I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

17 – What’s Not Kidnapping

Clunk, whoosh!

Closing the door ominously, as if some force were at play, the door opened inward.

“Why don’t you come in? Oh! Juice!”

Rania, who had been playfully kicking the fallen Doban, approached with a mischievous expression and a coquettish voice, taking a sip of juice. It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Glug, glug. Ah, delicious!”

“Please enjoy, Mia. I made it with the fruits you bought last time.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Mia casually took the glass and sipped the juice. Rania, who licked the juice off her lips, sat across from Mia, crossing her legs.

‘Oh…’

As she crossed her legs, the pants that were already insufficiently called underwear rose even higher. Unconsciously redirecting her gaze, Mia cleared her throat and spoke.

“What should we do about that guy, Mia-nim?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Mia rolled her eyes, looking at the half-fainted Doban.

“As much as I’d like to kill him, we can’t, can we?”

“Why not? Just kill him?”

Rania, pushing a remaining cookie into her mouth, spoke. The sexy and charming face of Rania softened instantly.

The cookie seemed to be genuinely pleasing.

“Sigh, even though it looks like that, I have a connection with another one of the Four Kings. I don’t want to unnecessarily create trouble.”

“Ah, just kill him.”

“Even if that Four King is Ervoban?”

“Hmm…? They’re on familiar terms with Ervoban?”

“Well, not exactly. It’s more like being close to Ervoban’s aide.”

“Vague.”

Ervoban was one of the Four Kings known for strictly distinguishing between work and personal matters. A man serving as a staff officer within the Demon Army.

If you crossed him, you’d be showered with countless troublesome tasks. It was tricky – being on familiar terms with him was awkward, but being close to Ervoban’s aide made it even more ambiguous.

“In a situation where a full-fledged war is happening, creating unnecessary fights is troublesome.”

“Then what should we do?”

Rania rubbed her cheeks with a happy expression. As a cook who baked cookies diligently, she felt a sense of pride.

“I’m thinking of leaving the negotiation to Jiso-nim.”

“Glug, that’s a good idea. Quite devilish, I must say.”

Jiso, the owner of the insane arena, was one of the Four Kings. Besides that, he dealt with terrifying human affairs like loans and drugs, making him one of the most dreaded among the Four Kings.

Leaving the negotiation to Jiso meant having him assess the damages Mia suffered and forcibly taking a ‘reasonable price’ from Doban. If there was enough money, it was no problem, but if it was lacking, Jiso would strip away everything – body and soul included.

Barely managing to pay the reward, Jisoo takes the remaining money as a ‘commission.’ There was a reason Rania referred to her as the ‘devil.’

If Jisoo personally intervened, there would be no annoying retaliation, and she could take as much as possible. Moreover, she could even send the thief to the abyss, making it the best choice.

“So, will you release him?”

“Oh, I’ll put some constraints.”

“Well, if I just release him, it’s obvious he’ll cause trouble.”

Mia, after closing the book she was reading with a thud, got up from her seat and approached the thief. He was in a mess due to all the magical torment he had suffered from Rania.

“…ψπΝδΦΩ”

As Mia murmured something unintelligible, a magic circle rose above the thief’s body and quickly seeped into him.

“This should be enough.”

“Then, shall we clean this up?”

“Yes, please.”

Rania lightly waved her finger, lifting the thief into the air. Then, she approached a mirror in one corner of the reception room.

“Let’s see, the coordinates are… here.”

She traced the magical traces left on the mirror to pinpoint the location where the thief had crossed over and activated the mirror.

Woong.

The surface of the mirror once again trembled.

“If you want to die, come again. I’ll entertain you.”

With a seductive laugh on her lips, Rania sent the floating thief through the mirror. The speed at which he disappeared beyond the mirror left only a faint trace.

Tak tak.

Rania, as if casually brushing off something she had thrown in with her own hand, walked confidently back to her spot. I cautiously looked around before speaking.

“Um, Mia-nim, I wanted to talk to you about security…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I plan to install security magic throughout the building to prevent such incidents in the future.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

I quickly bowed my head in gratitude and said, “Then I’ll take my leave!”

***

As Lian left the room, the somewhat light atmosphere settled.

“Cute. Should I have taken her with me after all?”

“You don’t take care of slaves properly, Master. You’ll let them starve to death if you keep neglecting them.”

