I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 177

Chapter 177
The Honeymoon Was Fun, Right?

***

The Outsider, her face contorted with rage, froze the moment she encountered ‘it.’ A silence fell, as if the entire world had come to a halt.

There was no sound, no light, no taste, no scent, no shape…

Everything lost its form.

‘It’ looked at the Outsider and smiled, as if meeting an old friend. In that instant, the Outsider felt something deep within her—something fundamental—twist, shake, and crumple.

“Ugh…”

Even though she had a physical body, she wasn’t human, so it wasn’t as if she could vomit. Yet, she felt as though something might spill out any second.

‘It’ approached.

Closer… and closer…

Her mind grew hazy, and her vision blurred. Something dropped with a soft thud. Ah, was it a tear?

The sound of her ragged breathing echoed loudly in her ears, and her vision ached as if her eyes were about to burst. The cold sweat running down her face felt like a desperate struggle to survive.

The Outsider mustered all the strength she had left to cling to a single thought.

‘What… is that?’

But the question never bore fruit, crumbling away instantly. Before she knew it, the edge of ‘it’ came into view at the far reaches of her sight. Slowly raising her head, she saw something that looked exactly like her.

“Gasp… Huff… Huff…”

A ringing filled her ears, and her mind grew foggy. She felt disconnected from reality.

It was magnificent, orderly, cold, and warm all at once. No words could describe the concept standing before her, taking the same form as herself. The Outsider instinctively realized: the being in front of her was the same as her in every way, yet not the same.

Because it was not the same, no one could understand the words “the same.” It was not something that could be comprehended. And yet, she understood.

Understanding something that should not be understood was like peering beyond a veil that should never be lifted.

Crack.

A sound like bones breaking echoed in the Outsider’s ears. No, that wasn’t right. There had never been such a sound to begin with. Did she smell something? Did she see a color? Did she feel something at her fingertips?

She didn’t know. She couldn’t know anything.

The last thing she remembered was the soft, gentle face smiling kindly at her and the excruciating pain of her body being broken down into the tiniest particles.

And that was how the Outsider was devoured by ‘it.’

***

[ Ugh… What is this? ]

Lian rubbed his satisfied belly and tilted his head in confusion.

[ I haven’t eaten anything, but I feel full. I didn’t accidentally eat a part of Iris’s soul or something, did I? ]

Lian glanced at Iris, who had just woken up and was staggering down the cold hallway, her face pale. He felt relieved when he sensed that her soul’s size hadn’t changed.

[ Phew… Looks like that didn’t happen, thankfully. ]

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

[ At least I conveyed everything I needed to say. That strange energy is gone too. ]

Lian thought of the fortune teller who had sent his soul to Iris and decided he would thank her once he returned.

[ But… why am I not going back? She said I’d return as soon as the problem was solved. ]

The fortune teller had warned Lian when she temporarily sent his soul to Iris’s side. She said the time would be short, and once the task was completed, he would return immediately to the Demon King’s castle.

But contrary to her words, Lian had been lingering at the Duke’s estate for several minutes. The reason was simple: he had solved the issue far faster than the fortune teller had anticipated.

Even she, who kept all things hidden, had never expected that Lian would deal with something as powerful as the Outsider in less than a minute.

[ Hmm… Since it’s come to this, I’ll go see Noah! ]

Noah was the only one who could see souls, so maybe they could have a conversation if things went well. Lian immediately set out to find Noah.

The training grounds? Not there.

The dining hall? Not there.

The garden? Not there.

The library? Not there.

It was as if Noah had hidden away somewhere, leaving not a single trace. Instead, Lian found Jess in an unexpected place.

[ Oh? Jess? ]

He called her name without thinking, but Jess, who couldn’t see souls, didn’t respond.

[ What’s she doing in the library? ]

Without Lian by her side, Jess had concealed her ears and tail, looking no different from an ordinary human. She was reading with a serious expression.

Lian had always seen Jess as a mischievous country dog causing trouble somewhere, so her intellectual appearance felt unfamiliar.

Flip, flip.

She turned the pages so quickly that it almost looked like she was playing with the book.

Thud.

She closed the book she had been reading and set it aside, her movements practiced and familiar. A stack of at least twenty books sat next to her. Judging by the way she pulled a book from the opposite pile and began reading, one side was for books she had finished, and the other was for books she hadn’t yet read.

