Chapter 68

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons — Episode 68

From the moment she was born, she was acknowledged by the sea.

The mermaid—Aria—who had been the deep sea’s successor from birth, was always curious about what lay beneath the sun, where she had neither duty nor authority to rule.

And there, she met a human.

“Now, Aria.

Look at this cross-section.

Human skin has layers.”

“Is it different from a mermaid’s skin?”

“A little. A mermaid’s skin can endure even the deep sea, so...”

He was her teacher.

“What are you drawing right now?”

“Aria, I was drawing you.”

“This is a painting of the sea.”

“The sea is the mermaid.”

He was her friend.

“Understanding humans is good, but empathizing isn’t bad either.”

“There doesn’t seem to be a difference.”

“Just empathizing can accomplish more than understanding.”

“...”

He was family.

Giovanni was the only existence equal to Aria, or perhaps higher than her.

He was different from Iser, the younger brother who needed to be protected and cared for.

With Giovanni, Aria could have interesting conversations.

No matter what Aria did, Giovanni could handle her.

That there could exist gears that fit together perfectly.

“Aria.”

“Yes.”

“Please do not harm humans.”

That is what he thought.

“Why should I?”

“Because I do not want that.”

“That’s selfish.”

“Aria, this foolish priest always said it, didn’t he?”

“That caring for each other and adjusting is what a relationship is.”

“I’m glad you remember.”

Aria thought that she and Giovanni were gears that would never become misaligned, but Giovanni did not think so.

He always spoke about hatred.

“I am human, and Aria is a mermaid.

Our ways of thinking and expressing are different, yet we can become this close.

Until now, Aria has yielded many things to me, and has also taken a corresponding price.”

“So do that this time too?”

“If you truly dislike it, fighting me and winning is also one method.

I prefer resolving differences through conversation rather than conflict, but Aria may like a clearer method.”

“Gio, I don’t want to fight you.

So I’ll yield.”

“That we can avoid hating each other despite our differing views is truly a happy thing.

Then shall we put up the clams Aria likes for dinner today?”

It was pleasant.

“Is this the human way?

It’s quite bothersome.”

“Not all humans are like this.

I always say it, but humans are far more varied and fickle than mermaids.

If you wish to interact with other humans later...”

“I don’t want to interact with such vulgar ones.”

“I see.”

When she was with him, it was enjoyable.

It was something rare that she couldn’t find even among her own kind.

“It would be nice if you became a mermaid.”

“Unfortunately, when I die, I will return to the sun’s side.

That is what I want.”

“Well, humans are sensitive to the cold.

The sun’s side will be warmer than the deep sea.

I admit that too.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Then, Gio.

“...”

“...”

When I graciously let you go, you should have returned to the sun’s side.

“...S-sister...”

“What happened to Giovanni?”

After barely saving her younger brother who had been dragged to the temple while helping humans, and destroying every temple on the surface, for some reason she could not find even a single fragment of Giovanni’s bones.

The younger brother, who came to his senses after nearly a year, could not even cry as he answered.

“I ate him.”

The younger brother was smiling.

“Because I was hungry, I ate him.

The humans poured some kind of drug into that narrow fishbowl...”

“...”

“...His remaining corpse probably rotted and dissolved in the water.

Even though I ate almost all of it.”

“Ah-ha.”

Perhaps because she had already kept the worst she could not imagine in mind, it was not all that shocking.

‘Gio always worried that I would be hurt after he died, but I’m not as shaken as I thought I would be.’

She was quite calm.

“I see.”

But she could not stop searching for even his last trace—even the water his body had rotted into.

Killing every human she could see, she continued to search for Gio’s corpse.

And in the dwelling of the pope who had received the greatest love from the sun, she was able to find Gio.

“...”

He had become water.

“...It reeks of fish.”

It was like looking at seawater.

“Shall we clean it up, Princess?”

“Leave it.”

“But...”

“If we just leave it, it will flow into the sea.”

Just how long, and along with what, had they trapped the corpse?

When she opened the large idol used as a torture device, his corpse, melted into a viscous sludge like the sap of seaweed, flowed out.

There was not the slightest trace of a human form to be found.

“...”

No, it wasn’t even the form of a living thing.

“But the sea is far from here.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

She could simply pull the sea up to the surface.

