Chapter 96

At some point, Black Cloak disappeared.

"H-He was supposed to be here...! They said Black Cloak was here!"

"Fuck, find the frame! Is there a frame anywhere?!"

"They say it's usually hard to see...! S-So if we look, I'm sure...!"

"Aaaaaaagh!!!"

The Hunters who had visited the country of the deep sea solely trusting in Black Cloak, who was said to help humans, died helplessly one after another.

As resentment poured in toward Black Cloak, who had suddenly disappeared, and toward the Association that had provided information about him, an official statement was released.

"Nowhere in the Association's publicly released information did we include any wording instructing anyone to rely on Black Cloak."

If anything, they emphasized the opposite.

"Even if it displays unexpected behavior, it is ultimately a monster. The Association has consistently maintained that caution is required, and has never once said that Black Cloak is a safe and helpful monster."

To begin with, the problem was largely that the rumor had been strangely distorted.

"What monster in the world helps humans?"

"But there have been several cases of Black Cloak helping humans escape dungeons."

"However, Black Cloak sorted and limited the humans it chose to help. That means it cannot simply be a monster that helps humans."

The Association employee spoke with a straight, emotionless face, as if the matter were utterly absurd.

"It seems many Hunters have forgotten the fact that Black Cloak is a monster."

It was a remark mocking the Hunters' ridiculous judgment.

Once the Association responded this firmly, the Hunters could no longer protest. Leaving aside the fact that the Association held considerable authority, none of what it said was wrong.

"No, but still..."

"I thought Black Cloak helped humans?"

There were still many people who remained dissatisfied.

"Didn't you guys even read the official notice? The Association wasn't wrong."

"The Association kept saying to keep a close eye on Black Cloak."

"Isn't it the idiots who went into an S-rank dungeon after being swayed by a baseless rumor who are stupid?"

Soon, the situation calmed down.

"If it hadn't been for that rumor..."

"What are you talking about? The dumbasses who tried a raid without even reading the official notice are the ones at fault."

"Urgh..."

Because the conclusion had been reached that the Hunters who had tried to use a monster however they pleased from the very beginning were the stupid ones.

"Don't they teach you to be wary of monsters when you get your Hunter license?"

"It's not like a monster is a vending machine drink... What the hell were they thinking, going into a dungeon while trusting in one monster?"

"Hunters in the old days weren't like this. You can really feel how much the current generation's standards have dropped."

"What kind of Hunter goes around acting tough without even knowing to fear monsters?"

"Even idiots like this are running around calling themselves Hunters. This really is the end times."

If they had only been counting on the characteristics of a monster and keeping the possibility of accidental help in mind, the criticism would not have grown this fierce.

But the problem had arisen because the main group had become Hunters who threw themselves into a dungeon ranked as S-rank, relying solely on Black Cloak's mercy.

Hunters who had taken the country of the deep sea seriously from the beginning also reacted negatively.

"It makes no sense to rely only on a monster when clearing a dungeon."

"Aren't they taking raids far too lightly? No matter how long the exploration season has been."

"I understand that attention was focused because Collector bought the entry rights, but still, this is a bit..."

The mood seemed to be heading toward that conclusion.

"..."

Yu Seongun was watching it all.

'... It seems to be more or less settling down.'

It was not a bad flow.

'The situation had been going in a slightly strange direction. I suppose I should be glad it ended at about this level.'

Watching the Hunters and the ordinary citizens talking about this incident, Yu Seongun took a piece of candy from his chest pocket. After running all over the place to check how the aftermath of Black Cloak would wrap up, he was sorely lacking sugar.

"Haa..."

"..."

"So what is it?"

Yu Seongun asked at the presence he felt from the bench behind him.

"It seems you have business with me."

"You look tired."

"If I worked overtime for more than a week and wasn't tired, I wouldn't be human."

"I agree."

The Association employee nodded, dressed in a black padded jacket and disguised as an ordinary citizen.

Sitting on the bench behind Yu Seongun, he looked out over the park, which had taken on the appearance of spring despite it being winter due to government measures, and spoke.

"I have no intention of taking up too much of Hunter Yu Seongun's very busy time. I would like to ask a few questions. Would you be able to answer them?"

"Hm... I would appreciate it if you could finish within fifteen minutes. After this, I have to take a train for the purpose of checking the state of the sea."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

The Association employee's questions continued naturally.

"Collector seemed to know about this Black Cloak incident."

"There are quite a few things that bother me, but what is your basis for saying that?"

"It seems the source of the interesting urban legend that 'Black Cloak gives presents to good people' was Collector."

"That is true."

Yu Seongun continued answering calmly.

"Quite a few of our employees have encountered Black Cloak."

"Then it seems we will need to revise the information on the website. Could you testify as to the first witness?"

"I'll ask around if I have time. You're not going to drag them away by force, are you?"

"Of course not. I merely felt the need for the information about Black Cloak to be revised."

"In any case, our employees and Black Cloak have run into each other a few times, so we know that fellow's rules. He really hates rude and bad people."

Though he said this, Yu Seongun had no intention of telling them the exact circumstances surrounding Black Cloak.

Because if he openly revealed that the fellow was the Portrait of Jio, which even the Association President had coveted, there was a high possibility things would become officially troublesome due to the Association approaching him for research purposes.

'Jio wouldn't want that either.'

