The Artist Who Paints Dungeon Chapter 21

Episode 21

“Geo.”

4:29 a.m.

Yoo Seong-un called the portrait.

“Geo, are you awake?”

“I am awake.”

“That’s good.”

I called you because I knew you’d usually be awake around this time.

‘Although there are days when we skip, the time when we can communicate is usually around 4 or 5 in the morning… We’ll have to watch the situation more, but I think it’s better to think of this as a rule.’

This ‘Portrait of Geo’ is friendly to humans, but no being of any origin will show mercy to humans who break their own rules. Even entities that are almost gentlemanly enough to appear human had to be careful.

“I wanted to have a conversation.”

“What business do you have with me?”

“I heard you’ve been walking around the office building lately. Rumor has it?”

“I wonder what the rumor is.”

“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but… it’s called ‘Black Cloak.’”

Yoo Seong-un continued speaking with his characteristically innocent smile.

“I think there’s a rumor going around that ‘the Black Cloak gives gifts to good people.’”

These are guild members that the good-looking Bisabal personally gathered one by one. Regardless of their strength, their ability to think was not bad.

They figured out their own rules for the ‘Black Cloak’.

“I guess you gave gifts to other people this time too?”

“I didn’t give it to everyone.”

“I know, you gave it to someone who was particularly polite or kind?”

Those who received gifts from Geo had something in common.

‘Either too weak or too strong.’

I had some idea.

Those who were too weak would have been terrified at the sight of him, so he would have given them gifts as an apology, and those who were strong would have communicated normally even in front of Geo’s level, so Geo would have judged them to be ‘well-mannered’.

An apple, or a gift of gratitude. It was a result that fit the 1:1 rule.

‘Rather, the one who was neither here nor there did not receive a gift.’

Employees who are strong enough to not make you cry or runny nose, but not strong enough to communicate properly in front of a huge crowd. Those people did not receive a gift.

“hmm….”

In order to prevent any accidents in advance, I thought an explanation was needed about this part.

‘Because Geo isn’t so rough that he can’t communicate with humans, even though he’s imitating them.’

Well, how can we define the existence of the source as being gentlemanly?

‘This much should be okay.’

After preparing himself mentally, Yoo Seong-un opened his mouth.

“If one of our staff members doesn’t give you a proper answer, or runs away, or avoids answering… that doesn’t mean they’re bad people. They’re just a bit timid.”

“… … .”

“Would anyone be scared of a large, unidentified person wearing a black cloak who suddenly appears at dawn when there should be no one?”

Yoo Seong-un deliberately portrayed Geo as if he were an ordinary person.

Geo thinks of himself as an ordinary human being, so it doesn’t seem like anything good would happen if he were to reveal his soul or his true nature.

“Of course it might feel rude to you. But I’m not saying they were intentionally rude to you, I’m just saying it might have been a little burdensome for them because they’re so scared.”

Soon a calm voice was heard.

“I understand what you mean.”

“Oh really? Then thank you.”

As a curator and gardener, Yoo Seong-un couldn’t help but be worried.

‘It’s natural for a rabbit to cower in front of a wolf, but if you judge that as rude and evil, things will get quite difficult. If you’re not careful, innocent people could end up dying.’

Human standards are meaningless to the being of origin. In particular, ‘Portrait of Geo’ is a being sensitive to good and evil and manners, and the problem is that this guy’s standards may be clearly different from those of humans.

From a human’s perspective, he may not have done anything particularly wrong or may have been a good person, but from Geo’s perspective as the original being, he could have been a terrible evil person.

It was creepy to think of Geo, who had made several remarks about how he hated rude and mean people.

‘It really sent a chill down my spine when I found out that there were people who didn’t receive gifts at all.’

Doesn’t that mean that Geo ‘separated’ humans?

“You, right? You said that the leader of the Visabal Guild wasn’t a bad person, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“All the employees of this company were personally selected by him. He didn’t just post a job advertisement and select them through a large-scale interview process. He meticulously scouted each and every one of them from the guild.”

“It must have taken a lot of time and effort, it’s amazing.”

“I just wanted to say that our guild staff may not be kind, but they are capable and good people.”

In this world, who would be able to find someone who has never committed a crime, but at least those who were personally selected by Bisabal were not people who could be called evil.

“They may not be very good people, but they are just ordinary people.”

“yes.”

