Chapter 25

8:00 a.m.

At the sight of Black Cloak, who had appeared in front of the frame, Yu Seongun blinked his mint-colored eyes.

"..."

Huh.

'Something feels a little different.'

It was not his imagination.

The pitch-black figure standing before the portrait did not have the same strange atmosphere as before.

As though he had turned from a monster into a human.

"Jio."

"Have you arrived?"

"Did I come too late?"

"No, I came out early."

"Really?"

Yu Seongun answered evenly, while thinking to himself.

'... His voice is different from usual too.'

Unlike before, when he had spoken in a tone so orderly it felt bizarre, the current Jio did make him think, *'He's a little too polite,'* but he did not feel strange.

It was the sort of atmosphere one might have if they were an innocent-natured person.

'Maybe his caliber changes depending on whether he's inside the portrait or outside it...'

But if that were the case, the testimonies he had received from witnesses until now bothered him.

"..."

After rolling his eyes for a moment, Yu Seongun asked with a smile.

"Are you perhaps in a good mood?"

"Yes, I am."

"Hmm... You seem lighter than usual."

"I have always been light."

"Then let's say you have."

He was definitely different from usual.

'I don't really feel that pressure from him either.'

Though Yu Seongun had only ever seen his back, he knew how frightening Jio outside the portrait usually was.

Even without feeling hostility or bloodlust, that sensation of his breath catching and his mind growing dizzy was not something one could experience easily.

'Even in a world like this, full of all sorts of monsters, human and otherwise.'

He had heard that sensation became even worse when one faced Jio head-on, but this was truly strange.

The current Jio simply felt like an ordinary human.

"..."

"..."

Perhaps sensing that question, Jio spoke first.

"I took measures."

"Measures?"

"I tried adjusting my resolution so that others would not be startled when they saw me."

"Judging from your reaction, Yu Seongun, it seems my attempt was not too bad."

"Ah, so that's what it was."

No wonder.

He seemed quite human.

Even as he nodded as though it were nothing, Yu Seongun could not feel the same inside.

'Does that mean... he can adjust the grade of his soul on his own?'

In the past, Jio's caliber had been so distorted it could not be expressed within a human system, but his current caliber seemed like it could be considered around that of an A-class Hunter.

Being able to adjust the grade of one's soul at will sounded like a truly nasty joke.

"... Is your body all right?"

If he had forcibly lowered his caliber, the fatigue would be immense.

'That's the same as placing a curse on himself.'

He had softened it into, "Are you all right?" but adjusting one's caliber like this would likely bring more pain than fatigue.

At Yu Seongun's question, Jio looked down at his own hand, then shook his head.

"I am fine."

"If that's the case, then that's a relief..."

How could anyone do something this insane and remain this calm?

Yu Seongun quietly felt chilled.

'He's far too calm for someone who committed self-harm.'

'If he wants to imitate an ordinary person, he should be more thorough.'

Even a ten-year-old would understand the gravity of the current situation.

To compare it to an ordinary civilian, it would be like cutting off all one's limbs and gouging out both eyes.

'It's no different from putting a leash around the neck of a person crawling around with only a torso and hanging a weight from it...'

Of course, Jio had no thoughts about it.

'I'm hungry.'

To begin with, he was someone who, subjectively, had lived as an ordinary human until recently.

A body that did not get thirsty, sleepy, hungry, or full was certainly convenient...

But that did not mean he felt aversion toward his current state.

This was how he had originally lived, so what aversion would there be?

If anything, it was familiar.

"..."

"Then where should we go now?"

"... Oh, right."

Yu Seongun answered while making an effort to keep an even expression.

It would also be rude to show only a worried face to someone who had come out to enjoy himself.

With a Root entity, even a reaction like this had to be handled carefully.

"Since it's morning, I thought we'd eat first."

"What kind?"

"The place I recommend is a Korean set meal restaurant."

Jio had once described himself in the Korean style as "Seo Jio."

