chapter 155

Chapter 155

“How is it?”

At Visabel’s question, Yoo Seong-woon shrugged.

“Just as you expected.”

“You act like you know what I would have expected, how.”

“I trust the guildmaster’s eyes.”

At Yoo Seong-woon’s trust, Visabel let out his characteristic laugh.

“Looks like you don’t trust the person that I am?”

“I already knew you have no conscience.”

“How can you be so cold.”

“Please, I’m tired.”

“Then I should finish quickly.”

Visabel lightly tapped the desk with his ringed hand, tododok.

“I knew he wasn’t the kind of person to fall to temptation easily.”

He was talking about Juhyeon.

“Even if there’s an easy path, if he thinks it’s an unfair gain, he won’t touch it.”

“He did look a bit like he has a foolish personality. Seems like he has his own convictions.”

“If you look at that point, should I say he has an aspect like a scholar from the old Joseon era.”

“...May I take that to be praise for Mr. Juhyeon?”

“That’s up to you. I meant he’s stubborn by nature.”

“Well, with that bamboo-straight disposition, he must have pleased Gio.”

Yoo Seong-woon nodded.

“He doesn’t seem to be thinking of using Gio to take his own share.”

“He’s not the sort to let himself get dulled by such petty greed.”

“I don’t particularly think greed is petty.”

That’s how human desire is.

Decency is something you make consciously; it isn’t something you’re born with as instinct. If an immense mystery declared it would become your ‘friend,’ it would be normal to want something.

Unlike decency, greed is instinct.

“In many ways, Gio is in the position of the strong. Even ‘Mr. Seo Gio,’ at the very least, has more power than Mr. Juhyeon and is a person of higher position. Gio is... um, extravagant enough to use rare elixirs that would make humans’ eyes turn red just for preparing meals.”

Then you could think like this.

“Mr. Juhyeon could have expected it. That such precious things are as common to that mystery as roadside grass, so he wants to have them with no effort. Because taking a small pebble lying around in someone else’s yard isn’t a burden to either side.”

Juhyeon wasn’t particularly wealthy either. Even if he was born without monetary greed, if your body is worn out and life is harsh, then a minimum greed out of necessity is bound to arise.

“He worked a long time as an Association researcher, but whether it was because of the label of being from the Other Orphanage, or whether there was something else, he remained only at the assistant manager rank. His promotion was delayed quite a lot.”

“What little he did have, he used it to sponsor the orphanage, or else donated it.”

“And looking at the reactions, he has almost no desire for money to begin with. He thinks it’s a useful means, but it doesn’t become an object of greed. He’s a rare, incorruptible person.”

Yoo Seong-woon folded his arms.

“Gio and the guildmaster both described Mr. Juhyeon as a hero. Considering that, I can understand that he has almost no instinctive greed for money.”

A hero’s nature is something you’re born with along with instinct.

“But still.”

There was something Juhyeon wanted, something he desperately wished for.

“He has no greed for wealth, but as long as he’s human, he has desires he holds. I heard he has a very firm goal of making the world peaceful.”

“You could call that, in itself, being a tremendous greedy person. It just doesn’t flow in the direction of his own safety; from an objective perspective, Mr. Juhyeon’s greed is flowing in an altruistic direction.”

“Yes, ‘altruistic greed’ is exactly right. If you call wanting to change something other than me as I please selfishness, it could become selfish greed too.”

“That’s why I don’t like Mr. Juhyeon much. Right now he’s keeping up appearances because we’re awkward friends who just met, but if you get closer, how much is Mr. Juhyeon going to use Mr. Seo Gio for his own desires?”

“There’s no way Gio would be taken easily. Rather, it would be more accurate to say Gio is bestowing mercy and goodwill on a mere human. That, too, will be something Gio likes... to be honest, I’m not worried about that part.”

Yoo Seong-woon shrugged.

“To begin with, isn’t Gio not an existence so paltry that humans should be worrying about him?”

“Ahh, my work...”

“Before it is a work, it is the source, guildmaster. Please let go.”

Anyway, the collector’s obsession.

“Mr. Juhyeon won’t exploit Gio to line his own pockets. Not only is it impossible, but there’s also almost nothing Mr. Juhyeon can expect from Gio.”

