I’m the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 41
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- Chapter 41 - I'm Not Buying It. I Already Read the News and I'm not Religious
Upon opening the door, I saw a man standing with his arms crossed and a slanted posture.
“Hello?”
Thinking he was a neighbor from the same floor, I greeted him with a smile. Though I was smiling on the outside, I was thinking something entirely different on the inside.
‘Is this guy also going to spout nonsense like Pimax?’
I had such experiences before, so my mind naturally drifted that way. Besides, the man’s slanted posture and dissatisfied expression did not seem like he was here to share any good news.
“Are you two the chumps who just moved up here to replace Pimax?”
The man went on with a tone as skewed as his stance.
Listening to him, I felt as though he was some peddler or proselytizer who had come to my door.
I instantly wanted to shut the door.
“I’m not buying it. I already read the news and I’m not religious.”
I recited that line like a mantra and was about to close the door when the man wedged his foot in and grabbed the door with his hand to prevent it from closing.
“What sort of nonsense are you saying!? I’m asking if you two are the lucky replacements for Pimax!”
The door quivered as if it was in a tug-of-war. Just as I came back to my senses and attempted to open the door again,
Thump!
A strange hand abruptly grabbed the trembling door; it belonged to someone other than the man, smaller in size.
“Hey -”
“Eek…!? Bianca?!”
The voice that came from beyond the door was husky, undoubtedly a woman’s.
The same instant I heard the woman’s voice, the previously hooligan-like man shrank back like a terrified rabbit.
“Stop bothering someone who’s clearly not interested and buzz off, will you?”
“Why are you in a place like this..?”
“Because someone dear to me is here, that’s why.”
“…! Of course!”
The man quickly backed away from the door, bowing his head towards the woman called Bianca.
“Sorry for the intrusion!”
“Make sure to spread the word to the other punks, as well. Don’t mess with the one I marked as mine.”
“Yes!”
After watching the man make an escape as if he had just been spared, I turned my head back and the door had swung wide open due to my relinquished grip.
The person named Bianca was a tall woman, seemingly about 170 cm. Slender yet firm, her build was notably athletic.
Her bust was modest, but the lower part of her body was more generously shaped. If Baekroo had the aristocratic air of a high-class house cat, Bianca had something of an alley-cat’s vibe.
“Hmm -, is this the place where ‘that swordmaster’ is?”
“The swordmaster?”
In response to her cryptic comment, I tilted my head, puzzling over her meaning. Bianca then opened her eyes wide and turned to look behind me.
“Kyaaah! I knew this was the right place!”
Bianca’s gaze was fixed on Iris, who was clinging closely behind me.
“Did you come to see Iris?”
“Yeah! Right! So her name was Iris? It’s a beautiful name!”
Bianca exclaimed, her face brightening as if she had just met a theme park mascot. Since she didn’t seem to have come to pick a fight like a hooligan, I saw no reason not to invite her in.
“If that’s the case, please come in! We haven’t been here long, so we don’t have much to offer, but you can have a comfy talk at least.”
“Thanks a lot!”
While inviting Bianca inside, Iris clung to my back, immovable.
Her aversion couldn’t have been directed at Bianca since she didn’t even glance her way. It seemed more like a habitual attachment.
I walked to the living room sofa with Iris latched on to me like a snail on its shell, and when Bianca settled on one side, I took a seat on the opposite.
Iris decided to sit on my lap?
“Iris..?”
It wasn’t that I minded. Nor was Iris heavy – in fact, she was so light I contemplated increasing her food portions.
But what surprised me was how naturally Iris had settled on my lap. Even I almost didn’t notice anything odd about it.
“…?”
Iris looked up at me with a confused expression.
“Ah.”
I suddenly realized why she was behaving this way.
Whenever slaves were around, I would sit Iris on my lap for fear she would be harassed, which seemed to have conditioned her to think she needed to be on someone’s lap when sitting on a sofa.
“Iris, you can sit next to me. When there’s plenty of room, you can just sit beside me.”
I moved Iris gently to the seat beside me, and after a momentary blink, she nodded her understanding.
“Haha, the siblings seem really close.”
Bianca said with a cheery smile, appearing thoroughly amused.
