Looking Forward

Vahn went on to listen to Loki's entire recounting of her conversation with Kali, including the plans and compromises they had come up with. He had already known about the establishment of the Amazoness community, as they had already naturally started to congregate together, but a lot of the other information was entirely new to him. If he were to be honest, Vahn didn't actually know how to deal with the Amazonesses that easily, which was why he had been coming up with a 'seal' of sorts to deal with the situation. Most Amazonesses, however, would oppose such a thing since it would be 'denying' their own instincts and, in a way, was considerably 'unfair' to them as a species...

Since Telkyura would be passing laws to prevent children from being victimized in the future, it was already infinitely better than it had been in the past. One of the compromises that they had agreed to was having a few trustworthy and powerful women move into Telkyura to manage the Coliseum and provide a basic education to growing children. Vahn couldn't simply do away with their culture as, from a certain perspective, what the Amazonesses had built was 'better' than the cultures that had been derived from wealth, greed, and corruption. Much like the Xenos, they coexisted with the environment instead of trying to exploit it, bartering goods and sharing what resources they had with the entire community instead of trying to consolidate it and exploit each other for personal gain. The only thing that truly mattered was strength and individual power, not a person's birth and their ability to exploit a system that was rigged in favor of a few 'elites'...

Bringing slow reforms while allowing the Amazonesses to continue living in pseudo-isolationism was better for both the Amazonesses themselves and the other races inhabiting the Continent. With time, it would be possible to change the way the Amazonesses lived, especially with several from the younger generation potentially graduating from the School. They would also be able to gather the 'deviants' that would be born within Telskyura, providing them a safe haven where their uniqueness could be developed instead of becoming the source for their suffering. It was inarguably tragic for girls like Tiona, Tione, Aisha, Lena, and even Taliah, having to grow up in a rather brutal society where they were 'different' from everyone else. This made them easy targets for the ire of 'normal' Amazonesses and, except in a few cases, most of the 'unique' Amazonesses would end up dying early on if they weren't 'protected' by Kali...

Vahn's only problem with the situation was how he would deal with Kali and, to a lesser extent, the other women that Loki had named. Freya was one of the exceptions Vahn had made in the past and, though they had become a lot closer now, Vahn still wasn't comfortable with the idea of having children for 'political' benefits. He would rather get to know the mothers of his children beforehand, creating a child through love and mutual affection instead of 'necessity'. Loki had already expected this, however, informing Vahn that Kali was waiting for him in Melen, allowing him the opportunity to accompany her Familia on its sea voyage back to Telskyura. This would give up upwards of three months to familiarize himself with Kali, her Captains, and a few other central figures within the Kali Familia...

Hearing this, Vahn couldn't help feeling a little gratified and moderately curious, the first in relation to the fact that Loki had taken his 'nature' into consideration while the latter emotion was the result of his intrigue towards traveling by sea. Vahn had never even been on a boat before, much less a large sea-faring vessel. He had been a big fan of One Piece in his previous life so the thought of voyaging by sea, especially on a vessel full of Amazonesses, seemed like an enjoyable time. Since Tiona and Tione would be accompanying him, he would be able to avoid a scenario where the other Amazonesses tried to force themselves on him as even the Captains of the Kali Familia wouldn't be able to defeat either sister...

At the same time, Vahn knew this was also a way in which Loki wanted him to 'relax' a bit, as the journey would take upwards of three months, most of which was spent in leisure. There would be the occasional battle against a sea monster, but the Amazonesses themselves would easily be able to deal with such attacks. After all, much like Tiona and Tione, the vast majority of Amazonesses had the [Diving] Development Ability and were almost as capable in the water as they were on land. Without contest, they were the most capable sailors on the entire Continent and, if not for their policy of secluding themselves in their home country, they would easily dominate the seas. This was how so many Amazoness had been able to flee to the Dark Continent in the past, traveling through seas that even seasoned veterans would avoid...

The problem with this arrangement was that Vahn would only have one body back at the Manor and, unless he gave up his free time with his children, his only time to enter the Sub-Space orb would be in the evenings. It seemed like Loki was trying to 'force' him to actually relax as most of the goddesses had actually complained about the fact he had gotten back into the groove of things too quickly. They argued that there were already a lot of things going on right now and there was no need to rush things forward, especially with how strong everyone had become.

