Chapter 69
“Isn’t it a miracle, truly?”
Bisabeol greeted Yu Seong-un with a bright smile.
“……”
“Hey, hey, don’t go back out, just come in. You can’t do that to someone’s face.”
“Ah, I really don’t want to go in….”
“I trust you know that I’m the one who pays your salary. Am I wrong?”
“Because I know, I at least came to the door, didn’t I.”
“If you know, then what are you doing not scurrying right in, Curator Yu Seong-un? The Guild Master is waiting.”
Finally entering the office, Yu Seong-un muttered as he sat on the employee sofa.
“I’m definitely going to save up and quit.”
“Did you really think that would be possible?”
“If there’s a valid reason, shouldn’t you approve my resignation letter?”
“Remember that a disgruntled me might accidentally forget to process the resignation letter.”
“Corruption….”
“When has there ever been a time in the Republic of Korea without corruption? How can you make such a naive remark.”
“Ah, I really hate this.”
Yu Seong-un roughly wiped his tired face with both hands and, after letting out a deep sigh as if to exhale his very soul, he slowly raised his head.
The area around his eyes was as hollow as a panda’s.
“So what were you curious about? I submitted a full report in writing just yesterday. What on earth were you so curious about that you had to call this poor employee in?”
Bisabeol cut to the chase.
“Looking at the report, it unfortunately seems that Jio didn't cause any casualties.”
“Unfortunately?”
“My true feelings slipped out by mistake. I was curious how that portrait worked.”
“What kind of reaction are you hoping for from me? Should I clap or something?”
“So let’s skip over that part for a moment. I have a question about Jio’s Portrait.”
“I knew it. Please, go on.”
“The part about it being altered in response to the dungeon and monsters was very interesting, but who exactly is Giovanni?”
“That….”
He certainly hadn’t been able to report this part in writing.
“As you know, the matter concerning ‘Jio’s Portrait’ is confidential even within our guild, so I didn’t include it in the report to prevent any possible leaks. Did that perhaps feel disrespectful?”
“Disrespectful my ass, who is Giovanni?”
“Right, this is the kind of person you were.”
“Giovanni is….”
“I’ll tell you, so please wait a moment. I need to organize my thoughts too.”
Yu Seong-un scratched the back of his neck and then continued.
“…He is judged to be one of the ‘Jios’ from another dimension. I became certain after obtaining some data while roaming the virtual dungeon I was dragged into, that is… the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’.”
When he had gone around to check for any survivors who might have been dropped elsewhere, Yu Seong-un hadn't just been looking for people.
If he found a new dungeon, conducting a basic investigation was a natural duty as a Hunter.
“As a result, I was able to find traces of a person named ‘Giovanni’. His age was probably in his early 30s, a priest who served the Sun God and a doctor, with platinum blond hair and blue eyes… it matched one of the descriptions of Jio I reported before.”
“In that case, Jio must have a strong connection to the Source. He would be qualitatively different from ordinary Source beings or monsters.”
“I am in the process of judging it to be so. After reincarnating as another ‘Jio’ in another dimension and ending his life as a human, he returns to the portrait for a period of reorganization… I suspect he repeats the cycle of reincarnating again after all maintenance is complete, for now.”
It could also be something that proceeded simultaneously, untethered to such a temporal order. After all, it would be a process occurring between dimensions.
Therefore, ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was not a human, a monster, an item, or even a child of the Source, said to be the most veiled of beings.
That's not to say it could be expressed simply with the word 'god'.
“‘Jio’s Portrait’ can become anything.”
Just like a painter who can express everything with paints and sculptures.
“And such a thing, is, well… what should I say….”
“I think it’s a hasty judgment, but wouldn’t the word Source be the most fitting?”
“…That could be.”
If he didn’t have a close connection to the ‘Source’, which is called the world's greatest secret, Jio would not have been able to maintain such a vast presence as he did now.
“Still, should I say I’m glad that he hasn't given up what little humanity remains? I don’t know whether to say his willpower is amazing, or if this should also be seen as part of the Source’s system….”
Yu Seong-un stroked his chin and then asked.
“Are there any other matters you’re curious about?”
“Oh, is that all already?”
“I’m not like a parent telling a fairy tale. If you’re bored, please find another conversation partner. I may not look at it, but I’m busy cleaning up the aftermath of this virtual dungeon.”
“My apologies.”
Bisabeol let out his characteristic thin laugh.
“You’re busy creating an identity for Jio, aren’t you? It’s the task of creating an A-Class Hunter out of thin air, no less.”
“No matter how many unofficial Hunters belong to the Collectors Guild, there are more than enough things to explain. We’ll have to persuade the Association somehow, too.”
“I will handle persuading the Association, so you only need to worry about the basic parts. It’s not like they don’t know about ‘Jio’s Portrait’ either.”
“Thank you for lightening my burden. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed tonight for the first time in a while.”