Yoo Seong-woon wore his characteristic smile.

“Of course, it’s not that there’s absolutely nothing.”

“He’ll be secretly hoping Gio will bestow mercy on the dead souls.”

“Rather than that, it would be that he recognized the possibility.”

“Because authority over life and death is an area any god can be involved in.”

“As someone who recently lost family and friends, it’s a part Mr. Juhyeon can’t help but think about.”

Even though Gio introduced himself as a wicked god, he seems sufficiently merciful, and when you say ‘god,’ you naturally come to have authority dealing with dead souls.

While receiving the portrait’s goodwill inside the frame, Juhyeon surely thought it. How wonderful it would be if such merciful divinity would soothe his pitiful family and friends.

“Especially since he thinks that tragedy happened because of him, Mr. Juhyeon’s sense of debt toward the victims must be large.”

“He must have wanted to somehow atone and repay his debt, and yet it looks like Mr. Juhyeon did not choose Gio, the easiest road by which he could do that.”

“It looked like he thought he had to take full responsibility because it was something he did. No matter how tremendous a strong one and owner of enormous authority Gio is...”

“He must have thought he shouldn’t receive help from Mr. Seo Gio, who is even a newly made friend.”

Visabel sneered.

“And with that, how could a mere human repay a debt to the dead? What the living can do for already dead friends is only to endlessly remember and reflect on their deaths and one’s own sin.”

“Isn’t it a mindset of trying even that?”

“Perhaps he vaguely believes that even such atonement and agony could repay the debt. Of course, you might be able to repay the debt owed to dead family even in that way, but to go out of your way onto such a thorny path?”

His lips twisted as if he’d seen something terribly stupid and displeasing.

“It’s all because Mr. Juhyeon’s field of view is so narrow.”

“For someone with a narrow field of view, the cause he holds is pretty big.”

“He lacks humanity.”

“You could say that, but...”

“He’s a fool who can’t rely on others.”

“No, come on.”

Yoo Seong-woon soothed his guildmaster.

“Still, he’s Gio’s new friend, isn’t he. Please look on him favorably.”

“The only thing that increases as you get older is stubbornness.”

Visabel, smiling sourly, continued.

“His head isn’t slow. He doesn’t fail to know how useful connections are, and well, rather, it would be right to say he’s shrewd. He can do every calculation, and yet, as if he were some ascetic, he castrates worldly desires and chases only the greater cause.”

“Isn’t that a good direction for humanity?”

“I always say this, but I have no interest in humanity’s tendencies or concerns. What matters is the influence it will have on me and my collection. That human named Juhyeon, if only his convictions are firm, is a bastard who will ruin my work without batting an eye.”

Visabel grumbled.

“It’s true that having humans of that kind makes the world a bit more peaceful... but it would be far too boring.”

“How can you say something like humanity’s evil so casually.”

“Mr. Juhyeon isn’t someone who doesn’t know greed. When he practices the cause he holds, he’s greedier than anyone. Ravenous. Even if others criticize him, no matter how they see him, he doesn’t care even a little about such things and is only busy moving forward.”

Visabel twisted his lips.

“When these kinds of people cause an accident, they do it on a grand scale.”

“It’s certainly a part to worry about, but didn’t Gio stop it too?”

“Anyway, I admit he’s not a person who will be harmful to our Mr. Seo Gio unless it’s something extreme.”

Visabel let out a rare sigh with irritation mixed in.

“It’s only harmful to my mood.”

“You really do hate him.”

“I really like our guild members.”

“Yes, well...”

Yoo Seong-woon smiled awkwardly. Since it was true that he sincerely revered his superior, it wasn’t much of a forced smile.

“We like you too, guildmaster.”

“Your affection you show once in a blue moon like this is so lovely.”

“Ugh, seriously.”

Even the awkward laughter vanished, and Yoo Seong-woon made a disgusted face.

“This is why we can’t say nice words to you.”

“I even like that impudence... be even more shameless. Ah, thrilling.”

“Ugh.”

“Anyway, I’m glad it’s not greatly different from my expectations.”

Visabel gave a neat smile.

“And enormous mysteries like those poor heroes.”

“Poor heroes...”

