. Before leaving, however, she pulled out the Omnipresent Remote, tossing it over as she said, “Just think about what you want to see and press the button. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you.”
Punctuating her statement with a wink, Shiroyasha opened the sliding bamboo door before joining Nadeshiko. This left Vahn alone in her room, a privilege no other person in the history of the Little Garden had been allowed.
Though he was tempted to just return home, Vahn dismissed that thought as he eyed the relatively plain-looking remote. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Shiroyasha’s omniscience covered most realities, so, after a moment of consideration, he shifted his attention towards the Omnipresent TV and turned it on.
“Oh my…”
Deciding to check in on what Gandr and Phae were up to, a wry smile developed across Vahn’s face as the display showed the former making out with Anak. They were both fully clothed but he wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Gandr’s hands were massaging the green-skinned girl’s butt as she eagerly reciprocated his kiss.
Changing the channel, Vahn was unsurprised to find Phae in the middle of forging what appeared to be a bracelet. What stood out about this particular scene was the fact she was wearing nothing but a blacksmithing apron without any other pieces of clothing on. This wasn’t particularly strange, but, seeing a half-dozen scantily clad women crowding around her, Vahn couldn’t help muttering, “Are all my Templates perverts…?”
Since he was primarily just joking around, Vahn nearly spat blood when he changed the channel to see what Roger was up to. He was among the people that had stayed behind in the Tower in order to experience their own journey. At the present moment, however, he, or, more specifically, she was currently laughing her ass off in the midst of several naked men and women.
“…”
Though he wasn’t one to judge, Vahn couldn’t help comparing Roger to Drake, the Admiral of his Imperial Armada. They were both exceptionally free-spirited, and, thanks to the technology of the Empire, Francis had been able to both sire and give birth to numerous children. This, alone, wasn’t enough to draw a direct comparison between her and Roger. However, seeing the rather prominent belly bump supported by the Templated Pirate King, most of the color drained from Vahn’s face as he promptly turned off the television…
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘Vahn is still on his journey to make the ultimate pair of panties…’,’Is that Peng Clan’s Young Master!?’,’The power to spy on anyone you want is both a blessing and a curse…’)
