Chapter 2032: In the Spirit of Keeping Promises...
After safely storing away the cozy little villa they had lived in for the past three years, Vahn guided himself and Ureko back to reality using one of the anchors he left behind. This just so happened to be a version of himself, so, after waving to the pseudo-clone and returning it to nothingness, Vahn looked around the area with a reminiscent smile on his face, remarking, "It"s amazing how time can just fly by...three years now feels like a blink. Despite that, it feels like forever since I last witnessed this scene..."
Though he hadn"t addressed her directly, Vahn"s words were obviously intended for Ureko. To his surprise, however, she didn"t respond to him. Instead, she stood at his side with her head hanging down, bangs covering her eyes, absolutely silent.
Remembering the discussion they had had prior to their emergence, a wry smile developed across Vahn"s face as he said, "Tongue..." in a helpless yet commanding tone.
Jolting in response to the deeply ingrained command, Ureko immediately raised her head to reveal glowing red eyes. She looked like she might attack him at any moment, yet, in spite of this, she still opened her mouth wide, chin raised, as she presented her abnormally developed canines and ruby red tongue.
Wrapping his arm around the tomboyish beauty"s waste, Vahn reduced the distance between them to zero, whispering, "Good girl..." before bending down to suckle on her tongue. This quickly turned into a pa.s.sionate kiss that caused Ureko"s body temperature to increase so drastically that Vahn was pretty sure he could crack open an egg and fry it on the small of her back.
After separating their lips with a bit of effort, Vahn gazed into Ureko"s deep crimson eyes, a serious expression on his face as he resisted the urge to ask if she was okay. Instead, his tone became even more severe than usual as he maintained steady eye contact and said, "Present." with a fair amount of authority infused into his voice.
Though Ureko"s circular pupils immediately turned into draconic slits, she didn"t immediately lash out and try to attack him. She also didn"t move a muscle, so, with his own aura descending like the literal Heavens, Vahn adopted a slightly aggressive tone as he said, "Ureko. Present. Now."
With a violent tremble running through her body, Ureko immediately broke free from his embrace before dropping to the devastated and rocky terrain with a dazed yet heated look in her eyes. Then, despite the fact she was still wearing clothes, she tore apart the fabric before dutifully prying herself open to reveal a white-hot interior that dripped liquid hot enough to create a hissing noise when it impacted the ground. This would have terrified a normal person, but, as could be seen in his ability to create a fortress-like castle with the wave of his hand, Vahn was anything but normal...
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Carrying a very contented-looking Ureko in his arms, much like the Princess she actually was, Vahn teleported back to the 199th Floor. This gave him a moment of pause, nostalgia was.h.i.+ng over him like a warm current as he looked skyward and noticed Naruto riding on Latias"s back as Latios gave chase...
Noticing Vahn"s sudden pause, Ureko ceased staring at her lower abdomen long enough to look up and ask, "Is something the matter?" before following his line of sight. Then, much like Vahn, a smile developed across her face as she mused, "I hope our kid gets along with your other brats..."
Chuckling in response to Ureko"s musings, Vahn habitually nuzzled his forehead against hers as he said, "So long as you hold that thought close to heart, it is bound to become a reality. Now, let"s go. We need to explain the situation to the others before getting you settled in."
Groaning like a spoiled teenager, Ureko turned her face away from him before complaining, "Why"d you have to remind me? I know I"m the one who originally targetted you, but I still can"t believe I"m now a member of a ma.s.sive harem...like...what even am I? A wife? A mistress? A concubine? A piece of a.s.s you keep off to the side...?"
Without a moment"s hesitation, Vahn answered, "You"re Ureko Mazino, an outstanding woman with one of the most resolute characters I"ve ever met. It is ultimately up to you to decide what you want to be. My duty is to support you to the best of my ability, regardless of the choice you make along the way. To that end, it doesn"t matter if you want to reestablish your clan, travel the multiverse, or even conquer the heavens. I will always be there for you."
