Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

Chapter 97: Shadow (3)

“Do you know when a person feels despair?”

“When they realize that unicorns exist but platypuses don’t?”

“No! It’s when, no matter how hard they try, they can’t move forward! And platypuses do exist!”

“Sure, sure. If Benny says so, then it must be true.”

Even at this moment, inside the Subspace Ring, there lay the tears of a beast whose purpose was unknown, but teasing Benny was fun, so I decided to play dumb.

Watching Benny huff and puff, I extended my hand. Then, the shadow monster stretched its tentacle out and placed a cream pie, which it had taken out from somewhere, onto my hand.

“Oh. Thanks.”

-Growl.

The creature clattered its sharp teeth with a joyful growl. There was one person feeling lonely in a world where I was happy, the shadow was happy, and everyone was happy.

-Scoff.

The shadow monster scoffed as if to say, “How could you not know?” As Benny was hopping mad, I asked in a languid voice.

“So? What experiments have you been doing? I did everything Benny asked, but it took longer than promised, and now I’m sleepy and hungry… Was the result not good?”

“Ugh… Sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you with the cream pie from a moment ago. That aside, the results are what’s important now. I’m a participant in the experiment too, so it’s okay to tell me this much, right?”

“That’s true.”

Benny nodded and threw herself onto the wide sofa. It must have been quite soft as her small frame gently sank in.

I got curious and stood up to try sitting on it.

-Growl.

The shadow monster wrapped its tentacles around my waist as if to say, “Don’t go”.

Whether it was its back or its stomach, I wasn’t sure, but sitting on the guy’s body was comfortable enough, so I decided to stay like this.

Benny began to roll around with an utterly exhausted expression. The hem of her dress naturally curled up.

The skin that was only visible around the ankle gradually became visible up to the back of the knee before it stopped. With the inner thigh barely visible, Benny continued speaking.

“The first thing I experimented with was why this guy likes you.”

“Smell, magic, divine power, voice, face, and other various things, we tried it all.”

“Yeah. But I have no idea. When you’re not around, it’s one thing, but when you are, he only reacts to you.”

“This is all because of my dazzling charm, isn’t it? Please compliment me, Benny.”

“…In the end, I couldn’t even catch a clue about this part and had to move on. After that, what I tested was the changes according to its mood.”

“Are you ignoring what I’m saying, too? Well, whatever. I’m generous, so I’ll let it slide. Did anything change when its mood changed? I couldn’t tell the difference since I don’t know the usual data.”

“Yes. There was a significant difference. Overall, the reaction speed improved. But the strength weakened. Also, the concentration of acidic fluid flowing through the body became lighter, and the teeth became blunt.”

“…Isn’t that a sign of weakness?”

“It’s a bit different. It’s not that it weakened, but it was trying to weaken itself. Simply put, it’s like a cat trying to hide its claws as much as possible, being careful not to scratch anyone?”

“Oh.”

With a newfound gaze, I stared at the shadow cast under my buttocks. My eyes met with its bloodshot and intense gaze.

Blink.

It split into two.

Blink, blink.

No, now there are four.

As I giggled at the increasing number of pupils, Benny spoke with a slightly tired expression.

“Isn’t it gross? I’ve been with it for a long time and even thought of it as a friend, but seeing it directly like this is disgusting.”

“Well, it is gross, but if you keep looking, it has its own cute side. It’s excitedly multiplying these eyeballs because I like it.”

Tiny pupils now densely filled half of its body. I’m really glad I don’t have trypophobia.

“Has it ever reacted differently to anyone else?”

“Hmm. Not to this extent, but it was a bit calmer with Ellie and Lydia. Oh, and it was always like that in front of other high-ranking adventurers.”

“Did it always react similarly in front of high-ranking adventurers?”

“It was a little different, wasn’t it? It became more docile in front of particularly strong people among the high-ranking adventurers. Although, it did growl at clerics exceptionally.”

“Isn’t it because it still remembers being attacked by The One Who Devours the Twilight?”

“It’s probably because of One Who Devours the Twilight. But I’m not sure if it remembers.”

Benny, who tilted her head, turned over and lay on her stomach. The skirt that had been rolled up returned to its original state.

