I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

10 – Shall We Solve the Pain?

I scratched my cheek and looked at Mia.

“Should we go before more people gather?”

“Yes, that would be a good idea. Bugs are starting to gather around us.”

The mention of bugs had a strong sense of disgust. If my friend, who was using a chair made from the head of a female student with her hair rolled into a bread shape, heard it, she would probably say, “Ugh,” in a dismissive tone. Since my condition wasn’t that bad, I just nodded my head.

“Alright, those who want to come, gather close. If you stay too far away, you might lose an arm or a leg.”

I asked with wide eyes.

“What happens to the disappeared arm? Does it remain here?”

“No, it disappears completely in the middle of dimensions.”

“Oh…”

Usually, it takes quite some time for a missing part of the body to recover when it is completely taken away. This is because my arm that disappeared yesterday sometimes reappears as a baseball bat. Fortunately, it was said that the arm that disappeared in the middle would disappear completely and be restored the next day. I wiped my chest and gathered the children, bringing them to the center.

Every time I pulled them closer, the children would shrink their shoulders. I chuckled with sadness and said,

“Sorry, the smell must be strong, right?”

As I said that and let go of my hand, the child I had just been holding on to was startled and widened their eyes in surprise. Although their lips trembled as if they wanted to say something, Mia was quicker to open her mouth and recite a spell. I stood at the very end after making sure the children were closer to Mia as much as possible.

A deep red magic circle was drawn on the floor and began to shine. While I was looking down at the magic circle with fascination, someone suddenly grabbed the hem of my pants.

“Huh?”

“..”

Suddenly, Jess, who had approached, grabbed the hem of my pants and looked at me with teary eyes. Their ears were drooping and their tail was curled roundly between their legs. Just as I was about to say something to Jess.

Crack!

The intense red light obscured my vision, and my mind became dizzy.

***

The place they arrived at was Mia’s laboratory. It was a place so grand that Odeel’s laboratory looked pathetic. Mia had generously provided various places such as a large dormitory and a cafeteria.

Since she rarely brought test subjects in the first place, most of the areas were empty, allowing for comfortable use.

A week had passed since they started living there. I had become accustomed to life in Mia’s laboratory without realizing it.

“Lian?”

“I’m here.”

I handed Mia the data that looked like she was looking for something, with her raising her hand intimidatingly. Then, Mia familiarly skimmed through the data.

Shhh.

She collected the tea she was drinking and put a fresh cup next to her. Then, Mia expertly sipped the tea. Someone could have asked if she was living like a real slave, but to me, it was nothing special.

“Hehe, this is a piece of cake.”

Not to mention household chores, I had been taking care of my mother, who was always busy whining and fussing when she came home, for over ten years. Taking care of Mia, who was not fussy at all, was a piece of cake for me.

“Oh, by the way, we ran out of ingredients, didn’t we?”

“Should I prepare for an outing?”

“Yeah, please.”

Mia put down her tea, straightened up, and stood up. I immediately took out clothes from the wardrobe Mia had made for me at my request.

“Hehe, this is it!”

Just by hanging clothes inside, it would remove all kinds of smells and dust and even neatly iron them, making it the best machine. Carefully, I brought the clothes and handed them to her. Mia changed her clothes inside the curtain that was set up on one side. The lights inside were on, creating the perfect shadows to showcase her masterpiece.

As Mia took off her upper garment, I burst into laughter at the swaying shadow. Shortly after, as she walked out from behind the screen, I quickly composed my expression. I didn’t want to miss out on a comfortable life just because I was tagged as a pervert.

“Here, it’s the outerwear. And this is the spatial bag.”

“Alright, I’ll be back.”

She casually attached the small bag to her waist and put on a navy cape, then headed towards a mirror in one corner of the laboratory. It was a portal mirror registered with specific coordinates, used by drawing magic circles in the air. As Mia drew the magic circle in the air, the mirror shimmered.

As Mia disappeared into the mirror, I stretched lightly and mumbled.

“Well then, should I go do the remaining housework?”

Despite the change in location, my daily routine remained unchanged. As I moved with a hum, a sudden realization froze me.

“Wait… What happens to Iris if I end up in Mia’s direction?”

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

“This isn’t… a disaster, right?”

***

“What else did I need to buy?”

Mia muttered to herself as she put the just-purchased ingredients into her pocket.

“Huh?”

As she was about to take her hand out of her pocket, she felt a piece of paper. Without much thought, she took out the paper.

“This is…”

[Items to Buy]

[* Dried Motas Grass]

[* Roticora Powder 45g]

The contents written on the palm-sized note seemed to match what Mia intended to purchase. Mia smiled gently as she thought.