Though she didn"t blush like a normal girl, Vahn could tell Ureko from the way she rolled her eyes and failed to conceal a smile. She had defined herself by her independence, so, while her goal was to reestablish her clan, she didn"t actually want to get wrapped up in the politics of governance. If anything, she just wanted to watch over their son, safeguarding him until he was ready to venture out and establish a clan of his own. After that...well, even she didn"t know what she wanted to do...
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Since the vast majority of his harem had already been aware of his impending "battle" with Ureko, none of the girls were particularly surprised when Vahn showed up the pregnant half-dragoness in his arms. They were more surprised by the fact he had been gone three years, but, understanding this would be the norm in the future, they primarily focused on asking whether or not he was okay before whisking Ureko away for questioning.
With the case of Ureko largely resolved, Vahn only had one pressing concern to deal with before departing the Tower. In all honesty, this number was actually closer to thirty, but, having come to the realization he didn"t need to personally resolve everything on his own, Vahn was willing to let a few loose ends remain untied. Thus, with the intent of fulfilling the promise he had made near the very beginning of his journey through the Tower, Vahn waited a few days before calling Yuri to his room.
Arriving less than a minute later, Vahn was unsurprised when Yuri practically burst through his door and asked, "What"s up? Wanna f.u.c.k...?" with an expectant smile on her face.
With a characteristically wry smile on his face, Vahn gestured for the buxom Saiyaness to come and take a seat on his lap before explaining, "We"ll be leaving the Tower pretty soon. Before that, I need you to finish your Quest and gather the rest of the Thirteen Month Series. It"s time for those girls to get their lives back."
Though she was a little disappointed he didn"t call her to have s.e.x, the idea of battling against the current holders of the Thirteen Months brought a smile to Yuri"s face. Before agreeing to go off and search, however, she wrapped her arms around Vahn"s neck and unabashedly asked, "Are you going to make them a part of your harem? If so, you have to invite me along when you play with the Black March and Green April. I owe those b.i.t.c.hes for putting me through so much s.h.i.+t in the past..."
With an even wrier smile on his face, Vahn didn"t immediately answer Yuri"s question. He knew that the Black March would probably "insist" she stay with him but he couldn"t be certain how the Green April would react, much less the rest of the series. He merely wanted to free them from their curse, but, if it came down to it, he could see himself doing his best to make them happy...
("Let"s just hope the other Spirits aren"t also lolis...")
Though the majority of his women were relatively curvaceous and mature, the number of pet.i.te and borderline childlike women in Vahn"s harem wasn"t small. There were even times when he felt like it might be related to a hidden Innate. This might sound like complete nonsense, but, after traversing multiple Records and meeting countless young girls who were, in actuality, exponentially older than him, Vahn had his reasons for believing this was the case...
Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn decided to focus on the buxom beauty right in front of him, smiling as he said, "We"ll see...". Then, before setting out to surprise a certain Commander-in-Chief, he made love to the ravenous warrior woman for the better part of an entire day...
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With the "disappearance" of her father, Adori had been so busy tending to uprisings and rebellions that she hadn"t slept in weeks. This wasn"t normally an issue for a High Ranker of her caliber, but, as the stress continued to pile up, bags had started to form under her eyes despite her best efforts to appear calm and implacable in front of her subordinates.
Fortunately, while she had been under tremendous stress, Adori wasn"t alone in her struggles. She had the direct support of Senna, and, thanks to the joint efforts of the Tu Perie, Arie, Ari, and Khun Families, things hadn"t gotten completely out of hand. Rather, now that the contracts binding them had suddenly disappeared, people like Eduan and Hon were basically having a field day as they cut down anyone who attempted to take advantage of the chaos sweeping through the Tower.
If there was anything Adori had to genuinely complain about, it was the fact Vahn hadn"t appeared even once since the death of her father. Jahad had entrusted her with one final mission prior to his death, and, unlike the majority of now-deposed Princesses, Adori still believed in her father"s dream of preserving the peace and stability of the Tower. This was something she was willing to lay her life down to achieve, so, even if she was more than a little nervous about meeting him face-to-face, she "needed" to see Vahn before things got too out of hand.
