Chapter 48

As for how things ended up like this.

"Let's go, Honey."

"Prrrrrrrr."

"It's a picnic."

There was nothing special to it.

Jio and Honey had simply come out for a picnic with the novel backdrop of a dungeon.

"Do you think we can pull out that jewel?"

"Prrr."

"So it does come loose if you peck at it."

The dungeon that had been among the documents Yu Seongun had given him, the "Jewel Vein."

Half because Honey, who had gotten stuck on the word jewel, had pestered him relentlessly, and half because Jio himself was enjoying this fantasy-like picnic, he had used the materials Yu Seongun gave him as reference, made a passage, and abruptly visited this place.

"...?"

Then he also noticed something unusual.

"My Assimilation Rate isn't going up at all."

"Prrrk?"

"I don't know the reason either."

It was Giovanni's Assimilation Rate, which had risen even when he was just sitting still inside the portrait.

But now that it had suddenly stopped budging, he had no choice but to be bothered by it.

"Does Synchronization temporarily stop when I come to another dungeon? It doesn't feel like it has completely stopped, though."

"Prrrrk."

"The frame?"

"Prrk."

"Like you said, it might be a problem with the passage."

Honey asked if the connection had been cut because he had come out through a passage Jio had made arbitrarily, rather than through the Portrait of Jio.

For some reason, Jio felt as though Honey was right.

"But it doesn't matter."

People had to live in the present to be happy.

"Even if I'm a haunted portrait, that's no different for me."

"Prrk?"

"Portraits are people too."

When Jio insisted, Honey said nothing more.

Whether he was showing filial devotion or simply distracted by the jewels, no one could say, but that was how it was.

Leaving questions as questions, Jio slowly looked around the dungeon that Korean Hunters were said to visit from time to time.

"It's nice."

The Jewel Vein, which was somehow alien and eerie yet had a dreamlike side due to the influence of the luminous stones, was an excellent tourist spot.

"It's amazing."

"Prrrk."

"I like it."

He could understand why this place was called the Jewel Vein.

"It's made entirely of jewels."

Its form was similar to a cave made by flowing lava, as if this place were a cave made by flowing jewels.

Large jewels.

Small jewels.

Transparent jewels.

Opaque jewels.

Jewels in sharp hexagonal pillars.

Jewels shaped like round spores.

Jewels clustered above like chandeliers, glittering...

"Son, don't eat too many."

"Prr."

"You'll get an upset stomach."

All kinds of jewels were chaotically gathered together, forming many branching paths.

'Some of the protruding tips are glowing, too.'

Jio recalled the explanation in the materials Yu Seongun had given him.

"It said this was an extremely dark cave."

"Prrk."

"But isn't it... brighter than I expected?"

It said the air in this cave was teeming with microscopic monsters that devoured light.

Monsters that lived by sucking the vitality from people wandered inside without a trace, while monsters too small to be caught absorbed every kind of light.

In this place, so silent it seemed even sound had been stolen, the only thing one could rely on were the jewel pillars that shone on their own.

"That was what it said..."

But to Jio's eyes, he could see just fine in every direction.

"It's a little dark, but there are luminous stones, so my vision isn't blocked that badly."

"Prrrk."

"Right, and you're here too."

He wondered if this was also a benefit he could receive because he was a "portrait."

'Though I don't know exactly what kind of benefit that is.'

If he alone could see what every Hunter on Earth could not, then the strange one was Jio after all.

As for the reason Jio, who was merely a harmless human without even a white belt in taekwondo, had gained such a strange ability, the only thing he could think of was the portrait.

"..."

It felt like he was getting farther from being human by the day.

"... It's funny, so whatever."

"Prrk?"

"It's a very interesting life."

"Prr?"

"It's because I turned out so well."

He really had turned out "well."

When people lived their lives, they could end up becoming portraits, and they could end up drifting away from the standards of an ordinary human.

Things like that were not the slightest problem for Jio.

"Life is a series of content, and content exists to be enjoyed."

"Prrrr..."

"There is no reason for me not to enjoy my own life. Even if it's the life of a portrait, that doesn't change."

He was not going to be shaken by such a small realization.

Jio, who had no thoughts at all, comfortably toured the Jewel Vein.

And he was impressed.

"Earth's tourism industry has developed so much in thirty-one years."

Occasionally, there were animal-shaped monsters that could be seen faintly like ghosts, and for some reason, they would express mild goodwill toward Jio before passing him by.

That was not very different from the animals of the painting forest.

Those little ones sometimes kiss my ankles and leave too.

"What cute little darlings."

Jio, who had finished judging based on love, friendship, and peace, nodded.

'Did they realize I'm harmless?'

In any case, now that he knew even the monsters were not threatening, there was even less reason to hesitate.

With a full heart, Jio wandered around the Jewel Vein.

As a result, Jio was able to enjoy the amazing sightseeing with his son at one hundred and twenty percent, but...

"..."

There was one thing he did not like.

There were no people.

"... I should have understood from the part where it said this was an unpopular dungeon."

