We were preparing our camp on a clearing near what used to be the base of the bandits.

I was not allowed to go and investigate the insides of the base of the bandits… Silvia said that this was my punishment for having fun with Lara and Mara while she was stuck in that boring meeting.

Honestly, I was not in the mood to explore the bandits' base… Our journey here with Blanca was way too much for me and Elise…

I'm happy just setting up the camp and having some rest… This really does give the feeling of an adventure!

Also… I have some time alone with Arrat and Electra. Well, we are not totally alone…

Blanca is pasturing nearby. She looks towards us every now and then. She also neighs at us sometimes.

"Alright! Everything has been set up! Good job!" I was hugged by Electra.

In case you haven't realized by now, Electra is very clingy.

"Well, not everything... You just need to light the campfire so we can start making dinner." Arrat said with a smile.

"Thank you for your help." I smiled back.

Arrat and Electra taught me how to set up the camp. They were gonna help me but I declined.

I still remember what Astera told me during the Trial of Instinct… I need to be more independent. I can't rely on everyone to do everything for me.

So, they taught me how to properly set up a camp. I will be cooking dinner as well.

I'm not as great at cooking as Silvia or Lara, but I can defend myself.

"Okay, let's see how this goes…" I said while looking at the campfire.

Electra then let go of me and I walked towards the campfire. I crouched in front of it and closed my eyes.

"..." I started to concentrate...

There was a warm sensation traveling all across my body… It felt like a liquid traveling through a complex system of pipes.

The warm sensation was moving towards my index finger… I imagined what I wanted to achieve and…-

I opened my eyes only to see a small flame floating above my index finger…

I didn't waste any time and used the small flame to ignite the campfire.

The flame hovering over my finger was extinguished immediately after that…

"Phew… Using magic is tough…" I said after confirming that the campfire had been ignited.

Ah! I forgot to mention that I got the skill "Mana Manipulation" about fifteen minutes ago.

I was practicing with Arrat's help while setting up the camp.

It took a lot of effort…

"That was very impressive." Arrat smiled with satisfaction.

"I need to thank you and Silvia for what you have taught me." I said as I got up and walked towards them.

Magic is much more simple than I thought, but much more difficult to execute than what I had imagined.

First, you need to be able to feel, to see and to manipulate mana in order to cause magic to happen.

To get "Mana Manipulation" I had to meditate and try moving the mana inside my own body.

I managed to succeed thanks to Silvia's tips on that step.

Then, you need a lot of imagination to be able to use a spell. With the flame from before, I just imagined a match being ignited.

But besides imagination, you also need knowledge. A lot of knowledge. How is fire created? What does it consume when ignited? Can you change its shape?

Those two were easy for me to accomplish thanks to my life on Earth.

TV has done wonders for me!

The last step would be using all three steps at the same time. Moving the mana inside your body, imagining what you want to do and knowing what it should do.

"You might have a talent for magic! I'm so proud of you!" Electra said with glee.

"Well, he's getting there. He's not even using First Rank Magic yet." Arrat said with a flat tone.

I'm not getting over myself about using magic because I'm not even near the level of magic that an apprentice magician could use.

There's 10 Ranks of Magic. Spells are usually classified based on those ranks.

Low level magic usually goes from the 1st rank to the 3rd rank. These ranks are called Basic Magic.

Intermediate level magic usually goes from the 4th rank to the 6th rank. These ranks are often called Common Level Magic.

But above that, every rank is special.

The 7th rank is Advanced Magic, the 8th rank is Saint Level, the 9th is Legendary Magic and the 10th is Mythical Magic.

There's apparently more ranks above that, but only gods can use them and it is forbidden to use them in the mortal world, because it may heavily alter reality as we know it.

"It is good that you managed to remember your lesson~!" Arrat said with a teasing tone.

"I had good teachers." I replied while going through our cooking equipment.

I think I will be making some stew. It is easy to make and you can feed a lot of people with it.

Hmmm…

"Arrat, Electra… Do you mind telling me more about yourselves while I cook?" I said while looking for a suitable pot to use for the stew.

I think I'm gonna need a cauldron to feed our large numbers…

"What do you wanna know?" Arrat asked.

"Your age, how many siblings you have, what are your favourite books… Ah! You were talking last time about how messed up your genealogical tree was. I'm kinda interested in that." I said while still looking for something to use to cook.

I need to learn a lot about them since they are now my wives.

Suddenly, Electra appeared beside me and grabbed a large pot. She smiled at me before walking to the campfire.

"It is not that messed up in my opinion. Our genealogical tree is fine. Perhaps not what a mortal might consider normal, but we are a big happy family!" Electra smiled.

Electra placed the large pot over the fire and snapped her fingers.

The pot was hovering over the fire… Not only that, it was becoming bigger.

In a few seconds, it turned into a large cauldron. It was still hovering over the fire.

"This should be good for now. Come, Ru. Let's start cooking!" Electra smiled at me.

I quickly grabbed all of the equipment and walked towards her. I left everything on top of a wooden table.

