Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Unaware of the conversation going on in the women’s bath, a disturbingly similar one was taking place within the men’s.

With public baths being the most common form of bathing within the Tower, Gandr decided to take it easy alongside Hatsu and Chunhwa after their training had completed. There was nothing strange about this, but, from the moment they saw Gandr’s ’endowments’, Hatsu became eerily silent while Chunhwa, with a wry smile on his face, remarked, "You’re scary in all kinds of ways...hahahaha..."

If things had ended there, Gandr wouldn’t have particularly minded, but, with the rest of the guys slowly filing into the bath, things somehow transitioned from a literal ’dick-measuring contest’ to an open discussion about preferences in women. The fault for this largely lay with Shibisu, who, after securing himself third place among the men present, asked, "How are things going between you and Endorsi? I noticed she was all over your during last night’s supper."

Though he knew Shibisu was the type that asked what was on his mind, Gandr couldn’t help but sigh in response to the man’s words before explaining, "There isn’t really anything between us right now. I don’t know how things will progress in the future, but I’m not trying to pick up girls and start a harem right now."

Raising his brows, a sly smile spread across Shibisu’s face as he asked, "Who said anything about a harem? Seems like you’re already having some ideas~."

With a simple wave of his hand, Gandr caused a spout of hot water to smash into Shibisu’s face, his own adopting a deadpan expression as he said, "Mind your own business, Isu. You might think it is envious to be in a position like mine, but that’s only because you haven’t experienced it. Endorsi is an attractive woman, but she has a vain nature and a violent temperament. As for Anak, she is more like a little sister to me than anything else...and don’t even get me started on Yuri...haaaa..."

Deciding to lend Shibisu a hand, Khun, from his position next to Baam, stated, "Give him a break, Gandr. The fact you have three Princess of Jahad pining after you really is something to be envious of. I understand that it might be troublesome, but there are literally billions of people in this Tower who would willingly trade places with you. If we didn’t pick on you for it, who would voice the anger and indignation of the masses~?"

Hearing Khun’s remark, Gandr just released another tired sigh before sinking into the water up to his nose. This ended up being a little dangerous, as, immediately following Khun’s statement, Rak, the undisputed ’number one’ among the men gathered, boldly stated, "The Blue Turtle is right. It is the sign of a strong man to have strong women to mate with. Take pride, Fluffy Black Turtle, you are a strong man."

Accidentally inhaling water through his nose, Gandr entered a coughing fit, a slightly resentful look in his eyes as he stared at the muscular crocodilian relaxing on the opposite side of Baam. The trio had very few boundaries between them, and, though none of them were gay, it wasn’t rare to see Baam and Khun using Rak as a cushion or a bed. It was a very strange dynamic, but, after spending a few years alongside members of the Xenos, Vahn, and, by proxy, Gandr, didn’t really question it.

After recovering from his accidental inhalation, Gandr decided to just relax against the side of the bath, head tilted back as he muttered, "You don’t really have to tell me how fortunate I am. I am the most aware of it. It’s just not my main focus so it’s kind of annoying to hear about it so often. I just want to have fun climbing the Tower alongside my friends. Relationships always make things more complicated than they need to be, especially when there are multiple women involved. Right now, it is mainly just a joke, but, if I really did start a relationship, it would slowly drive a wedge between all of us...I don’t want to lose the friends I just made..."

Not expecting to hear something so sincere from the young Vanargandr, everyone present within the bath momentarily fell silent. They knew there were more than a few grains of truth behind his statement, and, though people like Chunhwa didn’t really care, as he already had a relationship, it was bound to cause problems if Gandr started dating all the other girls in the Team. People had a habit of thinking there was always a chance they could get lucky if someone was already taken, so, when one person started taking ’everyone’, it was impossible to prevent a little resentment from taking root.

Though Endorsi was a ’vain and annoying woman’, her beauty made her relatively popular among all the males within Team Wolf Pack. The only people who didn’t particularly care about her were Rak, who had a very different opinion on what beauty meant, Baam, who only really had eyes for Rachel, and Khun, who, despite his firm denial, had a soft spot for his step-sister. She was the light of his life, and, though he principally did it to help secure her status, he had helped his step-sister become a Princess of Jahad just so she wouldn’t end up with another guy.

With the exception of the peculiar trio, this left Shibisu, Aleksai, Hatsu, and even Laure as people who all had middling crushes on Endorsi. Sure, they disdained her personality quite a bit, but, as she was, in fact, a Princess of Jahad, they actually ’expected’ her to act like that. The fact she was also something that was supposed to be unattainable also gave her the allure of the forbidden, a fruit that everyone would want to taste if given the opportunity.

Endorsi clinging to Gandr already caused the seeds of resentment to sprout within the hearts of several Team Wolf Pack members. As a result, they felt quite a bit of guilt after hearing what Gandr had to say on the matter. They didn’t know his actual age, so, from their perspective, he was just a young boy that wanted to have fun and make friends. Despite this, they teased him because of their own insecurities, envying the youth for his appearance, talent, and inordinately good ’fortune’ with women...

As the primary culprit behind the teasing remarks, Shibisu adopted an apologetic expression on his face as he stated, "I’m sorry, Gandr...I didn’t really try and consider things from your perspective. I’ll try to control myself better in the future..."

Fixing his posture so that he could stare back at the man, Gandr surprised Shibisu by shaking his head and saying, "No, it’s fine. I don’t really mind being teased that much. After all, it’s normal for friends to mess with each other. The thing that bothers me is how it feels like I’m being pressured to start a relationship when I don’t really want to. I’m pretty sure Anak also feels the same way. She probably doesn’t even think about the matters between men and women, yet, time and again, she is teased for treating me ’specially’ just because we’re a little close...it’s frustrating..."

