Temptation
Though he was far from the level of being able to completely obliterate a 200m long, 140m wide superdense meteor using raw physical strength or something like a ki blast, Vahn had other means to honor his contract with Fubuki. He could only teleport her to the Crimson Palace due to her status as an Ascendee, but when it came to inorganic objects...
Seeing the meteor threatening City Z abruptly vanish on the holographic display Vahn had materialized to let her see what was transpiring back in her world, Fubuki, standing with arms crossed, blinked in surprise, asking, "That's it? I accrued a debt of one billion Tower Points for you to take less than ten seconds to resolve things?"
Shrugging, Vahn reasoned, "We could have destroyed it the old-fashioned way, but the risk of fiery shrapnel or debris raining down on the city is too high. Teleporting it elsewhere was the simplest solution."
"I suppose..." conceded Fubuki, exhaling from her nose. She would have preferred if Vahn or someone else intervened in a more direct manner so she could claim them as her allies, but she couldn't deny his solution was timely and efficient.
"Ahem..." coughed Venelana, drawing Vahn's and Fubuki's gazes as she met the latter's gaze and added, "Since we have fulfilled our end of the agreement, please remember to wear you're uniform while you're here..."
"Haaa...very well..." responded Fubuki, a faint blush tinting her cheeks as she opened her Inventory and equipped the outfit that had been provided to her, consisting of scant black panties, a black bustier that highlighted her cleavage and left much of her back and flat abdomen exposed, white cuffs and a choker with green buttons, black fishnet stockings, and black heels.
"Nice..." said Vahn, causing the blush on Fubuki's face to deepen before she snorted haughtily, turned her face, closed her eyes, and proclaimed, "Go ahead and look all you want, but unless I permit it, don't even think of touching me..."
"Obviously," responded Vahn, causing Fubuki to feel slightly annoyed as he quickly added, "Then, unless there's something else, I will return you to your world. If you need to return here in the future, you can use the key in your Inventory on any door with a keyhole or lock."
"You had me change, and now you're asking me to leave...?" asked Fubuki, meeting Vahn's gaze with an irritated look as she asserted, "I want to look around a bit before I go. Or does my presence here bother you?"
"Of course not," responded Vahn, waving his hand dismissively in front of his blank face as he added, "You're free to come and go from here as you please. Just remember that if you bring a guest, they can't access most of the facilities without you."
"Then I will excuse myself..." said Fubuki, sporting a proud, standoffish expression as she turned to depart without any particular destination in mind. Vahn allowed himself to check out her round and firm-looking butt as she departed, but as he wasn't particularly fond of Fubuki's personality and the choker and cuffs she was wearing signified that she wasn't open to accompanying him, he soon turned his attention to Venelana, mirroring the suggestive smile she was wearing with his own...
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[August 24th DxD/April 13th DBT]
In the wake of their lovemaking and before heading to the Black Tower to tend to their farm, Venelana, once again, broached the subject of staffing the Crimson Palace. She wanted to turn it into a hub of sorts for women of various worlds to congregate, so there were restaurants, training, and spa facilities that needed permanent or skilled part-time staff to oversee their smooth operation and ensure the comfort of guests.
"I have a few ideas regarding Chefs..." said Vahn, thinking of characters from anime like Shokugeki no Souma, "But what should we do to fill the other positions? Our facilities are pretty modern, but a lot employ Magic as well. With the Administrator's help, we could send out online surveys or something similar, but then you'd be busy vetting people..."
"The simplest thing to do is employ people who are already experienced and preferably undervalued in the worlds they originate," stated Venelana, straddling Vahn atop the sofa in his room and gently grinding against his bulge as she reasoned, "They will be able to train prospective employees who, in turn, will elevate themselves training and managing others. As far as me being busy vetting people...I can't compete with you, but I could make the flow of time within the interview room at least a few times faster than normal..."
"Hooo...my wife is certainly capable..." hummed Vahn, already mentally compiling a list of several candidates. There were many characters from Slice of Life or modern anime that weren't suited to ascending the Tower. However, similar to the protagonist of Restaurant to Another World, many would leap at the opportunity to work in or simply visit an alternate world, especially if their wages were paid in converted gold coins...
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[You're here!] exclaimed Aileen, causing Vahn to startle slightly as the notification appeared immediately as he, Venelana, and Xenovia arrived on the 99th Floor of the Black Tower.
"Aileen? What's up?" asked Vahn, sticking back as Venelana and Xenovia left to get a jump start on inspecting and helping water the farm. He had originally told Venelana she didn't need to bother with such things, but as could be expected of someone who worked with produce for hundreds of years, she was fond of farming and gardening and didn't mind getting her hands dirty.
[My mother finally contacted me~] answered Aileen, audibly excited and practically singing as she revealed [It turns out the effect of the Family Jewel Sprouts is even more potent than we initially thought. Several of my aunts and uncles who had lost the ability to reproduce regained the ability after eating your crops. Everyone is super excited, and there's going to be a big meeting between the Dragons of every Tower soon.]
"I'm happy they're happy," affirmed Vahn, adopting a broad smile as he added, "We were already planning to plant several acres of sprouts when we expand the farm, but if it's a crop important to the Great Dragons, we can plant even more."
