Chapter 214
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214
“I think it might be the most beautiful form of death.”
“……”
Ju-hyeon, who had been listening quietly, took a sip of his coffee and nodded.
“Sometimes, Mr. Yoo Seong-un, you can be a bit creepy.”
“To be frank, I’m aware of that.”
“How should I put it… It’s that unpleasant feeling you get when you see someone’s eyes sparkling as they look at something bizarre and incomprehensible.”
“That’s a very specific way to express your disgust.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen this kind of reaction, so Yoo Seong-un simply let it slide.
“Don’t you have that kind of romance in you, Ju-hyeon?”
“Has anything in our conversation so far even warranted the word ‘romance’?”
“You know, like if you could choose an afterlife, which one would you pick… that sort of thing.”
“No matter how I look at it, that’s not a romantic topic.”
Despite his groaning, Ju-hyeon answered sincerely.
“Well, I’m not strong like you all, nor do I have any special authority. I’m too busy worrying about tomorrow to have the luxury of thinking about what comes after death.”
“But you have Gio by your side.”
“That’s something to think about when the time comes. We were finally born into this world; isn’t it a waste to live just looking forward to the day we die? As long as we’re alive, we can do so much more.”
“Should I call you serious, or just… heavy?”
“I think it’s just normal.”
It was only natural that the living were the only ones who could dream of the future.
“Though the story might be a bit different for Mr. Gio.”
That was a truly exceptional case. For an ordinary, unremarkable person like Ju-hyeon, his own way of thinking was the norm.
“Maybe it’s different for people who have no will to live, but I have a lot I want to do. And they aren’t things I can just hand off to someone who might outlive me, so I have no choice but to focus on living my own life.”
“I’m just posing a hypothetical,” Yoo Seong-un grinned. Perhaps because he had just seen the Black Cloak’s masterpiece, he seemed to be in high spirits. “We can at least indulge in some trivial small talk, can’t we?”
“I suppose so.”
If it was just a passing joke, that is.
“…Hmm…”
But, well.
“…Nothing immediately comes to mind. But I think things will probably go the way Mr. Gio wants. Since he gave me a gift, if I’m lucky, I might end up going to the ‘White Frame’.”
“I figured as much.”
“Don’t take it too seriously. No one knows what the future holds. What about you, Mr. Yoo Seong-un? Which afterlife do you think you’ll end up in?”
“The most likely outcome is falling asleep in my snowfield.”
“By snowfield, you mean…?”
“The Garden I serve.”
If Gio helped, he might be able to sleep in a warmer place, but setting that aside, this was the correct answer when considering both realistic possibilities and his own preferences.
“Gardeners usually end their lives in their own Gardens.”
“And you said they continue another life after that?”
“To be precise, they turn into a sculpture, a tree, a flower… some element that makes up the Garden. But I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call that ‘life’.”
“I think I’ve heard that Gardeners consider ending their lives as humans to be the ultimate luxury. Is that true?”
“You have a good memory.”
Of course, there were exceptions like the therapist Jeong Young-won, who wished to belong to the Garden she served. But for Yoo Seong-un, at least, that wasn’t the case. Since he had been born a human, he wanted to die as one.
“In a world like this, even death can’t follow the natural order…”
“It’s a world where Evil Gods run rampant, after all,” Ju-hyeon laughed awkwardly. “I almost met a terrible fate myself not too long ago.”
“Ah, right. Is Sankalut a topic you can speak about comfortably now?”
“It wasn’t actually that uncomfortable before, either.”
A disaster brought about by a divinity felt more like a natural catastrophe than a personal incident. They could mimic humans but could never truly be human, so it would be ridiculous for Ju-hyeon, whose only real skill was enduring, to hold a grudge.
“To put it simply, I was just unlucky.”
“Most people wouldn’t think of it that way.”
Yoo Seong-un stroked his neck.
This guy isn’t normal either.
Not clinging to life and death was usually a characteristic of priests, but it was also a prerequisite for being a saint.
