I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Heat Period

***

“Ugh…”

Jess curled up and began to let out groaning sounds.

“Hnngh…”

Her breathing gradually became rougher and her eyes began to shake, losing focus.

“Grrrr…”

The sharp fangs between her lips glinted even sharper than usual, and her eyes sparkled as if light was flowing through them.

CRASH!

In an instant, Jess leaped up and slashed at the lodging wall. One side of the wall collapsed as if clawed by a massive beast.

***

Awoooo-…

Lian naturally looked toward the door at the sharp beast’s howl coming from outside.

“This sound is…”

“Eek..!?”

Before he could form his question, his gaze naturally turned toward a sharp scream. The cat beastkin was plastered against the wall, trembling with a pale face. The tail curled between their legs suddenly puffed up with a ‘poof’ and looked… well, not in a good state.

THUMP!

She jumped like a cat spotting a cucumber behind it, then ran to Lian’s bed and hid under the blanket.

He approached carefully and asked what was wrong, but there was no response. Judging by how the blanket was dancing wildly, she seemed properly frightened.

‘Let’s go outside.’

Thinking it would be faster to catch and ask another beastkin outside, he left the lodging.

CRASH!

BOOM!

“…!”

As soon as he stepped outside, rough noises engulfed the campsite as if a big fight had broken out somewhere.

“Let’s go too!”

“Woooah!”

“Be careful not to get caught up in it!”

“You idiots! Come back!”

The campsite was in chaos. Those who had lost their reason were charging out somewhere with weapons, their eyes rolled back, while those who managed to keep their sanity were trying to stop them.

“What… is going on?”

Lian just looked around with a blank face, unable to understand what was happening. One of the features of the gag world – when the protagonist needs situation explained, someone always appears to explain.

Following that rule, a large shadow approached Lian.

“Quickly take shelter inside, Commander’s mate.”

“Huh?”

As the huge shadow covered overhead, a familiar voice was heard. When he turned around, one of the executives he had seen in the tent earlier was standing there. It was the female beastkin with the largest build.

“If you stay outside, you might get caught by the Commander.”

“What? Jess might… catch me?”

“Ah, you didn’t know?”

She spoke casually as if discussing something trivial.

“The Commander is going through her first heat period.”

“What?”

“What?”

As if experiencing buffering in his head, only the word “What?” repeatedly came out. She continued speaking, seemingly unaware of Lian’s state.

“The Commander probably went hunting knowing this would happen. Seeing blood helps improve the condition quite a bit.”

She spoke while drawing out a massive greatsword. Perhaps due to her huge build, the greatsword looked like a normal sword in her hands.

“So hurry back to your lodging and stay quiet. So the Commander’s efforts don’t go to waste.”

She left those words and strode forward without looking back. Though not obvious, she was quite excited at the thought of having a proper workout at the hunting grounds where Jess was rampaging.

When she was about two steps away from Lian, she muttered to herself.

“Why did the heat period come earlier than scheduled? The Commander’s mate shouldn’t even have pheromones…”

“…!”

She dashed away like the wind after leaving behind such curiosity-inducing words.

“Ah…”

Only a regretful sigh scattered where she had departed.

***

Afterward, Lian tried to catch other beastkin to ask about the connection between ‘pheromones’ and ‘heat’, but they were all in various states of frenzy and ended up attacking him rather than answering.

“A mate’s pheromones especially have a lot of influence on beastkin. It can increase heat periods and frequency, and make the body more suitable for bearing children. Men become more virile with enhanced hunting abilities, while women develop their lower body and chest along with hunting abilities. The hunting ability varies depending on who protects the children. Usually the one who hunts prey outside becomes stronger. Ah… you probably don’t need this much detail…?”

“Can a beastkin who hasn’t had their heat period yet have it triggered early because of their… ahem, m-mate’s pheromones?”

“Ah, that’s quite common actually.”

Several beastkin were kneeling obediently before Lian, with the one in front explaining humbly with a swollen face.

Whether in the gag world or dark fantasy world, fists were always a close and convenient means of communication.

Lian covered his burning face with the back of his hand while holding a bloodstained branch.

‘So in the end… it’s my fault that Jess went into h-heat…’

At this point, it was hard to tell if this was a dark fantasy world or an otome game world. The progression was moving as fast as heading straight to a motel after a confession.

In this chaotic situation, Lian only had two choices:

Take responsibility and help resolve Jess’s heat period.

Or quietly return to his lodging.

‘Of course I’ll…!’

Lian responsibly… returned quietly to his lodging. There were various reasons for this. Besides lacking experience for such a bold challenge…

‘This body isn’t even mine, and it’s extremely weak…’

The explosive sounds coming from outside made him think he might actually die if caught up in the heat period.

A day passed like that, and the next morning.

Though the campsite had calmed down as if nothing had happened, the dining table was abundant. Thanks to hunting not just powerful monsters but also animals in the surrounding area indiscriminately, meat was piled up like mountains.

The beastkin ate nearly five times their body weight, tearing into meat from breakfast until lunch. After moderately filling his stomach, Lian quietly headed to Jess’s lodging.

Perhaps due to yesterday’s violent rampage, it was quiet around her lodging. The beastkin who had witnessed the Commander’s power firsthand naturally kept their distance, unable to approach.

Unlike his lodging, Jess’s was in tent form. Her original lodging was similar to where Lian stayed, but many buildings had collapsed during yesterday’s rampage, so she seemed to be using a spare tent as lodging out of necessity.

Considering how some beastkin were sleeping with just blankets or cramming into tight tents, the Commander was definitely treated differently.

The front of the tent was covered with several layers of thick cloth that needed to be pushed aside or lifted to enter. Lian made a gap and called into the dark tent interior.

“Jess…? Um, can we talk for a moment-…”

Like a father visiting his teenage daughter’s room, he barely started speaking carefully when two pale white hands suddenly shot out of the darkness and grabbed Lian’s shoulders, pulling him inside.

“Whoa!”

At the sudden attack, Lian was instantly dragged into the tent. As the cloth fluttered and covered the entrance, darkness enveloped the surroundings. In the pitch black where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, Lian flailed his arms as his face was pressed into what felt like a pillow, making it hard to breathe.

For a moment, the thought that an assassin from the Demon King’s army might have infiltrated the camp was numbed by Jess’s scent filling his nostrils.

“Mmph?! Puha..!”

After fumbling around, he finally managed to plant his hands on the ground and lift his upper body. The tent wasn’t as dark as he thought. It was about as dark as being under blankets during daytime.

Yet the reason Lian felt it was pitch black was because his vision had been blocked by something soft and fluffy.

“Huff…! S-sorry Jess!”

Lian belatedly realized what he thought was a pillow was actually Jess’s chest, and his eyes darted around wildly, not knowing where to look.

‘They say the body changes during heat period and certainly… Ahhh! This isn’t the time for such thoughts!’

Since Jess would cling to Lian whenever possible, he naturally came to know their size(?). Because of that, he could immediately notice their increased size(?).

End of Chapter