Chapter 106
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106
“I quite liked the Honey Pot I saw last time.”
“The Honey Pot? You mean the one that blooms into a sphere filled with honey?”
“Yes, that’s the one. I heard they’re difficult to sprout, so only seedlings are sold.”
“Is there anything else you want?”
“I use salt often, so I would like a Rock Salt Tree if possible.”
“A Rock Salt Tree. That was in the last catalog. Anything else?”
“This is more than enough. Thank you for your help.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you.”
After all, for Yoo Seong-un, this deal guaranteed his survival in such an abnormal dungeon.
It’s an incredibly lucrative deal for me.
Yoo Seong-un was a typical modern hunter who valued his life and well-being above all else. Being dragged around by a capitalist society only to die on a mission was a completely unacceptable end.
I almost feel bad wrapping up the deal like this, but…
He carefully gauged the portrait’s mood.
“……”
“Is there a problem?”
“…No, there isn’t.”
It was a truth that gardeners always had to keep in mind: human standards were meaningless to an Existence of the Origin.
If you borrowed three things and agreed to return four, an Existence of the Origin would get angry if you returned five instead. It made no sense by human standards, but Yoo Seong-un knew that catering to their whims was the surest path to a long life.
“Then let’s conclude our deal here.”
Deals with an Existence of the Origin required a clear beginning and end. Having firmly concluded the transaction, Yoo Seong-un asked:
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you know I was here?”
“The 'Void City' informed me that you visited this place, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”
“I figured as much.”
It would be stranger if Gio, the master of a dungeon of this scale, didn’t know what was happening inside it.
But that only makes my position more awkward, considering I came to retrieve Hunter Park Eun-gyeom.
Didn’t that make it obvious that Gio had intentionally dragged a human here? For Yoo Seong-un, who still had a duty to fulfill, it was a difficult situation.
Will he get angry?
He had come to retrieve a human that this very portrait had dragged here with open hostility. For an Existence of the Origin, which never reversed its choices, this would be a highly offensive act.
“……”
“Why did you come here, Mr. Yoo Seong-un?”
“…I came to work.”
In fact, that was precisely why it was better to be honest.
Because deceiving Gio might also be considered an evil act.
Besides, hadn’t Gio already promised to spare his life?
“As far as I know, today is Christmas.”
“Huh? No, it’s already the 26th in Korea, so Christmas is over. Though many people are still off since most companies guarantee a long holiday weekend.”
“So while everyone else is resting, you are working, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”
“Hunters don’t really get to rest just because it’s a holiday. It’s a common occurrence.”
"So people in your profession, hunters, can’t rest even on public holidays?"
“Well, it’s not strictly like that, but… yeah, you could say that.”
No matter how angry it became, an Existence of the Origin never went back on its word. Since the atmosphere wasn’t too tense, Yoo Seong-un placed his trust in that fact and carefully spoke up.
“…The reason I came was to take someone out of here.”
“Is taking a person out of here your job?”
“Yes. Hunter Park Eun-gyeom… I’m not sure if you would know his name, though.”
“Park Eun-gyeom.”
The portrait repeated the name.
“……”
“……”
And silence fell.
For Yoo Seong-un, who had a guilty conscience, it was a spine-chilling silence.
…Is he offended after all?
Unlike a Child of the Origin, which lacked cognitive ability and merely mimicked stories, ‘Gio’s Portrait’ was an entirely different kind of entity. Gio possessed clear emotions, to the point that he sometimes seemed like a monster, or even a human.
And I’ve just declared my intention to act against his will.
Furthermore, since Gio had promised to spare him, he couldn’t kill him.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to punish me without killing me, but that’s my burden to bear. Either way, Gio can’t be happy about this.
Yoo Seong-un braced himself for an attack from Gio. He had already prepared for this outcome from the moment he unexpectedly ran into the master of this Gray City.
“……”
The portrait, maintaining its silence, gestured to a Black Suit.
“……?”
It was a baffling action, but Yoo Seong-un quietly watched the situation unfold.
