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Chapter 1198 - Reflection

After a rather humorous incident where Sakura awoke to find herself drooling against his side, Vahn helped her prepare for her evening lessons. He had already talked to Rin about having Sakura first pursue the path of a Knight and, as her Od was already expanding at a much faster rate than normal, there shouldn’t be any difficulties in her future path. Thus, instead of spending the evening learning Magecraft, Sakura learned etiquette alongside Mordred, Fenrir, Medusa, and Gray.

Just as she took training very seriously, Artoria was rather strict when it came to teaching the girls Court etiquette. This was especially the case for Mordred and Sakura, as manners and discipline were very important for cultivating the proper mentality as a Knight. Now that she was going to be Vahn’s Empress, Artoria considered it her duty to make sure his children were educated properly. Though he might not be concerned with such things, she knew that their future enemies and allies alike would scrutinize Mordred and Sakura, seeing them as a representation of Vahn’s own prestige.

If Vahn’s children acted spoiled and undisciplined, they would be seen as a weakness that could be exploited. Inversely, if they were extremely well-behaved and ladylike when presented before others, it would cause anyone harboring intentions towards them to hesitate. When one party seemed to be high-born, it would cause those that were more politically oriented to measure their behavior. After all, offending a Noble could undermine their own status considerably, making them fearful of ever getting on Mordred’s and Sakura’s bad sides. Thus, while it was fine for them to be polite and even outgoing at times, they should never seem ’friendly’ and ’weak’ in the eyes of their contemporaries.

Since Vahn had always entrusted the rearing of his children to the women in his life, he had no issues allowing Artoria to act as she saw fit. As for why Fenrir and Medusa had decided to participate, they both wanted to learn how to be more ladylike so they didn’t embarrass him in the future. Vahn had even found Medusa wearing a frilly white dress, looking much like a little Princess. Generally, she was not fond of wearing clothes and, other than the skin-tight bodysuit and equipment forged from her own scales, she tended to avoid other ’restrictive’ clothing. However, understanding she could not wear such things in public, Medusa had followed in Fenrir’s footsteps. Since her Master would always compliment her when she wore cute clothing, she had slowly been growing accustomed to wearing them whenever she left the Inner Sanctum...

With Sakura entrusted to Artoria, Vahn stopped distracting everyone before heading back to London to check on Luvia and see if she intended to spend the evening in the castle. Unfortunately, she had traveled abroad on a business venture, taking Siegfried with her. He had the option of teleporting to her side but, after keeping Olivia company for a few minutes, she managed to talk him out of it. The truth of the matter was that Luvia had been falling behind in her work so, to avoid appearing weak in the eyes of her competitors, she was taking more proactive action to keep them on their toes. Thus, after refusing Olivia’s invitation to a late dinner, Vahn promptly returned to Avalon.

Ever since the decision to travel outside, Vahn knew he had been falling behind on my of the things he should be focusing on as well. Though he had made a few small breakthroughs, the number of items on his plate had been increasing exponentially. With that in mind, he decided to follow Luvia’s example and, rather than waiting for Kenshin to appear, Vahn entered into the Training Orb to seek her out directly. There, he found her and a group of more than one-hundred Homunculi occupying a small training field that had been constructed with materials imported from outside.

Though having an endless white space for training was extremely useful for high-intensity combat, it could dull the senses of anyone unaccustomed to the rather peculiar environment. Since a person’s mental state was one of the most important factors when it came to training, using an environment that emulated reality was infinitely better than spending time in an endless white void. This had been true even back in the Record of Danmachi where, after decades within the Orb, it had started to look like a small world that was rather comfortable to live in. When the girls had started Cultivating, even things like small mountains, cave systems, and waterfalls had been constructed.

For similar reasons, there was now a large eastern dojo that had a stone stage that was around 500m in diameter. Currently, the group of Homunculi had formed into neat rows and columns, copying the techniques that were being demonstrated by Kenshin at the front. Since the latter had spent much of her formative years in a Zen Buddhist Temple, even serving as an Apprentice Master, she was adept at teaching others proper form. It helped that the Homunculi were both receptive and exceptionally attentive to even the small details. They also had considerable stamina and, with thousands of years of memories related to combat, they were some of the best possible students any Master of Martial Arts could ask for.

With Vahn’s arrival, Kenshin had immediately taken notice of his presence, straightening her body and performing a salute that was emulated by her students as they all simultaneously shouted, "We greet Master!" Then, in almost perfect unison, the group of Homunculi all sat in seiza, their backs straight and their eyes directed to the front. It was a commendable display of discipline that caused Vahn and Kenshin to nod in approval, an action that resulted in a peculiar atmosphere descending upon the group of remarkably similar women. Compared to the majority of Homunculi, quite a number of those present had a focused and clear light in their eyes, showing they were quickly awakening an Ego of their own, albeit one derived from martial discipline...

