Chapter 94

It seemed some deep conversation had happened overnight, but.

"..."

TA-DA.

Jio's ultimately positive mindset was not bound by such things.

'Aria must have hit adolescence.'

It was an age when people ended up worrying about all sorts of things.

'I should respect that.'

It was not that he was unaware Aria had many worries because of Jio's identity and the environment around him.

It was just that, to Jio, that was not such a serious problem, and he only hoped Aria could grow used to his situation.

But even for Jio, worries were bound to arise.

"... Mm..."

"Teacher, is something wrong?"

"I think I may have made a dungeon."

"Oh."

Though the sun had risen, Aria had yet to return home, and she let out sincere admiration before opening her mouth politely, as if she were some gentleman.

"So you did possess vengeance toward the root causes of your pain and death, my human Teacher."

"I have no such thing."

"If it isn't meant to torment humans, then why did you make a dungeon?"

"I drew it because I wanted to draw it."

"Aha."

Aria nodded.

"If it is you, Teacher, that can happen."

"I have no idea what kind of being you think I am."

"There is such a thing."

In many ways, Jio was an unpredictable being.

Even to Aria.

He might have created a dungeon unconsciously from fragments of hatred and resentment toward humans, or he might truly have indulged in a hobby with no thought or worry at all, only for a dungeon to pop into existence.

Aria looked together with him at the framed painting Jio had been studying.

"Are you talking about this painting?"

"I drew it some time ago, but no matter how I think about it..."

"It seems like a dungeon?"

Aria asked as she looked at the painting of a city filled entirely with achromatic colors.

"Its name?"

"..."

Jio answered.

"City of Emptiness."

That was certainly what the system had said.

"Though it is not a name I gave it."

"Then we should say the construct named it for you."

"What is a construct?"

"Ah... on Earth, they call it the Root."

"The Root."

It was a name he had heard from Yu Seongun now and then.

Unlike how he called himself a Gardener, Yu Seongun did not readily share much knowledge related to it, but Jio did know a little about the Root.

'The big boss of the systems...'

He had understood it as something like the mother of all systems and the manager of all fates.

"I see."

"What do you want to do with this, Teacher?"

"I did not want to do anything."

Jio felt somewhat wronged.

"I merely drew it because I wanted to draw it."

What painter would draw a painting hoping for practicality?

"By nature, paintings on canvas are meant to be viewed, not to exist so they can be chewed, torn apart, tasted, and enjoyed."

For example, one did not draw a painting in order to beat someone with it.

Even if a painting might be traded here and there because it had monetary value or additional elements, fundamentally, a painting existed for appreciation.

After a brief silence at Jio's words, Aria asked.

"You mean to say you created a dungeon without any intent?"

"Is there some problem with that?"

"There are rather a lot..."

A dungeon could not be created without intent.

It meant creating nothing less than an entire world, a set of laws.

No matter how varied the ways in which dungeons formed were, one had to assume they could not be created without the will of the dungeon master.

'And yet he created this simply because he wanted to draw it.'

The wavering gray city entered her eyes.

"..."

Soon, Aria wore her characteristic languid smile.

A perfect and beautiful smile, one that could capture the hearts of countless ladies if she stepped into high society right then.

"Well, I suppose that can happen."

"Can it not?"

"Of course, of course."

Had Aria not already given up on completely understanding Jio?

'Even when he was human, I thought he was not ordinary, but I never imagined his essence was like this.'

If it was Jio, of an incomprehensible and lofty order, he might create a world with a mere stroke of the brush.

After all, it was perfectly natural for a painter to create a world called a painting.

"So what exactly are you worried about?"

"I wondered whether I could leave it be like this."

"Hm..."

"I do not want to throw the painting away."

"Why would you throw this away? What a waste."

A dungeon was ultimately a dungeon, and it was a world that had no choice but to draw something in.

'If left like this, Earthlings will end up being eaten as well.'

Even if Jio had no such intention, what of it?

