Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Gardeners are, literally, those who tend a ‘garden.’

And the way they tended that garden was different for every gardener. There were gardeners who poured all their energy into their garden all day long, and there were gardeners who stopped by to manage it at appropriate times, and there were those who regarded the garden like a friend or family...

“...”

There were also gardeners who worshiped it like a priest who served a god.

‘...Those are the Eyes of the Origin I heard about from Gardener Yoo Seong-woon...’

Among the hunters gathered by guild at the dungeon entrance, the eyes of Jung Yeongwon, a hunter and gardener belonging to Eunwol, held only ‘Seo Gio.’ Watching her, a fellow hunter said.

“Ms. Yeongwon, your eyes.”

“Ah.”

Jung Yeongwon adjusted her glasses.

“Is it okay now?”

“Yeah, it looks like an ordinary yellow.”

“Then perhaps earlier it was...?”

“Hmm, vermilion?”

“I see.”

She rubbed the corner of her eye.

‘This is what’s inconvenient about being a gardener.’

A gardener was extremely closely connected to the garden they served, and because of that, sometimes their eye color or hair color would change. Jung Yeongwon, who served a gentle flower field of a spring day, was the same.

‘It’s not a garden whose condition changes often, so could it be... because the Eyes of the Origin are nearby?’

At Jung Yeongwon’s gaze, the fellow hunter spoke to her again.

“Why do you keep staring at Hunter Seo Gio?”

“...Ah, because he’s handsome.”

“Well, can’t argue with that.”

“I was aware it was rude.”

“He doesn’t really seem to mind, but...”

“Seems like he’s used to people’s gaze.”

“If I lived with that face, I’d be like that too.”

“He definitely has an air where it seems natural to be used to attention.”

As if he were a being made in order to be seen. Jung Yeongwon looked once more at ‘Seo Gio,’ caught among the Collector’s guild members.

“Not just the external parts, either.”

Was it because she was a gardener that her gaze kept going there?

‘No, this is a natural reaction for any human.’

A little tense, she opened and closed her hand.

‘The Origin—no, the Eyes, at that—among so many humans...’

There was still so much unknown about the Origin. There was much unrevealed. That mystery was something humans must not peer at rashly, and at the same time, even if you were granted the qualifications, it was not something you could easily examine.

It was because it was too vast. Because it appeared in the world in too many different forms, and affected the world in too many different ways. Jung Yeongwon believed ‘Seo Gio’ would be the same.

‘That, too, must be one of the ways the Origin affects the world.’

Yoo Seong-woon had evaluated ‘Seo Gio’ as the Eyes of the Origin.

‘...If so, did it implement that ideal exterior in order to directly experience human life and create data? In order to collect data more conveniently through human goodwill? But it would be hard to gather a human’s overall data through mere goodwill alone... Or maybe it only gathers the resulting values of goodwill.’

Because she couldn’t help her gardener habits, Jung Yeongwon spoke to her leader.

“Sunbae-nim.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Could you push it so I end up on the same team as that person?”

“...I’m asking out of needless worry, but it’s not romantic feelings, right? I can’t cover for you.”

“What kind of horrible thing is that to say?”

“Right, there’s no way our Jung Yeongwon would love a human. For a second I thought you were sick, so I worried.”

She had never deliberately revealed her status as a gardener, but one of the characteristics of gardeners that inevitably showed was that they could not easily develop sexual or romantic feelings toward humans. The hunter in the leader position nodded.

“I’ll try putting in a word, but isn’t that person a priest too?”

“...Please memorize the information properly before coming. He’s not a priest, he’s a tamer.”

“Ah, the vibe was so much that way, I just... Then he’s not a healer either?”

“I don’t know that part. There’s little that’s been identified... he could be a healer, though.”

“Mmm, then I’m not sure they’d put him on the same team.”

“Since he’ll mostly act as a tamer, wouldn’t it be fine for Hunter Seo Gio’s team to have a healer as well?”

“I get what you mean—I’ll try appealing in that direction.”

The leader asked with a languid smile.

