I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

40 – “The smell of blood.”

‘Surely, recovery is fast when out of the public eye.’

When experimented on, wounds didn’t heal quickly, so they were stitched up, resulting in scars. Reflecting on this, Totojen looked at the torn clothes.

‘What should I do?’

After a moment of contemplation, he rummaged through the room.

“Oh, found it.”

He found a safety pin and sewed up his clothes. In an instant, the torn clothes became intact.

“Next time…”

Although the clothes were in good condition, the wet blood did not disappear lively. While attempting to go to the bathroom to remove the blood with the housewife’s know-how, Totojen’s clothes caught his eye.

“Well, might as well wash them together.”

He removed Totojen’s robe. The majestic atmosphere vanished, leaving only a skinny, grotesque old man.

Although Totojen was young to be called an old man, his face was so wrinkled that he looked like an old man.

When the robe was removed, thin clothes were revealed. Worried that she might catch a cold, Leanne covered herself with the woven mat that was draped over the sofa.

“Let’s wash these quickly before getting up.”

She filled the bathtub with water and began washing the robe and clothes. White bubbles bubbled up, and in an instant, the robe and clothes became spotlessly clean.

In a hurry to dry the clothes, she squeezed out the water and took them to the terrace.

“Wow…”

Amidst the pouring heat and cheers, the clothes quickly dried. As fast as the clothes dried, sweat formed on Leanne’s face.

“It’s hotter on higher floors…”

Grateful for the quick drying, she put on the thoroughly dry clothes and carried the robe back to the living room.

“I… don’t talk to me… ugh…”

Totojen moaned, uttering nonsense as if trapped in a nightmare. Leanne removed the woven mat covering his body and put on the robe.

“Alright, it’s all over now…”

Blood splatters on the floor caught her eye. Leanne rolled her eyes and covered the floor with the woven mat that had covered Totojen.

It looked awkward, but the bloodstains were concealed.

“Well, it’s not my fault. This should do.”

Leanne mumbled and headed towards the door.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

*Thunk.*

Leanne left, and not long after,

“Ugh…!”

From Noble mtl dot com

Totojen regained consciousness.

“Why… am I lying down?”

He grabbed his head, sat up, and said, “I’m sure… huh?”

Searching his memory, he rolled his eyes and looked down at his robe with a creepy feeling.

*Poof, poing.*

“W-what the…?!”

Flowers popped out of the robe, swaying gently and emitting a surprisingly pleasant fragrance.

“And why does my robe, which I bought for a fortune, look like this… like this?!”

Totojen’s robe was the epitome of luxury, covered in various magical effects.

Wearing it alone could make others uncomfortable, and it not only had the effect of correcting behavior but also contained temperature control and even a virtual space.

It was also the most expensive item among his possessions.

From that precious robe emanated a lovely scent, raw and tender like a baby’s cheek.

“Who on earth would wear something like this…!”

He exclaimed loudly, abruptly standing up.

“Uh…?”

Stepping on the carpet beneath him, he stumbled backward.

Thud!

“Ouch…!”

He hit his head on the corner of the sofa and, with his eyes rolled back, fainted.

***

Exiting the zombie’s room, a stylish corridor stretched out. Soon after walking down the corridor, a spacious area appeared, likely a resting space, indicated by long sofas and a fountain. Iris, along with the octopus and the rat, was present.

The octopus, ignoring Iris’s words, approached her without paying attention to the unnecessary chatter.

“Huh?! How did you manage to get out so quickly?!”

The startled octopus exclaimed as I suddenly appeared. I rolled my eyes for a moment, deep in thought.

‘If I say that zombie rudely cut my stomach, insulted my organs, and fainted in shock… well, even in this comedic world, that might be hard to believe.’

Even though the laws of the comedic world and this world were confusing, I knew well enough that it was strange for organs to speak.

“Are you guys by any chance being disrespectful to Mr. Totogen… what?”

Approaching with a distorted face, the octopus, with the rat by its side, whispered something to it. Then, abruptly coughing, it moved away from me.

