Relaxation (1/2)

After Loki finally left, everyone other than Vahn seemed a lot more tired than usual. Tsubaki tried to lighten the mood by laughing and teasing Vahn a bit, but he was somewhat distracted at the moment because of various system notifications. Seeing that Vahn wasn't playing along, Tsubaki wanted to teach him a lesson, but she was prevented from continuing when Lili used the lull to approach Vahn.

Vahn was still a bit dazed and didn't see the small Pallum girl approach him. It wasn't until he noticed a change in the atmosphere when she used her magic to transform that he finally looked up. Once Lili had gotten near him, she transformed into a chienthrope and started sniffing his body all over with a bit of frustration on her face. Her actions reminded Vahn a lot of what Loki had done previously, and his guess ended up being correct when Lili said, "It was that blondie and the Amazon girl, wasn't it?"

After finding his convictions earlier, Vahn had decided he wouldn't try to hide that type of information, so he looked into Lili's eyes and nodded his head. "Their names are Ais and Tiona. Ais is the girl with the golden hair and eyes, and Tiona is indeed an Amazon." Hearing his words, the people in the room all had slightly different reactions.

Tsubaki gave Vahn an approving nod, as she was very aware of the two girls. They were both beautiful, strong, and very sought after. Tsubaki felt like it was a good achievement on Vahn's end. Naaza and Lili seemed to be lost in contemplation for a while as the two stared at each other in some kind of non-verbal form of communication. After a moment of silence, Naaza nodded and showed a small smile which seemed to give Lili a bit of confidence as she looked back toward Vahn and said, "We'll continue to work hard, so don't abandon us just because you got your hands on those two girls, okay?"

Vahn was very surprised by the question, but before he could answer, Hephaestus grabbed him by the collar and started pulling him toward the door. She shouted over her shoulder as she dragged Vahn away, "You two should know very well what kind of fool this is. Work hard and focus on your own stuff for now, and try not to distract him in the near future too much." Hephaestus had been a bit frustrated since earlier, and seeing Lili and Naaza plotting right in front of her didn't help matters any. Before Vahn could start making more promises, she dragged him out of Tsubaki's manor and made her way along the sidepath toward Vahn's residence.

Naaza and Lili were left in the dining room with Tsubaki laughing her butt off at how 'cute' Hephaestus was acting. After she was satisfied, she looked toward the two girls and said, "You understand, right? Vahn is finally starting to grow up, but even though you two had a head start, you are not in the same position as some girls. You two are people he has 'saved', and he has a lot of affection for you because of that. If you want to change your position, you need to work harder."

The two brown-haired chienthropes nodded their heads at her advice, but Lili seemed to be a little rebellious as she said to Tsubaki, "And what about you, Tsubaki-sama? Vahn also has a lot of affection for you, and he seems to want to tease you more and more." Tsubaki, hearing Lili's accusation, raised her brow and remembered Vahn's actions in the recent days. She had noticed that, as soon as he started paying attention to the differences between men and women, he seemed to act a lot more precocious around her.

Looking at the two girls that seemed to be waiting for her response, she gave a big cheeky grin and said, "Who knows~? If you two don't work hard, maybe I'll get to him before you do!" Tsubaki started laughing again as she excused herself from the room. Naaza and Lili stayed behind in silence for a while before Lili looked to Naaza and said, "I think we have even more competition now..." Naaza nodded her head slowly at the words and the two talked for a bit about the future before going about their separate ways. Lili went to the study to read, while Naaza went into her workshop and started preparing new ingredients.

---

Hephaestus had let go of Vahn's collar when they were walking, and he continued to trail behind her as they approached his residence. Hephaestus was silent for a while, but before they reached the door she said, "You did well, back there...I think it could have been a lot more difficult if you hadn't taken a stand. Loki seems to be more interested in you than I expected if she was willing to compromise that much."

