The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 102



Only Noblemtl

Episode 102

“Meteor Cloud Curator.”

It’s just a meteor cloud.

“I am very sorry to have to say this, but….”

“Are you working overtime?”

“… … .”

“You’re working overtime.”

I thought it was coming.

Bisabal, who had been quietly looking at the face of Yoo Seong-un, who had escaped resignation and reached a state of liberation, immediately raised his thumb. He gave a refreshing wink that made it hard to believe he was an old gentleman of that age.

“How much will it cost?”

“It’s like a dirty capitalist society.”

In this day and age, things like legally mandated working hours are of no use.

Even those laws were all based on civilian standards, so it wouldn’t have been strange for an openly public hunter, not even a regular awakened person, to die from overwork.

“Phew… .”

And Yoo Seong-un was a member of society who knew very well that he was a cog in the wheel of this society.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

He nodded.

“I’m looking forward to receiving my paycheck this month.”

“Oh my goodness, that meteor hunter is so cool! He’s so trustworthy!”

“Please don’t bother me any longer and get to the point.”

“Is that so?”

Bisabal, with his characteristically sagging smile, continued speaking.

“Geo had an accident.”

“… … .”

Horok… .

Yoo Seong-un asked while drinking sweet fruit tea.

“Is it cute or is it horrible?”

“It was so cute.”

“If it’s terrible by the guild leader’s standards, then there’s no way I wouldn’t know.”

“Then before you even wonder why I’m asking, Mr. Yoo Seong-un? What on earth do you think I am? A forerunner who foresees the end of the world?”

“It’s amazing how you can enjoy life so much.”

“What remains is what you enjoy. You can respect it.”

“Oh, yes… .”

Yoo Seong-un rubbed his sore neck and asked again.

“What exactly happened?”

“They say that a first-class citizen was dragged away by Geo’s frame.”

“If they were first-class citizens, there would be a few classists who would rise up….”

“What can I do? Since it wasn’t done by a human but by a monster, I guess I should be a little more careful.”

“That’s true.”

It is true that in the human world, first-class citizens receive considerable preferential treatment.

But on the contrary, there were few people who felt sympathy for a first-class citizen when he was attacked by a monster. Most first-class citizens gained power and honor in return for fighting monsters and protecting other citizens.

“Well, Geo isn’t a monster.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for it to be known that way anyway?”

“The guild leader is right.”

There was no need to inform those who could not even see of the existence of the source.

‘It’ll just add to the unnecessary confusion.’

If the source was to be officially known, it would have been at least 100 years later. With only 31 years having passed since the catastrophe, there were many things that were particularly lacking in the public’s awareness.

Anyway, this isn’t what’s important.

“Who is the person that Geo took away?”

In response to Yoo Seong-un’s question, Bisabal answered by rubbing his chin.

“My name is Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, a B-class.”

“… I’ve never heard of it… .”

“Please memorize the names of the hunters. They are among the top hunters.”

“Overall ranking?”

“Domestic.”

“How would I know that?”

Although he was an A-class hunter, Yoo Seong-un’s occupation was as a curator of a collection store and the manager of a secret garden.

Unless it was a widely known subject or something that required special attention, all of his attention was directed to the source.

“Where can I find out the domestic hunter rankings and use them?”

In short, if it is not the source or the basic qualification of an A-class hunter, there is no need to know it.

“Could it be used to pretend to know something?”

“I roughly remember the important Class A.”

“Please pay attention to even the lowest ranks. Even if you are an unofficial hunter, you will get cursed at if you do that.”

“I’m doing well in social life too. I don’t show off my ignorance in front of people, right?”

“I guess I should say that it’s fortunate….”

Is it because the world treats hunters like some kind of celebrity? Unless they have some sort of character, people always want hunters in the media to look humble and perfect.

The image of knowing and respecting the names of all the hunters was one of that kind of ‘perfection’.