"Okay, where to start… If we are going to talk about our genealogical tree, we need to talk about our grandfather." Arrat said while rubbing her chin.

"The one who is married to Aphrodite and Lif? That's why you're related to Odin and Zeus, right?" I asked while grabbing some ingredients from a crate in the wagon.

I returned to the table carrying a lot of vegetables. Electra filling the large cauldron with warm water.

"Indeed. You have a good memory." Arrat smiled.

"I'm curious though… How many grandmothers do you have? You mentioned that he has the largest harem in your family, right?" I asked.

"About a thousand or so." Electra replied without looking away from the cauldron.

Ehh…? A thousand...? Like an entire fucking town full of wives?

"Are you serious…?"

"You're getting impressed by that? Oh boy! You're not ready for our family reunions! Hahaha!" Arrat laughed at me.

Oh… She IS serious!

"How!?" I asked while looking at them.

"Ru, please start peeling some potatoes. Sis, can you get me some spices please?" Electra said to us.

"Okie dokie." Arrat walked towards the wagon and started looking around.

I did what I was told and started to peel the potatoes while I was extremely confused.

How does he spend time alone with them…?

"I was told that my grandfather usually stops time to spend some quality time with my grandmothers." Electra said after reading my mind.

Stopping time…? That's…

"Okay…? Why is your genealogical tree messed up?" I asked.

"OUR family tree. You're part of it now." Arrat corrected me.

"If we have to say why it is like that… It would be because of our grandfather's charm." Electra explained while walking towards me.

She sat down by my side and started peeling some vegetables with me.

"His charm huh… Yeah, I don't get it." I said while peeling another potato. 

"Have you ever heard of succubi, Ru?" Arrat asked me while bringing a box of spices to the table we were at.

I think… I don't.

"Succubi are basically sex demons." Arrat explained with a teasing smile.

Oh…

"Are you saying that your grandfather is a succubi?" I asked.

"The male term would be incubus. And nope, he is a True Demon." Electra said while quickly peeling a carrot.

True Demon? Hold up…

"I thought you guys were gods! Aren't Demons supposed to be evil?" I asked.

"And we are Gods, but we are also True Demons. We have been called evil before, but we are not really evil, you know? There's not an evil bone in my body!" Arrat was grinning from ear to ear.

"Before you ask, we are not like the demons from the religions from Earth. Our race could be better described as an enhanced version of mortals." Electra was quickly peeling all of the vegetables.

I'm kinda lost…

"Don't worry about those details! It is pretty unimportant! Anyway, our grandfather's grandmother is a succubus. We inherited her charm." Arrat explained.

"Thanks to that charm, our grandfather was irresistible to many. Not that he really needed it apparently. Our grannies said that his personality was what charmed them." Electra explained while smiling.

I kinda wanna meet him now… A being so attractive that managed to get married a thousand times.

That would make anyone feel curious!

"Wanna see a picture? One of my grannies sent me this one earlier in the morning!" Arrat suddenly pulled a phone out of nowhere.

"Okay then…" I said with expectation.

"Here it is!" Arrat smiled warmly.

Huh…? Why is there a girl in the picture…?

Arrat showed me the picture of her "grandfather." The only person there is a young girl who looks like Astera. 

The young girl in question has perfect long blonde hair and silver coloured eyes. The girl was smiling warmly.

She is wearing a dress very similar to the one Astera usually wears...

I looked at Arrat, but I didn't know what to say…

"Isn't she pretty?" She asked with a grin.

"I guess… Is this really your grandfather?" I asked.

Both Electra and Arrat nodded.

"But… How!? She's a little girl!" I was dumbfounded.

"He can turn himself into a woman. Our grandmothers really like that, so he spends a lot of time in that form. Here's a picture of his actual appearance." Arrat quickly showed me another picture.

Huh…? Why does their grandfather look younger than me in my previous life?

The guy in the picture looks like a teenager… He still has long blonde hair and silver eyes.

…

…

…

The guy is handsome okay! No! That's an understatement!

If I'm considered handsome, then that guy is on a league of his own! Even if all the handsome guys in existence were to go against him in a beauty contest, we would certainly lose against him!

No wonder the guy has a thousand wives! Jeeez!

No! That fucking explains why Arrat Astera and Electra are so beautiful!

I'm so pissed off for some reason!

Arrat suddenly threw her phone to the air and it disappeared.

"Thank you for the compliment~!" Arrat said playfully.

I just looked at her in silence.

"Ah, I just thought about it… If he wants to know why our genealogical tree is so messed up, we should tell him a story or two about grandpa's youth." Electra said while cutting all of the vegetables she had peeled at supersonic speed.

What the hell…? I want to learn how to do that!

"Ah! That's a good idea! But which one… How about the time he fought Ares in order to get married to Granny Aphrodite?" Arrat suggested.

Wait… Ares…? I think I know him… I think he's the Greek God of War...

"To be fair, that wasn't much of a fight. Granny Aphrodite always told me that Ares was defeated with a single attack." Electra said to Arrat.

