Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 40
>Chapter Title: The Scent of Blood
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“The scent... of blood.”
‘My recovery is definitely faster when no one's watching.’
He recalled how his wounds wouldn't heal quickly during the experiments, so they'd had to stitch them up, which always left scars. He looked down at his torn clothes.
‘What should I do about this?’
After a moment's thought, he rummaged through the room.
“Oh, found it.”
He found a sewing kit and mended the clothes. In an instant, they were as good as new.
“Next up...”
The clothes were fixed, but that didn't get rid of the blood soaking them. Just as he was about to head to the bathroom to wash out the bloodstains with his housewife-level expertise, he noticed Totogen's outfit.
“Hmm, might as well wash his while I'm at it.”
He removed Totogen's robe. The imposing aura vanished completely, leaving only a hideously withered old man.
Totogen was too young to be called an old man, but his face was so wrinkled that he looked like one.
Underneath the robe was a thin layer of clothing. Worried he might catch a cold, Rian covered him with a rug that was draped over the sofa.
“Better get this washed before he wakes up.”
He filled the bathtub with water, put the robe and clothes in, and started washing. White foam bubbled up, and the garments were clean in no time.
He needed to dry the clothes quickly, so he wrung them out and went to the terrace to hang them on the railing.
Waaaaaah—.
Amidst the rush of scorching heat and cheers from below, the clothes dried in an instant. As quickly as they dried, beads of sweat formed on Rian's face.
‘The higher the floor, the hotter it gets...’
Thankful that the clothes had dried so fast, he put on his bone-dry outfit and brought the robe back into the living room.
“Don't... talk to... me—... ugh...”
Totogen was groaning and muttering nonsense as if having a nightmare. Rian removed the rug covering him and put the robe back on him.
‘Alright, all done... ah.’
He spotted the blood splattered on the floor. Rian's eyes darted around before he slyly used the rug that had been covering Totogen to hide the spot.
It looked a bit awkward, but the bloodstain was completely covered.
“Eh, it's not like I did anything wrong. This should be fine.”
Rian muttered to himself and headed for the door.
“Well then, I'll be taking my leave.”
*Click.*
Not long after Rian left.
“Hah...!”
Totogen came to his senses.
“Kuh... why am I... lying down?”
He clutched his head and sat up.
“I was definitely... huh?”
As he tried to recall what happened, a chilling sensation made him glance down at his robe.
*Pop, po-pong—.*
“Wh-wh-what is this...?!”
Flowers were popping out of his clothes, swaying limply. And they were emitting a disgustingly pleasant fragrance.
On top of that, a strangely pinkish aura was faintly radiating from it.
“My... my robe, which I spent a fortune on, why is it like... like this...?!”
The robe Totogen wore was the epitome of luxury, plastered with all sorts of magical effects.
Just by wearing it, one could intimidate others. It even had action-correction effects, temperature control, and a built-in sub-space. It was an all-purpose robe.
It was also the most expensive item he owned.
And from this priceless robe wafted a lovely scent, like that of a soft baby's cheek.
“Who in the world would do such a...!”
He roared furiously and shot to his feet.
“Uh...?”
He stepped on the rug on the floor and fell backward.
*Thud!*
“Gack...!”
He hit his head on the corner of the sofa, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
***
Leaving the zombie's room, he found himself in a long, magnificent hallway. Not long after he started walking, a spacious area appeared.
Judging by the long sofas and fountain, it seemed to be a lounge area. Iris, the roly-poly man, and the rat beastkin were all there.
The roly-poly man was nagging Iris about something, but Rian paid it no mind, considering it nonsense, and approached her.
“Huh?! You! How are you out already?!”
Startled by my sudden appearance, the roly-poly man jumped and exclaimed. I rolled my eyes for a moment, thinking.
'If I say the zombie impolitely sliced open his own stomach, got an earful from his organs, and passed out from shock... hmm, no one would believe that.'
Even if the laws of the gag world and this world were confusing, I knew well enough that talking organs were strange.
“You! Don't tell me you were rude to Lord Totogen... what?”
