Gacha Harem System-Chapter 40: The Finer Things In Life

Silence filled the air.

He waited, but heard nothing.

"Melody?" He called, louder this time, his voice carrying down the hall.

A beat passed. Then her voice came back from the direction of the kitchen. "I’m in here."

His stomach answered before he could, erupting into a long rumble that made the decision for him.

He pushed himself off the bed and followed the smell of something cooking down the hall.

Melody was at the stove, her back to him, a wooden spoon in her hand. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard him come in.

"Sit down," she said. "It’s almost ready."

He pulled out a chair and sat. "What are you making?"

"Chicken stew." She stirred without looking back. "It’s one of the two things I can cook without setting anything on fire. Reliably, anyway."

Lukas said nothing and sat with the smell of it, which was doing good things for his appetite.

A few minutes later she set a bowl in front of him, steam rising off the surface, chunks of chicken visible through the thick broth.

She sat across from him and folded her hands on the table, watching him with the expression of someone trying to look like they weren’t watching.

He picked up the spoon and took a mouthful.

It was good. Not extraordinary, the seasoning was slightly uneven and the broth could have used another ten minutes on the stove, but genuinely, solidly good.

It was better than it had any right to be from someone who had introduced herself as a person who couldn’t boil water.

"It’s good," he said.

A beaming smile immediately bloomed to life on her face. "Really? I was worried you’d hate it."

"I like it," he said simply.

They ate together, spoons clinking softly against the bowls, and when the food was gone, a comfortable silence filled the air between them.

Melody set her spoon down and looked at the table for a moment before she spoke.

"The quest did more for me than I expected," she said. "I know you did most of the killing out there, but I contributed enough for me to see a significant boost to my experience." She paused.

"I’m already close to A-rank. Very close."

Lukas looked at her. "How close?"

"Close enough that a single decent dungeon run should push me over." She folded her hands on the table. "Which is what I want to talk to you about."

He waited.

"While you’re recovering, I want to find a B-rank dungeon run to join. A party that needs a sword. Then I’ll kill enough monsters to tip the bar over and ascend." She shrugged. "Maybe go on a few more runs as well."

"The money from the run would also carry us for a while, and help with new equipment. We can’t go back to hunt without a few necessities."

She was quiet for a moment.

"And I felt strange last time," she said. "Sitting at the market while you ran the dungeon six times by yourself, bringing everything home. That’s not how I want this to work."

She met his eyes. "You held us up when I couldn’t do much. Now it’s my turn. That’s how it should go between us."

Lukas looked at her across the table, studying her beautiful face, and smiled.

"I trust you," he said. "And I support you completely."

The tension in her shoulders eased slightly. "Thank you." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Come back in one piece."

She returned the smile. "That was never in question."

"But your sword," Lukas said. "It’s broken."

She waved a hand, a mischievous grin on her face. "I’m already handling it."

"How? It snapped clean in two."

"As you already know, [Cursed Blade] has a passive effect of sharpening and maintaining the blade in case of cracks. That also extends to cut or shattered blades."

She leaned back in her chair. "As long as I hold the two halves together and feed mana into them, the cursed energy slowly fuses the break back together."

"It draws from my reserves on its own once I set it. By tomorrow morning it should be whole again."

Lukas exhaled. "Good. I was worried we’d have to buy a replacement."

"Not yet." She tilted her head. "Eventually, yes. Once we advance to Adept, these swords won’t be enough anymore. We’ll need something stronger for the Second Floor. But for now, they’ll do their job."

Lukas was quiet for a moment, looking at the table. "I wish we could run dungeons together," he said. "Feels wrong going in separately."

Melody laughed softly. "The First Floor has set rules about that. But the Second Floor is different."

She looked at him. "Once we’re both Adepts, the rank restrictions on dungeons don’t work the same way."

"Any Adept can enter any Adept-ranked dungeon regardless of where they sit within that tier. As long as you’ve made the crossing, the door is open."

"So we’d be able to go on dungeon runs together."

"As much as we want." She smiled. "B-rank dungeons, A-rank, S-rank if we ever get there. All of it. Together."

Lukas nodded slowly, a warm smile appearing on his face at the thought.

"Then we’ll advance as fast as we can," he said.

Melody picked up her bowl and stood. "That was always the plan."

With that settled, they talked for another hour, the conversation moving without any particular destination.

When they finally went to bed, Lukas pulled Melody close without thinking about it, her back against his chest, and his arm wrapped around her waist.

She didn’t say anything. She just shifted slightly, finding a comfortable position, and stayed there.

Her breathing slowed first as she slowly descended into sleep. He lay in the dark and listened to it, feeling the last of the day’s tension leave his body in increments.

Then he was asleep.

***

The morning light came through the window in soft, pale bars that landed across the bed.

Lukas opened his eyes slowly.

Melody was still asleep, her face a few inches from his, her expression completely at rest.

He stared at her for a moment without moving.

She really was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

His eyes flicked downwards to see the light violet tone of her right breast almost halfway out of her night gown.

Her skin glowed softly under the morning light, as if begging him to touch them.

Then a notification appeared.

Ding!

[Quest: The Finer Things In Life]

[Time Limit: 30 seconds]

[Objective: Touch and caress your wife’s breasts for ten seconds.]

[Reward: +50 Gacha Points]

[Penalty: Loss of libido for 24 hours]