Chapter 107

“For now, what is certain is this.”

Yu Seongun concluded.

“Jio had no malice.”

“What kind of narrow-minded statement is that, like a guardian defending his own precious child, Curator Yu Seongun?”

“Please don’t say things like that. It gives me chills.”

Yu Seongun shuddered at Bi Sabeol’s tactless nonsense.

“I doubt you would spout such absurd things in front of Jio.”

In the face of that distant, vast stature, acting familiar was no easy thing.

Yu Seongun could treat him this calmly only because he was a Gardener accustomed to the Root; there were still plenty of employees who could not say a single word properly even after coming face-to-face with Jio.

At Yu Seongun’s reaction, Bi Sabeol asked in a subtle tone.

“Are you so sure I wouldn’t act like this in front of him?”

“... Damn it, just don’t ever think about seeing Jio for the rest of your life. Understood?”

“Oh, how unfair. I bought the Portrait of Jio. I emptied my own wallet and bought it myself.”

“Then I think you should fix that personality of yours.”

That was the best method for the peace of humanity.

“Jio dislikes you, Guild Master.”

“What did I do...?”

“You have too much energy. Far too much.”

“Is that a crime?”

“Seeing as you haven’t been dragged away yet, it does not seem to be a crime.”

He did wish Jio would drag that mouth away, but it would be wrong to foist such a terrible responsibility onto Jio. Yu Seongun pulled himself together and returned to the main subject.

“Jio truly bore no ill will. If he had truly dragged Hunter Park Eun-gyeom away with hostility or malice, then when I tried to take him back out, he would have felt at least some displeasure. It would have meant disregarding his feelings.”

But the Portrait of Jio had expressed no regret whatsoever.

“Rather, he showed an accepting attitude, as if telling me to do as I wished.”

“Is there no possibility that he fabricated that appearance?”

“Who am I that he would go so far as to fabricate something like that? Inside Jio’s stomach, of all places...”

He did not know where the limit of Jio’s abilities lay, but at the very least, he knew this much: a dungeon master could display authority close to miracles within his own dungeon.

“And yet he treated me that gently, so I have to assume he truly bore no ill feelings.”

“Our Hunter Seo Jio is so kindhearted.”

“That is a warm smile, as if you are looking at your grandson... Please don’t do that in front of Jio.”

Even as he said that, Yu Seongun half resigned himself.

“I cannot say it is certain, since I was the only one who confirmed it, but from what I saw, the reason the Portrait of Jio attacks humans was indeed because that person was evil and rude.”

And.

“Its ultimate purpose was to maintain the quality of the human species.”

“To maintain the quality of the human species, you say...”

“I don’t know if this is a perfect comparison, but you know how it goes. Sick chickens are culled before they spread pathogens... and overly violent animals are separated off in zoos...”

“Oh, to my ears, that sounds like a very precise comparison. It was truly perfect for understanding. Does Jio see us as livestock or beasts like that?”

“...”

Yu Seongun smiled awkwardly.

“... I’m not sure.”

When he had toured Seoul with Jio, Jio had been exceedingly human, kind, and respectful of others. But if asked whether that appearance was completely different from when he was Black Cloak, that was not quite true either, which made it confusing.

“If the way he treated humans changed according to a change in personality, it would be much easier for us to understand from our standpoint... but from what I saw, that distinction was not clear.”

Yu Seongun looked troubled.

“If there is one thing certain, it is that he is well-disposed toward the human species.”

“That is something we already knew, but it has become a bit clearer.”

“That’s right. It has become clearer.”

Through this incident, Yu Seongun had learned one of Jio’s tendencies.

“Jio treats evil and rude humans as almost a different species from other humans.”

He could not know whether the Portrait of Jio regarded all humans like livestock, but he could at least tell that he regarded evil and rude people like livestock. His attitude had been that indifferent and merciless.

“He conversed with transparent humans in black suits in front of me, showing me, ‘This is how little interest I have in the human named Park Eun-gyeom.’ I don’t know whether he truly didn’t know, or whether he knew and still put on that performance...”

Yu Seongun recalled Black Cloak as he had seen him in the City of Emptiness.

“But he truly looked as though he placed no value on him whatsoever.”

“So that is why you described it as having no malice. Quite literally, there was neither murderous intent nor hostility.”

“Whether the human he had dragged in remained trapped and died, ran away, or struggled desperately, Jio did not seem to care at all.”

“Quite literally, it is isolation or disposal. On top of that, his attitude is close to indifference. Jio’s interest is directed solely toward good or ordinary humans.”

“That does not mean he puts in the effort to eliminate every evil person with all his might. It simply seemed as though, whenever he sees people who do not meet his standard of ‘human,’ he deals with them.”

“How frightening.”

Bi Sabeol smiled faintly.

“And that is all it is.”

“... You are right, Guild Master.”

Yu Seongun nodded.

“It is not an action that causes great harm to humanity.”

If he had been trying to eliminate every evil person on Earth, or if he had openly exerted influence and shown unconditional favoritism toward good people, then the story would have been a little different.

But these actions of the Portrait of Jio did not cause great chaos for humanity.

“It may be that he perceives it as a mere diversion, something to nibble on out of boredom.”

“It does not seem as though he feels any particular enjoyment for it to be play, but neither does he seem to feel responsibility or duty.”

“True, from the start, there is no sense of passion strong enough to call it either play or punishment.”