The roly-poly man, his face contorted in anger, was approaching me when the rat beastkin came up and whispered something to him, leaving him dumbfounded. He then cleared his throat and moved away from me.
"...Looks like we can milk this for longer than I thought. Ahem."
The roly-poly man was already rubbing his hands together like a fly as he approached Totogen's assistant to talk.
“Please be sure to tell Lord Totogen that we have many great programs prepared for him, so we hope he'll stay for a long, long time—and make himself at home! And also—...”
The rat beastkin next to him nodded eagerly.
The assistant listened to the roly-poly man with a blank expression, occasionally sharing details about Totogen's preferences.
*Ssk.*
While the roly-poly man and the assistant were talking, Iris came over and grabbed my hand.
“Thanks for waiti—... whoa!”
Just as I was about to praise Iris for waiting so patiently, my hand was pulled. When I came to my senses, Iris's nose was buried deep in my neck, sniffing.
“Ugh...”
Iris let out a low, subdued sound, deeper than usual, as if she was displeased with something.
“Uh, Iris?”
“Scent...”
“....!?”
Does... my body smell?
The moment I froze with a shocked expression, I heard the rest of her sentence.
“The scent... of blood.”
“Ah.”
At those words, my heart, which had been burning to a crisp, transformed into a beautiful flower garden.
“I bled a little earlier, that's why—... ugh!”
At that moment, I felt a ticklish pain on my neck. Iris had bitten me! Oh my god, my kid bit me!
“I-Iris, why...?”
Feeling like a father who'd just been slapped by his daughter, I called her name. Iris pulled her face away from my neck and said with a thoroughly grumpy expression.
“Promise... lie.”
“What...?”
Iris tapped the back of my hand. Only then did I realize what she was talking about.
“Ah—, that promise about not letting a knife near my neck?”
Iris nodded at my words. Her cheek was twitching in annoyance. If I called it cute, she'd probably get even angrier, right?
“So you bit me? Because I didn't keep my promise?”
*Nod—.*
Seeing her nod with such a resolute expression, the feeling of a slapped father washed away completely. How could I be angry when she did it out of worry for me?
In an instant, what could have been a lifelong emotional scar felt like the playful nipping of a puppy angry that I'd come home late.
Just look at her, slyly glancing over to gauge my reaction.
*This must be why people raise daughters,* I thought, stroking the head of Iris, who was now cautiously watching me.
“I'm sorry. I'll be careful not to smell like blood from now on.”
At that, Iris's eyes narrowed again. It seemed I'd said the wrong thing. I quickly waved my hands and said.
“Uh, and I won't let things like knives get near my neck, right?”
Iris stared intently at my face for a moment, then nodded. It seemed I'd gotten it right this time.
“Well then, we'll be on our way!”
The roly-poly man, finally seeming to have finished his conversation, bid the assistant a loud farewell and approached us.
“We're heading down now, so follow me.”
At his words, I followed the roly-poly man without complaint.
***
“Ooh!”
Iris and I were assigned a room two floors higher than before. With a living room and two separate bedrooms, it was practically a house.
“This can be Iris's room!”
“...!”
Both rooms were clearly bedrooms, each with a bed. It was obvious we were meant to take one room each.
It's natural for someone Iris's age to want their own room.
'The day will come when she gets angry and tells me not to wash her laundry with mine, won't it?'
As I wiped the sweat from my eyes, I saw Iris shaking her head frantically.
“Huh? You don't like this room? Then do you want the other one?”
At that, Iris shook her head frantically again, let go of my hand, and dashed into the room. And then—... she lifted the bed!
“I-Iris, that's dangerous!”
*She may have the strength to take down house-sized monsters, but she's just a delicate girl, too fragile to lift a bed—* I tried to stop Iris, my thoughts completely contradicting themselves.
“Wh-what's wrong, Iris...!”
“Ugh...!”
It took me a while to realize that Iris was trying to move the bed because she wanted to sleep in the same room as me.
Just as tears of emotion were welling in my eyes.
*Knock, knock.*
“Hey, you in there?”
A neighbor from the same floor had come to visit.