EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 266: Petition

After a quick stop at his room, Vahn teleported to a private VIP lounge attached to the resort's casino. He wasn't fond of gambling, but since it was an exceedingly useful way of increasing their inflow of Tower Coins, he allowed one to be constructed by popular demand.

"Hey, lizard breath, over here...!" exclaimed Bonney, waving her hand from the interior of a circular booth with a recessed floor. Seated alongside her were three beautiful women, one with a markedly mature figure with long, dark blue hair fixed into a distinct twin-tail hairstyle with red animal ear or horn-like attachments, while the other two were comparably lithe but still captivating cat girls—one with white, slightly pink-tinted hair and narrow, mischievous brown eyes, and the other with long, messy, soot-black hair, an inordinately long tail, and large, dark blue eyes.

Making his way over to the booth, Vahn lowered himself into the seat next to Bonney and the woman or, more accurately, the girl with dark blue hair. She presently looked exceedingly mature due to Bonney's Toshi Toshi no Mi(Age Age Fruit), but anyone who had met her Edolas counterpart would immediately recognize her as Wendy Marvel from Fairy Tail. As for the two contrasting cat girls, they were Wendy's Exceed partner, Princess Carla, and Fran—having recently been recognized as a Sword Saint by Ghislaine.

"I'm relieved to see everyone is in relatively high spirits," remarked Vahn, taking note of Wendy's and Fran's smiles and nodding approvingly. Carla, contrastingly, sported a composed frown, but that was par for the course for her since she was obsessed with appearing mature and distinguished, a testament to her Royal heritage.

Though it was somewhat awkward with her current appearance, Vahn punctuated his words by habitually caressing Wendy's head, prompting her to narrow her eyes and smile contentedly.

"There you go, once again putting your hands wherever you please..." sighed Carla, her long, feline tail—adorned with a red bow—twitching as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"He should be putting his hands on me..." asserted Bonney, grabbing Vahn's right arm and nestling against it as she claimed, "He is my man, after all..."

Producing a third arm, Vahn roughly tousled Bonney's pink hair as he reminded, "That depends on if you can behave yourself these next five and a half years. Hugging is fine, but you're drawing close to a line you shouldn't..."

"You're such a prude..." grumbled Bonney, puffing her cheeks before releasing Vahn's arm. Then, along with everyone else at the table, she abruptly deflated, going from a buxom twenty-something to a spunky-looking girl who wouldn't look out of place alongside Riko and the other members of the youth troupe.

"Back to reality..." muttered Wendy, placing her hands on her once full, now flat chest and exhaling longingly.

"There's no need to rush things, Wendy. Just continue eating well, and they'll come in naturally," remarked Carla, the only notable change to her appearance being her height and the shape of her face. Her human form was the result of very advanced Transformation Magic, so while it could be affected by Bonney's power, the original image she had in mind when casting it remained intact—giving her the appearance of a 13~14-year-old Magic Academy student.

"Smaller breasts are more convenient for battle..." contended Fran, her expression and faint, pleasant-sounding voice completely serious as she stared daggers at Vahn's right hand.

"But isn't your Master super strong with massive tits...?" asked Bonney, causing the upper half of Fran's face to become cast in shadow.

"Girls..." interjected Vahn, exhaling from his nose before gently chiding, "There is a time and a place for such conversations, and it isn't in public with a man present..."

"Then just become a boy," argued Bonney. She would have transformed Vahn herself, but she had tried several times to no avail. He appeared to be immune to her power, but she also knew he could emulate it, turning himself and those around him younger or older with a touch.

"Mmn... I'll change, but I would still prefer if we kept the conversation within the confines of what's in good taste..." conceded Vahn, his form smoothly contracting to a markedly more huggable state. Fortunately, not that he minded it, Rias and the other buxom women in his harem weren't around to pounce on or smother him with their breasts.

"See, this is what I don't understand..." remarked Bonney, a faint blush tinting her cheeks as she avoided looking directly at Vahn's boyish face and pinchable cheeks, poutily contending, "You're an immortal being who can alter his appearance and age as you please. What's the big deal with us being boyfriend and girlfriend now? You can stay like this, and no one would say anything..."

"My actions aren't guided by how others might interpret them..." stated Vahn, his expression and tone gentle as he caressed Bonney's head and appended, "But I do try to set an example for others to follow because I am a supremely selfish being. I live a self-indulgent lifestyle most people can scarcely imagine, so to justify that to myself, I aid as many people as I'm able. That is how I maintain equilibrium within myself, not just across other worlds..."

"You're definitely selfish..." grumbled Bonney, but, at the same time, she felt relieved. She would never admit it, but Vahn's inflexibility was like an anchor to her—steady, immovable, and quietly comforting. At the same time, he was like a lighthouse in a sea of tumultuous emotions she didn't fully comprehend—forever in the distance but illuminating her path and allowing her to sail without fear of running aground against her self-doubt or past traumas...

"Supremely...." reaffirmed Vahn, his tone tinged with amusement even as Bonney slapped aside his hand. Then, as Fran was beginning to sulk, he extended his left hand, using his Domain as a medium to caress her head. After that, he naturally did the same with Carla, causing the white-haired cat girl to harumph loudly, cross her arms, and turn her face away. But the flicking of her tail and the fact she didn't tell him to stop betrayed that she enjoyed it more than she would ever admit...

