chapter 146

Episode 146

The conversation with Juhyeon made Gio reflect.

“I think I was thinking too much only about what was good for me.”

Even if it looked like a deal where both sides win, people had the freedom not to respond to that deal. He couldn’t ignore even the opinions of those who would not agree to making Gio the Demon King.

“I’m dying to set up my own battlefield, but that’s my selfishness, and if I have to sacrifice other people for that selfishness, it leaves a bad aftertaste. The war I want isn’t like that.”

More than anything, Juhyeon said this.

“My precious Demon King project...”

“...”

“Is something that harms both people and me at the same time.”

Every word of it was right.

“...”

“...”

A silent attic.

Gio held Honey in his hand and enjoyed that squishy texture. It stuck to his palm with a slap-slap, a true texture hotspot.

After enjoying that texture—flowing and yet chewy—for quite some time, Gio nodded.

“I admit it.”

He opened his mouth.

“I am kind of thoughtless.”

“Guruk?”

“Should I say my brain is especially clear.”

But not everyone in the world could be like Gio.

“Back when I was twenty-one, I did think everyone lived thoughtlessly like me.”

With endlessly high life satisfaction and self-esteem, Seo Gio rarely minded other people’s eyes. So he only realized a full year after becoming an adult that his mental structure was quite different from other people’s.

“No wonder the characters in movies and dramas are always suffering in agony.”

Gio thought that was just an exaggerated expression unique to fiction. But it wasn’t. Surprisingly, people in the world tended to live carrying around things like worry and anxiety.

“They regret the past and feel uneasy about the future.”

“Koong?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why either. Why do they abuse their own brain cells?”

It was different in many ways from Gio, who lived looking only at the present, and even when he recalled the past and future, recalled only beautiful memories. He couldn’t understand why people lived so painfully.

They cling to what has already passed, and fear what has not yet come. They cannot see a situation as just a situation; they keep assigning meaning, and suffer through it.

“They can’t let emotions flow past, and they keep tying them to reality and creating problems.”

“Koong...”

“To be honest, I wonder why they torment themselves. Doesn’t that count as self-harm?”

“Gururuk.”

“Not that I don’t understand at all.”

Gio did know that people weren’t all like him. Even if he hadn’t known that until he was still in compulsory education, it wasn’t as though he lacked empathy—he just enjoyed life thoughtlessly.

“So...”

Rarely hesitating, Gio muttered,

“Mr. Argio must have had hard times too.”

“...”

“He did, right? There were times like that?”

Because there was a case like ‘Giovanni,’ who died after enjoying his life without a single regret, it was hard to be certain. From Seo Gio’s standpoint, it was the kind of situation that made you think, ‘Wow, how did he live like that,’ and yet he had been fine.

But Gio also acknowledged objectively that ‘Argio’ was in a hard situation.

“He looked totally fine, so I thought, ‘Ah, he’s okay,’ but yeah. If you think about it, it really wasn’t a very comfortable or peaceful life. It was a life soaked in hardship and adversity.”

He was adored by the family as a talented, versatile person, then because one ability manifested at a young age, he was treated like a beast. And then the place he was driven out to after being endlessly berated was some demon den where no sunlight entered and dangerous creatures gathered.

“...”

“Gur?”

“...But honestly, it was more fun there...”

“Koong-koong-koong.”

“You’re right, Honey. I haven’t even fully synchronized, so I can’t decide that.”

“Kkuk.”

“But it really was way more fun than that household, though.”

Anyway, as a portrait with 61.9% Argio content, he couldn’t declare it outright. He shouldn’t be certain until it became 100% pure. Gio tried hard to grasp Argio’s unfortunate life objectively.

“Anyway, it’s true he was angry.”

Didn’t he vow to definitely slit the throats of those pig bastards of a household who dared fail to recognize his worth? Maybe Argio, too, got angry because he was hurt in his own way.

“Even if he wasn’t aware, it could have been a wound.”

“Gurur...”

“Just because I’m simple doesn’t mean Mr. Argio has to be too.”

So Gio decided to reflect.

“My wounds are something I must tend myself.”

“Koong?”

“I vow to cherish myself, not treat myself carelessly, and live honestly and with manners.”

“Koong-koong-koong...”

“In that sense, I guess I have to think about the Demon King project again.”

As Juhyeon advised, he would make a project where everyone could be happy, with no one being sacrificed unfairly. Gio resolved that, and recalled his conversation with Juhyeon.

More precisely, those brown eyes that held warmth.

“He definitely seemed to be worrying about me.”

“Guruk.”

“I ended up making Mr. Ahn Juhyeon sorry.”

Even though he had suddenly ended up with all kinds of heavy modifiers—portrait, wicked god, immortal and undying—Gio was still nothing more than a single human with a tender heart. And he was deeply moved by Juhyeon’s worry.

“He really is a good person.”

How thankful, truly. A warmth not of the season filled the attic.