If serving a god freed everyone from their attachments to life, the religious world wouldn’t be this complicated. In the end, humans are humans; their vessels have limits.
No matter how he thought about it, the way Ju-hyeon was gradually becoming Gio’s close friend felt strange. He was an Apostle under the guise of a ‘close friend.’
“……”
Yoo Seong-un wore a placid smile.
“…Come to think of it, I wonder how that fellow Sankalut is doing. Surely he wasn’t completely destroyed just because Gio performed an exorcism or whatever on him.”
“I haven’t heard any news about that…”
“Me neither.”
The Evil God Sankalut was an important subject of study kept at the Association Research Institute. If such a creature had truly been annihilated, there was no way the research institute would be this quiet. Not a single whisper had reached Yoo Seong-un, who always kept his ear to the ground.
Above all, there’s no way a divinity would die so easily.
It was difficult even for divinities to kill one another, which often forced them into a semi-compulsory coexistence. On Earth today, why else would all those clashing providences and imbalances stand shoulder-to-shoulder in this narrow dimension?
“Well, of course, if it’s Gio, it feels like it might be possible…”
“It would probably be faster to ask Mr. Gio directly.”
“What will you do if Sankalut is still around? Do you plan to step back and refuse Gio’s help this time as well?”
“No.”
“Huh…?”
Surprised by the unexpected response, Yoo Seong-un looked at Ju-hyeon, only to see him grinning.
“I’m already receiving Mr. Gio’s help with that. It was the same when he comforted me when we first met, and when I ate the porridge he personally made for me in his warm cabin. The pure white tombstone he made for me this time is in the same vein.”
He had tried to reject, decline, and ignore that immense goodwill, but in the end, he had accepted it.
That was why.
“So I wasn’t surprised. Even when I heard that Mr. Gio had painted that grand work for me, I could just be grateful. Because I’ve already received miracles like that multiple times before.”
“A miracle, huh.”
“Of course it’s a miracle. Who would want to reach out to an ordinary loser like me? And with such pure intentions—wanting nothing but to be friends, free of greed or jealousy.”
“…An opportunity like that doesn’t come twice in a lifetime.”
“Mr. Gio is a truly kind person.”
Ju-hyeon didn’t like receiving help from others. Not only had there been no one to turn to in his past, but even when he did ask, he had never received what he wanted.
Yet, the first one to help him was that wicked divinity known as Arjio. He was still helping Ju-hyeon even now, and the matter with Sankalut was no different.
“If Mr. Gio gives me the chance, I plan to have a conversation with him.”
“A conversation…? I wonder if that’s safe. You’re a Non-Awakened, Ju-hyeon.”
“I do enjoy using the ‘Non-Awakened’ shield, but I don’t want to hide behind it at a time like this. I have a responsibility to bear, and Mr. Gio is helping me with so much.”
“That’s a rather bold response.”
“It’s fine.”
Ju-hyeon trusted his friend, Gio.
“Even if I can’t return as much as I’ve received, I must at least show basic courtesy. That’s what a relationship is.”
Ju-hyeon would probably never be able to repay all of Gio’s kindness, even if he lived to be a hundred. But he had to acknowledge what a great opportunity and how much help he had received. And it was only right to adopt the proper attitude.
“I don’t want to be arrogant, but I’m also not an idiot who turns a blind eye to kindness. The reason I rejected Mr. Gio’s help before was simply because I’m an ordinary human who would eventually change if I obtained miracles too easily.”
“I’m sorry, but you are not ordinary at all.”
Yoo Seong-un’s remark was promptly ignored.
“If I can speak with the wicked divinity named Sankalut, I would like to.”
“And what do you plan to do then?”
“I have to bring it to an end.”
Just like the mermaids who, despite being happy in their sweet reality, ultimately took ‘responsibility.’
“It’s no good for my story to drag on for too long, either. As I keep saying, I’m just an ordinary human.”