HUH!? Their grandfather won!?

Electra then snapped her fingers and all of the cut vegetables disappeared from the table. They were now inside the cauldron.

"Hmm… How about the one when he met Granny Tiamat? Nope, that one is way too dirty for my tastes…" Arrat smiled bitterly.

"To be fair, most of the stories involving him are more or less dirty…" Electra also smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, that's right… Ah! How about the story of Granny Zyra? I always loved her storytelling!" Electra said happily.

Electra then started to cut the meat in small chunks at supersonic speed…

"Ah! That's a good story! Equally as dirty as Granny Tiamat's, but this one shows why our genealogical tree is messed up!" Arrat nodded in agreement.

I don't know what's going on anymore…

"Ru, have you ever heard of an Otome Game?" Arrat asked.

"No… Why?" I replied.

"Oh boy! You better buckle up, because we will be here for a while!" Arrat said happily.

"I'll take care of dinner, Ru. Please enjoy the story." Electra smiled warmly at me.

"Our story begins when…-"

I was not prepared to hear that story…

-----Tomoko'sPOV-----

I was hugging the doll I made of my loved one…

"I want to meet you so badly… My spinneret throbs every time I think about you…" I hugged the doll with my eight spider legs.

Ah… Where are you my love? I can't spend another lonely night without you by my side…

I need you… I really need you… If you are not here then how are we going to have our thousands of spiderlings? Or build our nest…

"Tomoko, I'm coming in… Don't shoot your silk at me like you did last time!" That liar Astera was trying to come into my room.

"Stay out, liar! You said that he would be here yesterday, but he didn't come!" I shouted.

Astera said that he was on his way to meet me… But he has not come here at all…

I want to feel his warmth… I want to hug him just like I'm doing with this doll of him…

I want to sleep on the same bed...

"I'm sorry, okay? Please hear me out this time! Look, I brought you ice cream and everything!" Astera tried to bribe me.

"You won't buy my forgiveness, liar!" I shouted at her.

"Ah… So you don't want the triple banana split in my hand… Okay, I'll eat it myself and keep the news about your goblin husband to myself…"

Ah…

"Fine… I'll forgive you this time, Lady Astera…" I muttered.

What!? It is a triple banana split and news of my loved one! Everyone has a price, okay!? Mine just happens to be those things…

"Thanks! I will be coming inside then." Astera said as she was opening the door.

As she opened the door, more light started coming into my room...

"Tomoko! What the hell!? They are gonna keep our deposit now!" Astera seemed a bit angry.

Why is she reacting like that…? Well… Most of my room is covered by my silk. Like, all of the furniture is completely covered by my silk...

"In my name, why did you do this to your room!?" She said with annoyance.

"My loved one and I need a nest to live in and to make children... This was the only solution!" I declared.

"Sigh… I will never ever reincarnate anyone as a spider… Here, have your ice cream." Lady Astera said with a defeated expression.

A plate with the triple banana split suddenly appeared on my hands…

I immediately tasted the tasty ice cream… It was like tasting a piece of heaven~.

"Your goblin husband is on his way here. He should arrive tomorrow morning at the earliest or at noon at the latest." Lady Astera said with a flat tone.

Ah…

"Tomorrow... Really? Are you lying to me!?" I asked.

"I was not lying to you the first time… Things got busy for him and he simply postponed his departure. He's coming for real this time." Lady Astera teleported herself towards me and then sat on my bed.

"So he's coming tomorrow… Hihihi! I'm so excited!" I giggled.

"Tomoko, maybe you should not laugh like that when you meet him tomorrow… Also, we should clean your room a bit…" Lady Astera was looking around my room.

"Why are you trying to dismantle our love nest!? Here is where we will consummate our love!" I said to her while imagining my reunion with my husband…

Ah… My spinneret is throbbing again… My legs are getting weak…

"Tomoko… Where are your clothes? Do you really wish to show him this disaster when you bring him to your room? There's no place for him to walk! He will think that you want to eat him again!" Lady Astera said with annoyance.

Ah… That's a fair point… All of my clothes are buried somewhere beneath my silk…

"I do want to eat him though~." I replied playfully.

I can't wait to give him a kiss as soon as I see him~!

My head was suddenly flicked by Lady Astera…

"Owww! What was that for!?" It really hurt…

"Stop being so horny and start cleaning… There's so much silk in here that I don't think that the two of us will be enough to clean this room!" Lady Astera had that same defeated expression again.

Ah… Now that I look at it… There really is a lot of silk in here… More than in my previous home…

She's right! I need to start cleaning now! I need to be at my best in front of him! I can't bring him to this place!

"Lady Astera! Thank you for your help! Let's get started!" I said with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, sure… Sigh… I wanna go back to my room… I wanna be a NEET again…" She muttered.

Lady Astera is so funny! There's no way a goddess like her was a NEET! 

Unfortunately for us, Lady Astera was right… There was simply too much silk that the two of us would not be enough to clean…

On the bright side, I managed to find my best outfit!