Chapter 5

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons — Chapter 5

From some point on, a strange rumor began to spread.

“They say there’s a ghost.”

At a coworker’s words, a curator who had been about to head down to the basement furrowed his brow.

“...Pardon?”

“You know the basement 5th-floor gallery.”

“Ah, yes.

I know.”

There was no way he wouldn’t.

“The piece I was newly assigned to is on basement floor 5, too.”

The Collector’s gallery only allowed entry to its owner, Guildmaster Bisabeol, about 300 curators, and guests who came to purchase artworks.

The gallery had a total of five floors.

Each floor differed in the kinds or forms of works gathered there, and among them, the final 5th floor held only the works Bisabeol loved the most.

For reference, Bisabeol’s affection for a work and its danger were proportional.

That the piece this curator was in charge of was on the 5th floor meant, in other words, that.

“Did something happen on that 5th floor?

Since the danger is high, it’s a floor with strict management.”

To that question, the coworker answered.

“I told you earlier.

They say a ghost shows up.”

“...It isn’t that I’ve never heard the rumor at all.

So what I mean is, I’m asking what incident or accident this rumor came from.”

Smiling awkwardly, the curator—perhaps out of habit—naturally rubbed at his neck.

“There have already been several ghost commotions in this gallery up to now, haven’t there.”

Bisabeol’s gallery, which gathered all sorts of bizarre and beautiful works in the world, had long been prone to accidents.

Because Bisabeol collected everything that was treated as ‘art,’ he didn’t care even if its true nature was, in practical terms, a monster.

And most of the ghost commotions that had happened in this gallery until now had been caused by monsters.

“Which work’s monster is it?

Since they’re calling it a ghost, it seems like it’d be close to humanoid.”

“They say it’s human.”

“That makes even less sense.

Are you telling me a humanoid monster got into our gallery?”

In a situation like this, if it was evaluated to the extent of being called ‘human,’ then naturally the only thing that could exist was a humanoid monster.

“Why would such a dangerous monster not be in a dungeon and be in a gallery like this.

Especially if it’s humanoid, its intelligence would be high and its pride strong.”

Humanoid monsters were not only rare; on average, they possessed intelligence beyond that of humans, and their hatred toward the outside of the dungeon was also intense.

Humanoid monsters that possessed intelligence and force usually reigned over their own dungeon and toyed with hunters who came to visit.

“If that were really the case, why would the guild building be this quiet?

It would have burst out long ago and killed everyone...”

“That’s why it’s strange.

Everything we can grasp about the situation is contradictory.”

The coworker continued.

“We’ve already gotten seventeen complaints.”

“Seventeen?”

Curator Yoo Seongun first heard the rumor about the ‘ghost’ two weeks ago.

If seventeen complaints had come in within only two weeks, it was hard to treat it as mere hearsay.

“That’s fairly frequent.

If it’s to that extent, it seems like it wouldn’t have stopped at just rumors.”

“HR is controlling the information.

As you know, it wouldn’t be good for rumors that a problem occurred in the guildmaster’s gallery to spread outside.”

“That too, yes.

If there’s a problem with the Collector, who holds Korea’s purse strings, the president would jump up right away.”

“It doesn’t feel like a joke, so I can’t laugh.

Fortunately, the scale of the incident itself is small, so controlling it wasn’t difficult.”

Having said that, the HR employee soon let out a sigh.

“But if they’re filing formal complaints with me, it means it isn’t something that can be brushed off.”

“Even though the curators wouldn’t be such easy hunters, complaints came in...”

“It means they judged they couldn’t handle it at their level.”

“This is a bit troublesome.”

Unlike ordinary curators, curators who held hunter licenses were erudite beings.

Even if their martial strength wasn’t extremely high, their ability to appraise and respond to monsters and items was far superior to ordinary hunters.

Among them, Bisabeol had hired the sort of talent counted among the best in the world.

That such talents couldn’t solve it themselves and filed complaints to the HR assistant manager right in front of them meant this incident was no small matter.

“...Well, this...”

At this point, Curator Yoo Seongun also felt he understood why HR had called him in.

