A pleasant warmth slowly spread through my arm, an incredibly soft, almost pillowy pressure melting on me.
My nostrils caught a subtle, sweet whiff of one of the girls' floral scent.
Opening my eyes, I found Licia's face blocking my entire view. Every so often, she'd rub her cheek against me, and every time, she'd try leaning even closer.
Even though it was still the middle of the night, I could clearly see her lips. They were so glossy, they seemed to shine.
More than once, I felt tempted.
Especially when I heard her voice, meekly calling my name.
However, I was having too many technical difficulties to do anything.
I had felt her hugging me earlier, but I was too tired to unwrap her arms and accepted my fate.
Now, I had woken up hugging her back, my hand wrapping around her back and reaching her nape, fully pressing our bodies together.
On the other hand, Licia had fully closed her legs with my only free arm somehow between them.
She had a habit of rubbing her legs on me, but this time, it was even more of a problem.
Feeling the fabric of her shorts dampen, I began carefully trying to free my hand.
After a few careful attempts and some tough resistance on her part, I finally slid my hand out, and a sigh of relief escaped me.
It seemed like the little blue-haired devil was still enjoying her sleep, so I slowly turned away from her.
It was just too dangerous.
A couple of hours of rest later, I felt something hard rubbing against my thumb.
??????: "Ngh..."
Thinking nothing of it, I tried to move my hand away.
However, something was holding my hand in place.
Miwen: "Please, don't tell me..."
Still dazed, it took me a few seconds to open my eyes.
A part of me didn't even want to look.
But as expected, it was yet another terrifying sight.
While she held my hand against her top, her arm wrapped around my back.
At the same time, I discovered that my other hand had gone numb under the weight of her hips.
Miwen: "How is this happening?"
I couldn't exactly remember what I was dreaming of. It felt like every time I'd start having one, I'd wake up to a dreamy nightmare.
Still, even if I were having those kinds of dreams, I couldn't excuse doing these things to the girls who trusted me to sleep with them.
Miwen: "It should be heaven, so why does it feel like hell..."
I took a deep breath and readied myself for the next challenge.
It should've been simple enough, but even the smallest movement made Claire whisper into my chest, forcing me to pause and wait, hoping she'd not wake up.
But then, she'd adjust her position, making me rub her chest and undoing what felt like an eternity's worth of progress.
After much effort, I eventually broke free, but...
It was just the beginning.
I woke up to increasingly unexplainable accidents throughout the night and, at some point, I completely surrendered.
Deep inside my heart, I accepted that I might not wake up to see the day.
But considering what kept happening when I opened my eyes, that in itself felt like a blessing in disguise.
Although...
Once I felt the sun warming my skin, I woke up to a surprisingly normal scene.
I was still hugging Licia, but just her shoulder.
My fingers had entwined with Claire's, but our hands rested safely between our sides.
Somehow, despite all of the challenges I faced during the night, leaving the bed turned out to be the most difficult.
The sunlight touching the cute sleeping faces of my two companions warmed my heart, and for a couple of seconds, I admired them from the bedroom door.
Even though it made me feel like I had both won and lost in a bunch of different ways.
The nightly battles had taken a bigger toll on me than I thought, and when I saw the time, I rushed to get breakfast done.
While I desperately cleaned my face and brushed my teeth, I saw the two monsters leaving the room with joyous smiles plastered over their faces.
Seeing them talk about how pleasant a sleep they had, an exhausted sigh escaped me.
Licia worried and asked about it, but it only made it worse.
While I felt there was a slight chance she'd understand and maybe even forgive me, Claire would probably have my hands severed before our next time sharing a bed.
Claire: "Hmph. It's yummy, I'll give you that. But it's saltier than yesterday's, so be careful."
Miwen: "Sorry. Must've been my tears."
She tilted her head, but I brushed that little joke off.
Letting that little confusion linger in their minds a little was a fair payback to me.
The rest of the morning went on without a hitch.
Licia even offered to help clean the dishes, which earned her my forgiveness.
After confirming a few things with Sam and Roy in our chat group, I took Claire and Licia out.
We headed to the Dungeon through a slightly different route, though.
There weren't that many new or interesting things for me to show them, but I had heard about a somewhat popular crepe store nearby and...
Even though they treated me so badly during the night, I couldn't resist spoiling them a little.
By the time we had reached the Dungeon Gate, Roy and Sam were already waiting for us.
Since I had told them about Claire joining beforehand, they weren't too surprised to see her.
Still, seeing me arrive with yet another pretty girl made both Roy and Sam slightly flustered for a moment.
Claire: " Hello, I'm Claire, Licia's sister. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Since the two weren't from Earth, I thought passing them off as sisters would better explain away their strange quirks.
Oddly, Claire didn't mind at all.
She not only seemed more comfortable with lies than Licia but also a bit better at telling them.
Or so I thought...
Sam: "Nice to meet you, Claire!"
Being slightly taller than Claire and with a small problem with personal space awareness, Sam's first instinct was to rest a hand on the newcomer's shoulder.