“But she can cook on her own, right?”

“That also requires ingredients.”

“That’s true.”

From Noble mtl dot com

The two of them exchanged idle conversation for a while before getting to the point.

“So… What’s the reason for your visit during this busy time, Master?”

“Oh, right.”

Lania reached into her chest and pulled out a black envelope from inside. The envelope was quite ornate, with gold embossing around the edges.

“Take this. It’s a letter sent directly by the Demon King.”

Swish.

The letter envelope slipped from Lania’s fingers like a light gust of wind and landed on Mia’s thigh. Mia immediately opened the envelope to check its contents.

“…!”

“What is it, Mia?”

With a cookie in her mouth, Lania asked about the contents of the letter. Mia, who had been furrowing her brow slightly, let out a small sigh and replied.

“It says they want me to assist in toppling the neighboring kingdom.”

“That’s fortunate. It’s a chance to gain a high position easily. Yes, yes.”

As Lania nodded in agreement, Mia pushed the letter back into the envelope and said with a frown.

“You know I’m not particularly interested in that sort of thing. Besides, who will protect this place if I go there? Master, you asked me to take care of the slaves, even the adults.”

“Well, can’t you just strengthen the security spells?”

Mia looked down at the letter envelope as if she wasn’t satisfied with Lania’s casual response.

“There’s more to worry about than just security.”

“Hehe… Still, it seems you’re doing quite well here. I thought you would have abandoned everything like before, saying it’s too troublesome.”

“…It’s only because Master personally asked me.”

As Mia muttered, turning her head away in a somewhat unsatisfied manner, Lania continued to enjoy her cookie.

“Ugh, if it weren’t for the constant wars, I would have taken you with me long ago.”

Due to frequent wars, the Demon King, she, was often required to participate in various battlefields. Consequently, she couldn’t easily bring in new members.

“I guess I’ll kidnap you when the wars are mostly over.”

She was one of the great Four Demon Kings of the greedy Demon Army. If she wanted something, she had to have it, and if she wanted to do something, she had to do it.

Normally, regardless of the situation, she would have kidnapped Lianne and kept her by her side. But this time, the situation was special.

Mia was her disciple. That meant Mia belonged to Lania. She was lenient when it came to everything that entered her domain. That’s why she could temporarily set aside her obsession with Lianne.

“Master, you haven’t been having strange thoughts lately, have you?”

“Hmm? Me? No way.”

Lania replied with a mischievous smile.

“Hmm….”

Mia blinked as she observed her mentor, who wore a beast-like expression before embarking on the hunt. However, Lania shrugged, displaying a gentle demeanor.

“Well, thank you for delivering the letter, anyway.”

“So, are you going?”

“I have to. The Demon King himself requested my presence.”

“If you had refused, Ervone would have made a fuss.”

Lania picked up the last remaining cookie and stood up.

“Shall I convey the message then?”

“I was just about to respond—”

“Oh, why bother with that? I can deliver it myself.”

“Wait… Master!”

Before Mia could grab her, Lania disappeared in an instant using magic. Mia sighed and got up from her seat.

“I should cast a security spell. And I need to finish some basic experiments before setting off.”

Mia thought about completing fundamental experiments related to Lian before leaving the reception room.

***

“Alright, eat slowly. It’s hot.”

During the late lunch hour, children stood in line with plates in hand in front of Lian. Pia bit her lip, capturing the familiar scene with her eyes.

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

The still inexperienced children made short sounds of gratitude as they received their food. Some even lifted their gazes to Lian with shining eyes, hoping to catch his attention.

Pia felt a sense of nausea.

“A trash like him.”

Pia disliked Lian. It wasn’t just because of his past mistreatment of children. It was because she saw in him the same exploitation of the children’s desperation to survive, the same enjoyment of their struggles, as she had witnessed in the cruel land of the Demon King.

“No different from demons.”

In Pia’s eyes, surviving in the harsh realm of the Demon King required clinging to the strong to avoid hunger and experimentation. Lian’s leisurely enjoyment of this desperation made him no different from the demons.

“Fine, as long as I protect my brother.”

In Pia’s darkened gaze, the scene of Lily standing in line to receive food was captured. Simultaneously, a madness glinted in her eyes.

“If he lays a hand on Lily, I’ll kill him then and there.”