Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With the fall of one of the Three Monarchal families, the Mage's Association had gone through a tumultuous phase. Several smaller factions ended up banding together to form a united front while those that had been biding their time and consolidating power quickly assimilated the Barthomeloi family's assets into their own. This had led to several small scale conflicts but, fearing what would happen if they stood out too much, even the Trambelio and Valualeta families didn't stick out their necks too far.

Without a leader, the Noble Faction had experienced a significant loss in influence within the Clock Tower but, after a series of political maneuvers, the Sophia-Ri family had managed to pull them back together. Still, the Noble Faction was a shadow of its former self and, with the other two Monarchal Lords turning a deaf ear to their plight, they were forced to become a far more moderate party.

Fortunately, the majority of students and families associated with the Clock Tower were not Nobles so, while one faction struggled, the other two had seized power for themselves. Though these two factions, the Neutral and Democratic, were actually backed by two remaining Monarchal Lords, it was still a marked improvement in the minds of many. This was especially so for the commoners that had been attending the Clock Tower as, without the Noble Faction suppressing them, they had a lot of freedom compared to the past.

Despite this newfound freedom, not every student was content and, believing they would have the opportunity to flee to the emergent Empire in the future, they abstained from joining any of the current factions. This earned them a fair amount of ridicule by fellow students and staff alike but, with Waver reinstated as a teacher, albeit without his title of Lord, this fourth faction had already grown to accommodate nearly three hundred members.

Waver, the former Lord El-Melloi II, had made a full recovery after Vahn's treatment. The Edelfelt family had also managed to track down the freelance Magus that had cursed him and, with the fall of the Barthomeloi family, he wasn't in any real danger. Rather, due to his presumed association with the Empire, his status within the Clock Tower had grown a considerable amount, even exceeding his highest point as a Lord.

The biggest factor behind Waver's current popularity was that, despite not being a Lord, he was still the Department Head of the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory. He also had powerful connections amongst other Department Heads, including Marisbury Animusphere, Rocco Belfeban, and, after the death of Barthomeloi Lorelei, the new Head of the Faculty of Policies, Gordolf Musik.

Lord Musik had cut ties with the Noble Faction almost immediately after the duel between Artoria and Lorelei, an action that had placed his family into a difficult position. However, with the support of the Edelfelt family, and their now faux-immortal Homunculi, they had managed to tide through the backlash. His biggest challenge had been contending against Hishiri Adashino, one of the Chief Executives in the Faculty of Policies, but she had eventually been restrained by her family after a very brief conflict.

Now, the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory was the heart of a budding faction and, while tensions were steadily building, they had been able to avoid any serious altercations. After all, nobody wanted to be the first to stick their head out when the ambitions of the Empire were still unknown. They had all adopted a 'wait and see' approach to the situation, believing it wouldn't be long before Vahn and his Empire entered the scene once again.

---

A stark contrast to what others might expect from the 'terrifying and domineering Emperor', Vahn currently found himself in a rather compromising position. This was due to the fact that, after she had secured victory in both Leagues, Scáthach had made a difficult request of him. As a result, he found himself dragging a 20m tall statue made of pure gold behind him, his own [Enkidu] binding his body to seal the majority of his powers.

Scáthach's request was to allow her to give him a series of challenges, each designed to allow him to break through his limits. Her ultimate 'wish' was for him to make good on his promise and, while she still had the intention of teaching him, Scáthach had now given him a ten-year limit to exceed her. If he failed to do so, Vahn would be required to grant her the death she sought while, in the event he succeeded, she demanded a child in exchange for forcing her to continue living...

Vahn had a lot of mixed feelings regarding Scáthach's request but, as he believed ten years was more than enough time, he ultimately accepted her terms. Now, after completing his first challenge, which required him to survive having a hundred spears stabbed into his body, he was undertaking Scáthach's second test. In total, there were supposed to be twelve challenges and, much like the labor's of Heracles, she promised he would be exponentially stronger if he managed to survive all twelve of them...

Despite the sealing effects of [Enkidu], Vahn had noticed a long time ago that his powers were not fully restricted by the resplendent golden chains. After all, his Source Energy was a form of energy that transcended the Tier system so, while [Enkidu] could even seal gods and temporarily bind Tier 5 entities, it could never completely restrict his power.

Scáthach was aware of this as well so, as part of his second challenge, Vahn had been required to bind himself in Enkidu as he dragged behind a statue weighing nearly 1,000,000kg over a course of 100km. This was far more than he could lift even in his unsealed state so, if not for the fact that the bottom of the statue and the top of the ground were extremely smooth, he would be completely helpless.

Still, each step Vahn took felt like moving a literal mountain and, with even his [Magia Erebea] state sealed, sweat poured from his brow with each step. This was his fourth day of pulling the massive statue of Scáthach and, though it was a distance he could normally cover in an instant, Vahn had only made it thirty-seven kilometers. Though he hadn't been spending all his time pulling the statue, as there were other matters that required his attention, it was still an arduous and painful process.

The most frustrating part of the experience, at least in Vahn's opinion, was that the goal seemed so tantalizingly close. He could see the guidepost in the distance at all times but, no matter how much effort he put into pulling the massive statue, it never seemed to get any closer. He even suspected that Scáthach had placed some kind of enchantment on the statue but, as she wasn't the type to use such underhanded methods, he continued forward at a snail's pace until he reached the 40km mark and called it a day.

After having Okita undo the lock preventing him from removing [Enkidu], Vahn's body began to emit a large volume of steam, almost as if a pipe had burst. Then, after a few seconds, the steam began to retract like an implosion, forcing its way back into his body as his muscles regenerated completely.

