This morning, I woke up with Licia and Claire on my arms.
I thought about getting off the bed as soon as possible, but it was beyond me.
Our relationship had developed to the point where I could touch them wherever I pleased, and they probably wouldn't think much of it. Hell, they certainly had already gotten their fun with me without my knowing.
But instead of feeling them up, I just let myself relax.
I got enough just from the sensation of them softly rustling against my arms, still sleeping.
They had the most serene sleeping faces, and once I was finally satisfied watching them, I kissed each on the cheek.
Both girls reacted almost the same, giggling. However, Claire furrowed her eyebrows almost immediately after, which got a laugh out of me.
Having my soul healed by Licia and Claire, I left for the kitchen.
It usually would take at least a few minutes for the girls to wake up and join me, just enough for me to brush my teeth, wash my face, and get started on breakfast. To my surprise, in the time I spent enjoying the girls' company in bed, someone had asked to join me on Earth.
I had no reason to refuse, and a moment later, a tall, white wolfgirl appeared in the middle of the living room.
Mia: "Morning."
Her hair was disheveled, but I had never seen it combed.
She seemed to be quite energetic, considering how early in the morning it was.
Miwen: "Yo..."
A yawn escaped me as I headed to the bathroom.
I could feel her eyes watching me, but thinking nothing of it, I started brushing my teeth.
After rinsing my mouth and spitting into the sink, I caught a glimpse of her fluffy ears beside the door.
She was watching me intently.
Miwen: "...You don't brush your teeth?"
Mia: "Of course I do. Look."
She came to me, almost pushing me to the side.
She cupped some water in her hands, splashed it onto the front of her shirt, then began scrubbing her teeth with the damp fabric.
Mia: "See?"
She gave me a wide smile that almost melted my heart.
Despite the crude method, her teeth were surprisingly white and bright, but I couldn't tell if that was because she was a beastwoman, her age, or if the toothpaste industry had lied to me all my life.
Miwen: "Well... Do you want to try it with the toothbrush?"
I extended it to her, and she immediately started brushing her teeth without the toothpaste.
She stared into the mirror, and her lips curled into another wide smile.
Mia: "I see no difference."
Miwen: "Yeah, I'd be amazed if you did."
I got the toothbrush from her, and this time, I got the paste over it as well.
The moment she put it in her mouth, she made a sour face, putting her tongue out.
Unfortunately, some of the paste got on her tongue, and she started wiping it with her hand.
Mia: "Akhtually... Ish nyot bad..."
She started licking her own teeth and sucking the toothpaste out of her fingers.
Mia: "Smells nice too... You should cook with this..."
Miwen: "Yeah, no."
I used my index finger to show her the wonders of the toothbrush and how it allowed her to reach the teeth in the back.
In the middle of my demonstration, I saw Licia staring blankly at us from outside the bathroom's door.
She smiled awkwardly and just moved on, which I felt was worse than if she had said something.
Mia: "You should use it... Ish tasty..."
Miwen: "Yeah... Since you like it so much, I'll get you a toothbrush next time I go shopping."
I had a few things to get done today.
Despite increasing our numbers and strength, if the next [Event] involved an opponent even remotely close to the level of the generals we saw during The Snow White Wolves war, our only hope would be to help Mia deal with them.
Using that as our baseline, I'd like to get at least strong enough so that we could make a difference instead of being burdens for her.
We could wait until the other girls had reached the level cap of the current floor, but I believed we were already strong enough to challenge the boss and reach the third floor.
Though before going to the Dungeon, I had to make sure to get everything ready.
And going for a Raid on an empty stomach wasn't ideal.
Licia: "Mm... Morning. You're quite the early bird, huh?"
While toasting the bread, I looked back from the kitchen corner, catching a glimpse of Licia and Mia slouching on the couch.
Mia: "I guess... Back home, the sky was always grey. The only difference was that whoever rose earliest usually got the best prey."
Licia: "Oh... But there's nothing to hunt in the Kingdom, is there?"
Mia: "No... I thought something would jump out of the fog there, but... there was nothing."
She handed Licia the controller.
The TV changed channels for a while, with Mia shaking her head until Licia finally got to a channel that interested her.
