Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

"You want to awaken the powers of the senior group...?"

Though he nodded his head in response to Jin's question, Vahn also stated, "Not just the seniors. I intend to awaken your and Lily's hidden powers as well. I already explained the concept of Innates to you. I intend to give you Gifts related to the ones you currently possess. After that, we'll go over the Quest Board and a few other important details related to the growth of yourself and the senior members of the No Names."

As appreciative as he was of Vahn's words, Jin couldn't help feeling taken aback. Vahn had been pretty resolute in regards to the notion of obtaining power rather than having it bestowed upon you. It was one of the principal ideologies he had been trying to instill in them so it was strange to hear him mention handing out Gifts all of a sudden.

Noticing the doubt in Jin's eyes, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "This is just a provisionary thing. In other words, the Gifts I'm going to hand out are training tools similar to a wooden sword or an elementary spellbook. They are intended to help you awaken powers you already possess, not provide power beyond your means to obtain. I intend to have everyone sign a contract with terms lasting for six months. After that, the Gifts I have bestowed will be returned."

Though this was the first time he was hearing about a contract related to lending Gifts, a smile developed across Jin's face as he replied, "I understand. Thank you for this opportunity, Vahn. I promise we will do our best."

Ruffling the youthful Magus' hair, Vahn returned a smile of his own as he said, "I have no doubt about that. All you and the other No Names really need is time. I figured I can guarantee you at least six months."

While it wasn't a 'perfect' solution, Vahn had come to the conclusion that he could assist the No Names by spinning the narrative that he had accepted a contract to safeguard them. This wouldn't jeopardize his neutrality as one of the services he intended to offer in the future was protection for burgeoning Communities. He was even tempted to start a Gift Lending service, but that would have to wait until he had worked out all the kinks related to his current business model.

Extracting his hand from the youth's head, Vahn said, "I'll leave spreading the news and gathering the others to you. We'll perform the signing ceremony this evening. For now, I'm off to summon a few new recruits to act as Guardians during the provisional period. They'll ultimately belong to the Sage Dragon's Hearth, but, much like how Black Rabbit is able to work for Thousand Eyes, I'll have the two of them act as temporary representatives for the No Names."

Blinking in surprise, Jin was about to ask if that was such a good idea when Vahn just shook his head and said, "We're well past that point, kiddo. Besides, I'm interested to see what you'll do if you have powerful people on your side. You are the Leader of the No Names. It's time you begin acting like it."

Though his words were a little harsh, Vahn knew that Jin needed to hear them. His low self-esteem was one of his greatest weaknesses. This was an opportunity for him to gain experience and build the confidence he would need to lead the No Names into the future. If he couldn't, someone else would need to take his place as he simply wasn't qualified to continue leading others.

On that note, Vahn promptly teleported away. This left Jin alone in the Library with a conflicted look on his face. Fortunately, if nothing else, he had a good head on his shoulders. He could understand what needed to be done, so, after a few moments of silence, he gave his cheeks a few light smacks before departing the Library to spread the news and gather his future comrades...

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Having already discussed the matter with Black Rabbit, Sarina, Nono, and Shirayukihime, Vahn's next destination was the Outer Gate leading to the God's Playground. There, the four girls were waiting for him with varying degrees of excitement and perturbation visible in their gazes.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

Though she was the only one of the girls that didn't belong to his Community, it was Black Rabbit who answered, "It's no problem, Vahn. We just arrived a few minutes ago." with an expectant smile on her face. Summoning new Players, much less Demon Lords, to the Divine Realm was always a big deal so she couldn't help feeling excited.

Returning a smile of his own, Vahn habitually caressed the heads of Sarina and Nono as he said, "I don't expect anything to go wrong but you'll need to prepare yourselves. Two of the people I'll be calling upon are Demon Lords. They also come from a world with heavy comedic overtones so it's impossible to predict how they'll behave once summoned."

Since he had already mentioned that the people he would be summoning were Demon Lords, the only person to react with any discernible aversion was Sarina. Vahn had also mentioned that one of the people that would be joining them was one of his most important, so, despite making a lot of progress over the past few weeks, she wasn't particularly enthused by the notion of adding more women to their Community...

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After moving a fair distance away from the Little Garden, Vahn produced a rather large magic circle before filling it with a tremendous volume of refined magical ores. One of the fundamental laws of the Divine Realm happened to be 'Equivalent Exchange' so it required a catalyst and a tremendous amount of resources to summon people from the lower realms. This amount, as could be expected, was directly proportional to the power of the individuals being summoned, so, with Seraphina and Usalia having become two of the strongest Overlords in their Netherworld, Vahn needed to prepare a veritable mountain of resources just to send them an invitation.

"I don't think I've ever seen this much wealth and resources gathered in one place...just who are you trying to summon?"