Of course, since Yoo Seong-un is a collection of Bisabyeol and a gardener who has a lot of time to work privately, he doesn’t appear in the media often of his own volition. If he was doing well on his own, Bisabyeol wouldn’t have to worry about it.

“Actually, he wasn’t a hunter with that much recognition.”

“Are you talking about that hunter named Park Eun-gyeom?”

“I guess I had a strong desire to rise up, but I don’t know. People these days don’t like arrogant and self-righteous hunters that much.”

For hunters these days, image management is essential. In order to not need such an image, you need to be S-class, but even in the current generation where hunters are produced without difficulty, it is hard to find a hunter of that level.

And of course, the hunter who was kidnapped by Geo this time wasn’t that good of an ability.

“A typical B-class. He was born with pretty decent aptitude skills and achieved a decent grade, but he didn’t have any particular external charm or sociability.”

“… You memorized it all. You weren’t a hunter who paid special attention.”

“If you’re a hunter in South Korea, you all remember this. Even though I look like a punk, I’m still the leader of the third-largest guild in the country. If you want to win with your head instead of your body, this is the basics.”

“Hmm.”

Yoo Seong-un nodded.

“What exactly happened?”

“I just received an official document from the Hunter Association today….”

Visabal explained what had happened. How the Hunter Association had reacted to Geo’s accident and how passively they had asked for help. And what exactly was the accident Geo had caused.

“… So, it is said that the hunter named Park Eun-gyeom has not been found until now.”

“If I was dragged into Geo’s frame, that would be understandable. I don’t even know what the situation is like inside.”

Yoo Seong-un groaned, holding his chin.

“If anything, it’s fortunate that it wasn’t something that would make such a big fuss.”

First of all, it’s also big because Geo caused the accident without making a sound.

“More than anything, the Hunter Association’s attitude is impressive.”

“I thought so too.”

Visaval also agreed.

“I have no intention of causing a fuss or offending the spirit of our portrait, but I still want to show how seriously I am taking the recent incident involving the ‘Black Cloak’.”

He vaguely ‘requested’ an ‘investigation’ without directly mentioning anyone. If the president of the association knew that Geo was a collection of Bisabul, he could have been more forceful, but he didn’t.

So is it just passive? No, it wasn’t.

“Why are you asking for help from all three major guilds, not just any other place?”

There were three guilds representing South Korea, and Bisabal’s ‘Collection’ ranked third among them.

“then….”

“Including the president of the association, all the ‘symbols of eternity’ are gathered together.”

“That’s it.”

A symbol of eternity.

This is a term that refers to the number 1 and 2 guild leaders in South Korea, centered around Dan Hae-ra, the president of the Korean Hunter Association. It is a word that literally describes three great people who symbolize eternity.

If the Visabal is responsible for Korea’s capital, the second-ranking guild leader is responsible for public sentiment, the first-ranking guild leader is responsible for safety, and the Hunter Association leader is responsible for overall administration and management. With these as the mainstays, the Republic of Korea has shown a high level of stability on a global scale.

“Well, of course I’m not the ‘Symbol of Eternity’?”

Although some people sometimes make the mistake, Bisabal’s aging is slowed down because of his high level of skill, and he did not make an eternal promise like them. Even if he had been given one, he would not have done so.

“But it does play a big role in this capitalist society. It seems that he contacted all three major guild leaders in South Korea, including me. This alone shows how important the association president thinks ‘Portrait of Geo’ is.”

At those words from the bachelor, Yoo Seong-un opened his mouth with a slightly trembling expression.

“… I’ve been curious about this for a long time.”

“Why are you asking now?”

“I didn’t want to get involved, but I feel like I’ve already gotten involved, so I’m asking now.”

“You’re smart, you’re the meteor curator I personally brought in.”

“You brought everything yourself, so what… Anyway, what is this?”

Yoo Seong-un continued speaking.

“Why did the president want ‘Geo’s Portrait’ in the first place?”

