Chapter 53
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53
Meanwhile, the employees of the Collector Guild, who had received the same official notice as Cha Ah-ra, were utterly baffled.
“……?”
“What is this?”
“Did the Guild Master pull a prank on us…?”
“He’s not the type to joke around in an official notice, though.”
While it was true that Bisabeol was a frequent prankster, he was surprisingly strict about separating his public and private affairs. Unless his collecting habits were involved, Bisabeol always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, so there was no way he would fool around with a guild-wide memo.
“Is this some kind of ghost story?”
“This is about the Black Cloak, right?”
The employees descended into confusion.
“So, is this ‘Gio’ person a man or a ghost…?”
The notice instructed them to treat him like a human, but the subtext was crystal clear: ‘This guy is absolutely not human, but don’t let on that you know. Just read the room and act accordingly.’
“……”
“……”
The employees could already feel a headache coming on. They glanced at one another.
“How are we supposed to interpret this?”
“…For now, let’s gather in our teams and try to figure this out.”
“Oh, Guild Master…”
True to the cynical nature of the Collector Guild, they didn’t waste time panicking. Instead, they coolly gathered to discuss the matter, knowing that confusion would get them nowhere.
“First, let’s determine if this is a joke or serious. If anyone has an opinion, speak freely.”
“I’ll start. I don’t think it’s a joke. Our Guild Master knows exactly how much a single notice can affect the staff. He might lose his mind over art, but he’s usually a perfectly reasonable person.”
“I agree. However, I think Rules 4 and 5 are definitely a joke. It looks like someone tampered with the rules the Guild Master laid out…”
To this, another employee added:
“Couldn’t someone else have actually messed with what the Guild Master wrote? The most likely culprit would be the ‘Gio’ mentioned here—the Black Cloak. You know, the ghost suspected of being a humanoid monster.”
“Ah… I meant that was part of the joke, too. It’s not like this notice is a real-time document; he could have easily edited it before sending it. It seems the Guild Master is enjoying this whole ghost-story atmosphere.”
“That makes sense.”
Whether Bisabeol had written the rules to sound like two conflicting personalities were at war, or if ‘Gio’ had actually tampered with them and Bisabeol sent the notice out as-is, it was a joke either way.
“In that case, we can conclude that these rules are worth studying carefully.”
“Look, the notice was sent to all employees except temporary workers with less than six months of service. The fact that he took measures to stop it from leaking outside the guild means this is a serious matter.”
“Then let’s conclude our first discussion: it’s serious.”
“Agreed.”
“I concur.”
Next, the employees began to examine the contents of the rules.
“These are definitely about the ‘Black Cloak’ we all know. The name Gio was already being whispered around thanks to a few eyewitness accounts. But to just state his name in the first sentence… it feels like the Guild Master wants us to formally acknowledge his existence.”
“It says he’s a dawn shift employee but tells us not to ask about his identity. The Black Cloak must dislike being questioned. I can’t imagine why…”
One employee interjected.
“First of all, is the Black Cloak human or a monster? Shouldn’t we clarify that before we go any further?”
“But the Guild Master sent the notice in this ambiguous, ghost-story format. He’s indirectly telling us he has no intention of revealing the Black Cloak’s true identity.”
“Still, we can make some guesses.”
“No, think about it again,” another employee said, shaking his head. “The more we know, the higher the chance we get stuck with more work.”
“Wise. In that case, we’ll treat the Black Cloak as Schrödinger’s human for now. Until we open the box ourselves, everyone will regard the Black Cloak as a dawn shift employee whom the Guild Master secretly hired.”
“Indeed. The notice itself tells us to treat ‘Gio’ as human. If the Guild Master says so, following his orders is the duty of a good subordinate.”
Duty or not, the employees, who had absolutely no desire to take on extra work, nodded in unison. It was a miracle the guild functioned at all.
Ghost story, human, or monster—not a single employee wanted to know the details of an incident that Bisabeol was having so much fun with.
“The more you know, the more work they dump on you.”
“But they pay for overtime.”
“I’d rather not get paid and not work. I have to go home and walk Choco.”
“True…”
They were dead serious about their work-life balance.
“Anyway, the instruction not to ask about his identity must mean this employee named Gio dislikes people digging into his background, right?”
“The more I hear, the more he sounds like a monster, human or not…”
“Hey, quiet, unless you want to be assigned extra duties. Still, since it says there are no repercussions for exchanging names, he’s at least not the type of entity that plays tricks with contracts.”
“You’re treating him like a monster too, Team Leader.”
“I told you to be quiet.”
Barring some exceptional circumstance, Bisabeol would never do anything to harm his employees, whom he considered part of his collection. Therefore, the claim that exchanging names was safe was likely true.
“But the fact that ‘exchanging names’ is even mentioned means the Black Cloak must try to introduce himself pretty often, right?”
“Everyone introduces themselves.”
“Even so, for it to appear in an official notice suggests he does it in an unnatural way. No matter how you slice it, this is a monster imitating a human…”
“Quiet, please.”
“Sorry. It’s just so absurd.”
The analysis continued.
“It says, ‘No matter what kind of conversation he initiates, respond with kindness and courtesy…’”
“And right after, ‘Let us always be polite employees to our customers and colleagues.’”
“Emphasizing it twice suggests the Black Cloak dislikes rude people.”
“And bad people, too.”
An employee pointed to Rule 9.
“‘Bad people cannot go near the portrait on Basement Level 5. Be especially careful not to visit the portrait at dawn.’”
“……”
“The fact that access is completely blocked implies the penalty for ‘evil’ is far greater than for ‘rudeness.’ It would be best to keep any Hunters with criminal records away from there.”
