I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 171

Chapter 171

The Housewife’s Weapon

***

Unlike Lian, a resident of the gag world who could heal his wounds instantly, the current Demon King, Elensia, had an astonishingly fast recovery rate, befitting her position.

Elensia herself seemed well aware of her body’s regenerative abilities, as she left her wounds unattended despite their severity.

[Aigoo… What if that leaves a scar?]

Just as people say that watching someone in pain makes it hurt even more, Lian flew around Elensia with a worried expression, much like a concerned otter.

[If only I could use holy power, I could help—… Ah, but since she’s the Demon King, would that be an attack instead?]

Mumbling to himself, Lian looked down at Elensia, who had collapsed onto her bed, feeling pity for her.

[What in the world is going on…? Hmm, I don’t have anything urgent to do right now, so maybe I should investigate?]

Though Lian had wandered around the Demon King’s castle many times, it had always been more like sightseeing. The place was so vast that sitting down in one spot to gather information was exhausting.

Rather than aimlessly trying to find the final boss, it would be much easier to gather information with a clear goal in mind—to uncover the ‘story of the Demon King.’

Once he made up his mind, Lian immediately began searching for places where he could find information.

***

Lian stuck close to Elensia only when she left her room to handle official matters. Once she returned, he would sneak off to search for information.

Since the places he explored were restricted to the high-ranking officials of the Demon King’s castle, it wasn’t too difficult to find related documents. The problem came after that.

[‘Ugh… Just a little more…’]

To quickly investigate the information, he had to skim through the relevant books, but due to his weak spiritual power, it took him an excessive amount of time to even pull out a book or turn its pages.

Still, his effort wasn’t in vain, as he managed to gather some surprising information about the previous Demon King.

[The original Demon King was the previous Demon King?]

It was recorded that the Demon King, who played the role of the final boss in the original story, was the previous Demon King. The record also stated that the previous Demon King had been consumed by madness and went on a rampage, only to be personally dealt with by his own daughter.

[The Demon King had a daughter…?]

Lian was shocked by this new information, which hadn’t even been mentioned in the original story. But he quickly pulled himself together. Struggling to turn the pages, he found a section about the current Demon King.

[The record says that the current Demon King, who took the blood-stained throne after killing the previous Demon King, is a ‘Demon Princess’… So, she’s the daughter of the previous Demon King. Now that I think about it, they do look alike.]

Having spent so much time with Elensia, Lian had developed a sense of familiarity with her. Unconsciously, he had started referring to her casually. Without realizing it, he closed the book and struggled to put it back in its original place.

[Should I stop here for today?]

By now, quite some time had passed, and it seemed like Elensia was about to finish her work. Lian headed towards her room, a path he had become familiar with. At first, he would enter the room without a second thought, using the excuse of being in a ghost-like state. However, after growing attached to her, he decided to respect her privacy and refrained from entering.

…Another reason was that it was painful to see Elensia hurting herself.

[Huh? This place is new.]

Lian followed behind Elensia as she walked in a different direction than usual, wearing her mask as always. Recently, she had been changing locations, saying it was to strengthen her body, so they arrived at an unfamiliar place with little difficulty.

[It’d be nice if I had a transformation function.]

He recalled the black magician who had immersed herself in a bathtub full of green liquid or injected herself with strange drugs, all in the name of strengthening her body. Given how humane(?) her methods were, Lian doubted she would undergo a transformation like a robot—but he couldn’t help but hold on to a small hope.

As he reminisced about the time he was captured by a mad scientist and turned into a transforming robot, thinking, ‘That was fun,’ they arrived at their destination, and Elensia stopped walking.

The door before them was engraved with ornate depictions of demons and the underworld, exuding a sinister atmosphere. Purple gems embedded in the door gleamed dangerously, as if they were real eyes.

Thud…

The door, though lightly pushed, made a heavy sound, indicating its weight. Elensia, familiar with the place, opened the door and stepped inside.

The interior resembled a dining hall for nobles, or perhaps a conference room. A long table adorned with intricate patterns sat in the center of the spacious room, and dark-toned wooden chairs, common in the Demon King’s land, were placed at regular intervals.

