Chapter 45

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons — Episode 45

Gio was good at everything.

“So I’m good at cooking, too.”

“ ”

“Leave out swimming.”

At the sun god’s question that poked at his weak point, Giovanni shook his head—polite, but firm.

Born a two-legged human who could only breathe outside of water, how could he be good at swimming too?

“Even so, I am breathing underwater right now, but...”

Was it because, in this world, ‘Giovanni’ was already dead, or because even though he was assimilating, his essence was still a ‘portrait’?

Gio could breathe just fine even in the water-filled ‘Breathing Sea.’

“Is this water itself set up so that humans can breathe?”

“ ”

“It has truly become a special sea.

We should see this as one of Aria’s achievements as well.”

Even so, there was a sense of emptiness.

“It feels like I’m not bound by the rules of this world.

Is it because I’m no longer a resident here?

My current physical state doesn’t seem very different from when I’m in the painted forest...”

“ ”

“I see.”

The sun god affirmed it as well.

“It’s a shame.”

Giovanni wore his characteristic bright and gentle smile.

It was a neat smile, no different from before.

“It feels like I’ve lost a homeland.”

“ ”

“It’s a little sad, but it will gradually get better.”

Rather than talking like this, now was the time to eat.

“I thought you didn’t enjoy spicy food either, Father, so I prepared mostly light dishes.

I’d be upset if the food got wet, so please make a space again this time.”

“Make a space” meant creating a large bubble of air in this world filled with water.

The sun god had lost all believers except Giovanni and had grown weak, but for a brief moment, he could still grant a miracle like that.

“...”

Using that miracle just to eat might look a little absurd to others, but—

“No, still, people have to eat to live.

Is there some rule that even gods aren’t allowed to eat?”

“ ”

“If anyone complains about this, entrust that wretched soul to this son.

I’ll scold them soundly.”

“ ”

“Someone who bullies you for eating is the strange one.”

The sun god was very happy.

He truly was the pig god.

‘Can a god gain weight too?’

The thought occurred to Gio, but he quickly shook his head inwardly.

It felt too shameless to hope that an intangible counterpart—one without even a voice, let alone a body—would gain weight just because he ate.

Anyway, the fellow who had been so dispirited and wilted at first that he even refused meals was now unfolding the table as if demanding it at once, and that made Gio feel wonderful.

Giovanni smiled brightly with satisfaction.

As a priest of the sun, warm light rippled around him.

“Thanks to Honey working hard, today’s meal became very abundant.”

At Gio’s praise, Honey entered the air bubble and thrust out his chest proudly.

He looked like he wanted not only Gio’s praise, but the sun god’s as well.

“Ggurururururur.”

“ ”

“Ggurukggurukgguruk!”

Soon, Honey’s body glowed brightly for a brief moment.

“He praised you.”

“Gguruk.”

It resembled sunlight.

‘Maybe because Honey is an animal that evolved by drinking lulupu sap, he especially likes the sun god.’

Lulupu that grows in the painted forest’s spring water was a flower that grew under moonlight and sunlight.

Strictly speaking, since he was born from the sun and the moon, it was understandable that he liked the sun god.

‘He’s like a grandchild showing off in front of Grandpa.’

Anyway, he was cute, so it was fine.

Gio watched fondly as Honey wiggled his rear or flapped his wings, following the light that could be called the sun god’s touch.

Thanks to Honey acting especially adorable, the sun god’s wariness also crumbled easily, and he was able to be accepted again.

“...”

Communion with the Sun God

“Then shall I try preparing the meal.”

Thanks to the sun god evaporating some of the water with heat, the food didn’t get wet even when he brought it in.

Today, what Gio made was assorted sashimi and sushi, warm fish soup and rice to go with it.

And fried fish to serve as side dishes.

The fried fish was lightly fried, and he prepared both a tangy sauce and a spicy sauce separately so they could dip as each wished, so he expected there would be less resistance from the two spice-weaklings.

“Let’s eat, then. I’m finished preparing.”

“Ggururururu!!”

Honey came flying in first, combatively flapping wings as big as his own body.

Then he stood before the whole fried fish Gio had set aside for him, but the fish was ten times Honey’s size.

“It is big.”

Honestly, it was a funny sight.

“Then Father, please come down as well.

It tastes best when you eat it while it’s warm.”