“It seems like we can have a lot of fun with you for quite a long time. Hmm.”

The octopus, now absentmindedly stroking its hands like a fly, approached Totogen’s secretary and began to speak.

“Mr. Totogen has prepared a good program for the future, so I hope you continue to enjoy it for a long, long time as if it’s your own home! And…”

The rat also vigorously nodded beside it.

The secretary, with an expressionless face, listened attentively to the octopus’s words, occasionally providing information about Totogen’s preferences.

Swoosh.

While the octopus and the secretary were in conversation, Iris approached and grabbed my hand abruptly.

“Thanks for waiting – Oh…!”

As I was about to praise Iris for patiently waiting, the hand I was holding was pulled away. When I regained consciousness, Iris’s nose was deeply buried in my neck, sniffling.

“Ugh…”

Iris let out a low, discontented sound, as if something didn’t sit well with her.

“Yes, Iris?”

“Smell… blood…”

“….!?”

Blood… there’s a smell coming from me?

Just as I froze with a shocked expression, I heard what she said next.

“Smell… of blood.”

“Oh.”

With those words, my heart, which had been sinking into darkness, transformed into a beautiful flower garden.

“It’s because I accidentally spilled some blood earlier, which is why… uh!”

At that moment, a tingling pain was felt on my neck. Iris had bitten me! Our child bit me!

“Why, Iris…?”

As I called Iris with the same feelings as a father who had just been slapped by his daughter, Iris detached her face from my neck and spoke with a pained expression.

“Promise… a lie.”

“What…?”

Iris tapped the back of my hand lightly. Finally, I understood what Iris meant.

“Oh, the promise that I wouldn’t bring a knife to your neck?”

Iris nodded in response to my words. If I were to say that her pouting cheeks were cute, she would get even angrier, right?

“So, that’s why you bit me? Because I didn’t keep my promise?”

Nod.

As she nodded firmly, the feeling of being slapped on the cheek, which had been washed away, disappeared. How could I get angry when I was just worried about her?

In an instant, the pain that would have hurt my heart for a lifetime felt like the whining of an angry puppy that came home late.

Look at that, rolling their eyes and being cautious in secret.

I gently stroked Iris’s head, which was timidly looking for my approval, thinking that this was what it felt like to raise a daughter.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful to not let the smell of blood linger.”

With those words, Iris’s eyes narrowed again. It seemed like she had made a small mistake. I quickly waved my hand and reassured her.

“Oh, and I won’t bring any knives or anything near your neck, okay?”

After staring at my face for a moment, Iris nodded. This time, it seemed like I got the right answer.

“Then, let’s go now!”

Finally, after making a loud farewell to the secretary as if the conversation was over, Odtugi approached us.

“Now I’ll go down, so follow me.”

Upon those words, I followed Odugi without a word.

***

“Wow!”

Iris and I were assigned a room two floors higher than before. It was a place with a living room and two almost indistinguishable bedrooms, almost like a home.

“This can be Iris’s room!”

“…!”

The two rooms had a single bed each, as if explicitly meant for one person per room.

Around Iris’s age, it’s natural for one to want their own room.

“Will there come a day when she scolds me not to mix her laundry with mine?”

Wiping away the sweat from my eyes, I noticed Iris vigorously shaking her head.

“Huh? You don’t like this room? Then how about the one over there?”

At that, Iris again shook her head vigorously, let go of my hand, and quickly entered the room. Then, she swiftly lifted the bed!

“Ah, Iris, be careful!”

Although she possessed the strength to bring down a monster with a single blow, she was still a fragile girl when it came to lifting a bed. I stopped Iris, who was raising the bed with mismatched thoughts.

“Why, Iris, why…!”

“Ugh…!”

It took me a while to realize that Iris wanted to sleep with me, so she was trying to move the bed.

With tears of gratitude in her eyes.

Knock, knock.

“Anyone in there?”

A neighbor from the same floor came by.