The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 87



Only Noblemtl

Episode 87

“I’m imitating like this.”

Aria continued speaking in her characteristically bright and slightly faded voice.

“Why don’t you even imitate?”

“Just because I have black hair doesn’t mean I’m Geo?”

“well….”

Aria looked her opponent in the eye.

A person wearing neither the golden robes that symbolize the sun nor the white cape that represents the priests of light, but a black cloak.

A man with jet-black hair and a gloomy face without a hint of a smile, unlike what she remembered.

A creepy feeling that cannot be called human.

“… … .”

Still, it couldn’t be said that he wasn’t ‘Giovanni’.

“… I still don’t quite understand.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is this what you call reincarnation?”

It’s really strange.

“It’s not that I’ve never seen such cases before, but they seem different. They don’t seem to have simply been deified by the sun god.”

How should I explain the Geo that is right in front of me?

“I heard that the Earthlings call you ‘Black Cloak’?”

“I got that name.”

“Can that be called your identity now?”

“It’s just one of my names.”

“Yes, Giovanni.”

The little mermaid moved her bare feet toward him.

“You were originally… a portrait?”

“I am human.”

“… … .”

Only after a long time did Aria answer.

“…That could be the case.”

Even the knowledgeable Arya could not properly define the black cloak before her eyes. He looked like a painting, or a god, or maybe he was really human.

“How did you come to this town?”

“I came to dig for clams.”

“Well, yeah, I understand since you really liked eating.”

“I also remember that Aria liked my cooking.”

“Then shall I invite you to dinner?”

“If you could help me dig for clams.”

“… Anyway, he’s a worthless person… .”

Aria walked around the mud, dragging a white gown that was too big for her. The gown had been magically treated so it wouldn’t get dirty easily.

“I’ll help you.”

“thank you.”

I used to spend time like this often in the past too.

“It brings back old memories.”

“What do you think?”

“Just, this and that… trivial stuff.”

Giovanni would bring mermaids who were curious about humans to places like this: a beach full of fishermen, a market bustling with shoppers, or even a bank where they could deposit money.

As I dug through it with my bare feet, the pure white mud, unlike that of Earth, slowly turned over.

“What are you going to eat?”

“I’m going to try grilled clams and Edlan stew.”

“You make something delicious. Are you thinking of putting clams in the stew too?”

“That would be fine too. Since there is meat, you can put that in too.”

“Hmm… .”

Geo was a great cook.

“Now that you mention it, you must have been a nobleman, so why did you enjoy cooking so much?”

“You didn’t even ask when you were young, so what change in your thinking has occurred?”

“I thought it was wise at the time. Human lives are so short and complicated, I thought if I nudged them thoughtlessly, blood would come out.”

“now?”

“I know now that you’re not the type of person who’d stab me and make me bleed.”

“Yes.”

Geo, with his pitch-black eyes, approached and folded Aria’s sleeve. The gown, which was designed to fit a grown man’s body, had to be folded several times to reveal her hand. It was the hand of a small, delicate child.

“The reason I enjoyed cooking even though I was a nobleman was because I simply wanted to eat delicious food.”

“That’s not really a great reason. But you can always eat delicious food if you ask someone else to make it for you.”

“I wanted to see for myself what ingredients went into what dish.”

As Geo lightly blew the honey off his shoulder, it flew up to just below the ceiling of the pupil and brightly lit up the underground. The mud, which was already white, became much clearer, almost dazzling.

“I wanted to develop myself further.”

“That’s a very typical answer.”

“Where is Isser?”

“Hide in the temple.”

“Why don’t you come with me?”

“We need someone to guard the house.”

“Who would turn that ominous house into a house…?”

“Like a black cloak.”

“… … .”

Geo felt a little wronged. Raising one eyebrow, Geo asked.

“Are you scared of me, Aria?”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Why?”

“The dark and gloomy atmosphere is oppressive.”

“I have never been overbearing.”

“It will be there now.”

“It’s still unfair.”

“Well, plus… .”

Aria said, looking up at her shrunken body.

“… I couldn’t easily go see you because I was wondering what kind of face you had.”

“Well, as soon as we met, we started fighting.”

There was no time to feel the emotion of reunion or anything.

“From my perspective, it felt like my nephews, whom I raised like my own children, had been traveling abroad for several years when they committed mass murder in Korea and even kidnapped children.”

“If you look at it that way, from my perspective, it’s similar to my beloved teacher who I thought was dead being reincarnated as a black lump of monster that isn’t even human. He even has the divinity of that annoying sun god, so I wondered who was trying to make us mad.”

Geo nodded at those words.

“I think I was more shocked.”

“I missed that kind of shamelessness.”

The mermaid smiled brightly.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“Should I be angry?”

“At least what we’ve done so far, Giovanni, hasn’t been to your liking.”

“I don’t think there’s any need for me to be angry and take responsibility for the changes in the children I raised, who are already dead.”

“This is quite spicy….”

“At that dinner party, I let out all my anger.”

Geo continued, with his jet-black hair and numb eyes.

“As for the rest, Giovanni has no duty or authority to investigate since he died a long time ago.”

“… … .”

Then the mermaid spoke.

“Okay then.”

Aria wasn’t curious anymore either.

“Because you said we had a lot of time.”

“That’s it.”

Above all, Geo was the type who didn’t worry too deeply. Geo wasn’t the type to be scared by the fact that his beloved mermaid disciples had grown into crazy mermaids.

“It’s not a good habit to think about something when there’s food right in front of you.”

“I wonder if it’s something weird about you, Geo. Why do you like to eat so much?”

“Why don’t you like to eat that much?”

“You can’t live on food alone.”

“It’s probably something you can’t live without eating.”

“… Okay, if you’re happy, that’s fine.”