“…Would it be too rude to hope that you don’t think badly of those people?”

I don’t know how Geo distinguishes between good and evil in humans.

‘But just like humans have emotional skills… it’s certain that Geo also has his own standards for judgment. Otherwise, there’s no way he would have concluded that the leader of the Bisabal guild, who he hadn’t even talked to, was a bad person.’

Contrary to Yoo Seong-un’s thoughts, Geo had no way of knowing the ‘safety’ of the other person beyond the frame unless they were inside the portrait.

The reason why some people received gifts this time and some did not is because Geo gave gifts as a reward whenever he felt like saying, “Oh, thank you” or “Oh, I’m sorry.” There was no particular value judgment on it.

However, Yoo Seong-un, who did not know such circumstances, could not help but doubt Geo’s emotional skills.

‘I hope the skill standards aren’t too strict.’

Visabal said this ghost story commotion was a kind of vaccination.

It is to give the human beings of this world a chance to understand and care for him, so that ‘Portrait of Geo’, a natural disaster that can never be dealt with or controlled, can adapt to this world and respect its members.

So, Yoo Seong-un had no choice but to try various methods.

“what do you think about it?”

“… … .”

Fortunately, or perhaps unexpectedly, Geo answered with his usual blunt face.

“I didn’t think of those people as bad.”

“Was it so?”

“The only reason I didn’t give them gifts was because I figured they didn’t need them, and some ran away before I could do anything. I didn’t think they were evil.”

“… … .”

“I just didn’t think it was necessary to give a gift.”

That was a really fortunate story.

‘At least you didn’t judge those people to be rude and evil. There must be a reason why there were no casualties even though the number of witnesses increased.’

Just as I was starting to feel relieved, Geo continued.

“I feel a little resentful toward those who ignored or ran away without answering my questions.”

“oh.”

“But I understand. As you said, a man in a black cloak of unknown origin suddenly appearing in a deserted hallway can be quite terrifying. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me, but I don’t mean to be offended.”

Geo, who said so, added an explanation.

“But I am also human, so I cannot help but feel negative emotions.”

“Oh, right.”

“I try to have a polite conversation, but it hurts when this keeps happening. I really hope the staff here don’t ignore or avoid ‘Black Cloak’ like this.”

“I’ll talk to the guild leader about that.”

Yoo Seong-un tried hard to swallow his embarrassment.

‘… I guess I did get angry.’

It seemed like he was just ‘not a bad person’, not ‘not rude’.

Even an ordinary person would get angry if those around him rejected him, but Geo was a being who thought of himself as a human being.

Even if he thought he was human, he couldn’t help but get angry at humans who went against the clear rules he had in place.

‘No matter what… I don’t think I can completely put the fear of ghost stories to rest. The level of the soul is so high that it’s natural for people to be intimidated when standing in front of it. If that’s the case, then at least I should create new rules within the building to regulate the behavior of the employees.’

Yoo Seong-un nodded after thinking for a moment.

“… We have a close relationship with the guild leader at the center. Since each and every one of them is brought in by the guild leader himself, the employees have a great affection for him.”

“yes.”

“I will tell the guild master and do my best to improve things so that the inconvenience you felt does not continue. If the guild master insists strongly, I think the other staff members will be convinced as well.”

“I would appreciate it if you could do that.”

As he said that, Geo was holding a glass bottle that he had never seen before.

“… … .”

No, no. Wait a minute.

‘jar?’

It was not a bottle, but a jar. It was so big that it had to be held with one arm rather than held with one hand.

“…What is that?”

“I would like to say this as a thank you gift for listening to my complaints and requests.”

“I haven’t even finished the cookies you gave me last time?”

“Why did you do that?”

“ah….”

“I’m not angry. I just asked because I was curious as to why there was still so little left. Could you please tell me?”

If he were a normal person, he would have thought, ‘Are you getting angry because I’m being sarcastic?’, but Geo was clearly the source of the being. It seemed like a pure question, so Yoo Seong-woon answered with an apologetic face.

“I’m sorry, I was just saving up a little bit because it was so effective when I ate it when I was tired. It’s not that I was particularly uncomfortable with your gift or that it didn’t suit my taste.”

“You have no reason to be sorry to me. I gave you a gift, and it is now yours. You don’t need to make excuses to me. I’m just glad that I gave you strength when you were tired.”

