Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

Ellie averts her gaze at the question of what she intended to do by transforming her new arm into mine. I chuckled at her demeanor and spoke up.

“I’ll do it with a real hand later, so let’s say practice is forbidden.”

“…What?”

“More importantly, about the arm… How is it? You said it moves and feels fine. At least, it doesn’t look out of place like it wasn’t there originally.”

“No, what did you just say…?!”

“It seems to have a faint consciousness. That part bothers me a bit.”

“That’s not what’s important right now!”

“Huh? What’s more important than your arm?”

“Just now, Jonah, you said with a real hand…”

“……”

Ellie, about to say something, just sends a look full of frustration. I giggled at her and continued speaking.

“Later. I said later, Ellie. Let’s talk about the arm again now.”

“…Okay.”

After confirming Ellie’s complicated expression, as if she had been blatantly deceived, I tapped her arm lightly.

“You said your sense of movement alone was perfect… How does it feel?”

“It’s the same. No problem. It’s just strange that it’s a real sensation, not like phantom pain.”

“Ah, phantom pain. That was a thing.”

A typical prosthetic arm wouldn’t make phantom pain disappear just because something is attached to the arm. It’s due to the brain’s misconception from the absence of actual sensation.

That’s why on Earth, they were developing prosthetics that deliberately give electrical signals to make it feel like the missing body part is still there?

I saw it on the news by chance, so I’m not sure. But if this is true…maybe the phantom pain that’s been bothering Ellie might disappear.

“Ellie. If the phantom pain goes away, wouldn’t you not need to smoke Magic Herb cigarettes anymore?”

“That’s true, but… I’m so used to it that my mouth will feel idle. I also liked the scent a bit.”

“Ah, I think I know what you mean.”

There’s no addictive substance in Magic Herbs. But the strangely refreshing scent and temporary calmness must have become a habit.

Honestly, now when I think of Ellie, the first thing that comes to mind is the scent of Magic Herbs, so if she suddenly stopped, I’d feel empty.

“Well, aside from that… How do you think the durability and power will be?”

“It’s indoors, so I can’t go all out…”

Ellie, trailing off at the end of her sentence, lightly threw a punch with her new arm. A secretive jab, so fast it was barely visible, and even the sound of the wind was absent. Ŗ𝙖𝐍O͍฿ÊⱾ

“It’s just a hunch, but it feels similar to my left arm? I guess we’ll have to check it out in the Labyrinth next time.”

“Oh. Would you like to go in together?”

“Sure. It’s not that I need an opponent to fight at full power, but a space to unleash my strength. The 3rd Floor should be spacious enough.”

Ellie nodded slightly, looking a bit excited. Usually, there was a peculiar sense of deflation or a lack of enthusiasm.

Ellie often wore a bored expression as if life was dull when left alone, but now her face was as lively as when I played a slightly naughty prank.

Of course. Ellie has been an adventurer since childhood, carving out everything she has now with her own two fists from nothing.

Truly a model of self-made success. Such a person has been unable to do what she has been doing for years.

Sure, even without one arm, she’s strong enough, and she quit being an adventurer because she was tired of fighting every day…

Still, the feeling of emptiness from not being able to do what she could before. And the helplessness of not being able to climb the mountain that she always climbed.

What I’m worried about is something else, though.

“The arm itself is fine…but is its mind intact? The Goddess vouched for it, so there shouldn’t be a big problem, but if it starts whispering weird things or moving against Ellie’s will, that would be a disaster.”

“I thought so too, so I kept focusing on that from the start, and surprisingly, as soon as we connected, it completely calmed down…. It’s not like there’s no effect at all, though.”

“What kind of effect?”

“I can feel something.”

“Huh?”

“No, I don’t know what it is either, but something like smoke? Thread? I feel something like that…. What is it, really? As long as it helps me, it’s fine. I don’t think it’ll be harmful. I might even be able to control it if I do it right.”

“Uh-huh…”

The moment I heard Ellie’s vague explanation, something immediately came to mind.

“Isn’t that aura?”

“Au-ra?”

“Of course, it might not be real aura. It could be magic, or something else. But the sensation Ellie describes is generally what you feel when you first awaken to a special ability.”

“Special ability…? Me?”

Ellie, with a restless expression, stared at her arm.

Soon after, she quietly closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

Her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Her ears and tail hung calmly. And her breathing repeated in long intervals.

After delving into her inner self for quite some time, Ellie’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Bright yellow eyes resembling those of a beast. In an instant, an aura that could only be called vigor emanated from her…

Pop.