“Should I introduce myself now? I’m Bianca, currently the gladiator who occupies the highest floor in this arena.”
“….!”
The highest floor, a paradise where only the most famed and powerful could dwell.
Her claim to use that place implied that Bianca was an astonishingly strong opponent.
“The top floor gladiators are allowed to move between floors freely. I don’t even have to wear a slave collar.”
Bianca lightly tapped her own neck, confirming her statement – there was indeed no decoration adorning it.
“By the time you reach the top floors, a collar isn’t enough to hold you down. Besides, that’s when you’re given a choice.”
“A choice?”
Curious, I inquired, prompting Bianca to wink.
“Wouldn’t it be boring to find out all at once? Reach the top floor yourself and see!”
“Aww…”
Her words ended like a TV show cut off at its climax, leaving me with a pout. But then, with a broad laugh, Bianca continued.
“- would be bad luck to say, right? Anyway, it would take you at least a few years.”
Bianca’s gaze then shifted to Iris, who remained staring blankly at me. Bianca didn’t mind Iris’s lack of attention and went on.
“Besides, whether one can even reach the top floor in one piece is another matter. So, how about it – would you, Iris, want to come to the top floor with me?”
“To the top floor? Is it really possible to move up so quickly?”
Though I was the one asking, Bianca didn’t shift her focus from Iris as she replied.
“Yeah, if Iris becomes my pupil, I can take her to the top floor based on the master-disciple relationship.”
“Master and… pupil?”
“Hah, the truth is I saw Iris wield a sword and I was so smitten that I had to find her!”
Bianca chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck cheerfully.
“When I saw her mercilessly slaying the magical beasts, I thought, ‘Aha! That’s the one!'”
Bianca stood up from the sofa and moved to seat herself next to Iris, who still avoided looking at her.
Rather than snubbing her, Iris seemed to not even recognize Bianca’s presence. Bianca, finding this cute, continued earnestly with a smile.
“Iris, if you don’t have a swordmaster yet, I’d like to become yours and help you write a new chapter in sword history. Would you consider joining me?”
Iris simply looked at me without responding. Bianca remained silent, awaiting an answer.
Fearing an eternal silence, I gently shook Iris.
“What do you think, Iris?”
“Huh?”
Iris’s questioning gaze made it clear she hadn’t paid any attention to Bianca’s proposition.
“Iris, if you don’t have a swordmaster, Bianca wants to become one for you. If you follow Bianca, then – …eh?”
Before I even finished, Iris shook her head and clung to my clothes tightly.
‘Gulp.’
Overwhelmed by the gesture that she wouldn’t go anywhere without me, a tsunami of sentiment flooded over me. I wiped away the tears like a waterfall inside and said to Bianca.
“It seems Iris doesn’t want to part from me. Being the only family she has seems to mean a lot to her.”
“Hmm… that’s problematic.”
Bianca furrowed her brows.
“You’ve already been sold, so I can’t take you to the top floor.”
“What? I’ve been sold?”
Immediately, my mind flashed back to the zombie I’d met earlier today.
‘I thought I managed to avoid it, but I’ve been sold already?!’
A trail of cold sweat dripped down my back at the thought of potentially losing Iris. Bianca, observing my rigid expression, made a calming gesture with her hand.
“Even if you’ve been sold, it’s just the rights that have been sold, not you yourself.”
“The rights?”
“Yeah, in this arena, once a gladiatorial slave gains enough popularity, their rights are sold to someone with money or power. It’s like a pass to play with them as a toy.”
A wave of relief washed over me to know I wouldn’t be taken away.
“Phew… that’s a relief. I panicked thinking I’d be separated from Iris.”
“Hahaha! You two caring for each other is so cute.”
Bianca laughed heartily and once more addressed Iris.
“If you follow me, you won’t be sold to those people, and you can participate in the arena on your own terms, sparing your life from danger. You can altogether detach yourself from the life of a slave.”
Bianca continued, speaking gently.
“Plus, you won’t have to deal with the power struggles like earlier.”
“Power struggles?”
“It’s a side-effect of grouping together fighters of similar strength on each floor.”
Bianca earnestly answered and posed the question again.
“How about it? It’s quite a good offer, isn’t it? Oh! And you get to learn swordsmanship from a genius swordmaster!”