Her friendly gesture earned her a death glare from the proud duke's daughter.
Of course, Sam was completely oblivious to it, and not knowing if that was common practice in our world, Claire was forced to accept her touchy welcome.
The discontent was showing, though.
Seeing the scene play out before my eyes, I decided that Claire, too, had earned my forgiveness.
Roy: "Glad to have you... Miwen said you are really strong."
He gave Claire a slightly awkward thumbs-up.
Though it seemed instinctive, as he quickly returned his hand to the pocket of his pants, Claire actually seemed to like that way more.
She even returned the compliment and the thumbs-up.
Claire: "Is that so? He told me the same about you guys."
Before heading inside, I had Claire explain her Gift to them.
Or at least, a "lite" version of it.
The fire magic and sword skills were fine, but the Sparks were something better kept a secret.
They wouldn't directly influence a battle, and I didn't want anyone other than Claire to decide how to use that aspect of her Gift.
Though I knew Sam and Roy weren't the type to force something like that, Claire had proved herself very attentive already, and she'd most definitely feel some pressure that was best avoided.
Sam: "So! What are we thinking for today?"
She rubbed her hands together, an exaggerated villainous expression on her face.
Miwen: "I wanted to level up, and I think it'd be nice for Claire and Licia to level up too..."
For some reason, I didn't have much energy to think of a plan, so I just laid out my objectives.
Sam: "Oh... Are you close to it?"
Miwen: "Yeah, somewhat. But since Claire is with us today, I think we can go deeper on the second floor."
Even if Claire weren't in Licia's league, having one more party member was huge for us.
But since they were actually on the same tier, we should be more than ready for the challenges of this floor.
Sam: "Wow. You trust her quite a lot, huh?"
Seeing the confidence in my eyes, Sam poked my arm.
Miwen: "You'll see. With her around, I think we can hunt any monster on this floor."
Having two veterans like them challenge the second floor of an Easy Dungeon felt a little like bringing a cannon to a bar fight.
I was kinda excited to see how we'd fare together on a more difficult floor.
Roy: "I mean... I'd hope we win a 5-on-1. It'd kinda hurt otherwise."
Miwen: "I'm not sure... if they are a Superior or Noble Monster, then that's different."
Up until this point, Licia and Claire were silently nodding along.
But upon hearing me question their ability, they exchanged a brief look that seemed to ask, "Should we prove him wrong?"
Sam: "But those are rare, so no need to worry so much, I can protect you if you're scared, you know?"
Licia: "I'll also protect you if it comes to it, Miwen..."
Claire: "You needn't fret, no enemy may stand against you as long as I'm on your side!"
Roy: "Leave it to your big bro. If anything happens, I will wipe the entire floor for you."
Somehow, it ended up with everyone treating me like a little kid.
I understand that this being just the second floor, it was still somewhat safe, but I'd rather not start developing the wrong attitude so soon, as it can be costly in the future.
And also, my biggest worry was Licia and Claire getting hurt.
Claire is even more confident than Licia, and while they have the strength and experience to support that confidence, I can't help but think they'll surely want to try a tough battle, even if the risks are high.
Still, without any consideration for my opinion, the team decided to proceed while babysitting me.
Not that I minded their teasing too much, if anything, I was glad that everyone was getting along well, even if at the cost of my non-existent reputation.
My personal goal was to defeat the floor boss in the remaining time until I had to choose one event, and for today, I wanted each of the [Citizens] of the kingdom, me included, to get one level up.
We killed many monsters during this fight, but they were mostly goblins and hobgoblins since we didn't go too far away from the settlement on the second floor.
Even at low levels, around 4 to 5, the hobgoblins were a pain to deal with.
Their arms are bigger than the goblins', and they are also stronger, so even when they carry a weapon such as a club or a sword, they still manage to maintain equilibrium and speed when attacking.
Every time we had to face a one-on-one with them, it was a proper fight, with highs and lows, that required attention at every turn, or else, the result could go either way.
During our party, only Sam and I could match their raw strength, but Licia and Claire made up for that with technique, and so, as long as there wasn't too high a level difference, they managed their enemies just as much as we did.
Claire was doing especially well; her skills with a sword seemed incredibly refined.
Although Licia was also doing pretty well. It was probably just a matter of Claire's being more visually appealing.
Hers looked like the product of intensive training, while Licia's seemed more improvised, depending on the conditions she found.
Although different, both were respectable.
We progressed a little further, and then we reached the point where we were forced to leave last time.
I noticed that both Claire and Licia managed to level up, so Sam and Roy should at least be close to theirs.
However, since they aren't subject to the experience sharing we have, it could be that they still had to reach that level, so before heading deeper, I decided to ask them.
Miwen: "So, how's your progress?"
Roy: "I got to level 4 just now."
Sam: "Me too, it was faster than I expected to be honest..."
Interesting, I hadn't thought about this, but since Claire, Licia, and I count as only one when it comes to experience, this party basically only had 3 people, so indirectly, they were also benefiting from our condition.
Miwen: "I see... we still have quite some time, so, do you wanna go deeper?"
