68 Chapter 68 - Is It Wrong to Spend Family Time in a Dungeon?

Turning to face us, the Monster Rex let out an earthshaking roar as it started to move. Telling the women to let me handle this, I walked towards it with a grin on my face. Swinging both arms down on me, I lightly swung Rhitta to counter him.

"Full Counter!", I said returning the force of the attack back at him at double the power.

Watching his arms explode like water balloons, the monsters let out another roar though this time of pain. Shaking my head at him, I told the monster it was giving me a headache. With a downwards swing of Rhitta, I let out a flame blade that cut the Monster Rex clean in half. Both halves turned to smoke before they hit the ground, and my reward spawn in it's place. Instead of a tooth, what we found was a large sword similar to that of the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy.

"Jeez...what a show off.", Aisha laughed, "Anyways, I haven't seen a sword drop from the Monster Rex before."

"Neither have I.", Ryuu admitted, "There must be special conditions to get it to drop, like killing the Floor Boss in a few hits or something."

"Can I try to pick it up?", Ais asked me as she walked over to check it out.

"Sure.", I replied, "Be careful though, it may be substantially heavier than it looks."

Walking over to it, I watched her pick it up and struggle to balance it. She was more than strong enough to wield it, but the balancing of the blade was terrible. Realizing that it was a similar weapon to Rhitta, as far as weapon balance was concerned, I took it from her and was surprised that it felt just like Rhitta.

Seeing the engravings on the sword, it was clear it was of a higher quality than most drops from this floor. Deciding to see what Hephaestus would give me for it, I stowed it away for now with Rhitta. Continuing on from their, we entered the 18th Floor for the first time since Shang Tsung's attack. Taking a look at the settlement, it was clear that rebuilding was progressing slowly.

"They have been rebuilding slowly.", I said looking at the still ruined settlement.

"That's to be expected, getting supplies down here isn't easy.", Lily stated.

"Not only that, it's nearly four times the cost.", Olivine added.

Acknowledging that, I also knew that most of the residence didn't bother coming back as there was nothing left. Asking them if they wanted to camp out or stay in the settlement, it was unanimously decided to camp outside the settlement. They wanted to enjoy a comfortable night without having to worry about someone settling their belongings. In addition, they didn't want to get heckled by the men in the settlement that were starved of female presence.

"So where do you recommend camping?", I asked, "I assume one of you knows a good spot."

"There a good place not far from here. It has a stream nearby that we can wash up in.", Ryuu said, "Not only that, the fruit trees nearby should be bearing fruit right now."

Following her lead, she led us to a thicker part of the forest that opened up to a small clearing. With our campsite decided, I setup my hammock and kicked back to relax for a bit. Once the women had their tents up, they all headed to the stream to bathe. After making sure they were gone, I got out of my hammock and took a seat by the firepit.

"Alright...", I said to myself, "Let's get the fire going."

Once it was going nicely, I got the equipment ready to cook hotdogs and cheeseburgers. As sides, I intended to make potato chips and French Fries...since Bella, Lily, and Ais all loved potatoes. Getting my equipment over the fire, I let them get nice and hot before beginning to cook.

"What you up too?", Violet asked returning ahead of the other women.

"Getting ready to make dinner.", I replied, "Shouldn't you be with the others? You bathed pretty quickly."

"I am already clean, would you like to check?", she teased me by lifting her short skirt.

"Cut the crap, I already gave you a warning.", I scolded her, "I have no interest in you or Aphrodite."

Letting out a sigh, she took a seat opposite of me and asked why I wouldn't consider Aphrodite. Being brutally honest with her, I told her I didn't like the fact she brainwashed nearly everyone in her Familia. She tricked them into a meeting her, brainwashed them, and got them to leave their old lives behind. In cases where the families would come looking for them...she had them killed without a second thought, usually by the very family member they came looking for.

"I will not share anything with a vile woman like her. Ishtar and Freya may have their issues, but they have never left kids out to die. Your Goddess sentenced the children of her Familia Members to a slow death on the streets. The Soma Familia and others used to use them as Supporters and target practice before I put a stop to it.", I said as my tone grew colder.

"She isn't like that!", Violet snapped, "They chose not to accept our Goddess."

"Haha!!", I mocked her, "The whole of Orario knows that Aphrodite hates children, she finds them to repulsive things because they are dirty and aren't beautiful. She wants only adults in her Familia, even the children between Adventurers still get thrown out and get picked up by people like Penia."

Realizing that she wasn't going to change my mind, she switched gears.

