I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Just a Scratch?

I scratched my cheek and looked back at Mia.

“Shall we leave before more people show up?”
“Yes, we should. The bugs are starting to swarm.”

The word “bugs” was laden with disgust. Had my friend, who was being used as a chair by a female student with a roll bun hairstyle, heard this, she would have groaned in annoyance. I wasn’t in such a terrible state, so I just nodded in agreement.

“Alright, those coming with us, gather close. If you’re too far away, an arm or a leg might fall off.”

I asked, my eyes wide with curiosity.

“What happens to an arm that’s gone? Does it stay here?”
“No, it gets discarded in the midst of the dimensions and then vanishes completely.”
“Oh…”

Usually, when parts of the body were completely severed, it took quite some time to heal. For instance, an arm I had lost the day before had reappeared as a baseball bat. Thankfully, arms that disappeared in transit were said to vanish, which meant mine would have been recovered by the next day. After a sigh of relief, I gathered the children and brought them to the center.

Every time I pulled them close, the children shrugged their shoulders. I smiled sheepishly and asked,

“Sorry, do I smell bad?”

Saying that, I let go, and the child I had been holding until then jumped back with eyes wide open. He seemed like he wanted to say something, his lips twitching, but before he could, Mia was quicker to begin chanting a spell. I arranged for the children to stand as close to Mia as possible and then took my place at the very end.

A dark, crimson magic circle began to form and glow on the floor. While looking down at the magic circle as if fascinated by it, someone suddenly tugged on my pant leg.

“Hm?”
“…”

Jes had approached without me noticing and was now looking up at me with teary eyes, ears drooping, and tail curled between her legs. Just as I was about to say something to Jes,

Flash!

A surge of dark crimson light filled my vision and my head felt dizzy.

***

They arrived at Mia’s lab. It was glitteringly ornate, making even Odil’s lab look shabby by comparison. Mia offered up a large dormitory and cafeteria along with various other large facilities.

T h i s w as c o p i e d f ro m k ing m tl . o r g
She seldom brought in test subjects, so most of the areas were empty and comfortably available for use.

A week had passed since they began living there. I had quickly become accustomed to life in Mia’s lab.

“Lian?”
“Right here.”

As soon as Mia lifted her hand, I quickly presented the documents I believed she’d be looking for. Without hesitation, Mia started to peruse the information.

Zrr-up.

I collected her half-finished tea and poured her a fresh cup, setting it beside her. She took a sip of the new tea as naturally as if nothing else mattered. Some might wonder if I was living like an actual slave, but to me, it was nothing of consequence.

‘Heh, this is a walk in the park.’

Having looked after my mother, who’d collapse with exhaustion as soon as she got home never bothering with household chores, and with over ten years of experience at that, looking after uncomplicated Mia was easy as pie.

“Ah, we’ve run out of supplies, haven’t we?”
“Should I get ready to go out?”
T h i s w a s c opi e d f r o m k i ng m t l.o r g
“Yes, please do.”

Mia put her tea cup down and briskly stood up. I fetched some clothes from the wardrobe Mia had prepared at my request right away.

T h i s w a s co pi e d f ro m k i n g m tl . org
‘Yeah, this is it!’

Hanging clothes inside it whisked away any smells and dust, pressing them neatly like the ultimate gadget. I carefully brought her the clothes and she changed behind a privacy screen. An internal light illuminated the shadow against the screen, painting a masterpiece of a silhouette.

As Mia shed her upper garments and the shadow quivered, I couldn’t help but beam stupidly. As soon as she stepped out from behind the screen, I quickly straightened out my expression, not wanting to lose the comfort of my current life by being mistaken for a pervert.

“Here’s your overcoat. And this is a subspace bag.”
“I’ll be back soon then.”

She clipped the palm-sized bag to her waist and draped a navy-blue cape over her shoulders, then headed towards a mirror set up on one side of the lab. It was a portal mirror for use with pre-registered coordinates. Mia traced a magic circle into the air, and the mirror started to ripple.

As Mia disappeared through the mirror, I stretched casually and muttered to myself.

“Should I go and finish up the remaining housework?”

Though the location had changed, the nature of my duties remained the same. I began to walk away humming a cheerful tune when suddenly, a realization made me go stiff.

‘Wait… if I end up going with Mia, what will happen to Iris?’

Cold sweat instantly covered my face.

‘Have I… messed up?’

***

“What else was I supposed to buy?”

Mia mumbled to herself, putting the recently purchased materials into her pocket.

“Hmm?”

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand from the pocket, her fingers brushed against a piece of paper. She pulled it out without much thought.

“What’s this…”

[ Items to Buy ]
[ * Dried Motas’s Grass ]
[ * Rotikola Powder, 45g ]
.

The items written on the palm-sized memo were the same ones Mia had intended to purchase. She smiled softly, thinking:

‘It looks like Lian prepared it.’

She checked off the items she still needed to purchase and walked through the streets with an atmosphere reminiscent of a night market. After a long stroll, she finished shopping. As she was about to leave without further thought,

Rumble, thud!

