Using his new [Lapidary] Development Ability to his advantage, Vahn spent close to two hours cutting and polishing red beryls for the twins before affixing them to necklaces. So that they had some functional qualities, he left a small Orichalc.u.m sphere inside the center of the beryls and filled the core with a drop of his own crystallized blood. The final product looked a little bit like a bloody teardrop since the beryl was supposed to hang freely and Vahn didn't want the girls to get scratched by any faceted edges. When he was finished, Vahn named the pendants [Beryl Teardrop]s since he couldn't come up with a better name within a short period of time…
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[Beryl Teardrop]
Rank: C
Slots: 0
P.Def: 0
M.Def: 170
Abilities: Light Emission(C), Magic Vessel(C)
A simple pendant forged by a [Master Smith] using uncommon techniques. Though small, it can shine like the light of hope during times of duress.
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Though they didn't look like great treasures, Vahn found the simple design to be very beautiful as he always preferred simplicity that belied complexity. When he had more time, Vahn intended to forge pendants that were more suitable to the two inordinately loyal girls. They may not act like it all the time, but Maemi and Emiru were somewhat similar to Mikoto in the fact they wanted to become his weapons and guardians. Even without his assistance, they were quickly reaching near the peak of Level 2 and weren't far from obtaining Level 3 through their own efforts. Though they previously teamed up with Arnya, they typically ventured into the Dungeon with Lunoire and had become a terror for monsters between the 1st and 23rd Floors.
Since there was still a bit of time before dinner, Vahn decided to do what he considered the most sensible thing and avoided his first instinct of going to help out in the kitchen. The twins had been very 'cautious' of him all day and Vahn didn't want to set them off or cause any accidents to happen. Instead, he headed up to the third-floor balcony and just relaxed until it was nearly time for dinner. He spent his time looking out at the surrounding buildings and observing the Manor's belonging to the other gods of the Alliance in the distance. Though they were separated by residential districts and various shops, each Manor was relatively large and they weren't difficult to see from a high vantage. Most notable was Anubis', as it had the closest proximity and was a giant pyramid structure that stood out from the surrounding buildings…
Thinking of Anubis, Vahn felt like he needed to treat her better when she officially moved into the Manor in the future. She seemed intent to 'serve' him for the rest of his life, which likely would continue indefinitely into the future, so Vahn wanted to make her happy. Like Fenrir, Fafnir, and Terra, she was a very loyal and faithful 'subordinate' that would potentially be at his side for all eternity. Unless he could break her free from the constraints of her Divinity, she would likely feel 'compelled' to serve him for a period of time Vahn couldn't really imagine.
Fortunately, by the time he returned to the Danmachi record in the far future, Vahn would be near the peak of Tier 6, or potentially even at the starting point of Tier 7, enabling him to easily break such vows and free the gods from the burden of their Divinity. Though it might take him thousands of years to return, Vahn knew that he would be able to remove the shackles from the gods in a period likely less than one-hundred years, at least from their perspective since he intended to freeze the world with a dimensional anchor.
As he was often in a position to think about the future, especially after experiencing the Divination, Vahn had already considered what he would be doing when he traveled to other records in the future. He had originally wanted to visit a variety of different worlds that he found interesting, but those 'seemingly' interesting worlds had lost a bit of their vibrancy at this point. Now, he loved the life he was currently living and he wanted to do his best for all the women who had shown him so much love and affection. He would now focus on worlds that could help him increase his strength, preferably those that he could also bring about great change and save those he felt obligated to save, such as Eva.
Vahn thought about Eva a lot whenever he was alone since she was the person that had experienced the most similar suffering as his own. She had been exploited by people, forced away from her home, and grew up without the love of others simply because someone had found her 'interesting'. Since her world was Tier 5, Vahn could become much stronger if he reached the pinnacle of that world. However, before he went there, Vahn needed to increase his strength in another record so he would be able to contest against the Mage of the Beginning shortly after entering the world. Unless Eva herself wanted him to go to a timeline when she had already suffered from the curse, Vahn wanted to prevent the event in its entirety. Though he may lose the love of the original Eva, as she would just be the young daughter of a noble, Vahn didn't want to be selfish simply because he fell in love with her future self's memory fragment…
It was difficult to imagine how his mindset would change, but Vahn expected he would mature a lot over the years and this would greatly affect how he treated other records. Instead of simply allowing himself to be dragged along by the plot of a record, Vahn expected he would become the type to take decisive action to bring about change in the worlds. Since the records he visited would likely become linked with him through The Path, Vahn wanted to make sure the worlds he visited were better for his presence rather than having them become worse. He would strive to break apart the corrupt structure of various governments, likely overthrow kings, or potentially topple entire Empires. As long as he could restore hope to the common people of the world, Vahn didn't mind 'suffering' against the influence of Karma on their behalf.
