Chapter 10

Although the portrait had closed its eyes due to Yu Seong-un’s haste, the owner of the painting, Bisabeol, did not get angry at him.

“It was a portrait that wouldn’t even answer when I spoke to it anyway. It wouldn’t even look at me.”

“…….”

“The 17 employees who had conversed with it until now couldn’t stand the pressure from the portrait and ran away. In that sense, Mr. Yu Seong-un’s attempt should be seen as having great meaning and results.”

“But….”

“Making Jio run away certainly couldn’t be called a good choice, but I scouted you, Mr. Yu Seong-un, because I was taken with that spirit of inquiry of yours. You don’t need to apologize for that part.”

“I will be careful in the future.”

“That’s enough.”

Fortunately, Bisabeol was a person who was special to his own people.

The duty of a curator is to maintain and manage artworks.

This kind of spirit of inquiry, which a researcher might have, is not appropriate.

Nevertheless, it was something to be thankful for to have met a boss who defended this side of Yu Seong-un.

“Haa….”

But Yu Seong-un was still troubled.

‘Just because there wasn’t a big problem doesn’t mean the mistake disappears.’

It had been quite a while since he was hired by Bisabeol and had been living as a curator.

He thought he had become very dull while appreciating and managing Bisabeol’s collection during that time, but it seems his nature was his nature, as he had lost his mind at the mystery of a dungeon he had seen for the first time in a long while.

Yu Seong-un entered his personal workshop and bit down on a candy.

An adult exhausted by fatigue needed sugar.

“…….”

Yes, that’s right.

‘Jio’s Portrait is not an ordinary monster.’

That point stimulated Yu Seong-un’s curiosity.

“…It could simply be a mutation, but….”

A small mumble.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un sat in his chair for a long while, staring into the empty air.

Eventually, he opened his mouth.

“…Should I try contacting the Gardeners.”

The Gardeners were a profession secretly operated by the associations of each country.

In fact, it is not to the level of being ‘secretly operated.’

Since they are tasks that anyone can do if they have the right aptitude.

However, it would be more appropriate to say that it just wasn’t publicly spread semi-forcibly because there were so few people with that aptitude.

‘But since I came out feigning retirement as a researcher, it’s a bit awkward to contact them again.’

The Gardeners, a kind of secret researcher and adventurer, were people who were close to the truth of the dungeons.

As such, they knew various pieces of information not known to the world, but Yu Seong-un’s knowledge as a former Gardener could not explain ‘Jio’s Portrait.’

It was a type of being he had never seen before in his life.

“…Well, it’ll work out somehow.”

Creak….

Yu Seong-un let out a sigh and slumped in his chair.

“There’s no need to rush, so let’s take it slow.”

No matter what humans do, the ‘Source’ does not run away.

‘Because it’s too big of a fellow for that.’

There was no reason to hastily dig up secrets, nor did he feel like it.

In the first place, it was just a few days ago that he had acted so hastily and made ‘Jio’ run away.

“Let’s reflect, reflect….”

Fortunately, ‘Jio’s’ avoidance was not very long.

A few days later, Yu Seong-un was able to see the portrait with its eyes open.

* * *

“…Uh….”

“Good day.”

“…Hello?”

Yu Seong-un gave an awkward laugh.

“Good evening.”

“Yes, it is.”

The forest in Jio’s Portrait was an evening with twinkling stars.

“It happens to be evening for us as well.”

“Wasn’t it dawn.”

“I came a little early today. It’s not even 12 o’clock yet.”

“It seems certainly earlier than usual, is there a reason?”

“I came to check on the other artworks I’m in charge of.”

Yu Seong-un shrugged his shoulders.

“And then I saw that you, Jio, were awake.”

“I am always awake.”

“That’s a surprising story.”

Yu Seong-un, who had been joking around, asked in his characteristic calm voice.

“What were you doing just now?”

His gaze was directed at the brush held in the portrait’s hand.

It was a very strange sight of a picture holding a tool that could draw a picture.

‘If the Guild Master saw this, his eyes would pop out.’

Jio answered meekly.

“I was making a bird.”

“Ah, so you were drawing a bird.”

“Yes.”

“May I see it as well? If it’s not too much of a bother, that is.”

“If you wish, Mr. Yu Seong-un, I will show you.”

The man with the blunt face put down the brush in his hand and then tapped somewhere that was not visible to Yu Seong-un.

As his delicate fingers called someone out with discipline, a strange event occurred.

The sound of splashing water was heard, and soon a single bird appeared.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un was surprised.

Of course, unlike the previous jewel, it was certainly flat like a being from beyond the picture… but at least it felt as alive as Jio.

“…That bird is….”

“My new family.”

“Ah, I see.”

I wanted to answer as calmly as possible, but I don’t know if I succeeded.

To be honest, Yu Seong-un was a little excited.

