The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 133
For the record, "I don’t interact with mentally weak individuals" was Arjio’s personal belief.
“I’m a bit picky when it comes to taste.”
“That sounds quite like something an evil god would say.”
“Better healthy people, if possible.”
Arjio took off his hood and continued speaking.
“Such people are even more interesting to watch when they get angry.”
“......”
“Hey, sir. What’s the problem now?”
“...Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Is it because I’m too handsome? I understand, it happens often.”
“Why am I so unlucky...?”
“You’re quite a fun person to tease.”
“No...”
Joo Hyun, subtly frowning as he looked around warily, asked:
“Doesn’t it make you angry that I’m acting so arrogantly?”
“If you want to see me angry, it’s going to cost you a bit. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“You mean you don’t get irritated? I’m asking if you’re not annoyed by it.”
Whether the other party was a monster or an evil god, perhaps it didn’t matter to distinguish them. But he couldn’t simply let someone act arrogantly toward him. Monsters who could think were typically proud beings.
Yet, despite being aware of his reckless behavior, the man in the black cloak didn’t show any sign of annoyance. Instead, he seemed to enjoy it.
“Why should I be angry?”
“Because you’re being arrogant?”
“Then I must be the first to die, because there’s no one more arrogant than me.”
“...Well, I’m not sure how to judge that.”
“Me neither.”
With a flash of his golden eyes, the evil god laughed.
“I prefer not to think about troublesome things.”
“You really live with such a refreshing attitude.”
“With so many things to enjoy in this world, is there really a reason to suffer?”
“Ah... I see what you mean...”
He appeared to be a hedonist at heart.
“......”
But more than that, the colors were far more dazzling than he had imagined. Joo Hyun’s eyes narrowed slightly in surprise.
‘The color is unimaginable when hidden by that dull black cloak.’
Bright red hair and golden eyes that glimmered with a cold light.
“...What a beautiful color.”
“Is this color your favorite?”
“Eh?”
“You really like someone stimulating and honest, don’t you?”
“I never really thought about it like that...”
“Then, to cater to your taste, today I will be Arjio.”
“...Huh? A?”
Before he knew it, Joo Hyun was seated on the sofa and asked:
“Are you calling this form 'Arjio'?”
“That’s right.”
“So... there are other forms?”
“The shape is the same, only the colors change.”
“Not like a chameleon.”
“A chameleon, eh? I could call it a distant relative of mine.”
“You’re joking, right...?”
“Being able to change according to the situation is similar to that.”
Suddenly, his color shifted to a dazzling platinum, as though bathed in sunlight.
“Don’t you think so?”
“......”
What was this?
“...Is it like a split personality...?”
“It’s not a different personality, though.”
“Even the tone and expression are so different; isn’t it a different personality?”
“I just change colors, that’s all.”
“...Ah, I see.”
He understood it roughly.
‘It’s like changing clothes, I guess.’
Changing clothes wouldn’t change the person inside, so from a god’s perspective, it could be considered a similar trick. Certainly, one shouldn’t judge mystical beings based on human standards.
Joo Hyun [N O V E L I G H T] nodded.
“I understand what you mean.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“...But, I prefer the red one.”
“Is that so?”
In the blink of an eye, the black cloak transformed into a radiant image, glowing with color like a fire.
“I am Arjio. If you promise to be my friend, I will tell you my other name. I swear on the honor of my dear friends that it won’t harm you.”
“...That...”
There were still parts that didn’t make sense.
“Why do you need a friend, like a pen-pal?”
“I’m shy.”
“Did you kill all the shy people in the world?”
“It’s really hard to make friends.”
“And it was easy for me?”
If anything, Joo Hyun, having been betrayed by the world and grown hyper-sensitive, was clearly the one with a more difficult time. It was absurd; anyone off the street could be a better friend than him.
Then Arjio spoke.
“Aren’t you not afraid of me?”
“......”
“Everyone else, when they see me, is too busy looking at me strangely.”
“...I see.”
That was definitely true.
‘Most would be either afraid or in awe.’
The current status of the Black Cloak in Korea felt just like that. It was famous enough for even children to know, but the danger was high, and while it was oddly friendly, there was a sense of fear that couldn’t be ignored...
