Gacha Harem System-Chapter 39: Glad I Met You

Lukas listened to Melody’s footsteps move down the hall, then swung his legs over the side of the bed.

The groan came low out of his mouth as he pushed himself upright, his injuries registering their objection in detail. He stood there for a moment, letting everything settle, then followed her out.

He arrived at the living room doorway just as Melody opened the front door.

The man outside was older, looking somewhere in his sixties, with a neat grey beard.

He had the kind of calm and easygoing bearing that came from decades of being called to difficult situations and expected to fix them.

Slung over his shoulder was a worn leather bag, and his rank, visible to any Awakener who could feel his aura, placed him at C-rank.

The same rank as Lukas.

"Good morning," Melody said. "Thank you for coming back."

"Of course." The man’s eyes moved past her and found Lukas standing in the hallway. They lit up immediately.

"You’re out of bed." He stepped inside, nodding with genuine approval. "That’s a very good sign. Last night I wasn’t entirely certain you’d be sitting up this quickly."

"I’m harder to put down than I look," Lukas said.

The man smiled and followed him back to the bedroom, Melody coming in behind them.

The tray with the half-finished soup was moved to the corner, and the [Medic] gestured for Lukas to sit on the edge of the bed.

He set his bag down and began unwrapping the bandages with the ease of someone who had tied them in the first place.

As each layer came away, the injuries underneath appeared. Most looked like they’d scabbed over, the skin knitting slowly at the edges of each wound, while the deeper ones were still red but closed.

The man leaned in, studying each one in turn. He moved from the ribs to the forearms to the shoulder, pressing gently at the surrounding tissue, and watching Lukas’s face for reactions.

Then he straightened and nodded. "You’re healing well. Better than average, actually."

He looked at Lukas directly. "I’d like your permission to use my skill now."

He chuckled as if to some joke only he knew. "Some patients find it startling if I begin without warning. Do I have your permission?"

"Go ahead," Lukas said.

The man placed his palm over the injuries on Lukas’s ribs and activated his skill.

A warm green light bloomed from his palms, and wherever it passed across the skin, the healing that had been moving at its natural pace began to accelerate.

It felt unusual to Lukas, like someone was gently massaging his skin, but not actually touching it. He couldn’t decide between it being weird or comfortable.

The scabs over the wounds darkened and tightened, while the red at the edges faded.

New skin crept in from the borders of each injury, slow but visible, the body doing in minutes what would normally take days.

The man moved the palm upwards to the shoulder. The broken shoulder blade had been the worst of it, as Lukas had felt the wrongness of it every time he’d moved his arm since it happened.

Under the green light, the deep ache shifted, changed character, and then began to ease as the bone found its alignment and held.

Thirty minutes passed. The man worked in silence, mopping the sweat from his forehead twice with a folded handkerchief, his breathing steady but carrying the slight heaviness of someone expending real effort.

It was clear that using his skill had an effect on his constitution.

When he finally stepped back, the wounds were closed. Not gone, as the skin was still new and the deeper areas still tender, but it was closed, and no longer at risk.

The man pressed the handkerchief to his forehead one final time and tucked it away.

"Rest for a few days. That means there would be no combat, and no heavy lifting. Let the deeper tissue finish what I started." He looked between them both. "Then you’ll be fine."

Melody thanked him and led him out. Lukas heard the front door close, then her footsteps returning down the hall.

He exhaled slowly. The constant grinding pain that had been with him since he opened his eyes had reduced itself to soreness.

He looked up as Melody came back into the room.

"We’re low on funds, aren’t we," he said. It wasn’t quite a question.

Melody sat down on the edge of the bed. "Yes."

"How much do we have left?"

Silence.

"Three thousand gold coins," Melody finally said.

Lukas exhaled. The tension that had been building in his chest released itself quietly. "I thought it would be less. In fact, I was expecting us to be practically destitute."

Melody’s grin appeared. "It would have been. The [Medic] quoted me a number that made my eye twitch. I had to haggle as hard as I could to save us that much."

Lukas shook his head slowly, a smile on his face. "Of course you did."

He was quiet for a moment, turning the number over. Three thousand. It was enough, but not comfortable. It reminded him of the financial state he’d been in just days before.

He didn’t want to go back to that time.

As long as he recovered, he should still have sufficient stats to solo a C-rank dungeon. The haul from there should be more than enough to take them from broke to middle class.

As if she could hear the thoughts going on in his head, Melody spoke. "We still have the Nemean Lion’s hide. I haven’t sold it yet. That alone will keep us fed for more than a month."

He hadn’t thought about that. He looked at her and laughed softly, the sound coming out warm.

"I’m glad I met you," he said.

Melody held his gaze for a moment. Then she smiled, quiet and unhurried. "Me too," she whispered. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She reached over and picked up the tray, loaded the spoon, and held it out. This time he opened his mouth without argument and let her feed him until the bowl was empty.

After the meal, the drowsiness came on gradually, and before he knew what was going on, he was asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the room was dark. Night had arrived while he slept, and the bed beside him was empty.

"Melody?"