Suffocation

After three weeks of meandering through the Middle Tower, Vahn, accompanied by a large group of inordinately beautiful women, arrived on the 60th Floor. This instantly drew the attention of their surroundings, but, after a small incident on the 56th Floor, none of them were foolish enough to try and directly approach Vahn and his entourage.

Having committed the names of faces of each person to memory, paparazzi included, Vahn nodded in the direction of his group, saying, "Same as usual. Stay within 10,000km and make sure to report within fifteen minutes of every hour."

With most of the group nodding in affirmation, Vahn offered a smile before fixing his gaze on the nervous-looking Mordred and adding, "If you break this one, you're grounded until the 77th Floor. Fenrir, keep an eye on her for me."

Though she would have liked to explore the snow-covered Floor alongside her Master, Fenrir didn't hesitate to thump her chest, stating, "Leave it to me!" in a spirited tone. As for Mordred, she ended up releasing an exasperated sigh, not because she was especially embarrassed about breaking her previous two Avatars, but because Fenrir was bound to report her the moment she broke the rules...

To counter the growing unrest among residents of the Emerald Grove, Vahn, alongside members of the R&D Division, had been working on a number of projects. The largest of these involved creating a Floating Fortress to serve as a Teleportation Hub with infinite range, but, without ownership of the affected space, this was easier said than done. Fortunately, Urahara had made a substantial number of breakthroughs in the production of Gigais. This, combined with an absurdly complex possession spell, allowed the residents of the Little Garden to pilot faux bodies without placing their true selves at risk.

The only downside was that the aforementioned process required Vahn to act as an antenna, and, the moment anyone ventured beyond his broadcast range, their extremely difficult to manufacture Avatars would immediately implode before dissolving into nothingness. This function was intended as a failsafe in the event an enemy tried to capture them; but, due to her penchant for sneaking into restricted areas, Mordred ended up losing both of her previous Avatars. Such places were generally isolated from the surrounding space via special formations or barriers, so, the moment she stepped inside, both had been instantaneously destroyed...

Ruffling the two girls' hair, Vahn wished them well before seeing off the rest of the 'explorer group'. Then, with Artoria and Gray following close behind, both attired in regal-looking mantles lined with fluffy white fur, he proceeded to explore the Gateport in search of a temporary residence. Everyone had agreed upon a seventy-two-hour exploration period, so, while it wasn't absolutely necessary, it was his habit to choose a destination to serve as a primary hub of sorts. It also provided him with a place to meet with people who were trying to contact him, so, for the better part of three hours, he simply wandered around with Artoria and Gray as his company.

In the end, it was Gray who chose a rather unique pavilion comprised almost entirely of ice as their temporary residence. From the outside, it looked like the type of castle you would find in a fantasy Record related to an Ice Witch or a Snow Queen. As for the inside, there were beautiful statues and even furniture carved from crystal-clear ice, each perennially preserved due to rune-like inscriptions carved into their surface. Similar runes helped to insulate the interior, so, despite being comprised almost entirely of ice, their room ended up being quite warm.

Fortunately, as novel as the premise of an all-ice pavilion was, the furniture intended for guests was comprised of more conventional materials. Few people enjoyed sleeping on frigid slabs of ice, so, as could be expected, the bed, bath, and toilet were all relatively normal.

Finished with his exploration of their penthouse suite, Vahn rejoined Artoria and Gray in the living room before asking, "So? What do you think of the Floor thus far?"

Without sugarcoating things in the slightest, Artoria immediately answered, "It feels like a powder keg. I'm not sure if it is due to our presence, but the tensions of the citizenry are inordinately high. I also noticed a number of people keeping tabs on us when we were shopping. Judging by their hair and eye color, I would assume they are members of the Khun Family."

Having already confirmed a few things with the Law of Identity, Vahn ultimately nodded his head in response, explaining, "Though he has yet to complete the Position Exam, news of the second Eduan has already reached the Khun Family. The original Eduan doesn't seem all that concerned. Quite the contrary. Instead, these tensions are the result of friction between the major, minor, and illegitimate factions comprising the Khun Family."

Lowering her head slightly, a pensive look developed across Artoria's face as she contemplated the broader implications and ramifications of Vahn's words. She knew he wasn't really testing her, but, at times like this, she felt compelled to choose her words carefully. There were times when he relied on her counsel more than his own intuition, so, while it might not make much of a difference in the long run, she wanted to provide proper feedback and advice.

Understanding Artoria's thoughts, even without the Law of Identity, Vahn enjoyed the tea offered to him by Gray in silence. If he were being honest, the politics and power struggles of the Khun Family didn't interest him in the slightest. Such things were better left to people like Aguero and Eduan 2.0 to deal with. He had no intention of siding with any particular faction, so, if he were to intervene, his only reason for doing so would be to protect minors. Even this wasn't ideal, however, as, regardless of how they were being treated, most children wouldn't want to be separated from their parents...

