The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 326

Yoo Seong-Woon went to see Gio.

“Gio, I’m really having a rough time.”

“Oh dear, what’s the matter?”

“I got summoned to the presidential office, remember?”

No matter how much Bisa Beul coddled his golden child, there were limits.

In the end, Bisa Beul offered up Yoo Seong-Woon to the Symbol of Eternity with a bittersweet face, and Yoo Seong-Woon obediently became the offering and had just returned from meeting the president.

Now, he had knocked and entered the place called “Portrait of Gio.”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“Oh dear.”

“......”

“......”

Gio, after a moment of silence, pointed at the table.

“Would you like a bowl of kimchi stew?”

“You’ve got rice too, right? Just set one more spot for me, my friend.”

“Don’t worry.”

It was another peaceful day in the hut.

***

As always, after finishing his meal, Yoo Seong-Woon said,

“Let’s open a restaurant together.”

To that, Gio shook his head.

“I already run a food cart, though...”

“That’s usually in someone else’s garden, or in high-ranking dungeons.”

“There is the drawback of limited accessibility, admittedly.”

“In that sense, what about building a restaurant on Earth?”

This delicious food—Yoo Seong-Woon didn’t get to eat it often.

From a pan-human perspective, that was probably reasonable.

But Yoo Seong-Woon’s rationality had broken down long ago.

It was warm, filling, and the food was just too good.

After a brief moment of thought, Gio shook his head again.

“You’re clearly exhausted and starting to talk nonsense. I can already see how much you’ll regret this in the future, so I’ll preemptively block it for your sake. My apologies, but I must decline, Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon.”

“I love how decisive you are...”

Yoo Seong-Woon, gazing longingly at the empty bowl without a single grain of rice left, asked,

“So, were you just as firm with the president?”

“Honestly, I have quite a few excuses regarding that part.”

“As your friend, I’ll hear you out.”

“Thank you. To begin with—Mr. Zeorge is quite the prankster.”

“Oh? I wonder if the word ‘prankster’ is even appropriate in this case?”

“It seems he said something rather harmful to my student’s mental state.”

Even Gio found that day unsettling to recall.

“When I came to my senses, I realized I’d made my student cry.”

“Oh... you did, huh... you really did...”

“I had no such intention, so it was rather troubling.”

“Anyway, it shocked even you, right? What Zeorge said—that made the president uneasy?”

“I wouldn’t say I was shocked.

From our previous game of tag, I already knew quite well that he was a prankster who doesn’t listen easily.”

“Hm...”

“I can’t even tell how far the fusion has gone.”

Even the assimilation rate displayed as ???%.

It could mean nearly complete fusion, or a very low rate.

It was Gio’s first time dealing with a suitable host like this, and he found himself a little confused.

Grasping the situation, Yoo Seong-Woon gave a slightly awkward smile.

“Her Excellency said it feels like you’ve been possessed by a malicious spirit, and maybe she’s not far off.”

“How sad... calling me possessed, isn’t that a bit much?”

“Whoa, don’t startle me.”

“Oh, apologies. That just hurt a little, emotionally.”

“See, this reaction proves you’re not completely unmerged.”

Yoo Seong-Woon rubbed his stinging eyes.

Gio had taken on Zeorge’s form for barely five seconds, but the impact was massive.

He was so dazzling, it could bring tears to your eyes.

But regardless, for now it seemed like Gio was in control of “Zeorge.”

Yoo Seong-Woon’s expression grew slightly uncertain.

After some thought, he asked,

“...What exactly do you mean when you talk about ‘fusion’?”

“The first step is contacting someone who’s suitable to merge with me.

In this case, the person was designated from the start, and they had already accepted the fusion, so there was hardly any room for conflict.”

“Hardly any? So there could be?”

“In Mr. Zeorge’s case, he did give consent, but then dragged things out by playing an extremely long game of tag with me.

I did win in the end and am currently in the fusion process, but it shows that a host can exercise certain loopholes even without formal refusal.”

“But even the fusion this time doesn’t ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) seem to be going as smoothly as before.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Gio admitted readily.

“So you could say that until full fusion is complete, I’m essentially in a state of split personality.”

“Split personality, huh.”

“It’s not a perfect analogy. But it’s the simplest way to explain my current state during fusion. That’s why I was able to eliminate the uncanny sense people get from my portrait through these individuals.”

“And once fusion completes, you become the full portrait again?”

“In that case, for some reason, people find me terrifying.

It’s a fixed truth that I have to keep attempting fusion to live a normal social life...”

“So this time, with Mr. Zeorge, things were a bit different?”

Gio blinked at Yoo Seong-Woon’s muttering.

“Still, it’s true that he’s helped a lot in eliminating my dissonance.”

“Even though Mr. Zeorge himself doesn’t exactly look like a normal person.”

“...No, I think he falls well within the range of what you’d call a normal person.”

“...Is that your usual broad standard talking again?”

“Putting aside the part where he sparkles like a peacock, he’s not very portrait-like at all.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

It could be.

Humans like Yoo Seong-Woon were bound to focus on Zeorge’s over-the-top appearance.

There were countless cases where people became so dazzled by what they saw that they failed to grasp the essence.

Thinking that, Yoo Seong-Woon furrowed his brow slightly.

“But even considering all that... Zeorge just doesn’t act like a normal person, does he?”

“...When I take on that form, I tend to get strangely giddy.”

“So that’s why you acted all garden-y? Why do you keep forgetting shadows? When do you develop any gravitas? And what’s with that honey scent that belongs in a flower bed?”

“That probably falls within the domain of that giddiness as well.”

“I seriously can’t figure out what kind of influence that is.”

“Hmm...”