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[Day 36]

After accompanying Bonney's Party for a few hours and ensuring they had gone to bed rather than delving into another Dungeon, Vahn returned to his room and slinked into bed with Roxanne, Ryza, and Klaudia, who he was supposed to spend the evening with. Fortunately, none of them were particularly upset with his late arrival, as he more than made it up to them before they parted ways the subsequent morning. His room was naturally fitted with an adjustable Time Compression Barrier, so while only four and a half hours passed outside, he had nearly two full days to reconcile with the three beauties before they left together for their morning training.

'I am once again reminded how blessed I am...' thought Vahn, sporting a closed-eyed, relaxed smile as he sat cross-legged in a meditative posture with Laev-tan across his lap. At the same time, most of the core members of his harem performed yoga and pre-workout exercises nearby. His eyes were closed, but through his Domain, he could make out every contour of their bodies, adorned in form-fitting sportswear. Meanwhile, Xenovia and Erza had the thirty-six Sisters who helped operate the resort and maintain the penthouse in a military-esque formation, jogging around the area with Masane and several other members of the Maid Battalion.

Interrupting Vahn's appreciation, though he sensed her approach long before she reached him, Bonney, wearing a thick cotton tee with red trim along the collar, sleeves, and hem—alongside red bloomers and running shoes—pressed, "Hey, stop dragon your ass and come help me stretch."

"Language..." responded Vahn, maintaining his meditative sitting posture but opening his eyes to meet Bonney's gaze, bypassing her body entirely since he knew she was in her child form and modeling buruma to try and get a rise out of him.

"Also..." started Vahn, causing Bonney to frown deeply as he contended, "Communing with my spear is a very important part of my daily routine. I will join you shortly, but you can stretch with someone from your training group."

"I'll wait," said Bonney, plopping down, criss-crossing her arms and legs defiantly. In response, Vahn offered a slight nod before closing his eyes and resuming his communion, prompting Laev-tan, perceptible only to his senses, to squat before Bonney with her arms hugging her knees, her tail swaying behind her as she softly remarked [Mmmn...I like this one...she's got spirit...]

'That she does...' affirmed Vahn, sighing internally. Then, as more of the youth troupe invariably made their way over to him, spurred by Bonney's presence, he concluded his meditation early to give them an impromptu lesson on the importance of harmonization between mental, physical, and spiritual energies to draw out their full potential...

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[Day 39]

With several days passing since he last had a client, Vahn was sitting in his office—silently monitoring various people while considering how he wanted to spend the remainder of the current Tower cycle. Bonney kept attempting to convince him to advance to the 10th Floor and become a member of her Party, but since that would almost assuredly intensify her attention-seeking behavior, he consistently refused on the grounds that she and the other members of Neo Generations would become stronger faster without the reassurance of his power and oversight. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

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'Hmm? Who could that be...?' wondered Vahn, expanding his Domain to sense who was knocking on his door. To his surprise, it was none other than Minato, causing his brows to rise as he called out, "Enter," in a calm but authoritative tone.

"I beg Vahn-sama's pardon for the sudden intrusion..." expressed Minato, entering Vahn's office and covering half the distance from the entrance to his desk before offering a steep, respectful bow.

"Mmn...enough of that..." stated Vahn, materializing a cozy chair behind Minato and manipulating it forward with his Domain, sweeping the Kage-level Shinobi off his feet and drawing him to his desk. With his speed and reaction time, Minato could have easily evaded it, but he allowed himself to be forced forward without resistance.

"I see you're still not particularly fond of formalities..." hummed Minato, adopting a faint, naturally charming but tired smile.

"And you're as roundabout as always," retorted Vahn, exhaling from his nose before reclining back in his chair and asking, "So, what brings you here today? It must be something fairly major for you to approach me in person like this."

Catching Vahn off guard, Minato's expression became deathly serious as he revealed, "Before the commencement of the current cycle, Sandaime-sama privately disclosed to me that he was planning to retire. I would like you and the Dragon's Pavilion to support my nomination for the position of Yondaime Hokage..."

"Naturally," affirmed Vahn, nodding. Then, with a serious expression of his own, he added, "But, you already knew that we would support you as your world's principal representative. More to the point, there's no one here but us. Why are you skirting around the real reason you're here?"

"Forgive me..." muttered Minato, lowering his gaze and gripping his hands into fists as he revealed, "Truth be told, I feel what I'm about to ask you is crossing a line. However, after reviewing the Dragon's Pavilion's Rating Game against the Gotei time and again and investigating the extent of your involvement with the Soul Society, I can't help but feel that my world would benefit from a similar degree of association."

"In other words, you want to make the existence of the Dragon's Pavilion known to pressure the other hidden villages and force reforms across the elemental nations..." concluded Vahn, prompting a wry, guilt-ridden smile to develop across Minato's face as he confided, "I just want my wife, our unborn child, and all children to be able to live in a world without needless war and bloodshed..."

"And that's more than enough reason for us to help you," affirmed Vahn, catching Minato off guard as he hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. When he looked up, the reason became apparent as Vahn, sporing a kind smile, casually appended, "Your wife is scheduled to give birth around the same time my firstborn is expected. It is my sincere hope our children can be friends or, at the very least, contemporaries, so I can't very well ignore such an earnest plea from another expecting father, can I?"

"I suppose not..." answered Minato, exhaling from his nose with a relieved smile. He never doubted that Vahn would help him, but hearing the reason for the latter's quick concession gave him a new and profound respect for the man known as the Dragon God of Intertwining Fates...

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