“It is a wonderful bird.”

The bird was very small. In terms of species in Korea, would it be the shape of a long-tailed tit?

But its tail feathers were much longer, and its wings were one with its transparent body and were not clearly visible.

Perhaps they were fused together as they were.

It was made of very clean water.

It resembled the holy water that Yu Seong-un, a former Gardener, had occasionally seen in dungeons, or the spring water of a remote region where no life lived at all.

“Jio, did you just create that?”

I thought I knew why he had said ‘create’ instead of ‘draw.’

That was definitely a living, moving creature.

“You were holding a brush.”

“I’ve taken a liking to it, so I am trying to make several.”

“Several?”

“Right now, there are probably… a little less than 100.”

“That is amazing.”

To think that he drew those 100 one by one.

“It couldn’t have been easy.”

“Time is all I have, so it does not matter.”

“Ah….”

“It’s fun, too.”

“…….”

Is his personality one that seeks interest, surprisingly?

‘A point to note.’

As it was Jio with his overly polite and stiff expression, it was hard to get a feel for it, but the fact that a being, whether a monster or something else, lives a life centered on interest was something to be wary of as a human.

Yu Seong-un, having memorized the information in his head, asked again.

“It seems to be made of water, can that bird sing?”

“It doesn’t have vocal cords, but….”

Flutter…!

Splash, splash!

“…Like this.”

“Aha.”

When the bird shook its body like a wet puppy, a splashing sound was made.

It sounded like a small water bottle being shaken and also like a jelly of thin viscosity being mixed around.

Yu Seong-un let out a small laugh.

“So that’s how it cries.”

The portrait added.

“It can cry in other ways too.”

“But didn’t you say it has no vocal cords?”

“It is a similar method to before, but.”

Jio took out a small jewel from inside his suit.

“How about it.”

Flap…! Flutter!

“It’s yours.”

Chomp.

The small-bodied bird snatched the green jewel from Jio’s hand.

It seemed to gauge the jewel by biting it here and there with its tiny mouth, and soon, it swallowed it in one gulp.

“Ah.”

Jio, still with a blunt expression, handed over a few more jewels.

“It should be able to cry now.”

“How….”

Just then, a clattering sound was heard.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un soon understood how the bird in front of him cried.

‘…By moving or hitting the objects put inside its body….’

It was a sight that resembled a fairy tale.

The jewels trapped inside the bird’s transparent body floated around and they also made sounds by hitting each other.

Even though they looked like dense jewels, the jewels floating around in that small body sparkled along with the light-scattered water.

Jio spoke as if teaching a newborn beast.

“Yes.”

Clatter!

“You’re doing well.”

Click, clack!

“…….”

And then, he was seen blinking twice.

His blunt expression hadn’t changed, but perhaps it was just his imagination, he looked tired.

“They are chatterboxes.”

“They seem quite quiet.”

“I can’t even imagine how noisy it would have been if they had vocal cords.”

“That… may be true, but.”

The bird, showing the quick movements characteristic of a small-bodied beast, moved here and there on Jio’s hand, flapped its tail, and busily struggled.

Then it would spread its wings and flutter them.

‘The wings are bigger than I thought.’

The wings, large enough to cover its entire body, were absorbed back into the torso and lost their shape.

‘That part is just like a slime.’

The way it tried hard to put something into its body also seemed a bit similar.

Though that one seems to do so for the purpose of decorating itself rather than hunting….

How would it react if it met an enemy?

“…Your painting is truly wonderful.”

Is this a portrait and also a painter?

At Yu Seong-un’s words, spoken with that thought, Jio looked at him.

Those eyes, so black they even seemed bright, held Yu Seong-un for a moment, then soon opened his mouth.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t say anything rude, did I?”

“It was a compliment perfectly suited for someone who draws pictures.”

“Then I am glad.”

But a living painting.

‘Anyone would call that wonderful.’

As Yu Seong-un was staring blankly at the bird, the portrait asked.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Ah, a question….”

Is this also one of the rules of ‘Jio’s Portrait’?

‘It seems to give an opportunity like this every time.’

Yu Seong-un gauged the other’s patience and goodwill and answered.

“I always have questions. So I have one this time as well. Because you, Jio, showed me such a wonderful picture.”

“I see.”

“This bird is truly beautiful. Do these creatures have their own sense of beauty? Or do they act according to your taste, Jio?”

“…….”

The portrait that blinked twice answered.

“I do not know much about these friends.”

“I see.”

“But they like to decorate themselves by putting something in their bodies.”

Perhaps because they had had quite a few conversations so far, Jio continued speaking without reservation.

“I have made about 100 birds so far, but the objects they preferred were different for each. This friend prefers jewels, some birds wanted flowers, and some sought branches or pebbles. Sometimes it was small fish or fruits from a tree.”

Flutter!