"What if we offered you things in return, say as many women as you wanted?", Violet asked with a smile, "Goddess Aphrodite has many slavers at her beck and call that can get you any woman you want. It doesn't matter if they are rich and powerful people, she can get you whomever you want."

Feeling my Killing Intent hit her like a hurricane, she instinctively reached for her sword. Daring her to unsheathe her weapon, I warned her she wouldn't see her death till her head started falling to the ground.

"My answer will not change under any circumstance. If you bring this topic up again I will kick you out of our party, and you can return to the surface on your own.", I said looking at her like she was an insect.

Begrudgingly accepting that, I could see in her eyes that she wasn't going to stop. Just like the executives, she was a lapdog for Aphrodite and would do whatever she was told. Returning my attention to cooking, I had dinner almost ready by the time the women returned from bathing. Seeing Violet sitting by the edge of the fire with an annoyed look, Aisha and Olivine understood she tired something and failed. Eating together once the meal was done, I watched Ais struggle to chose between her Jagamarukun and some French Fries I prepared for especially for this trip.

"Everything okay?", Bella asked her.

"Trying to decide which one I like more.", she said softly.

"Try it with some of this dipping sauce.", I replied offering her some ketchup.

Trying it like I asked, she nodded her head after one bite. Snatching the ketchup from my hands, she thanked me and nibbled on the French Fries like a rabbit with a carrot. The Amazonian women were pounding down the hot dogs like they were going out of style, and in doing so made a pass at me by making it look like they were swallow a dick.

'Jeez...', I thought pretending not to notice, 'This is going to be a long trip.'

After dinner was finished, I cleaned the dishes and prepared myself a hot bath. Blasting out a large hole in the ground by the river, I filled it up with water and used a small Cruel Sun to heat it up instantly. Seeing the steam rising from the pool of water, I undressed and slipped into the water. Letting out a sigh as I soaked for a bit, I decided to play around with my ability called Creation.

It was an ability that I got from my Supreme Deity connection, and I really hadn't used it all that much. The first time I tried using it, I made a piece of titanium that damn near had a radioactive meltdown. This ability required me to completely plan out every aspect of what I was doing. One over looked part could have disastrous consequences...like the first time.

'Let's see here...let's start with something simple..', I thought.

Lifting my hand out of the water, I visualized a bar of soap. Having made soap before in chemistry class, in my former life, I had enough of an understanding that I felt confident I could make it. After a few moments, a perfectly square brick of soap appeared in my hand. Bringing it to my nose, I could smell the familiar scent of sandalwood and cinnamon.

"Just like what I used to use...", I mumbled, 'It looks like I can replicate scents from memory, maybe the titanium didn't work because I have never actually handled it in person. This soap looks exactly like the stuff I used to use in middle school, the lady at the Farmer's Market sold it to me cheaply because grandma and her were best friends.'

Using the soap to scrub down, I tossed it storage before rinsing off and getting out. Increasing my temperature to evaporate the water, I got dressed and returned to the camp. As I returned, I noticed that the women were already getting settled in for the night. Placing a barrier around camp, so we didn't need a watchmen, I climbed into my hammock and went to sleep.

Waking up a few hours later, I felt someone trying to climb into my hammock with me. Opening my eyes to see who it was, I watched Lily and Bella struggle to climb in without shaking me too much. Hearing them talk in a low tone, they were at a loss for how to pull this off. Grabbing them, I pulled them into the hammock and told them to be quiet.

---Next Morning---

Waking up at first light, let out a yawn as I stirred from my sleep. Cracking my neck, I looked down and saw Bella and Lily still sound asleep. Remembering that they had climbed in bed with me during the night, it brought back memories of our childhood.

"You know they both are terrified of how things are.", Ryuu said walking over.

"What do you mean?", I asked trying not to wake them.

"Your relationships with the Goddesses, they support your decision but are worried you'll leave them behind.", Ryuu informed me, "Violet has been filling their heads with nonsense about you leaving them as you become involved with more people."

"Has she...", I said glaring at Violet's tent.

At that point, I wanted to use Final Prominence to erase her from existence but that wouldn't solve this problem.

"Don't they have any guys they are close too?", I inquired.

"Not like they are with you, any man that gets close the first thing they bring up is you.", Ryuu laughed, "They idolize you, nothing you do is ever wrong in their eyes...no matter how painful it is for them."

Looking at them, I knew this sort of relationship wasn't good to keep up. We had to come to a consensus on what our relationship was going to be. I knew neither of them currently saw me as a romantic partner, but they honestly hadn't looked at anyone that way either. Knowing I was going to have to brooch this subject with them, I wasn't sure how to proceed with this.