The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

Episode 99

It was a world where even human life was treated as a resource. Even if the evil seed that was muddying the waters of society was taken away by something that was neither a monster nor anything else, no one was truly concerned about the missing person.

I’m just curious.

“Could he be dead by now?”

“What time did the information processing team confirm the disappearance?”

“It was around 4pm on the 22nd.”

“Today is the 24th. About two days have passed… I think it could be considered death.”

“Then how they killed him would also be a topic of interest.”

“They might not have killed it, but just used it as a toy.”

“It’s considered to have considerable intelligence, so it could be possible.”

Because the exact identity of the ‘Black Cloak’ was unknown, the association’s staff had no choice but to compare him to a humanoid monster and make assumptions about him.

And when you think about how humanoid monsters treat humans who break their rules, it’s natural to make wild guesses.

“If they had just killed him cleanly, I think we could reconsider the meaning of ‘punishment.’ Doesn’t that mean there’s no supervisor?”

“It may have been intended as ‘organization’ rather than ‘punishment.’ It’s only natural to want to get rid of people who break my rules, so I can’t say there’s no supervision.”

“We need to know the results for sure so we can adjust the response level of ‘Black Cloak’… There was also advice from the former research team leader, Hunter Yoo Seong-un.”

The black cloak wasn’t that important when you met a polite and kind person and did them a favor. For an association that had to consider all sorts of dangerous variables, what mattered was how this monster or whatever could harm humans.

“Is there any way to locate the missing person?”

“According to eyewitness testimony, he did not possess a separate location tracking device.”

“Even if such an item existed, I don’t know if it would have worked.”

“However, simply processing the missing person and closing the case is not enough.”

“Is there no way to summon the ‘Black Cloak’ separately?”

“I haven’t been able to find any information on that part yet.”

Amid the organized commotion, the association president opened his mouth.

“Let’s try asking for cooperation from the three major guilds.”

“… Are you talking about all three major guilds?”

“Yes, please contact the leader of each guild.”

“All right.”

Only the executives gathered here knew that the other name for the ‘Black Cloak’ was ‘Geo’s Portrait’. The person who bought it at the auction was none other than the collector Bisabal. He was the head of the collectors’ guild.

So, asking for cooperation from the three major guilds here was no different from asking Black Cloak directly about the results of the disappearance of Hunter Park Eun-gyeom.

A direct and explicit request might make the Bisabal or ‘Portrait of Geo’ uncomfortable… .

“As long as the collector shows no intention of touching the artwork, they will be more than happy to help. I don’t know how the ‘Black Cloak’ will react, but the curators of the collection will directly manage and monitor the situation, so if things really get dangerous, they will voluntarily restrain themselves.”

Above all, judging from the direction in which the collection was moving, the curator currently in charge of ‘Portrait of Geo’ was most likely gardener Yoo Seong-un.

Since he was a very serious person when it came to dealing with the existence of the source, there was no harm in trying either way.

“We will conclude this agenda here.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

“Then the next agenda is….”

The association was always busy.

So, getting help from friends was often necessary.

* * *

Meanwhile, the peaceful cabin in the portrait.

“Today’s content is.”

Geo declared.

“It was decided to be Gambas.”

“Gurrrrrr.”

Honey howled with joy.

“Gulp, gurgling, gurgling.”

“Calm down, son, Gambas don’t fly like you when you rush them.”

Although the name of ‘Black Cloak’ was widely known in the world, especially in Korea, the details were not known to Geo.

The owner of the ultimate positive mindset, who accepted the life of a portrait artist because he didn’t want to pay rent, was just thinking about eating peacefully today.

“I did say gambas, but… hmm.”

For Sergio, a great gourmet and big eater, the biggest content in his life was deciding what to eat.

Living in a dream cabin with ample time, energy, and capital, Geo devoted himself to preparing meals.

“Gambas al Ajillo is actually the official name.”

“Kur?”

“Gambas is shrimp, ajillo is garlic.”

“Gurr…?”

“Yes, the direct translation is stir-fried shrimp and garlic.”

In fact, he said, ‘I’m going to make gambas,’ but what Geo made today was completely different from the original.

“In the first place, I wasn’t planning on adding shrimp.”

The only thing they had in common was that they would use olive oil with a sour aroma and garlic. But since the method of making them would be quite similar, Geo decided not to change his words.