“So why? What part was so interesting?”

“...”

“Come on, don’t dodge it. Do you think I don’t know what our Yeongwon is thinking?”

“...It’s just...”

When Jung Yeongwon looked back toward ‘Seo Gio,’ it met her eyes.

“...”

“...”

Yes.

“...”

How could those eyes be this beautiful.

Under the shock of rank that had eased somewhat, the gardener saw the essence of the Origin hidden beneath.

What looked like an iris was like the radiance of divinity, and the deeply sunken pupil was layered with colors so varied they were beyond words.

Ah, an Origin in human form.

‘...Amazing.’

Beyond beauty, that resplendent magnificence made her dizzy.

Her heart pounded, and she couldn’t believe her own existence reflected in those eyes. She was suffocated by a strange mystery that felt like it would make her forget herself.

It was too vast. Deep and enormous to the point she couldn’t even dare to see its end.

‘It’s so enchanting...’

What, in the world, was that made of?

‘My head is spinning.’

It smells sweet.

A fragrance like that from her flower field, or sweeter and richer—the scent of honey and milk. A cool, gentle sweetness like lilacs blooming in spring.

Flowing out from fate that held both life and death... a fragrance like that.

“...”

“...Ms. Yeongwon.”

“...”

“Ms. Yeongwon? Are you sleeping?”

“No.”

“Then why’d you stop talking halfway?”

“Our eyes met for a moment.”

Having received the gaze of that Origin, of all things, alone in her body, she couldn’t come to her senses.

“What question did you just ask?”

“I asked why you were this interested.”

“It really isn’t anything.”

Unlike her expressionless face, strength pressed hard into the hand holding her staff.

“...He seems like someone well worth observing.”

Opportunities like this wouldn’t be common.

Awe and worship toward the Origin made a mere gardener giddy.

* * *

“Mr. Garasani.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“If it seems I’m being disliked, please let me know.”

“Who do you think is disliking you?”

“That person over there with the cherry-blossom-colored hair...”

“Ah-ha.”

Garasani swept his gaze over Eunwol’s side and grinned.

“It doesn’t seem like eyes of hatred.”

“Then why are they glaring at me like this?”

“It is a sharp gaze, like a hawk’s eyes.”

“It is extremely burdensome.”

“Shall I go convey a protest?”

“It’s not to that extent, but...”

Gio couldn’t help but think conveniently.

“Is it because I’m too handsome, after all.”

“Hahaha...! Ah-ha, yes, I see. That could be the case.”

Smiling warmly as if he’d seen the cutest antics in the world, Garasani comforted Gio.

“Once we enter the dungeon soon, teams will be split, so you needn’t worry. Were people’s gazes very burdensome to you? Since there was no sign of it, I didn’t take separate measures, but...”

“I’m used to it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t burdensome. That said, there’s no need for you to take measures. I was only whining because you, Mr. Garasani, are so reliable.”

“Ah, that truly is a great honor. If you would rely on me a great deal in the future as well, there would be nothing more I could wish for. Most likely, even after entry, I and Hunter Seo Gio-nim will be together.”

Garasani grinned and flicked his eyes toward the church, the hosts of this raid.

“The church likes things safe. Since a curator has come out from the Collector on this rare occasion, they will try to assemble the teams according to the Collector’s intentions.”

“If it is the Collector’s intentions... do you mean your looking after my convenience?”

“You understood well. People will think we came for the sake of attending to and monitoring Hunter Seo Gio. The church will reflect that as well.”

“Then that is reassuring. If even one person I know is with me.”

“Even if you are assigned to a different team, I can assure you I will be at your side. If that unlikely case comes, I will, of course, take appropriate measures, so do not worry, Hunter Seo Gio.”

“Thank you for being so considerate.”

Seo Gio, whose words rapidly decreased when there was no one he knew, felt reassured.

‘As expected, life is all about connections.’

He couldn’t know how fortunate he was to have become the Collector’s portrait.

* * *

And indeed, Gio was assigned to the same team as Garasani, but.