Since it was nearing time for dinner, Vahn ran his fingers through his hair and enjoyed the breeze one last time before heading inside to join the others. Thinking about matters of the far future helped him calm his mind greatly and he now felt more confident about the actions he was taking right now. Tonight was yet another step forward on the path he had decided for himself and Vahn didn't want to stumble so soon after he found his resolve to oppose the flow of fate and bear the burdens of the world itself. Fortunately, even if he stumbled a bit, Vahn was surrounded by capable women who would always help him find his footing once again…
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Dinner was a relatively lively affair but there weren't any significant events other than Tiona's endless endeavor to find Lefiya's limits when it came to her 'Gourmand' curse. Lefiya had long grown accustomed to Tiona's behavior at this point and happily ate almost anything that was offered to her, especially if it came from Ais. Though it wasn't often, Lefiya sometimes came to his workshop and talked about her thoughts and actions. She had become somewhat chatty when they were alone together and even sat right next to him when they were talking. Vahn sometimes teased her, though it wasn't because he wanted to 'bully' her since Lefiya herself had asked him to do so on occasion so she could get used to it. His most effective method was to mention the 'heavy petting' slip she had been holding onto, generally causing her to immediately turn beet red for several minutes…
After dinner came to an end, Vahn immediately headed toward his room since he knew the twins would need to make preparations of their own before coming to him. They had been eyeing him throughout the meal and everyone present at the dinner table had been very aware of it. Many of the more mature girls gave them teasing looks that caused the two typically stable girls to become somewhat bashful and avoid conversing with others. Fortunately, everyone avoided talking about it directly because they understood it was a moment that needed to be shared between Vahn and the two girls, not something they should get involved with by teasing them. Of course, tomorrow would be fair game and it was highly likely that everyone other than Preasia would be 'bullying' them all day.
For nearly an hour, much longer than he actually expected to be waiting, Vahn sat inside his room and contemplated the best method to tend to the two girls. He knew from the evening they had shared the same bed that the girls didn't have the same disposition as Anubis, which had been a bit of a surprise. They were the type that didn't mind being teased but wanted to reciprocate with actions of their own instead of 'suffering' one-sidedly. The best thing he could do for them would be to take the initiative and 'pretend' to be a bit selfish to satiate their 'service' mentality. If he sought them somewhat 'selfishly', Vahn knew the girls would be very happy and would walk away from the evening with a powerful memory to fuel their somewhat overactive imaginations…
By the time their presences had appeared outside his door, Vahn had already mentally prepared himself and assumed the air of a 'Master' with an 'immoral' relationship with his own maids. As he expected, the twins showed up in full maid attire and, soon after entering the room, bowed low in a very practiced manner as they said, "Master, please forgive us for our late arrival. We got a bit carried away in cleaning our bodies…" Though they had apologetic expressions, Vahn's eyes were fixed to the fluffy long tails of the girls that tantalizingly swayed in an almost perfect mirror of each other. Their synchronicity through their [Gemini] had been getting increasingly refined and their coordinated actions always made Vahn feel very intrigued by the two lovable Snow Leopard girls.
Vahn was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, leaning against his own palm while looking at the two girls with deep intrigue etched into his face. It wasn't difficult to 'pretend' that he was interested in them because the truth of the matter was that he was already 'very' interested in them. They were very unique and Vahn was incredibly curious about them, both as individuals and twins that shared an incredible bond through their Innate. With a slightly infatuated look on his face and a glint in his eyes, Vahn dismissively waved his hand and said, "I know the two of you were simply doing your best to properly prepare yourselves before coming here. Don't mind it too much, as I'm grateful for your efforts…"
Maemi and Emiru raised their heads and had matching smiles on their faces as their tails overlapped and curled behind their backs before making a heart shape, something they had practiced several times to appeal to him. Vahn squinted his eyes and said, "You two are so unbelievably adorable…tell me honestly, what is it that you desire? If it's within my power, I will grant your wishes…" Though he had expected them to 'play' along, Maemi and Emiru surprised him by looking toward each other with thoughtful expressions for several long seconds. Vahn felt a little left out and could feel a strange pressure spreading through the room suddenly. When their conversation came to an end, Vahn saw Emiru's eyes change into an icy blue color before she burst into similarly colored particles and completely vanished.
Maemiru smiled with a strangely predatory look in her eyes and a much larger aura than the two individual ones that had been present when they were split. Currently, in their fused state, Maemiru had a total of 14,608 parameters and they had the equivalent strength of a Level 5 based on parameters alone. They weren't nearly as strong as Vahn himself, but he could still feel the pressure radiating from their body and the underlying sense of danger they represented. Fortunately, their devotion toward him was even stronger when they fused and, though she gave him a somewhat 'predatory' look, Vahn felt very at ease and wasn't worried they would try anything 'funny'.
