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.
Despite all the challenges I faced during the night, somehow getting out of 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.
I felt like I had both won and lost in a bunch of different ways. The nightly battles had taken a toll on me, and when I saw the time, I rushed to make breakfast.
While I desperately cleaned my face and brushed my teeth, I saw the two girls leaving the room with joyous smiles plastered over their faces.
Seeing them talk about how pleasant a sleep they had, I let out an exhausted sigh.
Licia worried and asked about it, but it only made it worse.
While there was a slight chance she'd understand and maybe even forgive me, Claire would probably have my hands severed before we ever shared a bed again.
Claire: "Hmph. It's great, I'll give you that. But it's saltier than yesterday's..."
Miwen: "That'd make it two of us."
She tilted her head, but I brushed that little joke off.
Letting that hint of confusion linger in their minds seemed like 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, Claire, Licia, and I headed out.
Though we used a slightly different route to the Dungeon this time.
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 gave me hell during the night, I couldn't resist spoiling them a bit.
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 Licia and Claire 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 slight personal space awareness problem, 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 his pockets, Claire actually seemed to approve of it way more than she did Sam's closeness.
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 already proved herself very attentive, and she'd most definitely feel some pressure that we could avoid.
Sam: "So! What are we thinking for today?"
She rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain, wearing a matching wicked grin.
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 elaborate on 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, I felt we were 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 gave my arm a nudge with her elbow.
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. If you're scared, I can protect you, alright?"
Already close to me, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, rubbing her fist against my chest.
Then, I felt a familiar weight on my back...
Licia: "I'll also protect you if it comes to it, Miwen..."
Claire: "Hmph. With me here, there's nothing to fear!"
Suddenly, I was surrounded.
The three guardians were enjoying messing with me so much that I couldn't take a single step forward.
And they weren't the only ones amused...
Roy: "Leave it to your big bro. If anything happens, I will wipe the entire floor for you."
Stepping before me, he landed a hand on my shoulder, an incredibly confident smile on his face.
I almost took them seriously, if not for the laughs that followed.
Once we entered the Dungeon, we focused on feeling our party's current ability now that Claire was with us.
My objective was to defeat the floor boss in the remaining time I had to choose an [Event], so there wasn't much need to rush. As long as we could each get a level up, that'd be great.
The few hobgoblins we faced near the settlements were bigger than even the Goblin Lord Boss of the first floor, and when carrying weapons, they were a problem.
Unlike the other monsters, whether they had a club or a sword didn't matter; They weren't slowed down by it, and their attacks were much harder to dodge.
Facing more than one at a time felt nearly impossible; the battles were much more tiresome and time-consuming.
And that was with me having an advantage in raw strength more often than not.
Roy and I were piling up small bruises, and after a while, even Sam started falling short by a second.
The only ones seemingly doing fine were, surprisingly enough, Claire and Licia.
Their lower levels meant very little compared to their combat experience.
Claire especially looked great. While Licia had the higher kill count, her refined swordsmanship was almost eye-catching.
She had every movement memorized so well that, after watching for a while, I could almost predict what she'd do next.
Usually, that wouldn't be a good thing, but no monster survived her onslaught enough to get used to her rhythm.
And if anything, it paired nicely with Licia's more improvisational style. More often than not, I found one creating the perfect opportunity for the other to strike.
Eventually, we had progressed enough to reach the point where we retreated from last time.
Claire and Licia had already leveled up, while Sam and Roy made no comments about their own levels.
Thanks to the experience sharing between Kingdom citizens, I couldn't even compare my own experience to get a rough estimate of how close they were.
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..."
While not as fast as the rest of us, they were also doing great.
I hadn't thought about it before, but...
Since Claire, Licia, and I counted as one individual, whenever we helped them tackle a battle, the resulting experience was split three ways instead of five.
Miwen: "Oh, that's nice. We still have some time, though, so... What do you guys wanna do?"
We were already far enough from the settlement that the light didn't reach us.
Every narrow corridor forward would mean facing monsters that had survived longer, raising their skills and maybe even their levels.
They'd make great targets for experience, but...
The risk was just as high as the reward.
Sam: "I think we could go deeper, but if we see something like that Hobgoblin Lord, we'll retreat, ok?"
Roy: "Really? We could totally win, though..."
A second passed in silence, with Sam's lips briefly curling into an awkward smile.
She scratched her head, her eyes drifting toward the route we took.
Licia: "...It's your call, Miwen."
She leaned into my ear, whispering.
From the look in her eyes, I could tell she felt the same way Sam did, and yet she was willing to push herself a little more.
It wasn't that we had no chances. If anything, Roy was right.
With Licia and Claire, we'd most definitely win.
But there'd probably be a cost, and I wasn't willing to risk even a single light injury to Licia and Claire.
Miwen: "...Sorry, I didn't sleep well tonight, so I'm feeling a little tired. I think it'd be too risky."
Overconfidence was a death sentence, but low confidence was also a problem.
Roy's confidence balanced out my caution and the girl's experience, so I thought it'd be best to create an excuse.
