Chapter 59
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59
“Was he a foreigner?”
“Huh?” Yoo Seong-un asked, looking back at Gio. “What do you mean?”
They were on their way back after finishing the first initiation ceremony and parting ways with the Cha family. Yoo Seong-un tilted his head at Gio’s sudden murmur, not understanding what he was asking.
“A foreigner?”
“The blonde priest we saw earlier at the initiation ceremony briefing…”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”
Gio was old-fashioned in the strangest ways. He possessed the outdated common sense of a grandfather, and it seemed he was worried that he might have unintentionally committed some form of racial discrimination. This, despite being polite and gentlemanly in everything he did. He really worries about the strangest things.
“He’s probably Korean, too. You got confused because he looks a bit different from the traditional Korean appearance, right?”
“So he was Korean. With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bone structure slightly different from the Koreans I know, I thought he might be a Western foreigner. Was that a rude assumption?”
“It’s a bit of an old-fashioned mindset,” Yoo Seong-un admitted.
“I will be careful.”
“Well, you were stuck inside a frame all this time, so it’s only natural you wouldn’t know.”
Besides, from the perspective of an Existence of the Origin, distinguishing between human nationalities must have been rather difficult. It would be like a human without specialized knowledge trying to tell different species of ants apart.
Above all, Existences of the Origin tend to take human rules literally once they learn them…
They didn’t easily grasp human exceptions. There was one that couldn’t understand why humans didn’t eat exactly three meals a day, and another that couldn’t comprehend why someone lacked hair that was supposed to be there.
They’d say, “Aren’t humans supposed to be like this?”
If anything, it was impressive that Gio could distinguish enough to categorize someone as a “Western foreigner.” Though in this case, a little knowledge seemed to have backfired.
“Of course, traditional Koreans generally have black hair and black or brown eyes. Their bone structure is a bit different, too. But in this day and age, trying to determine nationality by hair color or bone structure is… well, it’s not that simple.”
To make an Existence of the Origin understand humans, it was best to explain the flow of history from its origins. Yoo Seong-un began telling an old story once again.
“I think you know about the Great Catastrophe, but the Earth was turned completely upside down back then. It wasn’t my generation, so I don’t know exactly what it felt like, but it must have been far more chaotic than it is now. It would have been a literal apocalypse, right?”
“…”
“…Do you know what an apocalypse is?”
“I do.”
“Oh, impressive.”
It was likely one of the memories belonging to the human personality of “Seo Gio.”
“Anyway, back then, the concept of borders grew faint. Or rather, it became blurred. People started migrating all over the place to escape the disasters in their own countries. Because of that, the entire Earth began to mix like a giant salad bowl of different races.”
As a result, “pure-blooded Koreans” had now become a rarity.
“In our country, you can only find pure-blooded Koreans in very rare cases, usually in rural areas that have had little contact with other regions. Some old-fashioned elders still have an extreme aversion to their children mixing blood with foreigners…”
“Those kinds of people exist everywhere, it seems,” Gio remarked.
“There are always people who hate change. That’s why it’s hard to determine someone’s nationality just by their appearance. Still, seeing as that blonde priest you mentioned is hosting an event like this, he’s probably Korean.”
“Do they not entrust events to foreign priests?”
“No, it’s more like… if he’s hosting such a large event, he must hold a fairly high position in the Sun Cult of Seoul. That means he lives and works in Korea. Wouldn’t it be harder to assume that such a person is a foreigner?”
“Ah.”
Gio understood.
In essence, racial distinctions have all but disappeared.
No matter where their blood originated or what they looked like, as long as they held Korean citizenship, they were Korean. While that was a given even before the Great Catastrophe, the atmosphere back then and now was completely different.
It’s as if nationality is treated like a casual license, like a driver’s license.
Yoo Seong-un simply assumed the priest’s nationality was Korean because he worked here. He was judged to be Korean not by where or to whom he was born, but simply because he was registered as one.
“…”
A truly unified Earth.