Lian, mesmerized by the beautiful scene of Jess flipping through the books, stared as if watching a book ASMR until he finally snapped back to his senses.

[ This isn’t the time for this! ]

Lian floated back into the air and resumed his search for Noah.

***

[ I never thought he’d be in his room… ]

Lian looked back and forth between the sky, where the sun was high, and Noah, who was buried under his blankets. The Noah he knew was always diligent, day or night, so he had assumed Noah would be outside. That had been his mistake.

Lian gazed down at Noah’s brown hair, which peeked out from under the blanket, and spoke cautiously.

[ Hey, Noah? ]

[ Noah? Are you asleep? ]

[ If you’re awake, could you get up for a moment? ]

Even though they were close friends, Lian didn’t have the courage to shake him awake. His voice, which had started out as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, gradually grew louder.

Worried that he might be forcibly summoned back at any moment, Lian finally placed his hand on the blanket.

[ Noah! Just wake up for a sec—! ]

Before he could finish speaking, a loud whooshing sound filled the air.

[ Whoa—?! ]

Like a vacuum cleaner sucking in dust, Lian’s soul was sucked into Noah’s body in an instant. The room was left in complete silence.

***

‘Ugh…’

Lian, who had been swallowed by Noah, slowly shook his head to clear his mind. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, as if he had just woken up.

‘Where… am I?’

Bright light poured in, causing him to squint and blink slowly.

“Hmm-hmm~”

A soft humming sound filled his ears.

Clink, clatter. The sound of dishes clinking followed soon after. A sweet aroma tickled his nose, and his mouth watered.

Gulp.

As he swallowed his saliva, his vision cleared. A table covered with a white lace tablecloth, cushioned chairs, and a white, round plate sat before him. Sunlight streamed through an open window beside what appeared to be a dining room, and yellow flowers, just beginning to bloom, swayed on the branches outside.

A white butterfly fluttered between the flowers, its body dusted with yellow pollen. It was a peaceful and warm space.

“All done.”

“…!”

The familiar voice snapped Lian back to his senses. He immediately turned his gaze toward the kitchen attached to the dining room. A woman with long hair, wearing a pink apron trimmed with white lace, stood there, a warm smile on her face.

Her white legs, exposed beneath a yellow dress that reached mid-thigh, caught his eye, but not for long. The apron, struggling against her ample chest, quickly drew all his attention.

Thud.

The woman, her brown hair cascading in soft waves down to her waist, approached with a loving smile and set the tray she was carrying on the table. On it was a cheese gratin, freshly baked in the oven.

Gulp.

The delicious aroma hit him, and his saliva gushed once more.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Ah, uh-huh! Yes!”

“Why are you so stiff?”

She tilted her head, brushing her hair back in a gesture that was nothing short of deadly. Lian felt his heart race as if it had malfunctioned.

‘Noah turned into a woman—no, she was a woman from the start, so this is normal, but…’

Her stunning beauty, which now seemed almost ethereal, left his lips trembling. With zero resistance to women, his tongue refused to cooperate.

While he stammered and floundered, Noah, wearing flower-patterned gloves, placed the gratin in the center of the table.

“Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

“Y-yeah…”

Lian, still flustered, managed to respond to Noah’s shy smile. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure, and placed his hands on the table.

‘Let’s drink some water first and calm down.’

A transparent glass bottle filled with water sat on one side of the table, alongside an upside-down glass. He reached out to grab the glass.

Swoosh.

“Gasp…!”

Without hesitation, Noah grabbed Lian’s hand. Her fingers gently brushed against his, slipping between his stiff fingers and interlocking them.

“Don’t you like it?”

“No!”

Her playful question made him shout with a voice full of determination. Noah chuckled softly and poured water into the cup, handing it to him.

“If you don’t mind, let’s eat like this.”

Her eyes, filled with certainty that he would accept her affection, sparkled as she asked. Afraid that meeting her gaze would turn him into dust, he quickly averted his eyes.

“Huh? What’s that…”

His attention was drawn to the mantle above the fireplace, where several frames were displayed. Noah followed his gaze and smiled warmly.

“Oh, that was a fun time.”

The word Noah softly uttered sent Lian into a state of shock.

Honeymoon.

Lian froze in place.

End of Chapter