I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

12 – Noah, the Angel is Clearly Here!

…!

Noah’s expression contorted fiercely. Numerous scars covered his upper body, too many to count.

“You, this…”

Startled by Noah’s low voice, I faltered for a moment.

“Huh? Oh, this… it’s just, you know, those experiment marks I mentioned at the restaurant? It doesn’t hurt at all! It just looks kind of fierce.”

Saying that, he inwardly laughed happily.

“Heh, friends are truly the best. They worry about stuff like this.”

In the world of comedy, there was hardly anything to worry about since death was a rarity, and even if one died, there were instances of bouncing back to life during funerals. It took something significant to evoke concern.

Even when major mishaps occurred, the only solace was a simple, “Hang in there.”

“Of course… handsome guys, on the other hand, can worry all day long…”

Superficial judgments prevailed in any world. Even during my school days, there were instances when female students, eager to meet the school’s prince charming, would rush past me as if I were invisible.

Back then, I broke two ribs and sprained my ankle, ending up hospitalized for three days.

Having lived such a life, Noah’s worry felt oddly comforting.

“You’re my best friend. Seriously!”

“Even when you succeed, don’t forget this feeling!” I chuckled at the thought but Noah’s expression remained unwavering.

“Are you telling me to believe those words?”

“Uh… oh, right! I didn’t say that!”

Come to think of it, I had never properly explained that my body was different from others’.

Without delay, I clapped my hands and reached for the scissors lying on the bedside table.

It was the same pair I’d used to mend Nero’s clothes yesterday. Holding the scissors, I picked out a piece from the stack of fabrics piled in one corner of the room.

“In truth, my body is quite different from others’. Even a fatal wound isn’t such a big deal for me. Like this -“

Snip!

I lightly pricked the back of my hand with the scissors. Instantly, the scissors went in smoothly as if cutting tofu.

This was evidence of the comedic filter at work. It was absurd for the scissors to pierce the hand so easily when bones and muscles were undoubtedly present. Yet, in the world of comedy, a hand would easily give way for the sake of a humorous situation.

As blood spurted terrifyingly, I quickly pushed the scissors aside and covered the wound with fabric. Inside, I thought, “Oh my, I might actually die like this!”

As I lamented, the bleeding stopped abruptly.

In the comedic world, thinking, “Hehe, I’m perfectly fine!” would typically summon a gigantic billboard falling from the sky.

Conversely, going hysterical with “Oh, I’m dying!” usually resulted in a swift healing of wounds. Of course, it varied depending on the circumstance, but in this case, ‘I’m dying’ seemed effective.

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As I predicted, once I removed the fabric, flawless skin appeared. There were faint traces of redness where the blood had clotted, but they would fade away with time.

“Wha -“

Just as I was about to say ‘tch!’, Noah, with a bewildered face, rushed towards me and grabbed my hand.

“What, what are you doing right now…!”

Trembling, Noah held my hand as delicately as if handling fragile glass. He examined my blood-soaked hand.

I awkwardly smiled and showed him the healed area.

“Look, it’s already healing. So, don’t worry -“

“Don’t talk nonsense! Just because it heals quickly doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt!”

Startled by Noah’s outburst, I blinked and flinched my shoulders.

“Well, I’m not in that much pain. Just a little sting? It hurts less than static electricity!”

For a moment, I recalled the fact that in the world of comedy, getting shocked by static electricity often led to being struck by lightning. Quickly, I dismissed the thought from my mind.

“It’s not that painful, and it’ll heal quickly, so you don’t need to worry.”

“…”

Noah, with a reddened face, breathed heavily, as if a torrent of curses was about to pour out from his throat.

“No, it’s not okay at all. Everything went wrong.”

Grabbing my shoulders roughly, Noah stared at me with eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears.

“Just because it doesn’t hurt, and it heals quickly, doesn’t mean others can mock your body so carelessly!”

Noah’s words caused a malfunction in my mind. In an instant, countless moments from the comedic world flashed through my head.

Greetings from my mom, who had barely returned after being kidnapped, asking, “Did you go out?”

Experiences of being tossed aside because, despite suffering the same injuries, I was thrown to the side due to the ordinary appearance.

A friend who tried to sell me to a mad scientist to repay my debt, and so on.

“Ugh…”

“…!”

Tears like a waterfall began to flow from my eyes. Embracing Noah tightly, I spoke.

“Noah, you’re such a good guy, huuu!”

