The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 83



Only Noblemtl

Episode 83

The highest floor of the collection, the office of the Viceroy.

“It is a dangerous nature.”

“Are you a hothead?”

“You could say that too.”

After hearing Yoo Seong-un’s report, Bisabal asked while rubbing his chin.

“You took yourself hostage and threatened the mermaids?”

“… In summary, it would be like this.”

“You must be hot.”

The smile of the poet who was humming like that seemed somewhat bitter.

“My collection is about to walk into the fires of hell.”

“That hellfire was the light of the sun. Please refrain from bringing friction with the Sun Church.”

“That’s why you’re not doing it in front of them. That’s fine.”

“I knew where the word would come out. And it could be heard as blasphemy… .”

“Anyway, the saying that people are crazy about religion doesn’t make sense.”

“Isn’t that how it is for priests to exist?”

“Our Mr. Giovanni shouldn’t be that big… .”

“That guy named Giovanni is all grown up. He’s so grown up that he’s dead.”

“Please don’t kill my lovely work, Curator Yoo Seong-un.”

The sullen Visabal soon smiled faintly, seeming to like this unusual conversation.

“You could say that they have no regrets about their own destruction and suffering. Even the gods are very sensitive to destruction, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that humans have lost their most traditional way to deal with disaster.”

“In the first place, we shouldn’t have created a situation where we would have to fight the ‘Portrait of Geo’. If the situation worsens to the point where we have to find a way to subdue Geo, it’s not a disaster that can be solved with a few sacrifices, like with evil gods.”

“If he had been an ordinary god, it would have been a little easier to prepare for. However, Geo is not a traditional god, but something with the characteristics of a god, so thinking in this way won’t give an answer.”

“That’s true, but Geo also has human characteristics. It’s also something to think about that he didn’t get swayed by emotions even though he clearly had a human personality. We need to keep thinking about how to subdue him.”

The scribe asked him.

“Considering that they didn’t kill or punish him at all, wouldn’t it be fair to assume that they were treated with consideration for old ties?”

“It’s a separate issue from what the outcome was. I observed Geo from the side, but it wasn’t an eye buried in the past.”

It seemed that Giovanni had made that choice because he thought it was the natural course of events and also the right thing to do. He seemed to truly believe that tormenting him would be the greatest punishment for the mermaid.

“Geo felt like he had taken on the most appropriate responsibility he could. Giving Giovanni to the mermaids, who were dull because they were monsters, gave them meaning and made them suffer endlessly.”

“That’s the punishment.”

“Because with Giovanni by their side, the mermaids will have to take responsibility for everything they do. It seems like that’s what Giovanni wants and that’s what he’s trying to do.”

Yoo Seong-un said, recalling Giovanni at that time.

“He was very firm. If what he said is true, those mermaids were the ones Giovanni raised like his children when he was human. He must have been angry or something… .”

“… … .”

“It was quite creepy to see him continue to smile even though he was bleeding and had broken limbs. He was really no different from the portrait. He continued to do his work even though the mermaid named Aria cried and begged him.”

“The story about the mermaid crying is quite interesting, but threatening?”

“That may be true, but it was a way for Geo to suffer along with it, yes, well, maybe. No matter how you beat around the bush, it’s hard to change the essence.”

It’s hard to even say that it wasn’t a threat.

“But what’s unusual is that he took himself hostage.”

“If things had not worked out properly back then and Giovanni had died, would it really have seemed like his personality had died?”

“He said it himself. He said that the personality called Giovanni could die, and if not, he would die in front of her dozens or hundreds of times.”

“Either way, it’s creepy.”

“It certainly seemed like the mermaid thought the same thing. She said it with a gentle smile, which made it sound even scarier. Even to me, Giovanni’s words didn’t sound like mere bluff… .”

“It would have been a decent punishment for the mermaids.”

Visabal shrugged.

“That doesn’t mean they won’t harass humans anymore, though.”

“But as long as Geo is by their side, I don’t think anything big will happen….”

“I think what we need to focus on is making sure that nothing ‘big’ happens.”

If it weren’t for the level of mass murder, Geo wouldn’t have said anything about the mermaids’ cruelty.

‘Portrait of Geo’ is a being of gentlemanly origin who likes good and polite things, but he himself is not good.

“He is not a hero. He may have once been a hero, and he may have a ‘Geo’ with such qualities, but at least ‘Portrait of Geo’ is a nature and destiny.”

Visabal continued speaking with a smile.

“As gardener Yoo Seong-un would know better, it is one of the characteristics of beings close to the source. Unless it is due to a special malice, for Geo, human life and death are not much different from the blooming and falling of flowers.”

The pitch-black portrait pretended not to be interesting and judged the death and suffering of myself, my surroundings, and the outside world as a state and information. I did not feel any sympathy for the things that were being destroyed and broken down outside my hands.

Of course, ‘Portrait of Geo’ loved humans equally, but to say that it loved everything was like saying that it loved nothing in the first place.

