I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 215

Chapter 215

Stopping the Operation

***

Even if it wasn’t Lian, anyone would have automatically blurted out, “Jess is too good for him. Why would she be with a guy like that?” Her beauty was blinding enough to make such comments inevitable.

The sight of her clinging to ‘that Lian,’ the most ostracized student in the class, was nothing short of shocking. Rumors spread in the blink of an eye.

With her striking red hair and breathtakingly beautiful appearance, combined with the fact that she was strong enough to break a classroom door (though many didn’t believe this), Jess quickly became the school’s new sensation.

“How did we not notice such a pretty girl before?”

“They said she was sick.”

While the sudden appearance of a stunning beauty caused a stir among the students, they weren’t overly shocked. Just as Noah had seamlessly integrated into the orphanage, Jess’s smooth transition was thanks to some kind of arrangement.

Contrary to the noisy atmosphere of the school, Lian spent his days in a daze. From the moment he set out for school until the sun set, Lian was practically glued to Jess, his arm ‘sealed’ (though she was just holding onto him) as she dragged him around all day.

“Haha… Eat… deliciously… ugh.”

At some point, he even started having dinner at Jess’s house. He was gradually getting used to eating with Jess’s father, who looked like he could explode at any moment and could snap chopsticks with his fingers like a gorilla… no, Jess’s father.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes!”

Jess’s mother, who exuded a much softer atmosphere, smiled warmly, supporting the two of them. She would often give them meaningful smiles and encourage them to spend time alone in the room together. Though the ‘gorilla’ protested…

“If you keep opposing it, what if they sneak out to meet elsewhere? These days, room cafés are no different from motels…”

Faced with such shocking information about today’s youth, he sank into silence. It was clear that a home with parents present would significantly reduce the chances of falling into misguided desires.

“Hehe!”

More than anything, Jess’s expression, as she stuck close to Lian, looked happier than ever, and it was impossible to stop her. The saying, ‘No parent can win against their child,’ fit perfectly.

By the time Jess’s house felt more familiar to Lian than his own, the ‘gorilla’ half-accepted Lian as a son-in-law… no, as a thief.

“A man should at least know how to fish, right!?”

“Huh? Uh, yes?”

Jess’s father began dragging Lian around to fulfill all the things he’d secretly wanted to do if he ever had a son. At first, Lian was nervous, sweating profusely, but over time, he found himself getting absorbed in the ordinary activities that normal people enjoyed.

‘It feels like… I have a family.’

The word ‘family,’ which people constantly talked about, once felt like something from a fairy tale. But now, it felt real. He often stayed up all night, unable to sleep from the excitement, and sometimes it felt like this happiness might disappear like a mirage by the next day.

The happier he became, the deeper his fears grew. It was as if an invisible darkness was gripping his ankles, trying to pull him into a black void.

His past, where he wandered like a blind man in search of a single drop of affection, felt so foolish that he wanted to run away. At the same time, he was consumed by the desire to bind this happiness to him so that it would never leave.

The weaker the power of his abilities became, the more confused Lian felt. And during those moments, he would always look at the red-haired girl who stayed by his side.

Whenever he gazed into the deep affection and trust she held for him, his worries would seem utterly meaningless.

‘Why? Since when?’

Questions about the source of her affection would surface in his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice them. He feared that the moment he said them out loud, she would respond with, “Oh, I mistook you for someone else!” and leave.

He knew that the moment he accepted her affection, ‘anxiety’ would cling to him like a stubborn stain that wouldn’t wash away. But that was a small price to pay for a peaceful life, and Lian willingly accepted his anxiety.

It was a growth that was -… so human.

While Lian gradually healed his deeply embedded wounds, growing emotionally within Jess’s warm affection, Jess’s attention was elsewhere.

Smack!

Crash!

‘This is the fourth time today.’

She knocked away a flowerpot that had been about to fall on Lian’s head, frowning as she did so. Looking up, she saw the neglected flowerpots above. Judging by the lack of any presence, it seemed they had fallen ‘accidentally’ due to a strong gust of wind.

