Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World-Chapter 171: It’s Not A Prosthetic Arm… (2)

I brought the arm to Ellie. She looked at me as if she were staring at a cat that had brought in a cockroach.

To elaborate a bit, it was a look filled with awkwardness and absurdity. And a deep contemplation on whether to praise this or not.

“…Why are you looking at me like that, Ellie?”

“Isn’t it stranger to like it when someone brings a human arm as a gift?”

Ellie stubbed out the cigarette she was holding and sighed slightly mixed with smoke.

“Let’s see. Jonah, you might have some screws loose, but you’re not crazy enough to cut off any arm and bring it.”

“That’s harsh. It sounds like you’re saying I’m the kind of guy who would cut off an arm without a care.”

“What if someone swiped today’s earnings from you, Jonah?”

“I’d cut their neck off instead of an arm.”

Today’s earnings are staggering. The amount gained from monster drops is barely over 2 gold, but thanks to the unexpectedly high value of the workshop owner’s notebook found in the room with the prosthetic arm.

What skills are gained from it is a matter for the workshop district and the Magic Tower, not my concern. What matters to me is that, after all deductions, the amount that lands in my hands is 150 gold.

If someone stole my 150 gold?

“Why is there only one life? It would be nice if I could kill that person two or three more times…”

“…Now, would you like to think about what you just said?”

“Hehe. It’s because today’s earnings are quite plentiful. If it were any other day, I would have generously settled for ten times the compensation or just a wrist.”

“Either way, you’re saying you’ll cut off a hand.”

“Gasp.”

Now that I think about it, that’s true.

Ellie shook her head at my wide-eyed expression. She was about to sigh, but suddenly narrowed her eyes and started glaring at my arm.

“Wait. That arm. Isn’t it too small? And there’s no blood on it.”

“What?”

“No matter how you, Jonah, might be a kid who doesn’t understand people’s feelings, you know your limits. Unless it’s a life-threatening situation, you wouldn’t cut off a child’s arm.”

“Uh… Is that really how you’ve been thinking of me?”

A kid who doesn’t understand people’s feelings. Sure, I might have left Ellie all riled up and just walked out, or read her hidden stash and placed them blatantly on the counter, or sometimes used Lemon and Apple as footrests when they visited… 𝐑ᴀＮo͍𝐁ƐⱾ

But isn’t that too much to say?

…Wait? Is it not too much?

While I was tilting my head in thought, Ellie sniffed the air deeply, her nose twitching. Her wagging tail was a bonus for some reason.

“And this smell here. It’s just like you, Jonah? No, not just the smell, but it looks the same too.”

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“I’m touched that you remember my scent so well!”

“…More than anything, that arm. The cross-section I glimpsed looked a bit strange.”

“Hmm. Just letting that go? I’ll take it as you’re embarrassed!”

Shrugging, I looked at the suspicious cross-section Ellie mentioned.

This is definitely strange. It’s completely different from a normal arm’s cross-section.

It takes the shape of my arm, but at the same time, it’s a gray sphere.

In other words, it has to function as both a body part and an independent entity.

It must have been sutured properly to prevent the contents from oozing out as if an arm had been severed.

…It’s a bit unsettling to see gray tentacle-like things wriggling over the rounded surface.

“Ugh.”

As I feigned disgust, slightly frowning, Ellie continued in a serious tone.

“Jonah. You said you’ve reached the 3rd Floor already, right? If that’s something made using a Gear Doppelganger, it’s best to dispose of it immediately. The madness of monsters is a concept that invades the entire body, not just the brain. Monsters that are drastically different from before their berserk transformation are a good example.”

“What? What are you saying suddenly…?”

“I’m saying if you’re using a Gear Doppelganger to attach my arm, it’s too dangerous.”

“Aha?”

Only then did I realize what Ellie was worried about and flashed a bright smile.

“Don’t worry! This isn’t anything like a fragment of a Gear Doppelganger!”

“Right? Even Jonah has enough common sense for that, so I was just worrying for nothing….”

“It’s a fragment of power left after subjugating the Prime Doppelganger itself!”

“…?”

Ellie makes a dumbfounded expression, like a scholar realizing the only difference in platypuses between the Cretaceous and now is the width of their beaks.

I understand. What on earth have they been doing for 150 million years?

As I nod, Ellie freaks out and knocks away the arm I was holding.

“That’s even more dangerous!”

“Ah!”

The arm, struck by Ellie’s hand, rolls on the ground. Is it just my imagination? The fingers seem a bit droopy.

But soon, as if regaining strength, the twitching arm starts to wriggle and transform into Ellie’s arm.

“…Alright. I need to get rid of it right now.”

Ellie rolled up her sleeve and clenched her fist, so I quickly stepped in front of her in alarm.