Whether that was truly modeled after South Korea's way of doing things, Yu Seongun did not know, but since Jio seemed to know a great deal about Korea in many ways, he had chosen a set meal restaurant for breakfast.

Still, just in case, he added an explanation.

"It's a meal where side dishes, rice, and soup are served together as one table."

"You can order fish or spicy pork too."

"..."

"It shouldn't be all that stimulating overall, but since it's breakfast, I looked for a restaurant that would be easy on the stomach."

"I think that sounds good."

Jio ate anything well, but having grown up under a grandmother who always prepared set meals for him, he liked comfortable food like this.

It was easy on both the body and the mind.

Yu Seongun nodded.

"Glad to hear it."

"Then shall we go?"

Jio moved along after him.

'... I can hear footsteps.'

He seemed to have been barefoot before, but the current Jio was wearing dress shoes.

Separate from that, however, Yu Seongun was a little surprised to hear footsteps containing the weight of a person.

'Did he really lower his caliber to a human level?'

'I still can't believe it.'

Beginning with how that was possible, he felt strange about why Jio had done such a dreadful thing in the first place.

'He probably did this on purpose out of consideration for other humans...'

Before Yu Seongun, who had been thinking about what excuse to make if damage occurred, could even feel embarrassed, he felt an uncanny sense of guilt.

It was difficult to bear this absurd goodwill that took the form of cutting away his own limbs and soul.

Though the fact that he gave such out-of-the-ordinary goodwill so casually made him seem even less human.

"Hmm..."

Coming to his senses, Yu Seongun led Jio to the elevator.

"Let's get in."

"I think this is my first time."

"What is?"

"This elevator?"

"I usually traveled through paintings."

"So you did travel through paintings."

He had already guessed as much, but this was the moment the unidentified portraits that the night guards often found in the corridors were explained.

Though even so, the ghost story of "Black Cloak" had already taken root in this guild.

"We gave you an access pass, so why didn't you take the elevator?"

"I thought it would be troublesome if I ran into other people in this cramped space."

"... I see."

Well, even running into him in those wide corridors had required them to give the guards time off, so in a cramped space like this, they might have foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

However, Jio had not meant it in that sense.

'How could I be in a cramped place with employees when I don't even know what kind of people they are?'

Jio, who knew when to keep his head down, was scared.

Thirty-one years with fantasy mixed in had been enough to make even his hometown feel like an unknown terror.

'I don't know how much the culture has changed either, so it's dangerous to act carelessly from the position of a haunted portrait.'

'Traveling through paintings is faster too.'

And so it had been a choice made with his own convenience in mind in various ways...

"..."

But to Yu Seongun, it could only be interpreted a little differently.

'... Isn't he being too kind?'

'Was I worried about the wrong thing?'

He was beginning to grow concerned.

'He traveled through paintings instead of taking the elevator because he was worried others would be crushed by his caliber, and he cut away his own caliber because he was worried an unpleasant incident would happen during the trip...'

There were other suspicious circumstances as well.

'Come to think of it, the fact that he especially likes giving gifts is an unsettling trait when I think about it now.'

This was a sightseeing trip prepared while worrying that the portrait might cause trouble, but if Jio was instead harmed by a human, that would be trouble in a different sense.

'It seems I may have chosen the wrong target to watch out for.'

'Maybe I shouldn't have been worrying about gentlemanly Jio's sudden actions, but about humans who might approach and provoke him...'

Yu Seongun lamented whether this was truly the right direction for his worries, but he could not abandon the suspicion.

"... All right, let's get off."

"This takes quite a long time."

"The gallery is deep underground."

Yu Seongun explained with a faint smile.

"The works in the Guild Master's gallery gather from all over the world."

"There are items the Guild Master bought personally, items the guild members identified, purchased, and delivered to him, and items that were entrusted to us for storage because they were simply too dangerous..."

In other words, it was a den of monsters.

"The access restrictions on the gallery are partly to prevent theft, but also because one wrong move could easily kill a dozen or so people."

"The Collector's gallery, where works with all kinds of bizarre properties run rampant, is famous."