“ ”

At Gio’s words, the sun god’s power, in affirmation, soon spread somewhere.

The warm light reached the platinum-white teddy bear that had been placed demurely near Gio’s entrance frame.

And soon, a teddy bear a little smaller than a child began to move.

“Kuwoong.”

“Welcome.”

The sun god had descended.

To eat.

‘Pigs.’

It was cute.

“Kuwoong, ku...”

“Would you like help?”

“Ku.”

Perhaps because it had been placed underwater, the teddy bear couldn’t walk properly and flailed.

With the body of an old, worn teddy bear, it seemed hard to escape the water pressure and resistance.

Gio gladly slipped his hand under the teddy bear’s side and lifted it.

Then he placed the teddy bear imbued with the sun god in front of the dishes.

“Kuwoong.”

“I’m glad it seems to please you.”

It was very cute, but from Giovanni’s position as his son, it was also a little heartbreaking.

‘He has grown so weak that even entering a mere doll doesn’t strain him.’

Of course, this also wasn’t the sun god fully entering it—he would have put in only a part, enough to allow eating.

Still, since the sun god’s ego was being expressed through the teddy bear, it meant an important power that served as the god’s heart—or brain—had settled into it.

And yet the doll didn’t burst, and the sun god didn’t feel discomfort.

Since Giovanni was his only believer, it seemed unavoidable that his power had weakened compared to his prime.

“...”

It was a miracle in itself that the sun god was avoiding extinction with only Giovanni.

“Then let’s eat.”

“Kuwoong.”

“Ggururururuk.”

One human, one waterfowl, and one teddy bear began eating without anyone needing to say who would go first.

The teddy bear, which should have contained nothing but stuffing, opened its mouth wide and chomped a fried fish into it.

Gio marveled anew.

‘Remarkable.’

He saw it every time, but he still couldn’t understand what structure it used to savor and digest.

“Honey, how is it?

Is the fish cooked well?”

“Ggururuk.”

“Good. Avoid only this sauce.

It’ll be a little spicy for you.”

Just in case, he had placed the spicy sauce in the middle of the table, but he was certain no one would touch it.

Because this sauce was made exclusively for Gio.

“...”

Now then.

‘Shall I start with sashimi.’

Honey, perhaps because he’d already gone and eaten a bunch of fresh innards earlier, targeted the fried fish first.

And the sun god, following the tastes of the humans who once served him, didn’t eat raw food well and was eating rice and fish soup.

Somehow, he wanted to poke at what others weren’t doing first.

‘Sashimi tastes best when it’s fresh, too.’

Gio picked up a piece of sashimi right away.

“...Hmm...”

He’d seen it plenty while cleaning it, but it really did look unusual.

‘The color is like salmon, and it’s soft like salmon, but unlike salmon, the flesh has elasticity—still fascinating.

Thanks to that, even frying it wasn’t as burdensome as salmon.’

Dipping it lightly in soy sauce, he could feel the flesh, chewy yet melting away softly in his mouth.

“Mahi-tta.”

“Kuwoong.”

“Ku.”

Seeing how everyone was reacting happily on their own, Gio felt good as well.

Perhaps Honey, who wanted to finish hunting quickly, had snatched up an entire school of fish at once—every fish he caught was the same flatfish wearing salmon’s disguise.

But the taste and texture were so special that it didn’t get tiresome.

‘And it isn’t completely lacking in fat, either.’

If there was one peculiar thing about this fish, it was that when eaten as sashimi it was fatty, but when heated—fried or boiled—all the oil escaped.

Thanks to that, even a fish soup made with few ingredients could still have a deep flavor.

“How is the soup?”

“Kuwoong.”

“As your priest, I’m glad it pleases you.”

Gio looked at Honey again.

“Honey, you...”

“Kuwoong.”

“Yes, you’re eating well.”

Looking at these pigs.

‘I’ll start... with cold things, then eat other things next.’

Thinking about eating dessert later, he felt his insides needed to be warm so cold jelly would go down better.

Gio decided to finish the sashimi and sushi he was eating now, then try something else.

Sashimi with not-too-heavy fat that flowed out like meat juices didn’t feel separate from the sushi either.

‘Flounder sushi has the rice grains feeling separate.’

