Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

Hmm. This is bad.

As I calmly nodded, my eyes met with those of the boss woman, who was biting her nails anxiously. At the same time, the corners of her mouth twisted cruelly.

“You. You pink sl*t. What did you say earlier? Save you?”

“Oh dear. You must be close to your last moments, seeing that you’re hearing things. It’s okay, I understand. My grandmother also often became delusional right before she passed away.”

“…What?”

A mocking remark reflexively shot out of me, but I immediately lowered my eyes due to her low voice and the killing intent that prickled against my skin.

“Ah…that, what’s it. I’m saying I didn’t say anything.”

I could be free if I just held on a little longer, so it wouldn’t do any good to unnecessarily rile her up and cause trouble.

I, Jonah Kim. A man who, even when facing death, says what he needs to say.

…But if bowing for a moment could save my life, I was also a man ready to bow his head as much as needed.

Seemingly pleased with my meek change in attitude, only then did the boss loosen her murderous intent and speak.

“It doesn’t matter if it was a hallucination. Just keep begging for your life. Unless you want a nice big hole in your side.”

On each of her fingers were rings embedded with various colors of gems. Among them, the green ring shone brightly, and then a guardless throwing dagger sprang out from the boss’s fingertips.

“……”

I knew what that was. Of course, I did. It’s an artifact that I thought up, so it’s only natural.

A steady seller of the Mage Tower, a weapon storage artifact. Originally intended to store a spare weapon…

It seems they had been actively using it to store throwing weapons. Seeing a few rings that lost their shine confirmed my assumptions.

For a moment, I marveled at their usage which had exceeded my intentions. Then, suddenly, she thrust the dagger through the bars.

Swoosh.

A cold sensation grazed my cheek, followed by a delayed, burning sensation. The boss, who left a thin scar on my handsome face, then growled.

“Who told you to shut up? If you don’t want your neck slit, keep begging!”

“Pl-Please save me!!”

A scream that sprang from sincerity. Anyone would beg for their life if they saw a madwoman swinging a knife in front of them, even without being asked.

Only then did the boss woman let out a satisfied sigh. It was clear she had gone mad after feeling her life in mortal danger.

While chewing her out internally, I continued to earnestly beg for my life as instructed. As I did so, she opened the barred door and strode in.

She lifted my firmly bound body from the back like a shield and whispered into my ear as she aimed the dagger at my throat. Her breath smelled slightly rotten, as if she hadn’t brushed her teeth.

“That’s right. You’re doing well. Just keep it up, and I’ll spare your life later. I promise.”

Ah. So they intended to use me as a hostage. But would that really be effective? And I couldn’t trust their promise to spare me. Wasn’t this the same person who was about to kill me in cold blood?

But for now, I nodded my head vigorously with a terrified expression. If I endure just a little longer, an opportunity will surely come.

Thanks to the excessive amount of perfume, presumably used to mask some sort of odor, it wasn’t too difficult to grimace. After all, too much fragrance also becomes a stench.

“Please… spare me!”

Perhaps she liked the way I didn’t ask her if she was telling the truth and instead begged her for mercy with even more desperation. The boss had just been about to open the door to the underground prison, visibly relaxed.

Booooooom!

A strange woman, transcending the mere realm of being violent or not, completely broke down the door to make her entrance. The moment I saw her face, my breath involuntarily halted.

Her hair and eyes were as red as a blazing fire. Her tightly shut lips made her seem expressionless, and although she was a bit short, her full body armor made it less noticeable.

She radiated the essence of a knight.

I surely wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as she was known by a similar name in reality.

The Noble Lydia.

Even I, who had little connection to adventurers, knew her well.

Originating from a fallen knight family, she was a high-ranking adventurer who received her name from her guild. And indeed, she was renowned for her noble character, living up to her name.

But would this flimsy plan even work? After all, Lydia was a veteran adventurer who had seen it all, the good and the bad.

If it were me, I would have just ignored me and swung the sword. It would be good if the hostage could be saved, but if not, it wouldn’t be anything beyond just regrettable.

It wasn’t as if it could penalize her in any way.

While I was regretting not just swearing at her earlier, the boss pushed me forward as expected and began negotiating with Lydia.

“Stop! Otherwise, I can’t guarantee this kid will stay alive!”

“…A hostage?”

Seeing my terrified, trembling figure and the wounds on my face, Lydia frowned deeply. She lowered the sword she had aimed forward.