Feeling even more guilty after hearing Gandr’s exasperated remark, Shibisu didn’t really know what else to say to the boy. Instead, he just rubbed the back of his head, an awkward smile on his face as he thought back to all his past comments regarding the duo. Fortunately, Baam came to his rescue pretty quickly, a completely innocent smile on his face as she offered, "I think it would be best if we just focus on getting stronger and climbing the Tower. We’re already members of the same Familia, so I’m sure we can overcome anything if we just talk it out like this. Isn’t that what friends do?"

Nodding his head in agreement, Gandr liberated Shibisu from his awkward silence by saying, "Baam is right. I’m probably making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is. I mean, now that we’re all a part of the same Familia, you can easily obtain the same type of medicine used by Rachel. After that, the only thing you really need to do in order to win a girl’s heart is to display confidence, treat them nicely, and work hard to improve yourself. Girls like guys who make them feel emotionally and financially secure. They can also appreciate the hard work you put into improving yourself, as, more often than not, girls put a lot of effort into their appearance. It makes them feel gratified if you do the same, rather than just one-sidedly coveting their beauty."

Not expecting to hear relationship advice from the ’youngest’ person present, Shibisu couldn’t help but tentatively inquire, "How do you know all of these things? Aren’t you like twelve...?"

Rolling his eyes, Gandr reclined his head back again before saying, "We experience the passage, just like anyone else, but the Vanargandr doesn’t age. We’re all Ageless, so, unless I want to change, this is how I will always appear. As for my actual age...I’m pretty close to 305-years-old..."

Though three-hundred wasn’t particularly old by the Tower’s standards, the fact Gandr was already that old came as quite the shock. They had thought he was still a ’brat’, but, considering how skilled he was, it made sense that his actual age was a lot older than their expectations.

Despite having just resolved himself not to tease Gandr too much, Shibisu couldn’t help but shake his head as he said, "Man, Endorsi is going to flip when she hears about this. The way you speak, it is pretty obvious you have some experience too. Did you have a family outside of the Tower...?"

Rather than answer Shibisu’s question, Gandr just waved dismissively before letting his body sink into the bath. He didn’t really feel like making up excuses or coming up with a cover story, so, after counting to one-hundred beneath the water, he rose from the tub and said, "I’m hungry. I’ll see you all at breakfast."

With that said, Gandr walked toward the entrance to the bath, steam rising from his hair and fur as the water soaking them quickly evaporated. Then, with a quick activation of his [REquip] system, he was fully clothed before he even reached the Changing Room.

Feeling his guilt resurface, Shibisu rubbed the back of his head a second time as he murmured, "I guess Gandr’s past is a taboo subject..."

Though Shibisu hadn’t been speaking towards anyone, in particular, Khun elected to nod his head, adding, "You don’t acquire those kinds of skills if you lived a normal childhood. That Fenrir woman is also a little unhinged so it’s pretty obvious they have a checkered past. Vahn probably saved them at some point. It’s pretty obvious his relationship with most of his retainers is abnormal...I guess the world outside the Tower has its own problems..."

Following Khun’s remark, silence descended on the bath for several tense moments as everyone’s thoughts wandered to the ’outside’ world. The only exception to this was Baam, who, having lived outside the Tower for many years, didn’t particularly care for it. He was more focused on climbing to the top of the Tower and opening the way so that others could achieve their dreams.

With silence dominating the atmosphere for nearly a full minute, many of the people present were considering getting out when Shibisu suddenly asked, "So, what do you guys think about the new girls? She is a sadistic monster, but that Yoruichi chick is ridiculously sexy. For a moment, I actually considered becoming a masochist when she was stepping on my face...I’m not sure how the soles of her feet can be so soft when she walks around barefooted like that..."

Hearing Shibisu’s ’admission’, Khun couldn’t help but glower at the man as if he was looking at a complete idiot. Before he could say anything, however, Chunhwa seemed to be interested in the topic, a distant look in his eyes as he stated, "That Hinata girl is very cute...though she can’t really compare to my Nare, my Chivalrous instincts kick in whenever I see such a timid and frail-looking girl...it makes me want to protect them..."

Not buying Chunhwa’s ’bullshit’, Shibisu adopted an accusatorily sly smile as he said, "You’re so full of it, Chun. We all know you’re a Lolicon. You don’t have to make excuses."

With a fair amount of red bleeding into his cheeks, Chunhwa adopted a threatening look as he said, "I’m not a Lolicon..." in a dark tone. Unfortunately, Shibisu already had his weakness in his grasp, the smile on his face becoming even more wicked as he asked, "Oh? You and Nare haven’t done it? I’m pretty sure I saw her sneaking off to your room a few times...I guess she was just feeling insecure so she went to you for ’protection’..."

Unable to refute Shibisu’s words, Chunhwa averted his eyes to the side, rebutting, "Her appearance is due to her race...she is only child-like if you hold her to human standards. What, would you have her remain alone her entire life just because she looks a little young...?"

Finding Chunhwa’s justification rather amusing, Shibisu couldn’t help but loudly guffaw in response to the man’s words. Then, despite feeling as though he had already gone too far, a somewhat lewd smile appeared on his face as he mused, "Don’t worry, even if you’re second-to-last, I’m sure Nare thinks you’re massive~." before immediately sprinting towards the entrance.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’The indignation of the masses xD...’,’Gandr has left the server’,’Shibisu must have an Innate related to seeking death...’)