I’m the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 60

Angsho was kind to slaves—to an extent that one might wonder, “Is he really this nice?” Such kindness was rare to see in the arena, prompting many slaves to be wary or even moved by his gentle words and laughter.

Over time, even the guarded ones would open up their hearts to Angsho, willing to give him everything they had. That’s when Angsho would strike.

With vague words, he would slowly brainwash them. “Don’t you suspect the one you love? Aren’t they the root of all your misfortunes?”

The slaves were already beings who had hit rock bottom, convinced they were the most unfortunate people in the world.

So Angsho’s temptations easily infiltrated their minds. He would watch the downfall of these foolish slaves, as if he were a god looking down upon them.

When a slave returned after destroying a loved one and pleaded for salvation, Angsho would then hammer in the truth—that everything he said was a lie and that they were murderers who had killed someone dear.

Such experiences led to a unanimous outcome; all ten out of ten slaves subjected to this would end up taking their own lives. Angsho’s notoriety did not spread easily because of this.

The notorious Angsho, a trash of the ages who had played with dozens, if not hundreds of slaves.

Even for Angsho, a master at toying with slaves, Lian was a type he’d never encountered before.

“If you wish, you may take some food with you when you leave.”
“Thank you!”

Lian responded to kindness with kindness and smiles with smiles. His upright manner was not something you’d see in a slave arena. Angsho quickly realized why Totojen and Bansook were so fixated on Lian.

‘Such an item is hard to come by.’

Slaves who had fallen into the abyss were often already mentally broken. Torturing them further would only yield twitching like living corpses, devoid of any interesting response.

The more intact a slave’s mind, the more enjoyable it was to break them. That’s why Totojen liked those whose spirits were unbroken and clear, while Bansook preferred those with strong mental fortitude, able to endure long-term play.

Lian fulfilled both criteria.

‘Ah, this will truly be entertaining.’

Lian seemed easy to manipulate at first glance, but upon closer consideration, Angsho realized that he might be more challenging to ensnare than other slaves.

‘It would be easier if his mind had gaps to exploit.’

A somewhat healthy mind would accept his kind approach, but too healthy a mind would block out all his whispers. Easy yet difficult—that was Lian.

Angsho concluded as much about Lian.

Regardless of Angsho’s thoughts, Lian had no interest in them.

‘I wonder what Iris will like?’

The only thing on Lian’s mind was what food to pack.

‘Should I just have them wrap up what’s here? Oh, but would that be too difficult to carry?’

First impressions are incredibly important. The first image etched in one’s mind doesn’t change easily unless given a shocking stimulus. That’s why Angsho had prepared a feast fit to break the legs of a table, a meal that would rival those of noble households.

The sight of the lavish food filling the table was overwhelming enough that even a slave was awed. But to Lian, it was just a delicious meal.

In the Gag world, rolling up your sleeves and getting down to business meant you could put together such a meal any time you wanted.

With entirely different thoughts, the meal continued until the plates were empty.

“Huh?”

Angsho let out a short exclamation as he looked at the table. The mountain of elegant food was completely gone. What was more frightening was Lian’s appearance.

“Burp, that was delicious.”

Lian sprawled in the chair, his stomach swollen larger than his body, a blissful expression on his face.

‘What, what is that? Is he not human? A chimera?’

Faced with the surreal scene, Angsho failed to manage his expression and stared dumbfounded at Lian’s belly. Lian patted his stomach and said,

“That was really good food.”
“How… how could you eat all that?”
“It was so delicious, I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Lian scratched the back of his head with a shy smile, his cheeks ballooning just like his bizarrely swollen belly. Angsho shuddered.

‘How did he gain weight in that short time?’

No matter the question, there was no resolution. Just as Angsho was about to voice his question, “What on earth happened to that belly?”

“Here, it’s all packed for you.”
“Oh! Thank you!”

Angsho’s maid appeared and handed Lian a seven-tiered lunchbox. It was a long-standing rule to immediately hand over the requested food after a meal.

Giving a gift right away to a well-fed slave was a quick way to win their favor.

“May I leave now then?”
“Oh, yes. You, you may go.”

Caught off guard by Lian’s question, Angsho reflexively answered. His habit of sending slaves away without any requests after their first meal had kicked in, and he just blurted out his reply.

“Thanks for the meal!”
“Take care on your way.”

Lian began to push his belly in, bigger than the doorway, compressing it enough to pass through the door.

Left alone in the empty dining room, Angsho slumped in his chair like a robot with loose screws, letting out a sigh. After a long moment of stunned silence, he straightened up.

With a serious expression, Angsho pushed aside his earlier nonchalant attitude and thought of Totojen and Bansook.

‘To be honest, their tastes are distasteful – but their abilities aren’t lacking.’

If their abilities were poor, he wouldn’t have associated with them at all.

‘If such people failed repeatedly, there must be a reason.’

Angsho murmured with a hardened face.

“We need to…gather some information.”

While Angsho struggled to find a way to torment Lian, Lian arrived at the elevator with the lunchbox in hand.

***

“Oh…? What to do…”

My voice came out muffled, the extra weight affecting it. Unable to fit into the elevator because of my belly, I sighed, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled long.

“Whoooosh! Ahh, that’s better.”

My body instantly returned to its original state. I rubbed my smoothed-down belly a few times before boarding the elevator.

‘I hope Iris likes it.’

Humming to myself, I reached my destination. Holding the lunchbox dearly, I headed towards the room where Iris was waiting.

Click.

“Iris! Brother’s back!”

As I entered the room with a bright smile, Iris came running and threw herself into my arms. I held the lunchbox high to keep it safe. Iris rubbed her soft cheek against my chest.

“Are you hungry?”
“…Grumble.”

Perhaps enticed by the smell of the lunchbox, Iris murmured with a slight blush on her cheeks. I laughed heartily and led her to the living room.

I spread out the seven-tiered lunchbox on the living room table and handed a fork to Iris.

“Here you go, eat up.”
“…Lian, what about you?”

Krhhhk.

I managed to prevent myself from clutching my heart. Since my return covered in blood, Iris had been diligently calling me ‘brother.’

I felt like shouting to the whole neighborhood how much our Iris had grown!

“I ate already, so you eat plenty.”
“…”

I felt so full it was hard to breathe. Iris hesitated as if she had something to say, then finally answered in a small voice, “Okay.”

She picked up a piece of marinated meat with her fork and brought it to her mouth.

“…!”

Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit, her lips pursing—a moment etched into my eyes.

‘Gosh, so cute!’

Her expressions were as intense as a baby trying sweet dessert for the first time, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Gah, gulp!”
“Take your time and eat.”

I felt a pang in my heart watching her, once only eating what I fed her, now clumsily handling a fork on her own. As Iris was distracted by the food, I quickly wiped away the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Brother…”
“Hmm?”

Iris suddenly stopped her frantic eating and stared at me intensely.

Poke.

Iris’s fork mercilessly stabbed the tender meat, then she lifted it triumphantly towards my mouth.

“It’s delicious. Eat, eat.”
“No, it’s okay.”

Waving my hands furiously as if I could shoot rainbows with another bite, Iris pushed the fork closer nonetheless.

“Ah!”

Unable to shoot rainbows, I snatched the fork from her. Iris was still clumsy at holding it, so it was easy to take. I grabbed the handle and popped the meat into Iris’s surprised open mouth.

“Mmm?”

She chewed reflexively, her eyes rounding in surprise.

“I’m full just watching Iris eat.”

At those words, Iris stared at my face intensely, then slowly bowed her head.

‘Did I say something too cheesy?’