“I never, ever dreamed we’d see each other again like this. How surprising.”

“Is that so?”

“I truly didn’t know, so believe me. I’m so glad to be on the same team, young master.”

“Young master?”

“Ah, I slipped again. I’ll clasp my hands together and apologize, so won’t you let it slide?”

“Haha...”

Sanarae was also on the same team.

“...”

“...”

After meeting his gaze in silence, Gio grinned.

“...How cute.”

Before Sanarae, eyes widening, could properly react, Gio returned to a gentle face again. He looked at Sanarae as if he were looking at a very cute puppy.

“Of course I’ll let it slide.”

“Huh...?”

“You’re smiling like this and conveying your apology, so how could I ignore it?”

“Uh... sure? I feel like I just got treated as less than human...”

“Do you like eating? You’re very thin—if a grown young man is like this, he won’t be able to use his strength.”

“Uh, don’t knead me like that. Uh, uh, uh—no, but Hunter-nim, you’ve got unexpectedly strong grip strength.”

“What are you trying to do, dragging this pitiful body that has only bone and skin left, and can barely stand, all the way here?”

“I don’t think I’m that thin... Hunter-nim? Hunter Seo Gio-nim? Can you hear me?”

“At this point, we must feed you until you’re full during this raid...”

“Please give me a chance to retreat.”

Having begged for mercy and barely escaped Gio’s grasp, Sanarae asked.

“Are you trying to eat me...? Do you eat human flesh sometimes?”

“As far as I know, human flesh doesn’t taste very good.”

“Setting aside why you know that, that can’t be a way of saying you don’t eat it.”

“Do not worry. I follow the principle that we should not eat things that taste bad.”

“I’m saying that’s not a reassuring way to put it.”

Rarely backing away with an awkward step, Hunter Sanarae muttered with an intentionally worn and tired look.

“This is weird—why am I thinking of my late grandfather...”

“It is an honor. Could that not mean I am as trustworthy and warm as Mr. Sanarae’s grandfather?”

“No... that’s something... something a little different... what could it be. I feel like I can define it more properly.”

Leaving behind Sanarae, who seemed to have fallen into a strange reverie, another woman assigned to the same team cut in. It was Hunter Jung Yeongwon, who had been staring as if she would bore a hole through Seo Gio right before dungeon entry.

“Nice to meet you, Hunter Seo Gio-nim. Our eyes met earlier, didn’t they?”

“Ah, that is correct. I believe you are from Eunwol—did I say that correctly?”

“Yes, thank you for recognizing me. My name is Jung Yeongwon.”

A woman with pink hair in a soft, cream-like tone adjusted her round glasses and, with a blunt face, held out her hand.

“Could you shake my hand just once?”

“...? Of course.”

For merely greeting, there was some resolve to it. Feeling a subtle interest at her unique way of speaking, he lightly shook her hand up and down, and Hunter Jung Yeongwon blinked.

“...Your control of strength is excellent.”

“Is it?”

“I thought you would grip more painfully than this.”

“Did I give such a burly impression?”

“Not that, but...”

Nodding as if she’d understood something on her own, she said.

“Thank you for being considerate.”

“Of what...?”

“My position is healer, and I will be in charge of this team’s treatment.”

“Ah-ha, I see. I look forward to working with you.”

So what, exactly, did I just be considerate of?

After being praised for good strength control just for shaking hands, Seo Gio, though he didn’t show it outwardly, was momentarily confused. He felt like it was no different from being praised for breathing.

“Uh, then us too, please...”

“? Yes, nice to meet you.”

“I’d like a handshake too.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Only after finishing greetings with two hunters from the Daecheong Guild did Gio finally ask.

“So why was I the only one who shook hands with you?”

“...”

“...”

“...?”

Surprisingly, no one could give him a proper answer.

“...Right...?”

“Oh, how fun.”

It seemed like quite a decent crazy combination.

With a mind both dumbfounded and amused, Gio entered the A-rank dungeon, ‘The Four-Legged Rainforest Underground.’

(To be continued in the next episode)