I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 197

Chapter 197

A Meaning Beyond Confession

***

Just like a startled puppy that shrinks its neck and makes a round-eyed expression, Jess had a shocked look on her face, her tongue slightly sticking out, and her expression blank.

It was as if a buffering icon was spinning above her head, and she was frozen in place, unable to move properly.

Sasasat!

Seizing the opportunity to escape like a ghost, the cat beastman quickly slipped out from behind Lian. Dropping her black ears, she began crawling on the floor like a bug, swiftly moving toward the door.

She even moved along the wall, trying to stay as far away from the frozen Jess as possible to avoid provoking her.

Grab.

“Nyaaak?!”

Jess’s shadow blurred in front of her eyes, and before she knew it, she appeared next to the cat beastman, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck. The cat beastman bent her knees and curled up, cold sweat dripping down her face.

“C-Captain, I don’t know why you’re doing this..! It’s all my fault! So just let me go, please!”

Her voice ended in the characteristic yowling of a cat. She was so desperate that her animal instincts kicked in, causing her to cry out like a beast.

“…Ah.”

Jess, who had instinctively grabbed the fleeing prey, finally came to her senses at the cat beastman’s frantic cries.

“Ah… uh… uh?”

Jess’s face started to turn bright red in real time. Her previously unfocused eyes began to tremble, as if she didn’t know where to look, rolling around in confusion. Her ears, which were usually perked up, drooped and then perked up again, fluttering nervously. Her tail also twitched wildly, reflecting her inner turmoil.

Looking as anxious as someone who needed to use the bathroom, Jess suddenly threw the cat beastman she was holding right into the middle of the room.

“Nyaaak?!”

Even though the cat beastman screamed, she easily twisted her body and landed on the floor. The moment Lian’s gaze turned toward her, Jess squeezed her eyes shut and bolted out of the house.

“Uwaaah..!”

A weak scream trailed behind her as she fled.

“What… what the…?”

The cat beastman muttered in disbelief, crouching low with her back arched like a wary cat. The captain, who had been chasing her as if ready to tear her apart, had suddenly run away with a feeble scream, leaving her struggling to comprehend the situation.

“Did you… do something?”

She turned her gaze toward Lian, who was sitting on the floor, just as confused as she was. Lian, equally flustered by the sudden turn of events, nodded hesitantly.

“Ah, well… other than getting some pheromones on her—”

“What…?! Wait, you’re not human?”

She stared at Lian with wide, shocked eyes, then began sniffing the air, her nose twitching.

“Hmm… There is a strange pheromone scent, now that you mention it…”

She started approaching Lian, her nose twitching like a dog’s as she followed the scent of pheromones. Due to the pheromone gland located near her neck, she climbed onto Lian’s body, getting so close that her nose was practically buried in his neck.

“Um, I think you’re a little too close…!”

Instinctively, Lian raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and turned his head to the side, feeling the discomfort of the close proximity. But the cat beastman, her curiosity piqued, ignored him and continued to press her face into his neck.

Shhh…

“Nyaa?!”

At that moment, a bone-chilling killing intent gripped her tail and yanked at her ears. Instinctively, she whipped her head around toward the source of the murderous aura.

“…”

Jess, who had somehow returned, was gripping the doorframe tightly with both hands, peeking her face inside the house. Her gaze was so cold and sharp that it seemed to pierce right through the cat beastman. Behind Jess, the shadow of a snarling wolf, its eyes rolled back and drooling, flickered ominously.

Sasasat!

The cat beastman immediately detached herself from Lian and plastered herself against the wall. As she stared at the door, her face pale with fear, Lian’s gaze naturally followed hers toward the door.

“…Nngh!”

When their eyes met, Jess’s expression turned into that of a startled puppy, her eyes wide with panic. Then, in a flash, she disappeared again.

Tatadat!

The sound of Jess running away echoed faintly.

