chapter 88

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 88

Iser was flustered.

‘The sun god is in a teddy bear...?

Why...?’

It seemed that divinity had been passed on to Gio, but even so, a god’s dignity didn’t just vanish entirely.

Iser knew that the god he had once served dwelled inside the teddy bear in front of him, with its soft, faded golden fur.

‘It looks like it’s something he wanted himself, so I can’t really say anything about it, and now the only believer left is Teacher, so he doesn’t really have to be faithful to his role as a god anymore, either.

He can, he probably will, but still—he was once called the one and only god, so his decorum...’

Having once learned a priest’s capabilities and even now imitating a priest, he couldn’t help but care about a god’s decorum.

‘To begin with, why is a god inside a teddy bear??

Inside a teddy bear, of all things??’

He couldn’t understand it.

“...Sun God-nim?”

“Coo.”

“...”

And why is the crying sound cute, too?

“...Th-then... is it that you like this shell?”

“Coo.”

“May I ask the intention behind entering a teddy bear?”

“Coo-coo, coo-oo-coo... coo-coo-coo.”

“...”

Since Iser couldn’t understand a word, Gio interpreted for him.

“He says it’s to eat.”

“...An appetite...?”

“He does have one.”

“Why?”

Does it make any sense for a god to have an appetite?

“A god, that’s... he’s a god, after all.”

“Surely you’re not saying a god mustn’t even eat...?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I understand what you meant.”

“You do?”

“Of course.”

Gio had, before he knew it, become platinum blond.

With the dignified smile characteristic of a priest, he nodded.

“Strictly speaking, you mean to ask why a god—who would have had no need to eat and wouldn’t even have felt such a desire—would use something as trivial as a teddy bear’s body just to eat.”

“...That’s exactly it.”

“As for that part, to be honest, even I find it hard to properly explain.

I just brought meals over without thinking, and at some point he started getting greedy for food...”

“...Ah...”

Iser, now able to accept it somewhat, let out a sigh of relief.

It was the expression of someone reassured after hearing the answer to a difficult problem.

“So the cause was you, Teacher, after all.”

“Why do you always speak as though whenever something I can’t understand happens, I’m the cause?”

“You’re not asking because you truly don’t know, are you?

Surely not?”

“Well, anyway.”

Gio lightly smiled as he stacked the clam basket Iser was holding atop his own basket.

“Shall we gradually get used to it, and for now prepare the meal?”

“Prepare the meal...”

“Since it won’t be long until dinnertime, if we’re going to prepare plenty to eat, I think we should start cooking right away.”

“Y-yes.”

As someone who’d been invited, Iser readily agreed.

In their culture sphere, an invitation into one’s home was practically the same as saying they would treat you to a meal.

For Iser, bringing up food right away was the more familiar approach.

“I didn’t get to hear in detail—what’s on the menu?”

“Hmm, grilled clams and tomato stew.”

“Edlen stew?”

“Most likely.”

In Edlen Village, where they had spent their childhood, tomato stew was synonymous with “Edlen stew.”

It was a stew simmered using the village specialty—freshwater—and seafood.

“Ah, that sounds nice...”

At a name he hadn’t heard in a long time, Iser’s face, which had been a bit stiff, loosened.

“That village’s stew was truly delicious.

Especially the stew you made, Teacher—it was even more remarkable...”

“Even if time has passed, my cooking skill hasn’t rusted, so you may look forward to it as much as you like.”

Nodding, Gio said, “Ah,” and asked,

“I’d like one person to help me.”

Two pale hands rose at the same time.

“I will.”

“I will.”

“...”

“...”

The mermaid siblings looked at each other.

“...I will do it.”

“Cooking is, in any case, something I do better.”

“Wasn’t it always Teacher who took full charge of cooking, and our role was to assist?

If it’s to that extent, then rather than older sister, I would be better suited.”

“I’m not sure in what sense you’d be better suited.

A person who cooks well also assists well, Iser.”

“I will not back down, on my honor as a mermaid.”

“Then there’s no helping it.

By the sea’s tradition, when opinions can’t be reconciled, we settle it with force...”

At that point, Gio cut in.

“This seems like it will take a long time, so I will simply handle it myself.”

At those words, the mermaids reached an agreement in an instant with rock-paper-scissors.

“I won... I will assist.”

“Is that right?”

It felt questionable, but honestly, it was a pretty funny sight, so it didn’t matter.

“Come to think of it, rock-paper-scissors existed in our region as well.”

“Ah, you said Earth has the same culture, right.”

“Yes.

I understand it’s a game that exists in quite a lot of countries.”

“I see.”

Left on her own, Aria only clicked her tongue.

“I should have trained more.”

“Coo?”

“I’m sorry, sir god, but could you not act like we’re close?”

“Coo-coo-coo...”

“You’re laughing?”

Gio led Iser into the kitchen.

“Then shall we wash the clams?”

“This really feels like the old days.”

“For that, Iser has grown a lot.”

“Even now, I can shrink.”

“My little Iser was not only small, but cute as well, so that’s impossible now.”

“Ah... so I’m not cute anymore.”

“For a grown, mass-slaughter war-criminal mermaid to shrink and look cute is a bit...”

“Everything you say is correct, Teacher.”

Iser accepted it readily.

“Now, what should I help you with, Teacher?”

“Hmm... certainly not cute.”

With the practiced air of an accomplished gentleman—without even a trace of shyness—Giovanni felt a little sad.

“Is this the heart of a parent?”

“Our parents exist separately, though...”

“To begin with, mermaids aren’t very attached to blood relations.”

“In that sense, Teacher was certainly closer to the word ‘guardian.’”

“A joke doesn’t land—how did you grow up into such a boring adult.”