“What should I do?”

“I’m sorry, since you must be busy as it is.”

“No, if an incident occurs, I also have a duty to respond.”

He was an employee whose ability was recognized even among the curators Bisabeol personally hired.

As a hunter, he was already A-rank, and he had countless certifications related to alchemy and barriers as well.

Someone like Yoo Seongun was often summoned like this when additional work arose.

He was used to being saddled with work in this way.

“Reliable.”

With his characteristically cold face, the HR coworker continued.

“We’d be grateful if Mr. Yoo Seongun would take on the role of managing general affairs.”

“I appreciate the confidence, but that’s still a bit...”

Yoo Seongun shook his head.

“Isn’t it a strange look for someone who used to be an Association researcher to take on general affairs too?”

“I remember you weren’t just any researcher—you were a research team leader.”

“Right, so.

How many glares did I get when I left the Association.

I have no intention of standing out.”

“If that’s truly the case, I won’t press you further.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Scratching at his neck, Yoo Seongun asked.

“Anyway, if it’s happened seventeen times, doesn’t that mean the monster has no intention of hiding its appearance?”

“...”

“If it were a monster with concealment ability strong enough to pass our guild’s inspections and be displayed safely in the gallery, it could have hidden itself as much as it wanted.”

At that, as if he had been waiting, the HR employee nodded.

“As it happens, I was about to tell you the information we have on this ghost.”

“That’s welcome news.”

“It’s a strange phenomenon that’s been sighted seventeen times.

We can’t be lax in gathering information.”

The employee continued.

“Thanks to the other curators being capable people as well—though not to the extent of Mr. Seongun—fortunately we were able to hear various stories about the ghost.”

The HR employee handed Yoo Seongun some documents.

“As you’ll see when you read it...”

“There are drawings too?”

“Based on the witnesses’ testimony, we added illustrations.”

“Hmm.”

As Yoo Seongun peered at the illustrations, the HR employee explained.

“In all seventeen sightings, the ghost’s outfit did not change.

They say he wore a large black cloak big enough to cover his face and body entirely, and inside, he wore a black shirt and a suit.

His height was about 188 cm, quite tall for a humanoid.”

“Then is his build somewhat solid?”

“Because the cloak was voluminous, detailed confirmation wasn’t possible, but most evaluations said he was at least not thin.

That said, he was never evaluated as being burly, either.”

“If they couldn’t confirm the inside to that extent, then it seems nobody can know whether the inside is truly humanoid.

It could be an undead type.

Why did you judge it a humanoid monster?”

“There was exactly one curator who saw his face.”

“Oh.”

“To describe it...”

The HR employee continued.

“They said he was handsome.

The curator’s standards were high.”

“...”

“...It may sound absurd, but if someone who examines the opposite sex’s looks very thoroughly says he’s handsome, then his features are surely very distinct and well-arranged.

And we defined that as human.”

“No... handsome or not, what are the characteristics?”

With an uncomfortable expression, Yoo Seongun asked.

“Hair color, the shape of the eyes, the state of the skin, a mole somewhere... those kinds of characteristics.

It doesn’t look like you included a face illustration—was there no testimony about that?”

“Unfortunately, it was only a very brief glimpse, so that curator also couldn’t confirm proper characteristics.

However, they said that in that instant, the thought ‘handsome’ came to mind, and they only recalled this after regaining their senses after running away, so there’s nothing I can tell you regarding external features.”

The assistant manager added,

“For some reason, they all say it’s hard to make eye contact.

So it’s difficult to describe the face’s outward form.

If they can’t look at the eyes, naturally they won’t know what the face looks like.”

“Then he may have an eye-related skill, or that might be the core.

Then what about parts like the hands or feet rather than the face?”

“Fortunately, I think I can tell you about that.”

The HR employee nodded.

“They say his skin was extremely pale.

We received testimony that it was skin as white as someone who’d never once been in sunlight, and it stood out especially among the all-black outfit.”

“Is that so?

Then perhaps it’s a monster with a story...

It could have drifted in from some dungeon.”

“And they also said he was barefoot.”