[Oh? It’s the same people from last time.]

Lian widened his eyes as he looked at the room full of people in black robes—no, demons. Unlike before, two of them had pulled back their hoods, revealing their faces.

The demons gazed at Elensia with eyes filled with contempt, disgust, and amusement—none of them held any friendly intent.

Elensia, used to such stares, walked forward with an indifferent expression. Lian’s eyes shifted to her clenched fist.

[I don’t know what’s going on, but… this isn’t a good situation.]

No sooner had Lian muttered to himself than a wooden stick suddenly shot out from the side of the table, tripping Elensia as she walked past.

“Ugh…!”

It happened so quickly that Elensia couldn’t avoid it and stumbled. The sight of such a petty trick made Lian’s anger flare, along with his curiosity.

[‘No one sitting sideways or lowering their hands… Where did that stick come from?’]

Was it magic cast after the fact? Lian’s curiosity didn’t fade, so he ducked under the table to investigate.

[What the—]

Creak, snap…

Under the table, there was a grotesque branch, as thick as those found in the mountains, awkwardly stuck together with some sort of adhesive. It extended from beneath the robe of one of the demons seated in the middle.

Upon seeing the exposed wooden leg inside the robe, Lian thought, ‘Isn’t that basically naked?’ He quickly shook his head to clear the thought and returned to Elensia’s side.

At this point, Lian still didn’t think much of it. Though he had grown attached to Elensia, it was more out of sympathy than anything else, and he didn’t feel any strong affection beyond that. Besides, he assumed the bullying wouldn’t go beyond tripping her or making her eat overly salty food.

It didn’t take long for that assumption to be shattered.

“You weakling. To think you can’t even endure this much…”

“Tsk tsk, without His grace, you’re nothing but an inferior creature.”

“You should always be grateful.”

The black-robed demons, spouting condescending remarks, began casting dangerous-looking spells one by one. The room transformed—first into a hellish landscape with flowing magma, then into a snow-covered mountain with waist-high drifts.

A storm raged, and salty sea water surged from nowhere. At first, Lian was impressed by the grand scale of the nature-manipulating magic, but when he realized it was all to torment Elensia, his expression hardened.

[This is crossing the line.]

No matter how harsh the world could be, the sight of Elensia gritting her teeth and enduring the pain while the demons watched with sneering amusement was filled with nothing but malice.

Since his body and soul had become separated, Lian’s gag filter had weakened, allowing him to think more clearly. As a result, his usual lighthearted attitude had become a bit more serious when faced with situations like this.

[How low do you have to be to bully a kid?]

Lian’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he approached the black magician who was laughing menacingly.

[If only I had my body, I’d slice you into 108 pieces with Gargandoa.]

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Lian pulled out the weapon that had always served him well in the gag world. It was a black-handled… steel ladle!

[I didn’t want to use this sacred kitchen tool in a place like this… but, well, I have no choice.]

Muttering to himself, Lian raised the ladle and struck the floating magic circle with a loud clang! The magic circle crumpled as if it had been smashed together.

“Huh…?”

The black-robed demon, who had been laughing moments ago, let out a dumbfounded sound. Lian grinned brightly, savoring the tingling sensation in his hand.

[Wow, it’s stronger than I thought! I don’t know why, but this is great!]

A shadow fell over Lian’s smiling face, his grin now twisted with madness.

Clang! Clang!

“W-What is this! Ugh…!”

“Ahhh! M-My knee!”

“Damn it, where is it!? Who dares… ugh!”

Lian struck down the demons who used physical attacks with his ladle and smashed the magic of those who cast spells. The demons, unable to perceive Lian’s presence, could do nothing but succumb to the gag filter.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After a few rounds of screams and sounds reminiscent of a blacksmith’s forge—

“Ugh…”

“Is this… a dream?”

“Cough…”

The black-robed demons lay scattered across the room or draped over chairs like discarded laundry. Though he was in spirit form, Lian wiped away imaginary sweat and tucked the ladle back into his pocket before turning to look at Elensia.

“….”

Elensia stared blankly at the wrecked room, her face showing an expression of disbelief that Lian had never seen before.

End of Chapter