Perhaps the portrait had taken pity on Jio growing old alone and even set up a letter communication system for him to make new friends, but in reality, there was not a single human around who could serve as a pen pal.

'I am a firefly.'

He had no friends.

It was not as though he could meet someone, exchange greetings on the spot, and make them his friend, so Jio would have to make several attempts in order to form a new relationship.

Making a pen pal was this difficult.

'I haven't even seen a single strand of human hair from the start...'

Seo Jio, the light eater of this era who would feel full without eating if he was brimming with love, friendship, and peace, fell into deep sorrow.

"In all twenty-nine years of my life, I've never once been a friendless loner."

"Prrr?"

"Family is excluded. It feels a little wrong to call a child born from my paint my friend."

"Prrr, prrr, prrr..."

"Even if you're dissatisfied, it can't be helped. No matter how open-minded this dad is, some things simply won't do."

When the strangely deflated Jio lowered his head, he saw a cat that had quietly settled near his feet.

"..."

Oh, a cat.

"... When did you get here?"

"Mew."

"How cute."

Perhaps because it was a long-haired breed, its fur was fluffy and long, but even so, compared to the whitish monsters he had seen so far in the Jewel Vein, it looked distinctly weighty and solid.

"Has the time come for me to be chosen?"

Jio looked around to see if there was a mother cat nearby, then soon became dejected again.

He had mustered his courage, gone out into society, and the new relationship he gained was a palm-sized kitten.

Was this really all right?

"... Well, there's no reason it shouldn't be."

Wasn't it good for things to grow lively, whatever they were?

Life could not be lived alone.

Having accepted that, Jio asked the cat.

"Is this place usually this empty of people, little one?"

"Purr."

"You're only cute, and you don't answer."

The kitten merely flopped onto its back and gave no reply.

At that natural command to rub its belly right this instant, Jio, a prepared butler, crouched down and gently stroked the tiny belly.

'It's hard and cold.'

He could hear it purring.

If my master is satisfied, then I am pleased as well.

Jio nodded.

"How cute."

"Prrk?"

"It's small and harmless, so of course it's cute."

"..."

"... I don't know why, but it feels like you're denying what this father says. Whatever the truth may be, I think it would be best if you didn't tell me. They say people are happiest when they are ignorant, and I truly am. I do not wish to know the cruel truth, so please let me enjoy this."

Honey accepted Jio's sincere appeal.

"But it really is cute."

The monster, as small as a kitten, was not cleanly transparent like Honey.

That was because the monster, whose entire body was made of jewels, was filled with dense crystals and cracks on the inside, making it look almost opaque.

But when he touched it directly, he could feel fur softly wrapping around the outside.

Its jewel body was cold and hard, unlike Honey's, but the behavior of the cat lying on the ground and enjoying his touch was extremely elaborate.

"Could I appraise a monster like this too?"

"Oh."

Jio realized something.

"Come to think of it, it appraised the monster in Cheonggyecheon too, so a dungeon monster probably isn't that different. What a diligent Speedwagon."

And he realized something a second time.

"... It hates Earth's living creatures?"

Then what about me?

"Does it not count me as a living creature from Earth?"

"Prrrr."

"Don't just purr. Answer me about my identity, little one. Though I may currently be in a position where I'm half-forced to live inside a portrait because my legal identity and real estate were all disposed of, I may not look it, but I am a sturdy son of the Republic of Korea, raised in the mountain valleys of Gangwon Province with clear, pure energy."

"Prrrrr..."

"Did I get catnip on my hand?"

It liked him so much that he was flustered and proud.

"You recognized a prepared butler."

Even if it was a monster, perhaps because it had the habits of a cat, the touch of Jio, a veteran at petting cats, seemed to be working very well.

It was a moment when he felt rewarded for having stopped by cat cafés whenever he could, even while living in a busy modern society.

"..."

In any case, there were no people.

"Hmm."

Only the cat was cute.

"How sad."

"Prr?"

"I came to make a new friend, and I'm going back with only a master."

Jio was already fully intent on abducting this Anti-Cat.

It said they acted independently from the moment they hatched from eggs, so it seemed there was no separate family it lived with.

'You shouldn't touch Earth's cats carelessly, but...'

Perhaps because this friend was a monster, he felt a little less burdened.

"I also have an ice cellar with an environment similar to this place, and if need be, I can draw you a home in a similar location, so I think it should be fine. What do you think, little one?"

"Prrrr."

"I'll take that as agreement."

Still, not seeing even a single person was a rather big blow.

For timid Jio, even going outside to make new friends required an enormous expenditure of mental energy.

"I don't like there being too many people, but I still wanted there to be at least one."

"Prr."

"..."

"Prrrr."

"Hm?"

The Anti-Cat, which clearly seemed to have understood Jio, quietly got up from where it had been flopped on its back and left somewhere.

"Oh."

Jio instinctively sensed new content and waited quietly in place.

'A friendship brought by an animal. This is such a beautiful situation, like something out of a fairy tale...'

As he waited, expecting a meeting full of childlike innocence, the Anti-Cat soon lured a human over.