“I feel embarrassed when you say that… .”

Yoo Seong-un looked at the glass jar in the portrait.

“So, what is it?”

Geo took off his hand that was wrapping around the jar and showed it to him.

“It’s fruit juice.”

“…that is?”

“Anyone can tell it’s fruit juice.”

“Oh, okay… .”

Anyone can tell that it’s not fruit juice.

‘… Is that fruit juice?’

Even though fruits and sugar were expensive ingredients and not commonly eaten, Yoo Seong-un was a capable hunter. With a considerable amount of money to earn, there was no way he had not tried the fruit juice that even second-class citizens bought.

‘But it’s a bit different from the fruit juice I know.’

It was the color of twilight. I would say it was a crimson color, almost orange.

The transparent and clear liquid had a sheen like the surface of a jewel, and inside it was a deep, vivid color reminiscent of the evening glow.

‘There is something that looks like fruit sinking down… .’

The color was so dazzling that I didn’t think I could eat it.

“This is a good ice to put together and eat.”

“…It looks just like a pearl.”

“The name is Ice Pearl. It seems that Mr. Yoo Seong-un has the insight to guess the name at once.”

“Oh, yeah. Insight… .”

“It’s ice that doesn’t melt unless it’s hot, so if you want to consume it, I recommend melting it in hot tea.”

“… … .”

and.

I feel it.

‘I don’t think I can handle this.’

The first time I received tea leaves from Geo and asked him to ‘hold back’, I received cookies in return for the seeds. They were also not ordinary. The fact that I couldn’t eat them all at once due to the great fatigue recovery effect was the reason why I left them behind.

‘But this time there are a lot of sheep.’

You seem to have quite large hands, considering you enjoy cooking. Perhaps this being of the origin doesn’t know how small the human stomach is.

“Take it.”

“… Isn’t that too much?”

“Eat plenty. Mr. Yoo Seong-un, it would be better for you to gain more weight than you are now.”

“I’m on the healthy side.”

I have never seen the body in person, but judging from the outline of the cloak, it was a meteor cloud with more muscle mass than Geo.

But why are you telling me to gain more weight here? Yoo Seong-un had a hard time understanding.

‘… Wait a minute, when you say ‘sal’, do you mean fat?’

Was Geo a cannibalistic monster?

“I don’t taste good.”

“That’s a funny joke.”

“I meant it.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a symbol of the candy house witch trying to fatten up humans before eating them.

‘It is not for humans to judge what aesthetic tastes the original being has.’

Perhaps Geo seemed to prefer slightly plumper people for aesthetic reasons.

It was a bit odd that I, with my perfectly balanced body, liked people who looked fat. I don’t know what kind of origin this being is.

‘… Now that I think about it, if you give me a gift, I’ll usually eat it all, and when I’m bored, I cook or eat. It seems like I really like food in many ways. I like seeing people with fat… I also like having strangely big hands… I also like giving gifts… .’

Is this kid a grandmother?

“… … .”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“okay.”

Fortunately, Geo didn’t ask any more questions.

“This is a gift to you for your kindness, so I don’t need anything in return. But more than anything, I wanted to share this newly-mixed fruit juice with you because it looks so delicious.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Yoo Seong-woon nodded calmly, but thought to himself.

‘…Do you realize that you are bound by rules?’

Geo’s words just now seemed to be based on the premise that ‘if I’m going to give you a gift, you have to receive something in return.’ Perhaps the one-on-one rule wasn’t something Geo himself had created.

‘Or maybe you made it and forgot about it.’

If only the memories of a 29-year-old youth existed at that level, it was a plausible hypothesis.

“… Since you gave it to me, I’ll take it… .”

Yoo Seong-un used his emotion skill while looking at the fruit punch.

[Honey of the Water Vein]

[Rating: -]

A fruit juice made from the native goby fruit and drought-stricken berries of the Destiny Water Vein. It has a reddish color and a sweet and sour, deep savory flavor. It is processed by Geo, the master of the forest, so even the human body can accept it. When diluted in water and drunk, it restores human physical abilities to their limits. It is especially excellent for malnutrition.

Adding ice pearls that grow in the glacier beneath Geo’s hut will be excellent for restoring physical and mental functions.

“… … .”

“Doesn’t it smell good?”

“You’re really good at cooking.”

I think it would be okay to do a little less well.