Chapter 113

Yu Seongun came out of the frame.

"I can't believe I returned to this land alive."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, it was so fun I can't even put it into words."

When I even ended up face-to-face with the Little Mermaid, I honestly couldn't get a word out.

"Please tell the princess I'm sorry for upsetting her..."

"Yu Seongun, you did nothing wrong. That is simply a tantrum Aria often throws. You need not mind it."

"I don't think I did anything wrong either, but I don't want to build up bad blood with the mermaids. There's no need to earn the grudge of humanoid monsters, is there?"

"Thank you for understanding her unbecoming childishness. You are an adult. I wish my students would learn that from you, Yu Seongun."

"Monsters learning from a human is scary in its own way, you know?"

Yu Seongun laughed softly and checked the clock in the gallery.

"The time is... 4:41 a.m."

Then he checked his phone as well.

"..."

"Did I take up much of your time?"

"No, not especially."

Only about twenty minutes had passed.

"Time inside the frame and time on Earth definitely flow differently."

"Time inside the painting may move quickly or slowly depending on my mood."

"Oh... When is it fast, and when is it slow?"

"When I am enjoying myself, it goes quickly, and when I am resting, it goes slowly."

"Hmm."

Then perhaps this time could be interpreted as him having been in a good mood. It was an honor both as a Gardener and as a Curator.

"What about when you're in a bad mood?"

"I have never been, so I do not know."

"That extremely positive attitude is nice to see, so keep living exactly like that."

Though he wasn't even sure whether Jio, being the Root, could feel displeasure at all.

'... Jio definitely has an ego close to that of a person, so even if he is the Root, there may come a day when he gets angry. It's best not to let my guard down when dealing with the Root.'

Yu Seongun lifted the small white box containing the dessert.

"Can I take this with me as is?"

"It would not have been a problem if you had eaten it before leaving..."

"Fish-shaped bread tomorrow?"

"Very well."

"It really is a shame I couldn't look around the forest."

Inside, he had been too overwhelmed, but once he came outside, a deep regret lingered. It was the greed of a Gardener.

"I wanted to visit that spring you told me about too."

Yu Seongun recalled that the water Jio had ladled out for him had been defined as [spring water of the Root].

"From what I hear, it seems like quite a wonderful place."

"If you come visit next time, I will welcome you."

"Then I'll stop by when I have time."

That would be after he had made far more preparations.

'I went in far too unprepared.'

To the Root, of all places.

'To be precise, rather than the Root itself, it felt like something in a form humans could easily perceive... like a part of the Root, or a dish cooked so it would be easy to eat...'

In the first place, humans could not perceive the existence called the Root. Mere humans could neither contain nor analyze a scale so vast that even the word enormous was insufficient. In that sense, Jio felt like a part of the Root.

'Is that why I thought it resembled a Garden?'

If so.

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"... Not really."

Could Jio be responsible for the "eyes"?

"I just thought it was a little unfortunate that your eyes are covered by paint."

There were all sorts of things to say about Jio, but if he had to choose Jio's most distinctive feature, it would be his "eyes."

Those eyes that seemed to contain everything that existed and did not exist in the world.

"Even though I was the one who asked for it?"

"Do you wish to return to your original state?"

"No, from a practical standpoint, it's definitely better for them to be covered."

"I see."

"It was just a Curator's complaint."

It was also a Gardener's complaint.

'If Jio really can be called the eyes of the Root, then the reason he has taken human form is...'

For a moment, his feelings grew complicated, and his breath caught in his throat.

"..."

He had never intended to in the first place, but now Yu Seongun could not avoid or loathe Jio.

What remained in the person called Yu Seongun was only bottomless awe, remoteness, and the relief born from them.

"Yes..."

Because he, as a Gardener, knew how fair an existence the Root was, how close it was to nature.

"Thank you for treating me so kindly."

"It was my pleasure."

"Then again, you have always been a gentleman."

This might be a natural disaster, but it would never become a calamity.

"So we're the ones who have no choice but to be more careful."

"Whom do you mean?"

