Chapter 62
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62
He hadn’t anticipated this situation.
“This is Eun-ha! My partner.”
“They say priests usually work in pairs. You’ve already found a partner, I see.”
“Eun-ha and I are a team now!”
Gio blinked from beneath his hood, watching Cha Yi-sol proudly show off his new partner to his family.
Looking at him now, the resemblance is uncanny.
Though he must have been flustered by Cha Yi-sol suddenly dragging him over, the boy wore a practiced smile. While there was a clear difference in their level of experience, those blue locks, tinged with a subtle hint of turquoise, stirred Giovanni’s memories.
I think Iser’s name also meant ‘Milky Way.’
Dreams were fleeting, and he’d forgotten most of the details upon waking, so he couldn’t be certain. Still, the long, blue hair reminded him of Iser, the mermaid from his dream.
“……”
“Um, who are these…?”
Perhaps sensing Gio’s stare, Eun-ha spoke up, seemingly hoping Cha Yi-sol would introduce them.
Cha Yi-sol made an “oops” face before his expression quickly brightened.
“You can tell who my brother and sister are, right? And he’s not family, but this is the Gio-hyung I told you about!”
Cha Yi-sol prompted him eagerly.
“Super handsome, right?”
“Huh? Oh… right…”
Gio was equally taken aback by the child’s audacity. His face was completely hidden by a hood—how could anyone possibly tell if he was handsome?
It’s not like he has an X-ray vision skill.
Feeling awkward after being so bluntly complimented on his looks by a young boy, Gio couldn’t bear the silence and introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Gio.”
“…I’m Eun-ha.”
Wearing a mature smile that felt strangely out of place, the boy named Eun-ha added briefly, “Yes, nice to meet you.”
Hmm.
Gio thought to himself.
As expected, I was just imagining things.
It might have been a hasty judgment, but the Iser that Giovanni remembered was a student who, despite his best efforts to be polite, was rather dense and fun to tease.
He was clumsy in so many ways, and his way of speaking was much stiffer, too.
To put it simply, he was someone far removed from words like “mature” or “experienced.” Compared to that fresh, sunshine-like young student, the child before him exuded a somewhat chilly aura.
Still, meeting a child who looks so much like Iser not long after I started synchronizing with Giovanni must be quite a fateful coincidence.
Moreover, the last image of Iser he recalled was of someone in his late teens or early twenties, which made them feel like completely different people.
“Since we’ve all crossed paths like this, why don’t we have a meal together?”
Yoo Seong-un nodded at Gio’s suggestion.
“Oh, that’s a great idea. I don’t know about young Eun-ha here, but the Cha family surely won’t be shy around us at this point. Right?”
“B-but we feel like we’d be imposing…”
“I heard Cha Yi-sol won’t be able to come outside for a while once he enters the dormitory anyway. Rather than two gloomy guys like Gio and me having a quiet meal, wouldn’t a livelier crowd make for a much better atmosphere?”
As expected of you, hyung-nim.
I really need to learn that level of tact.
His social skills—effortlessly guiding others to do what he wanted without ever seeming rude—were truly admirable. He was the textbook definition of a socially adept adult.
Of course, had Yoo Seong-un known what Gio was thinking, he would have died of embarrassment.
“Is there anything you can’t eat, Eun-ha?”
“I don’t really eat meat.”
“Ah, a vegetarian? Come to think of it, there do seem to be a lot of vegans among priests.”
“As long as it’s not meat from a land animal, I don’t mind.”
“So you’re not overly strict about it? Then seafood would be best.”
Even as he spoke, Yoo Seong-un subtly observed the boy named Eun-ha.
…For some reason, something feels off.
Behind his nonchalant expression, Yoo Seong-un hid a faint suspicion.
Having frequent contact with the Children of the Origin, Yoo Seong-un was exceptionally sensitive to the energy of non-human entities. If he was sensing that familiar dissonance now, it was safe to assume there was a problem.
He doesn’t seem to be a Child of the Origin. In that case, he’s closer to a monster. Is he a dangerous one?