Despite the fact he didn't have any sweat on his body, Vahn allowed Gareth to wipe his body with a chilled towel, something he always found very refreshing. She also seemed to enjoy it quite a bit so, as thanks for them accompanying him during the mind-numbing challenge, he didn't mind giving her a few benefits.

Once his body had dried off, Vahn ruffled Gareth's hair affectionately as he said, "Let us return. I'll have you wash my back and then we can all go grab a bite to eat."

Gareth immediately perked up when she heard Vahn's words, an excited smile spreading across her face as she exclaimed, "Yes, Master~!" in a chipper tune. She actually enjoyed bathing with him quite a bit and, as her hands were inordinately soft, Vahn was also quite fond of her care.

---

While Vahn had made sure to prevent the advent of communal bathing within the castle, this didn't prevent him from enjoying the company of others. There was a large circular bath installed in the Menagerie that could easily fit upwards of ten people so, whenever he wanted to relax and enjoy a nice soak, Vahn had developed a habit of stopping by. Since this was also an opportunity for him to spend time with the girls inhabiting the Menagerie, he usually stopped by at least once a cycle.

At this point, the number of people residing in the Menagerie had increased from three to seven as Gareth, Medea, Okita, and Hati had now taken up residence within. Since Gareth and Hati had the traits of animals, they had quickly been 'scouted' by the trio living within but, due to her desire to stay with her Aunt, Medea had also moved into an attached room. She shared this space with Penelo and, while she was a very bashful girl, there were times when even Medea would join them all in the bath. As for Okita, it was simply the most convenient place for her to stay as, while she did not really care about other people, the members of the Menagerie were easier to associate with than the other residents of the castle.

This time around, Circe, Medusa, and Medea happened to be absent from the Menagerie and, after a cursory scan, Vahn found them accompanying Iris in the Library. Circe had Penelo with her as well so Vahn enjoyed the bath with Gareth, Okita, and Hati. The latter usually spent most of her time inside the Menagerie so, every time Vahn stopped by, he found her lounging about lazily in nothing but her panties and one of his stolen shirts.

Despite having the ability to form clothes using a [REquip] system, Vahn knew that there were quite a number of girls in the castle who liked to steal his laundry. In fact, when he had tried to change to using the [REquip] system exclusively, they had even sent Artoria as a spokesperson to confront him on the matter. The strangest part of this was that he didn't even produce a discernible scent as, with his [Magia Erbea] constitution, his sweat itself returned to his body...

Figuring it was just a quirk that some girls developed towards the person they liked, Vahn decided to let the matter lay since it ultimately didn't matter. He actually liked to see the girls wear his clothing and, in order to make the most of it, started wearing button-up or form-fitting clothing. Thus, when he arrived in the Menagerie to relax for a bit, Vahn found Hati wearing black lace panties and a dark grey button-up shirt with all of the buttons undone. This allowed her tight abdominal muscles to be visible which, when combined with her mature figure, gave her a considerable amount of sex appeal, something she was very aware of.

---

While Vahn was enjoying his moment of relaxation, Circe's pointed ears had perked up slightly as a small frown marred her otherwise flawless face. This was immediately noticed by Iris who, by now, had a very good understanding of the Demigoddess' mentality.

Never missing the opportunity to tease someone, Iris had her usual smile as she mused, "If you like, I can watch over Penelo for you. She is a well-behaved child so I don't mind at all~"

With Iris' words, Medea and Medusa also picked up on what was going on, causing the latter to hop up from her spot while the former had a deep hue of red spread across her cheeks.

Medusa was not going to miss out on spending time with her Master so, with her laughter echoing through the corridors, she quickly alighted from the Library. This caused Circe to snort through her nose as she muttered in a subdued voice, "Traitor...!"

Despite her apparent frustration, Circe already had an excuse for her own departure so, while she was more than a little annoyed by the fact Iris was teasing her, she gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead before passing her over to the pale-haired woman. Afterward, she turned to Medea, her ire tempered for a brief moment as she asked, "Will you join us...?"

Though she would sometimes agree when they were all together in the Menagerie, Medea quickly shook her head this time around before burying her face into her hands and saying, "I don't think that is a good idea..." in a sheepish tone of voice. This caused Circe to roll her eyes slightly as, while others may be fooled by Medea's behavior, she knew her niece better than anyone. Still, she wasn't going to force the issue as it was still a little early to start pushing her to take more decisive action...

With nothing to say on the matter, Circe just gave a small nod before gesturing toward Iris with her eyes. Iris understood her intentions well so she just shooed Circe away with a knowing smile on her face. In truth, she was also interested in joining in on the fun but, until her daughter made progress in her own relationship, the most she could do was tease Vahn and the others a bit.

Thinking about her daughter, Iris rose to her own feet, catching Medea's attention before she asked, "Will you accompany me to check on my daughter? I'm certain she will appreciate the company. I'd like the two of you to be friends in the future so it would make me happy if you spent some time with her~"

As it was a good opportunity to clear her own head, Medea agreed to Iris' request with a demure smile and a small nod. This actually wasn't the first time she had been asked to visit Illya and, as she found Alchemy quite interesting, Medea had no problem stopping by. She also found Illya to be very cute so, while it was a little unnerving to see the girl floating naked in a vat of green fluid, it was also a little exciting...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Nobody wants to fuck with the Empire xD...','Scáthach is brutal','Vahn is living the dream (x _ x)...')

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