I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

Chapter 18

18 – Shall We Resume the Experiment Slowly?

When my parents died, when I was betrayed by my friend, when I abandoned my sister and ran away, her mind became endlessly tumultuous. Now, she had reached a point where she couldn’t go on living without cursing someone.

She was insane, but she didn’t realize it herself.

“Pia, come and get yours too.”

Suddenly, as the children finished getting their meals, Lianne called Pia with a smile. Pia, forcing a smile, picked up her plate and received her food.

“If you don’t like salad, you can eat it between the bread. It’s quite tasty that way.”

Pia felt a twisting in her stomach as she saw Lianne’s innocent smile. An indescribable discomfort, something she could never possess, lingered around Lianne’s lips.

She fidgeted with the fork she was holding along with the plate. Lianne’s throat came into view. An unknown impulse echoed and spread in her mind.

“Lily, sit over there.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Upon hearing Lily’s name, Pia felt her energy drain away.

‘Sister, my sister.’

With the plate in hand, Pia approached Lily.

“Ugh… the taste is weird.”

Lily was grimacing as she forced herself to eat the salad. Although she wanted to be picky, memories of enduring hunger for so long prevented her from easily leaving food behind.

‘I have to help her!’

Pia approached Lily with a bright smile. At that moment, a fork reached for Lily’s plate.

“Yum.”

“Hey? That’s mine.”

Lily looked at the person who had brazenly stolen her salad. Pia, freezing in her tracks, looked in the same direction as Lily. Nero, with a slightly reddened cheek, was eating the salad with a slurping sound.

“…If you don’t like it, want to trade for some meat?”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“Yeah, but I can only give you a little meat.”

“Okay! Thanks!”

Lily smiled brightly, and Nero, with widened eyes, looked at her with rolling pupils. The child’s cheeks blushed endearingly. When Lily finished off the salad, Nero handed her three pieces of his meat.

“Oh? Me too!”

An child sitting next to Nero reached over with a fork to his plate. In response, Nero swiftly cleared his plate and said,

“Don’t like it!”

“Why?”

“…That’s enough, alright!”

Nero began munching on his salad voraciously. Pia, with vacant eyes, focused her gaze on Nero. At that moment, a worried voice chimed in.

“Pia, are you okay?”

“Huh…?”

“Your hands turned pale.”

Noah, arriving late for the meal, pointed at her hand. It was only then that Pia realized she was gripping her hand so tightly that her plate was trembling.

“Oh… Maybe my hands shook because I was so hungry.”

“Really? Should I ask Lian to get you more?”

Pia looked at Noah silently, contemplating.

‘Opportunist.’

She recalled the word she had learned during her affluent days and smiled.

“Thanks for worrying. But I think it’s better to eat quickly.”

“Alright? Let’s hurry and take our seats then.”

Noah headed towards where Nero and Lilly were sitting.

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“Huh? Nero, why did you take so much salad?”

“Uh, I… I wanted to eat it…”

“You don’t really like vegetables, though…”

“I do! I just developed a liking for them!”

“Is that so?”

Noah chuckled and sat opposite Nero.

“Should I give you mine, then?”

“No, this is enough for me.”

Sitting across from Lilly, Pia rolled her eyes and stared at Nero. Her hand holding the fork trembled. Once again, an impulse struck her.

Her emotions moved like a train with malfunctioning brakes. Unlike a little while ago, this time she couldn’t contain a cruel impulse. As her hand clenched the fork so tightly that it turned pale, she abruptly stood up.

“Is there anyone who wants more salad? There’s quite a bit left.”

“Oh, Nero—”

“No! I’m fine! I’m full!”

Lian approached holding a bowl of salad, diffusing the tense atmosphere. With relief in the air, Pia slumped back into her seat.

“Pia, would you like some too?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

Pia declined with a smile, breathing shallowly to quell her excitement.

Tap.

“…?”

The plan to cool down by pushing a cold salad into her mouth failed. The moment she pierced the vegetable stem with her fork, the vegetable slipped and rolled to the side.

It was all because of the sauce that made the plate slippery. Thinking it might be better to just eat with a spoon, she attempted to put the forkful of salad into her mouth.

Thunk.

In front of her wide-open mouth, the vegetables fell with a thud onto the plate. Noah approached, seeing her struggling with the fork, resembling children unfamiliar with its use.