The color of her right arm changed.

“…Huh?”

“Oh.”

To a bright pink, resembling my hair color.

…What’s this?

Ellie seemed just as bewildered as I was, and focused her mind again. And.

Pop.

This time, it changed to a gray similar to Ellie’s own hair color.

“What in the world is this?”

The look of disappointment on Ellie’s face, expecting it to be an aura. She couldn’t accept this reality and continued to change colors…

On the other hand, I had a suspicion the moment I saw the colors change.

“Ellie. Can you change the colors at will?”

“Hold on.”

Pop.

Ellie’s arm turned bright red. She sighed deeply and shook her head.

“No. I can change them at will, but I can’t control which color it becomes.”

“I thought so.”

The faint energy felt from Ellie’s arm. It was probably the faint consciousness left in the gray orb.

The last freedom it has left is to choose what color it turns.

When I explained this to Ellie, she chuckled, taking out a Magic Herb cigarette from her pocket and putting it in her mouth.

“If that’s all, there’s not much to worry about.”

“Yes. It’s not like the Goddess used all her nonexistent leisure just to push me.”

“…It sounds more like you overworked the Goddess in the end.”

Ellie chuckled softly. Inhaling deeply the familiar scent of Magic Herbs emanating from her, I asked cautiously.

“Ellie. Do you remember what you said before?”

“About what?”

“You said you’d return as an adventurer and join me in the Labyrinth once you got your arm back.”

“Ah.”

Ellie smiled, as if she had just remembered, and nodded.

“Of course. But, as I said before…”

“After properly setting the employees on their own feet, right?”

“Well, it won’t take long. I’ll use my connections to find them decent jobs.”

“Ellie, you’ll manage it well, I’m sure.”

By the time I clear the 3rd Floor, Ellie will have wrapped up the staff’s work nicely.

“…But it’s a bit of a shame.”

“What is it now?”

“The fact that Fairy and Silver Coin is disappearing.”

“It can’t be helped. It’s hard to keep running a tavern while doing adventurer work.”

“No. The lively atmosphere of the tavern is nice, but I meant it’s a shame that the gathering place is disappearing.”

Fairy and Silver Coin is certainly an operating tavern, but it’s also a place where Lydia and Benny, and sometimes Eve or the Lemon-Apple sisters gather.

“So, Ellie, how about creating a clan as soon as you return as an adventurer?”

“A clan?”

“Yeah. Let’s keep the name simple with Fairy and Silver Coin, use this place as the clan house, and Ellie, as the owner, can be the clan leader. Clan members can be Lydia and Benny? Well, if Ellie’s okay with it, we can also include Eve or Lemon-Apple.”

“That’s barely the size of a regular party. When you said clan, I thought you meant gathering dozens of people.”

“Ellie has a point, but thinking ahead, it’s better to form a clan.”

“Thinking ahead? What exactly are you planning, Jonah?”

“Well, nothing much… I just want to completely conquer the Labyrinth and have a chat with the Goddess of Love.”

“…Not just the 7th Floor, but to completely conquer it?”

Ellie blinks, as if not comprehending what she’s just heard.

In fact, this is a natural reaction. Reaching the 7th Floor after a millennium. But what if someone claims they will break through to the 12th Floor in their generation?

Nicely put, it’s romantic, but honestly, they’d be considered out of touch with reality.@@novelbin@@

“Are you serious, Jonah? Are you saying we should see the end of the Labyrinth while we’re still active?”

“Exactly.”

Fwoosh-

The divine power, which had recently developed significantly, bloomed in my palm. A soft pink aura that puts people at ease.

The divine power of the Goddess of Love is excellent for defense and support, but it’s said to be inadequate for offense…

With divine power of such dense concentration, the story changes. The raw damage itself increases.

Ellie, staring blankly at the dense divine power reminiscent of the force that seemed to flow from the Goddess Statue just moments ago. I raised the corners of my lips into a grin.

“Who am I?”

“……”

“The Goddess Chosen Saint Jonny Boy.”

“Ah.”

“It’s just that the Saint is going to meet the Goddess of Love for a moment. It will be difficult and arduous…but it’s not impossible. It’ll kind of be like a pilgrimage?”

“Pilgrimage…”

A smile spread across Ellie’s lips as she mulled over the words.

A fierce smile that exuded an even more intense chill than the one she showed when revealing her power occasionally.

Ellie, unabashedly revealing her beastly instincts as a beast-human hybrid, continued with barely contained excitement.

“Alright. Let’s just give it a shot. Conquering the Labyrinth.”