“Because they mass-produce stories close to providence.”

His pale-yellow eyes curved thinly.

“Gio, too, will probably cherish Mr. Juhyeon in that way.”

“If it’s according to the rules, he’ll give a gift soon—would it be good if I prepare in advance?”

“If it’s Mr. Seo Gio’s gift, things could get a bit noisy. He isn’t someone who doesn’t know how he’ll be seen by the world.”

“Since there’s nothing to hesitate over, it is about time Gio also begins in earnest to savor the human world. I’ll give the media a heads-up in advance.”

“Yoo Seong-woon, you should prepare to run around in person too. Mr. Seo Gio likely won’t cause a calamity out of consideration for each other’s face.”

“A mystery’s goodwill sometimes looks like a calamity... what affection do you expect Gio to show exactly?”

“That’s obvious.”

Visabel smiled as if watching a grandchild’s antics.

“He will make a human into a human.”

“...Is that the end, or the beginning?”

“I think it will be both.”

“Gio always liked humans.”

His goodwill was fair to all humans.

“Well, there were humans he didn’t like sometimes, but it seems those were classified as ‘not human’...”

Yoo Seong-woon scratched his neck.

“To Gio, death is only one state that humans can take on. Right?”

“Curator Yoo Seong-woon is correct.”

“If so, Gio, who shows goodwill fairly to all humans, will maintain the same attitude at all times.”

“You’re thinking it through well.”

“In the end, to living humans and to dead humans...”

The hand that had been scratching his neck dropped. His fingertips trembled with an unknown emotion.

“He will treat them like a gentleman.”

Gio giving gifts to humans is one rule.

“I understand what I need to do.”

“I look forward to Curator Yoo Seong-woon’s response.”

“Please enjoy your appreciation.”

Too enormous goodwill often plunged humans into fear.

And bringing fear caused by the source down into daily life—was precisely what a gardener had to do.

* * *

“I want to give you a gift.”

“Pardon?”

“Is it a rude thought.”

“Uh...”

Juhyeon blinked at the portrait that had suddenly appeared at the orphanage.

“...”

Calm down.

‘I can do it.’

Juhyeon smiled.

“...I see! Exactly what gift are you speaking of?”

“Sorry, it seems my heart ran ahead of me too much.”

“Ah, no. It’s true I was a little startled, but I wasn’t displeased.”

It was simply that he’d felt fear close to a threat to his life.

‘Looks like he has no awareness of just how frightening he appears.’

It was near midnight. A late hour. A gloomy area with no people. A fire site. An abandoned building with acrid air filled with soot and traces of the dead. Juhyeon was looking for remaining keepsakes at the orphanage.

In the middle of looking around the dim orphanage relying on a single flashlight, the portrait appeared. It showed itself among the cute children’s drawings, then spoke to him with a face covered in black paint.

‘It said it wants to give me a gift.’

Juhyeon considered himself admirable for not screaming. At this level, it was an achievement worth praising himself for.

“I’m asking again, but... what does a gift mean?”

He didn’t ask the stupid question of how it found his location. For an enormous mystery like the Black Cloak, how hard would it be to find the location of a mere human? Instead, Juhyeon requested an interpretation of the current situation.

“As far as I know, Black Cloak is said to return things only if it received something.”

“If I have received something, it is only natural to return it.”

“I also know that it sometimes appears and gives gifts to passersby.”

“That was repayment for simply exchanging with me.”

At the portrait’s words, Juhyeon nodded without realizing it.

‘It certainly could be something big enough to need repayment.’

Black Cloak was known to appear in places with few people and give gifts to those who did good deeds. Meeting a humanoid monster after doing something good—how shocking must it have been?

If you said it was compensation to soothe such humans, it was understandable. In the end, that, too, meant it was a 1:1 rule of ‘Gio’s Portrait.’

“...?”

Juhyeon tilted his head.

“But I haven’t given anything to you, Gio.”

“It is thanks for becoming my friend.”

“I see.”

Perhaps it was a kind of desire to collect.

Did it want to have ‘human friends’ that much? As he was thinking that the way mysteries think is hard to understand, the portrait, its eyes hidden by paint, continued.

“More than anything, I wanted to give a gift to a good person like Mr. Juhyeon.”