No matter how extraordinary Gio looked, Juhyeon had strongly insisted, ‘Even so, it isn’t right for an innocent person to be condemned.’ He even paid close attention to the word ‘wound’ that Gio had said.

“I feel a bit embarrassed too, like I whined for no reason.”

“Gururuk?”

“Well, the one Juhyeon comforted would have been ‘Argio.’”

“Koong, guruk.”

“...Yeah, I’ll sleep for now.”

After a short reflection, his whole body grew drowsy.

As always, after eating, sleepiness came to him. The chair he leaned into was comfortable. In the spring breeze that blew softly through the attic window, Gio enjoyed a short nap with Honey.

And then he woke from the dream.

“...”

Synchronization Rate 94.2%

“...?”

Red-haired Gio muttered.

“Was I really unhappy?”

Because ‘Argio’ in the dream looked like he didn’t care at all, Gio was a little dumbfounded. That beastly bastard enjoyed his life at 120% and then went and died well in the way he wanted.

Gio’s golden eyes trembled finely.

“No, if it’s like this... then I...”

“Guruk?”

“It’s going to be embarrassing to face Mr. Juhyeon.”

“Koong?”

“I look like... a total crybaby, don’t I?”

He got worried about for nothing.

At twenty-four, Gio had suddenly become a pathetic fool who threw a tantrum.

* * *

Around the time Gio was regretting something that wasn’t quite regret, Visabel laughed.

He burst out laughing.

“Ahahk, ahahahahahahahaha!!”

“...”

“Kuh, khu... heuheuheuhup...!”

Visabel panted and asked,

“The Demon King?”

“Yes, the Demon King.”

“Ha, my life’s vitamins—never a dull moment.”

“It would help humanity’s peace if the guildmaster were a bit bored.”

“I haven’t been the one to threaten humanity’s peace first, have I?”

“It’s a problem that you openly enjoy other people’s misfortune.”

“Anyway, it wasn’t my fault.”

Hiss.

Catching his breath, Visabel said,

“A Demon King and heroes—there’s hardly a more fitting analogy.”

“It’s not exactly a situation to joke about.”

“But if we let a new Demon King loose right now, Earth’s lifeline is in danger.”

Visabel mostly lived a life centered on interest, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what was right and wrong. If you had to be precise, he was closer to the side that wished for humanity’s peace and Earth’s longevity.

In other words, it meant the world was so precarious that if even a hedonist like Visabel didn’t worry, it was dangerous. So Visabel couldn’t just pursue only what he wanted to see.

“Personally, I’d love to keep the Demon King close on Earth and appreciate him up close, but.”

“Please restrain yourself. This isn’t an exaggeration—Earth will really be ruined.”

“I really do know that, so I’m quite troubled. To think there’d be a time I’d feel this regretful...”

He was sincerely regretful.

“Since it’s a work that’s already come into my arms, I’d like an event to be held in my hometown.”

A work he spent a fortune to buy, and a work that suits him perfectly, says it will put on a performance. He wanted that performance to happen right before his eyes, but since there was no proper stage, it seemed it would be a difficult wish.

“I understand why you requested an interview. It’s certainly a dangerous request.”

“And because it’s called Demon King, the nuance doesn’t sound very good either.”

Yoo Seong-woon let out a sigh.

“What he wants is a life-and-death blood fight with everything on the line.”

A duel of sincerity, staking his fate, staking his life, staking even his beliefs that make him what he is, starting from trivial things. Argio, showing greed, smelled strongly of blood.

“So I was going to look into another battlefield, but he doesn’t seem interested if it isn’t his own war.”

“He likely wants all eyes and emotions to be focused on Argio himself.”

“It looks like he wants a stage where he is the protagonist.”

“So he wants to be a Demon King who has heroes crawling in even if he does nothing.”

“That would also be the sequence Argio is most familiar with.”

Yoo Seong-woon heard Argio’s story. A vast mystery slandered as a beast, made a subjugation target, and ultimately gaining a wicked god’s vile divinity and even being sealed. He is a wicked god of wrath and greed.

“It seems Gio wants to enjoy that time’s pleasures again.”

“You’re saying that time wasn’t pain to Argio?”

“I... didn’t feel any such sign.”

It was surprising.

“Considering that wicked gods of that kind of path were all steeped in hatred and contempt, this is truly rare and precious. Gio even pitied and loved those who sealed him.”

Argio described the heroes who sealed him as pitiable and admirable.

“So even if Gio really becomes the Demon King, I think he’ll try to plan things in a way with less damage if possible. I don’t know exactly about the Argio side, but...”

“To begin with, because ‘Gio’s Portrait’ likes the good and well-mannered, he also tries to take on that kind of attitude himself. Whatever the will turns into in practice, in the end, isn’t that so?”

“The guildmaster is right. Gio enjoys combat itself, but he doesn’t strongly want the influence or wealth derived from it. That seems like purely additional profit.”