Jio had openly played an active role in the dungeon named ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’, the center of this incident.
Although Priest Kang Seo-dam was the only one who noticed his divinity, it wasn’t as if his holy power could be hidden.
“At that point, we couldn't possibly say he was a non-existent person….”
“What can you do when there are so many witnesses? That's why it would have been much easier to handle things if we had just killed them all from the beginning.”
“Are you telling me to become a Red Hunter? To be demoted to a 5th-class citizen? Just like that, suddenly?”
“No, I was thinking of Jio when I said that. If he had, wouldn’t I have been able to appreciate Jio’s attack methods?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Jio seems to think of you as a moderately good person, Guild Master, so please manage your image.”
“That, I can say, is what I do best. It’s one of the weapons that helped me establish one of the three major guilds with this frail body.”
“But there are certainly many witnesses. Because the atmosphere was so harmonious, the witness accounts from the survivors are spreading even more actively….”
Perhaps because the survivors had received great comfort in the dungeon, thank-you messages for ‘Hunter Seo Jio’ were continuously flooding into the Collectors Guild.
In this situation, it was impossible to say that a person named ‘Seo Jio’ did not exist.
“Because of that, the employees are also a bit shaken. The official document distributed by the Guild Master clearly stated an employee named ‘Jio’, so they’re wondering if he’s the same person….”
“Of course he’s the same person, right? I don’t remember hiring such clueless employees.”
“Everyone has their suspicions. No one is trying to act like they know because it seems like the work will get complicated, but at least that the ‘Jio’ in the official document and the ‘Seo Jio’ of this commotion are the same being.”
“So everyone knows, but not a single person has spoken to me about it?”
“They don’t want to be assigned extra work.”
Yu Seong-un let out a long sigh.
“Just like me.”
“I pay you.”
“This damn capitalist society.”
In a world where you could officially buy lifespan with money, there was no way labor rights existed.
Yu Seong-un massaged the back of his neck, which had stiffened from fatigue, and said.
“Still, thanks to you introducing him as an employee in the official document, there are some people who are just letting it slide, thinking ‘I guess he really was an employee.’ Most people are wondering if the Guild Master intends to hire a monster, not a human, though….”
“Speaking of which, shall we try it sometime?”
“When you act like this, the distrust among the employees deepens. It’s not for nothing that they call you ‘that crazy bastard who loses his mind when it comes to artworks.’ Please maintain some dignity as a Guild Master, please.”
“It’s a very sorry thing to say, but I have none of that. Isn’t he a fun person?”
“You’d think he’d have some at that age, but why doesn’t he? Why really?”
Yu Seong-un wiped his face once more and continued.
“Anyway, Jio will be officially posted on the Collectors homepage soon. Since he’s already known for his blond hair and blue eyes, if Jio wants to be active without his cape, he’ll have to move around as ‘Giovanni’, but I think that much… Jio will probably understand.”
Jio didn't seem to have any aversion to his personality changing.
Even that aspect made one nod, befitting a being of the Source, but since it wasn't a big burden on him either, he would tolerate it.
“In short, from now on, Jio… will be actively participating in human society.”
“Can’t we go to an amusement park together?”
“…‘Jio’s Portrait’ dislikes noisy and crowded places, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain. While he remains unbelievably gentlemanly towards humans, that doesn’t mean he has stopped disliking rude and evil individuals.”
“Of course, I know. That’s why I was thinking of chartering the whole place.”
“Please do that for your lover….”
“A lover? Who would go to an amusement park with an old man like me?”
“Then why did you think Jio would go, that doesn’t make any sense now.”
He knew it was nonsensical bullshit meant to appreciate the reaction of Yu Seong-un, one of his collection items, but it was truly difficult to just listen to these remarks.
He was already tired, and his energy was being completely drained.
“Anyway, if you have nothing more to ask, I’ll be leaving. I have to deliver the Hunter license we made this time to Jio, and there are many other things to teach him, like textbooks and what not….”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“There’s something wrong with the sea.”
“……”
Yu Seong-un pressed his forehead.
“The sea, if you say that, surely… are you about to bring up the topic related to that strange phenomenon I went to investigate before? Now? After spewing a stream of nonsense, right as I’m about to stand up?”
Bisabeol nodded coolly.
“It slipped my mind.”
“Don’t lie, it’s frustrating.”
But Bisabeol would not stop these pranks, if only to appreciate and enjoy Yu Seong-un’s own reaction.
It was an eternal truth, but it was indeed easier if you gave up.
Yu Seong-un, having wisely resigned himself, sat back down on the sofa.
“So what is it?”
“There won’t be an official announcement yet, but if there’s one good thing about the power of the three major guilds of the Republic of Korea, it’s the fast information network.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ve brought some fresh information that the Association just confirmed.”
“So what is it?”
“They observed a new dungeon appearing in the sea.”