Since the summoning ritual could take upwards of an hour, Vahn only paid cursory attention to it as he turned towards Black Rabbit and answered, "Their names are Seraphina and Usalia. They existed in the world I passed through before arriving in the Divine Realm. As for their official titles...I believe the former is the Supreme Overlord of Gorgeous while the latter is known as the Tyrant Overlord of Toto Bunny."

To make things easier for the girls, Vahn created magical projections of the two girls he was talking about. The appearance of Seraphina was enough to leave even Hime feeling at a loss, but, as could be expected, the person Black Rabbit paid the most attention to was Usalia. After all, despite a few startling contrasts, the latter was still a bunny girl.

"This little girl is a Demon Lord...?"

Rather than Black Rabbit, the first person to ask about Usalia's status was Sarina. From appearances alone, she felt they were around the same age as each other. Unfortunately, Vahn quickly shattered this misunderstanding by answering, "Indeed. Don't let her appearance deceive you. She should be around 1815 years old in this image. The physiology of demons is quite a bit different from normal people. After all, they have no biological limits in regards to age and potential."

"1815...!?"

Feeling as though she had taken critical damage, the only thing preventing Sarina from falling over was Vahn's support. She felt that Usalia was a lot cuter than she was, and, despite doing her best to feign ignorance, she was well aware of the relationship between Vahn and Black Rabbit. Thus, with Usalia possessing rabbit-like features, Sarina couldn't help feeling as though she had lost the battle before it had even begun.

Resisting the urge to chuckle at the young girl's expense, Vahn manifested a picnic blanket out of thin air before guiding her to sit down and saying, "We might be waiting for a while. Why don't we enjoy a meal in the process?"

Despite saying this, Vahn didn't join Sarina after guiding her to take a seat. Instead, he manifested his own Little Garden without offering any explanation, his thoughts briefly seeping into it before returning it to the safety of his Soul Realm. Then, much to the surprise of everyone present, he used Unit Management to instantaneously summon Fenrir to his side.

"Master~!"

Though it had only been a few days since their last meeting, Fenrir immediately pounced on Vahn as if this was their first meeting in decades. Then, causing everyone but Nono to blush, she sealed his lips with her own, her inordinately fully tail wagging happily as she stood on the very tips of her toes.

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Feeling Fenrir's overwhelmingly happy emotions surge into him, it was difficult for Vahn not to adopt a goofy grin of his own as he grabbed her shoulders and teasingly mused, "Someone's excited..."

"Mouuuu...Master has become stingy..."

Though he knew she was just playing around, Vahn couldn't help laughing in response to Fenrir's adorably pouty words. Then, with his hand snaked around her exposed back, he gestured towards the peanut gallery and said, "Fenrir, I'd like to introduce you to the newest members of our family. From left to right we have Sarina, Black Rabbit, Nono, and Shirayukihime. Soon enough, we'll have two more additions. Please help me look after them."

Passing her gaze over everyone as they were introduced, Fenrir's scarlet eyes glistened as she set her eyes on Black Rabbit and said, "You're strong..." as if she were stating a cold hard fact. Before Black Rabbit could respond, however, Fenrir shifted her gaze to Sarina and said, "You shouldn't let your emotions get the better of you. Master likes obedient girls who get along with others. You'll only cause-"

Not expecting Fenrir to begin her proselytism so quickly, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as she said, "Now, now, there's no need for that. Sarina has made considerable progress since our first meeting. Don't be too harsh on her, okay?"

Nodding her head in affirmation, Fenrir shifted her attention to Shirayukihime next, asking, "Are you a God? I smell Divinity on you."

Offering a polite bow in response, Hime answered, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fenrir-sama. And yes, I received Divinity from Shiroyasha-sama. At the present moment, I serve our Master as the Head Maid and Governess of the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Please treat me well."

Approving of Hime's behavior, Fenrir nodded her head before looking up at Vahn and saying, "She has potential. Can I train her?"

Since she could sense the water, ice, and yin elemental energies swirling around Hime's body, Fenrir was confident in her ability to help her grow. Unfortunately, her words didn't translate well without additional context. As a result, the surrounding temperature noticeably increased as Hime imagined what she meant by 'training'.

Unable to contain himself, a rather boisterous laugh emanated from Vahn's throat. He knew it was only a matter of time before Fenrir caused some kind of misunderstanding but he hadn't imagined it would be so soon. Fortunately, his laughter didn't continue for too long as the summoning circle behind him promptly flashed with a vibrant light before blinking out entirely.

In the past, this particular phenomenon had caused quite a few people to think their invitation had been refused. In reality, the Divine Realm simply forbade direct summons into its interior. Instead, it 'spawned' new arrivals just outside the invisible dome covering the sun-sized island. In other words, Seraphina and Usalia were currently falling towards the ground like pink and white meteors due to the restrictions preventing them from flying...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Politics is all about spinning a narrative...','The High Priestess of the Good Girl Faith has arrived~!','I wonder how many people have heart attacks when being summoned into the Divine Realm...?')