<h4>Chapter 1512 - Retreat</h4>


    Deciding it was best to practice when there were fewer distractions, Vahn performed some minor repairs to his Workshop before throwing the entire thing into his Inventory. He could always seek out the assistance of Aoko to finish it up, as, in the past, she had expressed an interest in learning forging and engraving. She was actually pretty talented at it, though,pared to her sister and the Dwarves beneath Avalon, she still had a ''very'' long way to go.


    After emerging from the [Sub-Space Orb] that contained many of his and Da Vinci''s production facilities, Vahn expanded his domain to get his bearings before moving down a long corridor that seemed to stretch on forever. Despite this, he appeared at his destination almost immediately, the result of Da Vinci''s restructuring most of their Workshop to function simrly to the Yokai District.


    Whenever he thought about the rapid breakthroughs his inordinately beautifulpanion made, Vahn couldn''t help but feel both proud and exasperated. Da Vinci was one of the most important allies he had gained in the Nasuverse, and, despite his many failings, it was Merlin''s suggestion of summoning her thatpelled Vahn to trust him. The flowery magus was always thinking about the future of Avalon, so, even if it felt like he was just ''trolling'' at times, Vahn still took his advice to heart...


    Stepping into a rather messyboratory, Vahn was stopped near the entrance by a vaguely egg-shaped drone with tiny rabbit ears. It quickly scanned him before the panel on the front, showing a pixted ''angry'' face, changed to show a happy ''=^ w ^='' before stating in the familiar voice of Sophia, "Wee to my Laboratory, Papa! I''m a little busy right now, but, if its an emergency, you can find me in Test Chamber 03~!"


    Though he had wanted to check in on Sophia and spend some time with her, she had inherited her mother''s trait of not liking unexpected interruptions to her work. She preferred to have him arrange a meeting in advance, but, due to his rtively whimsical nature, Vahn usually showed up unannounced. He felt it was somewhat silly to have to schedule a meeting with his own daughter, but, knowing she was always serious whenever she stated she was busy, Vahn decided to give up on this particr visit.


    After scheduling an appointment with Chii, Sophia''s self-modeled Artificial Intelligence, Vahn departed the Workshop, stopping in the adjoining corridor for a brief moment to consider his next actions. He still needed to wrap things up in the Yokai District, so, with a bit of time on his hands, he could either make preparations for the afternoon Raid or meet up with Aoko to request ess to her Marble Phantasm.


    Since it seemed prudent to strike while the iron was hot, Vahn lightly poked Aeterna through herntern, asking, "Do you want to go on a long trip with me...?"


    Not expecting such an offer, Aeterna''s mes became a vibrant violet hue as she poked her head out and eximed, "Yay! Aeterna will go with Vahn! Let''s go! Let''s go~!"


    Bolstered by Aeterna''s cheering, Vahn handed her a marble-sized crystal formed from his blood before teleporting near the Knight''s Training Field. It was still early in the day, so, with his domain not showing Artoria, Vahn correctly assumed she would be inside the Training Orb. She primarily used her Marble Phantasm when she wanted a serious workout, but, in order to build rapport and improve morale, she often filled in for Kenshin when thetter was conducting field operations.


    Unsurprisingly, Vahn found Artoria wearing what appeared to be a kendo uniform, guiding more than a hundred ''students'' through proper sword forms. She was only wearing the hakama and gi, so, whenever she moved, her breasts would shake somewhat violently as her long golden hair gracefully followed her movements. It was almost like finding a resplendent golden dahlia in a grove filled with white roses, her beauty several orders of magnitude above even the inordinately beautiful Homunculi...


    Sensing Vahn''s presence the moment he entered the Training Orb, Artoriapleted one final set before firmly stating, "For now, everyone split into groups of four. One person will be on the defense while the other three attack them. If you get hit in one of your vital areas, the person thatnded the blow will move into the center. Now, move!"


    In response to Artoria''s order, all one-hundred Homunculi released a synchronous ''Ha!'' before immediately splitting into groups of four. As for Artoria, she used [Shundo] to vanish from her previous location, reappearing next to Vahn''s side with a smile on her face as she said, "I did not expect you at this time. Did youe to ask permission for something?"


    Without beating around the bush, Vahn gave a curt nod, exining, "I want to master this forging technique before the Raid this afternoon. It won''t have an immediate effect, but this technique will provide a qualitative increase to our overall strength in the future. If she is willing, I intend to make use of Aoko''s Marble Phantasm."


    As she was already aware of the fact Vahn was working on a new technique, Artoria just nodded her head, stating, "If you''re going inside for training, you should take Olga and Lakshmibai with you. It feels like Olga has been pregnant even longer than me at this point so it would be best if you spent some quality time together before helping with the birth. If you''re going with five, take Rin and Sakura with you as well. Rin has been holing herself up in her towertely and I feel like Sakura would benefit from spending time away from Mordred."


    Though it was a little outside his original intentions, Vahn wasn''t going to argue with Artoria, as, for a number of reasons, she generally knew best. Besides, he felt the same way regarding Olga''s pregnancy, which, at this point, felt like it had been going on for years. This was primarily due to the fact she rarely stayed inside the projection, splitting the majority of her time between Chaldea and visiting her father in London. Thus, while it had been over a decade from his perspective, it had been little under nine months from Olga''s...


