Chapter 15

"I judged it to be a matter of resolution."

"... Resolution?"

Unexpectedly, the portrait answered Yu Seongun's question easily.

"When I go outside, it is as if I become reality from a painting."

"Right."

"If so, would there not be a difference in the range humans can perceive when looking at me?"

Jio, who had opened his eyes for the first time in quite a while, continued in an unreserved manner.

"I have never looked in a mirror outside the painting, so I do not know for certain, but most of the employees here looked distant, as if they were dealing with something unknown, despite seeing me directly and speaking with me. Even after we had exchanged names, and even though we were exchanging information, if their fear only grew stronger..."

"You think there was a problem in the process of perception."

"Correct."

That was a good metaphor.

'To think the grade of a soul could be expressed like this. If he'd been a teacher, it would have suited him quite well.'

Yu Seongun, who did not know that Jio was speaking a sincere guess without the slightest falsehood, assumed this was merely the most plausible metaphor the portrait could give.

Resolution was surprisingly understandable.

'Come to think of it, has Jio exchanged names with every person he met for the first time?'

At the sudden question that came to mind, Yu Seongun asked.

"Do you place importance on exchanging names?"

"By exchanging names, one can increase intimacy. I judged that I would be able to do the same."

"Uh..."

To think it had been for the sake of increasing intimacy. Yu Seongun asked again with a slightly flustered expression.

"Did you perhaps keep exchanging names on purpose to make people feel closer to you?"

"It is also courtesy as a human. If you wish to know another person, you must introduce yourself first."

"I see."

He seemed not to know that such a thing could actually be even more frightening.

'... A being whose soul is so immense that there are problems perceiving him even when he's right in front of you asks for your name. It would be truly difficult to feel any intimacy from that.'

To spiritual beings, a True Name was always an item for transaction. Unless one was from some out-of-the-way region or an elder, no, even such people knew the danger of exchanging True Names.

'On top of that, Jio is entirely pitch-black and looks rather like a grim reaper, so that would make people even more wary.'

Of course, it was a rule that worked between humans. In fact, exchanging names was a useful technique when drawing out another person's information. One could build a little trust simply by sharing names.

In that sense, and this was something he felt every time.

'... Does Jio really think of himself as human?'

It was something he needed to be careful about.

'If his current natural respect and consideration, which are aligned to human standards, come from that misconception, I need to maintain it so Jio can think of himself as human as much as possible.'

Otherwise, there was no telling what disaster might occur.

"Hmm... right."

If he thought of himself as human, it would be easier to ask him all sorts of things.

"Then how old are you?"

"I am twenty-nine."

"..."

But this was rather unexpected.

"... Twenty-nine?"

"Yes."

"You're young."

"I have often been told I look older than my age, but that is a hurtful reaction."

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant..."

It was funny that Yu Seongun himself had asked as if a talking portrait would have an age, but he had not expected that a portrait so overwhelming to look at that one could not even meet his gaze would be not even thirty.

'Is this also his own misconception?'

If Jio perceived himself as an ordinary twenty-nine-year-old human, it was a statement that could be made easily enough. No matter how long this portrait had actually existed.

Yu Seongun smiled awkwardly.

"I just never imagined you would be younger than me."

"I am curious about your age, Yu Seongun. May I ask you to answer?"

"I'm thirty-three."

"I thought you would be in your twenties."

"That's something I'm very grateful to hear."

"You look young."

The portrait spoke in his characteristic blunt tone.

"In that case, you may speak casually to me."

"Ah... Is that all right?"

"I do not believe I have ever asked you to use polite language without fail."

"That's true, but."

He had deliberately spoken formally because Jio seemed to value courtesy, but apparently he did not particularly care about such things. Perhaps he placed more weight on courteous actions than polished words.

'In any case, it seems he doesn't dislike me.'

After all, one would not tell someone unpleasant or disagreeable to speak casually.

"Then I'll speak a bit more comfortably."

"As you please."

"It feels awkward trying to speak casually after talking so formally the whole time."

"For saying that, you are speaking quite naturally."

"Ah, well... I'm originally used to informal speech..."

While working as a Curator and researcher, he had become accustomed to hierarchical life, but in truth, when he had worked as a Gardener in the past, he had been a wanderer through and through.

No matter what, he had not gone around ignoring all etiquette like some reckless thug, but if he were being honest, informal speech was more comfortable.

"More importantly, looking older than your age? Who on earth said that?"

"It was something I heard often."