When the portrait waved its hand, the bird that was sitting on it flew.

The sound of water was heard.

“They do not move according to my aesthetic sense. They have their own firm tastes. It might have been influenced by me a little… but it is not something I can force now.”

“That sounds just like a real bird.”

“This place is a picture. The picture drawn by me, the owner of the picture, becomes real. If they wish, they can live and breathe. They can.”

“…….”

“Has this become a sufficient answer?”

Yu Seong-un, who was silent for a moment, soon opened his mouth.

“This bird does not seem like a simple picture. It seems alive. By any chance, can it come outside like you, Jio?”

“Well.”

Jio did not give a clear answer.

It seemed as if he himself did not know what would happen, or perhaps as if he did not particularly want to say. Yu Seong-un did not pay much mind and moved on.

However, he asked cautiously.

“Is there….”

“…….”

“A soul in this?”

Now, 31 years after the dungeons appeared, people acknowledged the existence of the ‘soul.’

It was an unavoidable trend because various skills targeting the soul had emerged.

Though there is no such skill that is not rare.

“Did you just create a bird with a soul?”

“Well.”

The same answer as before.

‘I don’t know his intentions.’

The portrait was still blunt.

It was a face that could not be seen as that of a person who had just created a life and so it had a more alien and eerie aspect.

‘Does it feel more grotesque because he casually does things that don’t seem human at all, yet his eyes, nose, and mouth are all attached like a person’s?’

There was a sense of incongruity on a different level from the monsters or similar things he had seen usually.

The portrait answered as usual.

“I do not know either.”

“If you, the owner, do not know, then who does?”

“Perhaps no one knows.”

His voice was clear.

“I simply drew a picture and I am a person who has come inside a picture.”

“…….”

“I can decorate this picture and the picture decorated in such a way becomes real within this portrait. Just like when you drew me an apple last time, Mr. Yu Seong-un….”

“…….”

“In the end, it’s a picture.”

It sounds like a play on words, but it wasn’t wrong either.

‘A picture within a picture is indeed real.’

Yu Seong-un asked again after a moment.

“You created a bird within the picture. You drew and gave me a jewel and you were able to deliver that to me.”

“That is correct.”

“Jio, you are certainly a picture, but at the same time, you are human and can also influence reality.”

He asked.

“In that case, can you draw a real life here?”

“…….”

“I mean, can you draw something like a destiny, a past or a memory, not just on the level of coming out of the picture and going back in like last time. Or perhaps….”

“…….”

“An actual person.”

Jio answered eventually.

“It may be possible or it may not be.”

“…….”

“But I do not want to do so.”

“…Why? Is it not lonely or boring inside the picture?”

“I do not feel loneliness here.”

His tone was still blunt.

“I am comfortable here. This place where the weather is always nice, the spring breeze blows, and the scent of the forest is full, nothing is cumbersome or difficult.”

“…….”

“If a time comes when I am bored, I can just create a new friend like now. That is enough.”

Yu Seong-un was a little surprised.

“You are satisfied with your peaceful world of the picture?”

The heteromorphic beings he had seen so far had always coveted things of reality.

Regardless of whether they had an ego, their actions were instinctive, like the stem of a plant stretching towards the sunlight.

“Do you not feel the desire to come out?”

“It is tiring.”

“That… may be so, but….”

“I do not want to go out. This place is my home now.”

“…….”

He just clearly said, ‘now.’

‘…So there was a time when he didn’t live in this portrait.’

The portrait claims to be human, and he said there was a time when he did not reside in the portrait, but there was no guarantee that the place he resided in was necessarily Earth.

‘It could be another dungeon or dimension. No, considering Jio’s usual statements and class, the probability of this side would be a bit higher.’

Regardless of Yu Seong-un’s thoughts, the portrait continued.

“I cannot create a living being that threatens me.”

“…A threatening living being?”

“A human is a being that always has the potential to harm other beings. The living beings I can create are only friendly friends to me. That is the rule of this portrait.”

“…….”

“I didn’t know well at first either, but after a few attempts, I figured it out. Because I am the owner of this portrait, I cannot create a being that can erase me. That is why I cannot draw a human.”

The portrait murmured.

“Because a portrait without an owner cannot be established.”

Having said that, Jio looked at Yu Seong-un again.

“Creating a human is unsettling.”

“Why is that?”

“It is too special of an event.”

“Isn’t it good if it’s special?”

“Because I am not that special, it is not good.”

“…….”

“My specialness is satisfied with being a talking portrait.”

That was certainly too deep to be believed as the thought of a portrait with only a simple ego.

‘It’s certain that he’s not an ordinary monster or item.’

That is why there was an eerie aspect.

“…….”

“Has this become a sufficient answer?”

“For today, yes.”

Not a monster, not an item.

Not a ghost, nor a human.

“I will see you next time.”

What in the world is this.

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