At their master’s gesture, the ever-multiplying Black Suits drew closer. Then, like servants attending their lord, they bowed politely at the waist and assumed an attentive posture.
What is this?
Paying no mind to Yoo Seong-un’s confusion, Gio questioned the Black Suit.
“Do you know the location of the human named Park Eun-gyeom?”
“Yes, I do.”
Yoo Seong-un was slightly taken aback. It wasn’t just because a transparent entity with no hands or mouth was mimicking a human voice. Nor was it because a creature that had only used awkward sign language moments ago had suddenly spoken.
What Yoo Seong-un focused on was the voice of the Black Suit itself.
…That voice…
It was a voice that brought to mind a man in his thirties.
But it doesn’t suit that monster at all.
A human voice, shaped by a single ego over a long period, usually carried a tone that represented that very ego.
In stark contrast to its polite and elegant gestures, the voice uttered by the Black Suit had a somewhat frivolous and irritable edge to it.
Gio, being a painter, would never have carelessly chosen such a voice for his creation, the Black Suit. Yet, the voice was utterly ill-fitting. If that was the case, then…
…Could it be?
Is that Hunter Park Eun-gyeom’s voice?
Regardless of Yoo Seong-un’s suspicions, the conversation between the two continued.
“For what reason is he here?”
“He tormented and abandoned a weaker human.”
“Then he is an evil human.”
“Yes, he is an evil human.”
It was a bizarre conversation.
“Is there any problem with taking that human out?”
“No, there is no problem at all.”
“Then I shall do as I wish.”
“Yes, that is also our wish.”
“I understand.”
Having finished the conversation, the portrait looked at Yoo Seong-un.
“Since you wish for it, Mr. Yoo Seong-un, I will release him.”
“…Really?”
He tried not to show it, but he was incredibly shocked.
He’s reacting so casually?
That was what made it even more chilling.
But I clearly confirmed that Gio is an entity capable of emotion…?
If he possessed emotions, he should be angry at someone going against his rules. Even humans act that way, so how much more so an Existence of the Origin?
And yet he agrees so readily?
Faced with this lingering question, the gardener’s bad habit flared up.
“……”
He was intrigued.
“…Are you not displeased?”
In the end, Yoo Seong-un couldn’t hold back his question.
“I don’t know the exact circumstances, but your subordinates were the ones who dragged him here. On top of that, Park Eun-gyeom is a human who already belongs to this place.”
“That may be so.”
“So I was wondering if it’s really alright for me to just take him like this. If you don’t want me to, I won’t take him. Besides, I don’t consider someone who abandons his comrades to be a fellow hunter worth saving anyway.”
He meant it. A man like Park Eun-gyeom wasn’t worth risking his life to save, or even to retrieve his corpse.
Besides, the Association’s request wasn’t to save Hunter Park either.
What they wanted was information on the process, cause, and result of the ‘Black Cloak’ attacking humans. In other words, there was no reason for Yoo Seong-un to insist on saving Hunter Park Eun-gyeom.
To that, Gio asked:
“But didn’t you say it was your job, Mr. Yoo Seong-un?”
“I did say that, but…”
“Then I, too, can do as you wish.”
“Are you sure there’s no problem…? You’re not upset?”
“It doesn’t matter. He is someone I never paid any attention to in the first place.”
Gio truly knew nothing about it. The Void had never told him about such a person.
He had felt a brief pang of pity that someone was wandering lost in the home he had built, but upon hearing that the man was an abuser who abandoned others, he immediately slipped into a ‘why should I care?’ mindset.
Even Mr. Yoo Seong-un says he’s not worth saving.
Then it was even less of Gio’s concern.
However, just as he had handed out gifts to many passersby before, if the other party desired something and he had the ability to grant it, there was no reason not to do so.
Above all, if this is Mr. Yoo Seong-un’s job, I should help him, even if it’s difficult.
If an office worker went on a business trip and failed to achieve their objective, they would get chewed out back at the office. As someone who had once been a proper member of society himself, Gio desperately wanted to grant Yoo Seong-un’s wish.
