I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 128

Chapter 128
Jess is a Smart Beastman!

While Iris was clinging to Lian with a languid expression, a red-haired huntress quietly approached him.

Iris, sensing the presence a moment too late, sharply turned her head toward the source, but it was already too late.

“My Master!”
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Jess suddenly leaped up from behind Lian, her face beaming as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Ugh!”

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The soft sensation pressing against the back of his head made Lian’s face turn bright red, and he hurriedly covered his mouth and nose. Fortunately, no blood gushed out.

“Get off!”

Iris shouted at Jess with a glare. Jess tilted her head innocently, looking puzzled.

“Hmm? Why?”

“He’s my Oppa!”

“But he’s my Master?”

Jess was much smarter than her peers, and thanks to her beastly instincts, she was quick to pick up on things. She was sharp enough to know where the boundaries were and when she could push them.

It was because of Jess’s actions that Lian was often left confused, even though he had firmly told her, “You can’t do this anymore!” Yet, he still found himself reluctantly accepting her affection.

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If Iris and Noah hadn’t been around, Lian might have been caught off guard, and before he knew it, he would have been marked as a mate and dragged off to a newlywed home.

Having spent a lot of time with Jess, Iris knew all too well that the way Jess perked up her ears and tilted her head—something she usually hid—was just her way of softening Lian’s resolve.

Because of this, Iris’s glare grew even fiercer. She pulled Lian closer by the waist and continued to glare daggers at Jess.

“Oppa is uncomfortable. Get off.”

“Hmm? Master, am I… making you uncomfortable?”
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Jess’s usually fierce eyes became watery, like a kitten or puppy caught in the rain, shivering pitifully. Lian, unable to respond, hesitated, but the soft sensation pressing against the back of his head jolted him awake as if cold water had been splashed on him.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and replied,

“Ahem… I guess so?”

“See? Oppa said he’s uncomfortable…”

“So, why don’t both of you let go? Okay?”

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“…!”

In this situation, telling only Jess to back off wouldn’t be fair, and since it was only a matter of time before they reached the duke’s estate, where their sibling status would be questioned, Lian thought it best to reduce his physical contact with Iris.

‘…If the knight reports this scene to the duke’s estate… Ugh, even if I took care of Iris, I’ll end up in jail.’

As unlikely as it seemed, it was still a possibility. After all, this was a hierarchical society. There wasn’t a single noble who would look kindly on Iris, a girl of noble blood, being close to Lian, who was worth less than a pebble on the street due to his status as a former slave.

Far from being thanked, he would be lucky if they didn’t try to erase the stain on their honor by killing him.

‘At least Iris’s mother isn’t that kind of person, so my life won’t be in danger.’

If Lian explained that he had lied to calm Iris down, her mother might understand and even express her gratitude. But even that had its limits.

‘…If it gets out that I was flirting with the future head of the duke’s family, no amount of favors will save my head.’

For these reasons, Lian gently pushed Iris away.

“But Oppa…”

“Iris, like I said before, we’re adults now. A light hug is fine, but we should stop being so clingy.”

By modern standards, Iris wasn’t an adult yet. She was probably somewhere between 15 and 18 years old. But in this world, she was considered an adult.

While Lian didn’t truly see Iris as an adult, he deliberately used the “We’re all grown up now” excuse to get her to back off.

Iris looked as if she were about to cry, but Lian had to remain firm today.

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‘We’ll have to part ways soon, so I need to prepare for that.’

It was a bitter thought, but a necessary one.

‘When Iris goes to the duke’s estate, I’ll… help her as much as I can from afar.’

Even if the original story had diverged significantly, one fact remained unchanged: Iris was a descendant of the hero and would eventually become a hero herself.

Heroes needed challenges and opportunities for growth. Having a Gag Resident, who was practically a cheat character, by the hero’s side would do no good. A cheat should only be used in truly desperate situations.

That’s why Lian planned to help Iris from a distance, only stepping in when she was in real danger.

With this resolve, Lian managed to push the tearful Iris away. Iris looked up at Lian with a shocked expression.

“Sniff…”

While Iris remained stunned, Jess simply sulked, distancing herself from Lian as she wandered nearby.

It felt like being a doting father who had just discovered his sullen five-year-old daughter holding an “I’m sorry, Daddy” letter after her first scolding. But Lian managed to endure it.

The truly frightening part was that Jess had calculated everything up to the point where Lian would push Iris away. From the moment she approached Lian and shamelessly displayed her desire (?), it had been a plan to separate Iris from him.

Jess was as docile as a lamb in front of her master, but she was no different from a wolf behind his back. She was a beastman who would stop at nothing to win her mate.

Although Jess pouted at Lian’s refusal to pet her, she was secretly pleased.
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Although she couldn’t be close to Lian, neither could Iris, just because she was his sister.

Normally, Iris would have noticed Jess’s mood, become enraged, and lost her temper, but she was so stunned that she just stared blankly at Lian.

Her eyes were dull, like when she had seen the Spirit King. It seemed that her hair looked even duller than before, but no one noticed.
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Noah, who had been struck by reality after feeling jealous of Lian’s real sister.

Iris, who was severely shocked after being pushed away by Lian.

Jess, who was sulking because Lian was refusing to pet her.

The atmosphere among the three was far from pleasant, but their journey was remarkably peaceful. Although they occasionally encountered monsters, the battles were so insignificant compared to those in the Demon King’s land that they felt more like a leisurely stroll.
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“Lower your stance a bit more, that’s it!”

“Huff, huff…”

The situation was so peaceful that the monsters they encountered were used as practical training for the children, who lacked real combat experience.

After traveling through the forest for quite some time, they finally arrived at a village inhabited by people.

“Ah…!”

“A village!”

Unlike the Demon King’s land, the blue sky, warm sunlight, and peaceful village below left everyone speechless with emotion.

“…Let’s go.”

Starting with Noah, everyone began to enter the village. As nearly a hundred people poured in, the guards, who appeared to be stationed nearby, came running.

The village was larger than expected, and the guards requested to see their identification. In this world, not many people had identification tags, but merchants and mercenaries traveling between villages often carried them.

Because most people lived and died in their homeland, there was a high level of suspicion toward outsiders.

“Here it is.”

They had prepared for this kind of situation when planning their escape to the empire. Although it had cost them a lot of money, getting mercenary identification tags in the crime-ridden Cardishian was a simple task.

The guards, who had assumed the group were refugees from another village, were taken aback as they checked over 90 identification tags one by one.

A mercenary group consisting of entire families was unheard of. There were many children, which made them seem less threatening, but a group of nearly 100 mercenaries was still a formidable force.

“We may be mercenaries, but we’re no different from refugees. We’ll stock up on supplies in the village and leave immediately.”

Lily slipped a silver coin to the guard as she spoke, causing his jaw to drop. It was an amount equivalent to half his monthly wage.

Before he could respond, another silver coin was added on top, making his eyes widen even further. As his eyes grew as wide as possible, Lily smiled gently and slipped some money to the other guards as well.

“In that case…”

“Ahem… Just don’t cause any trouble!”

As was typical in a corrupt world, the guards chose to turn a blind eye to the group of nearly 100 mercenaries. They would simply report them as passing refugees to their superiors.
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After the guards left, they began to enter the village. To avoid drawing too much attention, they split into groups of ten and entered the village slowly.

End of Chapter.