The Bond That Even Gods Cannot Break

It wasn't heavy or irritating; if she were forced to describe it with a single word, the girl would use "comfortable."

Still with her eyes closed, Melissa savored the comfortable sensation she was in. After finishing making the fire, the girls lay down on their newly acquired bed of moss and decided to sleep. Although the moss bed was relatively large, since their arms were still bound, they had to move closer to find a comfortable position.

The idea of taking turns for vigilance crossed their minds, but both were so tired that they simply collapsed into sleep.

"Hm?" Realizing it was time to get up, Melissa tried to stretch, but she realized her shoulders were stuck.

Opening her eyes, a large silver wall was immediately in front of her, so close that she could hear and feel the warm breath escaping from it.

"S-Snow curls!?" Exclaiming, Melissa noticed how her body was being pushed against Sophia's. Not only was her right arm with the sealed hand but even her left arm was immobilized by the silver-haired girl's arms, who embraced her and pressed her against her chest.

The scent of fruits and the intoxicating warmth invaded her mind as she tried to struggle against the tight grip.

"Mhm... Just five more minutes." Groaning and complaining slightly, Sophia just squeezed Melissa's head even tighter against her body and went back to sleep.

[Couple's Fortitude activated, select attribute to increase].

"W-Wait, I know we're hugging, but how did you allow her to put the status increase on strength?" Shouting against the system that, for some reason, seemed to be against her, Melissa continued. "Damn it, wake up Snow Curls!" Trying to push her face, red as a mountain pepper, away from the heat source that was Sophia's body, she finally managed to free one of her arms.

The girl then used the now free hand to push Sophia's face away, who immediately began to panic.

"W-What's happening? An attack!?" Rising in alarm, the girl known as the Ice Queen exclaimed in panic as she looked around in confusion. Her disheveled silver hair swayed through the air as she frantically scanned the surroundings.

"There's no attack." Rising while sighing, Melissa stared exasperatedly at the other girl who was still searching for some enemy. "Has anyone ever told you that you have weird habits during sleep, Snow Curls?"

The silver-haired girl tilted her head in confusion but quickly blushed upon noticing her state. Her hair was completely messy, and her uniform blazer was askew. Furthermore, her black shirt was unbuttoned, and a thin drop of saliva was trickling down her cheek.

"T-This...! I... I tend to be restless during sleep and..." With her voice trailing off, Sophia started to tidy herself up to become presentable again.

Both girls had already noticed how using only one hand for daily tasks was becoming difficult, but Sophia managed to finish getting ready in a few minutes.

Coughing lightly to regain composure, Sophia then spoke.

"What should we do today?"

Observing the light coming from the upper floor, the girl assumed it was already day. Analyzing the cooldown time of the ability on her panel, she noticed that there were just under 13 hours left until it could be reused. Therefore, they must have slept for approximately 10 hours.

"We should check this out."

Sophia tilted her head in doubt, but her gaze followed the direction Melissa's finger pointed, finally noticing some panels.

[Congratulations, you've leveled up.]

[One experience point available for use.]

[Daily mission unlocked.]

"They appeared after we... separated. I believe that besides defeating monsters, skin contact also counted as exercising the hug ability."

Melissa stuttered slightly as she tried to express her train of thought.

Studying the panels, the girls decided to deal with one at a time. First, they increased vitality by one point again, now obtaining 120 health points.

"What's the daily mission?" Sophia questioned, with her hand on her chin as the panel expanded to reveal its contents.

 

Daily Mission: The daily mission will change every day. Complete it to obtain rewards.

Rewards: +1 random item, +1 experience point for all attributes.

Warning: Failure to complete the daily mission will result in a penalty.

 

"No way!"

"For all attributes!?"

The girls stared incredulously at the floating panel. If they defeated monsters or used their class abilities, they would level up and gain a point for some attribute. However, if they could earn a point in all attributes just by completing some task, that would be very helpful.

"Wait, let's not get too excited," coughing lightly, Sophia sat on the moss bed while instructing Melissa to do the same. "Based on everything the system has presented, this shouldn't be easy to obtain. Let's first see what these daily missions will be like."

Sitting down, Melissa nodded.

"Yes, it might involve defeating a certain number of monsters or obtaining a specific item. We should be cautious since it mentions a penalty if we don't complete the mission." Melissa supposed, recalling the games she had played.

As the two girls looked at the floating window, its content changed, and a new warning appeared.

Daily Mission: Leave a hickey mark on your lover's chest and neck.

"What?!" Both exclaimed in unison.

With wide eyes, Sophia reread the content of the panel several times.

"There must be some mistake, this must be a joke," she shouted, trying to grab the holographic panel she thought was malfunctioning. However, as expected, her hand just passed through the reddish panel.

Looking to the side to seek support from the other girl, she was surprised again to see Melissa using her free hand on her own lips.

"Ms. Cosmos?"

When she finally realized what she was doing, Melissa quickly lowered her hand.

"It's not what you're thinking... it's just that..."

Her brain struggled to come up with an acceptable response, but when it failed, only incomprehensible sounds came out of her mouth.

A few seconds passed in silence, both girls just staring at the floating panel.

"It's okay... I... I'll do it."

With a weak voice, Sophia affirmed while turning her face away completely.

"Wait, are you serious?" Almost jumping, Melissa backed away while placing her left hand in front of her like a barrier separating the two.

The mere thought of Sophia biting into her body flashed through her mind, and she immediately sank into confusion. However, contrary to what she was thinking, when she finally turned her gaze back to Sophia, she was met with an unbelievable sight.

"Go ahead... I... I'm ready." With her blazer unbuttoned, Sophia had both blue eyes closed and a face as red as a beet.