…I think that’s nice.
This seemed rather desirable.
Though it’s a bit unfamiliar.
Gio still felt awkward in his own hometown. He wondered if he would even be able to order food at a burger joint now. To the living ancestor that was Seo Gio, this world was moving far too fast.
“Then issues like racial discrimination probably don’t happen.”
“That’s a conflict that practically only exists in textbooks now,” Yoo Seong-un said with a shrug. “I say that, but honestly, I can’t claim racial discrimination is completely gone.”
“Didn’t you say there are no distinctions in nationality?”
“No, it’s not that kind of problem…” He looked around, and after confirming no one was listening, he continued in a lower voice. “There’s grade discrimination.”
“Ah.”
“It might sound like an excuse… and I don’t really care about that stuff myself, but 1st-Grade and 2nd-Grade Citizens do seem exceptionally arrogant. Especially 1st-Grade Hunters—they find even interacting with citizens of the 3rd-Grade or below offensive…”
“…”
He had felt a sense of foreboding ever since he heard about citizens being classified into grades. Had a class system truly been resurrected?
“…Is it like the difference between nobles and commoners?”
“Ah, is that easier to understand? You could certainly say it’s a similar perspective.”
“I am surprised that the classification and treatment are much more distinct than I thought.”
“Well, anyway,” Yoo Seong-un chuckled softly. “Just be careful. If you try to distinguish race by appearance, people will call you a crazy old man. I understand your situation, but to others, it’ll sound like absurd discrimination.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“I wonder if there are any real pure-blooded Koreans left in this day and age. Even I’m not a native…”
The phrasing was a bit odd, but Gio brushed it aside and asked another question.
“Is the variation in hair and eye colors also due to the mixing of races? Of course, I know that pure human genetics don’t produce blue hair, but I’m asking just in case…”
“Ah, in my case, it’s just the effect of Awakening.”
If it was Awakening, it was likely related to being a “Hunter.”
“Does your color change when you Awaken?”
“Not everyone’s does, but if you have a particularly strong affinity for a certain attribute, your colors tend to change accordingly. The blue hair you mentioned isn’t a color that can occur naturally, so it’s probably due to Awakening.”
“I see.”
“Attributes aren’t clearly displayed by the System like grades or jobs are, so we usually define them ourselves as we get to know our abilities. For the record, my attribute is ‘Freeze’.”
Only then did Yoo Seong-un’s snow-white hair and glacier-cold blue eyes truly catch Gio’s attention. It was a color scheme similar to Giovanni’s, but unlike Giovanni’s, it carried a distinctly chilly hue.
“I used to have brown hair and brown eyes, but they became like this after I Awakened.”
“…I see…”
And here I thought dyeing hair was just in fashion lately.
Was I being too open-minded?
To be honest, even after becoming a haunted portrait and seeing people with exceptionally vibrant hair and eye colors, he hadn’t paid it much mind. It was because Gio was an open-minded person who respected human diversity.
I figured that since the world had been turned upside down and fashion had become so complex, there was no reason people couldn’t dye their hair…
Or perhaps he had just casually dismissed it as a form of evolution. Even to himself, he seemed like a remarkably indifferent person.
“I can change colors, too.”
“Huh? All of a sudden? But you’re originally black. Wasn’t that your identity?”
“The idea that a color can be a person’s identity sounds very interesting, but I am not black. I merely mentioned it because you said your colors changed, Yoo Seong-un.”
“No… I mean, in the first place, your black is a bit too… well, for a native Korean…”
Isn’t it too pitch-black? Like an abyss or obsidian.
It was hard to call Gio’s color a simple color. That black, which seemed to embody death or silence, often made one’s mind go blank.
Even now, when he has lowered his status to that of a human, it’s still a bit overwhelming to look him directly in the eye.
Perhaps puzzled by Yoo Seong-un’s reaction, Gio asked, “Is it not just ordinary black?”
“…If you think so, then that’s fine.” Yoo Seong-un decided to return to the previous topic. “So, you can change colors, too?”
