The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 93



Only Noblemtl

Episode 93

How miserable it is to have to live your whole life with memories of a past life.

That was the fate of the mermaid. It was like a disease that was born. The most intense emotions engraved on the soul left a terrible mark that could not be changed no matter what happened.

To Isser, that trace was none other than the human named Giovanni.

“good night.”

“…Teacher too… .”

It’s peaceful here.

“Good night.”

It’s creepily comfortable.

It was a ridiculous feeling. It was not a feeling that the mermaid, or Isser, could tolerate.

Even the softly blowing spring breeze and the gentle murmur of the forest are so attractive that they cannot be shaken off. Isser got a bedroom in Geo’s cabin.

“… … .”

The floor my bare feet are walking on is made of wood.

The floors, walls, and ceilings of the shiny hut gave off a faint, intoxicating odor.

The large windows on the terrace were wide open, letting in plenty of forest air, and the bed, which was neither too big nor too small, was just the right size and gave off a soft warmth.

“… … .”

When I lay on that texture.

“…this….”

Isser couldn’t hold it in any longer and said:

“Does that make sense?”

In this peace, Isser felt a terrible emptiness and loss.

“Where am I now…?”

In the mermaid’s memory, Giovanni died. He died horribly.

What did Isser think as he looked at the rotten skin and the withered stems flowing out between the empty eye sockets, bearing wounds that were unbelievable to be the work of the children of the warm-hearted sun?

‘… Even though I was under the influence of drugs, that doesn’t mean I don’t remember that time.’

Rather, the situation at that time was so vivid. No one would know what made him eat it.

At that time, our peace met its death. What is dead should not return, so what is this comfortable space? Where am I feeling peaceful now?

“… It’s scary… .”

The once full stomach seemed to have become empty.

“… … .”

Instead, it will be filled with rotten flesh.

“… It’s shaking.”

I didn’t feel well.

I felt motion sickness. My brain felt like it was shaking.

The clear and quiet voices of the forest, as if the vision was blurred, became louder and louder. The mermaid’s memory was fixed on Giovanni’s death and the destruction of the sun, so this comfort could not help but be uncomfortable.

Isser became more accustomed to blood and screams.

“ah….”

That was Isser’s fate.

“… … .”

The mermaid lived in a sea of ​​blood.

Now, I’ve become a loser adult who feels fear even when I give him such an absurd gift.

“… … .”

Only after a long time did the mermaid speak.

“… I think I’m going to have a bad dream.”

I didn’t know that the place I lived in was a nightmare.

Lying here like a corpse, I now know what hell is.

* * *

“… … .”

Geo sat up in bed with a strange sensation.

“…hmm….”

The feeling of being drawn to taking a walk.

‘Should I go out?’

Geo was a man who did not think deeply about the source of his desires.

He left the room, leaving Honey sleeping. He walked down the soft wooden stairs to the living room, and for some reason he could see a teddy bear lying on the living room sofa and Dana, the cat, next to it.

The two looked up at Geo, their light emitting a faint light that seemed ready to go out at any moment.

“I’m thinking of going out for a walk.”

“… … .”

“Dana, shall we go together?”

Danah, who had been looking at the black-haired Geo, soon stood beside him. As if she were a ghost, her footsteps were inaudible. The teddy bear did not stop the two from leaving the cabin, but simply watched them.

Geo walked along the road without thinking much about the meaning of the words, wearing the black cloak he always wore over his head. He went out barefoot, but the soft grass that he walked on didn’t hurt.

This place felt good no matter where I stepped. That’s why I felt like I was walking around without my shoes on even more. The joy of walking was great.

“The forest is quiet.”

The forest at this time maintained an eerie silence, as if it were always asleep.

“Dana, do you like the forest?”

“… … .”

“How about the trees? How do the flowers smell?”

“… … .”

“The weather is really nice.”

Sabak, sabak… .

The sound of tender grass swaying.

“The moon is bright.”

There is a sun and a moon here.

But it was clearly different from those on Earth or other planets. They boasted a transparent jewel-like color, and did not shine so brightly that it seemed painful to the eye.

It feels like I’m just looking at a brightly drawn picture… .

“look.”

Above their heads hung a jewel moon of ice-cold light.

“It looks like you.”

“meow.”

“You cry differently than usual.”

It was a cry that sounded like an imitation of a cat.

“You are a cat, but….”

I was about to say something, but I didn’t want to think about it any longer, so I looked away. It was like the cold moon floating in the night sky.

“It’s shining.”

“meow.”

“Thanks to you, it’s not dark.”

The full moon was large, and the Milky Way stretched across the sky like a school of jellyfish seen in the deep sea. They remained still, with a dull sparkle that did not give off any sense of life.

The moon shines. The Milky Way has drawn its curtain. A cold cat stands at the foot of the stairs, and the forest that should have been dark has secretly become bright, and the only shadow here is Geo himself. The only blackness here is his.

“It smells a lot like wood….”

The footsteps soon stopped in front of a splendid spring.

“There is a scent of the sea in it.”

“… … .”

“aria.”

I saw my student dipping her pale, bare feet in the stagnant spring water.

“Can’t sleep?”

The mermaid smiled her usual, experienced smile as she looked at the black cloak in the shadows, whose face was completely invisible.

“How can I sleep in a place like this?”

“You didn’t like the bed?”

“I liked everything about it, it was creepy.”

“But you don’t run away.”

“I hope that someday you will accept us.”

Pearl-colored eyes framed a black cloak.

“If I take responsibility, will you forgive me? Will you love me again like you did back then?”

“You don’t need my forgiveness. It’s not my place to resent and hate you.”

“…we have a lot of time.”