“Ah, seriously,” the young employee who had been grumbling from the start wiped his face with both hands. “Fuck, I’m trying to treat him like a human, but the way the Guild Master phrases things is just…”
“Calm down. He’s the Guild Master, and he’s always been like this. You probably signed your contract without knowing, but well, we all know now.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“But it’s now certain that the Black Cloak is deeply connected to the portrait in the Basement Level 5 Gallery. I heard the B5 Gallery recently acquired a portrait of a man that the Guild Master bought at an auction… Well, there you have it.”
“……”
“Let’s stop here.”
No matter how much they uncovered, the truth was useless to employees who loathed extra work. While analyzing the notice to avoid making any mistakes, they deliberately gritted their teeth and ignored Gio’s true nature.
“Let’s go back to Rule 4. It doesn’t just emphasize politeness; it also says, ‘If the conversation is successful, you will receive a gift from Gio.’”
“So if we fail to satisfy Gio in conversation and don’t get a gift, is there some kind of punishment? Like falling ill for the rest of the day…?”
“Considering the Guild Master is just letting the Black Cloak roam free, it’s unlikely we’ll face anything that threatens our lives or daily routines. However, since the Black Cloak seems to detest rude people, an ‘unsatisfactory conversation’ might also be judged as a form of rudeness.”
“In that case, rather than an immediate consequence, accumulating such ‘rudeness’ over time might draw his hostility. That could definitely get dangerous. We should be careful not to fail to receive a gift three or more times.”
“I doubt the Black Cloak’s patience would even last three times… but noted.”
The employees exchanged glances upon seeing Rule 5.
“This is definitely…”
“…written by the Black Cloak.”
“‘It is an exaggeration, so you do not need to strictly adhere to it.’ What could that mean?”
“He might be waiting for us to follow Rule 5 and let our guard down.”
“Chilling.”
There were many monsters like that—creatures that set traps for humans, waiting for them to break a rule just so they could use it as a pretext to attack or torment them.
“So he at least knows Korean?”
“According to the dawn guards who saw him, he introduced himself as ‘Seo Gio.’ He seems to have adopted a Korean name, which suggests he might be familiar with the culture as well.”
“I thought we agreed to treat him as Schrödinger’s human, Team Leader.”
“Ah, well… yes. Even among humans, there are those who are ignorant of other cultures.” The Team Leader waved his hand as if telling them to just move on.
“Rule 7 isn’t hard to understand, either. ‘If you give the Black Cloak something, make sure to receive a gift in return.’ This is probably one of his personal rules.”
“So he really is just a monster…”
“Shh. There are people all over the world who value rules. We don’t know how much we’ll interact with him in the future, but if you happen to give him something, make sure you get something back.”
“He must be someone who really likes to return favors.”
“Indeed. How very kind of him.”
They were still gritting their teeth and turning a blind eye to the truth.
“Besides, isn’t Rule 9 hard to violate in the first place? Access to the final floor, the Basement Level 5 Gallery, is already restricted. Is this part of the notice for the curators?”
“That’s highly likely.”
Having finished their rough analysis, the employees began to disperse.
“I should buy the curators a meal sometime soon…”
They pitied the curators who managed the gallery.
At that very moment, numerous curators were holding back tears.
“Please don’t let it be me.”
“Anyway, ‘Gio’s Portrait’ isn’t our responsibility.”
“But we have to cover for Yoo Seong-un on days he’s too busy to come in.”
“Ah…”
It was the same for the dawn guards.
“…I heard he’s that terrifying.”
“…We’ll just have to be careful…”
In any case, as long as they followed the rules, it shouldn’t disrupt their lives, right?
Deciding that was good enough, the employees calmly accepted their new reality.
* * *
“…To think things would turn out like this again.”
Yoo Seong-un nodded.
“You seem to have hired excellent employees.”
“They are indeed quite indifferent. Truly fitting for members of the Collector Guild, who hate extra work more than death itself.”
“At least they’ll adapt well.”
Bisabeol had said there was no way to keep ‘Gio’s Portrait’ locked up forever, and he had no desire to see his artwork mistreated. With input from Yoo Seong-un, a Gardener, they had devised a way for the ‘Black Cloak’ to properly blend into the human world.
This was a sort of preemptive inoculation. Bisabeol laughed, saying it wasn’t a decision that would harm humanity as a whole. His attitude, which basically amounted to ‘so what if a few people die?’, was shamelessly fitting for an S-Rank.
“And about Hunter Cha Ah-ra, whom we saw last time.”
“Oh? Is there a problem with her?”
“Well…” Yoo Seong-un scratched his neck. “It seems Gio will be meeting her family soon.”
“My goodness.” Bisabeol’s face lit up. “Is Gio going out again?”
“I mentioned in the last report that he would likely observe the Sun Cult’s initiation ceremony.”
“Since he is a portrait who dislikes noisy places, I thought he might change his mind.”
“I was worried about that too, so I asked him again. He said he still intends to go.”
“The first outing went very smoothly. I wonder if the second will be the same.”
“Strictly speaking, isn’t this his third outing? Gio already met Hunter Cha Ah-ra at the ‘Vein of Jewels.’”
“To be precise, one could call it the portrait’s first official imitation of a human. How delightful.”
“…Delightful…”
“Has the sea been noisy lately? You did say there was a change in Gio’s personality… Hmm.”
“……”
Yoo Seong-un felt a sense of foreboding.
“…It’s a bit strange for you to be this invested. Did you happen to see something? Like the future?”
“My skill is Appraisal. Please refrain from making such wild claims, Curator Yoo Seong-un,” Bisabeol said with a laugh. “But it does seem like it will be fun.”
“……”
Yoo Seong-un gritted his teeth.
For Bisabeol, who was famous for his keen eye, to say something ‘seemed fun’ was enough to shave years off a person’s life.