I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Chewing Away

When confronted with a big problem, ordinary people show a range of reactions. Some think hard to solve the issue, while others become despondent and do nothing but cry.
T h i s w a s co p i e d f ro m k i n g mt l . o r g

The comedic world is no exception. I am also one of the many types of people there.

Th i s wa s c o pi e d fr om k i n g m t l . or g
“It will work out somehow.”

In the comedic world, you never know what’s going to happen next, and even if it does, it rarely leads to death. If you do die, becoming a ghost and living an ordinary life seems to be the norm.

As a result, I’ve become quite laid-back.
T h is w a s c op ie d f r o m k i n g m t l . or g

Are you asking if I was really tense when I was thrown into the arena with Iris?

It’s because Iris could easily die, unlike me. If I had been alone, there would’ve been no need to be so afraid.

The only thing I’m slightly worried about is mad dark sorcerers going crazy at the sight of me not dying, no matter how much I’m hurt.

“Should I kill them with clichéd phrases like yesterday? Or should I act like I know them?”

In the comedic world, you can become family or enemies with anyone, regardless of their intelligence or species.

If you say, “Hey, long time no see!” the previously mindless beast might start using bipedal movement, scratching its head or fishing a cell phone out of its fur to call and say, “Mom, do you know a person named Lian? Yes? My childhood friend?” It’s that unpredictable.

To put it simply, if you’re good at gaslighting, you can even become friends with monsters.

In any case, there were many ways to dodge problems. That’s why, unlike the other chosen slaves, I managed to stay calm.

Seeing me like that, the slaves began to harbor strange misconceptions.

“Uh…”
“Yes?”

As I was feeding Iris a sandwich, a slave who, like me, had been sent to the arena in place of Pimax, approached me.

A cleanly shaved slave with a head like a chestnut burr suddenly sat down heavily beside me. To be precise, he knelt down and slammed his forehead onto the floor.

“…?!”
“Please, save me!”

It was absurd enough that he just kneeled down, but his plea for help left me speechless.

Munch, munch, ah-.

Regardless of the kneeling slave, Iris, whose attention was only on her vanishing food, opened her mouth politely waiting for more.

I reflexively turned my gaze away from the slave and fed another piece of the sandwich to Iris.

After watching Iris chew away like an old goat, when I turned back towards the slaves, the number of those kneeling had increased.

“Eh?”
“Please help us!”
“I’m truly sorry for what happened yesterday! We had no idea… you were such a formidable person!”

All of the kneeling slaves were scheduled to fight in the gladiatorial games. I looked at them with a dumbfounded expression and said.

“I really have no idea what you’re suddenly talking about…”

Among the four kneeling slaves, two were the ones who had been laughing at me behind Pimax the day before. The other two I hadn’t seen before.

“Ah-.”
“Oh, okay.”

As I was lost in thought, Iris opened her mouth again. Like a mother bird feeding her chick, I placed another piece of sandwich into Iris’s mouth.

“Please, we beg you to save us!”

Their incomplete and urgent pleas made me feel like sighing.

“Why would I kill you guys?”

I played dumb in response to their words, and the first slave who had kneeled began to pour out his sad tale.

In short, this was the situation.

Pimax was strong enough that he could’ve climbed at least two more floors here. Naturally, the monster he was set to face was very strong.

As expected, there wasn’t a single person on our floor who could stand a chance against the monster prepared for Pimax.

Being asked to take Pimax’s place in a match was tantamount to a death sentence.

“Shouldn’t the monster change since the players have changed?”

At my query, the chestnut-like slave began to explain with a sorrowful expression.

It takes quite a bit of effort to prepare a monster for a gladiator fight. Monsters must be agitated enough to be ready to fight immediately, and magic is cast to prevent them from attacking the arena’s spectators.

As such, the monster for the arena is prepared at least a week in advance. In other words, they were now expected to fight the monster that had been prepared for Pimax.
T hi s w as co p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l . o r g

The reason why the number of participants for a match initially meant for just Pimax went up to five was to somehow hold off the monster by sheer numbers.

And if they failed? They were slaves anyway. What did it matter? Just buy new ones.

To anyone who wasn’t as skilled as Pimax, they were nothing more than expendables. For the slaves chosen this time, it was no different from being told to die.

And in such a circumstance, they believed I was the only one who could save them.

“Me?”
“Yes! Didn’t you miraculously bring a dying monster back to life with your mysterious power yesterday?”

The chestnut-like slave looked up at me with desperate eyes, as if he was about to cling to my pants and beg if I refused.

“Ah-.”

Thi s w a s c op i e d f r o m k in g m t l . o r g
All the while, I fed another piece of sandwich to Iris, rolling my eyes.

‘Why should I?’

