Chapter 21

"Jio."

4:29 a.m.

Yu Seongun called to the portrait.

"Jio, are you awake?"

"I am awake."

"Good."

Of course, he had called because he knew this was about the time Jio usually opened his eyes.

'There are days he skips, but the time when communication is possible is usually around 4 to 5 a.m... I will need to observe the situation more, but it would be better to think of this as a rule, too.'

This "Portrait of Jio" was friendly toward humans, but no Root entity showed mercy to a human who violated its rules.

Even if the entity was so gentlemanly that he looked almost human, caution was necessary.

"I wanted to talk with you for a bit."

"What business do you have with me?"

"I hear you've been wandering around the company building lately. The rumors are everywhere."

"I am curious what sort of rumors they might be."

"I don't know if you'll like it, but... they call you 'Black Cloak.'"

Yu Seongun continued with his usual easygoing smile.

"It seems a rumor has started that 'Black Cloak gives gifts to good people.'"

These were guild members whom sharp-eyed Bi Sabeol had personally gathered one by one.

Whether or not they had combat ability, they were not bad at using their heads.

In their own way, they had figured out the rules of "Black Cloak."

"I guess you gave gifts to other people again this time?"

"I did not give them to everyone."

"I know. You gave them to people who were especially polite or kind, right?"

The people who said they had received gifts from Jio had something in common.

'They were either too weak, or else strong.'

He could guess to some extent.

The very weak people must have trembled in terror at the sight of him, so he would have given them gifts as payment for apologizing, and the strong people had managed to communicate with Jio fairly normally even in the face of his caliber, so Jio must have judged them as "polite."

An apology, or a gift of thanks.

In its own way, it was a result befitting a one-to-one rule.

'Rather, the ones who were neither one thing nor the other received no gifts.'

Employees who were strong enough not to end up bawling and sniffling, but who did not have enough nerve to communicate normally in the face of that enormous caliber.

People like that had not received gifts.

"Hmm..."

To prevent any possible accident in advance, he felt he needed to explain this part.

'Since he is imitating a human, Jio is not so rough that communication is impossible.'

Well, whether one could define a Root entity as gentlemanly was another question.

'This much should be all right.'

After steeling himself in his own way, Yu Seongun opened his mouth.

"If one of our employees doesn't answer you properly, or just runs away, or avoids answering... that doesn't mean they're bad people. They're just a little timid."

"..."

"A large, unidentified person in a black cloak suddenly appearing at dawn, when there shouldn't be anyone around, would scare anyone."

Yu Seongun deliberately described Jio as though he were an ordinary person.

Jio thought of himself as an ordinary human, so he did not think anything good would come from exposing the grade of his soul or his essence for no reason.

"Of course, it might feel rude to you. But I'm saying those people weren't trying to be deliberately rude to you. From the perspective of those timid folks, it might have been a little overwhelming."

Soon, a calm voice came back.

"I understand what you mean."

"You do? Then thanks."

Yu Seongun, who was both a Curator and a Gardener, could not help but be worried.

'It is only natural for a rabbit to shrink in front of a wolf, but if he judges that as rude and evil behavior, things become quite troublesome. If this goes wrong, innocent people could die.'

For a Root entity, human standards were meaningless.

In particular, the "Portrait of Jio" was an entity sensitive to good and evil and to manners, but the problem was that this guy's standards might be clearly different from those of humans.

Even if, from a human point of view, someone had done nothing especially wrong or was a good person, from the perspective of Jio, a Root entity, they could be a terrible villain.

Considering that Jio had said several times that he disliked rude and evil people, it was chilling.

'When I found out there were people who hadn't received gifts at all, it really sent a chill down my spine.'

Did that not mean Jio had "sorted" humans?

"You said, yes, you said Guild Master Bi Sabeol was not a bad person, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Every employee in this company was chosen personally by him. They aren't people hired simply by putting up a job posting and holding a large-scale interview. They're guild members he carefully scouted one by one."

"That must have taken a great deal of time and effort. It is remarkable."

"I wanted to say that, while I can't claim all of our guild employees are kind, they are capable and good people."

In a world like this, who had never committed a single crime?

Still, the people Bi Sabeol had personally chosen were at least not the sort of humans who deserved to be called villains.