“There is no disaster more threatening to humanity than the passion shown by a Root entity.”

“In that sense, Jio’s tendency cannot be called a great disaster for Earth.”

This was more like an event that popped up occasionally by chance.

“At the very least, if people mind their conduct in front of frames, no one will be dragged away. So at this level...”

“We can coexist well enough.”

Bi Sabeol continued in a definitive tone.

“That is fortunate news indeed, when humanity has no choice besides coexistence. Since it will be a coexistence that is not terribly unreasonable even from the perspective of humans, not Jio, the Association should also be able to ease its burden considerably.”

While Yu Seongun did not deny Bi Sabeol’s words, he did not let himself relax completely either.

“It is still too early to conclude that. It has not been that long since we began analyzing the Portrait of Jio.”

“Curator Yu Seongun is right. There is nothing more foolish than feeling reassured because one thinks one has ‘figured out everything’ about a Root entity. Especially when the other party is someone like Jio, whose identity we still do not even know.”

“... That is the part that bothers me most. If we could at least learn accurate information about that, I would feel a little more at ease, but with unknown facts continuing to pop up like this...”

He could trust that the tendencies Jio had shown for now would not greatly harm humanity, but he knew nothing beyond that. Someday, the Portrait of Jio might display some other aggressive tendency.

“...”

Yu Seongun rubbed his throat.

“... This is dragging on too long.”

“Would it not be better to approach cautiously and carefully?”

“That only applies when we at least know his identity.”

He was a Curator in name, and also a Gardener in name.

“I still do not know what Jio is.”

Even now, when the year was turning.

“The newly appeared frame, that gray city, was an abnormal dungeon. Because its basic foundation was similar to a normal dungeon, I felt an even greater sense of wrongness. It strongly felt as though it was imitating a dungeon.”

And.

“It is close to a Garden.”

“I assume you know very well what those words mean.”

“Yes, I know. A Garden is also a vein of the Root.”

A “Garden,” which Gardeners literally poured their lives into cultivating beautifully and healthily, was, if defined in a single phrase, “an organ of the Root.” Managing the Root’s blood vessels, heart, lungs, muscles, bones, and things of that nature was the duty of a Gardener.

“I have never heard of a being other than a human managing a Garden...”

“If we look at it that way, there is also very little we know about the Root.”

“That is the problem. Every Gardener I know is human, but it has only been thirty-one years since I learned even that.”

“And it is only natural that there are things we do not know about the Root, whose limits we cannot determine.”

“Even so, it would be a stretch for us to judge Jio not as a human, but as a Gardener.”

Even if there existed a monster that managed a Garden, even if such a diligent god existed, that was separate from creating a Garden directly. It was an impossible thing that could not be expected of anyone.

“... A Gardener cannot do that.”

Yes, a Gardener “could not” do that.

Then...

“...”

“I have had this thought before.”

Bi Sabeol continued in place of Yu Seongun, who had closed his mouth.

“What would happen if the Root were a person?”

Yu Seongun did not rebuke him for saying nonsense.

“My babies.”

After Yu Seongun left, Jio was alone, hugging the black suits to his chest as he fully enjoyed life as a portrait.

“Even though your father could not look after you, you grew up so well. I cannot tell you how happy I am.”

“Yes, thank you for being pleased with us, Father.”

“How did you grow up into such wonderful gentlemen? I really am blessed with my children, no doubt about it.”

The combination of Black Cloak, whose face could not be seen, and the faceless black suits would have looked creepy to anyone, but there was no one here to point that out.

Jio kept murmuring, “My admirable little babies,” as he embraced his new children.

“How can you be this adorable?”

They recognized their father—or, to be precise, since they were monsters inside the City of Emptiness, he was closer to their grandfather—but in any case, they recognized family and came obediently into his arms, and he could only find them lovable. They were the sweet-and-sour vitamins of this harsh world.

“I did not particularly intend it, but you resemble me a great deal.”

“Yes, we wished to resemble you, Father.”

“Is this what they call, ‘When I grow up, I’ll be an adult like Dad’? It has a nice ring to it.”

“Yes, thank you for creating us in a form pleasing to you, Father.”

“How are you all so diligent and clever?”

Even as Jio said that, he knew these “black suits” had an objectively quite frightening appearance.

Perhaps because they had clumsily imitated Jio, who had always had an unsociable personality, their behavior felt natural like humans, yet gave off an awkward sense of wrongness somewhere.

Park Eun-gyeom had felt terror so intense he thought he might die simply from looking at them, and even Yu Seongun, an experienced Gardener, had felt an unbearable chill. Jio was not entirely unaware that others would receive such impressions.

‘But that is none of my business.’

Personal impressions could not be helped, but his children had done their best and worked hard to dress themselves up to resemble their father, and no one had any right to criticize them for that.

“This highly sensitive father is moved to tears by how admirable his children are.”

“Please pat us, Father.”

“Father, we love you.”

“Father.”

“My admirable little babies.”

Jio’s eyes were already covered with thick, sturdy blinders of parental affection.

“I hope you do not mind even if people say you are frightening.”

“Yes, if you love us, Father, nothing else is a problem.”

“Although you do not have a human-friendly appearance, to my eyes you are nothing but cute.”

“Thank you, Father. Please hug us.”

“To think I would be blessed with children at this age...”

What sweethearts they were.

They were truly a heartwarming family, cherishing one another.