“Haaah…”

The cat beastman, who had been frozen in an awkward position against the wall, collapsed to the floor the moment Jess’s presence faded.

“I really thought I was going to die this time…”

***

Not long after Jess had left, other beastmen appeared and quickly fixed the broken door before leaving. From what Lian overheard, it seemed Jess had specifically ordered them to repair it.

Even after the door was fixed, the cat beastman remained stuck to Lian’s room, unwilling to leave.

“If I go out there, I’ll definitely get caught and killed… I’ll die for sure…”

The only safe zone for her was by Lian’s side, where just his presence could make Jess flee. Since it was partly Lian’s fault that she was being targeted by Jess, he allowed her to stay in his room for a while.

‘Besides, I’m curious…’

Lian turned toward the cat beastman, who was curled up in the corner of the room, desperately thinking of ways to survive. The distance between them was not close by any means. The cat beastman had voluntarily stuck herself to the wall, terrified of another attack from Jess.

Lian glanced at her cautiously before clearing his throat and speaking.

“Um… can I ask you something?”

“Nyaaak?! W-what is it?”

Her tail puffed up in alarm, a clear sign of how tense she was. Lian couldn’t help but think that Jess would look cute if her tail puffed up like that, and he shook his head to clear the thought.

“Why did Jess run away… I mean, her strange reaction before she fled has been bothering me…”

He lightly scratched the back of his neck, his eyes wandering. He already knew that Jess had run away because of the pheromones he had on him, but he still didn’t understand exactly why or what about the pheromones had caused her to react that way.

‘Was she offended? Could it mean something unpleasant that I don’t know about?’

Nervously clenching and unclenching his fists, he looked at the cat beastman.

“Are you seriously asking that… So you’re saying you did it without knowing what it meant?”

The cat beastman’s words made Lian pause and think. He mentally asked himself, ‘What does it mean to get pheromones on someone else?’

‘Wait… Could it be… this…?’

Lian covered the lower half of his face with one hand, unable to hide his trembling gaze.

‘No way… I only got a little bit on her. Could that… mean the same thing as Jess covering me in pheromones from head to toe?’

He knew that smearing pheromones on someone was a way of marking them as ‘mine,’ but he had thought that only applied when someone was completely covered in pheromones, like Jess had done to him.

‘If it means the same thing, then I basically… confessed to her, didn’t I?’

His face flushed with heat, and it felt like steam was rising from his head. Seeing Lian’s reaction, the cat beastman shrugged and spoke.

“You’re right. When beastmen smear pheromones on each other, unless they’re family, it’s a sign of affection. When it’s between a male and female, it usually means they want to mate.”

“Ugh…!”

Lian was so shocked by her words that he collapsed to the floor.

‘Mate… what?’

To sum it up simply, Jess had covered Lian in pheromones, and Lian had also gotten some of his pheromones on Jess. By doing so, they had essentially said to each other, ‘Do you want to mate?’

The meaning was far more shocking than a simple confession, and Lian, feeling like a character with only 1 HP left, groaned and couldn’t regain his composure.

***

Pababak!

While Lian was rolling around on the floor in shock, Jess had returned to her room and was furiously scratching at a large pillow. She wasn’t using her claws, so the sound of the fabric being scratched filled the room.

“Ugh… uuugh…”

Jess’s face was bright red, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Like a dog digging at the ground, she continued to tear at the pillow.

For someone like Jess, who always charged ahead recklessly, Lian’s pheromones had been a massive shock.

Plop!

Jess buried her face in the pillow she had been scratching and let her tail droop. Her ears twitched continuously, betraying her emotions.

Her mind was racing with thoughts like, ‘Why did Lian get his pheromones on me?’ and ‘Did he do it on purpose? Does he know what it means?’ Her brain felt like it was overheating.

“Uuuugh…”

Letting out a long groan, Jess curled up into a ball, clearly overwhelmed.

End of Chapter