In some ways, he was cold and indifferent. He let things flow as they were, unless he became interested.

“As evidence, the entrance to the ‘Deep Sea Kingdom’ has not been closed yet. If the mermaids truly reflected on their past and wanted to respect humans, they would have closed the entrance and sealed the dungeon to prevent any more humans from getting hurt.”

But even after a week, there was no sign of that happening. It meant that mermaids, as monsters, could not stop their hatred for humans, and Geo did not unconditionally support humans either.

“If either of them had come true, the dungeon would have been closed.”

“Because the source of existence is not something that humans can manipulate. They are nature.”

“So in the end, we had to buy them. We didn’t know who else would die from the mermaids’ anger.”

The visa holder smiled happily.

“Of course, there was also the concept of a gift for our Sergio Hunter!”

“… I think the media will take care of it, but is it okay to spend money…?”

“This collector Visabal won’t be affected by buying just one dungeon.”

“In today’s capitalist society, you seem really trustworthy.”

“I was originally a trustworthy guild leader.”

“Oh, yes.”

“However, Geo cannot be said to be on the side of complete humans.”

Visabal smiled as he looked at the meteor shower.

“Just like gardeners like Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”

“… … .”

Yoo Seong-woon shrugged his shoulders at the word ‘gardener’ that came up after a long time.

“The Source that has been revealed so far is closer to a system than a personality. He is fair to all personalities in the universe, including humans, monsters, and the children of the Source. So the gardener who manages the veins of such a Source must also have a fair perspective.”

The most important virtue of a gardener is the sense of balance that does not take sides. They are the signposts that maintain a minimum balance and the bystanders who live in the garden.

“In that sense, I sometimes feel like Geo is similar to a gardener.”

“What part made you feel that way?”

“Chaara Hunter was the first human to visit the inside of ‘Geo’s Portrait’. The Geo cabin he described looked similar to the garden we manage.”

“Then maybe Geo is a gardener who was eaten by the source.”

“How can a gardener who has been eaten by the root maintain his ego…?”

Yoo Seong-un made a weary expression as he tousled his snow-white hair. His sky-blue eyes narrowed.

“This is ridiculous.”

Can a gardener maintain his ego even if he is eaten by his garden? That is impossible. A gardener who has become the property of his garden can no longer be called an intelligent life form.

“But when you think about it this way, it’s clear that Geo wouldn’t take sides between humans and monsters. Considering that, you can see that Geo doesn’t just want to punish the mermaids.”

He only solved the problem in front of him. He only took on the responsibility that Giovanni should have taken on, and he put minimal control on the mermaids who had the power and thoughts to threaten humanity.

That was all. As Bisabal had said, Geo was not a passionate being who would do something he was not interested in even at the risk of losing money.

“Geo loves kind and polite beings. That’s what makes the portrait interesting.”

“The mermaids may not have been particularly good. Even though Geom hates evil, he showed such mercy. As Mr. Yoo Seong-un reported, it could be a kind of favoritism.”

“Saving people must have been a lighthearted act. I have a rough estimate.”

Yoo Seong-un looked into the sky as if he was assessing something and brushed his neck.

“I like things to be simple and peaceful. This is the basic attitude of ‘Portrait of Geo’ toward the world, with two exceptions.”

“The first is a past relationship, and the second is a person of interest.”

“The object of interest would be a good and polite being. ‘Portrait of Geo’ basically seems to follow these three directions as its rules, but that is….”

“It’s too early to tell. This is only the second ‘Geo’.”

“Yes, I guess I was lucky this time. In the case of ‘Giovanni’, he was a gentle and compassionate priest. We should also consider the possibility that ‘Gio’, who has a hostile orientation toward humanity, will appear.”

“I don’t think there will be any major problems since ‘Portrait of Geo’ values ​​peace and has a strong will to communicate.”

“So, the being of origin shouldn’t treat you like a person. Anyway, what I want to say is, um… .”

He, who seemed to be sorting out the nuisance that was encouraging him to work overtime, soon opened his mouth.

“We also need to find a way to coexist with mermaids in the future.”

“… … .”

“Guild Leader, I think we need to come up with a plan.”

The old guildmaster really hated doing anything that wasn’t related to his collection, Bisabal said bitterly, slumping in his chair.

“… What if we just close the dungeon entrance forever? No one will ever come in.”

“Would that work? What you purchased, Guild Master, was the right to enter the dungeon, not the dungeon itself. Above all… .”

“There might be some resources in there, but if we don’t allow anyone to enter, at least the Hunter Association won’t stay silent.”

“Why would someone who knows so well do that?”

“ha….”

Bisabal, who had been buried deep in the chair, raised his upper body with a jerk.

“… Even if you say there are no resources in it, no one will believe you?”

“There are already rumors going around that the collector is trying to monopolize special resources in the ‘Deep Sea Country’, so even if he says something like that now, it will only seem like a deception.”