‘It’s truly a ghost story.’
A city legend, perhaps.
If Joo Hyun had met him under normal circumstances, he would probably have had a similar reaction. There was nothing good about getting involved with a mysterious figure whose true identity was questionable.
“......”
But right now, he didn’t have the energy to even act appropriately.
‘...I’m not even sure why things got this far.’
He barely held onto his consciousness, but the sense of unreality was starting to dull.
‘It would make more sense if this were just a dream.’
So he responded more casually. Since the moment he created the mark of Sancalut, his mind had been half-gone, and because he’d been planning to die from the start, everything had been blurry ever since.
Amidst all that, being invited into the portrait by the Black Cloak added even more to the unreal feeling he was experiencing. He couldn’t even muster the energy to react normally.
“...This is... such a lovely place.”
Joo Hyun looked around and said.
“It’s far cozier and peaceful than I imagined.”
“I do love my home.”
“Is this your home?”
“You can make homes in many places, but this feels like my hometown.”
“Hometown, huh...”
It certainly had the atmosphere to be called that.
“So, what should I do?”
“Eat and play.”
“Eh?”
“Aren’t you going to work?” novelbuddy.cσ๓
“...I’ve been suspended.”
“Then you should eat!”
“Why is that?”
Joo Hyun didn’t quite understand why he was so fixated on food.
‘Come to think of it, I heard most of Black Cloak’s gifts are snacks...’
Could the ultimate goal really be to fatten up humans?
‘Can I even call this an evil god?’
It felt strange. He had thought of Black Cloak as an evil god just because he called himself that, but the more they talked, the less he seemed like one.
Was this all just a highly elaborate deception? An act to lure a tired human into submission? Or was it compassion, like a god giving alms to a beggar? Or just a temporary whim?
“...Should I help prepare the meal?”
“I can’t have the guest handle the kitchen.”
“Then I’ll just wait quietly?”
“How about some tea?”
“Sounds nice, but...”
And then a teddy bear brought the tea.
“...A teddy bear?”
“He’s the one who’s like a father to me.”
“Father?”
“He’s soft.”
“Why?”
The fruit tea the teddy bear handed him was unexpectedly delicious.
“I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Oh, I made a mistake again.”
“Please don’t make mistakes with weak humans.”
“You don’t look that weak.”
“So, what mistake was it?”
“This tea fills you up.”
“You shouldn’t drink it before meals?”
“Exactly.”
“Ah, I see.”
Joo Hyun nodded.
“Is this really a dream?”
“It’s reality.”
“I feel sleepy.”
“Then sleep.”
A large hand patted Joo Hyun’s head.
“Sleep well, wake up, have a meal, and then have some snacks.”
“......”
“After you wash up and lie on the bed, I’ll sit by your head and listen to your screams.”
“...Yes.”
“We’ll be friends after talking endlessly. You can talk to me.”
“Yes.”
“I wonder what your anger tastes like...”
A voice filled with curiosity and mercy dropped over his head, and soon that hand closed Joo Hyun’s eyes.
“I can be a good friend.”
It truly seemed like that.
“......”
“Don’t dream.”
Letting go of everything, Joo Hyun fell asleep.
“...Hmm, I see.”
Yoo Seong-Woon nodded.
“So, now there’s an association researcher sleeping in your house?”
“It’s been two days, and he still hasn’t woken up.”
“Two days already? I didn’t know, since I only visit in the early mornings.”
The background in Gio’s portrait changed according to the changes within it. In the morning, it looked like morning, and in the evening, it looked like evening. Occasionally, new animals appeared, or strange flowers bloomed.
‘I didn’t realize that two days had passed inside the painting during that short time.’
Maybe it was because he had finally gained a “pen-pal friend,” but Gio seemed to be really enjoying the visit. The passage of time inside the portrait changed according to Gio’s mood.
‘When I visited before and had a meal, only about 20 minutes passed outside. Time in the portrait flows faster when Gio is enjoying himself, and slower when he’s resting...’
Right now, he seemed to be in a very good mood. Yoo Seong-Woon smiled his usual calm smile.
“I’m happy that you’ve made a new friend.”
“That person and I aren’t friends yet. I’ll always give people a chance. He might become my friend, or he might not.”