“Honey, you know that club or trumpet I saw last time? If you go to the warehouse, there’s a club or trumpet that Daddy has been taking care of.”

“Crunch.”

“Come down with Dana and take as much as you want to eat, including what Dad and Grandpa have. If there’s anything you want in the pantry, take it out together.”

“Gurrrrrr.”

Honey nodded vigorously and flew down to land on Dana’s head.

A spring breeze blew gently, and Dana, who was lying on the slightly warm floor like a cat that had spilled, started waving her two front paws.

“Cur.”

“… Maaaaaaang… .”

Zuuuuuk―.

Dana got up from her seat, stretched her legs in an arched posture, and walked briskly.

Geo nodded as the two children disappeared, carrying in their mouths a small basket that had been made to fit Dana’s body.

“You two are on good terms.”

“Huh?”

The Sun God asked if he could go into the freezing ice warehouse, but Geo shook his head.

“Dana is not the family I drew, so she might be affected by this forest, but she is so cold and strictly speaking, she is not a normal creature, so she had no problem going to the icehouse. I don’t think she will get sick because of the cold, unlike other dangerous places.”

Geo, who had calmed the anxiety of the elders in the house, thought to himself.

‘You seem to be particularly concerned about Dana.’

Geo also understood that feeling. Honey would come to receive attention and affection on her own, but there were many times when Dana would not know where the child was if she was left alone.

‘I don’t even cry unless it’s time to eat…’

It seemed that he was causing the sun god a lot of worry as he would disappear completely whenever he didn’t feel like eating.

I didn’t think anything bad would happen to him since he was a child who survived well even in that barren ‘vein of jewels’, but anyway, I could respect him enough since that’s what his grandfather said.

“Then for now I will… .”

Seafood becomes tough if heated for too long. The clubs and trumpets that Honey and Dana will bring will be added at the very end, so Geo can just do the rest.

“Honey and Dad don’t like spicy food that much, so I’ll put in some spices.”

“Kkuu, kku.”

“Yes, I’ll try to adjust it so that you can enjoy the scent, so don’t worry too much.”

“dream….”

“Spicy food certainly wasn’t that common in Giovanni’s world. It’s understandable that it would feel unfamiliar.”

Geo poured olive oil generously into a shallow, wide square pen.

“But the town of Edlan had a very developed spicy food scene.”

“Huh?”

“I also thought it was unusual. Usually, in coastal towns where you can often find fresh seafood, they don’t use spicy spices… .”

Basically, spices were used to enhance the flavor, but they were also used to cover up unpleasant odors in food.

It was also common on Earth to use strong, pungent-smelling chili powder to mask the gamey smell of meat or seafood.

“It was indeed a hot and humid climate. The annual temperature difference was also large. It was the perfect environment for food ingredients to spoil, so they tried to extend the preservation period by making it spicy… or maybe they tried to achieve a sterilizing effect.”

Above all, the specialty of the village of Edelland was seafood such as clubs and trumpets, but among the neighboring villages, there was an area where spices were a specialty.

Since it was easy to obtain that type of spice, it may have been a good environment for the development of various spicy foods.

“Among the representative dishes of the town of Edlan, there was spicy fried fish. It was a menu often sold in taverns, and if you asked, you could add dry bread and dip it in red oil.”

“Kuuu…?”

“It was spicy, but the tomato flavor and the rich oil from the fish made it a great match for bread. The fish used was particularly fatty and plump, and the oil that flowed out of it was truly divine.”

“dream….”

“Now that I think about it, it would have been nice if we could have added pasta noodles.”

To recall a little from that time, the gambas I was making this time was also going to be served with bread and noodles.

“I have ciabatta and baguette bread that I made last time. I think it would be good to lightly toast them both in the oven. Which would you like better, olive ciabatta or cheese ciabatta? I also have a toasted baguette with sun-dried tomatoes.”

“Kukukukuku… .”

“Yes, that’s wise. I’ll follow my father’s advice and let everyone have a little bit. Dana may not know, but Honey is a big eater like me, so she’ll enjoy all the food without leaving any behind. It’s a good thing I baked the bread in advance.”

Knowing that Geo was very interested in cooking, Yoo Seong-un often gave him ingredients as gifts.