With the inclusion of the Valkyrie, the military might of the Alliance had become 'monstrous' and, unless there was a rogue Hero on the level of Heracles, which wouldn't make sense, there were no 'real' threats to deal with. Now was an opportunity to shore up and strengthen the foundation of the Alliance, increasing the average level of each member and promoting the growth of the economy even further. At the same time, he could be gathering information while observing the changes in the Iron Hills and Westport. Even these wouldn't require his direct interference, however, meaning Vahn was very quickly transitioning to the point where 'others' acted at his direction instead of him having to resolve everything on his own...

Knowing that Loki, and the other goddesses, only wanted the best for him, Vahn eventually ended up agreeing with her and decided he would spend the next three or so months focusing on his family life and the matter with Telskyura. This would also allow everyone else around him to relax a little as, in order to make his life 'easier', there were several people acting on Vahn's behalf at any given moment. If he took a real 'break', they would also be able to focus on other things instead of trying to deal with the matters he had put on their plate, even if it was indirectly. Chief amongst these was Chloe, who had been spending most of her time in Westport with her Shadow Corps, while even Sylfia would certainly want to spend time with him...

As a result of their discussion, Vahn ended up in the dining room with most of the core decision makers within the Manor, explaining his decision and how they would be moving forward. At the bare minimum, he would be taking around three months off to focus on consolidating his relationships and just spending time with everyone. This would allow him to have plenty of time with his children and be by Shakti's side when she gave birth. If possible, the 'lull' would continue after he dealt with Telskyura, followed by another 'wave' of children that would inevitably come as a result. After all, it was decided that Tiona, Tione, and Aisha would want children of their own, followed by the inclusion of Kali, Hippolyta, Myrina, and one of Kali's Captains. This meant, at the very least, there would be nine more children born into their very large family in the future, including two Vanir. Since there was a fair chance he would also end up having a child with Fortuna and Sylfia at some point, the children in the Manor would likely increase to well over thirty in the next year or so...

Fortunately, preparations had already been made for this and, with some of the children reaching an age where their education would officially begin, Aki, Milan, and Syr would be home-schooling the children in the 'classroom' section of the West Wing. Ever since they had learned how many children Vahn had in the Divination, preparations for having between 80-100 children within the Manor had long been underway and, even though it would become chaotic, there were more than enough Maids within the Manor to take care of everything. Instead of just Maemi and Emiru, there were Merribelle, Elizabelle, Katsuya, Momo, Diana, and the twenty members of the Artemis Familia. Even Mona was more than willing to help out while the actual mothers of the children weren't shy when it came to providing their own support...

Realizing the consequences his 'antics' had brought about, Vahn found himself laying on the roof of the Manor with Fenrir snuggled up at his side. One of his 'optional' quests was to have a harem with fifty-nine different races while another required him to sire a total of one hundred children. At this point, even though he hadn't 'done' anything with them just yet, Vahn knew there were more than a few Valkyrie that had some 'expectations' towards him. The same could be said for many of the Xenos, meaning Vahn could very easily hit the requirement for both optional quests in a relatively short period of time. There were a lot of people who would be more than willing to change their race to suit the needs of his quest, even though they were unaware of its existence...

Vahn recalled the time in the past where he had the 'stray' thought of having a partner in every race, even though Lili had sated his curiosity about several races. He understood well why the Objective itself was called [Curiosity], but wondered what kind of reward he would receive for completing such an objective. Since it was a 'Main Quest', Vahn assumed the benefits were either directly related to The Path or, at the very least, they would follow him into other records. Before he could worry about that, however, Vahn still needed to Unify the other regions of the Continent and bring the various Kingdoms and Provinces under his control...

Releasing a sigh, Vahn turned his head to look down at Fenrir, finding her scarlet eyes staring back at him with mild concern and a depth of emotions he may never truly understand. He found more than a little comfort in these glimmering red irises, causing Vahn to smile naturally as he hugged Fenrir close to his body and muttered, "There is still so much left to do, even before I begin thinking of ways to save Eva...I cannot even imagine what awaits us later on, Fenrir...will you still follow your useless Master, even knowing the journey will be long and arduous...?" Vahn didn't even know 'how' he would save Eva when the time came, nor if he would even be able to oppose the power that had influenced her fate. He couldn't simply take her out of the record, as that may very well 'doom' it to destruction. Even if he tried, there were various problems associated with such an action as, unless he could remake Eva's entire body somehow, it may not even be possible to 'take' her from the record from the outset...

