Exasperation

"Hey, Vahn...if things go south during the Rating Game, how would you feel about spending the rest of our lives here...?" asked Rias, caressing Vahn's chest as she lay next to him, using his right shoulder as a pillow while Akeno used his left.

"I don't know about the rest of our lives, but we can definitely stay until I'm strong enough that you never have to compromise with anyone or be made to do something against your will..." responded Vahn, his expression and tone serious.

"Mmnn...and I suppose I can't just abandon my people..." muttered Rias, closing her eyes and sighing from her nose.

"I don't think that will be an issue," contended Akeno, pointing out, "The compression ratio here in the Eighth Floor is already 6.8 to 1. By the time we reach the Tenth Floor, we can spend a week in here for every day that passes in the outside world. Even if we just take a Devil's Sabbatical, that would give us seventy years to reorganize and gather our strength..."

"A Devil's Sabbatical...?" asked Vahn, prompting Rias to explain, "Nn...it's not uncommon for Young Devils in arranged marriages to have misgivings about their assigned partners. In such cases, it's possible to postpone the nuptials for up to ten years. Riser will doubtlessly make a fuss, but I don't care what that fiery chickenhead thinks..."

Piggybacking off Rias's words, Akeno revealed, "And if the two of you can produce a child within that period, the engagement will naturally be made null and void."

"Nn...but we don't know if it's even possible to get me pregnant within the Corridor..." grumbled Rias.

"It should be possible..." said Vahn, causing Rias's and Akeno's brows to rise as he explained, "This place changes according to the desires of the people who enter it, so if you believe you can get pregnant and we aim to make it happen, it will..."

"Are you suggesting you could impregnate me now if it's something we both desired...?" asked Rias.

"It's possible..." confirmed Vahn, meeting Rias's gaze as he revealed, "We could also do it outside because the Corridor is ultimately a manifestation of my power and desire. So if you want a baby, I will make it happen...not in a few hundred years, but right now..."

"Oh, my~" hummed Akeno, cupping her cheek with an especially amused and alluring smile.

Resisting the urge to exhale a scoffing chuckle, Rias remarked, "It would have been useful to know that before. If Grayfia had reported back to my brother that this place could be used to facilitate or ensure conception, it wouldn't matter how loudly that preening phoenix complained..."

"Well...I can't really guarantee it will work that way for everyone..." said Vahn. "But if enough of the people entering believed it worked that way, it should..."

"In other words, as of this moment, Vahn-sama is the only one who can guarantee conception..." hummed Akeno, punctuating her words by licking the interior of Vahn's left ear, her left hand caressing his increasingly firm and toned abs.

"Technically..." confirmed Vahn, his face reddening slightly as he got the distinct impression he was about to become an expectant father.

Confirming Vahn's suspicions, Rias swallowed hard, the upper half of her face glowing as if light was refracting from her crimson hair and onto her cheeks as she asked, "Then...if you're willing...would you im...I mean...will you make a baby with me, Vahn? Because I would really like to make one with you..."

"I honestly think it's a bit early for us to be parents..." responded Vahn, holding Rias's gaze as he supplanted, "But I also really want to make a baby with Rias..."

"Then let's do it...right this instant..." said Rias, her face and body feeling like they were on fire as she grabbed Vahn's rapidly erecting little brother and surprised him by narrowing her eyes, stating, "Take this massive cock of yours and make a mother out of me..."

"Okay..." responded Vahn, nodding his head several times as he sat up and prepared to put Rias into her favorite mating press, this time for its intended purpose. Rias promptly spread both her legs and herself, but before the spur-of-the-moment breeding session could get underway, Akeno chimed in to ask, "Then, shall I also get pregnant? After all, one pregnancy could be regarded as a fluke. Two is empirical evidence that Vahn's unique capability is the real deal..."

"Actually, now that you mention it, we should probably bring this up with Sona first..." conceded Rias, regaining her composure and reasoning, "If the heiresses of two of the Great Clans became pregnant concurrently, it would give us tremendous leverage in our dealings with other Devils. You are welcome to have his child as well, Akeno, but you should wait at least a few months after mine and Sona's are confirmed."

"I understand completely," responded Akeno, shifting her narrowed eyes to Vahn and smiling as she revealed, "There are also some things I would like Vahn to know about my past before I devote myself and my womb to him completely..."

"Are you talking about that...?" asked Rias, her words directed at Akeno, but her gaze focused on Vahn as she smiled and gave an affirming nod. He was feeling confused about what to do now that they were evidently no longer going to make a baby, but after seeing Rias nod and hold open her legs, he at least understood they weren't going back to resting...

"Nnnngh~"

As Rias groaned in pleasure and satisfaction from Vahn climbing on top of her, Akeno casually confirmed, "That's right. I doubt Vahn-sama would be particularly bothered by it, but I would like him to know my history if we're going to build a future together..."

"What history...?" asked Vahn, turning his face and meeting Akeno's gaze without ceasing his forceful and rhythmic ministrations.

"Not now," responded Akeno, extending her hand to caress Vahn's face, her eyes softening with a hint of melancholy as she asserted, "Right now, you should focus on Rias and helping her overcome this predicament. My past can wait. After all, it's not going anywhere...and neither am I..."