Aria’s voice was clear and soft as usual.

“I didn’t know it would feel so terrifying.”

She asked Geo.

“Do you know what kind of being this spring is?”

“I didn’t try to find out because I had no reason to know.”

“Do you know what this forest means to you?”

The mermaid continued to ask.

“Why have you been put in this situation, why have you been revived in a strange form that is neither a resurrection nor anything else, for what purpose and context is the world flowing this way…?”

“I’m not curious.”

“That’s a teacher-like answer.”

The mermaid’s voice had a pearl-like smoothness to it.

“Compassionate and indifferent.”

That’s why there were some rough parts.

“Are you aware that this is your stomach?”

“This is a picture I drew.”

“It doesn’t seem that different.”

“If you say it’s a part of me, then maybe so.”

It was Geo who created this place, and at the same time he was a portrait.

“I knew that this forest reflected my imagination.”

“Can you still call yourself a human?”

“I have never been out of humanity.”

“… … .”

“I have always been human.”

It was something that happened naturally, without any need to worry about it.

“It seems like a good night for conversation. Is there anything you would like to ask the teacher?”

“… … .”

Aria’s eyes took in the pitch-black cloak as the voice suddenly changed its tone.

“… I can’t see your face… .”

The inside of the cloak was not visible at all.

“Does it exist?”

“I never disappeared, Aria.”

“What do you look like now?”

“I don’t know because I haven’t looked in the mirror.”

“But I can’t see it either.”

then.

“How can you prove that you exist?”

How can one distinguish between life and death, whether there is a human being, a sun god, or a picture in that pitch-black shadow?

If it’s a shadow whose shape we don’t even know until someone defines it.

“I have a question, sir.”

“I promise to give you the best answer I can.”

“How can I be sure you won’t disappear?”

“Nothing is eternal. The living and the dead are constantly changing.”

“It’s true that I didn’t see the limits of humanity. The humans I know have constantly become stronger, evolved, and even become gods or nature.”

but.

“It’s different with them.”

A blank sheet of paper that can become anything.

“… If I were there feeling fear and loss, would you understand?”

“I think it’s natural to feel a sense of distance as I’ve changed.”

“Distance? That’s not what I meant. It’s completely different.”

As long as he was ‘Giovanni’, I had no intention of moving away.

“Why would I want to distance myself from you? I’ve spent so many years looking at the empty sea, not the coffin or the graveyard, and feeling the emptiness. Now that I know that this isn’t some unbelievable nightmare or miracle that came all of a sudden, I don’t feel any awkward distance.”

So what is Aria feeling right now?

“I am….”

“… … .”

“…teacher.”

It was close to misery or desperation.

“Why are you always at the center of destiny?”

It’s terrible.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if I had just been a passerby, an insignificant person? Born into an ordinary family, living an ordinary life, and dying an ordinary death? Who else would be more suited to such a position than you, teacher? Why aren’t you included among the tens of thousands of people I’ve seen, and even more?”

You know when you see this forest. No.

“I know just by looking at you.”

If you can’t see those eyes and not know, it’s no different from not being able to see the world.

“I wouldn’t have cared if my teacher had died. It was expected. I would have been satisfied even if it wasn’t a very peaceful and peaceful death.”

“… … .”

“If only I had been just a little bit more ordinary, if only everyone in the world had been just common enough to get by, if only I had died like that.”

A voice came from deep shadows beneath the pitch-black hood, where the inside could not be seen.

“You wanted me to be happy.”

It was definitely ‘Giovanni’s’ voice.

“Is it difficult for you because you are so special that you can’t handle it?”

“I’d like to think it’s just excessive self-consciousness, but it certainly seems that way.”

“Don’t you think that’s a really cute complaint?”

“… … .”

How many voices can come out of those shadows?

“…Unfortunately, it’s not such a cute situation….”

It would have been much better if I could have laughed it off.

“… Since when has it been a portrait?”

“I don’t know either.”

“What do you think of yourself?”

“I am Geo.”

“Your happiness is not important anymore.”

Giovanni did not meet an unfortunate death.

“I know that’s the kind of death you like.”

So what was important was the fear and loss of Aria, of the mermaids around her.

No matter what moment comes, Geo will make the choice that will make him the happiest.

“You will live the life you want. No matter what happens to your surroundings in the future, you will do the best you can at the time. Don’t you think that’s too idealistic and terrible?”

“Aria seems to think it’s terrible.”

“Yes, it’s terrible. Because I know it’s the best, and I know it’s ideal. I can’t admire that kind of appearance and then come now and tell them to fix it. I’ve already lived too much of it…”

What is the essence of this portrait?

The name of this is ‘Portrait of Geo’. It is a person and a painting at the same time. It is just a painting, but it is also a painter. It is like a great nature that has drawn its own destiny and will live embracing more destiny.

Was it because it was a portrait from the beginning that the name ‘Geo’ was repeated endlessly? Or was it because it was Geo that it became a portrait at some point and began to embrace countless ‘Geos’?

“okay.”

Aria, who was so anxious, finally made up her mind.

In the distant past, in the future, and even at this very moment… .

“…Teacher, you will be special for the rest of your life.”

This man could not be ordinary. Not once, never had he been.

“… … .”

“… … .”

What should we look at now and condemn as cruel?

“…Teacher, do you trust humans?”

“There is a happiness that can only be found through faith.”

“I have no intention of giving up.”

“Just like Aria didn’t give up her anger.”

“Okay, then… .”

Aria smiled with a weak expression on her face that she had never seen before.

“I’ll take care of my own share.”

How many of the shadows beneath that pitch-black cloak can I have?

I prayed that I would never have to throw it back into the sea again.

The painter who draws dungeons