“So...”

Until the sun sank, deep.

“...”

Just staring at the corpse that had become water.

“...”

When she was left alone, Aria whispered.

“...I thought that if you died, your cause of death would be a natural death due to the limits of your species.”

“...”

“Humans live shorter than mermaids.

They age quickly, and they are easily corrupted.

So if we were to part in the end... I thought it would be because your value had faded.”

“...”

“That your noble character would be clouded by greed, or your weak body would wither under illness, or you would overcome every trial and die whole and return to the sun’s side.

Those were the only partings I ever imagined.

I had properly understood and accepted that much.”

“...”

“Why did you have to die like this?

Your own value has not faded in the least, and yet you were beaten to death by the hands of gluttons who had eyes but did not see... and you did not even become the sun, but were scattered into the deep sea.”

“...”

“That humans can so easily hate someone without a care—humans really are beings worth researching.”

She couldn’t help but ask.

“Do you not hate humans?”

The mermaid hated humans.

My vastness in facing our farewell came from your mortality, so I never knew the end of this story would be this laughable and miserable.

“Wouldn’t it be cold there?”

You should have gone to the sun’s side, you fool.

“No one won.”

You died protecting mermaids and even after death you trembled in the cold.

Your value was not something that would collapse because of this stupid species conflict.

You could not fail to reach the sun’s side, and have it end at nothing more than becoming a part of the sea—that could not have been all there was.

“...”

The younger brother, the only mermaid who defended humans, shut his mouth.

“Ah...”

Giovanni, the only human who embraced mermaids, lost his mouth.

“...Right.”

“...”

“Now there’s no one left to stop me.”

It was such a shame.

“...”

“...”

“Hey.”

Can’t you feel my sincerity?

* * *

“...Mr. Gio, you’re good at cooking too.”

At Iser’s words, spoken with difficulty, Seo Gio smiled.

“I’m glad you say that.”

“Are you especially skilled at seafood dishes?”

“I’m good at everything overall.”

“Where did you learn this cooking method?”

“Well, just...”

Platinum blond hair close to silver catches his eye.

“Because I wanted to try eating like this.”

“I see.”

Blue eyes that resemble a sun-sparkling surface enter his view.

“It’s just grilled over a campfire, but it was so delicious I had to ask.”

“If it’s something like that, feel free to ask anytime.”

“Because sharing what you know is a happy thing?”

“...Do you have mind-reading among your skills, Eunha-student?”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Because Giovanni always had those words on his lips too.

‘As expected, it’s a little...’

No, very much.

‘It’s too similar.’

At this rate, even my own suspicions that it was merely ‘someone different who looks quite similar’ won’t hold.

‘This can’t go on like this.’

I was well aware that I was doing something stupid.

When the human named Yoo Sungwoon looked at me like, ‘Are you really okay with this,’ I was so pathetic I couldn’t even bring myself to call him arrogant.

“Where is your hometown, Mr. Gio?”

“You may not know it, but it was a deep countryside.”

“The countryside...”

“I farmed sometimes too.”

“I see.”

Even that unusually unpretentious side, strange for a priest of noble origin, was the same.

‘Ah, this won’t do...’

I lost the energy to play games.

‘...If the overall atmosphere of the dungeon has lightened, then even Sister must be flustered.

If even she is flustered, there’s no way I can be fine.

Originally, this wasn’t supposed to drag on like this... at this rate, leaving Earth as quickly as possible would be...’

It would be the way to regain the calm reason I once had.

“...”

But.

Is that okay?

‘...Is it really right for us to leave, leaving Gio behind in this dimension?’

We had wandered through countless dimensions, but there had been no one else who made you think, at a single glance, ‘Ah, this person is Giovanni,’ with such certainty.

But no matter how I thought about it, this person looked like Giovanni’s reincarnation.

‘Then why does he have divinity?

Unless some sun god of some dimension pulled a scheme, no, but... a being like a sun god wouldn’t bother caring what happens to humans, so...’

It was nothing but confusion, but there was one thing that was certain.

“...What do you plan to do afterward?”

These people needed to be sent out quickly.

‘From the looks of it, it’s hard to keep only Gio.

We can just send everyone back together, and after discussing it with Sister and sorting out our thoughts, it won’t be too late to make a new plan.’

