The Artist Who Paints Dungeon Chapter 14

Episode 14

Fruit syrup is really easy to make.

“It’s a bit of a hassle to prepare, but if you mix half the pulp and half the sugar and leave it to ferment, it becomes fruit syrup.”

Geo brought a clean, sterilized glass bottle filled with friendship, peace, love and affection.

Although it was so big that it was closer to a jar than a bottle, Geo, who resembled his grandmother, the village’s big shot, was not going to skimp on ingredients when cooking. It had to be this big.

“Okay, let’s see.”

The full-bodied goji berries and the bitter-smelling drought clusters were washed clean in water. The flesh of the goji berries was soft and juicy like a light jelly, while the drought clusters were firm and had little juice, like unripe tangerines.

The skin of the goby fruit is so thin that it melts, so I just cut it into quarters without any additional process, and for the drought-stricken fruit, I peeled off the white, translucent outer skin, leaving only the flesh.

“and….”

Just pour it.

‘It would be better if the juicy goji berries were on top.’

At the very bottom of the glass container, place a layer of dried fruit and lightly sprinkle sugar on top. Then, place the dried fruit on top and pour in a generous amount of sugar to create a layer. Once the sugar layer is firmly formed, you can continue to repeat.

Geo pressed down hard to make sure there were no air holes between the flesh.

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The food in this forest did not spoil or mold, but this process was necessary so that the pulp could be mixed well and the sugar water could be absorbed. Geo filled the glass jars tightly.

“I’m done.”

All you had to do was seal it and store it in a cool, shaded place for a few days.

“I wish it would ripen quickly, but it will probably take some time.”

“Kung kung kung.”

“You can’t eat it yet. Even if you take it out and eat it now, it’ll just be sugar-covered fruit. Later, when the flesh becomes more mushy and the sugar water infuses it with flavor, you can drink it as tea.”

“Kkuk.”

“Cooking is sometimes the aesthetic of waiting.”

Honey grumbled and complained, but there was nothing she could do. It would take some time for the fruit juice to fully ripen.

“It won’t take that long. The weather here is warm, so the sugar will melt quickly. The juice will come out smoothly.”

“Kung.”

“Don’t stick to the floor, you’ll get dusty. It’s annoying. If you keep doing this, you’ll end up cleaning all the floors in our house. You’ll go from a honeybee to a dustbug.”

It was late and I was hungry after my adventure to make a successful fruit punch. It was time to indulge in a meal rather than a fruit punch that might ripen at any moment.

“hmm….”

Let’s make it really simple.

“Let’s make rice balls.”

“Huh?”

“Can you eat rice too?”

“Gurrrrrrrr.”

“Where does the food I eat in this transparent body get digested…?”

As expected, Honey had all the qualities of a pig. Geo, the father of this round piglet, nodded in satisfaction.

“Gurrrr!!”

“Okay, I understand. Let’s go.”

The rice balls that Geo made this time were literally food.

Freshly cooked rice with a little salt and sesame oil.

“It’s a good thing the rice was cooked in advance.”

There was a stove in the cabin, but no electric rice cooker. In the first place, there was no electricity in this world, so there was nothing we could do about it. That’s why Geo had already drawn a cauldron and placed it in the kitchen at the back of the cabin.

As I opened the heavy iron lid, white steam rose up.

“Good.”

As I nodded, the steam that had been floating around suddenly disappeared.

“… … ?”

At that moment, Honey, who was next to me, caught my eye.

“… … .”

I don’t know if it was because of my mood, but for some reason I felt like I had gotten a little bigger.

“Kururu.”

“… Are you sure you’re drinking all the moisture that came out of the rice right now?”

“Kung.”

“Your body smells like freshly cooked rice. It’s so delicious, and if I sleep with it next to me, I’ll be so hungry I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Kurung.”

“I’ve seen people put steam on their faces for skin care purposes, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone inhale the steam itself… .”

Is this what they mean by ‘give way to your stomach, not your skin’?

“It’s amazing.”

The sweet scent of Lulupu’s juice and the savory smell of freshly cooked rice were coming together. I couldn’t quite define what the scent was.

Geo scooped up some food with a slightly excited look on his face. No matter how surprised he was, a living thing had to eat.

“Let’s make porridge with the stuck-on scorched rice. It’s a very easy-on food, so it’s good to have whenever you want. I’ve never seen anyone who got sick from eating this.”

“Cur.”

“First, make rice balls, then later. If you eat nurungji porridge in the morning when you first wake up and are half-asleep, it’s really refreshing.”

Returning to the kitchen, Geo lightly sprinkled salt and sesame oil on the fluffy rice. There was no need to worry about this or that since the cabin cupboard was stocked with all the basic ingredients.

‘What will happen if I use all of this?’