"You don't exactly look old. Was someone slandering you?"

"There were people who did not believe me when I said I was in my twenties..."

"Ah, I understand that."

Yu Seongun accepted it.

"You have a heavy air about you. You don't seem like you're in your twenties."

"That is also something I was often told."

"Then that must be it. Maybe it was because you don't have the air of a young man."

Whether this portrait had once been human and become a painting, or was simply a painting with human memories, if people had said, "You don't seem your age," it must have been because of his atmosphere after all.

"Besides, before anything about looking old or whatever, you're just handsome."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"If you're that handsome, then any sense of maturity you give off doesn't matter at all."

His smooth skin, as if white powder might rub off on your hand, was like porcelain, and the features within it had bold yet distinct lines that left a strong impression.

His expression, which seemed both angry and simply calm, also suited that bluntness well.

"You must have been popular."

"I have no dating experience."

"..."

He had not expected to hear this sort of thing from a portrait.

"... None? With that face?"

"I also have no experience of receiving a confession."

"What about confessing yourself?"

"I did not, because I had no interest."

"I think I know what the situation was."

Yu Seongun laughed hollowly.

It was in the same context as before. His atmosphere was so heavy that even if someone had feelings, they could not confess, or they assumed a face like that would already have a lover and backed off.

'... Seeing him say things like this, was he really once human and then became a portrait?'

Considering that his statements seemed to show experience with social life.

"Well..."

But it was not yet time to ask about such things.

'I've made him run away once before, too.'

Yu Seongun decided to change the subject.

"More importantly, it seems you haven't been coming outside much lately?"

"Are we not conversing right now?"

"Not like this. There were times you came out for real."

Thanks to that, ominous ghost stories were still circulating among the Curators. Since Bi Sabeol had gagged everyone on this matter, Yu Seongun could not explain the truth behind the ghost story either.

"Back then, it seemed like you were about to go outside the gallery."

"I apologize if I caused a misunderstanding, but I had no intention of leaving then either."

"That's surprising. Your range of activity kept getting wider, so I thought you wanted to go outside the gallery."

"I was merely curious how far the place I was in extended."

"Now that you've checked all the way up to the first floor, you have no need to leave?"

"That is part of it, and..."

The portrait looked down at Yu Seongun.

"I originally tend to avoid active adventures in places with many people, and I am restraining myself as much as possible because I think you would all be troubled."

"... No, that really is a reason I never expected. So that's why you weren't coming out? That's an overwhelmingly considerate judgment."

He almost wished other monsters and ego weapons would see this side of Jio and learn from him.

'I never thought I'd receive this kind of consideration from a nonhuman. If I reported this to an academic society, there would be an uproar.'

Should he call it fascinating, or incredible? The portrait's true identity still had not been properly determined, but as a Gardener, he was grateful for the fortune of encountering such a special being.

Of course, this consideration was probably possible because Jio thought of himself as human...

"Then will you not tell me your story now, Yu Seongun?"

"... My story?"

"It seems we have spoken only about me until now."

"Ah, you're right."

Yu Seongun accepted it.

'Could this also be seen as a one-to-one rule?'

The portrait really liked fairness. Then again, he had been asking the portrait all sorts of questions until now, so even without calling it a rule or anything, this was a natural flow.

"What should I start with..."

Yu Seongun blinked and chose a topic to bring up.

"... First, I'm a Curator. I'm in charge of maintaining and managing the gallery of this place's Guild Master, Bi Sabeol, and there are many Curators here besides me."

"If it is a gallery, does that mean you sell works as well?"

"Sometimes. This gallery is a place that gathers the rarest and most dangerous things in the world, so sometimes people try to buy works from here for subjugation or research."

Yu Seongun also dealt with such clients and explained the works to them.

"Because of that, any work that no Curator can explain is set as not for sale without exception. After all, even if this is a gallery that has gathered only the most dangerous things in the world, if a client buys one and suffers damage, the responsibility will ultimately fall back on us."

"Can you not simply pretend not to know?"

"It means even if we want to pretend not to know, we can't. It doesn't just become a simple legal battle, but can even lead to armed conflict, so the matter becomes twice as complicated. Even if we have them sign in advance saying, 'We informed you of the danger, and any losses are your fault'... we can't catch every dissatisfaction the clients have."

Moreover, if things went wrong, direct retaliation could be carried out against Curators, whose martial force as Hunters was not very impressive. In fact, at other companies, assassins had been hired and several Curators had been killed.