Jess mentally counted all the incidents and accidents that had occurred since she started spending time with Lian. There were too many to count on both hands.

‘Why? What did Lian do wrong?’

It was as if the world itself hated Lian, constantly threatening his life. His power had awakened ‘for survival’ because of this hostile world.

Jess couldn’t understand the ‘will of the world’ that seemed to want to ostracize and even kill Lian, but there was one thing she did know.

‘I have to protect him.’

If the whole world wanted to kill him, she would tear them all apart to protect him. It was a promise she had engraved deep in her bones from the moment she called Lian her mate.

“Don’t you wonder what color black and red would make if mixed together?”

“Huh? If you mix the two colors, then -…”

“Let’s find out later!”

“…? Sure.”

While protecting Lian, she never forgot to flirt with him in between. It was a clever move. When Lian finally understood what Jess had meant, he turned beet red and couldn’t say a word for a while.

***

While Jess and Noah were each protecting Lian in their own ways from his past, Iris was going through a similar experience.

Screech, creak.

The first sound that pierced her ears was the scream of a half-broken streetlamp swaying in the wind. The eerie metallic sound, like the cry of a cursed bird, jolted her awake.

“Gasp, cough, cough!”

As soon as she realized she was standing in an unfamiliar place, she took a sharp breath. The polluted air, worse than that of the Dark Fantasy World, scratched at her throat, causing her to cough harshly.

Iris coughed several times, her eyes watering, before she finally looked around. Broken-down iron chariots lay scattered, and buildings with shattered windows exposed their skeletal frames.

A cold wind blew through the ruined structures, brushing past Iris. The raw sensation made her shudder slightly.

Thud.

“…!”

At the sound of footsteps, her head whipped around. A familiar soul in an unfamiliar body—Lian—was walking along the side of the road, his face clean and unblemished.

“Lian…!”

Just as she had done countless times before, Iris called out his name and ran toward him. She knew she wouldn’t be able to embrace him, but she couldn’t stop herself.

With swift movements, she navigated the dirty road and ran toward Lian, who had inexplicably stopped in his tracks. She threw herself into his arms.

“…!”

Though she had been the one to initiate the hug, Iris was the one who was more surprised. She froze in place, feeling the warmth of his body. Then, as his hand gently patted her back, tears welled up and began to flow.

She had truly thought she might never see him again this time. As the suffocating anxiety in her throat turned into relief, feelings of resentment, comfort, and fury all surged forth, wetting her cheeks.

‘Who… is this?’

Lian was taken aback by Iris’s actions, awkwardly patting her back in confusion.

If it were anyone else, they might have rummaged through their memories, trying to figure out why a beautiful woman was crying and hugging them, wondering if they knew her, or if she was a monster. But Lian’s ‘power’ had blended him seamlessly into the background.

In this ruined world, even the grotesque monsters were dismissed as ‘things that had always existed’ when faced with his power. The same applied to people.

If a stranger approached and spoke to him as if they were close, his memories would be altered, making him believe they had always been close.

Lian’s power, which had accumulated strength over a long time, could grasp the essence of the other person and help him ‘adapt’ to the world, even without additional information. But Iris had appeared so suddenly that no information could be gathered.

Without information, Lian’s power couldn’t function properly, and it began to stir in an attempt to collect data. Influenced by this, Lian naturally spoke to Iris in a gentle voice.

“I’m sorry, even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t have enough to explain.”

“…”

“I’ll listen to whatever you want to say, so please, tell me everything.”

The familiar warmth in his unfamiliar voice caused Iris to start pouring out all her pent-up sorrow. As Lian quietly listened, patting her back, his expression gradually stiffened.

“Uh… So, what you’re saying is… we’re incredibly close? Like family…”

Lian’s once confident power suddenly stopped working. And Lian himself broke down along with it.

End of Chapter