“……”
“Do you have a story you need to bring to an end, Mr. Yoo Seong-un?”
“…As if a Gardener would have such a thing.”
Yoo Seong-un gave a rare, awkward smile.
“I am the property of the Garden.”
If there was a story he had to finish, it belonged to the Garden, never to him. Before he was a human, he was a Gardener and a slave to the Origin.
“I’ll probably live like this my whole life, buried in mystery…”
“Why did you become a Gardener?”
“Because I wanted to live.”
“I see.”
Ju-hyeon nodded.
“I was the same.”
“Then we’re similar.”
Both of them were here because they couldn’t have survived any other way.
* * *
“Sankalut?”
Gio tilted his head.
“Do you wish to speak with him?”
“Yes, if that’s possible…”
“Of course it’s possible. I will merely summon him, but if you are satisfied with just that…”
“Of course I’m satisfied.”
Summoning a divinity was no easy task. Granted, it might be relatively easier for an Evil God, but one would usually have to pay a hefty price. The chance to interact with an Evil God so safely was extremely rare.
Gio rested his chin in his hand.
“Then it would be best to have the conversation at my house.”
And so, Gio invited Ju-hyeon and Yoo Seong-un over.
“Wait, why me?”
“Since you’re here anyway, Mr. Yoo Seong-un, you should have a meal before you go.”
“You’re not seriously planning to turn me into a pig, are you?”
“You seem to have lost a lot of weight. Perhaps the mental and physical toll of this raid was that great…”
“Even if you look at me with such a sad face, it’s not convincing at all.”
He had lost a mere 0.4 kilograms.
“I’m a Hunter whose speed is crucial. If you keep feeding me like this, even I will inevitably gain weight. That will affect my career…”
“Ah, so it is fine as long as you do not gain weight?”
“This is why you can’t let your guard down around mysteries for even a second. Bring the contract. The contract. Let’s lay out our positions meticulously from A to Z.”
“This is why experienced curators are so…”
“Are you getting more devious by the day?”
Well, whatever.
“Please, just a normal meal.”
“I believe I have always prepared normal meals.”
“Even if you have no conscience, you shouldn’t be this shameless.”
“Tch…”
“Now you’re outright clicking your tongue at me.”
Then, Gio brought over a blanket.
“A blanket?”
“Yes, though it is sudden…”
“Well, yes, I’m surprised because it’s so sudden, but…”
“You looked cold.”
“Setting aside how you knew, this is clearly not a blanket. Whose hide is this? Why is it so fluffy and warm? How can it be this warm? Ah, it really is warm…?”
Ju-hyeon smiled wryly as he watched Yoo Seong-un slowly sink into the fluffy golden fur.
“Is this the tragic end of a human bewitched by a mystery?”
“Who are you to decide my end?”
“It’s not very convincing when you say that while completely captivated by a pelt.”
“Do you even know how cold the snowfield is…?!”
Gio nodded at the sight of Yoo Seong-un tightly hugging the fur. Though his face remained characteristically expressionless, his reaction practically screamed, I knew you would like it that much.
“I was worried because you looked cold.”
“Did I really look that cold…?”
At Yoo Seong-un’s question, Ju-hyeon shook his head.
“…No. I’m sorry to say this, but I didn’t notice at all until Mr. Gio pointed it out. I thought you looked the same as always, but seeing you now, you really must have been cold…”
“No need to apologize. It’s normal not to know.”
Gio, who had suddenly been labeled abnormal, pointed at himself with a questioning ‘??’.
“Am I not normal?”
“By the standards of an average human, not really.”
“Indeed. It is difficult to call a portrait a normal human. You may praise my uniqueness.”
Gio was quick to accept this.
“Guests who come to my house must always be at peace.”
“Isn’t that scary in its own way?”
“You may use that as your blanket for today.”
“This house really treats its guests well.”
“Thank you.”
Gio was highly pleased.
“It is nice to have friends over after such a long time.”
I prepared the Gourmet Road knowing this would happen.