"Thanks to that, when ghost stories arise, the gallery is usually the source."

"I see."

"That's why the gallery is placed deliberately deep underground, to the point of seeming excessive."

"It's designed so that if some unidentified bomb goes off down there, it can be dealt with more easily, or... so that damage can be reduced even a little."

Having said that much, Yu Seongun looked back at Jio.

"Hmm, yes."

"... Is there some problem?"

"Keep your hood on."

Though lowering his caliber had made the pressure fade somewhat, it was by no means at a harmless level, and more than anything, Jio's face was far too distinctive.

If he went around with it exposed, he would be swept up in all sorts of troublesome matters.

'As long as his face is covered, I can explain him away as an unofficial Hunter.'

'The Collector has an unusually large number of unofficial Hunters, so others likely won't suspect anything.'

The employee at the entrance to the first-floor lobby greeted Yu Seongun.

"Are you heading straight home?"

"No way, I'm going out on business."

"I just came in, so there's no way I'd be leaving work already."

"I almost got jealous, but that's a relief."

"Let's suffer together."

The guard, who joked with practiced ease, looked at Jio standing behind Yu Seongun.

"And this person is..."

"The Guild Master's guest."

"Will he be joining as a new recruit soon?"

"Maybe."

As if he had good sociability, the guard addressed Jio in a friendly way, like they already knew each other, even though it had to be his first time seeing him.

"Then it might be all right to change the color of your cloak a little."

"A new ghost story has been going around our guild lately, and as you well know... we're the sort of people who get swayed by ghost stories like that quite often."

At that, Yu Seongun asked.

"Are there still people getting startled by the Black Cloak story these days?"

"With so many witnesses, what can we do?"

"It seems it really does exist, so everyone has at least some degree of wariness now."

"Wow, that's troublesome."

Muttering with a calm smile, Yu Seongun bowed his head.

"Then I suppose I'll see you in a few days."

"Is it a long business trip?"

"Well, I think I'll only know once I go..."

"Then take care."

The guard, who had bowed politely, soon turned his attention away from Yu Seongun and Jio.

The enormous glass doors of the lobby opened.

Yu Seongun, having come outside the Collector guild, spoke.

"As you can see, rumors about you have spread a little."

"I told the Guild Master in advance about the inconvenience you're experiencing, but I think it will take some time before it's reflected..."

Yu Seongun spoke as if making an excuse.

"We'll tell them you're the Guild Master's guest."

"How does that sound?"

"I understand."

"Do you have any other questions?"

"I am curious why the guard was so certain that I would become one of your colleagues."

"Ah, that."

Yu Seongun nodded.

"It's the Guild Master's habit to pick people up from somewhere."

"He picks people up?"

"The Guild Master possesses an uncommon belief."

"He even tries to scout a hired contractor who came to assassinate him."

"To bring in even someone who tried to kill him is bold."

"It seems he has great tolerance."

"His tastes are so unusual that if there's someone unfamiliar in the guild, there's a high chance they're the Guild Master's guest."

"It wasn't just once or twice that he invited someone to the guild to lure them in."

"..."

There was only so much positive framing one could do.

Unaware that such framing made him appear even less human, Jio quietly resigned himself to the endless chronicle of Bi Sabeol's eccentricities.

'With the limited stamina the gods of heaven and earth have granted me, his presence is far too enormous for me to handle.'

He did not seem like a bad person, but the fact that one could not predict where he would bounce next made him the number one type of person Jio absolutely did not want to talk to.

'If we ever got close, he would drag me out of the corner of my room, put me in the middle of a gathering of social butterflies, and offer me up as a party sacrifice...'

It was horrifying.

"Then now we need to take the elevated train."

"Will that be all right?"

"... Elevated train?"

Not the subway?

Because Jio had lowered his caliber, Yu Seongun could read his question more clearly and soon explained.

"Hmm, it's a railway that runs above the ground."

"Like a bus, it has fixed routes, but it's a little faster and operates at a fairly high altitude."