When a human stepped on a bug while walking down a road, would they have intended that?

Even if this was a world Jio had drawn meaninglessly, as a hobby, in the end, someone was bound to be drawn into the dungeon.

'But I do not think there is any need to tell him that now...'

This painting, too, was ultimately a world Jio had drawn.

'Which means such a world would not do anything displeasing to Teacher, who could be called its master and parent.'

What kind of laws and preferences it had would become clear on its own as time passed.

"... For now, I think we have to leave it alone to find anything out."

"Is that so?"

"It is also a dungeon that has not been created for long."

Aria looked the gray painting up and down.

"You have not separately created any children either, Teacher, correct?"

She meant the dungeon's monsters.

"A dungeon that has only just been born does not act proactively."

"Unless you personally urge it on, Teacher, its growth will be slow as long as you leave it alone, so there is no need to worry too much."

"..."

"Teacher?"

"... Am I its parent?"

Jio's heart dropped.

"Is this painting alive?"

"... It would not be wrong to see it that way, would it?"

Aria explained lightly.

"Not all dungeons are like that, but the more closely connected a dungeon is to its master, the stronger its tendency as a living thing becomes."

"It has a self of sorts, and it grows..."

"Is the City of Emptiness connected so closely to me?"

"Its aspect as a living thing becomes clearer depending on its master's capacity, and from what I see, this is enough to count as such a situation."

"How could this be?"

He had become a shameless parent who had given birth without thinking, and then had not even known he had a child.

"I am trash."

"I understand what you are thinking, but calm down."

"It is not like that."

In a broad sense, one might call it a living thing, but strictly speaking, would it not be a stretch to say a dungeon was truly a living creature?

"If we compare it to Earth, it is like artificial intelligence."

"Because it is a vast nature, when you look closely, you can see its detailed flows and structures, and such an emotionless system only appears like a single living creature from far away."

It was not actually alive.

"I am saying there is no need to be too shocked."

"I do understand, but still, a corner of my heart aches."

"To think a corner of your heart can still ache even after you have reached that state."

"How impressive."

Jio was of an order where it was ambiguous to call him completely human now.

The fact that he still maintained this peculiar sensitivity was a miracle even Aria found difficult to explain.

"Hm..."

After examining the painting a little more, Aria continued.

"... It is certainly a dungeon that has not been created for long, so it is immature in many ways."

"How did you raise your dungeon, Aria?"

"I said it is not a child..."

"Well, should I call it raising?"

"It is closer to simply making mechanisms here and there."

"Making mechanisms?"

"Making a game board."

Having observed many dungeons so far, Aria could explain a little.

"In the case of my dungeon, it naturally grew because I simply stayed inside it."

"The environment was created according to my mental landscape, and as I conducted research inside it, monsters appeared, and at some point foreign matter also entered, so as I searched for ways to deal with it, this and that trap was installed..."

In other words, they had grown together across a long time.

To Aria, her dungeon was closer to a friend than a child.

"I have also seen a dungeon master who deliberately designed the board from the start."

"If one deliberately designs the board, what is it for?"

"He was someone who considered it important to express his hatred toward humans in the most systematic way possible."

Aria nodded.

"What matters most in managing a dungeon is ultimately the master's sense of purpose and mental landscape."

"When what the master wants from the dungeon is clear, these things grow more naturally."

Of course, this dungeon had many exceptions.

"I am not sure whether your dungeon will be the same as other dungeons, Teacher."

"By nature, a world like this fundamentally has intense emotion toward something underneath it, and the dungeon master also naturally comes to have some purpose..."

"I have no thoughts whatsoever."

"If that is the problem, then perhaps it is a problem."

In many ways, it differed from other dungeons.

"Unless you intend otherwise, Teacher, this dungeon will have no choice but to be different from ordinary dungeons."

"It may have no rules, it may have no monsters, and there are many possibilities."

"Does that become a problem?"

"I do not know whether it will become a problem or not, but it is a clear fact that how it is used depends entirely on you, Teacher."