It wasn’t that he disliked flounder sushi, but he thought the distinctly springy chew of flounder flesh and the plump, rolling grains of sushi rice were too assertive.

So Seo Gio preferred salmon sushi that was so soft it slid down the throat with barely any chewing.

But this sushi was different.

The sushi rice, with delicate air worked into it, spread wide like a net the moment it entered his mouth, and the sashimi on top resisted his teeth for a moment, then melted softly away.

Vinegared rice seasoned with sushi vinegar and sashimi that exuded a bit of oil made an excellent combination.

“Mmm.”

Gio ate all of his share of sashimi and sushi.

Whatever the others left would all end up as Gio’s share.

‘Next is fried fish.’

Thanks to the sun god’s care, it stayed dry, but no matter what, fried food easily loses its crispness.

Gio chose fried fish as his next opponent after sashimi.

“...Since there was so much, I didn’t coat it separately with batter.

It’s already fried in oil, and the fish flesh is plump as well...”

As Gio offered excuses that weren’t quite excuses, Honey and the teddy bear tossed him a look that said, ‘What are you talking about while we’re eating?’

As the one who cooked, Gio felt his heart lighten in an instant.

‘There’s nothing that warms my heart like pigs who eat well.’

They looked like the sort who’d eat even lye happily if it tasted good.

As the cook, it was impossible not to feel satisfied.

“Sorry for interrupting.

Let’s just eat.”

“Kuwoong.”

“Ggurukgguruk.”

“...”

Come to think of it, did the teddy bear’s cries take after Honey?

‘I’ve always felt it, but they’re quite similar.’

He didn’t think further, because he was hungry.

“Ah, hot.”

Fortunately, the fried fish was still warm and crisp.

It was thanks to the sun god’s care, who had showered down his blessing of the sun without sparing it—whether it was simply because he wanted to eat deliciously himself, he didn’t know, but it was good either way.

Crunch—!

“Oh.”

As expected of the sun god, he tolerated not a single drop of humidity.

‘The crisp fried skin and the moist juices inside are exquisite.’

Since there were thirty-three fish and it had been hard to clean them one by one, he had fried them whole, and perhaps because of that, the inside held glossy meat juices.

The oil that had lingered in the flesh had drained out and stayed in the skin, so it almost felt like eating chicken.

‘Maybe because it’s fried, the flesh got much chewier too.’

Not unpleasantly elastic, but with just enough resistance to feel good.

If he chewed without putting too much force into his teeth, he could feel the grain unravel like silk threads against the inside of his mouth.

“...”

It’s delicious even without dipping it in sauce.

‘Is it because the skin is salty?’

This fish, in particular, had seawater seeped deeply into its skin.

After removing the moisture, what remained was saltiness, and for whatever reason, even after frying once, the seasoning was exquisite.

‘The inside flesh is so light it almost tastes sweet, but it’s full of juices, and the skin is especially fatty and crisp... they match incredibly well.’

Dipping it in spicy sauce made the rice go down effortlessly.

“...”

Slurp.

Fish soup boiled like doenjang soup was also very good.

“...Since the fish is so fresh, I tried something like this.”

“Ggururuk.”

“Yeah, this is better than I expected.”

It wasn’t some great sauce.

He simply dissolved some doenjang into water, added well-cleaned fish, and then added radish and green onion.

Even so, the fish soup with deep savoriness was like drinking long-simmered bone broth.

‘If the fish had even a little fishiness, you couldn’t do it like this.’

That was why, when people say fish soup, they think of spicy fish stew.

Unless the fish was freshly caught, it was rarely not fishy.

Especially when boiled into soup, seafood fishiness rises more strongly, so usually people covered it with spiciness.

But Gio, who had the sea inside his cabin, didn’t need that.

Freshly caught, still-flopping fish was incredibly fresh, and with only doenjang he could complete a deeply flavorful soup.

“Hoo...”

His insides were so warm it felt like if he fell asleep like this, he wouldn’t wake up until evening.

“Nice.”

“Kuwoong?”

“Yes, I’m full.”

Ah, right.

“I’m simmering bone broth, so I’ll come again once it’s done.”

“Kuwoong.”

“Yes, Father, this will be your first time with bone soup, right?

It has a much deeper taste than this fish soup...”

Traits of big eaters.

They talk about eating while eating.

Fantasy, modern,