Chapter 170
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 170
“…Do you know what the very first thing I thought was when I heard that story?” Yoo Seong-un asked, giving two thumbs up. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. How did he pull that off?’”
“You flatter me.”
“I’m not just flattering you, I really mean it.”
The hallway meeting, scheduled for exactly noon, was held once again just before Yoo Seong-un could die from overwork. Today, as always, they held their meeting in name only, accompanied by Gio’s special tea and an assortment of snacks.
Ju-hyeon, looking pityingly at Yoo Seong-un’s exhausted state, cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ahem. It turns out Mr. Gio is surprisingly sociable.”
“If he’s so sociable, why was he always trying to scare people before?”
To Seong-un’s innocent question, the Black Cloak inside the portrait replied:
“I did not scare them. They simply gorged themselves on their own fear.”
“Your vocabulary has gotten richer since I last saw you. What on earth does ‘gorging on fear’ even mean?”
“It means I am blameless.”
“No matter how I think about it, that makes no sense.”
Massaging his stiff neck, Yoo Seong-un asked, “So how did you create such a warm, friendly atmosphere?”
Logically, it should have been impossible.
Gio possessed an innate presence. No matter how well he concealed it, humans instinctively sensed the difference in their standing and felt intimidated. This was especially true for Gio, an existence who had accumulated a rather unsettling aura over time.
“People must have been terrified of you.”
“They were indeed very frightened, so I put in a great deal of effort.”
“It’s mind-boggling that something like that can be solved just by ‘putting in effort.’”
“I consider myself fortunate to possess at least that much social grace.”
“No, it’s not really a matter of social skills for you… uh…”
In truth, if one were to judge ‘Gio’s Portrait’ by human standards, his social skills weren’t bad at all. Though he could be terribly indifferent at times, Gio was unusually fond of and kind to humans.
The only problem is that his overly polite way of interacting tends to intimidate people.
Anyway, it felt a bit awkward to say that out loud.
“…You do look a bit scary, though.”
“I agree.”
Gio nodded without hesitation.
“Ever since the past, there have always been quite a few people who found me frightening.”
At that, Ju-hyeon tilted his head.
“Always? So people found you scary even when you were Giovanni?”
“Yes, even back then, many were afraid of me.”
“I didn’t think Mr. Giovanni had a particularly scary impression…”
“To be precise, it would be more accurate to say they felt intimidated and were uncomfortable with me from the start.”
Giovanni was certainly a priest with a gentle and kind demeanor, but perhaps due to the unique authority of a Sun Cult priest combined with his aristocratic bearing, many people were unable to treat him as an equal.
“It was also partly because I had blonde hair when I was Giovanni.”
“What’s wrong with blonde hair?”
“It was a world where a superstition circulated that children born with hair the color of the sun were children of God.”
“Children of God…”
“In my case, since I was also a priest of the Sun, the pressure on them must have been even greater.”
He had been a particularly renowned priest, famous enough to be called a Saint. For the people of that era, when the Sun Cult ruled the world, it was probably inevitable that they couldn’t treat him as an equal.
“Even though I have no memory of doing anything particularly terrifying, they still reacted that way.”
“But I heard that Mr. Iser had the nickname ‘Smiling Tyrant of the Sea Village’…”
“……”
The portrait’s hair turned platinum blonde.
“…Did Iser say that? When?”
“We were just chatting while eating lamb skewers last time, and it came up.”
“I am truly being wronged. Why on earth must I be called a tyrant?”
“He said if people didn’t accept your mercy willingly, you shoved it down their throats…”
“The end result was good, so I believe it was for the best.”
“Ah, indeed. No wonder you inspired fear even when you were Giovanni.”
“I am being wronged.”
At Gio’s heartfelt plea, Yoo Seong-un let out his characteristic easygoing chuckle.
“I think that was probably closer to awe than fear.”
“Ah, that makes sense. If I had a neighbor like Mr. Giovanni, I don’t think I could have treated him casually either,” Ju-hyeon said, nodding in agreement. “Your presence makes it difficult for people to approach you casually.”
The portrait looked wronged once again.
“I would appreciate it if you would be friendly with me.”
“We certainly will be, but you can’t blame people for being that way when they first meet you.”
With the gentle and cheerful Giovanni, it stopped at awe. But when it came to Seo Gio, whose facial muscles seemed to have atrophied, or the battle-crazed Arjio, people couldn’t help but feel pure terror.
