Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

Forced sales are a crime.

Despite having enjoyed a full array of activities in Pangrave, and having only just enough for Floor 1, I managed to purchase a set consisting of a dagger and bolts for my crossbow. I was also able to pay in advance for the refinement of the magic herb elixir! And though I was thrilled at the prospect of using the money I saved today to roll the gacha later, the fact remains:

Forced sales are a crime.

For this reason, I found myself pressing my face against Ellie’s stomach, who was stylishly shaking a shaker with one hand, and began to whine.

“Waaaah! Ellie! Please save me!”

“I’m working right now, Jonah… I’m busy, so make it quick. Summarize it in three sentences.”

“Had a date with Lydia. But she dumped the date costs on me. Jonah sad. Sob sob.”

“Did you really have to add ‘sob sob’ and make it four sentences? …Wait. A date? With Lydia?!”

“Yep.”

Eating, going to a cafe, shopping, and chatting—even though the topic was the last labyrinth exploration—couldn’t it be considered a date?

I’ve never actually been on one in either my past or present life, so I’m not entirely sure, but it seems likely.

It definitely wasn’t my plan to involve Ellie and inadvertently cause an ‘unintentional’ murder on my part, thereby erasing the debt as if it never happened.

Ah, really, I mean it.

Struggling to suppress the corners of my mouth that kept trying to rise, I put on a pitiful voice. Perhaps my exaggerated act made her suspect something was amiss.

Lydia, who had just pulled out a chair to sit down, pushed it back in and quietly turned around.

Though, by then, it was already too late.

“Stop right there.”

“Senior Ellie. It’s a misunderstanding. Let’s talk this over.”

“What are you talking about? Jonah isn’t my lover, so why would I care if you two went on a date?”

“Well…you say you wouldn’t care, but you’re probably giving me a death glare right now, just like you are.”

With a deep sigh, Lydia took a seat. In front of her, Ellie poured a freshly mixed drink and began to speak.

“It’s not like that. I’m just, you know, trying to give you advice as your senior. Look at this. I’m even giving you free drinks. What a nice senior I am.”

“Old-fashioned, troublesome.”

“Shut up and listen! How can a woman try to take money from a man? Especially Jonah, he’s still a child!”

“Stop with the outdated ideals. It’s the era of gender equality now. If you’re an adventurer, both men and women are strong, and they earn well too…!”

Lydia protested weakly. Hiding behind Ellie, with only my head peeking out, I retorted to her words.

“Wah. I’m baby Jonah. Not strong, and hab no money.”

“…Jonah. Let’s talk later.”

Lydia glared dryly in this direction. So that’s how it’s going to be? Good, I just happened to have a lot to say too.

“Why talk later? We can talk right now.”

“While you’re hiding behind Ellie?”

“Surely you’re not trying to say something you can’t tell Ellie, right?”

I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at Lydia with my index finger.

“First of all, let me say, I don’t think men and women need to be equal. That way, I can mooch off Ellie’s money and not do anything.”

I had been speaking to Lydia, but the response came from Ellie’s direction. Accompanied by a fed-up expression at that.

“…As always, that’s a really trashy reason. Besides, I never said I’d marry you, Jonah.”

“My goodness. Then Ellie will have to grow old and die alone! How pitiful…”

“What do you mean by that, Jonny Boy? You’d better choose your next words carefully.”

It’s just as I said. Who else would accept Ellie, who spends all day thinking about naughty thoughts and perpetually in heat, with a rather extreme taste, and is only a few days away from being a spinster?“

“……”

Ellie seemed genuinely hurt and shrank back in silence. I patted her on the back.

“Now you must be thinking that you really should marry me, right?”

“…I was tempted, but still, I don’t know about a debtor…”

I admired her steadfast refusal to take on someone else’s debts, even in this situation.

“As expected of Ellie! Unlike Lydia, who spends all her earnings on food and new equipment without saving a dime! Truly a top-notch bride!”

“What exactly are your criteria for a bride, Jonah?”

“Pretty, kind, wealthy, and most importantly, someone who treats me well.”

“That’s not a spouse; that’s a wealthy fool! Marriage is supposed to be about more! You know? A bit more…yeah?!”

With her face flushed bright red, she could only stammer, unable to articulate her thoughts properly. Well…She was probably trying to say something along these lines.

“Are you saying it should be with someone you love?”

“Yes, yes, that!”

“Honestly, I don’t really understand that part. I’ve never loved anyone to that extent.”

My feelings for Ellie were…a bit complicated. After all, there was an unconditional affection for my character at the base of my feelings.

I, Jonah Kim, have been forever single through my past and present lives. Apart from unrequited love, I’ve learned everything about love from books…!

As I sighed deeply and said that, Ellie and Lydia froze for some reason.

Why? Why did they look like they’d just stepped on a landmine?

