The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 108



Only Noblemtl

Episode 108

A few days later.

“Geo, are you awake?”

Yoo Seong-un found ‘Geo’s Portrait’.

“I brought the seedlings I told you about last time.”

“I am awake.”

“Okay, check to see if it’s the kind you want.”

In the frame, what Geo asked for in exchange for guaranteeing Yoo Seong-un’s life was one flower and one tree.

They were the ‘honey pot’ and the ‘salt tree’, and as the names suggest, one could obtain honey and salt, respectively.

‘Geo prefers such pastoral things, huh?’

Actually, he said that his house was a cabin in the forest. He even asked for various seeds for farming.

‘You have a definite taste.’

Yoo Seong-un entered the frame and saw a picture of a honey pot and a seedling of a zelkova tree.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Geo was petting it as if it were a newborn animal.

‘… or having the skill to communicate with plants… .’

I thought so, since it’s not a skill that humans don’t have at all.

I don’t know exactly what it was, but Geo definitely liked things that were rewarding to take care of, like plants and animals or children.

Soon the portrait gave the answer.

“This is exactly what I wanted. Thank you for accepting my request, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied with that. I’ll organize the edible plants on Earth and in the dungeon later and hand them over to you, so if there’s anything you want, just tell me.”

“I will also prepare a gift that will be helpful to Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”

Geo asked, holding the still fragile seedling in his arms.

“Is that all for today?”

“Well, I just wanted to chat about this and that.”

“Okay. I wonder how student Chaisol is doing.”

“Mr. Chaisol? You have now entered the temple.”

Yoo Seong-un brought a nearby folding chair and sat down in front of the portrait as he continued speaking.

“It’s quite late. Originally, I was supposed to go in and prepare to become a priest right after the initiation ceremony, but Father Kang Seo-dam said he was tired because of the ‘Deep Sea Country’ incident and time was very limited.”

“I apologize for causing trouble to our disciples. I tried to persuade them several times, but they still hate humans. I will let you know if there are any results soon.”

“It doesn’t matter because there is no monster that doesn’t hate humans. There is no way to deny that the emotions that form the basis of their power and reason are being used. Still, I feel reassured that Geo-ni is by the side of those mermaids.”

As he said that, Yoo Seong-un thought of the story of the mermaids that were being seen in the ‘Deep Sea Country’.

‘They say it’s incredibly brutal.’

The exact cause is unknown, but it has been reported that the recent sightings of mermaids are more dangerous than the earlier sightings. They say that they are in a state of uncontrolled anger and hatred.

‘Is it because Geo told him not to hate humans that his ill feelings grew? But even though I haven’t seen it myself, I’ve heard that his expression of despair and sadness is even greater.’

Judging from Geo’s reaction, he seems to be normal when meeting him.

‘I don’t know what the hell is going on… .’

However, it was not uncommon for monsters to display a creepy duality. There was no need for Yoo Seong-un to be concerned about the affairs of monsters that were not even children of the Origin.

“… and Mr. Chaisol…”

Yoo Seong-un soon recalled the cheerful child’s recent situation.

“The partner you decided on at the temple was the Galaxy Army, right? I mean, Isser in his younger form.”

“Yes, I remember. Now that Isser is gone, Chaisol will be without a partner.”

“So there was a bit of confusion, but it looks like we’ve finally found a partner.”

This ‘Deep Sea Temple’ incident had a huge impact.

“I guess there were a few kids who left the temple because they thought they couldn’t do something so dangerous after going through such a terrible experience as a novice priest. Since there happened to be an even number of novice priests left, they had to re-assign their partners from the beginning.”

Yoo Seong-un shrugged.

“I guess it can’t be helped since priests are basically two people per group.”

“I heard that a priest’s partner lasts a lifetime. Does that mean that they don’t change?”

“When you are a trainee priest, you can change partners several times, but when you become a full-fledged priest registered in the temple, your partner is yours for life.”

“I wonder what happens if the other party is no longer able to perform the duties of a priest due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“I wonder if priests who lost their partners can form a new team by mutual agreement, but I know that they usually work alone.”

A representative example was Father Kang Seo-dam, who even appeared alone at the initiation ceremony.

‘It’s a common thing.’

Priests in their 40s usually did not seek out new partners. It would be quite tiring to collaborate with someone other than the one they had worked with all their lives.

“From the perspective of an ordinary office worker, one wonders why such a tiring structure was created….”

“I wonder why it is standard for priests to be in pairs. Is there a reason other than tradition?”

“First of all, the traditional part is big. What is it? In the first place, the religious world doesn’t change easily.”

But that wasn’t the only reason.

“It is said that the power that a priest can use is most effective when he cooperates with others.”

“Are all priests’ powers like that?”

“At least as far as I know. There are exceptions, but priests who serve evil spirits are strongest when they are alone.”

No priest knew the exact reason.

“But if I were to guess, it would probably be because each god they worship pursues different virtues. Most gods value friendship and peace, while evil gods require destruction and suffering.”

Yoo Seong-un nodded.

“In particular, the Solar Church refers to each priest as a ‘small light.’ Even if it is a faint light, if they all gather together, it becomes a large light, and if they gather together like that, it will become hot, so they especially value cooperation.”

“I guess that’s why the power increases when we cooperate. The more we gather together, the hotter we become. The Sun Church’s temple was warm and pleasant, and now I understand why.”

Although it was a ‘Portrait of Geo’ painted in black paint and the eyes were invisible, Yoo Seong-un could tell that it was staring at him. Soon, the portrait continued to speak.

“What kind of child is Chaisol’s partner?”