Surviving on my own was one thing, but saving these guys while surviving was an entirely different challenge. Above all, I had no desire to take care of the slaves who had sided with Pimax in insulting Iris.

If I were to help, I only wanted to help the two slaves who had done nothing wrong.

“…I’ll think about it.”
“..! Thank you so much!”

The chestnut-like slave, as if relieved by my words alone, trembled and deeply bowed his head. Since he wasn’t one of the slaves who followed Pimax yesterday, I didn’t feel a strong aversion and told him to rise from his knees.

Sniffling, the chestnut-like slave rose up along with the large-bodied slave who was also new to me.

“Please, really, save us! We will repay your kindness, whatever it takes!”

The ones who had been close to Pimax yesterday were unnerved by my ‘I’ll think about it,’ and after I expressed my irritation, they panicked and ran away.

Th is w a s co p ie d f r om k i n gmt l . o rg
“Ah-.”
“Iris, you’re all done.”
“Mmhm…”

As they left, the last of the sandwich had disappeared. Iris closed her mouth and nodded. Indeed, day by day, her small reactions seemed to be increasing.

After spending a little more time with Iris, it was soon time to participate in the match.

“It’s time to go. Come out.”

I was about to leave Iris sitting on the bed and exit the room when suddenly, she gripped the hem of my clothes tightly.

“Whoa..! Iris?”
Th i s w a s c o p ied f r om k in g m t l.o r g
“Ah..?”

Iris, tilting her head and making a small noise, seemed to be asking, “Where are you going?” I carefully pulled her hand away and said,

“I’ll be back quickly, so wait here, okay?”

Iris blankly stared at my face and then hung her head. Although she didn’t look too happy, as it was time, I had no choice but to leave her and exit the room.

“If any of you touch even a single finger of my sister, you’ll end up like Pimax, understand?”
“Yikes…!”
“Gulp… We won’t even breathe in the same space as you!”

At my menacing warning, the slaves gathered in the corridor to watch the participants froze up and began nodding their heads vigorously.

‘If anyone tries to approach her, they’ll get pummeled… I guess it should be okay?’
T h is w a s c o pie d fr om ki ng m t l . or g

With the image of Iris cutting up the monster in mind, I took the elevator down. The five of us, including me, were led down the same passage as before.

Upon entering the passage, the slaves rushed toward the weapons laid out to one side.

‘Is there a lighter sword available?’

Maybe it’s because I’m still small, but I felt it hard to handle a long sword. ‘Should I just find a suitable dagger instead?’ I thought as I browsed the weapons.

The relatively intact swords were placed on racks, and those with dull blades or those that seemed like they could break at any moment were crammed into lidless oak barrels.

Since all the rack-placed weapons were long swords, I reluctantly looked toward the barrel. The other slaves were all fishing for sturdy long swords and did not bother to look in the barrel.

‘Now, where’s a usable one?’

Like searching for my umbrella in a crowded stand, I sifted through handles, pushing them aside, looking for something usable.

‘Ah, this one looks good.’

A sword handle appeared, shorter and tucked inward, among the pile. I pushed away the other swords as much as possible, trying to pull out what seemed to be a dagger.

Shick.

“Ah..”

Crammed with swords, I inadvertently cut my hand while reaching for one. Blood dripped, staining the dagger.

“Hmm…”

While an ordinary person might’ve shrieked in pain and pulled their hand out, such injuries recovered quickly for me, so it wasn’t an issue.

‘I might as well just pull it out quickly.’

No one leaves their umbrella in the stand because their hand gets wet from the others while retrieving theirs.

That’s why I kept going and extracted the dagger despite my hand getting slashed by other swords.

“Wow.”

To my surprise, the drawn dagger had a well-sharpened blade and no chips on the edge.

The blade was only about 16 cm in length – fairly short, but it didn’t seem like it would easily break.

“There’s too much blood on it.”

Just as I was considering wiping it off with my clothes…

[ …Are you the one who awoke me? ]

A voice, ambiguous between male and female, rang in my head.
T h i s w as c o p i e d fr om k in g m t l. o rg

Swoosh.

The blood gathered on the blade was instantly absorbed by the dagger.

[ Ah, so sweet, so delicious! Bring me more blood right now! ]

My hand moved on its own, and the dagger plunged itself into my abdomen.

[ Kahaha! Yes, this is it, this is the stuff! Ah, blood after hundreds of years tastes so sweet! ]

A flippant laughter resounded in my head.

Clang.

“What, what…!”

The startled cry of another slave getting ready for the match echoed. Without a word, I stared at my belly and frowned.

“Why the hell would you stab me without warning! If you’d spoken, I would’ve at least taken off my clothes!”

The dagger that had been soaking up blood paused abruptly with a squelching noise.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m ki n g m t l . or g
[ What, what? ]