"Even if they don't have outstanding character, they're just ordinary people."

"Yes."

"... Would it be too rude of me to hope you won't see those people badly?"

He did not know how Jio distinguished between good and evil in humans.

'But just as humans have appraisal skills... it is certain that Jio has some standard of judgment, too. Otherwise, there is no way he would have concluded that Guild Master Bi Sabeol was not a bad person without even speaking with him.'

Contrary to Yu Seongun's thoughts, unless Jio was inside the portrait, he still had no way to determine the "safety level" of someone beyond the frame.

The reason some people had received gifts this time and some had not was because Jio had given them as a kind of compensation whenever he thought, "Oh, I'm grateful," or "Oh, I'm sorry."

There had not been any special value judgment behind it.

But Yu Seongun, who did not know those circumstances, could not help but suspect Jio's appraisal skill.

'I hope the skill's standards aren't too harsh.'

Bi Sabeol had called this ghost-story uproar a kind of inoculation.

He had said it was an opportunity for the "Portrait of Jio," an uncontrollable natural disaster that could never be handled or controlled, to adapt to this world and respect its members, and for the humans of this world to understand and consider him in turn.

So Yu Seongun had no choice but to try various methods.

"What do you think?"

"..."

Fortunately, or perhaps naturally, Jio answered with his usual blunt expression.

"I did not think those people were bad."

"You didn't?"

"The only reason I did not give them gifts was because I judged that they would not need them, and because some people ran away before anything could be done. I did not think they were evil."

"..."

"I merely thought there was no need to give them gifts."

That was truly a relief.

'At the very least, he did not judge them to be rude and evil people. So there was a reason there were no injured people despite the increase in eyewitness accounts.'

Just as he was feeling reassured, Jio continued.

"I do feel a small amount of resentment toward the people who ignored my questions without answering, or ran away."

"Ah."

"But I understand. As you said, a man of unknown identity in a black cloak suddenly appearing in a deserted corridor can be an object of sufficient fear. It would be a lie to say I was not displeased, but I have no intention of getting angry."

After saying that, Jio added an explanation.

"But because I am human, I cannot help feeling negative emotions."

"Uh, right."

"I tried to speak politely, so if this continues to happen, it hurts my feelings. I hope the employees here will not ignore or avoid 'Black Cloak' in this way."

"I'll talk to the Guild Master about that."

Yu Seongun struggled to swallow his awkwardness.

'... So he was angry after all.'

It was merely at the level of "they are not bad people," and did not seem to mean "they were not rude."

Even an ordinary person would get angry if the people around them rejected him, and Jio in particular was a Root entity who thought of himself as human.

Even if he was under the mistaken impression that he was human, there was no way he would not get angry at humans who went against the clear rules he possessed.

'Even so... there is no way to completely quiet the fear of the ghost story. His soul's grade is so high that it is only natural for humans standing before him to shrink back. If so, should we at least make new rules inside the company building so we can regulate the employees' behavior?'

After thinking for a moment, Yu Seongun nodded.

"... We have a close-knit relationship centered around the Guild Master. Since the Guild Master personally brought each person in, the employees tend to be quite attached to him."

"Yes."

"I'll speak to the Guild Master so this discomfort you felt doesn't continue, and we'll try to improve things as much as possible. If the Guild Master strongly insists on it, I think the other employees will accept it, too."

"I would be grateful if you did that."

As he said that, Jio was suddenly holding a glass bottle he had never seen before.

"..."

No, no.

Wait.

'A jar?'

It was not a bottle, but a jar.

It was large enough that one would have to cradle it in one arm, not hold it in one hand.

"... What's that?"

"Let us call it a thank-you gift for listening to my complaint and request."

"I still haven't finished the cookies you gave me last time."

"Why did you do that?"

"Ah..."

"I am not angry. I asked because I wondered why there are still some left when it was not a large amount. Would you answer me?"

If he were an ordinary human, Yu Seongun might have wondered, "Is he being sarcastic because he's angry?" but Jio was clearly a Root entity.

It seemed to be a pure question, so Yu Seongun answered with an apologetic look.

"Sorry. When I eat them when I'm tired, they work too well, so I've been saving them little by little. It isn't that your gift made me uncomfortable or didn't suit my taste."