“Lian must have prepared it for me.”

She walked through the streets with a market-like atmosphere, checking the items she didn’t buy herself. After wandering for a while, the shopping was done. Just as she was about to return without much thought…

Boom, thud!

A giant demon pulled a cart and placed it on one side with a thud. When the handle was laid on the ground, it made a sound like throwing a rock.

“Hehe, selling vegetables from Jickel Mountain!”

Without even bothering to set up a stall, he began selling right away. What he sold were fresh vegetables. While there were many terrifying items sold in places frequented by demons and black wizards, he also sold common vegetables.

“Should I buy some on the way back? What kind of dish should I make this time?”

From Noble mtl dot com

She bought a few vegetables, thinking about the dish Lian would cook for her. Smiling happily, she was about to really turn around when…

“Huh? The frost witch knows how to cook, too?”

“…?”

A thick yet high-pitched voice, as if a man were awkwardly imitating a woman’s voice, echoed uncomfortably. A man with prominent cheekbones, triangular eyes, was looking at the lost Mia.

“Heh, so you’re good at cooking too? …Indeed, a well-prepared bride.”

“Nonsense.”

“Just kidding. Just kidding.”

“Sigh… just do what you came to do and leave.”

“Aww, you’re too harsh on a friend.”

Surprisingly, Mia had some acquaintance with him. Given that there were significantly few normal humans among dark sorcerers, they could communicate to some extent.

“Well, I’m not that free either, so let’s part ways now.”

“…? Okay.”

It was strange that a man who would normally cling for at least two hours left with a cheerful smile, but Mia dismissed the thought lightly.

“Today, I crave a warm soup.”

Mia’s body was deteriorating to a point where she could no longer live without Lian, but she remained oblivious.

***

“Hehehe… I never thought I’d get such a good item. I should go back and try it out.”

A skinny body, prominent cheekbones, and a skinny buttocks—compared to that, the man who had just parted ways with Mia had muscular arms. He returned to his laboratory with a smirk.

Creak.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah.”

As he arrived, those with shackles on their necks and ankles kneeled with bowed heads. Their commonality was that their skin looked mottled, as if their bodies were entwined with various things, and surgical scars were evident.

“How are the test subjects?”

“They are in a quiet state.”

“Transfer them to the experimental area.”

“Yes.”

He hummed a tune, moving slowly towards the laboratory. On a pale, rigid table lay a beautiful girl, her face contorted with fear.

“Wow… beautiful as expected.”

As he laughed, the skin above his prominent cheekbones sparkled. The girl, with her arms and legs bound, seemed to want to say something as she opened her mouth, but only soundless gasps escaped, swallowing futile attempts at speech.

“If only the voice were as beautiful. Well, it doesn’t matter. It will still become the masterpiece of ‘Master Dovan.'”

He laughed eerily, pulling a trolley with him.

“Don’t worry. Today is just about checking. We need to cut out any imperfections, you know.”

Grabbing a strand of disheveled white hair, Dovan chuckled.

“Ah, so soft. There’s really no need to peel the scalp off.”

Dovan swung a sharp dagger in the air, lightly swirling it above the troll.

“Now, let’s see how beautiful your blood is.”

The girl’s pupils trembled in fear, shaking uncontrollably.

***

“Sigh…”

I sighed, biting into the bread. As I chewed, Lily, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.

“Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“Huh..? Nothing… What’s wrong…”

Unable to casually dismiss the fact that the original story had veered about 170 degrees, I mumbled with a disappointed expression.

“Are you really okay?”

Noah’s gaze turned to my face. I quickly felt my face.

“Oh, the sweat I dripped earlier is still there. Isn’t it? Is it still flowing?”

Thinking about the deviation from the original, cold sweat was incessantly pouring. I could wipe it off like a dog shaking off water, but since Lily was sitting next to me, I wiped my face casually with my sleeve and said,

“Sorry if it smells. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Noah looked like he had a lot to say but closed his mouth. At that moment, a red-haired person rushed to my side.

“Master Jyun, where does it hurt?”

“Huh?”

Why is he talking about pain now?

My face smirked at the inexplicable situation. Then Jess, with teary eyes, clung to my leg.

“Master Jyun, you look hurt.”

“No, nothing hurts at all.”

“Master Jyun, do something scary.”

“Something scary?”

For a moment, the sounds of eating in the restaurant fell silent.

“Master Jyun, do something as painful as this?”

Jess ran her fingers across my stomach, her ears drooping. It was only then that I realized what Jess meant by ‘experiment.’