Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With little more to do than waiting for the Workshop Battle to begin, Vahn took advantage of his few remaining days of peace to explore Sepia Island and the surrounding tourist destinations. He had always enjoyed the natural beauty of the world, so, with the 30th Floor being known as one of the most beautiful places prior to reaching the 100th Floor, it would be remiss of him not to explore while he had the opportunity.

Unfortunately, even after having the Law of Identity turn into various high ranking members of the Workshop, Vahn was unable to locate the island that served as both the final tournament grounds and the location of the Thorn fragment. Only the Archimedes, one of the five great Suspend Ships belonging to the Workshop, knew of the island's location. Even Headon, the caretaker of the entire Tower, was ultimately unable to pinpoint its location as there was a powerful contract in effect that effectively prohibited him from being aware of it.

Though she was able to get around most restrictions, one of the few things even the Law of Identity couldn't do was violate the contracts that often bound powerful entities. In other words, if they had taken a vow of silence or promised to safeguard certain information, she would be unable to reveal it to others. After all, for the period in which she adopted the identities of others, she had effectively become them, Innates, contracts, and everything else included.

Fortunately, one week prior to the start of the Workshop Battle, the city-sized Archimedes finally made its appearance in the skies above Sepia Island. Shortly thereafter, the Regulars who had been conserving their Points began to flood into the island in such quantities that virtually every hotel on the entire island was booked solid. Those who couldn't afford a room temporarily became vagrants that wandered the streets, unable to rest due to the Workshop patrols that prohibited people from setting up camp and sleeping outdoors or venturing beyond the city limits.

With an excess of Points in his possession, Vahn was one of the few who had been able to secure comfortable lodgings well in advance of the Workshop Battle. He had also received an invitation to participate directly from the Workshop, a boon afforded to only the Top 100 E-Rank Regulars. As for his current Rank, he was, curiously enough, Ranked behind a Regular known as Varagarv, the Mad Dog of Yama. The latter had been the 'strongest' E-Rank Regular for more than a hundred years, his status uncontested due to a rumor that only a Princess of Jahad could hope to defeat him.

Vahn found it a little amusing that people genuinely considered Varagarv to be the highest seed in the coming competition. Even more amusing was the fact that the man had been commissioned by FUG to be one of the Regulars assigned to 'deal' with him. This was in spite of the fact that many in the organization tied him to the events that happened on the 21st Floor, an incident where he had literally defeated two High Rankers...

---

While everyone else was stressing about the upcoming tournament, Vahn couldn't help but smile wryly as he stared down at the port city from the balcony of his suite. The reason for this particular expression was the woman sunbathing behind him, her body on full display due to her vibrant red bikini that left very little to the imagination.

Despite numerous protests, Yuri's methods of 'protecting' him had become increasingly bold over the past few weeks. Two days prior, she had even dragged him around the various shopping centers to peruse the items being sold by the Workshop. She argued that this would help prevent the other factions from approaching him, but, no matter how anyone viewed the situation from the outside, it was pretty clear they were on a date.

Fortunately for the black-haired beauty, most of the protests had come from Evan. As for Vahn, he had already warned her plentily about the consequences of her actions, so, if Yuri was insistent that they spend time together, he wasn't going to refuse. She had actually put in a considerable amount of effort deter the factions trying to approach him, particularly the Yeon Family, so this was, in many ways, the least he could do to repay the favor.

The true reason behind Vahn's wry smile wasn't that Yuri was present, it was due to the fact that she was lying on her stomach, tail nestled lazily between her shapely butt cheeks after eating nearly her entire body weight in food. She wasn't the only one either, as, after befriending the vast majority of the Emerald Grove's residents, she had convinced both Mikoto and Index to come out and play. The former wasn't much of a problem, as, despite her protests, she enjoyed riding on his shoulder in her Pikachu form. Index, however, had an extremely impressionable personality, so, a few meters off to the side of Yuri, a petite girl with silver hair could be seen patting her bulging stomach with a rather slovenly smile on her face...

Doing his best to ignore the two gluttons that would periodically call out to him for more food and drink, Vahn continued to smile wryly as he gently squished and molded Mikoto's cheeks. She would never allow him to do this in her human form, her face becoming red the moment he got anywhere near her. In her Pokemon form, however, she would even go so far as to let him play with her ears or rub her belly, all while repeating a number of different mantras in the back of her mind as if she were trying to hypnotize herself...

After fluffing her up to the point that she was periodically issuing a satisfied 'Chuu~', Vahn retracted his hands from Mikoto's cheeks before lightly poking her nose as he teasingly remarked, "You really are adorable..."

Though she was perfectly capable of human speech, Mikoto turned her head to the side, averting her eyes as she replied with a bashful, "P-Pikachu..." as the electricity from her body caused her downy-like fur to stand on end. She had a habit of producing electricity whenever she was feeling embarrassed or bashful, but, thanks to his experiences with Yoruichi, Vahn was virtually immune to Mikoto's accidental discharges.