Having said that, Yu Seongun lifted a finger and pointed at the sky.

"Do you see it over there?"

Rails that passed through high-rise buildings or between them.

Not all of those rails could be seen, only parts of them.

Perhaps for the sake of the city scenery, some separate measure had been taken to make sections of them transparent.

That stirred Jio's sci-fi sensibilities.

"They are quite high."

"If you compare it to a building, it operates at about the sixtieth floor."

Jio inwardly nodded.

'They say even rivers and mountains change in ten years, and the world has changed in thirty.'

Perhaps that tendency was stronger because this was the capital region, but even taking that into account, the buildings and facilities had developed greatly.

Now Jio truly felt that he had become an ancestor.

The buildings were basically over thirty stories tall, and the elevated train passing between them looked almost like a roller coaster.

'Though the rail routes and speed probably aren't as intense as that...'

Jio felt romance in the futuristic design.

"Jio, this way."

"..."

People's fashion was also quite different from before.

There were people wearing armor, people carrying large greatswords on their backs, and even people with wings or tails.

They said trends went around and around, but some invasive species must have slipped into the ecosystem along the way.

Everyone was so full of individuality that Jio, wearing a cloak, looked plain.

Here and there, he even saw people exchanging jewels or weapons.

Jewels were one thing, but weapons with ominously sharp blades...

"..."

Oof.

Jio found himself shrinking endlessly like thin-sliced pork belly grilled over high heat.

'This is a sight that makes me feel ridiculous for worrying whether I, a haunted portrait, might look harmful.'

Contrary to his thoughts, some quick-witted people were glancing at Jio.

'His aura is heavy... Is he a Hunter?'

'Judging from the discipline in his movements, he could be a knight... or a priest?'

'At least A-class, maybe.'

'He feels unfamiliar, so there's a high chance he's an unofficial Hunter.'

'He's all in black.'

'Maybe he has a skill where color matters, or maybe all of that is a set item...'

Yu Seongun was aware of those few people's gazes as well.

'Please, just don't talk to him.'

As expected, eyes were on them, but thanks to Jio's help, they were drawing fewer than they otherwise would have.

He was praying desperately that no unfortunate incident would occur from someone speaking to Jio, who had only just come out into human society.

"This is the entrance to the elevated train."

Yu Seongun drew his attention so Jio's gaze would not fall on others.

"Do you see this?"

"If you tap a card here, you can pay the fare."

"You pay the fare in front of the elevator?"

With his hands clasped behind his back out of habit, Jio looked at the entrance to the elevated train with interest.

It resembled an elevator one might find at a subway or certain pedestrian overpasses.

The elevator, which was not hidden inside a building but protruded outward and stretched straight up high, was connected to the elevated train route.

'Are there no separate stations?'

Seeing the bare rails without buildings, it seemed there was probably no station building, and at least there were small spaces here and there like bus stops.

It seemed they really did use it like a bus.

"I'll give you my card."

"If there's anything you want to buy, use this, since there's no limit."

"..."

Jio was scared.

'I don't know how many times I've shrunk back today already.'

Outside the blanket was dangerous.

'Why are you giving me a card with no limit?'

Since you are frightening, I will call you hyung for now, hyungnim.

Of course, as a selectively introverted human, Jio was not going to call Yu Seongun, whom he had known for less than a few months, hyung.

Still maintaining his courtesy, Jio used the card and got into the elevated train's elevator.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"There is something I am curious about."

Jio asked.

"I do not understand why there is only one elevator when its speed is not very fast."

"If many people gather, would service not be delayed?"

"Ah..."

Yu Seongun smiled awkwardly.

"I suppose they only installed one because not many people ride it anyway."

"It seems like a useful means of transportation, so why do not many people ride it?"

How could anyone leave such an entertaining new thing alone?

"It's not a particularly grand reason."

Yu Seongun told him reality.

"Because it's expensive."

"..."

Aha.

'I see.'

Capitalist society was something Jio knew very well.

'But is that thing still alive?'

Long-lived, isn't it?