I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 107

Chapter 107
Isn’t the Teething Phase Over?

“…Iris?”
T h is w a s cop i e d f r o m k ing m tl . o r g

“Hmm? Why?”

Iris looked up at me with sparkling eyes. Her pupils shone even in the darkness, like they contained the universe.

“You should go to your own room to sleep.”

“But… I’m scared to sleep alone…”

“How about sleeping with Lily? I can go ask her…”

I tried to quickly get out of bed, but Iris grabbed my clothes. Turning my head to look at her, I saw her tearful eyes.
T hi s w as co p i e d f r o m k i ng mtl . o rg

“Can’t I stay here?”

“Family should stick together. Haha.”

Weak against the tears of a pretty girl, the Gag Resident had no choice but to lie back down.

‘That’s right, Iris and I are family!’

Convincing myself with that thought, I lay down with my back to Iris. Then…

Slap.

Iris snuggled up against my back. Her ticklish breath spread across my back, and a scent similar yet different from Jess’s tickled my nose. Though we used the same shower tools, our body scents differed.

“Oppa, I’m cold.”

“Huh? Should I get another blanket?”

“No.”

Sliding her hand over my waist, Iris hugged me from behind. As our bodies pressed together, I involuntarily stiffened.

“Let’s sleep like this.”

“…Okay.”

I am just a normal pillow.
I am just a pillow that breathes.

I held onto my rationality tightly, fearing I might have improper thoughts about Iris, who was like a daughter to me.

***

If Iris were in high school, the slightly sticky atmosphere might have lingered longer. But as she was only of middle school age, Lian fell asleep not long after.

It was also due to the exhaustion from preparing to leave Cardishian.

“…”

“Oppa..?”

Listening to the steady breathing of Lian, Iris cautiously called out to him. Lian, deeply asleep, showed no reaction.

“…”

Iris pressed her ear to Lian’s back, savoring the steady thump of his heartbeat. Since escaping the arena, she had nightmares almost every night.

T h is w a s copi ed f r o m ki ng m t l . or g
In her dreams, her sword pierced Lian’s heart, and he ended up cold and lifeless.

She would stand over his stiffening body in a makeshift graveyard, vomiting from the stench, crying her heart out.
T h i s w a s c o pie d fro m k i n g m t l . o r g

During such times, Iris obsessively sought out Lian. Her sensitive senses could detect his heartbeat just by being in the same space.

Iris blinked slowly.

As Lian breathed, his chest and stomach rose and fell gently, his slow heartbeat resounding in a steady rhythm.

She stared blankly, then looked up at Lian’s neck. Seeing his white neck exposed through his collar, she recalled an earlier scene.

‘It feels unpleasant.’

Cardishian was one of the territories ruled by the Demon King. This meant all sorts of cruel events happened there.

To survive in a place where unimaginable horrors occurred daily, one had to learn dirty and cruel knowledge.

Knowing such things might help avoid them.

T hi s w a s co pi e d f r o m k ingm t l . o r g
Jess and Iris, lacking basic common sense due to their young age, took classes with other children over the past three years and learned much of this knowledge.

This included ‘sex education.’

In a peaceful world, such classes might be approached cautiously, but in Cardishian, where one could be kidnapped and treated like livestock at any time, it was necessary to learn the basics.

Iris had no particular thoughts when taking these classes. If anything, she felt repulsed.

Most of the sex education content was about preventing crimes, filled with topics that severely infringed on human rights.

The information she learned to survive in Cardishian was just another piece of cruel knowledge. It suddenly came to mind because the rough sketches shown in class closely resembled Jess and Lian’s situation.

The teacher had emphasized repeatedly that while forced sexual crimes could leave horrible scars, having a relationship with a loved one would grant the most precious treasure in the world.

That was how one would become true family.

‘…He’s my oppa.’

If Jess and oppa became family, what about me?

She couldn’t understand the bubbling discomfort she felt in her chest.

Even if Lian and Jess married and became family, Iris and Lian wouldn’t become strangers. Knowing this, Iris still disliked the idea of someone else becoming family with Lian.