Licia: "You're still sweating though..."
Mia's clothes were slightly damp even before we had started brushing our teeth.
I thought it'd be bad for me to comment on that, but I was also curious.
Mia: "I enjoyed the morning breeze there, and I thought I could at least run a little..."
I returned my attention to the pan before my eyes, cracking and frying eggs.
More girls started coming from the kingdom one after the other, with Claire seemingly being the last to wake up.
Everyone seemed to be happily chatting together, but by the time I was almost finished...
Mia: "Seems like a war is coming..."
Her tone was incredibly deadpan.
I stopped almost instantly, turning toward her.
Miwen: "Huh?"
Initially, I thought they were watching a movie. However, the TV screen reflected a news channel.
Mia: "Well, they said that there's this army that is expanding recruitment and that it was worrying, so... that will eventually lead to a war, right?"
I had no idea what she was talking about.
As far as I could tell, most governments were busy dealing with internal politics and issues caused by the power Gifts brought to individual citizens.
There had been no signs of war for quite a few years, too.
Humanity had found a common enemy in the Dungeons, and society had just started recovering from a decade of disruption they caused.
Anna: "I guess it's the same no matter where you go, huh..."
The mood was pretty uniform.
They all seemed upset with what they were seeing.
I couldn't catch the news myself, but I was pretty sure this was just a misunderstanding.
If there was a threat of war, the TV would actually be the least noisy news source.
It was probably something dumb.
Miwen: "...I'm sure it's not that bad. I'll give it a better look when we get back home, but first, I have something to give you all."
I lifted a plate, showing them breakfast was ready.
Mia: "Hm? I thought you'd be worried, but you're in a surprisingly good mood."
Miwen: "You've noticed? As expected of my fianceé."
Licia and Ellie helped me set the table while everyone got their plates.
Beatrice: "Oho. So you two had this kind of relationship..."
The self-proclaimed evil witch Beatrice covered her mouth with a hand, yet she still showed a slight smirk.
Mia: "We do not!"
Miwen: "Yet."
Mia: "Never!"
Her face tensed, and she clenched her fists in frustration.
My mood was already good since I woke up, but seeing Mia so comfortable improved it a lot.
Still, breakfast wasn't the only thing I had for the girls.
Once we were finished eating, I used 30 out of the 105 [Kingdom Points] I had received to get everyone a new change of clothes.
It was the first time I had used so much at once, but surprisingly, there were no problems finding what belonged to who.
Their tastes were quite varied.
Especially Ellie and Beatrice.
While the first preferred light, sleeveless shirts, Beatrice preferred thick, long-sleeved sweaters.
Of course, I had also used the same trick of having them choose their clothes beforehand on the cellphone so that we'd both know exactly what they wanted.
Still, I decided to summon one at a time next time, to avoid problems.
Since we were going to fight a Floor Boss today, I thought about sharing a skill with Beatrice, so that she could at least defend herself.
However, before that, I checked her [Loyalty].
It was the worst among everyone, but it still tended to the better side, so...
I gambled on it.
Even if she wasn't as fond of me as the other girls, she seemed to enjoy Ellie's presence. And Ellie had already surpassed my expectations, with a [Loyalty] almost as high as Mia's.
Ellie seemed quite innocent, too. Beatrice probably wouldn't want to make her sad.
It'd be pretty costly to give her [Ice Magic] since I had raised mine to level 6, so instead, I gave her Claire's [Fire Magic].
Beatrice: "...Hm."
She flicked her fingers, and a small spark burst upward.
The spark swelled into a nail-sized fireball and began circling around Ellie's head.
Ellie followed it with her eyes until it stopped right above her nose, forcing the elf to go cross-eyed.
The fireball then booped the elf's little nose before popping into tiny embers, leaving the tip of her nose warm and pink for a brief moment.
Beatrice winked at her with a playfully malicious smirk.
Meanwhile, Ellie's ears twitched, and she scrunched her face into a funny little sour expression.
Since Claire had raised her [Fire Magic] to level 3, I decided to get it for myself as well.
I thought about giving the witch her deserved payback for messing with Ellie, but the spark I made ended up bigger than I expected.
