chapter 139

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 139

Yoo Seong-woon came running.

“Gio.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Did we do something to upset you, by any chance?”

“I’m not sure why you’re asking that, but no.”

“That’s a relief.”

Yoo Seong-woon asked with a hollow laugh.

“I heard you’ve been talking with the other employees a lot lately.”

“Has it interfered with work?”

“Just a little?

Well, it’s not like you were extremely rude...”

It was a bit ambiguous to call “creating an atmosphere of fear” a nuisance.

All the more so for Yoo Seong-woon, who knew that Gio’s true identity was neither monster nor god, but a part of the source.

Still, he was curious.

“I heard you’ve been asking around about wicked gods?”

“That is correct.”

“Eek.”

Yoo Seong-woon flinched when Gio inside the portrait suddenly thrust his upper body out.

“So you can come out like that too.”

“I am only wearing my body halfway over the edge.”

Under the black cloak wavering like a wave, a low-saturation dark-red hair came into view.

Judging by the distinctive sharp, stimulating tone, it looked like he had become Argio, the one who introduced himself as a wicked god.

He leaned his body against the frame.

His nails, lightly twitching, had grown long like a beast’s.

Argio continued.

“Lately, I’ve developed questions about wicked gods.”

“A question?

What kind of question?”

“What is a wicked god?

What do you have to do, for it to be called a wicked god?”

“That’s... really hard to distinguish.”

Yoo Seong-woon rubbed his neck.

“Humans call gods who do things harmful to them wicked gods.”

“Then is it an evil act to crash a festival and drink alcohol, or to intrude on a hunting ground?”

“It feels like it would differ depending on the local customs, but it doesn’t really feel like an evil act.”

“What about hanging the necks of those who attacked me and decorating the forest with them?”

“That could certainly be called an evil act...?”

There’s the saying “self-defense,” but humans aren’t such fair creatures that they return only exactly what they receive.

In places with high awareness of natural human rights, especially, they would not welcome such naked retaliation.

“No, well, personally, I don’t think it’s evil to that extent.

If someone attacks me, I don’t really go out of my way to spare them either.

I don’t decorate anything, though...”

“Do you think I decorated them because it looked beautiful? The problem is that there are idiots who come in to pick a fight unless you do something like that.

Anyway, you don’t feel that it’s greatly evil?”

“If you were planning to kill someone, then it’s only right that you should be prepared to be killed in return.

I’m not the only one who thinks that, am I?

But why are you asking these questions?”

“...”

After a brief silence, Argio spoke again.

“I thought I was a wicked god, but I feel like I fall short of that standard more than I expected.”

“A standard.

On Earth, we have a clear standard for defining a wicked god.”

Yoo Seong-woon asked.

“Have you ever killed innocent people?”

“Who does ‘innocent’ refer to?”

“People who didn’t harm you, or people who did you kindness, for example.”

“Would I have killed such people?”

“So you’ve never repaid kindness with enmity?”

“I might ignore them, but I’ve never done something like that.”

“Then why are you even a wicked god?”

He couldn’t understand it.

“You said people called you a wicked god.”

“They did.”

“Why did they call you that?

Even the meaning of the name Argio is a derogatory term.”

“Because I was unlucky?”

Argio continued, lightly twitching his long nails.

“A beautiful beast that doesn’t look human is bound to earn people’s hatred.

There were various other reasons too, but they called me the wicked god of greed and wrath.”

“Greed and wrath...”

“I like riches.

Gold, jewels, and fine liquor are my closest friends, and since I grew up as a beast, I had no need to endure.

Returning wrath to those who offend me is an enjoyable thing.”

“But that’s a bit... to call you a wicked god.”

“...Hmmm...”

Argio propped his chin.

“So it really is like that.”

“Is there something you don’t like about it?”

“I had pride, in my own way...”

“You had pride in being a wicked god?”

“That is also one of my honors, so of course.”

“Honor...”

“It is mine, that came into my arms.”

“...”

“And yet now that I look back, my infamy wasn’t anything special.”

Though it was hard to see beneath the cloak, Gio looked quite bored.

“To be this deflated.”

“...Mm, uh... is that so...”

Yoo Seong-woon could roughly understand the situation.

‘The bulk of a mystery changes because of the story surrounding it.’

