I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 200

Chapter 200

Fake Lian and Noah

***

As she charged into the battlefield, soldiers roared in unison and followed behind her. Enemy arrows flew from all directions, but shields and armor easily blocked them.

Any arrows enchanted with magic that couldn’t be blocked were split in two by her sword.

As she began sweeping through enemies across the battlefield, allied soldiers became encouraged, their morale greatly increased as they charged forward without fear.

Noah boldly rushed into the center of enemy forces and struck down the dark mage with a single blow. She swung her sword continuously, cutting down enemies in an instant. At her lightning-fast movements, the enemy’s defensive line began to crumble.

As time passed, the battlefield became filled with chaos. The intense battle left a heavy stench of blood in the air, and the screams of soldiers and clashing weapons never ceased.

The situation deteriorated to where neither side could continue fighting.

“Retreat!”

“Fall back!”

As the zombie-like soldiers from the Demon King’s forces began to withdraw, the Imperial commander quickly ordered a retreat.

Such battles repeated several times a day.

***

“Whew…”

When Noah removed her helmet, her wet hair flowed down, revealing her sweat-soaked face. Though her expression showed exhaustion, her eyes shone steadily like a lighthouse that never dims even in a storm.

Clank, clank.

As Noah slowly crossed the encampment, her armor made heavy sounds as it swayed.

At the center of the encampment stood a tent serving as headquarters, surrounded by numerous other tents. Soldiers constantly moved between the tents, transporting the wounded and organizing supplies.

“Ughh…”

“Aaagh!”

Agonized groans echoed from here and there. Noah, accustomed to the screams around her, headed toward the tent serving as her quarters.

After Noah disappeared into the tent, the relatively unscathed soldiers began to speak.

“Hah… Is my neck still attached properly? If the knight had appeared even a little later, I wouldn’t be sitting here in one piece.”

“That was truly an amazing battle…”

“Maybe we’re witnessing the beginning of a hero.”

The soldiers who witnessed Noah’s remarkable skills firsthand couldn’t stop expressing their admiration.

“What hero…”

“Just a commoner who got lucky.”

“Must have seduced the commander.”

“That’s it, probably used that pretty face to get some decent weapons.”

There were quite a few who envied and jealous of Noah. Those spouting nonsense were mostly noble-blooded individuals who never stood on the battlefield. They came to the frontlines claiming they needed to achieve merit, but being cowardly and inexperienced, they were of little help.

They were always ready to flee faster than rats at the first sign of danger. Yet despite this, they burned with inferiority towards Noah and badmouthed her whenever they had the chance.

“I wish that white-masked fellow running wild on the Demon King’s side would show up on our side too.”

One noble spoke in a mocking tone. Another noble chimed in with a cynical laugh.

“Hahah, I wonder what face that arrogant one would make.”

Forgetting that they could stay relatively safe at the encampment thanks to Noah, they even prayed for the enemy to take her down.

Noah, with her sensitive hearing, heard all the nobles’ conversations but was used to ignoring them.

“Good work. Here, water.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Noah accepted the water flask Lily handed her and moistened her throat. Having just returned from battle, her body was so excited she hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. The water went down her throat without pause, like water being poured on parched earth.

Swoosh.

Lily placed a piece of paper in front of her as she drank. Noah wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she removed the flask from her lips. Her gaze turned to the paper placed on the wooden table.

“Are you sure this is enough?”

Lily looked alternately between the merchant guild’s promissory note and Noah with worried eyes.

“This is enough.”

“…Haven’t you saved enough money already?”

“No, it’s still not enough.”

Each time Noah was hired as a mercenary and went to battle, she received enough money to buy a two-story mansion in the outskirts of the capital.

If all the money she had received so far was combined, she could probably afford a house with a yard in the center of the capital.

She had already saved more than enough money to fulfill her stated goal of buying a house. Unless she needed money for something else, Noah’s continued obsession with money while still maintaining house-buying as her final goal seemed strange and somehow ominously unfamiliar.

“Just what kind of house are you trying to buy?”

When Lily asked while suppressing her rising sense of foreboding, Noah smiled and said.

“I’m going to buy a big house. A comfortable house that has everything inside.”

“Ah-.. Like the kind of house retiring mercenaries want to live in?”

Most mercenaries who earned big money and retired wanted to spend the rest of their lives like nobles. They wanted a retirement where servants would attend to them in a large house, just lounging around.

Lily smiled, assuming that was the kind of leisurely life Noah wanted. Noah neither confirmed nor denied Lily’s assumption and began describing the house she wanted.

At her rather detailed plans, Lily smiled slightly in relief.

“Living in such a nice house might make you too comfortable to go out much.”

“Really…? That’s good.”

The whispered “That’s good” gave off a strangely ominous feeling that made Lily tilt her head. Noah packed away the promissory note while repeatedly imagining in her mind a newlywed home suitable for keeping someone confined.

Having fallen in love with someone who might leave her side at any moment, she persistently pictured future scenarios in her mind.

Knowing that clinging to misfortune would only hold her back, Noah tried to imagine the most hopeful scenes possible. Though the image of Lian helplessly disappearing before her eyes kept coming to mind, she struggled to hold onto hope.

Noah’s appearance was like that of a foolish swan floundering in a swamp, trying not to fall into the abyss.

That fragile, delicate hope easily crumbled the moment she stood on the battlefield the next day.

***

On the battlefield where the winds of war began to stir, soldiers who had barely bound their wounds stood ready in formation. Heavy air filled with tension settled over the battlefield.

Noah lowered her helmet’s visor and exhaled deeply while her eyes flickered.

Shing, her sword was drawn, gleaming coldly. From the enemy camp, zombie-like soldiers began to appear. The tension grew even more palpable in the atmosphere that seemed ready to erupt into battle at any moment.

While waiting for the commander’s orders, a figure entered Noah’s line of sight. The being who slowly walked out from the center of the enemy forces wore light armor like a mercenary and carried a sword at their side.

‘White mask?’

The white mask captured everyone’s attention as they gazed over the battlefield with cold eyes. Their mask shone expressionlessly, and the face hidden behind it inspired an inexplicable fear in those who couldn’t imagine what lay beneath.

‘What is this?’

Noah felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu from the white mask. Their movements, their gaze, and even the aura they emitted. The sense of déjà vu grew stronger as the white mask drew closer.

The snow-white hair swaying outside the white mask reflexively made her think of someone. Noah bit her lip to shake off the thought that arose.

‘Lian… Lian is supposed to be trapped in the Demon King’s castle. He couldn’t be on the battlefield.’

The moment their eyes met, it felt like a bell rang inside her head. Her instincts were screaming. That is Lian. That’s him. At the same time, another sense firmly gripped her reason.

‘No, no.’

The being before her eyes was Lian yet not Lian. Though it made no sense, this thought remained firmly planted in her mind.

While her mind was in complete chaos, the white mask arrived at the center of the battlefield. The soldiers swallowed dry saliva repeatedly with tense expressions.

Swoosh.

The moment the wind blew past their cheeks, the white mask disappeared leaving only an afterimage.

Clang!

Noah, who had shot forward in an instant, blocked the white mask’s sword that was about to slice through the soldiers’ necks.

“Hup..!”

The soldier who nearly had his neck cut swallowed hard and stumbled backward.

“Graaagh!”

“Die! Die!”

As if the white mask’s attack was a signal, the Demon King’s army began charging forward like madmen. In response, the soldiers also began advancing while shouting battle cries.

The curtain rose on what would be the fiercest battle yet.

End of Chapter