“Was it to avoid making noise?”

At Yoo Seongun’s muttering, the HR employee denied it firmly.

“That isn’t it.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because ‘when the ghost walked, there was no sound at all.’ All seventeen curators testified consistently.

Even if he was barefoot, there would be sound, so there was no need to take off shoes.”

“Then the lack of sound when walking is simply an individual trait of the monster.”

In such cases, usually there were two possibilities.

‘Either it’s a monster with a skill to conceal sound, or it’s a monster so light that it makes no sound at all...’

Since they said they judged it to be humanoid, the probability of the former was likely higher.

“...”

Yoo Seongun soon frowned.

“Did you report it to the guildmaster?

If it really is a humanoid monster, it’s not just something to write about, it’s research material.”

“We already reported it, but he only said to keep it from being known outside as much as possible and to verify it internally.

He said he doesn’t want it taken as research material by the Hunter Association.”

“...I understand what you mean.

If it’s the guildmaster, that’s possible.”

Yoo Seongun nodded. The words ‘what if someone dies’ did not come out.

In a world like this, the life of someone who died working was treated like a roadside pebble.

‘Still, Bisabeol is someone who cherishes his employees very much, so I can believe he’s taken measures on that point.

He’s not the kind of boss who makes you do dangerous things without thinking...’

Then the HR employee said,

“Starting next week, we plan to begin curator safety reinforcement training.

They say an artifact will be gifted to all trainees, so please be sure to take one as well, Mr. Yoo Seongun.”

“Ah.”

Of course.

He understood.

“As expected, our guild really works hard.

It even knows how to value human lives.”

“Those are kind words.

It’s all under the guildmaster’s orders, though.”

The HR employee continued the explanation.

“The first time the ghost was sighted was fifteen days ago, at 4:32 a.m.”

“At 4 a.m., that would have been a time when there were quite few people.

Even our gallery, with no day or night, would likewise be empty and idle then.”

“That’s right.

It’s one of this ghost’s characteristics, too.

We don’t know whether it’s conscious of people’s eyes or there’s a condition like that, but it usually insists on dawn, when employees don’t visit much.”

“It sounds like either timid or crafty, one of the two...”

As he turned the pages, Yoo Seongun tilted his head.

The materials that should have been organized were not.

It didn’t seem like something had been accidentally left out.

“...And there are no casualties at all.”

It wasn’t like a humanoid monster.

“...”

No, it just wasn’t like a monster.

‘...Even if humanoid monsters are beings skilled at schemes, it’s certainly an unusual case to spend two weeks doing nothing but watching people.

Even if it’s a delayed attack that uses some other mental-type skill so a bomb goes off later... there’s no way this tightly secured guild wouldn’t notice.’

Then it meant this ‘ghost’ truly had been doing nothing but watching people for two full weeks.

“A monster without hostility shouldn’t exist?”

Yoo Seongun, who had once been an Association researcher, knew how great monsters’ hostility toward Earth’s lifeforms was.

It was a level no humanoid monster, no matter how intelligent, could bear.

Even if that were possible, monsters had no knowledge or understanding of humans.

Even if they approached humans with goodwill, there was no way it would ever have a good effect.

‘Is that why it was evaluated as a ghost.’

At least a ghost would have a high level of understanding of humans.

As Yoo Seongun thought that inwardly, the employee’s explanation reached his ears.

“The sighting locations have been gradually getting closer to aboveground the more recent they are.”

“...Mm...”

“Starting from the first sighting, for a total of seven times it lingered around basement floor 5, then four times on floor 4, then two times on floor 3.

Then two times on floor 2.

Then one time on floor 1.

It came up one floor at a time.”

“...Isn’t that a bit dangerous?”

“But the last sighting—the seventeenth sighting—was set against basement floor 5.”

“Ah, it went back down?”

“And since then, for five days, there haven’t been any sightings.”

“Then...”

“It seems it finished exploring.”

“A headache.”

Finding a monster that had already hidden itself in its own home was an even harder matter.

“Are there no other unusual points?

Its behavioral pattern, for example.