Even a wicked god is, in the end, a god.

It changes bulk according to the goodwill or hostility of the living creatures that believe in its existence, and judging by the looks of it, Argio seemed to have actively accepted even the bad reputation for things he hadn’t done as his own.

‘Then he could end up with a wicked divinity far more vicious than the evil deeds he actually committed.’

Isn’t the Sankalut religion like that?

A plain jewel that couldn’t even speak, let alone commit murder, became a full-fledged wicked god through nation-level faith and offerings.

It was a similar case to Argio.

‘Especially this one can speak and act, and he actively embraced misunderstandings about himself...’

It was an extremely rare case.

“Then does that mean you basically did nothing?”

“I did trespass into the mansions of unlucky bastards and take their liquor and wealth.”

“What kind of people were those unlucky bastards?”

“Those who ruined my taste for liquor.

They made a racket in front of me.”

“They were shouting loudly?”

“They were bragging that they had massacred the village that prepared a meal for me.”

“Ah, that’s definitely self-defense.

Then it’s hard to call what you did evil.”

“That’s very unfortunate news.”

“Mm...”

Yoo Seong-woon laughed awkwardly.

“Is it because your reputation was just hollow?”

“Evil is more enjoyable than good.”

“...”

For a moment, Yoo Seong-woon was left speechless.

“...Should I look into a battlefield for you?”

“No.”

Gio’s voice instantly took on a blunt tone.

“I am not yet complete as Argio.”

“So you don’t like fighting much right now?”

“I originally avoid conflict.”

“That’s a little different from what you said earlier.”

“It seems to change depending on the situation.”

“Hm, I see.”

After thinking for a moment, Yoo Seong-woon asked,

“Juhyeon 씨 is still at your place, right?”

“Yes, he is sleeping.”

“He seems to be sleeping every time I ask.”

“He seemed tired, so I put him to bed early.”

“I was wondering if you could leave your place for a bit.”

“Is there something you would suggest to me?”

“You said you’re curious about wicked gods.”

Practice was always best.

“Korea has wicked gods that are officially recognized as ordinary religions.”

“Wicked gods that do not harm humans.”

“More like they regarded it as a kind of natural order, I guess—though it does cause harm.”

Mysteries related to gods weren’t Yoo Seong-woon’s specialty, but he did remember the basic flow.

“One of the most representative examples is the god of death.”

“Death is certainly the natural order.”

“Right, you’re correct.

But people don’t like it.”

“For most people, death is harmful.”

“The god of death was recognized as an ordinary religion within the last fourteen years.”

“Was it not before then?”

“It was a very sensitive time, and in many ways...”

Yoo Seong-woon smiled mildly.

“I guess you could say there wasn’t the leeway to distinguish them, in a world where wicked gods ran rampant.”

“They ran rampant.”

“Thanks to the symbol of eternity, now it feels like there’s a system in place, in its own way.”

He shrugged.

“Want to meet them?

If you want, I’ll ask for permission in advance.”

“Then I would like to meet them.”

And that was how the black cloak was dispatched into the world once again.

More precisely, as the A-rank hunter ‘Seo Gio.’

* * *

“...”

“...”

“Hey, come on.”

Visabel looked at Yoo Seong-woon, who came to ask permission, as if it were absurd.

“You told me not to sneak Mr. Seo Gio outside before.”

“Was that not because the guildmaster threatens world peace?”

“Do you have any idea how much I’m contributing to world peace right now, to be saying such nonsense?”

“At least I’m not the one clapping next to Gio and telling him to make a mess.”

“Well, that’s true, but I’m so wronged.

How am I supposed to live after being treated like this?”

Yoo Seong-woon knew he’d been living far too well, and Visabel knew Yoo Seong-woon knew.

“Honestly, our employees don’t know how to rub their palms together.”

“If you add it to our duties, there are plenty who’ll rub them as much as you want.”

“No, they still won’t, and I love you all so much for that.”

“We know, we know, that’s why we act this insolent...”

Muttering, Yoo Seong-woon soon smiled faintly and asked,

“The Death Temple is in Gyeonggi Province, so I came to ask permission in advance.

Unlike before, we’ll be going quite far, and since it’s a meeting between a wicked god and another wicked god, we don’t know what kind of chemical reaction might occur.”

“...”