Vahn remained silent as they both stopped outside the entrance of his small courtyard. Hephaestus looked at him in the eyes before crossing her arms under her well-developed breasts and sighing, "About the connection Loki was talking about...I think you have a better understanding of it now, right?" As she spoke, Hephaestus began to blush a bit. Vahn noticed and he too began blushing as he nodded his head and said, "I'm sorry Hephaestus, I didn't know..."

Hephaestus sighed and just hugged Vahn before he could continue apologizing to her. Feeling her hand stroking the back of his head, Vahn let his face rest on top of her breasts as he just relaxed his body and returned her embrace. Hephaestus whispered, "I don't mind if you're with other women, I actually expected it to happen with how many seem to gather around you. Just keep working hard and remember that I'm still waiting...and...if possible...try to only do things like that at night. It makes my work a lot harder..." Though her words were gentle at first, Vahn could feel the heat in her breath as she continued advising him. From where they were connected, Vahn could feel her body temperature begin to rise a bit, and he could even feel her heartbeat through his face since he had been resting on her breasts.

When Hephaestus finally released him and tried to part ways, Vahn grabbed her wrist and he could feel her body twitch at the sudden contact. She looked back at him with a slight flush on her face as she said, "Vahn...I can't..." Vahn noticed that, when his emotions began to rise during their embrace, it seemed to have an effect on Hephaestus as well. His emotions, combined with her own, made Hephaestus experience twice the impact as a normal person. Vahn imagined Hephaestus walking back to her workshop in the dark and cold night with a blush on her face, and it made him feel like the image was terribly lonely.

Vahn slowly pulled her toward the entrance of his residence and he could feel her resisting him more and more the further they walked. With a gentle smile on his face, he turned towards the apprehensive Hephaestus and said, "I can't say I won't do anything, but I won't go too far. I feel like I wouldn't be a man worthy of you if I let you leave like this. Sleep here tonight...and I'll show you that I can comfort your heart even without us having sex."

Seeing the confidence in Vahn's demeanor and hearing his words, Hephaestus couldn't help but swallow a bit as she stopped resisting against his pull. She knew that, when she got home, things would be very...difficult for her. Hearing Vahn's words, she began to feel an anticipation and was unable to muster enough willpower to make the journey home. After she stopped resisting, Vahn's smile grew gentle as he escorted her inside.

When the two made their way through the door, Hephaestus was a bit surprised but, as Vahn had expected it, he managed to keep his calm. Anubis had been waiting in the foyer and she politely bowed toward the two of them and said, "Welcome home Master. Will you be dining with the children tonight or...will you be accompanying Lady Hephaestus?" Hepheastus glared a little at Anubis, but the flush on her face made her seem more cute than aggressive. Anubis, though she had her normal expression, was desperately trying to hold back her laughter at the sight. She thought it was very entertaining seeing Hephaestus this way instead of the wrathful demoness she had feared previously.

Vahn spoke out in a firm manner, "Have the children been waiting for me all this time? I thought I had told you I may not be back in the next day or two..." Anubis nodded her head at his question and said, "They have already started eating, but after we picked up on your scent they reorganized the dishes and are now waiting for your arrival." Vahn seemed satisfied by her answer and he habitually petted her head since she had leaned forward. It wasn't until Hephaestus nudged him a little that he finally pulled his hand away with an awkward laugh.

Anubis was very pleased that Vahn didn't shy away even in the presence of Hephaestus, and she even gave a playful look at the currently bashful-looking goddess. Hephaestus didn't miss the look and gnashed her teeth a bit before Vahn's words hit her like a hammer, "The two of us will be taking a bath first. For now, return to the children and inform them not to disturb us unless there is an emergency." Hearing Vahn say 'the two of us will be taking a bath', Hephaestus's mind began to wander and any thoughts she had about the dog goddess immediately vanished from her mind.

With another polite bow, Anubis said, "I understand Master, I will do as you say." She then gave one more look before making her way toward the corridor leading to the dining room. Before she exited through the door, Anubis turned back and, with a smile on her face said, "And congratulations Master. I can smell the presence of two other women on you...it's a very strong scent." It was Vahn's turn to blank for a moment as he watched Anubis exit through the door with her tail wagging slowly from side to side.