“Wa-wait a minute! I might have given a rough explanation, but it’s going to be okay!”

“I don’t know how you defeated the Catastrophe, but it’s not called a Catastrophe for nothing. Even the gods couldn’t destroy it, only sealing it away. It’s too dangerous. You can’t be so sure about it.”

“Usually, Ellie, you’d be right. But this time, it’s an exception.”

First, I picked up the arm sprawled on the floor. Maybe because it had turned into Ellie’s, it felt soft yet firm with muscles inside, unlike mine.

Marveling at the sensation as if touching the real Ellie was brief, I went up to the second floor where no one could see and took out the fully upgraded Goddess Statue.

“The magic conch…no, Goddess. I know you’re tired from using a lot of power today, but can you muster up the strength just one more time?”

-Wooong!

The faintly flickering statue of the Goddess. The divine power emanating from it is utterly weak.

Is there no other choice…

“I promise to hold you close while I sleep for a month instead. It must have been tough being trapped in the exhibition hall all this time, right?”

-Wooong!

Suddenly, a pinkish halo bursts forth from the statue of the Goddess. It wasn’t light created by divine power, but light emanating from the divine power itself that enveloped the gray orb that had become Ellie’s arm.

It seemed a bit burdensome as the tentacles on the cross-section twitched, but otherwise, the creature was fine.

Finally, Ellie, lifting her eyes of suspicion, lets out a deep sigh.

“…Isn’t this a revelation? I didn’t expect a revelation to come down like this after a millennium.”

Ellie, who seemed a bit envious, shook her head and took the prosthetic arm from me.

“Alright. I’m not the most devout person, but if I can’t trust the words of the Goddess of Love, then there’s nothing in this world to believe in… Let’s give it a try.”

“Good decision, Ellie!”

As if truly exhausted, or perhaps trying to find a comfortable position to lean on, the Goddess Statue lowered her arms. I embraced her, clapping my hands.

Ellie, who seemed a bit deflated by my cheer, soon gave a small smile and extended her right sleeve to me.

“Jonah. Can you roll this up for me?”

“If Ellie wants me to, sure.”

With careful hands, I untied the knot of Ellie’s sleeve. Then I slowly began to roll it up.

Upwards, and further upwards. Past the empty part until it rested on her slightly remaining shoulder.

As the sleeve was completely rolled up, the cross-section of the arm was revealed. Wasn’t it said that it was hit by a rampaging dragon’s breath?

The wound itself had healed, but the cross-section was bumpy and discolored to a dark red.

“…How on earth did you end up like this?”

“It tried to swallow me whole, so I shoved my arm into its mouth and tried to tear it apart from the inside. But then it breathed on me.”

“No, not just any breath, but you withstood a point-blank breath with just one arm…?”

“I didn’t just take it head-on; I deflected it.”

“Deflecting a breath with a bare hand without any aura… I can’t even imagine it.”

“There’s a knack to it. Thanks to that, my arm was completely burned, but I blew off its jaw as well.”

Ellie raised the corner of her mouth into a grin. The slightly protruding long canine teeth exuded a strangely fierce charm.

“Well, I’ll tell you when you get a bit stronger. …By then, I’ll be used to my new arm too.”

Ellie says, bringing the new arm to the cross-section of her right arm.

Of course, the arm mimicked by the gray orb is her remaining left arm, not the missing right one. After all, it only touched the left side.

But the moment both sections touch. The tendrils of the gray orb wriggle and burrow into Ellie’s arm.

“Ugh!”

Ellie slightly furrows her brow. However, this didn’t last long.

The prosthetic arm burrows deeper into Ellie’s shoulder with tendrils, adhering completely.

As the outer part covers over, the split gap closes, and the left arm begins to twist little by little.

In an instant, the angle bends, and the arrangement of fingers changes, transforming the gray orb into a perfect right arm.

Ellie’s furrowed brow relaxed, and she exhaled the deep breath she had taken. And then.

Jerk.

Twitching fingers. This twitch quickly spread from her fingers to her palm, arm, and shoulder.

Ellie awkwardly moved her right arm. On her face, emotions of longing and elation were vividly displayed.

“My arm….”

“How is it? Is it moving well?”

“It’s been so long since I’ve moved my arm that it feels awkward, but there’s no problem with moving it…huh?”

Ellie tilted her head mid-sentence. A slight anxiousness rose, wondering if something was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Ellie? Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s nothing… I was just curious if I could change it back to Jonah’s arm while connected, but it seems to have fixed in this form as it connected to me.”

“Hmm. If you could it turn into my arm, what would you do with it, Ellie?”

“…No comment.”

Ellie, turning her face away, blushing.

Yeah. It was an unnecessary worry.