However, since the boy was a novice priest, Yoo Seong-un might have mistaken a god’s divine dissonance for something else.
…It’s not entirely unheard of. Especially if he’s someone who receives a god’s favor or attention, he could easily exude an uncanny aura even if he isn’t the problem himself.
Partly because the boy’s young appearance made him extra cautious, Yoo Seong-un decided to swallow his wariness. He might just be needlessly suspecting an innocent child.
If worst comes to worst, I should at least be able to pull Gio out. But since this is a Work whose behavioral patterns and rules haven’t been figured out yet… I’d rather not provoke it if possible.
As long as it didn’t harm the Work he was responsible for, he couldn’t care less if the child was a monster or something else entirely. After all, this was a world where monsters killing humans, and humans killing humans, was a daily occurrence.
Humans in this place were merely props. A mere thirty deaths wouldn’t even make the news.
Still, I hope nothing happens. If things get noisy, it’ll just mean more overtime for me.
As if he hadn’t drifted off into thought for even a second, Yoo Seong-un smoothly continued.
“Anyone here dislike seafood?”
“…I’ve never tried it, so I don’t really know…”
“Then you can try it this time.”
Cha Ah-ra gave a lukewarm response, but Yoo Seong-un, who had expected as much, brushed it off lightly. It wasn’t a comment born of inferiority or jealousy, but simply a reaction that meant, I don’t know anything about it, so why are you asking me?
“I know a decent hairtail restaurant.”
“Huh? A hairtail restaurant?”
“Even with a large group, they have big private rooms, so they can easily accommodate us. How about we head there? I guarantee the taste.”
“That’s not the problem… Um, aren’t hairtail restaurants super expensive…?”
As Cha Ah-ra grew visibly anxious, her older brother, Cha Eun-hyeok, showed a similar reaction.
“Is it really alright for 3rd-Grade Citizens like us to go to a restaurant like that?”
“……?”
Gio, who had been listening blankly, was quietly taken aback.
…What did I just hear?
Are 3rd-Grade Citizens not allowed to eat hairtail?
Even if the class system has been revived, discriminating against people over what they eat is just petty. How terrifying.
For Gio, who took food very seriously, the thought was profoundly saddening. He felt a deep bitterness at how much his world had changed.
If I had gone through a major disaster like the Great Catastrophe, I probably would have fled to Gangwon-do first, so I’d be a 3rd-Grade Citizen too. If I were living on Earth and paying monthly rent, I wouldn’t have been able to eat a single bite of hairtail.
Gio, accustomed to a democratic society, was secretly horrified. But in this era, a hairtail restaurant in the city was a highly prestigious establishment—exactly the kind of place where 3rd-Grade Citizens, who faced subtle discrimination, would draw glares.
“I know what you’re worried about…”
Sensing their anxiety, Yoo Seong-un shrugged.
“They’re all private rooms anyway, and there won’t be many people at this hour. If it really bothers you, we can look for somewhere else, but since we’re spending money anyway, let’s all have something delicious.”
Yoo Seong-un turned to Eun-ha.
“Are you alright with hairtail, Eun-ha?”
“I’m grateful for anything you buy me.”
“Thanks for saying so.”
With Eun-ha—whom Yoo Seong-un suspected to be the Carnation Child—agreeing, Cha Ah-ra and Cha Eun-hyeok reluctantly went along with it.
“Is this really okay…?”
“A hairtail restaurant, of all places.”
For some reason, the Cha family followed Yoo Seong-un with expressions that looked as if they were being led to the gallows.
As Gio prepared to move along with the close-knit siblings, he noticed Eun-ha standing strangely apart from the group.
“……”
“……”
It bothers me when kids act like that.
“Student Eun-ha.”
Quite apart from the boy resembling his former student, Gio, who had been a teacher of sorts, didn’t like seeing a child keep their distance as if they didn’t belong.
Eun-ha, who had been wearing a dry expression, fortunately brightened up at Gio’s call. He seemed a bit flustered as well.