Visabel, tapping the desk as if calculating something, soon nodded.

“I am curious.

What kind of situation will unfold when a wicked god Gio meets a quiet wicked god.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

“Isn’t it a far more fun and interesting topic than protecting humanity’s peace?”

“Now that you put it that way, you sound a bit like Argio.”

Argio said the reason he likes evil more than good is because it is more stimulating and interesting.

Supporting good in order to enjoy more, while having little interest in humanity’s peace—Visabel and Argio certainly resembled each other in that regard.

Visabel gave a thin smile.

“Did Argio also say my colors are similar to mine?”

“Your colors are a bit more vivid, though.”

“If anything happens, we can just say he’s my nephew.”

“You said you were the only child for four generations.”

“Hmm.”

Under Yoo Seong-woon’s intense stare, Visabel added,

“A hidden son, perhaps?”

“Aren’t you over eighty?”

“Still springy, aren’t I.”

“Springy would be more like you have the body of someone in their fifties.”

“Then let’s say I’m robust.”

Yoo Seong-woon didn’t say anything to that.

“...Gio already has the sun’s divinity.

I don’t know whether the wicked god’s vicious divinity is being layered over it, whether they coexist, or if he can swap them out, but...”

Yoo Seong-woon continued.

“The Seoul Branch Sun Church was favorable toward Gio.

And since the wicked god in the Gyeonggi branch doesn’t enjoy conflicts between divinities, I judged there probably wouldn’t be a big problem, and that’s why I came to ask permission.”

“But you did think it was dangerous?”

“Since Gio introduced himself as a wicked god, we should be careful where we need to be.

He especially likes stimulating things, and more than anything, he does not fear conflict.

I thought we should prepare.”

“I can help you with that.”

Though Visabel’s collector business takes a format closer to a business company, that doesn’t mean his guild members aren’t skilled in combat.

There were also dedicated squads that followed only his orders.

“I’ll ask my friends.”

“With you watching our back, I feel reassured.”

Wearing his characteristic mild smile, Yoo Seong-woon thanked him.

“It feels like I’m always the one receiving help.”

“I feel the same way.

However...”

“However?”

“You’ll go out as ‘Mr. Seo Gio,’ right?”

“...Shouldn’t he?”

“Hm.”

Visabel stroked his chin.

“I think it would be fine to find a secretary for Mr. Seo Gio soon.”

“Are you planning to make Gio an official hunter?”

“I’ve been blocking things, but the eyes are already gathered.”

No matter how quietly they proceeded, after the visit of Mr. Seo Gio and other hunters to the S-rank dungeon ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea,’ quite a lot of people knew that Korea’s sea had calmed.

An A-rank hunter who appeared without a word, and Korea’s sea that calmed after his visit.

Because there was no concrete evidence, it wasn’t at the level of suspicion, but people did have curiosity.

“And Mr. Seo Gio rescued people at the ‘Deep Sea Temple’ too.”

“You’re saying that influence still remains?

Because of a hunter who doesn’t even do official activities?”

“A handsome, capable hunter is popular with anyone.”

“...That’s true.”

In particular, Gio had an aura that was unusually hard to forget.

More than anything, it wasn’t strange that there were still people who remembered ‘Hunter Seo Gio,’ who gathered and soothed people who were tired and frightened back then, even now that time had passed.

Yoo Seong-woon nodded.

“And the fact that he’s a promising new A-rank hunter, yet his whereabouts can’t be tracked, probably drew even more attention.

Maybe it read like a kind of mystique strategy...”

“If you knew that, you should’ve let my Mr. Seo Gio out long ago.”

“Do you think I don’t know that’s a suggestion packed full of the guildmaster’s personal desire?

Anyway, then we should look for a manager among the employees.”

A hunter with frequent official activities, or a hunter with high recognition, typically had one or two managers attached to manage their schedule.

Gio wasn’t expected to have frequent official activities, but if many people were interested in him, then in another sense he would need a secretary.

“If they know Mr. Seo Gio’s existence, it’ll be easier to manage schedules and image...”

“We’ll look for someone in time.”

Visabel’s long-slit pupils slowly widened.

“I think we’ll be able to find one soon.”

Juhyeon, was it?

He didn’t like him, but he looked quite usable.

Fantasy, Modern,