“I don’t know the details, but I do know that he’s a first-class citizen.”

“You are a first-class citizen.”

“Considering that he is a young child, he must be quite wealthy.”

The biggest difference between 1st and 2nd class citizens, even when living together in the city, was economic power. If I was a young child who had just joined the army, I was a 1st class citizen, so my parents were likely to have been 1st class citizens for generations.

“That’s not how they are paired up originally. In order for priests to become partners, they have to share a dormitory room, so they have to be of the same sex. Also, to make it easier for them to understand and rely on each other, they are grouped into similar ranks… This is rare.”

Yoo Seong-un smiled awkwardly.

“Chaisol’s partner is of a different gender and rank. Well, if he becomes a full-fledged priest, Chaisol will also become a second-class citizen….”

“Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t there be any? But I think the number has decreased significantly due to the escape of many prospective priests in this incident.”

“It must have been difficult for the priests to find partners for the children.”

“So this time, they took a lot of consideration into the opinions of prospective priests.”

This was the result.

“I heard that kid was causing a fuss by saying he wanted to be partners with Chaisol.”

“I see, you are a very courageous student. I think it will be fun to meet you and Chaisol later.”

“I haven’t even seen your face, but you’ve already given me such a good evaluation. You’re going to be a great kid.”

It was not that there were no boys among the remaining novice priests, nor were there no third-class citizens. Nevertheless, it would have been difficult to force children of different genders and classes to stick together without their strong expression of their will.

“Eunhyuk Cha, whom I met to buy bungeoppang, said this with a very tired face.”

“That’s really unusual. So, are the two students satisfied with being partners?”

“Chae Sol-kun says he doesn’t have any particular thoughts, but… wouldn’t the other side like it anyway?”

That’s because what I claimed came true.

“Of course, we each have separate rooms, but it seems like the Taeyanggyo decided to combine the dorm rooms after this incident. They’ll be divided into separate rooms for men and women. Chaisol won’t be lonely.”

Yoo Seong-un rubbed his tired eyes as he said that there was no need to worry.

“… Oh my, I’m sleepy… .”

“You couldn’t get off work?”

“I couldn’t sleep because I was looking into this and that.”

I mainly went around looking into things related to the ‘Empty City’.

“… … .”

The atmosphere was considerably lightened thanks to the story about Chae Sol, whom Geo particularly cherished.

Yoo Seong-un, who had been observing the situation, then carefully opened his mouth.

“…Thank you for releasing Hunter Park Eun-gyeom.”

Among those he found out was Park Eun-gyeom, who was at the center of this disappearance case.

“I heard that he returned home safely.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“I knew it, but you still act so indifferent.”

Geo really didn’t care what happened to the sinner who entered his stomach.

‘It might just have been an isolation to make the average human being good.’

Yoo Seong-un understood Geo’s indifference.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand how he viewed humans or how he viewed himself.

It was difficult to get to the main point, so he brought up Park Eun-gyeom’s story for no reason and continued talking.

“Of course, he was arrested by the Association as soon as he returned home. There is solid evidence that he abused and abandoned his comrades, and what happened in the ‘Empty City’ is also important data to the Association.”

Yoo Seong-un also played a big part in that ‘important data’.

“Eun-gyeom Park, that guy, seems to be careful these days because he found out why he was taken away.”

“That’s great, but I don’t have high hopes.”

“Well, humans don’t change that easily. But since the people from the Association are watching, I don’t think there will be any problems.”

“If they do something bad again while the association is watching, that in itself is truly amazing.”

“I think so too.”

Yoo Seong-un chose his words again.

“… Do you know that? Your name has become really famous these days.”

“How did you become famous?”

“First of all, congratulations, you’ve got a fan. I guess he likes your drawings.”

“I am grateful that you love my imperfect work.”

“Is that too humble of a response?”

Geo’s ‘work’ had great artistic value.

There are two works by ‘Black Cloak’ known so far: ‘The Breathing Sea’ and ‘The City of Emptiness’.

The former had many stories about how they felt the gaze and breath of people even though they only drew the sea, while the latter said that just looking at it made them feel lonely and sad and made them want to go back to their family and friends.

“Did you make the paint yourself?”

“That’s right. There are many materials in this forest that help me with my work. I get help from them.”

“He said he liked that color because it was so unique. It’s your own color that’s hard to imitate. I heard some people even try to imitate it… .”

“I think it would be difficult if there were no materials where I am.”

“Anyway, I was just saying that your work is popular.”

Some people were so fascinated by Geo’s work that they felt as if a real artist had appeared. They spent a whole day just looking at it, and they were even ecstatic, saying that there was a world inside it.

It’s not just Bisabal who is blinded by his work.

‘I hope this doesn’t turn into a dangerous atmosphere.’

Geo had an extraordinary ability to charm and sway people.

‘There was a time when I thought it was just Giovanni’s ability, but even when it was just a portrait, it had a tremendous ripple effect… .’

I thought about this when I was first taken to the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’, but if a cult were to form targeting this guy, it would be a real headache.

“Anyway, it seems like everyone is just enjoying the city’s new event.”

“Is that so…?”

“Oh, you didn’t like it? Well, I did tell you that it was a story that was actually happening.”

“I don’t like crowds.”

“That’s… yeah, if you cover your face while walking around, it’ll be covered to some extent.”

Yoo Seong-un, who had been smiling slightly as if it was okay, soon couldn’t hold back the question that came to his mind and asked.

“That’s why I became curious.”

“… … .”

“Who are you?”

I should have known that.

“…What should we do?”

Only then was coexistence possible.

I was able to survive.