“So he welcomes wealth and fame, but does not covet them, is that what you’re saying. Understood. He likely also regarded that wealth and fame as a kind of trophy. It’s hard to see it as greed toward those things themselves.”

“Yes, separately from his high preference, his desire for them is not large. Like you said, guildmaster, they’re only a means to prove he won in battle.”

Yoo Seong-woon had already reported Argio’s appearance the first day he encountered him.

Gold and jewels adorning his whole body, deep-colored red hair braided long, and beast hide. He certainly preferred flashy things, starting from his outward appearance and even in his attitude toward life.

But if Argio had been obsessed with wealth and fame themselves, then ‘Gio’s Portrait’ itself would have become flashy. He also wouldn’t have forgiven Yoo Seong-woon, who dared treat him familiarly.

“Argio truly wants only battle.”

“He really seems to want to act like a beast.”

He wants a war where he can immerse himself wholly in fighting, without caring about dignity or position, throwing away everything that makes him what he is, or else fighting with everything on the line. It was clear.

“Then first...”

Visabel organized the order.

“We should show ‘Mr. Seo Gio’ to the world.”

“...All of a sudden?”

“All of a sudden? It was something we were preparing anyway.”

“That’s true, but.”

“Everything has an order.”

Visabel’s long-slit pupils expanded slightly. His gaze wasn’t on Yoo Seong-woon before him, but on empty air—yet it moved as though he were seeing something.

His lips moved.

“...Right. If Hunter Seo Gio comes out into the world first...”

“...”

“Then his place will form. A small opportunity will form... mm, yes.”

“...”

“The mermaids... right, there’s still an unfinished story, so...”

Soon, Visabel nodded.

“...After publicly revealing Mr. Seo Gio as the Collector’s hunter, I’ll have him handle the conquest of an appropriate dungeon. And we also need to confirm what kind of 모습을 he shows in sparring rather than the battle he wants.”

“I’ll look into a suitable dungeon.”

“I think we can create the battlefield Hunter Seo Gio wants. But for that, first we need to see his restraint, and we also need to speak with him directly and prepare an appropriate place.”

Watching his superior, Yoo Seong-woon soon asked,

“Should I ask Gio to speak with you, guildmaster?”

“There’s no need.”

Visabel curved his eyes deeply.

“It isn’t polite to urge a guest who will come to come faster.”

“...”

Yoo Seong-woon said with a sickened face,

“...How about changing your skill name to ‘Precognition’?”

“My skill is still emotion, not seeing the future.”

“There are times I don’t want to talk with you.”

“It’s rich, coming from someone who always hates talking with their boss.”

“That’s a modern virtue.”

“That’s why I like you, Yoo Seong-woon.”

He smiled happily at the insolent performance of his collectible. Even though Yoo Seong-woon’s face grew even more sickened, Visabel simply returned to the original topic by himself.

“Then I think we should first assign a secretary for our ‘Mr. Seo Gio.’”

“Ah... I did make a list, but...”

“The name of the person recuperating inside the portrait right now was Juhyeon, right?”

“Damn it.”

Yoo Seong-woon stuffed the documents he’d pulled out back into his bag. The fragile pages crumpled without resistance.

“I knew it would come to this.”

“If you knew, why did you go out of your way and suffer for it?”

“Because going out of your way and suffering to show sincerity is an office worker’s virtue.”

“Our employees are all so diligent.”

“Come to think of it, Gio also talked a lot about that person named Juhyeon.”

“He seems happy he got a friend?”

“He says it’s not yet, but...”

“That’s only a matter of time.”

Visabel wore a rare crooked smile.

“If he’s a hero, he can’t dislike Gio.”

“...A hero?”

“Oh dear, it seems I praised too much.”

He mocked openly.

“A fool steeped in reckless bravado, is what I mean.”

“...”

Yoo Seong-woon rubbed his face with both hands.

“...Please don’t say things like that in front of him.”

“I have my dignity too.”

“I looked into it—he really lived his life diligently, so why are you like this.”

“I know he’s a diligent person.”

It’s just that.

“I dislike him, that’s all.”

Visabel didn’t get along with the breed called heroes.

“If everyone in the world were like Yoo Seong-woon, how nice would that be?”

“I think that would be a disaster in its own way.”

“Well, anyway, Gio and Mr. Juhyeon will become friends soon.”

“You’re absolutely sure.”

“Of course. Great mysteries like heroes.”

In other words, they like suckers.

“And Gio is the most human-like mystery of all mysteries, so it won’t be very difficult for that person named Juhyeon to accept either.”

“But because his presence is so enormous, won’t Mr. Juhyeon feel rejection?”

“Then there is the taste that ‘Gio’s Portrait’ has proven up to now. He is a divinity that hits every point in a hero’s heart.”

As always, Visabel laughed lightly.

“They’ll become good friends with each other.”

For some reason, inside Visabel’s pupils, Yoo Seong-woon was trapped.

“Right.”

“...”

“This’ll be fun.”

His eyes curved even more thinly.

(To be continued in the next episode)