"No, I just... remembered what I have to do from now on."

"People with jobs really are busy."

"They say if you don't work, you don't eat."

Letting out a hollow laugh like a sigh, Yu Seongun asked.

"Can I ask just one thing?"

"Ask as you wish."

"That..."

There were many questions he wanted to ask, but Yu Seongun held them back.

'It's too early to ask about the Root.'

Jio believed himself to be an ordinary human, or else he knew and was disguising himself to be as close to the truth as possible, so the day he could ask about this was still far off.

Instead, he brought up the most efficient topic he could for now.

"About Hunter Park Eun-gyeom."

It was something he had wondered ever since hearing that he had come back outside.

"What price did he pay, exactly?"

"Price?"

"From our perspective, we can't tell what changed."

Yu Seongun had received a request from the Association to investigate the attack methods and results of "Black Cloak." He had reported everything that happened in the "City of Emptiness," and based on that report, the Association had analyzed Hunter Park Eun-gyeom after he escaped the frame.

But aside from being rather badly frightened, he was no different from before.

"Could that fear be the price? Like his peace of mind was taken away?"

"I entrusted Park Eun-gyeom's punishment to my children."

"To your children... I see."

Now even that word, "children," sounded meaningful.

'It makes me think of the Root's children.'

No, in fact, perhaps it was not wrong.

'... They cannot be completely dealt with by Hunter skills, appear anywhere regardless of dimension... resemble monsters but are not monsters... Living Stories...'

Every one of those descriptions was identical to the children Jio had drawn with paint.

Of course, there were slight differences as well. Honey, the jewel waterbird Jio kept beside him and called his son, was one, and so were the "black suits" that grew naturally in the "City of Emptiness." They were capable of thought.

"... Well..."

There was so much to think about that the topic kept veering elsewhere.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else for a moment."

"You seem very tired. Are you all right?"

"I'm always all right."

Yu Seongun returned to the original subject.

"Then if I want to know what sort of price it was, should I ask your children?"

"If you wish, do so."

"... Do you already know what that price was?"

"Of course."

"May I ask?"

"There is no problem."

Jio answered from beyond the black paint.

"Park Eun-gyeom had his 'evil' taken as the price."

"..."

"My children wanted it."

"... Impressive."

How exactly had they taken "evil" from a human?

"Humans are creatures who can be evil at any time."

"Because Park Eun-gyeom is the one who must pay the price, I do not know the result either."

"I understand for now."

It was a price so abstract it sounded strange, but there had been several Root entities that had taken such abstract things until now. Memories, love, happiness, friendship, sorrow, memory...

'This is not greatly different.'

The exact answer was not something he could get by questioning Jio.

'Nor should I.'

Do not expect anything from gods.

Jio could not be called a complete god, but "god" was also a term used to refer to beings of such a high level that humans found them difficult to perceive.

Humans were beings who analyzed nature and fate, not beings who could demand something from them.

'It would not be proper etiquette toward them, either.'

If he had received this much of a hint, then finding the answer beyond it was up to Yu Seongun and the other humans. In an era like this, where humans, gods, and nature lived mixed together, that was manners for everyone's sake.

"Then I'll bring fish-shaped bread tomorrow in exchange for this dessert."

"Please give Cha Eun-hyuk my regards."

"Don't worry, I talk with him from time to time."

Before Yu Seongun left the gallery, he looked back at Jio again.

"... You're not going to fight with the Little Mermaid because of me, are you?"

"As I said earlier, that was simply childishness."

The black portrait was firm.

"She cannot be angry with me."

It was an answer like a prophet speaking of fate.

"Teacher."

When he returned to the cabin, Aria called Jio.

"Did you see him off properly?"

"I confirmed that he left safely."

"How very kind of you."

"You are angry."

But Jio knew.

"I am not the target of that anger."

Aria could not be angry with Giovanni.

"We were apart for far too long for that."

"... Even if we had not been, I would never have had cause to be angry with you."

"If you are full of anger, life will not be enjoyable."

"Is there any reason my life should be enjoyable?"