Geo was happily indebted to Yoo Seong-un, as it included unique items like flour and vegetables that could only be purchased in the current world.

‘You should treat him like an older brother.’

He was full of the composure and competence of an adult, and his personality was gentle, so he was friendly. In order to survive in this hellish Republic of Korea, Geo decided to faithfully cling to Yoo Seong-woon again today.

“Ah, it would be delicious to eat cream cheese and smoked salmon on a baguette….”

Even if it wasn’t salmon, it was also a great combination to top it with thinly sliced ​​sausage or ham. Geo brought the dried fish from the ‘breathing sea’ that was drying in the yard and sliced ​​it thinly and widely.

“Good, it’s dried well.”

“Kukuku.”

“Then I will leave the preparation of the bread to my father.”

I sliced ​​the garlic that I had previously prepared into not too thin slices and poured it onto the pan that was not yet hot.

The teddy bear, who was slicing a baguette covered with sun-dried tomatoes, turned to look at Geo at the sound of something pouring out.

“dream?”

“Yes? No problem.”

“…dream?”

“It is normal for garlic to be this much.”

“… … .”

The teddy bear soon gave up and started slicing the baguette. Thanks to the doll having fingers, it seemed that he was able to cut the baguette with some difficulty. Geo felt relieved and continued cooking the gambas.

‘You have to put the garlic in at a low temperature so that the oil can infuse its flavor.’

One thing to be careful of is that if you leave the garlic in olive oil for too long, it will burn.

However, the garlic grown in this forest cabin was particularly hard and had large grains, so even if it was left in for a long time to draw out the fragrance, it did not seem like it would suddenly burn out.

“and….”

Geo took out the dried Milky Way Mary.

“Where is the stopper?”

“Kyuuu.”

“Oh, I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

Thanks to the Sun God’s instructions, I was able to take out the pestle that had been shoved in the cupboard. The Milky Way Mary, which had been dried in the sun, was black and transparent and shiny, but its grains were too hard to break with my hands.

Knock knock, knock knock.

“… … .”

A spicy and tangy scent rose.

‘It’s similar to pepper.’

Should I say that it is a pepper with a slight chili flavor?

‘It won’t be spicy even if you put in a lot, so let’s put in a little more.’

The flavor of pepper is very volatile, so if you leave it for too long, the flavor doesn’t come out well. However, Milky Way Mary doesn’t have that problem, and its strong flavor lasts a long time, so there would be no problem adding it to olive oil by now.

“I also added pepper… .”

Next was the crying part.

“I’ll just put a little bit of this in.”

“… … .”

“If the spiciness is too weak, it will be oily and you won’t be able to eat much.”

“…Kuu… .”

“Trust this son.”

When cooking with a lot of oil, it’s best to use dried spices, because when moisture gets into the hot oil, it creates an environmentally friendly and high-performance bomb.

‘And I dried the hems of my tears in advance for this day that will come someday.’

If the weeping willow is dried in the sun for more than a month, it turns pink and has a very sweet taste. However, if it is dried gently like roasting a rat poison on a slightly heated pen in a house, not in the sun, its spicy scent becomes stronger.

‘It feels noticeably different from the red pepper powder, though the color is still blue-green…’

Still, the scent was somewhat similar.

‘The sweet smell that made the scent overly complex has also largely disappeared.’

The dried-out hem of the fire was as fluffy as a thin blue-green piece of Korean paper, and the ends were crinkled like lace. As the hem of the fire cut into appropriate sizes was put in, the spicy scent that had been quiet even when the Milky Way Mary was in began to spread out.

“This is it.”

“dream.”

“… … .”

Geo, who had clenched his fist without realizing it, lowered his arm.

“…It won’t be very spicy.”

Oh really.

I tried to act as a court lady just in case the suspicious gaze wouldn’t go away, but it wasn’t that spicy.

Even Sergio, who doesn’t have a high tolerance for spicy food, thought that even a mild-tasting teddy bear wouldn’t have a problem tasting it.

“It’s true.”

“… … .”

“If the father does not believe in the son, who will believe in me?”

“dream.”

“Abuse of trust? This is the kind of trust that is meant to be used in times like these.”

Unfortunately, Mapjil’s suspicions were not easily dispelled.

The adults, who had grown old without any reason, continued their strange standoff until Honey and Dana arrived.