I’m the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 62

Upon receiving a profound shock from Lian, Angsho returned to his room and reflected upon himself.

‘I’ve lost my original resolve.’

Was it because he had never failed until now? Compared to when he first started this game, he had become much lazier.

‘I need to do this properly.’

Angsho resolved to act with the same seriousness as when he had first begun the game.

The first thing he did was gather information.

To get close to someone, one must know what they like and dislike, and if possible, their weaknesses. Angsho wanted more detailed information than the basic facts he had obtained through Ottugi.

Gathering the information was not difficult. There were many slaves working in the arena, and plenty of them would talk for a bit of money. That’s how he obtained more detailed information.

Angsho read through the documents.

Lian spent most of his time playing with Iris in their room, but he did not stay confined there. He would sometimes go for walks and even make appearances in the training yard.

‘It seems his abilities are more exceptional than I realized.’

He read that whenever Lian left the room, the slaves on the same floor would shrink away and stealthily avoid him.

‘Was that confident demeanor a product of his skills?’

There was a plethora of other miscellaneous information. They were details he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t investigated. The more information he gathered, the clearer it became how he should move.

‘The most important information is on Bansook and Totojen…’

Perhaps out of pride, neither were readily talking. Bansook, in particular, was so pale and could barely speak properly as if something had happened.

‘By the looks of it, he seems close to death.’

Angsho recalled the babbling Bansook, sinking deeper into his chair.

‘Well, there’s no need to hear it from them when there are plenty of other mouths.’

With that thought, Angsho briefly summarized the content written in the documents.

The slave named Lian was extremely protective of his sister, and he was more powerful than expected. It seemed his harmless appearance might be an act, considering he visited the room of a slave who had challenged him with a knife and demonstrated his power.

‘It would be easier to target his sister.’

Lian was strong and quick to assess situations. How could one easily subdue such a slave?

Simple. If one has a knife that can penetrate someone’s defenses—like a beloved lover or family member…

Luckily, Lian had one such sharp knife by his side.

‘Hmm, this is a dilemma. Whichever side I approach, it seems like it would be fun.’

It was enjoyable to think of a strong, fearless individual being forced to hurt his one precious sister or to watch a slave, who continuously strived for his brother, betray him and descend into despair.

‘Targeting the sister seems fun, but it looks too easy to be enjoyable.’

Compared to Lian, Iris seemed to be mentally shattered, barely able to speak properly and always following her brother. If Angsho put his mind to it, he could manipulate her within a week to stab her brother with a knife.

On the other hand, Lian appeared to be more challenging to target than any other slave he had encountered.

After all, old hands are known for seeking out hardship.

Above all, to mend his bruised pride, Angsho had no choice but to target Lian. He decided to give up on Iris and focus on Lian.

‘The stage, yes… I need a stage.’

He closed his eyes, envisioning the big picture in his head.

“Good.”

Having made his decision, it was time to act. He immediately requested information on Lian from those who served Bansook and Totojen and were affiliated with the arena.

Since both Bansook and Totojen either kept their closest aides by their side or none at all when with Lian, information was scarce. The little he could gather was that either they were terrified or that the floor was smeared with blood.

Naturally, Angsho assumed that the blood spilled on the floor belonged to Bansook or Totojen. The strong Lian must have attacked them, and out of shame, they treated their wounds with potions and hid all evidence.

That was the only conclusion he could draw.

It was inconceivable that Bansook and Totojen had attacked Lian and that they had been shocked by the amount of blood he had lost.

..Though that inconceivable scenario was the reality, there was no way for Angsho to know this.

“What approach should I cook up?”

Countless methods floated around his head before being dismissed. Among the remaining plans, he identified the ones that seemed viable.

“First off… I’ll need to find a female slave.”

***

“Hello?”
“…?”

A slave whom Iris had never seen before approached her and Lian during their walk and greeted them. The slave looked at Lian with trembling eyes and then smiled slyly.

“Ah, hello.”

Her voice was slightly shaky but not to a concerning degree.

“Hello.”

Lian casually greeted her back. There was no need to be hostile. The female slave turned to Iris and said with a broad smile,

“I’ve seen you passing by a few times and thought you were so cute that I wanted to be friends. Would it be okay if we said hello from now on?”
“Ahaha, my kid’s pretty cute, right?”

Lian responded like a father hearing compliments about his daughter, grinning foolishly and nodding. His handsome face made it look like he was smiling shyly.

The female slave, who had been tense at the sight of Lian, blushed and stared intently at his smile. Iris’s brow furrowed.

“Brother… Let’s go.”
“Hm?”
“I, need the bathroom.”
“Huh? Really? Okay, let’s hurry back to the room.”

Startled by Iris’s words, Lian turned around quickly. The female slave called out in a flustered voice.

“Ah, um…! Your answer?”
“Brother, I’m urgent.”
“Ah! Sor, sorry. I’ll, give you an answer next time..!”

Lian scooped up Iris and dashed away to their room.

The small incident, which had seemed like a trivial happening, was merely the beginning.

“Hello, Iris? I bought too much this time, do you want some of this? I can’t finish it all.”
“Good morning, Iris.”
“You’re cute today too!”

Those who usually didn’t bother with Iris were now approaching her with affectionate greetings. Frankly, Iris had no interest in whether other slaves badmouthed or praised her.

“Gosh, why give me all this? Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Good morning, haha.”
“Thanks for the compliment. My kid’s got a cuteness of her own, right?”

The problem was that these inconsequential people were blushing at the sight of her brother. Her kind brother could not easily push away those who approached.

Because of that, many who didn’t know their place crowded around. As the frequency of their eyes shifting from Iris to Lian increased, Iris’s emotions became very… clouded.

After the women left and they were alone in the room, Iris suddenly spoke.

“Brother, I don’t like it.”
“…?!?!”

At Iris’s words, Lian collapsed to the floor like the heroine of a tragedy. He then flailed his arms helplessly, babbling like a malfunctioning robot.

“Wh, why? Did, did brother do something wro, wrong?”

Iris pouted her lips in response, causing her plump cheeks to twitch. Lian almost laughed at the cute, incongruous moment.

“I don’t like girls.”
“Huh?”
“The girls… who come every day.”

Only then did Lian realize what Iris was referring to.

“Ah -.. The other people who come every day?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you like them?”
“I just don’t.”

Iris could not articulate why she was displeased, simply saying she didn’t like it while rolling her eyes to gauge Lian’s reaction.

‘What if he starts disliking me because of it…?’

Iris genuinely worried that if Lian preferred the female slaves over her, he might come to dislike her. It seemed like an absurd thought, but it was a genuine concern for her.

As her small anxiety grew uncontrollably, Lian naturally said,

“Got it. If it makes Iris uncomfortable, I’ll ask them not to visit.”

“…!”

Iris’s eyes widened, and she quickly snuggled into his embrace. She loved him so, so much.

…That’s how Angsho’s first plan failed all too easily.

“Crunch, then I’ll have to execute the next plan.”

Angsho’s pride was deeply wounded by the fact that he hadn’t even passed the first stage of his prepared plan. He pulled out a bolder plan he had set aside.

The next day, Lian ended up taking the elevator by a rodent’s guidance. Assuming he was either meeting the previous guest or a new one, the place Lian arrived at was…

“Here, this will be where you’ll stay from today.”
“…Excuse me?”

It was a new floor, several levels above the one where he and Iris had been living. Iris and Lian were torn apart.