I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 149

Chapter 149
It’s Okay, We’re Friends, Right?

The more she thought about it, the clearer the explicit scenes in her mind became. And it was all thanks to those romance novels that somehow found their way to her via the Ranger Unit.

The Ranger who had been teaching her thought she was a man and insisted that to be loved by a future partner, she needed to read such things. So, they lent her these adult-rated romance novels, completely unaware of her true gender.

At first, she had firmly refused, but the words “You need to learn these things for your future lover” made her hands tremble as she opened the first page— and began reading.

The knowledge from those books lingered in her mind, conjuring up all sorts of embarrassing scenes. Especially since many of the novels the Ranger had carried were set in snowy mountains.

A man and a woman stranded in a snowstorm, surviving by melting snow for water and chewing on herbs to raise their body temperature, but they continued to freeze.

To survive, they had no choice but to share body heat by pressing their naked skin together. As they stripped down and embraced, the herbs they had shared earlier began to show an unexpected effect— an overly dramatic scene from one of those romance novels.

Now, Noah found herself in an eerily similar situation.

Instead of snow, rain was pouring down. And while it wasn’t freezing to the point of frostbite, the cold was biting enough that the rain felt like icy needles. Moreover, they were alone in a cave— just like in those novels.

A scene from one of the books flashed through Noah’s mind. The image of the man undressing had transformed into Lian, and the trembling woman was now herself.

“Noah?”

“…! Uh! Uh, y-yes?”

“I was asking if you were okay with the water dripping on you.”

“Oh…”

Noah’s gaze followed the drops of rainwater seeping from her raincoat, soaking the floor, and then drifted to Lian, who sat by the fire after neatly folding his own raincoat.

“Y-yeah… I should…”

Her voice lost strength like a deflating balloon, growing weaker with each word. At the same time, her face flushed even redder than the flames in front of her. Perhaps due to the influence of the gag filter, a soft mist seemed to rise from the top of her head.

‘Ugh… This is so embarrassing.’

Though Lian hadn’t caught on to her thoughts, the fact that she’d misunderstood and imagined something so absurd made her want to crawl into a hole and hide. She wanted to yank the hood of her raincoat down to cover her face, but if she did that, Lian would probably just give her a strange look. So instead, she clenched her eyes shut and quietly placed her raincoat beside her.

‘I can’t even look up…’

Her face was burning with heat, as if Lian’s imagined embrace had left a scorch mark on her mind. She kept her gaze firmly on the ground between the fire and the dirt, biting her lip to keep from speaking.

Whoooosh—

As silence settled between them, the sound of rain pelting the cave’s entrance and the crackling of the fire filled the air. The cold rain outside made the cave’s atmosphere feel even chillier. Fortunately, the cool air helped bring the color back to Noah’s face.

Trying to shake off the lingering heat in her cheeks, Noah began recounting what had happened earlier.

The Rangers had entered the forest for their investigation, but it didn’t take long before they were swallowed by the thick fog. When they regained their senses, they were scattered. They tried firing signal flares, but the fog made it impossible to see them. No matter how much they walked, it felt as though they were going in circles. Eventually, they decided to stay put and establish a base.

“That’s when you found me.”

“Yeah. Sorry for dragging you along without a word. The rain in this area comes down from the snowy mountains, and I was worried you might catch a cold.”

“You were just concerned about me. It’s fine.”

Whoooosh—

Another wave of silence followed. Noah fidgeted with her hands absentmindedly, scratching at the itchy sensation on the back of her hand.

The two of them shared the same age and gender, and they had built a strong bond on equal footing. Noah had Nero to care for, and Lian had Iris— both of them shared the common trait of having someone they needed to look after.

One had a strong sense of responsibility, and the other was kind to a fault. Both were good-natured at their core, making their deep friendship a natural outcome. They had always been close friends— or at least, that’s how it had been.

‘When did things start feeling so awkward?’

Both Noah and Lian had the same thought at the same time. After a moment, they both recalled the same memory and, as if they were living out a scene from a romantic comedy, lowered their heads in sync.

Neither of them had ever experienced a proper romantic relationship— one had been recognized by a unicorn, and the other had lived her life pretending to be a man.

“Haha… It’s a bit hot.”

“Maybe… we put too much firewood.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Yeah.”