Gio laughed lightly and took a clam from the basket.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen sunlight conch.”

“Has it?”

“There was a time I wondered why it was called sunlight conch when it grows underground.”

Edlen Village’s underground cavern had a few small holes, and sunlight and moonlight would enter through them.

Sunlight conch tended to hide in great numbers around the areas where that light came in.

“Let’s see...”

Sunlight Conch

A conch characterized by its transparent shell and body.

Only females exist, and they reproduce by mating with the moonlight conch, which consists only of males.

When the sun rises, it comes out once every two hours to bask in the sunlight, then hides beneath the surface.

If boiled in hot water, the body turns white, but the shell remains unchanged.

The older the individual, the better the medicinal efficacy of its shell and body.

It lives only near purification rocks.

Pill-making method: If you remove the body without boiling it and dry it in the sunlight, it hardens and becomes like a transparent pebble.

If taken like a pill, it is good for restoring eyesight.

If the shell is left in the sunlight, it retains that warmth 그대로.

If you finely grind an extremely heated shell into powder and then take it, it is good for heart disease.

“...”

“Teacher?”

“I didn’t know it had such medicinal effects.”

To be used for restoring eyesight or heart disease—speaking as a doctor, it was a bit absurd.

“Heart disease...”

“Teacher...?”

“Does your heart hurt, Iser, by any chance?”

“You resemble older sister’s gaze when she expects an experimental subject, but unfortunately I am very healthy.”

Iser said with a neat smile.

“Of course, if you want, I can capture one right now.”

“Are you saying you’ll harm people right in front of me, a doctor and a priest?

How much more responsibility are you trying to take on?”

“If it’s a beast with a human shape, wouldn’t it be suitable as an experimental subject?

One that lacks the qualifications of a human...”

“If it’s a beast that committed child sexual crimes, I might be able to accept it.”

“You haven’t changed. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But still, it is surprising.”

He had never imagined the “sunlight conch” in the region where he lived carried such medicinal properties.

Even if it was a specialty of Edlen Village, it wasn’t that precious, and it was so common there were heaps of it.

“I’ve seen many people grind the shell and use it as paint, though.”

“Didn’t you do that too, Teacher?

Especially when drawing mermaids, you mainly used shell paint.”

“Yes. When I drew the sea, I thought it would be nice if the paint smelled of the sea as well.”

But he hadn’t known that powder could treat heart disease.

“...”

He had researched it separately, but he had never discovered such efficacy.

“...Maybe it’s an effect I can see because the current me has changed...”

“...Have you changed?”

“In many ways, I have changed.”

From a human into a portrait, for one.

“Anyway, good is good.”

Clink.

Gio stopped thinking.

“My ultimate positive mindset does not change according to my existence’s raison d’être.”

“I don’t know what an ultimate positive mindset is, but wouldn’t it be fine if it changed a bit...”

“Do we really have to live that tiredly?

This teacher believes not, Iser.”

“With that way of thinking, how can you be confident you’re an ordinary human?”

“My life does not change because of others’ gaze.”

After reaffirming his firm self-esteem once more, Gio continued observing the sunlight conch.

“Looking at it again after so long, I can really feel what a beautiful shell it is.”

It was a whelk with a shell that shone cleanly like a gem, and the pentagonal-pyramid-shaped shell, having grown many times, showed countless ridges.

It had a glitter like a painted picture.

“Because it looks so pretty, it was often made into ornaments.”

“Yes, I think you also used it to make a hanging toy for the window.”

“It truly shines beautifully when sunlight hits it.”

Like a triangular prism, it scattered various colors of light in all directions.

“Ah, dear.”

The creature inside had already tucked its body further in, and because its body was glass-clear to begin with, it was hard to see the creature even through the prism-like shell.

“Either way, even if we boil it, there won’t be any change to the shell, so we can boil it as it is.

Since it’s a creature that survives only on sunlight without swallowing mud, we don’t need to take any special measures—just wash it clean and boil it to eat it.”

“I... do remember, but...”

“I simply recalled it once, so you don’t need to worry too much.

It’s been a while since I’ve handled shells like this, so my heart is fluttering.”

Next, the one Gio picked up was attached to the cavern wall.

‘This is similar to abalone.’

The shell was far darker and smoother than abalone, but the other elements were quite similar to abalone.

Especially that wide, white flesh.

“This is probably called...”

“It would be black tray clam.”

“Ah, right.”

Black Tray Clam

A clam famous for its white flesh contrasting with its pitch-black, plain shell.

A high-grade ingredient, and a delicate clam that will cook if the temperature rises even slightly.

Its shell is also known as a paint material, as its black color is considered beautiful.

Be careful, because if you touch the flesh with a human hand, it will cook.

“It can’t possibly taste bad, with how it looks.”

Gio smiled contentedly and washed all the black clams.

This, too, was a clam that didn’t eat mud, so it didn’t require a separate purging process.

“Next is this fellow.

Do you remember, Iser?”

“I remember you especially liked it, Teacher.”

“Because the texture is good.

If you eat it raw, it’s soft like pudding, and if you cook it, it’s chewy like meat...”

Cudgel Trumpet

A clam with a light-brown shell that hides vertically in the mud.

It was named cudgel trumpet because its flesh resembles a wooden cudgel, and its shell resembles a trumpet.

Inside, it’s filled with pale-yellow flesh, and the grain is very delicate.

However, be careful, because if you apply excessive heat, it quickly becomes tough.

In short, it was closer to “a whole long scallop stuffed into a clam.”

“Ah, I really need to sell this in Korea.”

“Calm down.”

Today as well, Gio was a worldly priest.

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons

Fantasy, Modern,