Chapter 153
Chapter 153
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Gills
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It tastes as mysteriously delicious as it looks.
The sweetness enveloping my mouth makes my eyes snap open. It's like the final dessert you force yourself to eat even after devouring a lavish course meal.
Even Alraune, who entered my body, is surprised by the impressive taste and flavor, blooming a pretty flower. A strikingly gorgeous pale pink flower clearly reveals her psychological state.
"What happens now?"
I wonder if some kind of change has occurred, so I examine every corner of my body, but so far, I don't feel any particular discomfort.
Considering Jenny's case, there's a possibility of intense pain coming my way too. But rendering that possibility meaningless, the Guide's fruit that entered my mouth melts away as if snow dissolving in the sun.
"Dr., it's been absorbed into your body."
"Absorbed? Already?"
Amy speaks as she scans me. The fruit flesh, already completely melted away, is seeping into my flesh and will surely trigger another change.
The gift left to me by that ancient being I called a finger is, in the end, filled with uncertainty that tests my courage once more. If only it had told me beforehand, I wouldn't have to feel this anxious.
"…"
Amy's two eyes remain fixed on the inside of my body for a long while. What is she seeing?
"If you notice anything unusual, let me know. I'll tell you right away if I feel something too."
"Yes."
For now, we've resolved the abdominal pain issue Jenny was facing immediately, so it's time to catch our breath. We can analyze the changes in my body slowly.
But as Amy straightens up from her bent position, she suddenly stops right in front of my face. Her blue eyes peer endlessly into mine as she says…
"Dr., something's wrong."
"Huh?"
My plan to take long breaths and monitor the progress ends immediately. Amy turns my head this way and that, pulls on it, and finishes her brief report.
"A new organ has formed. Gills… I think."
—————————
Jenny, slumped over and breathing raggedly,
Isaac, back on his soft leaf bed, sending worried glances.
Excluding the two men, all the women are gathered in one place, engaged in heated discussion, and naturally, I'm in the middle of it.
"It's real. But it's tiny, like a baby's. My little siblings had gills just like this when they were young."
Aria, held in Amy's arms after coming ashore, closely examines the gills that have grown near my ear. They look just like hers, without a single difference.
"Oh? They disappeared."
"Dr., are you controlling them at will?"
"I don't know exactly. Hold on…"
Poof!
"Oh, got it."
Every time I close my eyes and concentrate, the gills sprout. When I concentrate again, they vanish just like that, so it seems like a trait I can utilize in various ways with practice.
But there's one question we can't overlook. Especially Arachne, who openly shows her displeasure and says to everyone…
"Why gills like mermaids, of all things?"
Even if eating the Guide's fruit granted a special ability, Arachne can't accept that it's mermaid-related.
Wouldn't it be better to produce something useful like her sturdy legs, fangs, or spider silk instead of useless gills…?
"Obviously. It's because Joo-ho and I are of one mind. God has recognized our love."
"Hah?"
Aria offers a very romantic interpretation of this phenomenon. The fruit of the being called the Guide that I consumed grants the ability to utilize the traits of the most beloved person, and the chosen one is none other than herself, Aria.
"What nonsense…"
Arachne immediately furrows her brow. She fails to control her expression so badly that her facial muscles twitch.
"If that's the case, it should have been me—"
"If that's true, then you'd definitely get a sturdy tail—"
Not just Arachne, but Nephyr sneaks closer with a dissatisfied look too. Unaware that their timing overlaps, they each pour out their own words, making it impossible to understand what they're saying.
Only Amy approaches the current situation with a serious and grave attitude. Her earnest eyes and hands continue endless scans and examinations around my body.
"Amy, you okay?"
"Yes?"
She seems more tense than I am. She probably has no idea how much those tiny emotions peeking through her expressionless, cold face affect me.
But Amy is clearly afraid. The robot, who had been gradually learning emotions, is voicing anxiety about the future in the face of my changes.
"I'm fine. Are you okay, Dr.?"
"Yeah. It's a bit scary that my body is changing like this… but won't it be useful? Better than being helpless and relying on you all."
I'm no stranger to Amy's feelings either. Somewhere in my mind, warning lights keep flashing. Warnings that I'm becoming less and less human…
But that's fine.
For now, it's clear I've gained excellent abilities that surpass a frail human body. Being able to breathe underwater is a tremendous advantage.
Right now, studying and analyzing the ability comes first. What principle causes even new organs to manifest?
"Don't worry too much. The important thing is to figure out how this strange ability manifests right now. We should think about how to use it too…"
Several hypotheses come to mind in an instant.
The last person I met before eating the fruit was Aria… so maybe that's why the gills appeared.
"And we need to find out its limits too. Why gills specifically? If it's taking Aria's traits, wouldn't it be better if my legs turned into a fish tail instead?"
It's a reasonable inference. Changing into a simple organ like a tail would be easier than generating a complex organ like gills separately.
"Is that possible?"
"…Hold on, let me try."
This time, I close my eyes and focus on the image of Aria's tail. I did the same for the gills, so if my hypothesis is correct…
"Huh?"
My two legs have fused together.
But no other changes. Something's off.
"Wait, hold on…"
But at the spot where my two legs are stuck together, tiny scales like fish scales are growing. Now I'm starting to get a feel for it.
"…"
Amy seems to be thinking the same thing as me. Her eyes look at my fused legs and their tips, finishing her brief analysis.
"What do you think, Amy?"
But she doesn't say a word to us. Amy glances at the women around and quietly closes her mouth, lost in thought.
"The Guide tinkered with genes. From what I see, it seems like if there's close contact, I can even mimic the other person's physical traits."
Instead of Amy, I propose the hypothesis. It's the most likely and plausible one. Up until I ate the fruit, Aria's bodily fluids were all over my body.
"Everyone, gather around? To figure out roughly what's going—"
So, with everyone's help, I plan to conduct a new experiment. If I have relations with Arachne or Nephyr, can I mimic their traits too? Or if I have more contact with Aria, can I more perfectly imitate gills or a tail…?
"Mmgh?"
But something blocks my mouth.
Over there in the corner,
Aria, Arachne, and Nephyr are so engrossed in their heated debate that they're completely oblivious…
"Dr., p-please wait a moment."
Without any intention of stopping their fight, Amy covers only my mouth and makes this request.
"It's not certain yet, so could you hold off? Hasty words might provoke them. You need to wait now."
Hearing it, she's right. If I ask them for help, they might turn it around and squeeze me dry under the excuse of experiments.
"Y-yeah. Okay."
As expected, Amy is calm. She thinks of things I don't.
"How about we slip away together tonight and analyze it then?"
"Got it. See you later."
So, I actively accept Amy's opinion, keep quiet, and step back. The three women are now arguing fiercely with gestures and all, but I have to endure it.
"Okay, everyone, stop…! It's getting late anyway, so let's talk more tomorrow. Okay? Amy, send Aria back to the lake."
"Joo-ho, you'll come back to the lake tomorrow, right? Using gills is trickier than I thought, so it'd be good to learn together first. Got it?"
I send back the excited and elated Aria,
and Arachne, who glares at me like she wants to kill me while fuming,
back to her web.
Isaac is on my side, so he's fine,
Jenny is still groaning in pain, so leave her be,
and put Nephyr, whose energy has completely wilted, to sleep too…
Finally, night falls.
"…Let's go."
Only Amy and I sneak out of the hideout to find a place to analyze my new ability.