Chapter 133: Stance
"Vahn-sama~!"
Arriving a few minutes after Rias and Akeno, Asia, followed closely by Xenovia and Koneko, made a beeline for Vahn as if she had been the one away for two years. Vahn, sandwiched between Velenana and Rias, his hands on their left and right thighs, was tempted to remain seated but ultimately rose to his feet and spread his arms, allowing Asia to leap into his embrace and nestle him with tears in the corners of her eyes.
"You silly girl...why are you crying...?" asked Vahn, his expression and tone gentle as he held Asia tenderly and kissed her right temple.
"I'm just so happy to see you..." responded Asia, clinging to Vahn tightly as Xenovia and Koneko approached, the former sporting a relaxed smile as she said, "Welcome back..." followed by the latter tacking on a simple "Nn..." as her split tails flicked happily behind her.
Gesturing for the two girls to come closer, Vahn surprised Xenovia with a peck on the lips before embracing her and Koneko alongside Asia, holding them in silence for an extended period.
"Shall we begin our discussion, or should we wait for Kiba and Issei to arrive first...?" asked Rias, observing the interaction with slight envy as, while Vahn had greeted her and Akeno with deep kisses, he didn't hold onto them for an extended period like he was doing with Koneko, Asia, and Xenovia.
Relaxing his hold on the three girls, Vahn took a moment to affectionately caress Koneko's head, responding, "There's no need to rush, but we might as well start now..." before returning to his position between Venelana and Rias, snaking his hands around behind their backs to cup their respective asses as he revealed, "Originally, I wanted to have everyone here, plus a few obvious additions, move to the virtual world, which has since become a part of the Corridor of Intertwined Fates, specifically called Invirtua..."
Exhaling from her nose, Rias chimed, "I figured something like that would happen after experiencing how immersive it was the last time. But I notice you said originally. What's changed?"
Wriggling the fingers he had cupping Venelana's bottom, Vahn revealed, "Your mother convinced me I shouldn't abandon this world completely. I never had that intention, but with how extreme the compression ratio has become in Invirtua, we could pass nearly thirteen hundred years there by the end of this year alone. That degree of separation would undoubtedly influence our feeling of belonging to this world, so I revised my plans with input from your mother."