Since he lived in a peaceful cabin, he was not the sort to like a commotion.

"And I'm not even sure that should be called a 'present.' They say Black Cloak gives presents to good people, but that is not something material. It is closer to a kind of favor..."

"May we understand that as a rule by which he shows favor to polite and good humans?"

"Yes, well. I apologize for not reporting it in advance. But we don't have the authority to order employees to immediately report every monster they happen to encounter."

At that, the employee asked.

"Is it a monster?"

"..."

"I am asking you, Yu Seongun, as a Gardener."

"... In that case, I would have to answer no."

"I see. Do you have any intention of returning to the Association research lab?"

"It seems to be the Association President's order, but please tell him I still have no intention."

"Understood."

The employee brought the subject back to its original point.

"May I understand that you did not intentionally spread rumors about Black Cloak?"

"It was half intentional, but..."

Yu Seongun mixed in the truth to an appropriate degree.

"Apart from that, we had absolutely no intention of causing confusion like this incident."

"Then for what purpose did you amplify the rumor?"

"Because Black Cloak hates rude and bad people, we wanted people not to do anything stupid in front of him and cause needless trouble."

"Collector wanted to emphasize the part about 'good people,' but the Hunters were bewitched by the part about 'presents.'"

"Even Collector did not know the Hunters would be that stupid."

"I understand."

"..."

Even with this, he did not expect Collector to be able to completely hide the Portrait of Jio.

'... The fact that the Association didn't directly summon me and only confirmed things like this means they have already grasped the situation to some extent, but have no intention of digging too deeply.'

The Association President was a renowned Hunter assessed to be hiding a class beyond S-class. Since someone like that had personally coveted the Portrait of Jio after seeing it, he might have already guessed that this Black Cloak was deeply connected to it.

'To begin with, there was also the large common point of the portrait.'

It was already known that Black Cloak was witnessed in the form of a portrait. At this point, there was no choice but to think they knew everything there was to know and were only asking as a formality.

So this transparent conversation had only two purposes.

'Using this rumor and the chaotic incident as the trigger, to determine whether Collector intends to misuse Black Cloak. If not, whether we intend to hand the Portrait of Jio over to the Association and entrust them with research...'

Well, he had rejected both.

"..."

Yu Seongun opened his mouth.

"Do you have anything else to ask?"

"Has Gardener Yu Seongun identified Black Cloak's true nature?"

"... No."

If he had, that would have been very nice.

"I do not know."

"... I see."

"So I ask that the Association exercise particular caution as well."

"Are you saying there is a need to raise the response rank?"

"Perhaps that would be better."

He was a Root entity that even Yu Seongun could not grasp. Even if Black Cloak had no malice, there was a high chance he would become a disaster to humans in one way or another, so from the perspective of frail humans, being as wary as possible would be advantageous for survival.

"If we learn anything on our end as well, I will send over a report."

"... We will be counting on you."

The employee moved away naturally, as if he had never spoken with him.

"..."

Feeling the presence grow distant, Yu Seongun closed his eyes.

'It has been quite a long time since I received the Association's attention like this.'

Even so, it seemed his response had not been awkward, as the park did not look much different from before. There was no one concentrating on him while pretending not to, either.

'I suppose I didn't act awkwardly.'

As he sat there quietly with his eyes closed, he could hear the sounds of the people gathered in the park's gentle air talking.

"So what was Black Cloak in the end...?"

They were experiencing confusion as well.

"They said from the start that it was a monster that didn't fit the country of the deep sea."

"I heard there are sometimes cases where monsters from other dungeons cross over. Was it that kind of case?"

"Black Cloak's dungeon might exist separately."

"But they said it's a humanoid monster. Do boss monsters ever cross over between dungeons?"

"I heard that sometimes you can even see it outside dungeons..."

"No way. Then that means it's a monster that wanders around however it wants without a set area."

"That's too much. It definitely sounds like a false rumor."

At the voices that drifted to him like the flutter of a small bird's wings, Yu Seongun soon opened his eyes.

Everything was talk of Black Cloak.

"... So it really did turn out like this."

It was a predetermined chaos.

'Still, this much is a decent outcome.'

Jio was a being who could go anywhere. Because he was a painting, he could become anything, and because he was a painter, he could create anything.

Since there was no way to stop such a Portrait of Jio, what Collector ultimately chose for the sake of national stability was control of information.

'If this lets people slowly become accustomed to Black Cloak's existence...'

There would certainly be less confusion than if they revealed the Portrait of Jio openly.

The urban legend that was not quite an urban legend spread by Collector, and the Hunter license given to Jio as a human, were all in that same context. They were attempts to classify and regulate the Root's "stories."

"..."

Even so, Jio's true nature still remained a mystery.

'What kind of being is he, that such things are possible?'

Even gods could not carry out such bold acts in succession like this.

"He isn't a god, he isn't human, and he certainly isn't a monster..."

And yet he was a being that could become all of those things.

"How am I supposed to define this?"

It was far too contradictory.

Even Yu Seongun, who had stepped into the Garden from a very young age, could not explain that being properly. That was because the very scale of him was entirely different from the Root entities he had seen and studied until now.

"..."

With a sigh, Yu Seongun rose from his seat.

"I should work."

It felt as though he had lost his sight and was feeling his way along with his hands.

A strange chill toward a being who remained unknown despite all he had seen and heard quietly crawled up the back of his neck.