The mermaid smiled softly. It was a smile clearly different from those young days when she had been unable to hide her sensitive and sharp nature.

"I hate humans."

"I understand."

"I know how much you go out of your way to protect humans."

"I am not protecting them. I am giving them the treatment they deserve."

"Treatment far beyond what they deserve, for things that live such brief lives..."

Jio sat beside Aria, who was leaning against the sofa as if lying down.

"Aria."

"Yes, Teacher."

"Were you frightened?"

"..."

"That is why you were angry, wasn't it?"

"... Teacher, you..."

At the hand stroking her cheek, Aria murmured.

"...can be a little too much sometimes."

Yes, she could not deny it.

"You are right. I was very frightened."

"Why?"

"I do not think that human could harm us."

The individual called Yu Seongun was not a creature capable of that.

"Perhaps because he is deeply connected to the Root, he thinks a great deal and is cautious. Sometimes he takes gambles, but most of the time, he searches for a path where everyone can coexist. He may be strong for a human, but if we fought, I would win."

"Yu Seongun did not seem that weak."

"That is why I said he is strong for a human. If we fought, I would win, but I would suffer a serious blow. There must be power held by a being called a Gardener... and he would also be difficult to interfere with."

But she had not feared Yu Seongun.

"I, Teacher."

Aria leaned her head against Jio's hand.

"Was frightened by the fact that a human was here."

"..."

"... Because I do not know when that wicked race will set fire to this place."

Humans were fickle.

"I am afraid that day will repeat."

For mermaids, who lived their whole lives with a single memory and emotion and whose selves almost never changed, humans possessed a lightness that was difficult to understand.

Humans could be as benevolent as a traditional god who valued peace, then act like wretched beggars wishing ruin upon the world.

So the beliefs or character of one individual did not matter right now.

"..."

"Humans cannot be trusted."

Separate from the hatred mermaids held, to mermaids, that was an unchanging fact.

"Because we live for too many long years, we cannot help it. Compared to us, who do not change by nature, humans live brief lives and change dozens, hundreds of times in between..."

"That is called growth."

"Yes, growth. Humans growing is as innate a habit as we remaining unchanged. I know that too. I know that too. Thus I curse it."

Mermaids and humans were this difficult to understand and reconcile with each other.

"How did you know how the human called Yu Seongun would 'grow' before letting him in here?"

Humans easily changed for the worse.

"The standards of good and evil differ from dimension to dimension. Even in this narrow dimension, the same is true over something as small as a national border that cannot even be seen. It also changes depending on the environment humans live in. So, Teacher, our peace may become a calamity to them."

A human who encountered a calamity would resist.

"... And mermaids are the same."

Who among the living has not tried to rebel against fate?

"If the breaths you take become a calamity to them, the human called Yu Seongun will side with his own species. Because he is human, and because he is not evil, he has his own convictions, and he will do so."

"..."

"They continue to change."

Humans make no promises.

"..."

"..."

Aria embraced her teacher.

"... I know you have not forgiven us. And I know that is why you will never accept us. Merciful as you are, you will not become my god."

"I see."

"I also know that you are ready to accept fate at any time. And that even if we, who have not received your forgiveness, try to stop you, you will not listen."

Do you know that too? Jio did not rebel against fate.

He was someone who could enjoy everything and affirm everything. Because he was a being with such an immense capacity, Aria could embrace him like this now.

"Thanks to that great tolerance, Teacher, you took us as your students, but on the other hand, there are times when I become anxious. It is the anxiety that this peaceful, tranquil cabin may vanish at any time."

For the first time in thousands of years, the mermaid felt fear.

"When you are too afraid, you become angry."

"That is proof that we are all human."

"Teacher is always trying to teach something."

"You all worry so much."

"That is true."

She had thought nothing was as foolish as fearing a future that had not yet come.

"We worry far too much..."

Humans said something was fate because one could not avoid it. The fact that she was no different in the end made Aria miserable.

Because it felt as though she, too, were human.

"..."

"..."

That was why she might repeat the same act and bring about the same tragedy.

Regardless of her rebellion, once again...