“Need another fork if it’s too difficult to eat?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine.”

Pia managed a faint smile, then fiercely glared while brandishing the fork. However, the salad proved elusive and, with a rough gesture, some vegetables even fell outside.

“Hoo, huh…”

Unable to eat a single bite of salad, Pia eventually changed her target and picked up the meat with the fork. This time, it went smoothly without any issues.

For some unknown reason, a sense of triumph welled up deep inside as she chewed and swallowed the meat.

*Squelch!*

She got caught.

“Cough, cough!”

As Pia coughed, tears visible, Noah reached out to pat her back, looking at her with concern.

“Are you okay?”

*Cough, gulp…* “Yeah, thanks.”

Pia, teeth clenched, managed a barely grateful acknowledgment. After a considerable struggle, she was able to finish the meal.

***

After Rania’s visit, Mia had not conducted experiments for over a week. She was busy wandering around the house, casting unknown spells. Even her outings increased, perhaps to attend to matters outside.

This left me with some spare time. During these idle hours, I assisted Noah in educating the children.

“This is 1, and this is 2.”

Starting with basic number education.

“You have to be very careful with fire. Especially with knives, misuse can lead to injuries, so be even more cautious.”

Teaching various simple cooking methods.

‘The kids don’t seem to know much, so there’s a lot to teach.’

Noah taught the proper way to speak, write, and read. Once she spoke a few words, Pia began teaching about manners.

Pia didn’t seem eager to teach the kids, but after Lily expressed a desire to learn along with the others, she started teaching properly.

Education took place in the restaurant or any available room, and now Noah and I were teaching the children in the restaurant. Today, to give them a break, we handed out paper and asked them to draw whatever they wanted.

Among the discarded sheets of paper in the lost and found, children were drawing pictures on the sheets deemed acceptable for use.

The pens the children were using to draw were items Mia had given them.

When Rania arrived, the cookies and juice she had prepared seemed to please the children, and in response to her offer to provide anything they wanted, the children had asked for pens suitable for their use.

Perhaps because the children had asked for pens, they were able to receive as many pens as there were children.

Square by square.

The children diligently drew pictures with tightly closed lips.

“It feels peaceful, doesn’t it?”

“… Yeah, it does.”

Noah and I, with nothing particular to do, watched the children absentmindedly and engaged in a small conversation.

“It seems like the kids are learning faster than I thought.”

“Yeah, I was surprised too.”

“After they talk a bit more, I want to read them a fairy tale… I’m thinking of making one.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

When Noah mentioned making a fairy tale, I briefly imagined a fairy tale in the world of comedy.

‘…In the comedy world, fairy tales are often used as summoning scrolls or prophecies.’

If the children innocently say, “A dinosaur appeared,” a real dinosaur appears and destroys the city. The ground shakes, and the children’s bodies float up and down repeatedly, but the children continue reading the fairy tale as if they are completely unaware of it.

After finishing the book, the teacher either says, “You did really well!” with a smile or grabs the children’s sides and runs away. It’s generally safer to be next to the teacher who says, “You did really well!”

‘Just in case, let’s not help them.’

I suppressed the desire to help the children, as there could be a terrible accident.

“I don’t remember much, so I’m a little worried.”

“How about trying to make it with the kids? Let the kids create the story themselves.”

“…! That’s a great idea!”

Shrugging my shoulders with a smile at Noah’s praise, I glanced at him, and he smiled back.

“Hyung! I drew everything!”

Between the two of them, Nero’s bright voice penetrated. Nero showed a picture full of awkward circles and lines, saying, “This is Hyung, and this is me, and this is Lian Hyung!”

“What about this one?”

When Noah pointed to a character wearing a skirt with flowers drawn on it, Nero blushed and mumbled.

“That’s… a secret.”

Upon hearing this, Noah’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth agape.

“Noah, did you just think, ‘My brother has a secret for me?!'”

“…! H-How did you know?”

Noah turned to me with a bewildered expression. It was amusing to see the word ‘shock’ written all over his face when he said that.

“Well, it’s written all over your face.”

“Really?”

Noah, flustered, touched my face. Nero and I burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, well, not literally… I meant it shows a lot in your expression.”

“Oh, I see.”