As far as he knew, the main skill of the president of the Danhae Association, one of the few S-class people in the country, was not something like ’emotion’.

Why did you put in so much effort to compete with Bisabal, which is in charge of Korean capital, when you couldn’t even feel the essence of that unfamiliar portrait as much as Bisabal?

“I know that the chairman of the association visits the auction house often. He buys a lot of things. But he has rarely shown as much passion and sincerity as he did for this portrait, right?”

“There wasn’t any at all.”

“That’s what I mean.”

“But I don’t know much about that part either.”

But the only thing that Visabal could know was.

“… … .”

In those eyes, there was a rare hint of emotion.

‘… I’m not sure, though.’

The current head of the Danhae Association, who can be said to be the center of Korea, was a person who gave up a lot to maintain that balance.

‘That kind of person showed even a faint emotion towards one of the auction items.’

To be honest, even Bisabal himself doubted his own judgment.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“Don’t you know?”

“I can’t know everything.”

“You live as if it’s not true.”

“It also helps me sell my image.”

“Oh, my head hurts.”

“That may happen in life.”

Anyway, it wasn’t that important why the association president was after ‘Geo’s Portrait’. At least to Bisabal, it was.

“I don’t know for sure, but there might have been something that only the president of the association could see.”

“… … .”

“The story has gone off on a tangent.”

Isn’t the most important thing now ‘Geo’s Portrait’?

“As you might expect, the Hunter Association has recognized the importance of the ‘Black Cloak’ and is approaching it cautiously. They will likely maintain a coexistence-friendly attitude as much as possible until they are certain that they are enemies.”

“… First of all, Geo will be less likely to get angry if you take an aggressive approach. I was worried that the image of the ‘Black Cloak’ has become too familiar recently, so I was worried that there would be more nonsense in the future, but I’m glad that the association has become aware of it.”

“Even the three major guild leaders in South Korea all received the official document. Since it was the request of the association president, of all people, the other two symbols will also make their stance on the ‘Black Cloak’ clear and make efforts to inform others about it.”

“There are also symbols that are specialized in that area, so I won’t worry about that anymore. Now, the only thing that remains is how cooperative our collection will be.”

Yoo Seong-un, who was once the research team leader of the association, was not so indifferent to the affairs of the country.

Even if you twist it 30 times, he has the talent to understand, but if you give him hints like this, Yoo Seong-un can’t help but do something.

“… … .”

And anyway.

“… Geo is my responsibility.”

If it weren’t for Yoo Seong-un, there was no one else who could take on this task.

“Let’s take a look around for now.”

“Why don’t you ask Geo right away?”

“… It is true that Geo is friendly to humans as a being of origin, but this time the situation is a bit different.”

“This is the first time that he has shown hostility rather than goodwill. He said in the official document that he did not show up, so he may be feeling uncomfortable.”

“If we try to save a human that Geo has judged to be a ‘villain,’ he may reveal even greater hostility. So rather than asking him directly, I’m going to first look for a frame that says the victim was taken away.”

Yoo Seong-un asked, rubbing his sore neck once more.

“Do you have any clues about that frame? A photograph, a painting, or something… I’d like to know its features.”

“It was first discovered in a dungeon called ‘Jewel Vein’, and also… .”

The visa officer showed the association’s official document.

“It is said to be a work depicting a gray city.”

“… … .”

The official document stated that the witness testified that the picture frame was so empty that it made one feel empty just by looking at it.

Yoo Seong-un, who was staring at it intently, pursed his lips.

“… Even now, in the ‘Deep Sea Country’, the ‘Breathing Sea’ picture frame is often seen. It must be true, as it has been confirmed by a hunter with the appraisal skill.”

“That must have been created by Geo, too?”

“Yes, that’s right. By the way, I’m a painter who draws dungeons as I please….”

I was feeling a little bored.

“It’s scary.”

And then I wondered.

It was a meteor-like thought.