It felt a little awkward to have interrupted things but, knowing Kenshin had been pushing herself a little too hard lately, Vahn guided her to the side after she called up a Homunculus named Shion to lead the group in their next set of exercises.

Once they were alone, Vahn released an exasperated sigh that caused Kenshin to show an apologetic expression as she explained, "Don’t blame me too much, okay? You’ve also been working hard and, with how much these women look up to me, I can’t help but push myself...don’t be mad..." As they were out of sight from her students, Kenshin, despite the fact she was only wearing a thin Gi and was covered in a thin layer of sweat, wrapped her arms around Vahn’s body. He knew this was her way of keeping him from being too harsh, even though it wouldn’t have bothered her all that much. Still, she had changed considerably since their first meeting and, unable to be mad at her, Vahn released a small sigh as he reciprocated her embrace and whispered, "Don’t push yourself too hard..."

While laughing in response to Vahn’s concern, Kenshin rested her head against his shoulder before muttering, "I already know you’ve been looking for me...before it’s too late, I wanted to help these girls build up a basic foundation. Since I won’t be able to exert myself as much in the future, please allow me to be a little selfish for now..."

Hearing Kenshin’s words caused Vahn’s heart to beat a little faster, something that was easily picked up by the peculiar white and black-haired beauty due to their proximity. This caused her to feel more mischevious than normal, a sly smile spreading across her lips as she rested against his chest and asked, "Ara? To think even His Majesty gets fl.u.s.tered when it comes to such discussions...or perhaps you are just excited? Does the thought of impregnating me make your heart go doki doki~?" As she was listening closely, Kenshin noticed that Vahn’s heart did indeed fluctuate a few times in response, causing her own to flutter quite a bit...

Snorting lightly through his nose, Vahn continued to hold Kenshin in his arms as he mused, "You have become rather bold..." This caused Kenshin to laugh in response before reminding, "Is that so? As I recall, I had no qualms about how you wanted to treat me from the start. My purpose in this life was always to serve Master, even before you allowed me to love you. Now that I’ve made my choice, what reason could I possibly have to hesitate~?" To punctuate her words, Kenshin leaned her body in Vahn’s, allowing his leg to slip between her thighs as a hot sigh escaped her lips, tickling his chin.

Though he didn’t dislike when his women were more proactive, Vahn also wasn’t the type to just sit back and remain passive. When Kenshin leaned into him, he lifted his leg slightly, allowing her to rest against it as he cupped her pert buttocks with both hands and lifted her body. This caused her to take a deep breath and, as she had already warmed up from training for several consecutive hours, a small puff of condensation escaped her lips as she exhaled. Then, though she wouldn’t refuse him if he wanted to take her here and now, Kenshin extricated herself from Vahn’s embrace so she could calm down. She could still feel the heat from his hands on her backside, a tell-tale sign that he had been taken in by her momentum, something Kenshin always found rather refreshing...

After cupping Vahn’s face with her hand, Kenshin continued regulating her breathing as she stated in a ’calm’ tone, "As you allow me to be honest, I would prefer if you were to defeat me in battle before we produce an heir. Until then, I will continue to train these women as warriors before allowing them to choose their own path. I have already found my happiness so I will do my best to open the way forward for others. Know that you take my heart with you wherever you go, Master, so do not feel pressured to move forward and rush things. When you are ready, I will be waiting for your challenge anytime..." With that said, Kenshin briefly overlapped her lips with Vahns, allowing her emotions to reach him before resolutely returning to the training field to carry out the duty she had assigned herself...

Watching her departure in silence, Vahn couldn’t help but feel that Kenshin was a strong woman, not that any of the women he was involved with were weak. She was perfectly capable of forging a path for herself without anyone needing to direct her, all while keeping the emotions she had developed safely within her heart. Even if they were apart for several years, Vahn felt that Kenshin’s heart would never waver, a sentiment that gave him considerable peace of mind. The women he was most fond of were generally those that didn’t need him in order to thrive and prosper as, when he was battling, one of Vahn’s greatest concerns was how those who had become dependent on him would live after his passing...

Kenshin had a deeply rooted trauma and, though she still had a long way to go before she was able to truly empathize with others, she had made remarkable progress. Vahn felt that she saw herself in the Homunculi as, much like her past self, they showed little to no genuine emotion. If she were able to help them, it was a way in which she could validate her own progress. After all, rather than having others tell her she had come a long way, Kenshin was more so the type that sought ’proof’ through her own efforts. Introspection could only take you halfway towards enlightenment and, unless you were able to help others find their way, you were nothing more than the proverbial frog in the well...