Noah would undoubtedly be an angel sent from heaven! In that moment, I made a decision.

From today onwards, Noah and I would become one entity, breaking free from the support relationship. An attack on Noah would be considered an attack on me!

As I poured out tears in my heart while thinking such thoughts, Noah, who had stiffened, relaxed and hugged me back with strength.

“Sniif, even though another guy is hugging me, he doesn’t kick me away and accepts it…”

Noah, how much of an angel are you!

***

Noah stroked Lian’s back as he cried sorrowfully, biting his lips.

“…What should I do?”

Since surviving alone with his younger brother Nero in the kingdom fallen into the hands of the demon king, Noah’s top priority had been ‘survival.’

In a kingdom ruled by the demon king, ‘sympathy’ was a luxury.

To survive, Noah turned away from children similar to Nero. No, he had no choice but to turn away.

There was no way to help the children other than selling them to die in his stead. Noah turned a blind eye to countless deaths and managed to survive, protecting his younger brother in the process.

For the sake of my younger brother, I thought I could do even greater things. The belief that I could even commit murder if necessary was distorted into confusion by the man who was crying uncontrollably.

“If Rian doesn’t undergo the experiment… Nero might end up being the one to undergo it.”

For the sake of ‘survival,’ Noah had to turn away from Rian. He had to watch and be content with Rian accepting ‘sacrifice.’ But Noah couldn’t do that.

He couldn’t firmly turn away from Rian, who appeared thankfully with a body covered in wounds. However, even if he didn’t turn away, Noah had nothing he could do for him.

He couldn’t become an experiment subject in his place, and he couldn’t offer other children as experiment subjects.

Noah felt suffocated by the helplessness that came from that gap. It felt like the despair one experiences when facing something that simply cannot be resolved, like a pitch-black weight pressing around the nape of the neck.

In that moment, Rian pushed Noah’s shoulders away and fell. With eyes that couldn’t hide the reddened circles from crying, he brightly smiled and said,

“Sob, thanks Noah. I’ll work hard on experiments and eating from now on.”

“Why?! Isn’t it natural for someone else to be ridiculed?”

“But still, it’s hard for anyone else, and they’re all so young.”

“…!”

Rian, who had been crying just a moment ago, now smiled with an indifferent expression. In his eyes, Noah faced something he had never encountered before.

The ‘adult gaze’ that deemed it natural to protect weak and young children stared straight into Noah. Noah stared blankly at Rian, frozen in place.

“I’ll do my best in experiments and cooking, so Noah, take care of the kids as much as you can.”

To Noah, who always bristled with fur to protect his younger brother, Rian’s whisper felt like this.

I’ll protect you; let’s protect our precious ones together.

To Noah, who had to mature and gain experience at such a young age, it was an incredibly sweet saying.

Ignoring the guilt and wrongdoing towards him, if he just fell for the affectionate smile, he could rely on her and receive care.

He could escape from countless responsibilities.

If Noah were a more mature and experienced adult, he might have scolded and lectured Rian more, but she was too young.

“…Yeah, let’s work hard together.”

Noah made a choice that he would regret for the rest of his life.

***

“Why doesn’t anything work, whether it’s this or that!”

Dovan threw the concoction he had created on the floor, grinding it with his foot.

“Argh, the path to creating a masterpiece is truly rugged. The whole world is hindering me!”

Thunk, thud!

He stomped on the concoction scattered on the floor. Still not relieved, he approached the girl lying sprawled on the ground.

“Why! Why won’t it come off!”

“Sob…”

The girl, whose body was saturated with various poisons to the extent that she seemed like mud, lay sprawled with unfocused eyes, kicked away by Dovan’s foot.

“If only she had that beautiful skin, I could create a truly beautiful masterpiece!”

Dovan exclaimed proudly, swiftly turning his body. At the end of his gaze stood a chimera intertwined with various bodies.

“Hehe… no, it won’t do. I must obtain that poison after all!”

Despite having fair skin and soft hair, the girl could not become a beautiful masterpiece due to her emaciated and petite body.

Thus, Dovan attempted to strip the girl’s scalp and skin to make his cherished chimera even more beautiful. However, this endeavor ended in a visually pleasing failure, as the poison did not quite affect the girl as expected.

Certainly, it was not entirely ineffective, but he could not peel off the skin as smoothly as he desired.

“…I distinctly remember Mia saying she went to buy the last remaining stock.”

Dovan mumbled, his eyes flickering.

“I should meet her after a long time.”