Chapter 1339 - Responsibility

Though it had only been a matter of time, Vahn never expected that the first Tier 5 entity he slept with would be a woman he knew for less than twenty-four hours, real-time. Still, it wasn't as if he regretted his decision and, seeing the contented smile on the sleeping Arcueid's face, he couldn't help but feel the usual pride that accompanied sleeping with a beautiful woman. Now, he would do everything in his power to guarantee her happiness, something made easier by the fact his strength experienced a qualitative increase after their intercourse.

Much like his experiences melding with Goddesses, Vahn's aura ultimately entwined with Arcueid's, even without him willing it to do so. This was the result of her desire to become one with him so, as the weaker entity, Vahn couldn't resist being taken along for the ride. During this, his source energy melded with what he could only assume to be the Counter Force as, after sleeping with Arcueid, he suddenly felt closer to the entire world around him, Alaya and Tiamat included.

Now, Vahn felt an even stronger desire to protect the planet, something he conveyed to everyone within the Ivory Castle. He obviously couldn't just show up with Arcueid out of the blue so, over the last few days, Vahn had explained the situation to Artoria before alerting everyone else to their new companion. This included Aoko who, upon hearing Arcueid's name, briefly radiated a moderately terrifying aura as she glared at him with accusatory eyes before cursing Zelretch's name a few dozen times.

Needless to say, Aoko was familiar with Arcueid as, in the past, they had encountered each other a few times. They had apparently even fought to a draw at some point before teaming up together to defeat a Dead Apostle Ancestor who tried to expand his Territory near Aoko's home.

Vahn wasn't really surprised by the fact that Aoko had met Arcueid as, with what he knew of Records, it would actually be stranger if some of the most powerful forces within were unaware of each other. It was highly likely that Aoko and Arcueid were part of the same story as, while not as strong as the flow of fate around Arcueid, Aoko's aura couldn't be overlooked.

What did surprise Vahn, however, was the conversation that followed these revelations as he soon came to learn that the Shiki he intended to resurrect had a connection to, not just Ciel, but Aoko and Arcueid as well. To make matters even worse, Shiki seemed to be the target of Arcueid's first love, a tidbit of information Vahn wished he had been privy to prior to his meeting with the former-Vampiric Princess.

Fortunately, though he wasn't quite sure this was the correct word to use, it seemed that more than a decade had passed between the time of their parting. Arcueid had refused to drink Shiki's blood, cursing him with the fate of becoming a Dead Apostle Ancestor. Instead, she left him in the care of Ciel, one of the many women the assumed protagonist was involved with.

Following the parting between Arcueid and Shiki, the latter ended up temporarily joining the Burial Agency alongside Ciel before ultimately ending up as a freelance Mage Killer known by the moniker of 'Death'. He traveled all over the world with an all-female entourage of included Ciel, a Homunculi, a young succubus, an earth spirit, and a Mystic Codex possessed by a female assassin...

The more Vahn learned about Shiki, the more certain he was that the boy, alongside Shirou, was a male protagonist. It wasn't too surprising to discover that a Tier 5 world had multiple plotlines going on as the complexity of the world made it pretty easy to extrapolate multiple series from the source material. What did surprise him was the fact that all the male protagonists seemed to die at relatively young ages, with Shirou and Shiki both dying before they were even thirty-years-old.

Vahn wondered if the creator of the Nasuverse hated their male protagonists or, perhaps as a result of the setting itself, recycled protagonists to carry on different plot lines. Based on the sheer number of female Heroic Spirits, Vahn got the distinct impression that the Nasuverse was the type of setting that targetted a male audience. Since he had researched various anime, manga, and novels within the Nasuverse, expanding his understanding of several genres, it was pretty easy to imagine that this particular Record was derived from a Visual Novel or even an Eroge. After all, it was literally possible to transfer mana through intercourse and, against common sense, the vast majority of Heroic Spirits throughout history ended up being exceptionally beautiful women...

It was unfortunate the Vahn was unable to learn anything regarding the origin of the Nasuverse as he would have liked to have a long talk with its creator. Now, he could only do his best to live his life to the fullest within the setting he had been thrown into. He would do everything he could to make Arcueid happy and, while Shiki's existence may cause a few issues, Vahn wasn't going to become a liar just to avoid a bit of drama. Shiki already built a harem during his relatively short life and, while Arcueid may have had feelings for him in the past, they never met a single time after parting.

Based on how things ended up, Vahn suspected the timeline he was in was one where Arcueid and Shiki were simply never meant to be. If he had been the young hero, Vahn wouldn't have taken the parting of Arcueid as an excuse to give up on her. Rather, knowing her past and the nature of her existence, he would do everything in his power to liberate her from the fate forced upon her. At the very least, he would have tracked down various Dead Apostle Ancestors in order to track down the location of Altrouge, Arcueid's only living 'relative'...