“I’m glad you have such an open heart.”
If someone were forced to become friends with the source, what a great disaster it would be for that individual.
‘At least giving them a choice shows how merciful you are.’
Anyway, Yoo Seong-Woon had something else he wanted to say.
“So that would-be friend tried to summon an evil god, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you stop him?”
“He had the kind of face that would cause a massive disaster if he made a mistake.”
“Oh...”
Considering the source’s judgment, it sounded plausible.
“Didn’t he say he wouldn’t go to work because he was suspended?”
“Yes. He didn’t seem to have done anything wrong, but I’m curious why he received such a punishment.”
“Probably a forced vacation. It’s a pretty common thing.”
“Is this kind of coercive measure really common?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of a forced resignation. The atmosphere in the association and the collectors’ office is completely different.”
When you looked at it globally, the three major guilds in South Korea were a bit unique, with the collectors’ office standing out as one of the few groups that treated humans like humans.
“We get all sorts of benefits because the guild leader is very hands-on, but the association... it feels like a dungeon. With such a huge organization, some places do their work without personal interest, while others are embroiled in faction wars.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, that new guest was probably from a team that played the social game a lot. In the association, teams are so big that they’re assigned entire buildings. That’s why a lot of things happen in an uncoordinated way.”
It’s also why so many people were abruptly killed. There were works that could mentally or physically contaminate or infect people. It wasn’t rare for people to die while studying or analyzing them.
“There are tons of people working at the association, but what needs to be done there is much more dangerous, and there are many clinical trials going on for various projects...”
“Are they really clinical trials and not human experiments?”
“We just call them clinical trials to make it sound nicer to civilians. Well, the team I used to be with was pretty mild, and there were no projects that required human sacrifices. So I don’t know much.”
The atmosphere of the research center varied greatly depending on the team.
“So... uh...”
Yoo Seong-Woon said with a somewhat awkward expression.
“Guess it’s not that rare.”
“It’s terrifying.”
“Of course, it’s surprising that they even tried to summon an evil god.”
“Is it?”
“Most people don’t go that far.”
Yoo Seong-Woon chuckled bitterly.
“But even if they did, it seems like it would have been handled somehow. If it was an incident at the Seoul branch’s research center, the head of the center or the association president would have heard about it right away, and then they’d have stepped in... Even if they succeeded in their transaction with the evil god, it would have ended well.”
Then Gio summarized.
“Everything seems to be maintained through the association president’s mercy.”
“That’s not wrong. The current situation on Earth is exactly like that.”
The peace was maintained only because a few powerful figures occasionally granted mercy. If any of them turned bad, the peace would crumble into pieces.
“Despite all the dangerous materials accumulating in Korea, the reason this country hasn’t fallen apart is because of that. Korea has a strong system, and many powerful hunters.”
“Luckily.”
“Anyway, I feel bad about that guest. I left because I was fed up with the atmosphere of turning people into tools and means. It’s really maddening at the collectors’ office.”
They had the ability to break down even the mentally and physically intact, and the irony was that this ability helped them collect a great deal of data, which contributed to their development.
South Korea’s rapid progress was built on countless sacrifices like these.
“If you want to survive in the association’s research center, you need to adopt the mindset that life is about being alone.”
You can trust others’ abilities, but you shouldn’t trust or depend on the person themselves.
“Actually, this isn’t just a story about the association.”
“Do other people live like this too?”
“The intensity is particularly strong at the research center, but... yeah, pretty much.”
It was a truly unfortunate reality, but such tragedies were common in this small country.
“Still, most people don’t think about summoning an evil god. Was someone encouraging him?”
“I don’t know.”
“If the conversation goes well with that guest, can you arrange a meeting with me? I want to hear more about it.”
“I’ll do that if possible.”
“If I feel a dangerous vibe, I’ll have to investigate it myself.”
It felt as uncomfortable as when they investigated the raging sea before the mermaid siblings appeared. Yoo Seong-Woon kept his smile but sighed briefly.
“...If anything goes wrong, send me a letter. I’ll be there right away.”
He entrusted the poor, betrayed human to the source, believing that the source’s mercy was far more reliable than that of another human.
