Chapter 83: Wish Fulfillment (3)

“Ellie’s arm. I’ll get you a cool one.”

“…Huh?”

Ellie blinked her yellow eyes. As if she had heard something she couldn’t even conceive.

“You’re getting me a new arm. What do you mean by that, Jonah…?”

“Just as it sounds. I’m going to get you a new arm, Ellie.”

“If you mean reattaching it, that’s impossible. My right arm was completely obliterated by the breath. Even if it had remained until now, without special treatment, it would have rotted away.”

“I didn’t mean getting your old arm back and reattaching it.”

“Then are you trying to make it grow back? I’ve heard that some species with high regenerative abilities can do that with the help of a High Priest and under certain conditions, but not for a wolf hybrid like me. I’ve already been healed by the Archbishop before.”

“Even the Pope herself wouldn’t be able to regenerate Ellie’s arm. The healing power of the Goddess of Love is merely a symbol of compassion, not a force that touches the essence.”

“…The Archbishop said something similar before. What does that mean?”

“It means that unless the God of Life, who is already dead and gone, comes back to life, it will be difficult to heal Ellie’s arm. Ah! The Goddess of Love could perform a miracle directly on Ellie to regenerate it! But that would only be possible if we go to the very bottom of the Labyrinth.”

“……”

I gave a faint smile toward Ellie, who had a dubious expression.

“Ellie. In fact, there are more ways to fix your arm than you think. The problem is that they’re all dangerous and take a long time.”

For example, the Elixir that the Alchemists’ Union, the Truth Society, might be making around now.

The Homunculus, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Fragment of Truth are called the three great achievements of alchemy. If it’s an Elixir, it can even bring back the dead, so what’s the big deal about a severed arm.

Well…as you can guess from the fact that I know this setting, the Elixir of the Truth Society will be the starting point of all kinds of incidents and accidents….

Anyway, the important thing is that such a thing exists. It might even be on the gacha list. I don’t know if I can pull it, though….

Besides that, there’s also the Beast God’s Source of the Wilderness left on the sixth floor, and despite the Goddess of Love’s adjustments, sometimes there’s a distortion of time and space, so I could get an arm from the past Ellie.

There’s the minor issue that to get the Source of the Wilderness you have to go up to the sixth floor, and the space-time distortions occur purely by chance, beyond the Goddess of Love’s control….

Anyway, there is a way.

However, all of them are realistically difficult or take too much time.

In the meantime, what about the magitek prosthetic arm that can be obtained on the third floor?

Since it’s merely an object, it won’t grow with Eli like a real body would…but it will still be quite useful.

For starters, isn’t it an over-technology from the era of the War of the Fallen Gods? It will more than suffice until we acquire an Elixir or the Source of the Wilderness.

Above all, that’s the quickest to obtain among the alternatives I’ve thought of.

There are two clear conditions for each floor.

One is to repeatedly grow and achieve specs superior to the average monsters of that floor.

The second is to achieve a great feat on that floor.

A great feat here means solving an incredible secret or subjugating the Floor Guardian.

In other words, it means I have already cleared the first floor.

The next time we go to the Labyrinth, the path to the second floor will be open.

“Although I had Miss Lydia’s help, it took me about a month to clear the first floor. It won’t take long for the second floor either. The upper levels are completely mapped out, with all the information available, right?”

“Well…that’s true.”

Ellie, who was pondering for a moment, glared sharply at me…then failed and just pouted her lips.

“Jonah, you know well. With the skills you showed this time, reaching the third floor won’t be difficult. But…”

The second floor is classified as an upper level, and all information about the Labyrinth is publicly available through the Guild.

Thanks to that, many people die on the first floor when they start as adventurers, and it takes quite a bit of time to learn various things and clear it…

Conversely, that’s why the second floor can be cleared much faster than the first floor.

Well. The moment you go to the incompletely mapped third floor, you have to risk your life and strategize every single step again.

There’s a reason why it’s called the mid-level from the third floor.

“But it’s dangerous, right? I know.”

“Of course…!”

“But you know, Ellie.”

After a brief pause. Holding Ellie’s empty sleeve, I smiled at her.

“Living as an adventurer is dangerous from the start. You kept trying to stop me until I was kidnapped by the Twin Daggers Clan, right?”

“……”

Seeing Ellie at a loss for words, I continued, counting on my fingers.

“It is also dangerous to fight the Pope, to thwart the ambitions of the Workshop Union, to stop the crazy emperor’s crazy plan to invade from outside Pangrave, and to break through all the floors of the Labyrinth!”