What Adori didn"t expect was for a sudden presence to appear out of thin air two minutes into her first break in days. This caused her brain to pulse from the migraine she had been experiencing, but, seeing the faces of Vahn and Yuri, a substantial amount of relief washed over her mind and body as she accidentally voiced her thoughts, saying, "You certainly took your time..."
Restraining a chuckle, Vahn adopted his usual carefree smile as he answered, "Had I known a beauty was waiting for me, I would have appeared a lot sooner."
Punctuating his words with a wink, Vahn was marginally surprised when a bit of red spread through Adori"s otherwise porcelain white cheeks. He already knew about the "mission" Jahad had given her, but, seeing the golden-haired beauty"s bashful reaction, it was clear she had been thinking about it a lot more than he antic.i.p.ated...
Suddenly feeling awkward, Vahn motioned to scratch the back of his head before nearly falling over when Yuri spontaneously asked, "Oh~? What"s this? The infamously impa.s.sive Adori is actually able to display such a cute response? This just got a whole lot more interesting~."
Despite maintaining an unfl.u.s.tered appearance, Adori"s cheeks became noticeably redder as she s.h.i.+fted her gaze towards Yuri and calmly stated, "I have no idea what you"re talking about..." in a soft monotone.
Smiling even wider, Yuri attempted to approach Adori only for the latter to immediately manifest her Carrier and ask, "What do you think you"re doing?"
Without losing her smile, Yuri answered, "I should be asking you that. You"re clearly having some lew-"
Before Yuri could finish, Vahn promptly recalled her to the 199th Floor. He clearly wasn"t going to need her to recover this particular Thirteen Month Series, so, while his duplicate vessel was dealing with her, he adopted a slightly apologetic smile and said, "Sorry about that...Yuri can sometimes be a little...brash..."
With her Carrier gradually bleeding back into the void, Adori exhaled a sigh before shaking her head and saying, "No. This is my fault. As uncouth as her words might have been, there is also some truth to them. I believe you are also aware of it, correct? The final duty my father entrusted to me?"
Restraining a sigh of his own, Vahn nodded his head before muttering, "Seek happiness or seduce the Sage Dragon Emperor..."
Though the actual request was a lot more complicated and wordy, Vahn"s words struck at the very heart of the matter. Jahad had wanted her to leave the Empire and start a journey of her own, but, understanding Adori"s character, he couldn"t imagine her abandoning the people and venturing out to obtain happiness. Thus, in a very roundabout way, Jahad s.h.i.+fted the burden of Adori"s happiness onto Vahn"s shoulders. By seducing him, she could not only guarantee the peace and stability of the Empire, but, by "sacrificing" herself, she would no longer be bound by the duty that had dictated her life for the last five-thousand-years.
Following a curt nod, Adori reached up to the clasps keeping her flowery cloak in place. This caused the surprisingly heavy garment to crash to the ground, and, though it didn"t leave her naked, seeing her lean yet flawless physique wrapped in little more than a black and white bodysuit was quite the sight to behold. It perfectly contrasted her long golden hair, and, despite the reddening of her face, the resolute glimmer in her golden eyes implied she wouldn"t simply take no for an answer.
Truth be told, Vahn was expecting something like this to occur ever since he learned that the Spirit of the Golden November was none other than Adori herself. Thus, while it would have been easy for him to simply dismiss Jahad"s request in its entirety, doing so would make fulfilling his promise with the other Thirteen Month Series unnecessarily difficult. After all, he couldn"t force Adori to give him the Golden November. Well, he could, but that wasn"t really in his nature. He had always been more of a lover than a fighter, so, after observing the nervous beauty slowly unzip her bodysuit, revealing the vast, bountiful, and untouched white expanse hidden beneath, he slowly made his way forward to lend a hand...
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(A/N: Alternate t.i.tles: "Good girl...","The curse of the loli-baba...","Make love, not war (UwU)...")