"The Guild Master here is terribly devoted to his employees, so it couldn't happen, but Curators elsewhere are frequently retaliated against."

"Do those companies not prepare separate measures?"

"Why would they go out of their way to do that when there are overflowing numbers of people who want the job? The cost of hiring someone new is cheaper than the cost of protecting existing employees, so most of them just leave it alone."

"That is cold."

"That's the world."

From the perspective of a monster who seemed to like good things, it might be disillusioning, but in the human world, it was not particularly a big deal.

"Outside the cities, people are already dying. There aren't enough personnel to protect them, monsters keep crawling out... and rural areas without proper infrastructure are almost nature itself."

"..."

"The cities and the countryside differ in their level of civilization by almost a century. Well, there are also people who say the countryside is actually better because they don't have to suffer all sorts of petty matters or oppression."

The portrait said bluntly.

"It is exhausting."

"Did I talk too much?"

"I meant that I like being inside the painting."

"I agree with you there."

He did not know what it was like inside that painting, but it seemed far more peaceful than this world, where one had to live in a dirty and petty way.

Soon after, the portrait asked.

"Then have you continued working as a Curator, Yu Seongun?"

"Ah... no. I haven't been employed for that many years."

"If it is not rude, may I ask what you did before?"

"..."

Was it all right to tell him even this?

After briefly agonizing, Yu Seongun soon confessed obediently.

"I used to be a researcher."

"That is an unexpected answer."

"And before that, I was a Gardener. In fact, I'm still a Gardener even now."

"A Gardener who manages gardens lush with grass and flowers?"

"No, we manage the Root."

The Root existed in this world.

"I don't know how much you know, but on Earth, there are things called dungeons. They're monster lairs made with all sorts of different themes..."

"..."

"Even though they are clearly different dimensions, the same vegetation is sometimes discovered in separate dungeons. We call that a 'child of the Root.'"

The same kind of plant would be found in a dungeon filled with fire, and in a dungeon made of caves.

Even though the dungeons had no connection whatsoever, such things occurred, and some researchers said that it was possible because they were plants derived from the Root.

"Can you explain the Root to me?"

"We don't know the details either."

But the Root was that kind of existence. At the very bottom of every dimension, the most fundamental concept.

"If we compare it to a tree, dungeons are the fruit, and the monsters inside are the seeds of that fruit. The Root corresponds to the tree's root system."

"..."

"In other words, we suspect... that it may be the Root's power that creates dungeons as well."

"Thank you for telling me such a fascinating story."

"I find you fascinating too, though."

Yu Seongun laughed easily and continued.

"Gardeners analyze, manage, and share phenomena that arise from the Root. We're similar to researchers who analyze the names and powers of new monsters when they appear. We're also similar to geography Hunters who travel through dungeons and redraw maps."

"That seems unrelated, so why were you given the name Gardener?"

"Hmm, I wonder."

Yu Seongun blinked his blue-toned eyes. They soon took on a slightly brighter color.

"Partly because we saw the Root as a single Garden."

"..."

"... And because we really do manage a 'Garden.'"

The portrait asked.

"A Garden."

"Yes, a Garden."

"Is it different from the Root?"

"You could call it part of the Root."

Yu Seongun answered faithfully.

"If we called one person the Root, then the gardens we refer to would be parts of that person, like their blood vessels, nails, heart, or eyes."

"..."

"They are extremely vast and numerous. A very small number of Gardeners with high aptitude are assigned one of those gardens, and that is quite difficult..."

Yu Seongun laughed like a sigh.

"Many die. One way or another, it's not a profession where it's easy to relax."

"Is it work that someone absolutely must do?"

"To begin with, if you're chosen by the Root, you have to do the work no matter what, and if you're negligent in that work, the difficulty of multiple dungeons skyrockets."

"That is frightening."

"... Even when you say it's frightening, it doesn't really sink in..."

Feeling as if he had heard something absurd, Yu Seongun scratched near his ear and continued.

"I'm still a Gardener. Becoming a Gardener isn't something an individual can choose by their own will, so even though I'm working as a Curator now, I can't cast off my qualifications as a Gardener."

"Is it difficult?"

"A little?"

Yu Seongun shrugged.

"Still, it's manageable."

When he closed his eyes, he saw a vast snowy mountain. He saw a glacier. Its grandeur bewitched people.

"Having my own garden is pretty wonderful."

"..."

Soon after, the portrait answered.

"I understand."

"Do you?"

"I am the same."

"I see."