“Ah, yes.”
“Shall we walk together?”
When Gio reached out a hand, Eun-ha hesitated for a moment before taking it.
…It’s colder than I expected.
For a young child, whose body would normally radiate heat, that small hand was remarkably cool.
“Your body temperature is quite low.”
“I think it’s because of my severe anemia.”
The boy smiled smoothly. It was a soft, benevolent smile that naturally came to mind when one thought of the word “priest.”
Though it might be strange to use the word “benevolent” for a child, Gio somehow found the smile familiar.
It doesn’t suit this student.
Where have I seen this smile before?
While Gio quietly searched his memories, the boy, perhaps anxious at the lack of response, struck up a conversation while feigning composure.
“Does my cold hand bother you?”
Did it sound like a question hoping for a specific answer? Gio replied without much thought.
“I like it. It’s refreshing.”
“You say that even though it’s winter.”
“I have a lot of body heat.”
“……”
After a brief silence, Eun-ha spoke.
“But your hand is cold too, Gio.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“Why…?”
“I forgot for a moment.”
“Forgot what?”
“I forgot that I’m cold now.”
Perhaps because he had been having consecutive dreams of ‘Giovanni’s Theater of Life’ and was completely out of it, he had honestly forgotten.
Even his own body temperature.
When I was Giovanni, maybe because I was a Priest of the Sun, my body was always warm.
But neither Seo Gio nor the portrait had particularly high body temperatures.
Did that sound weird?
Perhaps because his synchronization rate had risen sharply lately, his tongue had slipped.
As he turned to look at the child, wondering how to continue the conversation…
“……”
“……?”
He saw that the small face had frozen solid.
“Student Eun-ha?”
“I was just a bit cold… and got distracted.”
“Would you like to let go of my hand, then?”
“No.”
Eun-ha murmured.
“…If I keep holding it, maybe it’ll get warm.”
“That’s true.”
“……”
“I’m glad you don’t dislike it.”
Though the atmosphere was inexplicably chilly, Gio felt that the child was inherently good and kind.
Kids like him need to be fed well and plumped up.
So thought Seo Gio, who had inherited the firm belief of his grandmother, once the most generous soul in her village.
Time to make him a pig, presto…
Seo Gio was the type of person whose life satisfaction soared only when he was fattening up skinny people of all ages and genders.
*
They had once shared a conversation like this.
“Your hands are cold, Iser.”
“Probably… because I’m a mermaid.”
“Since our races are different, it’s only natural that our body temperatures would differ.”
“Do cold hands make you uncomfortable?”
Humans despised the cold hands of mermaids, calling them the hands of underwater monsters.
Giovanni was a human, and Iser was a mermaid. Above all, Giovanni, who was always warm under the protection of the sun, might feel aversion to Iser’s damp, cool hands.
But Giovanni laughed as if the idea were absurd. He casually dismissed Iser’s worries.
“On the contrary, I like it. It’s refreshing.”
“…It is winter right now.”
“I have a lot of body heat, so it doesn’t matter.”
“……”
“Yes, it’s nice.”
No matter how much body heat one had, what human would enjoy getting cold in the winter?
No matter how he looked at it, it was a lie meant to comfort the young mermaid, but still…
“…Your hands are warm, Teacher.”
He would often hold those hands filled with warmth for no reason at all.
“Is this high body temperature also due to the Sun God’s protection?”
“Perhaps. After all, I was born on a summer day, when the sun’s blessing is at its peak.”
“My coldness mustn’t make your hands cold, Teacher.”
Though he held on greedily, he always felt apologetic, as if he were stealing that warmth.
“…I…”
Sometimes, Iser was overwhelmed by the feeling that he was taking what belonged to Giovanni.
If he, a mermaid, hadn’t insisted on their bond, Giovanni wouldn’t have had to deal with people so anxiously, nor would he have been trapped in such a small village despite his outstanding skills.
“……”
So, whenever Iser felt guilty for taking even a single speck of warmth, Giovanni would say:
“I will always have plenty of warmth to share with you, Iser.”