“So you don’t have to worry about anything, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”
“That is very reassuring to hear.”
And it was a chilling statement.
…I didn’t expect this indifferent attitude to feel even scarier than anger.
This was an entity capable of showing affection to the young and weak, of marveling at the splendid and magnificent. The fact that ‘Gio’s Portrait’ responded to this situation with indifference rather than anger was slightly chilling to Yoo Seong-un.
If he was going to allow it so easily, why did he drag Hunter Park here in the first place?
From the conversation between Gio and the Black Suit, one might have thought, Ah, Gio didn’t even know Park Eun-gyeom was here!
However, because the atmosphere of the conversation was so bizarre, Yoo Seong-un assumed it was a sort of performative play, just as quite a few Children of the Origin were prone to doing.
“……”
Therefore, Yoo Seong-un could only arrive at a bizarre conclusion.
…A sort of quarantine, perhaps…
Gio was favorable toward humans. In other words, ‘Gio’s Portrait’ liked the human race, but it also disliked rude and evil individuals.
So Yoo Seong-un thought:
I don’t know if this is some kind of consideration for humanity from Gio’s perspective or just simple self-satisfaction… but this act of attacking evil humans might be a way of filtering out ‘impure seeds’ like Park Eun-gyeom, so that the average quality of the human race remains polite and good.
It was like how humans cull livestock that attack their own kind.
Thinking of it that way, I can understand Gio’s perspective.
It was a bit unsettling, but understanding it made him feel more at ease.
“…Hmm…”
If he felt terror at every little thing, he wouldn’t be able to work as a gardener.
“Then when can I take Hunter Park Eun-gyeom?”
“To take him out of the Void City, a price is required.”
“A price?”
Yoo Seong-un paused.
“Is such a price required when I leave as well…?”
“You may leave as you are, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”
“Then what about Hunter Park Eun-gyeom?”
“To take him out, a price is required.”
“……”
“That is how it is.”
Gio was speaking with absolute, pure sincerity.
I don’t really know either, but anyway, the System said so.
And interpreting that was Yoo Seong-un’s job.
…Ah…
He recalled when Hunter Cha Ah-ra had visited ‘Gio’s Portrait’ in the past.
At that time, Hunter Cha didn’t offer any price, she said.
And this time, Gio also said that Yoo Seong-un didn’t need to pay a price.
Perhaps those who enter the frame by Gio’s invitation do not require a price. Assuming they are guaranteed to eventually step back out of the frame, the 1:1 Rule is maintained—once in this world, once in that world.
However, in the case of someone forcibly dragged into the frame…
They must be treated as a painting.
The only times Gio received a price from Yoo Seong-un were when he painted something for him. To bring that painting into reality and give it to Yoo Seong-un, Gio had to receive something in return.
The current situation didn’t seem much different.
“Then what price should I pay this time?”
“You do not have to give me a price, Mr. Yoo Seong-un.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes. I will take this price from the human named Park Eun-gyeom.”
“Oh…”
Curiosity welled up.
What on earth is he going to take as a price?
Whether he knew Yoo Seong-un’s thoughts or not, Gio asked him in his usual quiet voice.
“Is it time for you to leave work?”
“Huh? No, hunters like me don’t really have a set clock-out time…”
“Do you want to leave work?”
“Of course I do. It’s just that I can’t go home because my work isn’t finished.”
“Then I will let you leave work.”
Before he knew it, Gio was holding a frame.
“…Huh?”
Displayed within it was the living room of Yoo Seong-un’s own home.
“Wait, this is—”
“Have a good night.”
The next thing he knew…
“……”
He could breathe freely.
He felt the warm air of the well-heated room on his skin and saw the furniture covered in a thin layer of dust from his long absence. The dark, unlit house confirmed that no one had been home.
“……”
Yoo Seong-un was standing in the living room of his own home.
“…Good lord…”
He was grateful, but it was truly chilling.
I have no idea how to dance to his tune.
How could such a terrifyingly considerate gesture exist in this world?
Yoo Seong-un stood there for a long time, an awkward smile plastered on his face.