    ---


    Taking Artoria''s advice to heart, it wasn''t long before Vahn had gathered Aoko, Olga, Lakshmibai, Rin, Sakura, and, due to Olga''s insistence, her former Governess, Trisha Fellows. Olga had grown increasingly anxious during her pregnancy, so, about four months into things, Vahn had made a concerted effort to reunite her with the woman who basically served as her surrogate mother. This had greatly alleviated Olga''s anxiety, and, ever since then, Trisha had been living alongside her as an attendant and Midwife.


    Ignoring the perpetually cold gaze of the middle-aged woman, Vahn gave Aoko the go-ahead to pull them into her Marble Phantasm, an endless field of glowing blue flowers beneath a sky that was perpetually filled with an Aurora. It was a breathtaking sight to behold, and, due to this being the Marble Phantasm mostmonly used by Nobunaga, Shuten, Kenshin, and other Japanese women, a thirteen-room Japanese vi,plete with an open-air onsen, could be found nearby.


    As this was the first time many of them had been inside Aoko''s Marble Phantasm, Vahn allowed the glowing red-head to enjoy their praises for a brief moment before saying, "I''m going to set up my Workshop a few kilometers from here. Unless it is an absolute emergency, my Workshop is off-limits until specified otherwise. I''ll be keeping at least one version of myself inside the vi, but, if I''m performing a task that requires a lot of focus, I may have to seclude myself for a few hours at a time."


    Everyone was already aware of the purpose behind this particr visit so nobody was surprised by Vahn''s words. Immediately afterward, however, Lakshmibai and Sakura simultaneously asked, "Is there anything I can do?"


    Not expecting someone else to speak out, Lakshmibai and Sakura stared at each other for a brief moment, smiles spreading across their faces. In response to their inquiry, however, Vahnughed in a light-hearted manner, exining, "Once I finish cleaning things up, I''ll show everyone around my Workshop. As for helping out, that is what I have this little cutie for..."


    Beingplimented always made Aeterna very happy, so, in response to her Master''s words, she created a gradient of different colored mes, giggling happily with a haughty smile on her face.


    Seeing Aeterna trying to show off, Vahn smiled affectionately before lightly stroking under her chin and adding, "One of my main reasons foring inside is to spend time with all of you. The best thing you can do to help is enjoying our time together. I''ll be in my Workshop and here at the same time, so, let''s all do our best to make the most of our time. At the very least, we''ll be in here for a few weeks so just rx and cut loose."


    Following up on Vahn''s words, Aoko nodded confidently, exining, "We have all kinds of neat and interesting things inside. There is even a fully stocked kitchen, a game room, and a massive open-air onsen. Come on, I''ll show you around!"


    As Aoko took great pride in the things she had built in her Marble Phantasm, she couldn''t help but want to show it off. She also had a way of pulling people along with her momentum, so, with the exception of Olga and Trisha, everyone followed her for a quick tour.


    Once everyone else had left, Trisha was the one who asked, "Will the baby really be born in this ce? Are you not concerned something may go wrong?"


    Hearing Trisha''s words, Olga also showed an expression of uncertainty, her hand instinctually moving to her almost spherical belly as she muttered, "Vahn..." in a demure tone.


    Gesturing for the two to calm down, Vahn stated without any hesitation, "There are absolutely no problems. Even if you were to travel to a thousand different worlds, there is no guarantee you will find someone with even half the skill and experience I have at delivering children. Just rx and rest your body as much as possible. I''ll be here for you every step of the way."


    Though Trisha wasn''t entirely convinced by his words, Olga seemed to rxpletely, a loving smile on her face as she moved close enough to give him a small peck on the cheek, following it with a sincere, "Thank you..."


    ---


    Since he hadn''t set a deadline for mastering the [Asauchi Production Method], Vahn decided to forgo immersing himself in the process until Olga sessfully gave birth. He would not be able topletely focus on forging while she was still pregnant, so, other than improving the quality of his tools and meditating for a few hours a day, he spent most of his time taking care of what mattered most, his family.


    Using upwards of five different bodies, Vahn was able to help Rin with her research, spend quality time with Sakura, go drinking with Aoko, idle about with Laskhmibai, and, most importantly, keep Olga from having a mental breakdown. This was one of the greatest benefits of using the Marble Phantasms, as, not only did it allow him to have as much time as he needed, it also allowed him to practice controlling more vessels simultaneously.


    At this point, Vahn had be adept at using three bodies, rtively decent at using five, and, if he really pushed himself, a total of seven were possible. This had the unfortunate effect of making his actions somewhat robotic, however, so five was his manageable limit, at least for the moment. Still, this was more than enough to spend time with each member of his harem, even without the use of Marble Phantasms. With them, however, Vahn had all the time he would ever need, even if it meant he was aging several times faster than everyone else.


    Fortunately, no matter how much time passed, Vahn''s appearance only changed to reflect how he wished to present himself. He could freely change his shape, size, race, and, during a few unique circumstances, gender. Thus, despite nearing 190 years in age, Vahn wasn''t particrly worried. It was nothingpared to the 150 years he had spent rearing Alexa, and,pared to Eternity, it was apletely negligible amount of time. The only ''danger'' was that, at some point, he might stop caring about other things. However, based on the fact he only seemed to be ''more'' involved with the passage of time, Vahn wasn''t concerned. Rather, for a variety of reasons, he was growing more eager with each passing day...