A young, pitiful human who, at a glance, was so frightened she could not grasp the situation at all and had simply been drawn by the Anti-Cat's faint light, dragged along like a moth.

"..."

Is this an offering?

'A sacrifice?'

No, surely not.

'It must have brought her here so I could make a friend, but this is unfortunate. She's too young to be my friend, about the same age as the students I used to teach...'

To the other person, who had not yet noticed him, Jio spoke in as kind a voice as possible.

"Hello."

"H-Huwaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

That stung a little.

"W-What, whawhawha, what wh..."

"..."

"... Wh-Who are you..."

That really hurt.

"Who, who are you..."

"..."

Jio did not even notice the other party's reasonable question and became gloomy.

His spirit was crushed.

Honey, hidden in his hood, seemed angry, as if asking, "Why are you crushing our dad's spirit?" but he ignored it.

He had predicted a situation like this might happen.

It was not something he had never imagined at all.

'Still... I thought I was used to people being afraid of me, but I guess that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.'

Besides, the security guards working at the Collector were not afraid of him to this extent.

Perhaps thanks to the recent spread of rumors about the Black Cloak, most of them did not fear Jio excessively and would talk with him.

In short, this was the first time he had met someone this afraid of him.

'... And I ended up scaring a student who looks like she's about high school age...'

The heart of Seo Jio, who had been a high school teacher, instantly ached.

If she had been a student he was teaching, he would have given her a sweet snack and slowly soothed her, but if he did that in this situation, it seemed she would only become more frightened.

As if it knew Jio's feelings and was doing this on purpose, the Anti-Cat rubbed its body against Jio's leg as though it had completed its mission.

It was very cute.

Jio looked down at the Anti-Cat.

"... An Anti-Cat..."

"..."

"Ah, um, by any chance... are you a t-trainer? Um..."

"..."

"Which guild's Hunter are you..."

Seeing the other person ask very cautiously, Jio realized belatedly.

"...?"

Ah, that student.

'Is she the student I ran into in the alley last time?'

The kind-hearted student who had readily donated her scarf to a homeless person on a winter day.

'Even thinking about it again, how admirable.'

He had to give her a good deed award immediately.

Or merit points.

Or at least a snack...

'The admirable student who let me know that even in Hell Korea, admirable sprouts still exist.'

Having been a teacher, Seo Jio was weak to young students, and he personally liked good people very much.

There was no existence that warmed Jio's heart like a kind and polite student.

'What should I do?'

Having remembered that the other person was the good student from that time, Jio became even more at a loss for words.

'She seemed extremely afraid of me that day too... If she finds out I'm the same person, won't she faint?'

On top of that, the current Jio had no proper identity to speak of.

In other words, it meant he could not answer the question the other person was asking.

No matter how insane he was, it was not as if he could say, "Actually, I was an art teacher who worked at a high school thirty-one years ago, and at the time of a fire accident, I became a haunted portrait..."

"..."

But just because he was at a loss for words, continuing to ignore a student's question was not the way of an adult.

Though he had seen her by chance only once, he was still happy to meet a familiar face, so Jio put pressure on his slightly stuttering brain and forced out the words.

"Hello."

"... Ah, yes."

"..."

"Um, h-hello..."

Ah, was that not it?

'The social skills inside me must have all dried up during the thirty-one years I was asleep.'

Watching the student act so awkwardly made apology well up in him on its own.

This was the first time he had met someone this afraid of him, so he had no idea how to respond, and the fact that the other person was a young student also made him even more cautious, which contributed to Jio's attitude.

After hesitating for a moment, Jio spoke again.

"My name is Seo Jio."

His grandmother had said the most effective way to soften someone up was to exchange names.

Jio firmly believed the words of his heaven-like grandparents.

"..."

"I would like to know your name."

No matter what, this was a little strange, but Jio, who had appeared in the dungeon as a "portrait," had no awareness that he was objectively saying something strange.

Even if he had been aware, in a situation where he was stuttering this badly, he probably would not have been able to make a plausible response.

"I-I'm..."

"You're nervous."

"..."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"..."

"I promise I won't harm you in any way."

Jio was truly speaking with goodwill, words that came sincerely from his heart.

The other student looked so nervous that he had only wanted to tell her, "I am harmless, so you don't need to be that afraid," but...

"Please don't be afraid."

Life was not that easy.

"..."

"I am curious about your name."

For one thing, from that excessively courteous way of speaking alone, he had already been swallowed up by his self as the "portrait."

'Is she unable to relax?'

Yu Seongun and Bi Sabeol had never described to him just how frightening and unfathomable he felt to people, so that the already dangerous Portrait of Jio would not break away from his human personality.

Because of that, Jio too regarded himself as roughly "a gloomy man you run into in an alley late at night."

'If I clear up the misunderstanding, it should be better.'

How good could Jio's objective self-assessment possibly be?

"Cha, Cha A-ra... I'm Cha A-ra."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Cha A-ra."

With plenty of kindness, Jio asked.

"Will you speak with me?"

Look at my open heart.

I shall show you just how harmless I am.

That was the sort of resolve he had.

"..."

"Please spare me."