[You're quick to catch on. As expected of my future husband~] hummed Aileen, followed by a golden Quest prompt appearing a few centimeters from Vahn's face. Ordinary Quests prompts were blue, with emergency or time-sensitive Quests being crimson, so it wasn't difficult to comprehend that gold = good/important.
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[Great Dragon's Favor]
Rank: SSS
Objective(s): Plant at least 100 hectares of Brussel Sprouts.
Reward(s): For every 100 hectares of Brussel Sprouts planted, up to 1,000 hectares, you will receive 100,000 Tower Coins, one S-Rank Occupational Item, and the right to claim one Floor of any Tower as your own(excluding the 99th).
Penalty: The Great Dragons will be very disappointed with you.
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"That's one heck of a reward..." remarked Vahn, his brows rising slightly. He didn't really need Tower Coins, though they were planning to gather a tremendous quantity of them, but the other rewards were nothing short of extraordinary.
[It's a special Quest and rewards prepared especially for you~] hummed Aileen, happily appending [More importantly, we've obtained permission from my Grandfather to officiate our engagement. He also wants to meet with you to discuss something important but says there's no need to rush it since you seem to have other things going on.]
"Then I suppose we'll soon be betrothed," noted Vahn, doing his best to prevent his smile from cramping, not because he and Aileen would soon be engaged but because Seul-bi had just emerged from upstairs without a shred of clothes on, feigning sleepiness. She quickly put them on when their gazes met, but not before making a show of stretching her body and scratching her belly...
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Since it was still fresh on his mind, Vahn was in his room after returning from the Black Tower, scrolling through the catalog of various anime and even a few cartoons that had left an impression on him for one reason or another. At the same time, seeing an inverted view of the screen he was looking at, Venelana shook her hips atop him, feeling it would be a waste to simply chat when they could be making her pregnant.
"How about, instead of thinking about people suited to specific roles, we think of people you would like to meet or interact with regularly and then consider roles for them...?" proposed Venelana, understanding that such a suggestion might limit her time with Vahn but reasonably certain that she could beat out any competition. After all, while they may not have had an official ceremony, she was Vahn's de facto first wife and advisor.
"Mmm...there's this girl who appeared in a cartoon I watched recently, but she's probably a better fit for the Tower..." hummed Vahn, causing the screen to display the image of a confident-looking girl with healthy brown skin, aqua-blue eyes, and somewhat wavy brown hair fixed into a ponytail with prominent fringe bangs adorned with pale blue ornaments.
"Who is she...?" questioned Venelana, net yet well-versed in anime, much less cartoons. She did, however, notice that the young woman before her shared a few similarities with Vahn, albeit with darker skin and blue rather than aquamarine eyes.
"Her name is Korra, and she's a tremendous piece of work..." answered Vahn, explaining, "In her world, she's something known as an Avatar, an entity meant to maintain the balance and harmony between the material and spirit worlds. But because of her sheltered upbringing and incredible selfishness, she ends up bringing an end to a cycle spanning more than ten thousand years. And that's just the icing on the cake..."
"Mmn...truth be told, she doesn't sound like someone you'd be interested in..." remarked Venelana, wincing slightly as a weak orgasm suffused her body. She was doing her best to maintain her composure, but the urge to move faster or have Vahn pin her in her favorite mating press was growing by the second...
"You're not wrong..." conceded Vahn, a wry yet wolfish smile adorning his lips as he revealed, "As strange as it sounds, watching the series she was in made me think I could fuck some sense into her. Her relationships with everyone from her family to her friends and lovers are just as much of a cluster fuck as her career as the Avatar, so if she had someone to give her focus, I think her entire world would benefit..."
"Then the question becomes how to get her here and what to have her do once she arrives..." remarked Venelana, amused by the unconventional form of Vahn's desires. Even while being selfish, he always thought about how his actions could benefit others, so while she personally believed this Avatar would become a source of frustration for him, she was also curious to see how things played out.
"That's why I mentioned she was a better fit for the Tower..." said Vahn, bucking his hips lightly as he added, "Korra is an exceedingly competitive and brash woman. She even put joining a sports team before finishing her training and performing her duties as the Avatar, all because she believed it would be better for her than the training and teaching of literal Masters. She might struggle with taking the lives of monsters, but she would thrive in most competitive settings..."
"Then why not travel to her world and stage a chance encounter...?" asked Venelana, reasoning, "If circumstance leads the two of you to trade blows and you emerge victoriously, it could serve as the catalyst for her to enter the Tower and seek you out."
"That's...not a bad plan..." conceded Vahn, exhaling from his nose as he pointed out, "But you know I'm not fond of deception. And I can't think of a situation where the two of us would fight outside of me challenging her directly..."
"Why not do precisely that...?" questioned Venelana, contending, "If you approach her as a scout of sorts for the Tower, you could challenge her on the premise of ascertaining if she's worthy of becoming an Ascendee. If she's as competitive as you say she is, she likely wouldn't even require an explanation of what the Tower was before accepting."
"Ths minds of Devils are terrifying..." hummed Vahn, narrowing his eyes and grinning affectionately. He could easily imagine Korra falling for his provocation, and since she wouldn't have access to the Avatar state, his chances of victory were virtually one hundred percent...
"That's what I'm here for...to help you think outside the box and relieve you of the stress of ceaseless deliberation..." purred Venelana, biting her bottom lip as she gradually intensified the rolling of her hips. Fortunately for her, Vahn was just thinking that she deserved a reward...
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