“Hm, well... I don’t think I’ve done a good deed in front of you, Gio, have I?”

“However, it seems there are many people who have received help thanks to Mr. Juhyeon’s actions so far.”

“Does that become a reason for you to give me a gift?”

“It is my selfishness, wanting to repay the joy you gave me.”

“...”

“And so I wished to receive permission.”

Only after a bit of time passed did Juhyeon ask back.

“...Joy?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Joy, you say.”

Juhyeon made an awkward smile.

“So what I did so far became joy to you.”

It was a truly strange feeling.

“I think I felt something similar from you before too, but isn’t it funny.”

It might sound like nonsense, but Black Cloak’s words became a fairly warm comfort to Juhyeon. He also felt gratitude that such an enormous existence recognized his efforts.

Because it sounded like it was saying he wasn’t wrong, that it was grateful...

“Ha...”

He starts wanting compensation.

‘What kind of ungrateful thought is this. Not even knowing my station, wanting compensation for things I did only because I wanted to...’

Because of a fatigue that made him want only to fall asleep, a sigh disguised as a laugh came out.

A hard-to-explain sense of weakness came over him too, and to avoid looking foolish, Juhyeon pressed his forehead hard.

“Then what gift do you want to give me? I think this is the third time I’ve asked.”

“Oh, it seems my story became long and I caused you discourtesy. I apologize.”

In its characteristic emotionless tone, the portrait continued.

“I can give you good medicine. I can treat you to a delicious meal, I can draw you the jewels you want, and I can chat with you.”

Around then, a cat lightly leapt into the portrait’s embrace.

“Dana seems very interested in Mr. Juhyeon.”

“...It’s an honor.”

“What I just said are gifts I can give simply because we are friends.”

“That, too, is an honor.”

“Then could you tell me the gift you desire?”

The portrait said,

“So that my gift can be worth its price.”

“...”

After having no words for a long while, Juhyeon finally opened his mouth.

“...Well.”

Unfortunately, he had nothing he wished for. He must have been that way. And he had to be.

If he was to remain as himself. If he was to remain as a mere human who knows his own station.

“Just you calling me your friend... is already far too much for me.”

“I know you are a person born without worldly desires, Mr. Juhyeon.”

“What I most want right now is atonement for my family and friends, but...”

“You likely think it is something you must do entirely on your own.”

“Shouldn’t it be?”

“There is nothing that is right.”

In a low voice, the portrait whispered.

“There are only things you think are right.”

It closely resembled a wicked god’s temptation.

“...Do you want me to seek help?”

“I want you to see a new perspective.”

“I want to apologize to my family and friends.”

He had to do that.

“But I don’t want to escape this guilt.”

“You think you can atone only if you are bound by that emotion.”

“If I overcome even this, I will forget my mistake.”

“You will not forget. You are not someone who can.”

“If I do not reflect, how am I any different from a beast?”

“Even beasts are beasts in their own way.”

The portrait’s voice cracked lazily.

“You are not a beast.”

“...”

“Tell me what you truly desire.”

“...I...”

“Throw away shallow words like atonement.”

“Just, I...”

In the ashes where his family burned away, Juhyeon said.

“I want them to be at ease, even in death.”

That was his honest desire.

“I can live my whole life bearing their deaths, so I just want them not to have been in pain.”

“Do you wish them to lay their bodies in the happiest and warmest place?”

“I want that. They aren’t perfect, and you can’t call them saints—just ordinary people, but...”

“Even so, because they were Mr. Juhyeon’s family and friends, you wish for their peace.”

“I know it’s forcing it. I know it’s a selfish thought.”

After hesitating, Juhyeon continued.

“But you are a wicked god.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Will you respond to my selfishness?”

“Very well done.”

The portrait’s lips tore open in delight.

“Do you need time to prepare your heart?”

“A little.”

“Fine. I’ll soon send you the gift.”

“What should I do?”

“Looks like you don’t know the meaning of a gift.”

A sound like a beast laughing rang out.

“Simply appreciate it, my friend.”

I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination, but.

“...”

Was it always like this?

The eyes of the jeweled cat in the portrait’s arms were, especially, bright like the moon.

(To be continued in the next episode)