“That’s right.”

Visabal smiled faintly.

“Then what can we do? We should just leave them to find a place to die on their own.”

“Oh, would you like to do that?”

“I plan to set a toll soon. I will respect those brave souls who crawl inside in search of that special resource I found in the collector. It won’t be my fault if they die inside, right?”

“Then I will make sure to keep that in mind.”

Since there was a scuffle with Geo, the mermaids in the ‘Deep Sea Kingdom’ would not necessarily come out of the dungeon to do anything, but they would not leave the humans who entered the dungeon alone either.

“I don’t think Geo will be able to help that easily anymore. The reason Geo has been going to the deep sea country so often was to talk to the mermaids, but now that he’s achieved that goal… he won’t go that far to help the hunters anymore.”

“The ‘Portrait of Geo’ we saw wasn’t such an altruistic and dedicated being, was it?”

“That’s right, they’re just considerably more friendly and gentlemanly than other sources of existence.”

There are probably some fools who crawl into S-class dungeons just believing in the existence of the ‘Black Cloak’, but it’s about time they get a taste of the spice.

“This is the right direction.”

Yoo Seong-un nodded.

“The current hunters are treating the ‘Black Cloak’ like a convenient vending machine. Those hunters who feel so sorry for themselves were not helped by Geo in the first place… .”

“Anyway, there’s no way that such an easy image would help Geo.”

“Yes, so it is time to realize that the ‘Black Cloak’ is a natural disaster that cannot be moved as they wish. If they die in the ‘Deep Sea Country’ without even seeing the ‘Black Cloak’, they will also come to realize the reality.”

There are still many fools in the world who think they can compromise with monsters, or the beings of origin, and use them, even though they are clearly not a resource but a disaster.

“I’ll leave this part up to Geo. Maybe Geo, who enjoys drawing and rescuing humans, will step forward to rescue more Hunters, but I think it’s unlikely since he’s not that active of a portrait.”

The bailiff said to him.

“I can speak well too.”

“No matter how well you talk, Geo himself refuses, so what are you going to do?”

“If this continues, I might end up laying down a sleeping bag in front of the portrait.”

“Then Geo gets angry… .”

“Tsk.”

The tongue-licking Visabal quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, is the prospective priest who was kidnapped back then doing well?”

“You’re asking now. I heard you’re finally moving into the dorm next Monday.”

“The Sun Church has never been in such chaos. If things had gone as they were, we would have been accepting and raising students long ago, but we ended up being prey to mermaids and our schedule was ruined.”

“I think that priest Kang Seo-dam was very stressed out because of that. You know? It was on the news this time too… .”

“But now that things will proceed as planned, the situation at the Solar Church will get better.”

Yoo Seong-un nodded.

“The prospective priest you mentioned, Chaisol, did not seem to have any major psychological problems.”

“Is that cynicism, like a ripe fruit, the talent of a collector I haven’t brought in yet?”

“You’re already a priest of the Sun Church, so why would you join a private guild that isn’t a church? More than anything, you’re far from the kind of cynicism you’re thinking of. Just… .”

“a little?”

“The nerves are really thick.”

Even though I knew I had been kidnapped, I went to see the mermaid’s life and watched it with calmness.

“It doesn’t seem like he didn’t know because of his childish innocence. He just seemed quick-witted but had a strong spirit that didn’t get easily hurt.”

“Do you have the qualities of a fool? Or the qualities of a tyrant? Either way, I don’t like it. I heard that Geo likes you.”

“First of all, we have generously compensated the victims. No matter how well you act, the victims are still victims.”

And that was when it happened.

“Oh.”

“Did you get a text?”

“Yes, that’s right… Cha Eun-hyuk.”

“Are you the older brother of the prospective priest we were talking about just now?”

“you’re right.”

Yoo Seong-un, who checked the text, was speechless for a moment.

“… … .”

“Is there a problem?”

“… Geo is there.”

“… Where?”

Yoo Seong-un answered Visabal’s question with difficulty.

“This is Mr. Chaisol’s house.”

“… … .”

Although he had originally thought that it would be a good idea to leave work, Yoo Seong-woon smelled the familiar scent of working overtime.

Why are you there again?

* * *

“This, this is….”

Cha Ara asked hesitantly.

“What happened?”

“You have to trust me.”

“What is it then?”

“There is that, sis.”

Chae Sol answered honestly to her older sister’s reaction of not being able to believe it even after seeing the reality.

“I drew a picture and Geo hyung appeared in it….”

“What is this?”

“Really? I drew a picture and Geo hyung appeared in it?”

“No, what….”

Cha Ara, who was at a loss as to what to do with her bewilderment, soon looked back at the black cloak with a subtle expression on her face.

“… … .”

“Nice to meet you.”

“… Ah, yes… .”

Is today the day I die?

It didn’t look like it had any hostility, but it was a dirty and scary black cloak anyway.

The painter who draws dungeons