She hugged Lian’s waist tighter, thinking about Jess and Lian.

In a dark room, Lian lay in bed, and Jess pounced on him.

T hi s w a s co p i e d f r om k i n g m t l . or g
Thinking this far, the word ‘marking’ flashed in her mind.

‘Marking…’

A mark left by a beastman on something precious.
T h is w a s copi ed f r o m ki n g m tl . o rg

T h i s wa s c o p i e d fr o m k in g m t l . o r g
They had a few classes tailored for beastmen as well. The information from those classes came to mind. Iris stared at Lian’s white neck.

It looked like an untouched snowy field, free of any footprints.

“…”

Slowly, Iris released her hold around Lian’s waist and lifted herself.

Lian’s quiet breaths grew closer. Blinking her long eyelashes, Iris lowered her head towards Lian’s neck. Then—

***

“Did I do something wrong?”

[She might have been trying to hunt you. The neck is a vital spot.]

“No way… right?”

Lian rubbed the clear bite mark on his neck, looking distressed. The bite was deep enough to leave a visible mark and could have drawn blood.

Though it would fade over time, the bite mark was so severe it would likely last longer than usual.

The cursed sword, sucking blood from his thigh, spoke excitedly.

T hi s wa s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l.o r g
[The fact that she attacked while you were sleeping might mean that. Now, even nights won’t be safe. So, you should sleep holding me from now on!]

“Why do I have to hold you while sleeping?”

[So if someone attacks at night, I can dramatically swoosh in and protect you!]

“Then there’s no need to hold you. I could just put you under my pillow or something.”

[You might forget in your sleep! Besides, sleeping with a sword looks cool!]

“Yeah, yeah.”

[You should sit up while sleeping too!]

Ignoring the sword’s nonsense, Lian left the mirror. Returning to his room, he opened the first-aid kit that had firmly taken a place in one corner of his room. He took out a large band-aid and stuck it on his neck.

The bite mark was so big that the band-aid had to be large too.

‘I hope it doesn’t hurt when I take it off later.’

Thinking about the pain of removing a band-aid, Lian rubbed the spot he had just covered. The sword suddenly called him urgently.

[Partner! I finally figured it out!]

“What?”

Since Iris was busy coordinating the children, Lian had the room to himself. Answering the sword out loud, he heard an excited voice.

[Your relative bit your neck because of teething!]

“Teething…?”

[Yes. Remember when the red-haired beastman was teething on bones at the dining hall? They must be at the same age, so both are likely in their teething phase!]

“What you’re talking about happened three years ago.”

[Three years ago is like yesterday.]

Perhaps because the sword had lived so long?

T h i s w a s c op i e d f ro m k in g m tl . o r g
Its sense of time was warped. Sometimes it would call three years ago “yesterday,” while other times it would act as if not being fed for a day was like not being unsheathed for ten years.

‘It seems like it just thinks whatever it wants.’

Shaking off idle thoughts, Lian stood up.

‘…Is it really teething?’

Though he knew Iris was long past the teething phase, it was easier to think she had started late teething rather than planning to hunt or assassinate him.

‘Should I look for teething supplies?’

Sighing internally, Lian drew and re-sheathed the sword. The sword whined about wanting more blood, but with less than a week left to prepare for the journey, there was no time.

After confirming his thigh had healed quickly, Lian left his room.

***

“Is everything going well?”

A heavy, pale voice echoed through the large hall. A girl with black hair and a white mask sat on the throne, looking down at someone with an indifferent face.

A man kneeling on one knee in the center of the hall bowed deeply. A long-haired man with a monocle spoke in a smooth, refined voice.

“All preparations are perfect. So… corpses will pile up like mountains, rivers will run with blood, and the continent will fall into the Demon King’s hands.”

The man spoke with rapture, as if singing a hymn. His monocle glinted ominously.

“There must be no mistakes, Erboan.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Erboan, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings and known as the Demon King’s right hand, smiled like a snake and bowed even deeper.

End of Chapter.