"There is no reason for you to be sorry to me. I gave you a gift, and it is now yours, Mr. Yu Seongun. You do not need to make excuses to me. But I am glad to hear that it gave you strength when you were tired."

"When you put it that way, I feel even more humbled..."

Yu Seongun looked at the glass jar inside the portrait.

"So, what is that?"

At that, Jio took away the hand that had been wrapped around the jar and showed it to him.

"It is fruit syrup."

"... That is?"

"It is obviously fruit syrup."

"Ah, right..."

That obviously isn't fruit syrup.

'... That is fruit syrup?'

Although fruit and sugar were expensive ingredients, making it a food that was hard to eat often, Yu Seongun was a capable Hunter.

There was no way someone who earned no small amount of money had never tried fruit syrup, when even grade 2 citizens bought it.

'But it is... very different from the fruit syrup I know.'

It had the color of twilight.

Should he call it scarlet, close to orange?

The transparent, clean liquid gleamed like the surface of a jewel, and within it, which called to mind the evening sunset, a color so vivid it was almost piercing lay asleep.

'There is something like fruit settled in it, but...'

The color was so enchanting that it seemed impossible to eat.

"This is ice that is good to put in and drink with it."

"... It looks just like pearls."

"Its name is ice pearls. Mr. Yu Seongun, you seem to have the insight to guess names correctly at once."

"Oh, right. Insight..."

"It is ice that will not melt unless the temperature is hot, so if you wish to consume it, I recommend melting it in hot tea."

"..."

'Wow.'

'I can feel it.'

'I don't think I can handle this.'

After he first received tea leaves from Jio and asked him to "please hold back a little," the cookies he had received in exchange for the seeds had not been ordinary either.

They had an amazing fatigue recovery effect, and the current situation was that he had not been able to eat them all at once and had left some.

'But this time, there is a lot, too.'

Jio said he enjoyed cooking, and it seemed he was quite generous with portions.

This Root entity probably did not know how small human stomachs were.

"Please accept it."

"... Isn't this too much?"

"Please eat a lot. Mr. Yu Seongun, it would be better if you gained more weight than you have now."

"I'm pretty sturdy as it is."

He had never seen that body in person, but judging by the outline of his cloak, Yu Seongun actually had more muscle mass than Jio.

And yet he was telling him to gain more weight?

Yu Seongun found it hard to understand.

'... No, wait. By weight, does he perhaps mean fat?'

Was Jio a man-eating monster?

"I don't taste good."

"That is an amusing joke."

"I was serious."

Fortunately, it did not seem to be the mindset of a gingerbread-house witch trying to fatten someone up before eating him.

'Though what sort of aesthetic taste a Root entity has is not something humans can judge.'

Perhaps Jio liked humans who were a little fatter for aesthetic reasons.

He himself had such a perfectly balanced body, but he liked looking at fat people.

It was a little unusual.

Yu Seongun had no idea what sort of story this Root entity had.

'... Now that I think about it, whenever he gives gifts, they are all food, and he said what he does when he is bored is cooking or eating. It seems he really likes food in all sorts of ways. The fact that he finds people with some flesh on them better to look at, too... and how strangely generous he is with portions... and how much he likes giving gifts...'

Is this guy a grandmother?

"..."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, sorry. I was distracted for a moment."

"I see."

Fortunately, Jio did not press any further.

"It is a gift given for everyone's goodwill, so I do not need anything in return. Most of all, the fruit syrup I newly mixed this time seems to have ripened deliciously, so I wanted to share it with everyone."

"Hmm... I see."

Even as he nodded calmly, Yu Seongun thought inwardly.

'... Does he know that he is bound by rules?'

What Jio had just said seemed to have the premise of, "In order for me to give you gifts, I must receive something."

Perhaps the one-to-one rule was not something Jio himself had made.

'Or perhaps he made it himself and forgot.'

If only the memories of a mere twenty-nine-year-old young man existed within a caliber that great, it was a plausible hypothesis.

"... I'll take it since you're giving it to me, but..."

Yu Seongun looked at the fruit syrup and used his appraisal skill.

"..."

"Does it not have a nice scent?"

"You're really good at cooking."