Not wanting to risk hurting her, I shot it through the window, hoping no one had noticed it.
When I looked back at her, Beatrice was already smirking at me.
Still, I moved on without saying anything.
Anna seemed to be our weakest link after Beatrice, and her vanguard role was one of the most important in a party, so I gave her my level 4 [Swordsmanship] and my [Greater Might] since anything that boosted her stats was so valuable.
Anna: "T-Thanks... And sorry for causing you trouble."
She scratched the back of her head, her face held low.
Miwen: "It's nothing to fuss over, really. You're good."
While I could make them stronger, I wanted them to remain a step behind the girls I trusted more for now.
Ellie was the only problem with that.
Her Gift, regardless of any skills she had, was strong enough to be a problem.
I couldn't even imagine what I could offer to help her get stronger.
Aside from one skill, at least...
Miwen: "...I have a [Sight Enhancement] skill. Do you want it, Ellie?"
Ellie: "Ah... I can't repay something like that..."
She waved her palms.
Miwen: "Of course you can."
I landed a hand on her head, patting her.
She froze for a second, closing her eyes and just accepting it.
Miwen: "See? I'll take that as payment any day."
Seeing how easy it was for Ellie to get a skill, Licia grabbed my hand and put it to rest above her head as well.
Before I could even do anything, she started shaking her head, rubbing it against my hand.
Miwen: "I didn't forget about you..."
Licia: "Mm-hmm."
With my remaining points, I gave Licia my level 4 [Movement Speed Up].
It was pretty much my strongest skill aside from magic, and she seemed to enjoy it a lot.
That left me with absolutely zero points, but that felt worthwhile.
The only other investment I could think of was saving up [Kingdom Points] to try and get one of the special buildings that got unlocked after Mia's event, but...
Even with more than 100 points a day, it would take me too long to get them.
Right now, sharing skills was the most efficient use I had for those points.
Miwen: "Oh yeah, I guess you guys haven't seen this yet..."
I sat on the sofa with the girls and stared at the table before us.
A second later, three items appeared before my eyes.
Beatrice: "...Oh?"
Ellie: "Oh..."
While Beatrice seemed interested in the [Ptzde's Staff] that had been summoned, Ellie seemed dejected that there weren't bows in the pile for her.
Even though the dark bow she had suited her so well...
Of all 3 weapons I had summoned, the only useful one was the staff, and while it only provided a small boost to [Water Magic] that didn't affect Bea at the moment, it was definitely good for her to hold on to it.
I offered Anna and Mia the two spears that had been summoned, but they said it didn't suit their fighting style, and it'd probably hamper more than help them.
Anna: "Weapons, skills, levels... Your Gift does a lot..."
Beatrice: "Don't forget his own dimension..."
Ellie: "It's a bit scary..."
Their reactions weren't quite what I was expecting.
Even Mia silently nodded, but something told me that she only agreed because it made me sound bad.
Sensing that I was about to use the 4 remaining tickets on skills, Licia leaned closer, asking me to read out loud whatever I got.
When I read my stats and noticed that I had levelled up [Culinary Arts] and [Appraisal], she let out a deep sigh.
Mia: "Maybe if you get that skill's level high enough you'll learn to cook with the paste thing?"
Sitting behind me on the couch, Mia gave me a nudge on the shoulder.
Miwen: "Pfft. Yeah, maybe."
I was hoping she'd forget that idea, though.
Thankfully, the [Skills Gacha] was quite merciful today, and alongside those two skills, it also increased the level of my [X Slash] and [Focused Strike], which Licia seemed to appreciate way more.
I could already hear her giggling, knowing she'd eventually get them as well.
Those two skills made for a great combo, and I was looking forward to testing them out now that they were stronger.
Anna: "To gain so much in a single day is just..."
Mia: "Ridiculous."
Anna shook her head and her palms, almost as if afraid of me.
Ellie: "It's really impressive."
She patted me on the shoulder with a warm smile.
Claire: "Right? It's almost as good as my Gift... B-But only almost, yeah?"
Miwen: "Yeah. Only almost."
With all the preparations done and all flavors of compliments received, we were prepared to head for the Dungeon and challenge the Second Floor Boss.