“…In the sea, a new dungeon….”
Yu Seong-un turned pale.
“…At this time?”
“At this time.”
Bisabeol smirked.
“Does it remind you of something?”
“Surely… is it related to the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’?”
“It seems to be the same dungeon.”
Bisabeol affirmed.
“A few brave Hunters from the Association went to check the inside, and they said the deeper they went, the more the environment resembled the form of a temple.”
“It must be the same as what I saw in the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’. So there was another connected dungeon.”
A sigh escaped him automatically.
“If it’s to the point where the sea is acting strangely, could it be a villa-type dungeon? Did a whole… A temple appears?”
“Not that, it’s an ordinary entry-type dungeon.”
“It must be damn huge.”
One of the characteristics of an entry-type dungeon is that its scope is limitless.
Among the entry-type dungeons confirmed so far, the largest one inside reached the size of a country.
A country the size of Russia, at that.
For that reason, entry-type dungeons are known to be the most stable, but also the most cumbersome and annoying to conquer.
Especially if it's expected to be as vast as this one.
“The ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’ I checked seemed to be a mix of a temple and a research institute. Since the report from the Hunters you mentioned stopped at the temple form, the place we saw was probably a much deeper… deep underground area.”
If that was true, that kid Eun-ha had basically thrown people in there to die.
‘It’s common sense that the survival rate drops the deeper you go into a dungeon.’
In any case, he could never get used to the hatred and malice of monsters, no matter how much he received it.
“Ah, the child named Eun-ha that I reported….”
“He could not be found after your return. He probably remained in the dungeon or changed his form. It's highly likely that he changed his form to that of a human child to take on the appearance of a prospective priest at the initiation ceremony.”
“Is that so?”
‘Eun-ha’ had disappeared, perhaps judging that it would be difficult to pretend to be human now.
To that, Bisabeol asked.
“Did Jio show any particular confusion about that part? It seems he cared for and cherished him quite a bit.”
“……”
“It must have been quite a shock for the cause of this incident to be the child named Eun-ha.”
“That part… he seemed fine.”
“Hmm.”
Bisabeol tilted his head, showing interest.
“He knew all along, didn’t he?”
“…We don’t know to what extent he has organized his personality, so I can’t say for sure, but judging by the fact that he didn't show any particular shock or surprise afterward….”
“Jio knew from the beginning what kind of being Eun-ha was?”
“How else can we interpret it?”
No, he didn't know.
The Jio in the dungeon just hadn't had any thoughts, and the Jio who found out Eun-ha's identity after coming out just didn't show his confusion thanks to his stiff facial muscles.
He only became certain that the Iseur in Giovanni's memory and Eun-ha were the same person after escaping the dungeon.
“As it is a dungeon with a humanoid monster as its owner, it would be good to learn a little more about ‘Giovanni’, who could be called the key to that peace. Would that be possible?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Ah, and….”
“What now?”
“……”
Bisabeol looked at Yu Seong-un with a feigned expression of sorrow.
“According to a Hunter from the Association, he witnessed ‘Jio’s Portrait’ in the sea dungeon I just mentioned.”
“…Excuse me?”
“To be precise, he said it was in the form of the ‘Black Cape’, not ‘Seo Jio’. The Hunters from the Association successfully escaped with the help of a tall man wearing a black cape….”
“Oh, please….”
Yu Seong-un tore at his hair.
“Please play within the limits of what I can clean up….”
“Oh dear, how pitiful.”
“Aaaaaargh….”
He could see a future of working overtime.
***
Of course, it wasn’t that Jio had caused this incident to play around.
“I didn’t know there would be other people in the dungeon I visited just to see the faces of my mermaid students.”
“Kurururuk.”
“Even a dad as versatile as me, who can roast sweet potatoes with paint, cannot predict every future, my dear.”
Jio recalled the sturdy Hunters he had run into head-on in the place he visited, thinking, ‘Of course there will be no one in that dungeon by now.’
They looked quite scared.
“Just like when the employees of the Collectors Guild ran into me at dawn.”
“Kkung.”
“Even though they look like very smart elites, those healthy employees were so scared…”
“Kkungkung.”
“…scared…”
“Kkungkungkung.”
“……”
To say it in advance, Jio also knew how to grasp reality.
And he also knew that a ghost story called the ‘Black Cape’ had sprung up in the Collectors Guild.
It was partly due to Guild Master Bisabeol’s prank, but a large part was because the employees who took it seriously were thoroughly scared.
“…Ah.”
The Black Cape standing alone in the hallway of the company after everyone had left, and the Black Cape who suddenly appeared in a dungeon where there should have been no people and showed them the way to survive.
Jio felt a déjà vu at the incredible synchronization rate.
Only then did his sense of reality return, and Jio thought, oops.
“…Did I cause trouble?”
“Kkur.”
“Gods of heaven and earth.”
That's how it happened.