Fenrir's eyes twitched slightly when she heard her Master say 'useless' since, from her perspective, if he was 'useless', then other people weren't even worthy of the air they breathed. His life was the culmination of endless 'impossibilities' that had been given shape in reality, irrespective of the rules, restrictions, and common sense of the world. As a result, Fenrir used her soft paw pads to 'smack' her Master's head with a genuinely angry expression on her face as she said, "You should never say things like that, Master..." Then, allowing the expression on her face to soften, Fenrir nuzzled against the side of her Master's face and added, "I will follow you, no matter how hard things get, Master. Even if you wanted to throw me away and leave me behind, I would continue to chase after you, no matter what..."

Punctuating her words, Fenrir gently licked Vahn's jawline, causing pleasant feelings to spread through his heart as he tightly embraced this exceptionally lovable and reliable companion of his. Vahn wouldn't even be surprised if Fenrir awakened an Innate related to loyalty in the future, truly becoming his 'eternal' companion that will stand at his side through various records. The thought that she would always be with him made Vahn's worries about the future lessen a great deal. Even if he faced setbacks in the future, so long as he had the support of this first subordinate of his, Vahn felt like he would undoubtedly recover and continue to move forward...

---

Early the next day, after extricating himself from Fenrir's icy chamber, Vahn wore a set of casual clothes before he went to meet up with Tiona and Tione. Though there was no particular rush, they had decided it would be best to set out as soon as possible. The journey by sea to Telskyura would take several months and, with winter fast approaching, it would be even more dangerous if they delayed things further. Though the sailors of the Kali Familia would undoubtedly be able to deal with the ice flows and the various sea monsters that would be following their migrational paths, it was still better to err on the side of caution. Even gods, once descended into the mortal world, couldn't fight against natural disasters, especially while out at sea. There were a few exceptions, of course, but Kali certainly wasn't one of them...

Vahn found Tiona and Tione waiting in the inner courtyard with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Artemis, Eina, Syr, Ais, Lefiya, Emiru, Maemi, Diana, Terra, and Alexa. Though his main body would be staying behind, they still wanted to see him off properly since 'Vahn was still Vahn', even in his avatar. It was things like this that gave Vahn a profound sense of fulfillment, causing a natural and gratified smile to appear on his face as he said, "Thank you, everyone...Tiona, Tione, let's go change your fates. It is time to make good on my promise, at last..."

(A/N: Vahn still has a few 'major' quests that he needs to complete before the record comes to an end, even though there isn't that much time before he is supposed to leave Danmachi. Since a few people may have forgotten, I will go ahead and copy+paste the 'important' quests that are still on the plate~!)

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[Quest: The Path of an Emperor Begins With the First Step]

Rank: Zenith

Objective: Unify the Continent of Eden:(2/9), Conquer the Living Dungeon, Tartarus(0/1), Form a Divine Council with a God of every Major Divinity(19/30)

Optional Objectives: [Curiosity] Form a Harem with at least one member of every race:(30/59), [Inspiration] Acquire 10,000 Followers, Subordinates, or Retainers(10,000/10,000), [Might] Overcome the restriction of Level 10:(7/10), [Virility] Sire 100 Children(19/100)

Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, Quest Creation System Function Unlocked, 1x[Innate Awakening Pill], 1x[Page of the Akashic Tome]

Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain

Penalty: Record Backlash, Divine Law Cataclysm Initiated

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[Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]

Rank: SSS

Objective: Obtain 100,000,000,000 OP and purchase a [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis] from the system shop.

Rewards: All unlocked functions in 'The Path' evolve, 3x[Spirit Vessels], 1x[Enlightenment Stone]

Failure Condition(s): Death, Failure to obtain the required amount of OP before leaving the record.

Penalty: Danmachi Record inaccessible until Tier 8, All Karma Nullified after leaving the record.

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[Quest: I Shall Return]

Rank: SSS

Objective: Complete [Quest: Origin of Heroes](6/9). Establish 'Eternal Bonds' with gods that possess Primary Divinities related to Time, Space, Bonds, and Fate (1/4). Current: [Hestia]

Rewards: Reduction of requirements for [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]. 10x Reduction in necessary Origin Points.

Failure Condition(s): Death, Exiting the Record Before Completion

Penalty: Danmachi Record inaccessible until Tier 8, 10,000 karma based on conditions (5/12)

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Compromise and Politics are interrelated...','Fenrir is the Dao of Fluff, forever and eternal~!','Vahn is about to experience the legendary 36P o_o...!')

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