“Wait, wait. Fighting the Pope and conquering the Labyrinth, fine, but what’s that about the Workshop Union and the Empire?!”

“Is that important right now? What’s important is that delaying our trip to the third floor because it’s dangerous could make things even more dangerous!”

“It is important! That’s not something you can handle alone!”

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s just a possibility, not a certainty.”

“You’re saying it’s not a prophecy but a hint?! That’s too unsettling…!”

Ellie was shivering. Now that I see, Lydia isn’t much different. They all lack faith.

“I don’t understand why you’re so worried. I’m going to handle everything anyway.”

“…What?”

“Is that even possible?”

“You got it wrong, Miss Lydia. It’s about making it possible. With the help of the goddess, it’s achievable!”

Yes. With the help (gacha) of the Goddess of Love…!

Maybe it was the gleam in my eyes filled with the desire for a five-star. Ellie stared blankly at me before letting out a sigh.

“I was just planning to raise you up to the second floor so you wouldn’t get beaten up somewhere…”

But soon enough, she seemed to make up her mind and nodded.

“Alright. Then I guess I have to return as well.”

“What? What are you talking about? Ellie, you need to stay here and run the Fairy and Silver Coin as usual.”

“You want me to just sit back and watch? Jonah, you’ve seen it yourself. Even with one arm, I’m strong.”

“It’s not that Ellie is weak, but that we might be under surveillance. You know why Karen the Inquisitor moved separately today.”

“…The Temple, perhaps.”

The Pope is not an incompetent being; the Temple she moves is never incapable. If it were, she wouldn’t have been able to reign as the de facto ruler of Pangrave until now.

By now, even if they are not certain of our relationship with Karen, they would have harbored some suspicions.

They are probably just watching, considering the backlash of oppressing two renowned high-ranking adventurers without clear evidence.

“So, we mustn’t act differently all of a sudden. At least until I bring back the arm. Then we’ll have a reason to return, won’t we?”

“I’m angry, but you’re right.”

Ellie, drained of strength, drooped her shoulders. But what can she do? This is just the beginning.

“Well then, let’s wrap this story up here…and move on to the main topic, shall we?”

“The main topic?”

“Yes. Ellie. Miss Lydia. You both remember the bet we made, right? That if we defeated the Floor Guardian on the first floor, you’d each grant me a wish.”

“Ah.”

“…Ah.”

Ellie, who had become like semi-dried squid, and even Lydia, who had secretly taken an expensive drink from the counter, flinched.

I shrugged lightly, enjoying their reactions.

“A wish. What should I use it for…?”

“Isn’t there something more important to talk about right now?”

“Senior Ellie is right. There must be something more.”

“No. We’ve solved all the urgent matters among the complex ones today. The only things left might or might not happen much later, so we just need to build our strength in the meantime. That’s what we’ve been talking about so far, right?”

“Ugh…”

“Uht.”

Swallowing their saliva, they both nod reluctantly. Realizing there’s no valid reason to stop the wish execution, they start to propose conditions.

“Jonah. You know, right? Nothing too excessive, okay?”

“Uh-uh. Jonah’s excess is different from ours. Let’s clearly set boundaries here. If you make me drink a beer, I’ll keep watch while Jonah has her way with Senior Ellie.”

“Lydia! You traitor, you…!”

Ellie grits her teeth. Lydia desperately pretends not to notice Ellie’s glare.

Laughing at the sight of the two getting along, I shook my head.

“Come on. Do you really think I’d make such a weird wish? There’s a lack of trust here. I’ll ask for something that can be passed off as a joke, so don’t worry.”

“…Really?”

“Phew.”

Ellie, who brightened up, and Lydia, who sighed in relief. Nodding vigorously, she pointed her index finger at Ellie.

“Ellie. From now on, whatever I do, don’t move an inch for ten minutes.”

“…I just can’t move my feet, right?”

“Yes. You can do whatever you want with your hands.”

Next, I pointed my index finger at Lydia.

“Miss Lydia.”

“Yes. Do I just need to stay still too?”

“No? Miss Lydia, please let me touch your chest.”

“……?”

Lydia tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand what she just heard. For her sake, I repeated it clearly once more.

“I’m asking you to press your chest against me in front of Ellie, who can’t move.”

“……!”

Lydia’s eyes widened in shock. Reflected in those red eyes was Ellie, who had a look as if the world had collapsed.