endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 158

With the overexertion he felt, Vahn had to take a break for nearly two hours to recover his mental energy. By the time he had finished experimenting with [Eyes of Truth], it was near time for lunch and Vahn was a bit confused why everyone was still away. Since he was told not to do any work on the weekends, Vahn decided he would go out into the City before heading toward the Hostess of Fertility for a late lunch. Considering the time he spent in the dungeon, the nine days he was in a coma, and the six days he had been awake, it had been a long time since Vahn visited. A lot had changed in the time, and Vahn was looking forward to meeting Chloe again.

After securing the formations on his house, Vahn made his way along the sidepath of Tsubaki's manor before stopping outside the entrance and heading inside. He hadn't seen Naaza and Lili for nearly a week, and now that he had time, Vahn wanted to talk to the two girls a bit and invite them to eat lunch. Strangely, the perpetually open front door of Tsubaki's manor was closed and Vahn realized the door was locked. Curious, Vahn expanded his domain and tried to sense if anyone was present. No matter how long he searched, Vahn was unable the presence of the three girls.

Vahn frowned, unsure of what was going on for both residences to be empty. The only time Tsubaki would ever be away is if she was leading the Hephaestus Familia into the dungeon on an expedition. But, even if that was the case, Vahn was certain she would have informed him, and it didn't explain why Lili and Naaza were also missing. He began to suspect that there was something going on behind the scenes that he wasn't told about, but couldn't understand what would involve the members of both residences.

After waiting inside Tsubaki's courtyard for nearly twenty minutes, Vahn heard a sound emitting from his stomach to indicate he was still hungry. Releasing a sigh, Vahn shook his head and decided there wasn't anything that could happen, especially if they were all together. Pulling out a piece of seasoned jerky, Vahn began making his way leisurely toward the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn also figured he could stop by Hephaestus's workshop and obtain answers directly from her.

As he wasn't in a hurry, Vahn spent his time watching the people and taking in the sights of the City. Though it wasn't his first time walking the route, everything seemed new with his enhanced perception and eyesight. The auras of everyone were a lot more clear than they were in the past, and Vahn could now identify the approximate strength of people at a glance. He was even able to see some relatively normal people that had large auras, and Vahn knew they were likely gods and goddesses of low ranked Familia. Vahn had never realized how many strong auras were in the City, and it made him feel a bit more humbled regarding his own strength.

Along the way, there were several girls that tried calling out to him, but Vahn just gave them polite smiles and a curt nod before continuing forward without slowing. Compared to the looks girls gave him in the past, Vahn could see a bit of a fervor in their expressions now and he was far more susceptible to their auras and spontaneous affections toward him. Though he knew none of them actually had feelings for him, Vahn was somewhat proud of the attention he was receiving. Even he had noticed how rapidly his looks had changed over the last week or so, and felt like he had hit a growth spurt and was maturing rapidly.

After nearly two hours, Vahn arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility and paused outside the doors like he had done so many times in the past. The aroma coming from the slightly ajar doors made him feel nostalgic, and he somewhat missed coming here every day for dinner. It had been even longer since he came on his own, so Vahn was looking forward to seeing and interacting with Chloe if she was working today.

Entering into the familiar pub, Vahn couldn't help but smile as he took in the sights that he had grown attached to in the past. However, his smile changed a bit as a curious expression appeared on his face when he saw the two new girls that were attending customers. Though he couldn't see Chloe around, Vahn did see two new, yet familiar faces attending to customers that he had been curious about in the past.