The one who answered that question was Yoo Sungwoon.

“First, we need to find a way out.”

“A way out...”

“Usually, in cases like this, there are about three ways it can go.”

Having roughly filled his stomach with fish, Yoo Sungwoon continued.

“The most orthodox way is, of course, to succeed in the raid.

But we don’t have that many hunters, and above all, we’re in a situation with a lot of civilians who will die the moment we take our eyes off them.

There’s no way we can solve a difficult raid with this number of people when we don’t even have enough to protect them.”

“Then what are the other methods?”

“If we have an item like a return stone that lets you leave the dungeon, that works, but this also isn’t exactly a wise choice.

After looking around, it doesn’t seem like this is a dungeon where low-grade items will work... and even if they did, how many items would there be.

Only a few of us could barely escape.”

“That’s true.”

“And the last method is, of course...”

Yoo Sungwoon’s gaze landed on Eunha—on Iser—who was still smiling in a colorless way.

“...”

“...”

“The dungeon’s owner opens the door themselves.”

Iser clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Did he read my thoughts.’

No, it might have been such an obvious ending that it was clear even before he could read thoughts.

To both mermaids and humans, Giovanni’s existence had strayed far beyond prediction.

Both sides were confused, so it seemed to mean, first, regroup, and then face each other again.

A C-rank hunter who had been listening anxiously to Yoo Sungwoon’s words asked,

“T-then will that work?

If something blew up in a sun temple, it looks like the dungeon’s owner really intended to do this... and there are also quite a lot of people who got captured.

It has to be a strong owner.”

“It isn’t entirely impossible.”

Kang Seodam answered in a priest’s low, quiet tone.

“They say a dungeon is a theater stage.

The higher the dungeon’s grade, the more tightly it is intertwined with its owner, and the more closely the raiders can observe the dungeon owner’s story.”

“Uh... why does that...?”

“In other words, if you follow the story well, there are times when, if you’re lucky, the door opens.

The story of a civilian escaping a dungeon after the dungeon was moved by the raider who learned its story is not mere empty boasting.”

“Huh, I thought that was tabloid nonsense...”

“It is a case that happens from time to time.

Especially the more intelligent the owner is, to the point they are close to a humanoid monster, the greater the possibility of escape like that.

In a dungeon of this scale, the owner will surely be close to humanoid as well.”

Around then, Yoo Sungwoon cut in.

“We’re already seeing a similar phenomenon.

Right after we were dragged into the dungeon, there were quite a lot of victims, but look now.

We’re openly lighting a campfire and eating, and yet there are no monsters charging in.”

“Certainly, for a dungeon that has taken in this many raiders, it is strangely stable.

It likely means there has been a change in the mind of the owner who caused this incident.

It feels like we’re being given quite a lot of leeway.”

“If you think about it that way, then for our situation, the third method is the one with the highest success probability.

If we play our cards right, won’t they open the door?”

“I share a similar hope.”

Ah, right.

“...”

Iser decided to just keep his mouth shut.

‘Bad luck.’

The skill of passing dialogue back and forth while pretending not to know my identity was truly top-class.

‘Yoo Sungwoon says he already spoke with him directly, but Priest Kang Seodam can’t not know my identity either.

I already openly revealed deep-sea energy without intending to hide it before... at this point, there’s no way I can pretend to be an ordinary human child.’

Iser turned to Gio.

“I hope things work out, whichever way.

The fish here is tasty too, but...”

“...”

“I still want to go home.”

Then Iser asked.

“What is Mr. Gio’s home like?”

“Ah, it’s an ordinary cabin.”

“A cabin.”

“A cabin in a forest with very few people.”

“...”

Isn’t it a home that suits you very well.

‘...Hearing even those words...’

I can’t just leave you alone.

Iser decided to release the humans caught in the net.

“...”

Since we can always catch them again.

Iser knew human greed toward mermaids.

* * *

The people who had been dragged into an unassigned-grade virtual dungeon returned alive.

The number of survivors reached 80% of the total, and everyone praised it in unison as a miracle.

“If it’s a miracle, I suppose it is.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Gio, keep staying the way you are.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Yeah... like that, right now.”

Yoo Sungwoon shuddered at the efficacy of ‘Gio’s Portrait.’

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons

Fantasy, modern,