The awkwardness and itchiness rolled around between them, filling the silence. After about three minutes of this unbearable tension, Noah suddenly stood up.

“I-I’ll check if the rain is blowing in.”

“I’ll help!”

“No, someone needs to stay and keep adding wood to the fire so it doesn’t go out!”

Noah grabbed the firewood she had set on a dry cloth and plopped it down next to Lian with a thud. The heavy sound made his eyes widen.

“You carried something this heavy?”

“I-I didn’t carry it. I made it after we got here.”

“You made dry firewood?”

“Yeah, it’s a technique I learned from the Ranger Unit. You can even turn wet wood into dry firewood.”

“Wow… That’s amazing. You could make a fortune with that.”

“Pfft…”

Noah couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the unexpected comment. And just like that, the atmosphere between them lightened, as if by magic.

“It requires using magic power, so it’s actually more of a loss than a profit.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Most of the survival techniques used by the Ranger Unit require magic, so they’re not very efficient. Who would seriously waste magic power on making dry firewood?”

“Oh… What other kinds of techniques do you know?”

With the ice broken, the two began chatting happily as if they had been waiting for the opportunity. Noah, now visibly more relaxed, tended to the cave entrance to ensure no more rainwater was coming in. She then pulled out some herbs she had gathered from the forest and carefully ground them in a small bowl she kept in her belt pouch.

She poured the green juice into a dish smaller than her palm, placed a long wick into it, and pulled the end out to light it. Strangely, though the wick caught fire, it didn’t burn away. A bitter, herbal scent began to fill the cave.

Soon after, something in the shadows, just beyond the fire’s reach, began to scurry away. There were so many of them that Lian’s face turned pale. It was as if he was watching a horde of bugs fleeing in terror.

“W-What are those?!”

“They’re probably the insects or reptiles that lived in the cave. When the surroundings warm up, they sometimes wake up from hibernation and crawl toward the light because they’re hungry. This scent repels them, so they’re running away.”

“Did you learn this from the Ranger Unit too?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s amazing.”

It felt like a reminder that while he had been lounging around without a care, she had been constantly working and improving herself. It made him feel a bit embarrassed.

“It’s really not that amazing. I just…”

Noah’s voice wavered, growing weaker toward the end. The sound of the rain outside and the crackling of the fire continued, but it was so quiet that her voice seemed to echo clearly in the cave.

“…I just want to protect you. I want to be helpful.”

“…”

Lian’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at Noah. Her confession was so unexpected that it left him speechless. But at that moment, Lian felt an overwhelming sense of peace.

‘This is just like Noah.’

Always prioritizing others’ safety, someone who, even while looking far ahead, still reached out to help those who had fallen nearby.

Noah was, and had always been, a kind and selfless person.

Lian shook his head vigorously, hiding his flushed ears. He felt both flustered and embarrassed by this sudden shift in his friend, but he didn’t dislike Noah. It was just… unfamiliar.

But that was all there was to it. Noah was still Noah— whether back when he first found out she was a woman, or now.

“I’m sorry, Noah.”

“…?”

“I know I’ve been acting a bit distant. The truth is… I was just really confused when I found out you were a woman. I didn’t know how to act around you. It suddenly felt unfamiliar, strange.”

“…”

Noah silently looked down at her hands, which had tensed up without her noticing, and listened to Lian’s words.

“But Noah is Noah. Nothing’s changed except your appearance. You’re still my friend— that hasn’t changed at all. I’m sorry it took me so long to say this.”

Lian apologized sincerely, then smiled warmly as he continued.

“So, if it’s okay with you, let’s go back to being as close as we were before. Haha… Now that I’ve said it, I feel really embarrassed.”

He awkwardly rubbed his face with his hands, stealing a glance at Noah. Noah, whose hands had relaxed, smiled softly and thanked him.

“…Thank you.”

The flickering flames reflected in her eyes as if they were holding back tears.

Following Noah’s response, a brief silence fell between them. It seemed like the rain had lightened, as the sound of it was softer now.

“…Lian.”

“Yeah?”

“Then… when it’s just the two of us, is it okay if I stay in my female form?”

“Uh? Uh…”

Lian sputtered incomprehensibly, as if his brain had short-circuited.

End of Chapter.