Hephaestus, who was currently holding onto his arm, spoke out, "No matter what, you had better forge an item for me before you let that woman do anything..." Hephaestus's cold words caused a chill to run up Vahn's back as he looked into her incredibly serious eyes. Even though the blush of her face, Vahn could tell that she was being very serious right now. Though his throat was suddenly dry, Vahn gulped and nodded his head and said, "I promise."

Afterward, he escorted Hephaestus toward the bathroom and, since she had stayed in this house previous and knew the layout, Hephaestus became increasingly tense the closer they got. By the time they had entered into the changing room, Vahn was surprised with how rigid her body had become. He never expected the 'cool' goddess to get so easily flustered, but he found it to be very exciting as his heart rate had also been increasing alongside her's.

Though Hephaestus wasn't exactly shy, since Vahn was someone she had a future 'promise' with, she was overly aware of his presence. Since she could feel his tensions rising alongside her own, her emotions continued to rise at a rate faster than she could adapt to. She moved away from him to the side and started slowly undressing her clothes with a bit of difficulty. For the first time in her life, Hephaestus began to feel like a shy maiden around her crush...it almost felt like she was preparing herself for the night to come.

While she was getting lost in her delusions, Vahn approached silently and began helping remove her clothes. Hephaestus was incredibly startled when he first touched her, but seeing the care and 'intrigue' in his eyes, she didn't make any attempts to stop him. Vahn's interest in her body made her feel somewhat proud of herself and the longer the intimate act went on, the less worried she felt about what would come later.

Vahn, having seen Hephaestus move away, thought that her bashful actions were incredibly cute. He couldn't resist teasing her a bit, but he was also very interested in helping her undress. Though he had seen and even touched Hephaestus's body before, he had yet to see her naked. His excitement continued to rise as he slowly undressed the body of the goddess that he has promised to love. He marveled at how lithe her figure was while still having so much power contained within the muscles.

By the time she was fulled naked, Vahn was in a very high-tension state as he took in her naked figure with his eyes for the first time. Other than Anubis and Tsubaki, Hephaestus was the first 'mature' woman that Vahn had ever seen nude. But, unlike the two other girls, she was someone that Vahn was currently pursuing. Seeing her nude figure made his mind buzz with anticipation as he let his eyes roam her body. She had large breasts, but they didn't sag at all under the influences of gravity. Though Vahn had noticed something similar with Anubis, he was amazed at how 'perfect' the breasts of a goddess could be. The thing that drew his eyes the most, however, were Hephaestus's long legs and the plump butt that he had been unable to forget about since he first grasped it the other day. Lastly, and Vahn found this a bit peculiar since he had seen several other women nude, Hephaestus was also completely hairless near her vagina.

The entire time Vahn had been inspecting her body, Hephaestus had been watching with a happy look on her face. She could see the anticipation, intrigue, and excitement in his look, and it made her feel very proud of herself. The longer his eyes wandered on his body, the more fervent his expression grew, but it wasn't in the lustful and possessive way of other men. He seemed to genuinely appreciate her body, and it was a very exciting feeling seeing his honest expression. However, when his eyes wandered to her vagina, Hephaestus noticed he had a bit of a confused expression which made her feel a bit worried in her heart.

Vahn's next words made her nearly fall to the bathroom floor as he asked, "Is it very common for goddesses to not have hair on their vaginas?" Hephaestus was shocked for multiple reasons because if Vahn's question came from experience, it meant that he had seen another goddess naked. An image of a cheeky dog goddess flashed through her mind, and Hephaestus swore that she would punish Anubis in the future. Since she could see from Vahn's expression that he was genuinely curious, and his eyes had remained clear the entire time so she sighed and explained, "Pubic hair is usually for preventing diseases or attracting mates. Since gods and goddesses can't get diseases, nor are they able to get pregnant, they never developed the need for any." Hephaestus felt very embarrassed as she spoke because she could see Vahn's eyes shine like an attentive student that just learned something very interesting.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hephaestus-sensei','Pure Fluff','Aftermath of the Negotiations')