Just as he was about to tease the bashful Pokemon further, Vahn's wry smile promptly returned as Index droned in a lazy voice, "Vaaaaaaaahn, I'm huuuuuuuungry~. Feeeeeed meeeeeee~."

Turning to face the voice's owner, Vahn noticed that Index's stomach had already returned to its original form, and, though she had recently finished several kilograms of food, she somehow gave off the impression of someone who hadn't eaten in days. This made him feel a little helpless, but, having dealt with Fenrir in the past, he ultimately just responded with a light chuckle before saying, "I'll make something in a bit. There is ice cream in the fridge-"

Before he could even finish his statement, Yuri and Index spontaneously sprang from their chaise lounges, bolting towards the interior of the suite. Fortunately, he had already foreseen this exact development, so, rather than a single tub of homemade ice cream, he dutifully prepared two. That should keep the gluttonous duo busy for at least an hour, though, considering who he was talking about, the concept of a brain freeze might not even apply to them...

As if she could read his mind, Mikoto seemed to forget her Pokemon roleplay, remarking, "You're thinking something rude..." in a somewhat squeaky voice.

Chuckling in response to the accusation, Vahn extended his hand like a ramp as he said, "Let's not worry about such things. Come, I'll make you some honey-glazed yakitori."

Though she didn't forget to give him an accusatory stare, Mikoto ultimately climbed up Vahn's arm before circling around his neck and taking her usual position on his shoulder. For some reason, this had always felt like the most natural position, the sole exception being when Vahn was carrying her. The only downside to the latter was that it made it practically impossible to escape being caressed into a borderline catatonic state, so, for the sake of her own mental stability, she defaulted to riding on his shoulder...

---

With evening approaching, Vahn was preparing to see off Yuri when the latter suddenly stated, "The other Families have been pestering my Great-Grandmother, so she asked me to organize a meeting between you and their representatives. I won't force you to attend, but, if you're not busy tomorrow morning, we're going to meet up at one of the local cafes. I meant to notify you earlier, but I kind of forgot about it until just now...ehehehe~."

Since Evan had already messaged him earlier in the day, Vahn merely chuckled in response to Yuri's words before extending his hand out to pat her head as he said, "Sure. It will be a lot easier to deal with them if they're all together. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Having gotten used to Vahn's propensity to pat heads, Yuri made no effort to evade his hand. She was actually quite fond of the peculiar sensation that emanated from his palm, so, until he retracted his hand, she just allowed him to continue petting her freely. It was only after he had finished that she nodded her head and said, "Feel free to dream about me~" in a playful tone before scampering away like a child that had just succeeded in a prank.

Though he couldn't help but shake his head in response to Yuri's antics, Vahn still had a smile on his face as he watched her departure. He was slowly becoming more accustomed to her presence, and, inversely, she was beginning to mellow out a bit whenever they were together. This was a sign that their relationship was developing into something more sincere, as, more often than not, the surest sign of a healthy relationship was when both sides were equally compromising for the other...

After closing and securing the door, Vahn made his way to the living room where Index, his smile becoming even more prominent as he saw Index, now in her Jirachi form, munching on watermelon slices. Mikoto had pointed out that she would feel even fuller if she ate in her smaller form, so, with a newfound sense of purpose, Index was merrily munching away at foodstuffs that were even larger than her body.

Noticing Vahn's gaze, Index adopted a troubled expression as she looked between him and the half-eaten slice of watermelon in her hands. Then, despite a considerable amount of reluctance, she flew over to his side, presenting the half-eaten slice as she muttered, "Here, you can have this..." in a sullen tone.

Since it was pretty rare for Index to share food, Vahn decided not to point out the numerous whole slices present on the plate she had been eating from. Instead, he graciously accepted her offering, joining her for a light snack before ultimately returning her to the Little Garden. Since Mikoto had already returned a while earlier, this left him as the only person, sans the Law of Identity, remaining in the suite.

Deciding to take advantage of the solitude, Vahn quickly cleaned up the mess that had been made earlier in the day. After he had finished, he returned the balcony, savoring the crisp evening air as he absentmindedly observed the port city below and admired the Archimedes above. Then, with an amused glimmer in his eye, he waved towards the distant Observer that was spying on him, a smile on his face as he manipulated the surrounding space to crush the expensive piece of hardware into a much smaller ball...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Varagarv about to get fucked up xD...','Mikotochu is quite cute...','The force is strong with this one...')

(A/N: The third chapter from yesterday's block is pushed back to Friday. I'm not taking a scheduled break this week so there will still be more chapters than normal. I got a little caught up playing URF and Genshin Impact with friends so I woke up later than intended *heavy sweating*...)

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