A giant demon with a large bulk dragged a cart to one side and settled down. The cart was so heavy that when he put down the handle, it made a noise as if a rock had been thrown.

“Kuh-heung, selling fresh vegetables from Jikel Mountain!”

He didn’t seem to bother setting up a stall and simply started his sales. He was offering fresh vegetables. This place, often frequented by demons and dark wizards, usually saw the sale of frightful goods, but such vegetables were also commonly sold.

‘Should I pick some up on the way? I wonder what kind of dish Lian will make this time?’

She uncharacteristically bought a few vegetables, thinking about the meal Lian would prepare. Just as she was about to leave, feeling rather good,
T hi s w a s c op i ed f rom ki n gm t l.o r g

“Huh? Does the Witch of Frost cook as well?”
“…?”
T h i s w as co p i ed f ro m k i n g m tl . or g

A thick, high voice reached her ears, uncomfortable as if a man was forcibly imitating a woman’s voice. A man with pronounced cheekbones and triangular eyes was looking at Mia, his eyes gleaming.

“Hehe, good at cooking as well, huh… truly a prepared bride.”
“You sure spout nonsense well.”
T h i s wa s c o p ie d f r om k in g m tl . o r g
“It’s just a joke. A joke.”
“Sigh… Just go about your business and get lost.”
“Aww, you’re too harsh on a friend.”

Surprisingly, Mia had some friendly ties with him. Considering that there were fewer sane individuals among the dark wizards, being able to converse with him was something.

“Well, I’m not so free myself, so let’s part ways here.”
“…? Alright.”

The man, who would normally cling to her for at least two hours, was now smiling broadly and readily departed, which raised her suspicions briefly, but she quickly dismissed them.

“I’m feeling like something with warm soup today.”

Mia was becoming progressively dependent on living with Lian, but she herself hadn’t noticed it yet.

***

“Kuhuhu… to think I would come into possession of such a fine item. I must hurry back and put it to use.”

The man with the gaunt body, prominent cheekbones, thin buttocks, and comparedly swollen forearms, was the same one who had just parted from Mia. He was smirking as he returned to his lab.

“Have you returned?”
“Yes.”

Upon his arrival, those with shackles on their necks and ankles knelt down and lowered their heads. Their common traits were variably colored skins as if weaved with various things and noticeable surgical scars.

“How are the subjects?”
“They have become docile.”
“Move them to the operating table.”
“Yes.”

He hummed a little tune as he leisurely walked toward the laboratory. On a pale, hard table, a beautiful girl was tied up with a terrified expression on her face.

“Heh… truly beautiful.”

As he smiled, the skin above his cheekbones sparkled. The girl, whose arms and legs were tied, moved her lips as if wanting to say something, but only managed to emit a sound of gasping breath, no voice.

“It would have been nice if her voice was as beautiful. Well, no matter, she’ll become a masterpiece for ‘Dovan-nim.'”

T h is was c o p i e d f r o m k i n gmtl . o r g
He laughed eerily as he pulled a trolley over.

“Don’t worry. I’m just here to check today. After all, I need to cut away any imperfections.”

Dovan laughed as he grabbed her disheveled white hair.

“Ah, so soft. No need to skin the scalp then.”

Dovan picked up a sharp dagger from the trolley and lightly sliced through the air as he spoke.

“Let’s see, then, how beautiful your blood is.”

The girl’s eyes trembled aimlessly, stricken with terror.

***

“Haa…”

I sighed and bit into my bread. As I chewed, Lily, sitting next to me, started a conversation.

“Brother, is something bothering you?”
“Uh..? Yeah… something is…”

T h i s wa s c op ie d f r om k i n g mtl . or g
I mumbled dispiritedly, unable to pass off the fact that the original storyline had just turned about 170 degrees as ‘nothing to worry about.’

“Are you… really okay?”

Noah’s gaze was fixated on my face. I casually touched my face.

‘Ah, the sweat I had earlier is still there. Or is it still flowing?’

The thought that the original storyline had deviated caused an endless stream of cold sweat. I could shake it off like a dog shaking off water, but since Lily was sitting next to me, I might splash her, so I simply wiped my face with my sleeve and said,

“Sorry about the smell. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Noah looked at me as if he had a lot to say but then closed his mouth. Suddenly, a red-haired figure rushed up to my side.

T h i s wa s c o p i e d fr o m ki n gm t l . o rg
“Lian, does it hurt anywhere?”
“Uh?”

Why is the topic of pain coming up now?

Confused by the unexpected situation, I tilted my head. Jess was there, clinging to my leg with a woeful face.

T h i s wa s c o p ie d fro m k i ngmt l . o rg
“You look like you are in pain, Lian.”
“No, I am not in pain at all.”
“Lian, you did something scary.”
“Scary?”

Suddenly, the noise from the otherwise bustling dining hall was silenced.

“Lian, are you dealing with that much pain?”

Jess rubbed my stomach and let her ears flop down. It was then I realized that by ‘pain,’ Jess was talking about ‘experiments’.