This was a little risky since generally, the deeper you go through a path, the harder it gets.
The monsters that are further away from the bigger concentration of humans tend to survive longer, so they are able to raise their skills, kill other monsters or adventurers, and get even stronger.
So, when it comes to rushing levels, it's best to go as far as possible, but it also poses a challenge.
Sam: "I think we could go deeper, but if we see something like that Hobgoblin Lord, we'll retreat, ok?"
Roy: "Nah, we can totally take him on now."
Licia: "I don't think so... What do you think, Miwen?"
That was a hard call.
Consider Licia and Claire, even if it was level 7, we probably could do it, but we would risk getting heavily injured.
Miwen: "We could win but... I don't believe it's worth the risk."
Licia seemed to approve of my answer.
It was good to get a veteran like her to agree with my opinion.
However, Claire and Roy didn't seem as happy, but since Sam also agreed with me, we were in the majority.
Still, we kept raiding the dungeon and eventually found our last challenge for the day.
Two hobgoblins of unknown level were carrying a sword each.
Close to them, two cloaked goblins.
They seemed to be similar to the ones from the last time, and without knowing their levels, this situation could be dangerous.
Claire: "The hobgoblin on the right is mine. Lici- Err... Sis, you take the one on the left, ok?"
Licia: "Sure, Sis!"
Claire remembered to be a bit more friendly to her "sister", and Licia seemed to be enjoying this situation quite a lot.
It was the same for me. Her honest try at deception was too fun to turn away from.
Miwen: "If that's the case, Roy and Sam can take the cloaked one on the right?"
Sam: "Probably, yeah."
Roy: "Fair, but if it gets tough, be sure to call for help before it's too late, alright?"
With our targets decided, each of us engaged in battle against our opponents.
I thought the monster I was facing was going to be a mage, so I tried to close the distance as quickly as possible, but to my surprise, he was actually an assassin, hiding a dagger under the cloak.
Although slower than a hobgoblin, its level had to be high, as no other goblin I faced today was so fast.
It was a very surprising attack, but I managed to dodge it by the skin of my teeth.
I wanted to finish him quickly to help the girls, so I went on the offensive and used all my speed to close the distance once again.
However, I saw a smirk on his face, and as he raised his hand, he cast a wind blade, like what happened to Roy back then.
This one was especially deceptive...
If not for the fact that Roy had also fallen for something similar, I would've probably been hurt there, but I managed to stop and roll to the side.
And as expected, an invisible blade left a deep cut on the ground right next to me.
I ended up in an awkward position to counterattack, but since my reach was longer than his, once we started to trade blows, the advantage was mine.
At close distance, he also didn't have time to prepare his magic attacks, so I managed to eventually stab his neck, ending the fight.
The corpse of the Goblin that should be in the ground disappeared, and a wind mana orb was left behind.
His dagger also stayed, so I took a tip from Licia's book and took it as loot.
Roy and Sam seemed to be doing fine, so I decided to go and help either Licia or Claire, whoever seemed to be having more difficulty with their enemies, but...
To my surprise, they were not fighting one-on-one against their opponents; instead, they did a beautiful team-up.
They were able to cover each other, and when Claire managed to disarm an opponent, Licia would follow with a precise strike.
The two hobgoblins fighting them kept swinging their swords desperately as they complemented each other's momentum and forced their opponents into their rhythm.
When the last strike came at Licia, she blocked the swing, and Claire took the opportunity to stab the monster.
Once this monster was down, the other didn't stand a chance.
It was quite amazing that they had managed to synchronize so well. Their opponents looked like sitting ducks before that.
And so, before I could snap out of their show, the dance had ended, and only the corpses of the hobgoblins were left behind.
Once it finished, though, the two seemed a bit out of breath, so it might've been harder than they made it seem.
Claire: "Good work!"
Licia: "I'm glad we managed it."
It was truly a spectacle.
Miwen: "When did you guys get so good at fighting together?"
Licia: "Well... we just knew what each one had to do and trusted each other to do it, I guess..."
Claire: "From our last expedition in the dungeon, I knew from watching that this girl could keep up with me, so..."
In such a short amount of time...
Licia had already proven that she could work together with others quite well when she came up with that strategy for us to defeat the Goblin Lord of the first floor together, but with someone with as much experience as her, it was another level entirely.
Almost as if natural, the two veterans seemed more coordinated than the rest of our party, even though we were fighting together for longer.
It made me want to see them fighting together more, but I had leveled up, and it was getting somewhat late, so it was better to leave since we had accomplished our objective for the day.
Before going home, though, we stopped at the Dungeon Office to trade the loot acquired.
Sam and Roy managed to get $15 each for their monster cores.
While Licia, Claire, and I got $45 total for the monster cores we found. Add to that the Wind mana orb from the goblin I defeated, and a grand total of $81 was acquired by us today. It's not something we can expect every time, but the dungeon loot was starting to look really good.
Even then, the biggest progress we made today was in relation to our levels; if we were to continue at this pace, then surely the [Events] wouldn't pose a threat.