I decided to try to do something before the atmosphere turned irrecoverably weird and grabbed Ellie’s tail.

Long and fluffy fur. The movement of muscles twitching every time my hand touched it felt like a separate creature altogether as I wrapped the tail around my neck.

It was as if I was using Ellie’s tail as a scarf. It was a thoughtless act, but it felt much nicer than expected, perhaps due to her regular care. It also seemed to smell nice.

…This was it!

What I imagined was the heroine giggling, saying she could smell the protagonist’s scent after putting on their clothes.

I may not know much about other things, but I was acutely aware of the fantasies harbored by forever-singles like Ellie. Simply doing what I wished others would do for me seemed to work wonders every time.

“Hmmmmm….”

I buried my nose in Ellie’s tail, which was wrapped around my neck, and took a deep breath. The pleasant smell was undeniable, making the corners of my mouth relax involuntarily.

How could I describe it? It was like a blend of puppy smell and a hint of perfume.

After enjoying Ellie’s scent for a moment, I lifted my head.

Ellie’s face was flushed a deep red, her yellow eyes sparkled with impulse, and Lydie just stared at us, her expression one of mild curiosity.

I smiled broadly at them and began to speak.

“I don’t know much about love, but if there’s someone who’s pretty, kind, wealthy, and likes me… I’m sure I would come to like that person too.”

I didn’t specify anyone in particular. I just calmly looked at Ellie.

At this point, she should have either become overly excited, her tastes being met, or, conversely, displayed a pained expression in an effort to restrain herself from pouncing on me immediately…

But instead, Ellie was giving me an encouraging look, her smile bittersweet yet full of compassion.

No. She was actually starting to encourage me. She began to gently stroke my head with her hand, cautiously extended.

“It’s okay. That will definitely happen for you, Jonah.”

“Eh.”

This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I reflexively looked at Lydia, but her reaction was no different.

As if she had just watched a touching movie, she was clapping softly, her eyes rimmed with redness.

What was this? Really, what was this…

It was only for a moment that I found myself puzzled. Unable to stand the lukewarm atmosphere any longer, I extricated myself from under Ellie’s tail and changed the subject.

“Ahem! Anyway, let’s talk about something else!”

“Something else? Oh, like Lydia’s execution ceremony?”

“Here’s a suggestion. Instead of executing me, it would be more beneficial for Senior Ellie to hang out with Jonah later.”

“What! Me, going on a date with Jonah…?”

Suddenly filled with some sort of thought, Ellie began looking wistful. I knew what she was thinking. That was the expression she had when trying to hide that she was having naughty thoughts.

Shaking my head, I opened my mouth.

“Ellie. We’re going to talk about work now, so please stop with the naughty thoughts.”

“I, I didn’t! I was thinking about completely wholesome things! …But what do you mean by work?”

“Yep. We’re going back into the labyrinth tomorrow, so I wanted to talk about that for a bit.”

“Is there any need to talk about it? It’s just the first floor, after all. You can just breeze in, sweep through it, and be done.”

Ellie tilts her head, puzzled. Though her explanation may have been too simplistic, it wasn’t wrong.

The first floor didn’t have particularly strong monsters, nor did it have annoying gimmicks. You just had to fight normally.

After all, the first floor was like a tutorial zone for adventurers, so that was only natural.

…Usually, that was the case.

“I’m thinking of fighting the guardian of the 1st floor. I need to become that strong, so I have to look for ways to grow quickly!”

Despite the determination behind my words, the reaction from the two was mild.

“Ah, I’ve had that thought before too.”

“…Every adventurer has thought about that. But no one has ever succeeded.”

A listless voice. A gaze staring into the void as if reminiscing, with a distant tone.

They clearly don’t believe me, do they?

It’s not like I didn’t understand them. The floor guardian, true to its name, was a kind of boss mob representing that floor.

It’s known that there’s one on every floor. If it’s not found, it simply hasn’t respawned yet, or the conditions for its summoning haven’t been met.

However, it’s widely believed that the first floor lacks a floor guardian.

The first floor is accessible to anyone who simply walks through the door, making it a hub for novices barely qualifying as adventurers.

If formidable monsters like floor guardians were present, it would lead to an increase in meaningless deaths rather than growth among these individuals.

Wasn’t there a story that the compassionate Goddess of Love, concerned about this, made the first floor an exception?

Frankly, that’s nonsense. There is indeed a floor guardian on the first floor. It’s just that no one knows because the conditions to summon them are difficult to meet.

I flashed a confident smile at Ellie and Lydia.

“Shall we make a bet? The loser fulfills a wish for the winner.”

At those words, their expressions shifted dramatically. Ellie’s eyes sparkled with a clear desire, while Lydia nodded, her sense of duty ignited.

“Deal!”

“…No backing out.”

That’s what I intended to say.