It would be fun if it were automatically filled in like when I first checked the cabin, and even if it wasn’t, I could just draw a picture and make a new one anyway, so that was good. But it didn’t seem to be filling in yet.

Geo seasoned the hot rice by gently stirring it with his chopsticks.

“Actually, this alone is delicious.”

The smooth, savory taste unique to freshly cooked rice, the rich aroma of sesame oil that gently envelops it, and the rice balls lightly seasoned with salt are so heartwarming when eaten right after they are made.

“It’s a good meal when you need to eat but don’t want to eat something fancy.”

“Gurrrr.”

“If you can eat it, eat it. I don’t know how to eat it, but… Wasn’t the steam from the pot a little too much? You seem to have grown, but aren’t you already full?”

“Gulp.”

“Okay, then try it.”

It’s a sight of water eating rice.

‘It seems fun, so let’s leave it alone.’

Geo made rice balls, making a promise to himself.

A total of about 39.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Gulp… .”

“I’m hungry.”

Geo was a big eater.

“Sometimes you have to eat a lot like this to feel full.”

But it didn’t stop there.

“I’m going to try grilling it once for texture. When both sides are golden brown, the texture of the rice ball is good, and the rich flavor is more intense.”

“Kung… .”

“I don’t know if it’s because the sesame oil flavor is stronger or because the grains are burnt… but it’s much more delicious to grill it like this than to just eat it as a plain rice ball.”

“Kuk kkuung.”

“Well, I guess I’ll get sick of just eating rice.”

Geo lamented the situation his laziness had brought about. He knew that a day would come when he would regret it like this.

“I should have made some side dishes in advance. Then I could have enjoyed a more colorful meal even if I only ate rice.”

“Keuuuung… .”

“It would be nice to make a soup with the fish caught from the lake, and it would also be nice to mix various ingredients and make salted seafood. It would also be nice to have something like a meat soup, but it’s a bit strange to eat meat here.”

When it comes to hunting animals on land other than fish, not only do I not know how to do it, but I also feel reluctant to eat cute and round animals that fit Geo’s taste. In the first place, I don’t know how much flesh there would be in that small, round body.

“Should I ask Mr. Yoo Seong-un for something like this?”

“Gurrrrrr.”

“With seeds, right?”

Geo placed a well-made rice ball on a pan that was heated sufficiently in the brazier. Along with the sizzling sound, the rich scent of sesame oil and the fragrant smell of crackling grains rose.

‘It’s a simple but good combination.’

Geo, who had finished grilling all the rice balls, sat down at the table and took a bite.

“… … .”

As expected, it was delicious.

‘… Is it because the rice is well-cooked and chewy? Thanks to baking it once, the texture and flavor are good. The saltiness is just right, so it doesn’t get too bland.’

The rice that went into it was in a good or bad condition, as it was drawn by Geo. So it was a bit difficult to expect the power of the ingredients, but the rice ball was still quite tasty.

“Is it because it’s a meal after work?”

“Gurrrrrrrrung.”

“… … .”

A rice ball-shaped bird entered Geo’s field of vision.

“oh.”

No, that was Honey swallowing a rice ball.

“Oh, God of Heaven and Earth.”

“Kururuk.”

“I swallowed this.”

“Kururururung.”

“Even though it’s bigger than your body.”

Geo was convinced after 3 seconds.

“That’s funny.”

“Kkuk.”

“While we’re at it, do you want to have another one? Maybe we can make it bigger here.”

“Gurururum.”

“Yeah, it’s probably not fully digested yet. Of course. That’s what it looks like.”

“Kur?”

“Oh, Dad knows everything.”

A peaceful day passed like that.

* * *

“… … .”

Damn… .

The meteor cloud in front of the portrait tilted its head.

“You don’t open your eyes again these days.”

I waited from midnight until 5 a.m., the current time, but the portrait did not open its eyes.

Yoo Seong-un muttered, running his finger along my chin.

“I don’t think there are any separate rules for this part.”

The portrait would open its eyes at the time when there were least staff.

The time when I could talk changed from day to day. I didn’t necessarily run away as long as they didn’t ask rude questions, but I wasn’t always looking outside the picture.

Perhaps he liked the world in that portrait.

‘Personally, I think it would be wise to do so, though.’

However the world inside the portrait was realized, it was much better than looking at the dirty and complicated modern society. At least, that’s what Yoo Seong-un thought.

“… If you think about it that way… .”

Perhaps ‘Portrait of Geo’ likes silence.

“I guess this could be considered one of the rules.”

Yoo Seong-un sat against the wall in front of the portrait and took out a notebook.

‘I should keep a record.’