Yoo Seong-un, who had heard stories about ‘Seo Gio’ from Ju-hyeon, asked, “But did people find you scary even when you were Seo Gio? You wouldn’t have performed miracles like Giovanni or been itching for a fight like Arjio…”
“Yes, I was just an ordinary teacher.”
“No, you definitely weren’t ordinary. That’s a stretch, no matter how I look at it. Why are you trying to gloss over it so smoothly, as if you actually lived a normal life?”
“I am being wronged.”
Before they knew it, the portrait’s hair had returned to black.
“I simply had an intimidating face.”
“It must have been hard to inspire fear with such a handsome face. I don’t know if I should be impressed or what…”
“I was always a kind and helpful teacher.”
“That’s what I’m saying—it’s about your impression, not your words or actions. Well, of course, those might have been a problem too, but…”
That wasn’t something that could be resolved just by feeling wronged.
“Yeah, that’s why it’s so strange. You said people were scared of you even when you were an ‘ordinary teacher,’ right?” Yoo Seong-un recalled the story about the meeting room he had heard from the 5th Floor Manager. “So how did a guy like that create such a harmonious atmosphere?”
“As I keep telling you, I simply put in a lot of effort.”
Gio did, in fact, possess that level of sociability.
“Many found me difficult to approach because of my unfriendly impression, but in the end, we always parted on good terms. If people are afraid of me, all I have to do is ease their tension.”
Yoo Seong-un marveled at his words.
“Then why don’t you do that normally?”
“It is exhausting.”
“Huh?”
“The return on investment is poor.”
“So it’s a bad deal.”
“You understand perfectly.”
If it were someone he had to work with for a long time, Gio would put on a show to charm them, but most people were just passing through his life. There was no need to waste his precious energy on them.
“After all, the fact remains that my default impression is intimidating.”
The more casually and effortlessly Gio treated someone, the more they feared him. Conversely, it meant that as long as Gio treated them with sincerity, they wouldn’t be afraid of him at all.
“……”
“……”
At that, Yoo Seong-un and Ju-hyeon had the same thought.
…Indeed, making someone feel comfortable around an existence of his stature couldn’t possibly be achieved with a small amount of effort. It’s not a mercy he can just bestow on anyone.
Doesn’t the very fact that he can’t be on equal footing with ordinary humans without that much effort prove that he isn’t human himself?
Yoo Seong-un, as a Gardener and Curator, understood the fatigue that came with a Work, while Ju-hyeon, as a friend, simply saw the contradiction in Gio’s usual claims. At the very least, neither of them viewed him as human.
Gio noticed the change in atmosphere around them.
Does no one here realize I’m just an ordinary introvert?
People being scared of his intimidating face was the default setting. To overcome that and ease their tension required a great deal of his mental energy. That was simply the life of an introvert with a scary face.
However, since the situation was both absurd and amusing, Gio decided to just go along with it. If they wanted to treat him like a precious portrait, he had no intention of correcting them. Gio wanted to live as a portrait for the rest of his life.
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“Ah, no, you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, it’ll be a huge help.”
“Since they are people I will be working with, I was concerned.”
According to Ju-hyeon, the raid was a sort of training camp—or perhaps a workshop or a long-term business trip. He didn’t want to be on awkward terms with people he had to spend a considerable amount of time with.
Few hells could compare to that.
Therefore, it was a hundred, a thousand times easier to put all his effort into leaving a good first impression so he could spend the rest of the time in a friendly atmosphere. Gio had truly tried his best to get close to his temporary colleagues.
“However, Kim Nana, the trainee who joined later, seemed a bit taken aback.”
“Ah, I heard about that,” Yoo Seong-un nodded. “I heard she thought it was some kind of brainwashing.”
“She was very afraid of me.”
“But I heard that was resolved after you chatted for a bit, too.”
“It required a great deal of effort.”
“I can understand Kim Nana’s perspective, though.” With an awkward smile, Yoo Seong-un continued, “Imagine you’re away, and when you come back, all your colleagues are laughing and treating the Black Cloak like an old friend. Honestly, anyone would find that creepy. It makes no sense.”
“Still, in the end, she seemed to feel comfortable around me.”
“That’s true. From what I heard, it doesn’t seem like Kim Nana is scared of you anymore either. Though that in itself is quite surprising.”