Melissa swallowed hard and felt her heart skip a beat as she watched Sophia's clean ivory skin exposed. The way Sophia unbuttoned her clothes gave a complete view from her slender neck to the center of the cleavage of her black bra. Her loosened blue tie rested on her exposed collarbone.

"What?... Y-You really want me to do this!?"

Sitting in seiza, Sophia gave her all to control her expression.

"You tested the second class and fought against that monster... Besides the bed and the fire. At least let me do this now."

Her voice came out determined, and Melissa was sure the girl was serious. If Melissa logically reflected, the arguments used by Sophia weren't incorrect. However, she couldn't fully accept them.

"Are you again doing this out of a sense of responsibility?"

Melissa's expression darkened, a slight palpable irritation emanating in the air.

Recalling the argument they had before entering this dungeon, Melissa still remembers how Sophia asserted it was her responsibility to take care of her classmates.

"I didn't do all that to owe you anything! To receive that look of pity!"

Affirming in a shout, Melissa's gaze finally turned dark. Melissa despised from the core of her being when people assigned values to her actions, but more than anything, Melissa hated it when they pitied her.

Biting her lips, the girl closed her eyes in disappointment. She had no more desire to face Sophia. Silence returned to the cavern, and when Melissa thought no response would come, she felt her hand being pulled.

"What now- Aaaah!!?"

A strong impact hit her head, and her sense of gravity failed. Her body went limp from the sudden shock, and she fell onto the moss bed.

Bringing her hand to her head, she felt a sharp pain coming from the point of impact. Her eyes opened again and found Sophia staring at her. A red mark was on her forehead, and an expression of anger was on her face.

"What was that?!" Melissa protested, but like a déjà vu, Sophia lunged onto her and pinned her hands.

With their faces inches apart, her amber eyes were forced to meet those reminiscent of a blue sky. Melissa imagined another fight like the last time would start, and she clenched her teeth, but the words that came were unexpected.

"Cut this shit out already! Idiot!"

"Uh...?"

For the first time, her face went blank with the words that came to her. Melissa had never seen Sophia swear. Even when they fought in what ironically could be treated as a fight to the death, Sophia had never cursed at her.

"Pity? Responsibility? Screw all that garbage!"

Her breath was ragged, but she didn't stop talking.

"You told me before that I don't have the right to care about you because I don't know anything about you. Damn it, I don't know why you skip class. I don't know why you don't have a cellphone. I don't know why you learned how to make a fire. Fuck, I don't know why you refuse to talk to me. I don't know why you're so stubborn!" Tears began to fall from her eyes, but she wouldn't stop talking. "But I know you're a kind girl. I know you water the flowerbed behind the sports court even when it's not your turn. I know you fought with the principal when you found out one of the teachers was harassing a student. I don't want to see you hurt and on the brink of death again. I don't want everything to be on your shoulders. I don't want to leave you alone! I'm not strong, I'm not fast, I can't even walk for two hours without my feet going numb. But let me help you somehow! Melissa, you idiot!"

Her words finally ended, and Sophia just stared at Melissa, breathless. Her heart was pounding so hard that it was possible to hear the sound of it beating against her chest, her sweat mixing with her tears.

When she erupted, Sophia didn't know what she was doing, but she felt extreme relief to let it all out. Speaking would hurt, but staying silent would hurt even more. When she threatened to sink into despair for saying something wrong, slowly, a hand reached her cheek.

“Sorry...” It was all that came out of Melissa's trembling lips before she hugged the girl who was crying on top of her.

Several minutes passed in which only their warmth existed, and they finally sat up.

“I... shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry.” Lowering her head, Melissa bit her lip. “Even though you saved me earlier, I still mentioned something about debts.”

Sophia never imagined hearing Melissa say that.

“I also went overboard. It was the first time I spoke like that to someone...”

“You’re really bad at cursing.”

“Shut up!”

Adjusting her breathing, the silver-haired girl reaffirmed her determination.

“I'll say it again, I don't know what or who will be waiting for us when we get out of here. We're in this together; I may not be strong, but I'll rely on your strength. We won't label help for each other from now on, okay?”

Melissa looked at their hands still clasped together, but not just them, their two arms were intertwined with fingers.

“You talk as if you're not smart, snow curls. If it wasn't for your brains, we would have died from those bees.” Melissa squeezed both hands tightly and continued. “We're in this together, what one can't do, the other will take care of, without debts or pity.”

Coming to a conclusion, both girls nodded. But a question again arose. Sophia finally realized that the reason for the fight had not yet been resolved when she noticed that her chest was still exposed beneath her bra.

At first, she thought about covering her body, but swallowing hard, Sophia resumed her posture again.

“The penalty as a separate issue, the daily quests... I want us to do them.” She stated. “If I am not willing to do them, I will be putting our lives above my shame. If it’s you… Melissa, I guess I don’t mind doing them, or… do you hate the idea of doing this to me?”

Noticing that she finally could no longer contain the expression she was making, Sophia looked away, awaiting the answer.

“I... I don't hate having to do whatever the system says... if it's up to you...” She also felt strange and turned her face in the same direction as Sophia. They both looked at each other from the corner of their eyes, and Melissa was the first to give in and say something, almost shouting. “Okay, if the next daily missions follow this logic, we will take turns deciding who does what. I’ll do it this time, and you next time, is it okay if it’s like this!?” Melissa finished her answer and approached Sophia.

The girl, who was caught by Melissa's sudden determination, fell backwards onto the musty bed.

Her silver hair had been messed up for a long time, and between her heavy breathing and teary eyes, a single sentence that would cloud any meaning escaped her soft lips.

"Be gentle"