“State your intentions.”

“My safety, obviously. Don’t chase me until I get out of this city. Then, I’ll leave the kid near the city walls.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Lydia gripped her lowered sword firmly. Yes. That’s right. That is the correct choice.

When she took a strong stance, the boss’s face turned pale.

“Then, I’ll just kill the hostage here and die myself!”

“…….”

Seeing no other way out, the boss acted defiantly, readying herself for the last struggle.

“…Fine. But ensure the safety of the hostage. If you break your promise, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and cut you down.”

“What…?”

The boss, seemingly not expecting her to actually comply, responded with a dumbfounded voice. I felt the same way.

She was giving up her task, and possibly even facing consequences, just to save a complete stranger?

Suddenly, I saw a halo shining behind Lydia, who had just made a seemingly impossible decision.

“You’ve made a wise decision! As expected from the Noble Lydia! I, too, will keep my promise!”

The boss’s face, which had turned pale, began to regain color, and she vigorously nodded her head.

An excited tone, as if she had just escaped death. At the same time, a sinister intent to kill focused on my side. I see. Is that what it is?

It seems Lydia intends to keep her promise, but not the boss.

She must be planning to stab me in the side and run away. Given Lydia’s nature, she would be slow in pursuit to treat my injury.

Well, I’d expected this.

Even from the perspective of someone from the much safer modern Earth, Lydia’s method was too soft.

That’s why, while everyone praises her for being noble, they try to take advantage of her in secret. Just like this boss woman.

So, I decided to lend her a hand to wrap things up neatly. After all, she is the savior of my life.

“Hoo…hoo….”

Breathing heavily, the boss focused on every move of her opponent as she slowly made her way out of the underground dungeon. As she reached Lydia’s side, the tension also reached its peak.

As someone who thought of backstabbing as second nature, she was probably worried about being backstabbed by Lydia. Though in my opinion, that was an unnecessary worry.

I, for my part, had my teeth clenched in anticipation of the pain that was to come.

If a 3-star magic skill provides magical power, a swordsmanship skill provides physical strength, and a divine magic skill provides divine power, what additional effect would something like pickpocketing have?

The answer was simple. Agility and flexibility.

Crack.

In an instant, I dislocated one wrist to escape the restraint. Then, with my still-functional hand, I executed a pickpocketing maneuver.

The target, of course, was the dagger the boss had aimed at my throat.

“…Huh?”

Focused on Lydia, she was unable to respond in time and had her weapon taken away, now wearing a dumbfounded expression.

She must not have realized that I could easily escape from something as simple as rope bindings because I couldn’t escape from the iron bars.

Pleased with the turn of events, I smirked broadly.

“Peekaboo, you fatherf—er.”

The dagger plunged swiftly towards the boss’s neck.

Pshhhk-!

A considerable amount of blood splattered around, but lacking strength in just one hand, I couldn’t deliver a fatal blow. So, I didn’t stop at just one and stabbed her repeatedly.

“Die! Die! Die!”

Stab! Stab! Stab!

Perhaps because it was a throwing dagger, not meant for sustained use. After a few stabs, my hand began to slip from the shock, and it started to get cut by the blade.

Huh, so this was why sword guards were so important. Grumbling inwardly, I continued to drive the dagger in.

Until my palm became tattered, and until the boss’s breath was completely cut off.

Thud.

The boss, with her throat half torn out, fell to the ground with empty eyes. The bleeding, however, continued, and the spouting fountain of blood dyed its surroundings red.

“Haah… Haah…”

The pain followed belatedly, and I heaved as if I had sprinted with all my might.

Being the first to be splashed with blood, my whole body was soaked red. Hmm. It’s a relief I was stripped of my clothes. I would have been really sad if it had been new clothes that got ruined.

But the sigh of relief was short-lived.

“What…”

I turned around hesitantly at the bewildered voice coming from behind.

There stood Lydia, frozen as if she had witnessed something that should not have been seen.

Her trembling eyes traveled between the gruesomely dead bandit leader and me, covered in blood, then to the dagger in my hand.

Okay. Situation assessed.

I immediately flung the dagger away to hide the weapon and collapsed on the spot, conjuring up a pitiful voice.

“Oh, brave adventurer…! You’ve come to save me!”

“…….”

For some reason, Lydia took a step back, as if she was facing something dangerous.

Wow, that’s cold.