At that, Yoo Seong-un asked slyly, “You didn’t actually use a brainwashing skill, did you?”
“I am truly being wronged.”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry. But honestly, it is a bit suspicious.”
“Have you ever seen a portrait cry?”
“I’m curious, but I’ll save that for next time.”
Ju-hyeon looked at Yoo Seong-un as if he were a certified madman, but Seong-un cleanly ignored him. Curators of Bisabeol were all like this, anyway. A crying Work? That was an incredibly rare sight.
But fortunately, or unfortunately, Yoo Seong-un was too exhausted to press the issue.
“If you created that atmosphere purely with your silver tongue, isn’t that truly amazing?”
“I am glad for your praise.”
Gio felt a bit happy, like he was being told, “Hey, you’re pretty good at socializing,” by an older brother figure. Timid and easily frightened, Gio felt quite proud of himself for a job well done.
“I think it’s because similar things happened often in the past, so I knew how to handle it.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t your ‘portrait-ness’ that did the trick?”
“I do not quite understand what you mean by ‘portrait-ness.’”
“You know, that quality you have. Where things just seem to happen as you wish…”
“Are you referring to something like the stone towers people build when they go hiking?”
“…Is it similar?”
Gio had the ability to make things go his way without taking any special measures. Yoo Seong-un suspected this was possible because Gio, as a fragment of the Origin, could manipulate fate.
“Well, either way, it’s impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“Come to think of it, you secretly love being praised…” Ju-hyeon smiled and chimed in. “Well, he is still young, after all.”
“……”
Under Yoo Seong-un’s intense gaze, Ju-hyeon averted his eyes.
“…His persona, I mean. His persona is young.”
“Why are you getting so embarrassed?”
“Because I feel like I said something embarrassing…”
“I really can’t tell if you’re bold or just timid.”
“I’d appreciate it if you stopped teasing me,” Ju-hyeon said with a flushed face, a hint of grievance in his voice. “But isn’t Mr. Gio definitely on the younger side? At 29, 32, 24…”
“If you mean I died young, then yes, I did die young.”
“Don’t focus on the death, look at the age you lived to. You were young.”
“Yes, I died early. I know.”
“Are you really going to say such sad things right in front of Mr. Gio?”
“No, it’s just the truth…” Feeling somehow scolded, Yoo Seong-un turned to look at Gio. “He probably doesn’t even mind, you know?”
“Ah, how wonderful it would have been if I could have lived much, much longer with my mermaid students…”
“Are you really going to be like this? You’re just trying to make me look like the bad guy now, aren’t you?”
“I am joking.”
Giovanni didn’t particularly have any complaints about his lifespan, either.
“Isn’t there a saying that the beautiful die young?”
“I love that confidence.”
“It is an undeniable fact that I am handsome.”
“You’re shameless in the strangest ways,” Yoo Seong-un shrugged. “Anyway, I’m glad you got close to them without any major issues.”
“Still, they did seem to find me a bit difficult to approach.”
“Oh, really? Didn’t you say the atmosphere was good?”
“Hmm.” After pondering for a moment, Gio continued, “There were many similar cases in the past.”
“What kind of cases?”
“Cases where they mistook my desperate attempts to charm them as a form of mercy and held me in awe…”
“Ah, so that was your desperate attempt to charm them. I see.”
In truth, Yoo Seong-un also tended to interpret it as the mercy of a vast, mysterious being rather than a simple act of charm. But since Gio seemed to want to pretend otherwise, Seong-un decided to just let it slide.
“……”
“Huh? What?”
“Are you hungry?”
“…I am a bit peckish, but why do you ask?”
“Since you seemed to be having foolish thoughts, I wondered if it was because your stomach was empty.”
“Setting aside what those ‘foolish thoughts’ are, why are you connecting that to my stomach…?”
Yoo Seong-un marveled at how even Gio’s way of throwing a tantrum always came back to feeding people.
*
And so, the hour of battle drew near. It was the day of rest before the raid.
“A real pleasure to meet the Collector’s young master I’ve only ever heard about.”
“……”
“Our little young master won’t start crying in the dungeon because the food tastes bad, will he?”
Gio was being unilaterally provoked by some muscular punk.
Challenging me with food?
Most surprisingly, it was clear that the world had absolutely no intention of understanding his fragile nature.