Though it caused Rias to frown slightly, Akeno punctuated her words by kissing Vahn tenderly and affectionately. The former didn't mind sharing, but it was a different matter entirely to have Vahn's attention pulled away from her. Thus, wrapping her arms and legs around him, she squeezed her insides so tightly he had to return his focus to her...

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Following a short rest, Vahn, Rias, and Akeno were preparing to resume their journey, but before that, they needed to place the two-story, four-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage away. Anything with a volume exceeding one square meter took up multiple spaces in Vahn's Inventory, so while he would be storing it in his Inventory, he waited until Rias returned it to the piece of parchment it had been summoned from, a small, yellowish, and slightly bloody piece of paper with her family's distinctive crest drawn on it.

"Well, that's that..." said Rias, breathing a faint, exertion-induced sigh as she made her way over to pick up the piece of parchment, bending over in a way that purposely provided Vahn a view of her pink lace panties. Even for her, summoning and unsummoning a house was no easy feat, so while she could repeat the process dozens of times if needed, it left her feeling slightly drained.

"Do you need some of my life force...?" asked Vahn, prompting the smile Rias turned to give him to broaden slightly before all three of them saw a crimson Magic Circle appear a short distance away. There was a delay of several seconds, which typically only occurred when the person or object being transferred had to cross a vast distance, but the voluptuous form of Grayfia invariably appeared, standing stoically with her hands folded over her lap.

Bowing respectfully, Grayfia caused Rias's right brow to rise as, rather than greeting her first, the silver-haired Devil expressed, "Good morning, Vahn-sama, Lady Rias, Akeno-san. I hope you were able to rest and that this new day finds you well..."

"Did you need something, Grayfia? Or are you just here to issue a report?" asked Rias, crossing her arms.

"Both, my Lady," responded Grayfia, offering a slight bow before raising her head and revealing, "I was able to reach what I believe to be the final Floor of the Second Stratum, but the stairway leading to the next level is blocked by a door marked with indecipherable text. Even when I brought my full power to bear against it, I could not so much as leave a scratch on its surface or the surrounding structure."

"Even you couldn't damage it...?" asked Rias, her eyes widening in genuine surprise as Grayfia wasn't known as The Ultimate Queen for nothing. With the exception of Serafall Leviathan, Sona's older sister and one of the Four Satans, she was regarded as the second-most powerful female Devil in the Underworld. During the previous Civil War, she had single-handedly annihilated multiple fortresses and even erased a sizeable island from the Underworld's regularly changing map...

"I believe only the Master of the Corridor will be able to open it," replied Grayfia, speaking to Rias but staring at Vahn with a faint smile. Since they were contracted, she could sense that something had changed within him since the previous day. He wasn't considerably more powerful, but there was a certain preparedness to his aura and a look of determination in his striking aquamarine eyes as if he had just learned about and accepted an important responsibility...

'Could it be...?' Grayfia asked herself, narrowing her eyes slightly as she looked at Rias and Akeno. She could tell at a glance that neither of them was pregnant, but since it wasn't uncommon in such situations, it wasn't difficult to imagine they were aiming for it...

"Then, should we go check it out...?" asked Vahn, directing the question to Rias. He needed to defeat at least one of each type of monster on a Floor to maintain his growth, but he could always double back after opening the door or gate preventing Grayfia's descent.

"It's not a bad idea," confirmed Rias, brushing the bangs on the right side of her face as she appended, "And if the monsters there are strong, Akeno and I might benefit from hunting them."

"They're not quite at Lady Rias's and Akeno-san's levels, but the monsters on that particular Floor aren't complete fodder. I would compare them to freshly promoted Mid-Class Devils, so it might be prudent for Lady Rias's Peerage to train and farm there while the two of you make your way down to the Third Stratum," revealed and suggested Grayfia.

"Well, there's only one way to know for sure," said Rias, approaching and grabbing Vahn's right hand. Akeno promptly did the same with his left, so after looking between the two, Grayfia approached Vahn from the front, a faintly mischievous smile playing across her lips as she said, "Pardon me, Vahn-sama," before wrapping her arms around his body and squishing her breasts against him.

"Grayfia...what is it you think you're doing...?" asked Rias, adopting a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I consumed a great deal of Demonic Power during my search and failed attempts to breach the Second Stratum's Twentieth Floor exit," answered Grayfia, staring intently into the slightly taller Vahn's eyes as she casually asserted, "It's only natural that I replenish it through physical contact and skinship with my Master..."

"You don't seem particularly depleted..." remarked Vahn, not questioning that Grayfia could replenish herself via their contract, as he did the same with Rias, Akeno, and Koneko, but he felt like she had barely used a drop of the veritable lake of power contained within her...

"I was also planning to release Vahn-sama the moment the transfer was complete," responded Grayfia, appending, "Though, if Vahn-sama would prefer to remain in this position, I will not protest. Vahn-sama possesses a paradoxically exciting yet comforting aura, so I do not mind being held by him in the slightest..."

"I have heard that..." responded Vahn, offering an awkward smile as their surroundings abruptly changed, the result of him asking Sis to transport them to the Second Stratum's Twentieth Floor, a place where everything from the structures to the unique flora and environmental features were formed entirely from crystal...

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