I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

4 – Odil’s Great Transformation★

Click, clack… Clank.

“Ah.”

Creak.

The door opened without any resistance. Nero and Noah stared at me with wide eyes. With a sheepish feeling, I quietly closed the door and locked it again.

‘My skill hasn’t died.’

Even though I had only picked the lock once when learning and once today, I still felt inclined to brush a hand beneath my nose and shrug my shoulders. For some reason, it seemed like the right thing to do. Returning to the kitchen, I thought while reheating the cold soup.

‘Has it been proven? The laws of the gag anime world remaining intact?’

I added herbs to the bubbling soup and thought,

‘So, what would the genre be then?’

The world I had possessed was a dark fantasy that converged almost to zero in terms of dreams and hopes. And in such a world, the laws of a gag anime world were added?

“…Only terrible consequences can be imagined.”

With narrow eyes, I rolled my head and finally came up with a new answer.

“Or… it could apply only to me.”

If the laws of a gag anime world were really unleashed in a dark fantasy, it would never have unfolded as in the original work.

“Surely the hero would scratch his head and get up, becoming friends with the Demon King.”

Considering how much it was a reversed gag anime world to the point of feeling mentally confused, the original development was absolutely impossible.

“To be certain… what should I do? I’ve lived in the gag world for so long that I’ve become accustomed to it…”

As I pondered, the food was completed. I brought warm food to Odil first. I discreetly took out the nuts and left them in the corner of the room, and the crow spread its wings and made a thumbs-up gesture. I, too, showed my thumb to Odil in secret before leaving the room.

“To confirm the laws of the gag anime world… what should I do later? Ah, it sounds so weird. Let’s just call it the gag filter. Let’s check later if the gag filter is being applied.”

With those thoughts, I went downstairs and distributed the soup. The children emptied their bowls with bright faces. It was very satisfying.

***

A new slave has arrived. That meant that the existing slave would be consumed.

Thud, thud, thud.

Some of the children could not hide their fear and scratched their bodies. They did not stop until blood dripped from their swollen skin. Lili was no different from those children. Lili scratched her inflamed skin and pondered.

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“Who will be taken this time? Will they be able to come back alive?”

Even if Lian showed affection to the children trapped in the prison, their circumstances did not change. They would eventually be taken by the sorcerer and subjected to terrible experiments and be killed, or live a life worse than death.

“Hyung, what should we do from now on?”

“Don’t worry. Nero will protect you no matter what happens.”

“Okay.”

Lili lifted her head at the small voice coming from the adjacent cell and found Pia. Pia hugged the worn-out cloth with a blank face.

“It’s alright. Unnie will protect you. Unnie, unnie is right here.”

She kept stroking the dirty cloth as if it was her own sibling. Due to the shock of losing her real younger brother before her eyes, Pia often had moments of losing her sanity.

“Pia unnie…”

“Huh? Oh, little sister is here. Come here, unnie will protect you.”

Pia opened her arms wide as Lili approached to talk. Pia put so much strength in her arms that it hurt, but Lili didn’t show it.

“Younger sister, my younger sister.”

For a while, Pia gradually regained her consciousness as she continued to stroke Lili. Her blurry and muddled eyes focused, and the tightness in her arms slowly loosened.

“It’s cold, unnie.”

“Let’s cover ourselves together.”

Lily knew that the piano projected itself through her. But it didn’t matter. Lily needed someone to embrace her, regardless.

They waited for the impending death, embracing each other.

***

“Ahem, since I’ll be attending the sorcerer’s meeting this time, never dare to peek into my room at dawn.”

“Gasp! Th-that… Are you saying you were invited to the meeting attended only by recognized sorcerers from the Sorcerer’s Association?!”

“..Yes.”

Odil’s lips curled up. He looked visibly pleased. I scanned Odil from head to toe, like a mother looking at her son going for his first job interview.

“Well, then we should prepare quickly now!”

“What? Prepare for what?”

“For presenting Odil’s magnificent image more effectively!”

“Is that… possible?”

“Of course! Trust me! You will undoubtedly become the most dignified and elegant sorcerer among those who attended today! You’ll be chosen as the best sorcerer of the day!”

“…Really?”

With an icy expression, I nodded my head at his shivering ears.

“Yes.”

“Uh-huh… then, let’s give it a try. But, if you embarrass me for no reason…”

Odil blinked, exuding an ominous aura. I nodded, hunching my shoulders.

“I’ll make sure you won’t be embarrassed!”

“Alright.”

As Odil turned swiftly and entered the laboratory, I chuckled inwardly.

‘Phew, it seems to have gone well.’

The reason I deliberately intervened and created the situation was all because of the memories lingering in my mind. When my host body, Lian, was an experimental subject, an old man who had been imprisoned in the same cell as Lian during those days warned me with a trembling voice.

Be careful on the day of the sorcerer’s meeting, he said. On that day, sorcerers often ignore each other, and feeling bad, they vent their frustration by shattering experimental subjects into pieces.

‘If possible, I should prevent such incidents.’

Until the protagonist arrives, there was no way to escape from here, so I had to stay quiet. However, I couldn’t just abandon the children who were subjected to experiments. It was better to protect them within the limits of what he could do.

‘Let’s start by…’

I briefly skimmed through the original work to recall how the sorcerer’s meeting proceeded.

‘It feels like a video conference.’

As they were often scattered all over the place, most meetings were conducted through video calls.

‘Then let’s improve what’s visible.’

I walked as if adjusting my sleeves, heading toward Odil’s closet.

Clatter!

Boldly, I swung open the closet door and rifled through the clothes inside.

“Tsk tsk, they’re all brand new and untouched.”

These clothes wouldn’t suit Odil at all, with his slender, sensitive face. They’d make him look ludicrous, like a young child playing dress-up in his older brother or father’s garments. I pulled out a few items that seemed particularly unsuitable.

Then, I promptly turned toward Odil’s laboratory, tilting my head inquisitively.

“Would it be alright, Odil, if these clothes were to be altered into something stylish?”

“What? Um…those clothes? Sure, I don’t mind. I wouldn’t wear them anyway.”

“Thank you!”

Odil disregarded me, engrossed in flipping through a seemingly ominous-looking book. That’s when I accidentally spilled the nuts I had brought along from my pocket onto the floor. I glanced toward the raven.

Is there a machine around here suitable for altering clothes?

I vigorously signaled with my body, and the raven glanced at the nuts before swiftly turning its head. It indicated that the offering was insufficient. I clicked my tongue and dropped more nuts. The raven glanced briefly at the nuts before again swiftly turning its head. I increased the amount of nuts.

The raven seemed to ponder, tilting its head. I subtly extended my hand as if offering the nuts. It meant, ‘This deal won’t happen like this!’ In response, the raven quietly spread its wings, nodding its head while pretending to pick at the nuts with its wing. I mirrored its action while making eye contact.

Tap, tap.

Quietly descending from the perch, the raven retrieved something from among a clutter of items on a shelf.

“Oh…thank you.”

“Kraak.”

After quietly expressing gratitude, the raven let out a small cry and nibbled on the fallen nuts. I took the item the raven had offered and returned to my room.

“Wow, this looks fascinating.”

The gadget had a disc-like shape, seemingly serving the role of a sewing machine: threading the needle, inserting fabric, and moving, resulting in the needle stitching precisely. Its exact purpose was to conveniently draw magic circles, but for now, it had become a mere sewing machine.

“Alright, this should do it…”