“…Isn’t that a rather harsh thing to say for a creature of the sun like you?”
“I meant there’s no need to feel sorry just for holding hands. Iser, you tend to be too timid sometimes. You can be more confident.”
“But I am a mermaid, Teacher. The more I learn, the more I doubt whether humans and mermaids can ever become one.”
“And yet, aren’t we sharing a conversation in the same place right now?”
He was always warm.
“As long as I don’t become a corpse, you can always hold my hand.”
“…Am I not allowed to hold a corpse’s hand?”
“The dead must be let go. Only then can I return to the sun’s side.”
“……”
“That is nature, and the way of the world.”
The foolish mermaid didn’t know it then, but your words, once so warm, were a lie.
That hand, once so full of warmth, grew impossibly cold as it was suffocated by the sea. You must have failed to return to the sun’s side, even in death.
Otherwise, it couldn’t have been that cold. Your corpse couldn’t have been so freezing.
“…I think I’m already sad…”
And yet.
In the end, that was how it turned out.
*
…Why does he remind me of that person so much?
Iser thought, looking at the Black Cloak sitting next to him.
And yet, why is his solar energy so strong?
Seeing him up close made it even clearer.
This man was not simply a strong human; he possessed the Sun’s divinity itself. A grand qualification that only a god could hold.
Since he seems to have a deep understanding of humans, perhaps he inherited divinity while still being human.
If so, Iser would hate this Black Cloak.
“……”
“Do you not have an appetite?”
With that precious name, Gio, and harboring the same warmth as his teacher… of all things, to be the Sun God.
Is this the Sun God’s trickery?
During the long, miserable days of his long life, Iser had also learned much about humans, gods, and the world.
Perhaps the Sun God of Earth, wary of the mermaids and the Deep Sea, did this.
Committing the atrocity of passing down the sun’s energy to a human who looked so terribly like that person.
…Still as terrible as ever.
Whether gods or humans, those associated with the sun always made him sick to his stomach.
“…It’s just, this is my first time at a restaurant like this…”
“I see.”
“……”
“You can take your time eating.”
The Black Cloak’s voice was calm and gentle.
How strange.
One moment, his voice was as low and quiet as a corpse’s, but the next, he offered kindness with a soft cadence.
I wonder what his true identity is.
Whether a god or a human, his behavior was unlike that of those cruel races.
“…Thank you.”
Even as he thanked him, Iser felt a hypocritical anxiety. It was a tiny anxiety, faintly tickling the tips of his toes.
Soon, my sister will call upon the sea.
Even the hot sun loses its vitality when submerged in the sea. Iser had witnessed this several times, and this man would surely be no exception.
Could this hand grow even colder than it was now?
“……”
That would be a bit sad.
It was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
*
Upon returning to the temple, Eun-ha, with his blue hair, stopped Gio.
“Gio.”
“Yes, is something the matter?”
“……”
The hesitating child asked.
“…Do you like the sea?”
“I quite like water.”
“Are you a good swimmer?”
“Actually, I’m quite bad at it.”
“……”
The child, silent as if recalling something or lost in thought, finally spoke.
“I hope it won’t be too cold.”
“Indeed. They say this winter is exceptionally cold.”
“……”
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
Gio realized that the child wasn’t worrying about him, but about the child himself. Rather than worrying about Gio as a person, he seemed to be worried that a situation he disliked would occur.
He was a child whose thoughts were too deep, making him somewhat twisted.
Living like that must be exhausting. What a pity. Being mature really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
For Gio, whose worries for a whole month could be cleanly blown away by a single roasted sweet potato, it was an unimaginable ordeal.
“It seems the main ceremony is about to begin.”
“…You’re right. I should go now.”
The child added, as if saying goodbye.
“I had a good time.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Gio could tell that was a lie.
…As expected of Hell Korea…
Even the kids were no joke.
It’s a tough world to survive in for a useless guy like me who only knows how to enjoy a good meal.
And so, once again, the Haunted Portrait shrank back in fear.