"If you created a world, it has no choice but to be that way."

No structure exists that tries to go against its creator's wishes.

"The Honey you created is the same, is it not?"

"Ah, is it the same kind of child?"

"Come to think of it, on Earth, they call such things Root's children..."

"Honey is Jio's child, though."

"..."

Suddenly, Aria realized.

"... Then perhaps you are the Root, Teacher."

This man might be the Root.

"Is that not so?"

A pitch-black blank sheet that could become anything.

"..."

"If that is the case, then now I truly need not worry about food expenses."

"... You really have no sense of tension..."

"More than anything, it is a great fortune to be freed from the yoke of taxes."

"Is that really all you have to say?"

And so, she felt a little relieved.

"You truly do not change."

Perhaps because he had already changed too much, and was capable of changing, he instead looked as though he remained in place.

Feeling an ominously wavering peace, Aria slowly tilted her head.

"So how do you intend to use this?"

"A vacation spot?"

"Are you serious?"

"Would that not be fine?"

"... Well, it is your choice, Teacher."

She had thought that among emotions, the most violent and vivid were anger and hatred.

That was why countless monsters with deep hatred toward humans had been able to create worlds like this, and because they were their masters, worlds suited to their tastes had been made.

'So if this is not a world created from such emotions at all.'

No matter how he used it, that was up to Jio.

"..."

However, this thought did occur to her.

"If you created a perfectly sound world that is not a game board, can you really call that human?"

Jio answered with his characteristic blunt face.

"When you live long enough, these things can happen, and Aria, you have far too narrow a way of thinking..."

"Yes, I knew you would say that."

"I am the idiot for asking when I already knew."

He was so consistent it sent chills down her spine.

* * *

Jio visited the City of Emptiness for the first time.

"..."

"I see, so this is the world you created, Teacher."

"... Are you not busy, Iser?"

Together with his student Iser, who had shot up while Jio had not seen him.

"Is it all right for a dungeon master to leave his post so carelessly like this?"

"In practice, I am the second master, so whether I am there or not does not have much effect."

"I see."

Well, naturally, the homeowner could be out of the house.

To begin with, Jio, the master of the City of Emptiness, was only visiting for the first time now, so perhaps thinking a dungeon master had to be busy all the time was Jio's own narrow-mindedness.

"..."

However, his mood felt a little strange.

"... Is this what a worried parent feels when children long past marriageable age still camp out at the family home...?"

"What marriageable age do mermaids have?"

"I feel unsettled."

"I certainly did want you to come home often, but now it feels like you may be staying too much, so my feelings are complicated."

"What happened to coming to catch us because your neighbors would not visit at all...?"

"That is true, but."

Still, he was a little worried.

"A dungeon is both a home and a workplace, so surely you will not keep leaving your post empty?"

"We also thought that both of us being away would indeed be something of a problem..."

Iser nodded.

"So the two of us decided to take turns coming home."

"I hope you do not feel pressured to visit your parental home."

"We come because we like to, so you do not need to worry about that."

Having said that, Iser smiled bitterly.

"There is also a little fear that the place where you are, Teacher, might suddenly vanish."

"Even though the door is open just fine?"

But Jio did not say any more.

Regardless of how reprehensible they still were, they were students he had raised while pouring abundant affection into them.

'Above all, the longer Iser stays at my house, the more peaceful his heart will become, and the peace of humanity will be protected as well.'

For many reasons, there was no reason to dislike them visiting his house often.

"As long as it does not interfere with your lives, I do not mind either."

"Ah, then I will see you often."

"It would be even better if you brought some clams when you come."

"Clams... how about fish?"

"That is also good."

"Since the place I live is a forest, I find myself craving seafood."

Jio nodded and turned his head to look at the gray world.

"So."

"..."

"What are your impressions?"

Iser took in the City of Emptiness and slowly opened his mouth.

"... There is nothing here."

It was an empty city, truly befitting its name.