“If I focus a little, I can change it. Would this make me a modern person as well?”
“Why is a twenty-nine-year-old man talking like an old man who can’t keep up with the times… Wait, is it that? Platinum blonde and blue eyes?”
“You knew.”
“You changed into those colors back at Cheonggyecheon, and also when we rode the water taxi.”
“Did I evolve into a chameleon, unlike everyone else?”
“Rather than that…”
I suspect it’s a change in personality.
“…”
“What were you trying to say?”
“…Just that it’s fascinating.”
By this point, Yoo Seong-un had a grasp on Gio.
There is a high probability that Gio… has numerous personalities.
Centered around the personality named “Gio’s Portrait” by the Origin, various other personalities branched out like limbs. Usually, he acted under the personality of “Gio,” but when specific situations arose, a corresponding personality seemed to react.
He’s a really difficult guy to handle. Although the Guild Master and I hastily brought him out into society out of our own greed… it would be a disaster if a personality hostile to humans ever emerged.
Even if that happened, Bisabeol would probably preach his hard-to-empathize-with taste, saying, “Dying while appreciating a work of art is a part of art itself.” But to ordinary people—who weren’t like him with his irrational collecting habit or Yoo Seong-un the Gardener—it would be an absolute catastrophe.
I have at least that much self-awareness.
Though his conscience had been worn down quite a bit after everything he’d been through, there was still a minimum line he wouldn’t cross. After contemplating how to handle Gio for a moment, Yoo Seong-un spoke.
“By the way, um…”
“Yes?”
“…”
Maybe this isn’t the place to talk about this.
“Could you tell me about yourself? Not here, but once we get back to the hotel.”
“I feel I have already told you quite a lot about myself.”
“I want to know about things that go a bit deeper. Let’s talk once we’re back at the hotel, and if you don’t mind, please answer. It’s also part of my job as your curator.”
“I will do so.”
“I’d really appreciate that.”
Perhaps thinking this topic wouldn’t come up again until they reached the hotel, Gio suddenly brought up something completely random.
“I am worried about the cat I left at home.”
“…A cat? You brought a cat into your home?”
“It’s an Anti-Cat. I met her for the first time in the Vein of Jewels.”
“…”
“But since the teddy bear is watching over her, she should be fine.”
“…I don’t even know how to react anymore,” Yoo Seong-un said, his expression complicated. “An Anti-Cat… well, since it’s you, I’ll let that slide.”
“I do not understand what you mean by that.”
“But what do you mean by a teddy bear watching over an Anti-Cat?”
“Literally. The teddy bear is watching over Dana.”
“Did you make it?”
“An elder entered the doll that had been abandoned in the sea.”
“Who is this elder, and why on earth did he possess a teddy bear of all things?”
“He is the Sun God whom I serve.”
“…”
After a brief silence, Yoo Seong-un decided not to ask any further.
“Ah, I see.”
He was already confused enough.
* * *
A fluffy, stubby hand.
The hand of a doll, its fur a color similar to Giovanni’s, slowly stroked the back of the kitten that had curled up snugly in its embrace. As if the embrace were comfortable, the Jewel Cat’s body lay limp and relaxed.
“…”
The Teddy Bear endlessly stroked the small jewel, which was filled with dead spirits. Patting, stroking, and sometimes covering it completely to share its warmth. Although it had become a mere remnant of a sun with no divinity left, it could still perform the small miracle of warming this cold body.
After all, they were simply holding each other tight.
“…”
With a stuffed smile, the Teddy Bear peered into the frame depicting a deep blue sea. It exuded a gentle vitality, as if a living personality had been painted into it.
His child called this the “Breathing Sea.”
“…”
And this was surely connected to the world of the mermaids.
“…”
Gio would meet the mermaids.
The Teddy Bear hoped that Giovanni would embrace the Mermaid Princess once again.
“…”
For that, he would not even begrudge his own divinity.
Even without something so grand, this place was… bright and warm enough.