Licia smiled approvingly, but she also pinched my arm, showing she wasn't happy with my lying.
Even though it wasn't that much of a lie...
Still, Roy and Claire didn't look too happy.
Roy tried to make his case to Sam, while Claire kept saying not to underestimate her.
But in the end, the majority won.
After resting a little, we packed our things and made our way back.
However, on the way, we found ourselves surrounded by two hobgoblins.
Their levels were unknown, and they both carried a sword.
There were also two cloaked goblins, completely blocking the narrow passage.
Claire: "Oho? I'll take the hobgoblin in the front. Lici-"
She was so excited that she almost made a mistake.
Thankfully, she stopped herself just in time.
Claire: "Err... Sis, you take the one on the back, ok?"
Licia: "Sure, Sis!"
She smiled teasingly, forcing Claire to turn away with her face flushed red.
Miwen: "If that's the case, Roy and Sam can take the cloaked goblin on the back, right?"
Sam: "Probably, yeah."
Roy: "Sure. But if it gets tough, call for help, yeah?"
Thinking I'd be facing another mage, I closed the distance as quickly as I could.
However, underneath its cloak, the monster hid a dagger.
While not as fast as a hobgoblin, this was the quickest goblin I had faced so far.
It's slash caught me off-guard, and if not for my high speed, I might've gotten away with more than just a grazed arm.
Instead of giving chase, the goblin was also smart enough to quickly hide the dagger back inside the cloak, making it hard for me to measure its reach.
This monster seemed experienced.
...Maybe surrounding us wasn't a coincidence.
Afraid that the other monsters might be just as smart as this one, I went on the offensive again, seeking to help the girls as soon as possible.
That was a mistake.
A gust of wind lifted the goblin's cloak, revealing the dagger.
Naturally, my eyes drifted to it.
But I should've been looking at his feet.
The goblin jumped back, and a wind vortex formed right in front of him, releasing five wind blades in all directions.
I had no time to dodge.
My only option was to sacrifice an arm and hope it'd be enough to stop the wind blades.
However, an icicle suddenly appeared before me, blocking the goblin's magic.
It gave me just enough time to deflect the other two, and thankfully, the rest just cut the walls around me.
I ended up in an awkward position, but with my speed and longer reach, I caught up to the goblin.
Though I was careful, thinking it might still have another trick up its sleeve, the goblin didn't last long once our blades met.
My blade pierced its neck, and a jet of blood sprayed the walls red.
The goblin's corpse slowly faded, and in its place, a wind mana orb rested on the ground.
Its dagger didn't disappear either, so I took a note from Licia's book and quickly snatched it.
Roy and Sam seemed to be doing fine, so I looked around for Licia and Claire.
To my surprise, I found the two of them rounding the hobgoblins together.
The two monsters tried to strike simultaneously, but Claire and Licia easily reflected their blades.
Not only that, their teamwork was surprisingly smooth.
They weren't doing anything flashy, but they trusted the other enough to do the right thing, and with every exchange, they got one step ahead of the hobgoblins.
After just a few strikes, Claire managed to disarm one of the monsters, and Licia followed with a precise slash to its back.
The remaining hobgoblin continued to swing its sword desperately, just like before, but...
It was almost embarrassing.
The two girls complemented each other's momentum too well.
Even when they were fighting two-on-two, the hobgoblins were already forced into their rhythm.
Alone, the last monster quickly found its sword blocked by Licia, meeting its end by a stab to the heart by Claire.
I didn't even get the chance to get a hand in. The girls were done in a matter of seconds.
And that was with Licia helping me out, too...
While they weren't injured, the two seemed a little out of breath, though.
...Maybe it was harder than they made it seem.
Claire: "Good work!"
Licia: "Hm. I'm glad we managed it."
They high-fived, both looking smug in their own way.
Miwen: "When did you guys get so good at fighting together?"
Licia tilted her head, while Claire let out an exasperated sigh.
They looked at each other for a second, both then turning to me with teasing smiles on their faces.
Licia: "What do you mean? Sis and I are always in sync."
Claire: "Yeah? It's only natural. We trust each other so much, we can basically read each other's minds."
Be it the bed, the battle, or even the teasing, the two had really grown used to each other...
It was a bit terrifying, but I found myself admiring it a little.
Or rather, I admired it a lot.
Even though their battle was impressive, it was just the result of two days of working together.
I couldn't even imagine how far they'd go if they stayed like this.
It almost made me wish to stay just so I could see them fighting together a little more, but...
I had already gotten my level-up, and it was getting late.
Since Roy and Sam defeated the other cloaked goblin without any problems, we headed out, only for Licia to notice the scratch on my arm.
After panicking for a couple of seconds, she forced me to buy an antidote at the settlement.
Roy and Sam got $15 each, but....
The girls and I got $60, plus $81 from the Wind Mana Orb.
It wasn't something we could expect every time, but it was certainly welcome.
However, there were a few deductions.
Aside from the antidote, we also made a slight detour on our way home, as a certain duke's daughter wanted her part paid in crepes, and...
I felt like buying a few things, too.