Finished with organizing her thoughts, Artoria adopted a serious expression as she asked, "Is that woman, Maschenny, not around?"

Nodding his head, Vahn explained, "She is, indeed, nearby. Her presence is one of the underlying reasons for the current tensions between the various factions. It is also the reason why nobody has tried to approach us just yet. There are a lot of rumors regarding my relationship with Maschenny, so, until they can confirm her stance, approaching us is exceptionally risky."

Though a contemptuous glimmer flashed across her eyes at the mention of the word 'relationship', Artoria ultimately just nodded her head before suggesting, "It seems the time has come for you to force that woman's hand. She is bound to cause trouble if you just leave her be. Putting her on the spot and having her prove herself by resolving the matters of her family might be the ideal solution to the current situation..."

Despite the suggestion coming from her own mouth, Artoria didn't seem particularly convinced by her words. More specifically, she felt that the actual 'ideal' solution was to defeat Eduan and simply install someone new to govern the Khun Family. Any meaningful involvement with them was bound to bring trouble, not because Vahn was incapable of settling things, but because thousands of years of corruption wouldn't simply vanish because someone put their foot down.

Having noticed the contempt and uncertainty in Artoria's gaze, Vahn adopted a stern expression of his own, ordering, "Speak truthfully. What are you thinking?" in a firm tone.

Responding with a serious and dutiful expression, Artoria was one-step shy of a full salute as she promptly replied, "Now that you have made the decision to accelerate your progress through the Tower, I believe it is counter-intuitive to involve yourself with the affairs of the Great Families and their dissidents. I'm not saying you should ignore them completely. Rather, I'm suggesting you cut the head of the snake rather than trying to strangle its tail..."

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn extended his hand to caress Artoria's as he said, "I was thinking the same thing. I'm not particularly fond of the current Maschenny, and, while that might change at some point in the future, I have no intention of going out of my way to provide her opportunities. If she truly wished to obtain my favor, she would take the initiative to resolve things like this. Thus, for the time being, I have no intention of approaching her. If she can't figure that out before I deal with Eduan directly...well, it's not like there isn't another Maschenny..."

Though the last part was intended as a joke, Vahn earned himself an accusatory stare from Artoria even as she nestled a little closer to him. She wasn't particularly bothered by the rapid expansion of his harem, but, if possible, she would prefer it if he didn't arbitrarily include every beautiful or tragic woman he met as a candidate...

---

Sneezing despite the fact it was a summerlike 33 degrees, Maschenny took a moment to cautiously inspect her surroundings before continuing to grill a massive slab of meat harvested from a magical beast the size of a Rhinocerous. Unfortunately, despite investing a considerable amount of Variable Experience into the associated skill, everything she cooked tasted absolutely terrible...

Recalling the taste of the meals periodically provided to her by Vahn, a loud grumbling emanated from Maschenny's stomach as a tired sigh escaped her throat. Immediately thereafter, an intense killing intent descended upon her, but, rather than taking evasive action, she grumbled, "Go ahead. Even if you kill me, it's not like it's permanent."

Appearing from within a bloody-red vortex, Scathach unhesitantly pierced Maschenny's shoulder with her spear, but, in spite of this, the latter simply grimaced while continuing to grill her meat. Her pain tolerance had increased to a ridiculous extent over the past few months, so, even if it felt like her entire body was being gnawed on by voracious ants, she managed to appear relatively unfazed.

Realizing Maschenny was in one of her obstinate moods, Scathach unceremoniously extricated her spear from the girl's shoulder before shaking her head and admonishing, "Even if you know you will not die, casting aside your fear of death is rarely a good thing. With this kind of uncaring mentality, you will never be able to surpass your other self..."

Rolling her eyes in response to Scathach's words, Maschenny tore away a piece of charred meat with her bare hands, tossing it into her mouth before replying, "That isn't for you to decide. So long as I continue moving forward, it is only a matter of time before I surpass my original. The only thing that can interfere with this inevitability is Vahn himself. Even then, so long as he doesn't give her the same opportunities, I'm confident that I'll be able to defeat her. You might act like a robot, but your skill with the spear is the real deal. Once I master your teachings, even my father might not be able to stand against me."

Despite Maschenny sugarcoating her words with a compliment, Scathach's expression remained unchanged as she dispersed her spear and sat down on one of the felled logs serving as the only furniture in the former's make-shift shelter. Then, earning a predatory glare from the pale-haired Princess, she pulled out a series of dragon skewers hand-grilled by Rindo. This caused a salivating aroma to spread throughout the relatively small cave, and, as a result, Maschenny actually felt a little sick as the comparably disgusting meat she had just swallowed settled in her stomach. Then, after a prolonged back and forth, following by a period of negotiation, her training, once again, resumed...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'F in the chat for all the disappointed asphyxiation fetishists?','Speedrunner Vahn ain't got time for no side quests...!','Taming: 94% Complete')

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