Gio paused, then tried to explain the state he enters when changing form.

“It’s like... I start thinking, ‘Do I really have to go that far?’”

“Is it just me, or does that sound kinda dangerous?”

“I believe it’s not that dangerous.”

“Now I get why she said it felt like a malicious spirit had taken over.”

Yoo Seong-Woon clutched his chest with a faintly pained smile.

“Yeah, I figured a day like this would come. I’m a professional curator—I have to prepare for every scenario. Sure, yeah. That’s true... but still, Gio...”

“Is something the matter?”

“I don’t know why, but it hurts right here.”

“I really don’t understand which part is hurting you.”

“Joo-Hyun said it felt like ‘our gentle youngest got exposed to something bad and came back.’ At first I thought, ‘Wow, this person’s not exactly mild either,’ but... ha...”

“Are you crying?”

“I feel like I might.”

Wiping his face roughly, Yoo Seong-Woon looked at Gio again.

“All the previous versions of ‘Gio’ were genuinely good people. You, or Mr. Giovanni—neither of you harbored malice. And even Mr. Argio... his malice didn’t really feel like malice.”

Argio’s malice had an affectionate quality, like admiring lesser beings.

That’s why he had tried to teach Earth about “rage.”

Though it took the form of malice, at its core, it was a lesson.

But this time, “Zeorge” was a little different.

“Compared to the previous ones, Mr. Zeorge is just...”

“He seems like someone who really enjoys life.”

“Yeah... sadly, that’s true.

Can’t believe he reminded me of our guild master.”

“I get the feeling you do know why, but don’t want to admit it—so I’ll respect that.”

“Thanks for understanding, but still, my heart’s trembling.”

Yoo Seong-Woon’s smile twisted slightly.

“At least our guild master has some restraint.

That guy knows his limits.

But Mr. Zeorge? He doesn’t seem to have any.

That’s what worries me.

I’m just a fragile human, you know.”

“I’m fragile too.”

“Did you throw out your conscience when you merged with Zeorge?”

“How could you say such a hurtful thing.”

“Even though you look like Sergio right now, I still see Zeorge peeking through—how strange.”

“And honestly, Guildmaster Bisa Beul isn’t that safe either.

From what I’ve seen, he’s not ‘respecting boundaries’—he just hasn’t crossed them... yet.”

“You’re stabbing my heart right now.”

But he wasn’t wrong.

“That’s why I’m even more anxious. One day, Mr. Zeorge and our guildmaster might just team up and cause some real disaster. They haven’t made any direct contact yet, I think, but if something blows up tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised at all...”

“So that’s how much you see me and my father as troublemakers.”

“You think the word ‘troublemaker’ even begins to cover it? You wouldn’t believe it, but our guildmaster has held back a lot over the years. We all believe that if he ever snaps, no one can predict how far it’ll go.”

“Surely it won’t come to that?”

“Can I treat that as a half-prophecy?”

“Of course not.”

Gio gave a faint smile.

Yoo Seong-Woon felt a subtle dissonance from that smile.

Or maybe a sense of wonder.

Compared to when they first met, “Portrait of Gio” had certainly expanded its range of expression.

It must have been the influence of all the “Gio”s he had fused with so far.

He could only hope Gio wouldn’t pick up Zeorge’s dopamine addiction along the way.

‘Still... I can’t help but worry.’

Whether Gio sensed that or not, he continued.

“I don’t think Mr. Zeorge is a calm or well-behaved model student, either. We don’t really get along. But then again, that was also true with Mr. Argio.”

“...That’s true.”

“I won’t deny that Mr. Zeorge may harbor malice. But what’s the point in comparing the malice of the past with the malice of now?”

He said Argio’s malice and Zeorge’s malice could not be distinguished.

That he wouldn’t try to.

That there was no reason to.

Yoo Seong-Woon quietly listened to the portrait as it spoke.

“And above all else, I’m just an ordinary person.”

Gio still wore that faint but gentle smile.

“And people are creatures who can harbor malice at any time.”

“...Even you can harbor malice?”

“I may be able to understand many situations, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of anger or sadness. Even if someone kneels before me and explains why they had no choice but to kill my family—I wouldn’t be able to not hate them.”

“That’s...”

“Would you say that’s not malice? That wish for the one who hurt someone precious to suffer as much as possible, to feel pain beyond their punishment, to live in lifelong anguish and fade into meaninglessness—is that not malice?”

“...I guess not.”

Yoo Seong-Woon asked,

“Is that from personal experience?”

“I used a metaphor to help you understand more easily.”

“Ah, got it?”

“To put it simply, I’m human.”

“A normal person.”

“Yes. And I can be evil at any time.”

Gio’s eyes curved as he smiled.

“Don’t think of me as perfect.”

“...Or else?”

“You might end up regretting it.”

“Then I better be careful.”

Yoo Seong-Woon nodded slowly.

This portrait was giving him a very kind warning.

Even if it had taken on a personality, it was still the Eye of the Origin—capable of holding countless variables.

Thinking you knew everything about him would be dangerous.

“So, to sum it up... ‘Zeorge’ is you too?”

“Hmm...”

Gio, now without a smile, thought for a moment before replying.

“Not yet.”

“So, not yet, huh?”

“There’s still some tuning needed between me and Mr. Zeorge.”

“Like with Mr. Argio?”

“But he’s so playful, the process is moving slowly.”

As he said that, Gio gathered up Honey, who had been sprawled across the table, and placed them into a glass jar.

Seemed like post-meal drowsiness was hitting.

With Honey safely stored inside, Gio tucked the jar into his arms.

Then he said,

“I’m sure it’ll all work out somehow.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I’ll try living properly for once.”

It was an oddly reassuring vow.