Instead, the outline of her peach-like, petite buttocks was fully revealed.

Hmm… I can see the panty line. She is wearing them properly. It seems the No-Panty Goddess Lovey Dovey was the strange one after all.

While nodding inwardly, Benny, like a cat, stretched her upper body close to the ground, lifting only her buttocks high.

“Hmmm… Haaaaa….”

Though she seemed unaware, her posture was indeed commendable…no, desirable. To the point that I couldn’t take my eyes off her for a while.

Whether Benny knew about my blatant gaze or not, she continued in a carefree tone.

“There are too many dubious parts to say that it holds memories. Above all, its reaction to The One Who Devours the Twilight is too instinctive to be considered as coming from a thought process.”

“Well, since it’s a mix of traces from multiple people, even if there are memories, they’d be jumbled and meaningless. Besides, there are reasons to dislike them, even if it’s not necessarily because of old memories.”

Even after being reborn as a shadow monster, the experiments of One Who Devours the Twilight continued. Transplanted into Benny, until the day they became familiar with each other.

If there is someone who torments you from the moment you are born, you would either fear them or hate them.

In the case of the shadow monster, it was probably the latter.

“By the way, it’s a bit surprising that it becomes relatively docile in front of other high-ranking adventurers.”

“I think it’s simply because it senses the difference in power. It’s smarter than a beast, but its instincts are just as sharp or even sharper. It’s common to tuck its tail in front of a stronger opponent.”

“Hmm. I don’t know. If that’s the case, then its attitude towards me and Benny doesn’t make sense. I think differently.”

It’s true that the shadow monster acted as if it would do anything for me, but with Benny, it didn’t seem like it followed her out of dislike or listened to her because it liked her.

It’s just being irritable. Like Benny dealing with something that was once a friend but has become a disgusting monster.

Then the reason why it likes me is simple too.

“Isn’t it because I like this kid, so it likes me back?”

“…What?”

“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”

I looked at the shadow monster, which had become an eyeball monster, with a serious face.

A scene so disgusting that an ordinary person would faint. But to my eyes, it just seemed like a desperate gesture craving affection.

“The shadow’s appearance is a bit off. Maybe it has never received proper affection since birth? Benny was the only one who treated it with empathy.”

“……”

Benny closed her mouth and began to ponder something. I don’t know much about the distant past, but I was well aware of the looks it received while walking around today.

Everyone hated the shadow monster. They were scared, disgusted, and reluctant.

If I had just been born and received such looks, I too would have turned out twisted.

Benny, hearing my words, asked back in a slightly sullen voice.

“So, you’re saying you’re not?”

“I still find it disgusting and scary… But I like it even more than that.”

It’s sad to think about what the kids who became materials for the shadow monsters went through, and what they went through as the shadow monster.

But honestly, isn’t it exciting to embrace my settings to the fullest and mix things up as much as I can without deviating?

What does it matter if it looks hideous? Even if I didn’t create it myself, it’s certain that it’s a child living in my world.

I patted the shadow monster’s body gently and tapped its sturdy teeth.

At first glance, it looked like it might devour me at any moment. But there’s a kind of trust between us.

While it might accidentally hurt me, I believe it would never intentionally harm me.

“In that sense, I think we need to change its name.”

“…Its name?”

“Shadow monster isn’t a name, is it? I understand why you haven’t named it yet, though.”

To Benny, the shadow monster must have been a ‘ghastly thing’.

For now, she needed its power, but it was something she would eventually need to let go and overcome.

“Then let’s give it a name first. Acknowledge it as an entity, and then figure out the rest.”

“…Yeah. You’re right. I was too indifferent. Regardless, it’s the one that has stayed by my side throughout my adventures, right?”

After a moment of hesitation, Benny spoke.

“Shadow. Yeah. From now on, you’re Shadow.”

Derived from the shadow of the shadow monster, Shadow.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

-…….

The shadow monster. No, Shadow, quietly observed Benny. And then.

Lick.

It extended its long tongue between its sharp teeth and licked her.

“Eek!”

It was the moment when the secret of the behavior Benny had longed to uncover was revealed.

“So wet…and smelly…ugh….”

Of course, Benny, who was completely soaked, didn’t seem to notice yet.