Chapter 26: Request
'This feels so wrong...' thought Vahn, his expression a mask of calm, but his face beet red as Koneko, lying across his lap and propped up by his left forearm, enthusiastically licked and suckled his right index and middle fingers. Their contract permitted her to consume his essence directly, and sucking it out through the fingers was evidently one of the least perverse methods...
"Master's life force...it's so big..." Koneko mewled, her face even redder than Vahn's as she hugged his hand to her chest and added, "Koneko can feel her insides expanding...it's too much...nya..."
Though Vahn assumed Koneko was just being lewd, Rias and Akeno were genuinely surprised, their brows rising quite a bit as the former asked, "Is that true, Koneko? Have you already reached your limit...?"
Noticing Vahn's confusion, Akeno explained, "Devils have an upper limit on the amount of Demonic Energy their body can contain at any one time, influenced by their pedigree and various additional factors. Under normal circumstances, even a Low-Class Devil would need to drain several dozen humans in quick succession to reach their limit, and the process can take anywhere from several minutes to an hour, depending on the health of the person supplying their life force. The fact Koneko has already reached her limit in only a few minutes indicates she wasn't holding back, yet here you are, looking just as healthy and handsome as always..."
"It does make sense, though," affirmed Rias. "After all, no ordinary human could endure relations with multiple Devils for an entire evening. If I didn't periodically get to see his peacefully sleeping face and poke his cheeks, I would think his stamina was inexhaustible..."
"That's because it is," contended Vahn, caressing Koneko's abdomen as he met the markedly more mature Devils' gazes and stated, "I only need to sleep to reset my mind. I can get tired, but my stamina replenishes so quickly, I can fight and train indefinitely as long as I don't seriously injure myself..."
"Oh? Then do you want to try contracting Akeno now...?" asked Rias, her blue eyes glistening with intrigue. Akeno's capacity was tens of times that of Koneko's, but since Vahn didn't appear even a little worse for wear, she was curious to ascertain what his limits were.
"Ara? Will Vahn-sama also make me his pet~?" asked Akeno, narrowing her sleepy eyes into one of the most seductive yet terrifying expressions Vahn had ever seen.
Recalling how intimate he and Akeno had been the previous night, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss in response to her query. He felt there wasn't much she wouldn't readily agree to, even without a contract, so he just stared at her for several seconds until Rias proposed, "Since you will potentially become her primary or sole contractor, have her pledge loyalty to you as her second Master. You can also request that she becomes your wife, but I won't allow you two to marry before we do."
"Is that an option...?" asked Vahn, directing the question at Akeno.
Beaming in amusement, Akeno reminded, "What a contractor requests is entirely up to them. The only restriction is your ability to provide sufficient payment, but since I want to serve and become your bride, the price will be no more than what you are willing to award me..."