Though he had some idea of what they were thinking, Vahn received the answer from the girls' mouth before he even asked the question. Maemiru began walking toward the bed with very slow steps as they explained in a sultry and seductive tone, "We decided that our first time with Master would be 'together'…even if our senses are linked, it would be very lonely to lose our v.i.r.g.i.nities at different times. It feels more meaningful like this and we believe Master can help us maintain the form even if we exert ourselves~." By the time their words had finished, Maemiru had reached the edge of the bed and began crawling toward Vahn with a 'hungry' look in their eyes.
Vahn expected something like this to happen at some point but he was somewhat surprised things were going to start with them fused together. Thinking about it, Vahn could understand their thought process and understood it would actually strengthen their bond greatly if they lost their v.i.r.g.i.nities together instead of separately. If they didn't break the link, their h.y.m.e.ns would have still been broken at the same time, but Vahn would have only been making love to one of them. This was a 'better' method since it was a similar outcome but they could now experience it together instead.
With a smile on his face, Vahn didn't shy away under the girls' gaze and casually said, "If that is your desire, I won't back down…it is a little unfortunate though…" Hearing the first part of his words, Maemiru's eyes shone with an expectant light before confusion appeared on their face immediately thereafter. Vahn dashed away their confusion in an instant when he produced the two [Beryl Teardrop]s, causing Maemiru's expression to freeze as she processed what her eyes were seeing. Almost as if compelled by an irresistible force, their body shone with a magical light before Emiru 'plopped' into existence next to Maemi's body. Vahn's smile widened greatly and he explained, "I want to respect your heritage, even if you left it behind when you came to the City. Though they aren't the highest quality items I've forged, they are the first necklaces I formed using my new Development Ability. Please, accept this gift as a display of the affection I feel for the two of you…"
Maemi and Emiru stared at the pendants in Vahn's hands with somewhat teary-eyed expressions as the 'mewled', "Master…" in an almost sobbing tone. Before Vahn was able to lean forward and place the pendants around their necks, the twins moved forward at the same time and hugged his body as he fell backward on the bed. They rubbed their cheeks against his in an oscillating manner and Vahn could feel their auras wrapping around him as the passionate red took on a vibrant and happy yellow. Though it was a bit of an unexpected development, Vahn didn't mind taking things slow so he hugged the girls around their waists and comforted them for a while until they were able to calm themselves…
After around twenty minutes, Maemi and Emiru had managed to collect themselves and looked much happier than they had been previously. They had been very tense when they first entered the room and decided to 'act' boldly in order to ease their tensions. Now, after feeling the care and affection Vahn had for them, they had calmed down a great deal and were affectionately staring at the pendants Vahn had placed around their necks. In their tribe, this would have essentially made them married, even though their culture didn't actually have 'traditional' marriages that were validated by governing bodies.
Vahn sat in front of the two bubbly girls and watched them affectionately until they finally turned their attention back to him. He smiled in response and said, "Don't apologize…I'm happy that you're so pleased with my gift. Thanks for accepting it, Maemi, Emiru…" The twins had 'forgotten' their self-imposed status for a moment and were about to apologize for making Vahn 'wait' for them yet again. However, he had easily seen through them and kept the momentum in his favor, effectively silencing the two girls as they struggled to think of how they 'should' be acting. Vhan saw they slightly chaotic auras and reached out his hands, stroking the two girls' heads as he softly said, "There is no need to push yourselves to behave in a certain way…we can worry about that later. For now, just be happy since your smiling faces are very beautiful."
Maemi and Emiru showed complicated expressions on their faces and Vahn could see their auras transition from yellow, through pink, and clear into the color of a passionate red in several short seconds. They sent each other a look before saying, "Master, we want to be with you even more now…please don't force us to wait even longer…" Considering that they could actually just 'relax' after the fact, Vahn didn't have any intention of making them wait so he nodded his head and said, "Sure, but I'd like it if the two of you put on a bit of a show before fusing together. I feel like seeing two naughty maids doing a striptease would satisfy my sensibilities a great deal…"
Vahn had immediately transitioned back into the 'act' he had decided up at first and it seemed very effective as both girls' eyes shone with a fervent light. They quickly opened up a bit of a distance from him and remained kneeling on the bed as they stared into each other's eyes for several seconds. Vahn had learned that this was not only a form of communication between them but also allowed them to 'synchronize' their thoughts better. The reason why they often looked toward each other was essentially so they could 'plan' their future actions by overlapping their wills. Thus, after around twenty seconds of silence, they both turned toward him with seductive smiles as they began to strip away each individual piece of their maid outfits…
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Lapidary Represent!','Forward Thinking','Gemini In Action')
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