“You give up more easily than I thought.”

It was unexpected.

“In the past, I used to try so hard to win.”

“I’m an adult now.”

“For something like that, I think I cried at the dinner table.”

“…Do you remember who made you cry?”

“Do you remember who made you angry?”

“…oh….”

“I won again this time.”

“… You really have a shameless side… .”

“That’s my charm.”

Geo looked down for a long time to see the mermaid, who had become so small that he could only meet her gaze.

“Can you dig clams with that body?”

“Even when I was this small, you came here often, so what do you mean now?”

“The question was whether you felt any discomfort about your body getting younger.”

“That level of etiquette is easy now.”

“Hmm.”

After a while he asked.

“Those clothes are mine, right?”

“… … .”

The mermaid answered immediately.

“This doctor’s gown?”

“yes.”

“Yes, it’s mine now.”

“I was originally planning on passing it down to you, so it’s okay.”

“… … .”

After quite some time, the mermaid asked, pretending to be calm.

“Was it so?”

“Did you think you had it stolen?”

“… … .”

“I see you didn’t answer, so that’s what happened.”

It really was. Aria couldn’t deny Geo’s words.

“I never thought you would pass it down to me.”

“I was going to give the doctor’s gown to you, Aria, and my priestly robe to Isser.”

“Unfortunately, your priestly robes have been torn. By the authors of the Sun Church.”

“I thought so. Fortunately, the doctor’s gown ended up in my master’s hands.”

“It’s really unexpected.”

Aria continued to laugh.

“Because we, mermaids, ruined your life as a human.”

“All the tragedies of that time were close to humans destroying themselves.”

Giovanni could have refused to help the mermaids. The humans could have had a huge emotional fight with the mermaids, with no right answer. There was a time when humans and mermaids could have lived together in this world.

“Aria, you have never taken anything from me.”

“Is that really so?”

“That’s just something I passed down to you.”

“You’re still so affectionate.”

“You wish it hadn’t happened?”

“That might have been the case.”

“But unfortunately… .”

Geo was Geo after all.

“I really don’t change easily.”

It could be because I don’t tend to think deeply.

“In that sense, should I go dig for clams again?”

“You have a knack for breaking emotions.”

“I have to prepare dinner before it gets too late….”

“her.”

The mermaid grumbled as she fumbled to adjust her gown, which continued to flow down despite Geo’s help in folding up the sleeves.

“I thought you came to talk to me, but you’re just a glutton.”

“It’s good to be humble.”

“You really just go with the flow, just like Giovanni.”

“I guess you still don’t know that life is the most enjoyable when you live it roughly.”

“… … .”

After a while, the mermaid asked.

“…Are you happy now?”

The answer was not difficult.

“It’s always been like that.”

“…Why?”

“Because I always did my best.”

“… … .”

“So now the clams… .”

“Oh, please.”

Despite her irritation, Aria faithfully participated in the clam expedition.

* * *

“We are here.”

“Kkuu… .”

The teddy bear saw four creatures, each carrying a basketful of clams in their arms.

“dream?”

“Yes, I caught Aria and Isser too….”

“dream.”

“I brought it.”

Since there had been no news for a while due to digging for clams, Isser also came to the village of Edlan to find out what was going on.

And then he found his sister, crouching down in a dress, digging for clams. Geo realized for the first time that her already pale face could turn so pale. So Isser was forced to join the clam digging team.

Isser looked at the sun god in the teddy bear mask with a subtle expression.

“… … .”

“Kyuuu.”

“… You’ve gotten a lot cuter since I last saw you… .”

“Kukuku.”

“Are you laughing?”

sincerely?

‘What am I looking at?’

Isser, who was holding a basket of clams in his arms, was already in a state of confusion.

It was confusing to see Aria, of all people, digging for clams with her hands covered in mud, and Isser himself, who was naturally dragged along and ended up digging clams with them and dragged to the hut, was also confused.

“Why is the sun god here…? I felt like the sun’s presence had disappeared, but this is.”

“But he’s your grandfather, so don’t do that. It’s not okay to show your discomfort to someone who is already well-behaved.”

“No, no, ah.”

Although Isser was speechless, the situation was not much different for his sister Aria.

“A teddy bear?”

“dream.”

“Are you serious?”

“Kuk kuk kuk…”

“Are you laughing?”

In the midst of the calm chaos, Honey walked along the floor, croaking, croaking, and approached the teddy bear. Then she spat out all sorts of shells, big and small.

“Kkuk.”

“Kkuu.”

“Gurrrrr!”

“Kukuku… .”

The teddy bear laughed like an old man watching his grandson’s tricks and clapped his hands with his cotton pad. When Honey proudly puffed out her chest, Dana, who was watching, stood next to her and struck the same pose. The sun god was very pleased.

“Wonderful things.”

Geo liked it too.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Geo called out to the mermaids who had lost their voice.

“Let’s go clean the clams, kids.”

“…Is it your dad?”

“I’m already a father of two children. It’s a bit much to add more.”

“Then, uncle.”

“So, nephew, should I give you some pocket money?”

“Is it fun?”

“That’s interesting.”

“oh….”

With a final exclamation like a flood, Aria became a stone statue, and Isser turned his gaze to Geo while holding the basket of clams that he had almost dropped without realizing it.

“teacher.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Do you have any plans to destroy the Earth…?”

“Why are you suddenly asking such a terrible question?”

“I guess it’s the members.”

“… … ?”

Geo looked around.

“… … .”

I couldn’t understand.

“There’s only one teddy bear, one bird, and one cat. What’s wrong with this cute and harmless composition?”

“Oh, so that’s how you treat it… I understand.”

“I don’t think you could do it.”

It was a very noisy family even before the clams were cleaned.

The painter who draws dungeons