Ultimately, Shiki had missed his opportunity so, for better or worse, Arcueid was now within his care. She had made him take responsibility so, no matter what happened in the future, she was his to care for. All of her past traumas would slowly be expunged by him while any loose plot lines still attached to her would be forcibly resolved or severed. It didn't matter how powerful her enemies were, Vahn would cut down each and every single one of them until Arcueid was finally able to live the peaceful and happy life she deserved...

As if sensing his resolve, Arcueid's eyelashes trembled a few times before her eyelids peeled open to reveal the sapphire-blue stars within. She had been laying against his body, completely naked, as the crystalline platform she had made to host them slowly revolved around in mid-air. The gentle rays of the sun continued to cause rainbow refractions to dance across their body, enhancing the fantastical atmosphere that had permeated through the area.

After staring blankly at Vahn for several seconds, Arcueid seemed to recall what they had been doing before as she quickly buried her face into his chest. This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle, earning him a pointed glare from the two sapphires as Arcueid peeked up at him. She seemed especially weak to teasing but, after experiencing her power first hand, Vahn knew it wasn't a good idea to push her too much. Instead, he chose to be direct with her as, even more so than teasing, she seemed to have no resistance against frank expressions of affection...

Before Arcueid could voice any complaints, Vahn snaked his hand beneath her breasts, touching her smooth abdomen with his palm. This caused Arcueid to bite her bottom lip but, other than grabbing his arm with her hand, she made no effort to stop his caress. If she wanted to, it would be a simple matter to rip off his arm or even destroy his body completely but, much like a bashful maiden who simply couldn't be honest with herself, she let his wayward hand explore freely.

Though it was certainly tempting, Vahn didn't want to rile up Arcueid too much so, after tracing his finger around her navel a few times, he ultimately retracted his hand. This led to Arcueid following his hand with her eyes in an adorable manner but, resisting her passive aura, which compelled him to take action, Vahn guided her eyes toward his own before saying, "We must return to Avalon, my dear Princess. We'll have more opportunities to spend time together in the near future. For now, I have duties to attend while you have people to meet."

Being reminded of the fact that she had to engage with the rest of Vahn's harem, Arcueid released a small sigh before ultimately nodding her head in understanding. Afterward, she pulled back her long golden locks, making sure they fell behind her shoulders properly as clothes instantly manifested on her body. Her clothes were similar in nature to a Divine Raiment so, without any effort at all, Arcueid was able to modify her outfit to suit the situation...

Vahn always felt a little sad when naked women suddenly dawned clothing but, having already made up his mind, he quickly followed suit. With Arcueid's Marble Phantasm and reality-altering abilities, they literally had all the time in the world to mess around but, if he idled for too long, Vahn felt as if he would slowly become detached from his other responsibilities. With the current chaos plaguing the world, he simply couldn't allow himself to relax for too long as it would only make him feel even more guilty when he learned of some great tragedy. Besides, he really needed to deal with Illya in the near future, followed by several others almost immediately after...

Realizing he had lost his 'excuse' after sleeping with Arcueid, Vahn knew the next couple of days were going to be both fulfilling yet chaotic. This brought a smile to his face while, back in Avalon, he was gathering everyone together in order to welcome Arcueid. He managed to convince Circe and Medea to take care of the cooking as, from what he heard from Aoko, Arcueid was especially fond of good food. She had even been bribed with food several times in the past, once even putting her life on the line as a result.

With the time dilation between Avalon and the outside world, there was more than enough time to prepare a large feast by the time Vahn and Arcueid finally arrived. She had returned to wearing her white gown but, despite her regal appearance, it was easy to see how nervous Arcueid was. She was about to meet the people she may very well spend the next few centuries with so she couldn't help but fret about making a good first impression.

Fortunately, pretty much everyone within the castle had an understanding of Arcueid's character and circumstances so, contrary to her expectations, she was welcomed by virtually everyone. Artoria was the first to exchange greetings but, soon after, Aoko appeared to ease tensions considerably. Since she was a familiar face to Arcueid, the latter was able to breathe a sigh of relief, even if she was also a little annoyed that Aoko, of all people, was one of the people she needed to share with...

Aoko also seemed a little miffed, albeit for entirely different reasons. She didn't particularly care who Vahn was with but, knowing Arcueid had beaten her to the punch, despite having come later, Aoko couldn't help but feel as if her pride had been trampled on. As a result, she spent much of the dinner glaring at Vahn, at least when she wasn't chatting happily with other people. This, of course, wasn't really a surprise for Vahn but, before he could coax Aoko and make her forgive him, his second body had snuck off to take care of one of the more pressing matters requiring his attention...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'TFW you realize you're in an Eroge...','The Godhand roams freely, be it through extensive mountain ranges or fertile plains...','Aoko be like, "I'm about to get me some...don't make me take it from you!"')

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