Monsters like this usually establish their own rules and try to shove other humans into that frame.

And if it’s humanoid, it seems like it would have even more personal rules.”

The employee nodded.

“As you said, there was an unusual point.”

“What is it?”

“They say it gives gifts.”

“...”

I don’t think I’ve lived that long, but even so, to hear that a monster gives gifts.

‘...The works in the gallery do sometimes take that kind of course of action, but if you consider it that way, it becomes a little difficult to define this thing as a simple monster...’

Having organized his thoughts, Yoo Seongun asked again.

“...A gift, you say?”

“...”

As if empathizing with Yoo Seongun’s voice full of distrust, the employee made a subtle expression, then cleared his throat once and returned to a blank face.

The employee continued the explanation.

“They say when you first meet the ghost, he approaches while pretending to be human.”

“Who would believe that...”

“Perhaps he truly believes he’s human.

Anyway, after that, he requests a conversation with the employee he met.

What your name is.

How old you are.

What work you do.

Where this is.

Why you are here.”

“...”

“The content is mostly everyday and nothing special.

He doesn’t ask as far as deep personal information, and they say that even this, if you’re reluctant to reveal your personal details, he doesn’t pry further.

If you successfully finish the conversation to the end like that, the ghost gives a gift.”

The HR employee gestured to look through the papers.

With an uncomfortable face, Yoo Seongun flipped through them, and he saw photos of the ‘gifts’ the employees had received.

“...This is...”

“Yes, as you can see, it’s food.”

“What kind of domestic monster is this?”

In the photos were bite-sized snacks—cookies, chocolate, candy—laid out.

Seeing the neat, frugal wrapping paper, no matter how he thought about it, it was homemade.

Homemade snacks made by a monster—if it came out as an article, people would curse them for lying, and to lie less, at that.

“Have you done ingredient analysis?”

“By the guildmaster’s order, we carried it out, and the test results came out a week ago.”

“Poison, or...”

“No, it was medicine, on the contrary.

Types like anemia medicine, digestive medicine, painkillers, antipyretics, antidiarrheals.”

“...”

“The research team couldn’t figure out how ordinary cookies or chocolate could have such medicinal properties.

Since the taste and the component ingredients were all ordinary snacks.”

Yoo Seongun flicked the pages and asked.

“Then how did you detect the effect of the ingredients?”

“As you know, with the guildmaster’s full support...”

“Did you drag them in from the prison again.

In many ways, that side is the cleanest.”

“It’s a place full of test subjects that are easy to use.”

“That’s true.

But even for having received the prison’s help, the research was fast?”

“For some reason, the guildmaster happened to have prisoners prepared.”

In an era when even the life of a healthy employee was treated like a pebble, criminals’ human rights were nonexistent.

As someone who made very good use of that fact, the Collector’s guildmaster had likely used such criminals in this experiment as well.

The HR employee continued.

“What’s even more surprising is that the gift was exactly the right medicine for the employee.”

“...So you mean he gave snacks with digestive-medicine properties to an employee with indigestion, and snacks with antipyretic properties to an employee with a fever?”

“Exactly.”

“...”

Yoo Seongun rubbed his face.

“That means it has an appraisal skill that can be used on living beings too, and if so, its grade will be quite high.”

“It’s a troublesome opponent.

Because it’s showing goodwill toward us.”

“A monster that causes a disturbance would be easier—this one can’t be subdued or persuaded.”

Letting out a long sigh, Yoo Seongun nodded as if accepting the fate of being assigned additional work.

“I’ll take it.

This is my specialty.”

“Thank you.

And there’s one thing I need to tell you...”

“What is it.”

“The date when the incidents started.”

“This feels ominous.”

“It happened after the guildmaster displayed ‘Gio’s portrait’ in the gallery.”

“...Ah...”

At Yoo Seongun’s exclamation, the HR employee looked at him with pity.

“...”

“...”

And that was because ‘Gio’s portrait’ was the work Yoo Seongun would now be newly in charge of.

“...Overtime again.”

A dry laugh came out on its own.

“Hang in there.”

“I will.”

He was already tired.

Fantasy, modern,