What he does is observe, analyze, maintain, and manage unknown objects or phenomena. With his vast knowledge, Yoo Seong-un has paid such close attention to ‘Portrait of Geo’ for the first time.

Fortunately, ‘Portrait of Geo’ was a relatively friendly opponent to humans. It answered questions and returned favors with favors, which was quite gentlemanly.

“Is it roughly organized?”

Thanks to this, the analysis wasn’t that difficult.

Value manners

Enjoy giving gifts

No change in facial expression (is it because it is a portrait?)

Knows a lot about people and respects them

‘… This part is definitely special.’

Although Geo’s true identity has not been determined yet, caution must be taken. There was a reason why humanoid monsters were designated as the most dangerous elements regardless of their attitude.

‘Because those guys knew little about humans.’

Eleven years ago, the first humanoid monsters friendly to Earthlings were sighted. Based on this, associations from various countries began to seek ways to communicate with the inhabitants beyond the dimensional gate.

However, there was an incident where the bodies of the delegation that went over the gate for the purpose of friendship returned as ‘healthy deformities’.

‘The humanoid monster at that time expressed it in his favor… .’

The body of the envoy seemed inefficient to humanoid monsters, so they increased the legs to four and divided the mouth into six parts.

It was a favor, but at the same time it was a disaster for humans. That was when the saying that monsters are monsters for a reason came into being.

“It’s still scary when I think about it again.”

Since that incident, humanoid monsters have also become targets of subjugation without exception.

No matter how kind they may be to humans, there is no way to know how or when their terrible true nature will be revealed.

‘So, I want to be wary of this portrait, but there are too many suspicious aspects to do so. Geo knows too much about humans to be considered a typical humanoid monster. He doesn’t unconditionally hate Earth creatures either.’

He is neither very friendly nor very hostile to humans.

A bit cynical, yet at the same time polite and considerate, ‘Portrait of Geo’ seemed like an ordinary human being, just seriously blunt.

“… … .”

Bam.

Yoo Seong-un pressed the pen on his notebook.

“That part is a bit hard to understand.”

Geo didn’t look like a monster.

‘Unless you’re a curator or a gardener, you might say it’s a monster… .’

Still, I wasn’t sure.

“Yeah, it really could be a monster.”

It could be an item with a self, it could be just a cursed portrait, or it could be a hallucination of a level higher than we can even imagine.

‘It’s only been about 30 years since the dungeon was created, so we can’t know everything.’

So, the best thing Yoo Seong-un could do right now was to analyze this portrait and respond to it.

“hmm….”

First of all, I had a question.

The eyes in the portrait seemed distant and not human, and the appearance of the beauty that did not seem to belong to this world, along with the pale yet stimulating colors, gave off a strange sense of unreality.

‘That AI’s businesslike tone and unchanging facial expression probably added to the pressure.’

but.

“No matter what, Geo is still a gentleman.”

As can be seen from the rules listed above, Geo has never been a threatening or violent opponent based on his actions so far. As can be seen from his deep understanding of humans, he was definitely considerate and respectful of humans.

‘Unlike the ignorant humanoid monsters of the past, this one thinks from the perspective of humans.’

That means there is a depth of understanding that cannot be seen in other monsters.

‘And based on that, you express your favor and consideration.’

Didn’t you even give her a gift?

“… … .”

After thinking for a moment, Yoo Seong-un wrote a new sentence in his notebook.

Prefer nice or polite partners (1:1 rule?)

‘… I’m not sure, though.’

If we look at the people Geo has given gifts to so far, they were all people he owed money to or who had treated him kindly.

Since it is a portrait that can distinguish between good and evil in humans, I thought it would be good to like someone who is kind and well-mannered.

‘Well, anyway.’

That’s not what’s important.

“… The question is why did the other employees get so scared and run away… ”

The staff here were all people that Bisabal had insisted on nurturing or transferring one by one. Bisabal’s collecting habit was shown not only on objects but also on people, and Bisabal, who was very attached to his staff, did not choose stupid or incompetent people.

So, even if they were low-ranking employees, would Bisabal have chosen them carelessly, especially those who managed his beloved gallery? They were all strong and capable people.

“But when I met Geo, I felt scared and pressured.”

Yoo Seong-un has never met Geo in person.

The last time he came out, Yoo Seong-un was just following him and watching him. So, he had no idea what he felt when he met Geo head-on.

I could only vaguely guess.

“… … .”

If you can oppress a human being just by existing, then the level of your soul must be enormous.

‘… If we’re going to be that picky, should we be grateful for the quiet sleep inside the portrait?’

Yoo Seong-un sighed deeply with a troubled expression on his face.

“What on earth did you bring, Mr. Bisabal…?”

Are you finally going to destroy the Earth?

It was a day when I felt a craving for cigarettes, even though I had quit smoking five years ago.