Deciding not to interfere with Kenshin’s efforts, Vahn directly exited the Training Orb before, his mind thinking about the best course of action. He could technically show up just about anywhere without anyone complaining about his presence but, much like Kenshin, it was also true that the girls had their own things going on. This was one of the major downsides to living inside of the Projection as, if they had a more standardized lifestyle, it would be much easier to decide when and how to spend his free time. Now, everyone’s schedules could be all over the place and, though they would always make time for him, Vahn felt a little guilty knowing he was interfering with their growth just to cut loose...

Shaking his head, Vahn dismissed any potentially negative thoughts as, even if he was getting in the way a bit, it was another expression of their will if they chose to make time for him. He hadn’t forced any of his women into their current position and, knowing they would admonish him if he showed ’unnecessary’ concerns, Vahn decided it was okay to be a little selfish. With that in mind, he decided to invade Rin’s Magus Tower, choosing to enter in through the window after taking flight from the Knight’s Training Field. Once Sakura had decided to focus on her Knightly studies, Rin had started spending most of her time researching [Primordial Rune] Magecraft during the evenings. As for her physical training, she followed a training menu given to her by Fenrir, albeit with limited success and a lot of muscle pains...

Though he had concealed his presence, Rin didn’t even look back at the window as she commented, "Give me a moment to finish this up, okay?" From the moment Vahn had decided to ’surprise’ her, Rin had already been made aware of his presence, even if she couldn’t personally sense him. Since she was currently engraving a rune onto a cut ruby, she couldn’t split her focus without risking the entire thing exploding. Fortunately, her [Parallel Thinking] was extremely useful in situations like this as, even with part of her focus on Vahn’s arrival, she didn’t wave in the slightest as she used a set of gem-cutting tools to finish the engraving.

Without making a single sound, Vahn closely observed Rin’s work without allowing his thoughts to trigger her intuition. She had made a lot of progress over the last two months but, as [Primoridal Rune]s weren’t exactly simple, Vahn guessed she was around D-Rank. Unfortunately, lacking his ’cheat’, Rin had to spend a lot of time comprehending each rune as, rather than just being a few simple strokes on a surface, most runes were three-dimensional while also requiring a very finely tuned amount of mana to be infused into them during their creation.

If not for the fact she was a prodigy in her own right, Rin would have needed to master [Rune Magic] before having any hope of understanding the logic behind [Primordial Rune]s. However, with a bit of guidance from Scáthach, combined with her understanding of [Jewel] and [Catalyze] Magecraft, Rin was steadily progressing toward mastery. Though some of this could be credited to the presence of Ishtar and Ereshkigal in her body, with the former sharing some of her experiences with Rin, it was still a testament to the fact that she was a genius, even if not quite at the level of someone like Da Vinci.

After finishing the engraving, Rin used a magical tool modeled after a Jeweler’s Loupe to analyze the structure of the gem and make sure it was not damaged by the rune. Even hairline fractures could drastically alter the effect of the rune and, though people like Scáthach could even use simple stones to achieve ideal results, Rin needed to be very cautious to avoid any accidents. This particular rune was a combination of ’Torch’ and ’Ash’, meaning it provided a significant increase to the destructive power of the gemstone once it was infused with Magical Energy. In fact, even by using a fraction of the standard amount of Magical Energy, Rin could achieve twice the output at a tenth of the cost.

Confirming there were no structural issues with the gemstone, Rin released a sigh of relief before placing it on a small cushion atop her worktable. Then, turning around with a slight look of blame in her eyes, Rin half-heartedly complained, "I wish you would have informed me earlier. If I knew you were going to stop by, I would have prepared...tea..." As a table had appeared out of thin air as she was speaking, complete with a steaming tea set, Rin allowed her words to trail before shaking her head and walking over to sit next to Vahn. She honestly didn’t mind the intrusion and, if not for the fact she had been in the middle of an intensive process, Rin would have been more than willing to attend him.

With Rin sitting across his lap as if it were perfectly normal, Vahn produced an affectionate smile as he placed his left hand around her waist while resting his right palm atop her thigh. He didn’t do anything untoward but it still caused Rin to give him a ’warning’ look with her eyes as she relaxed her body and asked, "Did you get chased away by someone...?" Though Vahn was still an enigma, Rin liked to think she knew him well enough to read his expressions, even if he masked them. Thus, even without him answering, she lightly pinched his side in protest without further comment. This caused him to show an apologetic smile but, knowing Rin didn’t really want to hear any excuses, Vahn just spent the next few hours making it up to her, passing the time idly and talking about everything from the weather on the island, her research results, and Sakura’s upcoming birthday...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Artoria, Empress and Tiger Mom’,’Kenshin is a strong woman’,’Rin is working hard’)

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