The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 164

Twelve o'clock sharp.

"What was the rainforest you called your homeland like?"

Even though Yoo Seong-Woon was too busy to attend, the hallway meeting began without fail.

"You always seem in a good mood when you talk about it."

"Of course I’m in a good mood."

Today, the Gio who leaned halfway out of the frame in lavish leather and ornamentation was, naturally, Argio.

"Isn’t that what a homeland is supposed to be?"

"It certainly is a word that stirs many emotions."

Joo-Hyun gave a slightly awkward smile.

"More than that... the way you look right now..."

"What about it?"

"You’re scarier than usual."

"......."

Gio, sprawled halfway out of the portrait and leaning onto the table, slowly sat up.

"Am I scary?"

"You look like a textbook ghost."

"And which ghost is as handsome as me?"

"That part’s true."

But the sheer presence of “Gio’s Portrait” overwhelmed even his outer beauty. Most of the Collector’s Guild staff felt fear before noticing that “Sergio” was good-looking—evidence enough.

Still, Joo-Hyun, feeling a bit guilty, tried to brush it off.

"Just saying..."

"Are the Collector’s Guild employees still afraid of me?"

"I tried not to say anything, but that’s way too shameless a question to ignore."

"Come on, be honest now."

"Isn’t it a bit much for you to hope people won’t be scared of you when you don’t even pretend to act human, Argio?"

The “Gio” selves—the ones closer to humanity—usually hoped not to be feared. Seeing him care about that made her feel sorry for him, but when he said such absurd things, she had to respond.

"If it bothers you that people are scared, maybe treat them a little more gently."

"Where in this world is there a ghost-possessed portrait kinder than me? That’s just cruel to say."

"I admit that—but you’re expecting too much return for your investment."

"Any more investment and I’d just be a sucker."

"...Hard to argue with that, honestly."

Joo-Hyun didn’t want to see Gio end up being taken advantage of.

"You’re already being pretty generous, honestly."

"But if I didn’t even do this, I’d just be a scary painting."

"Isn’t that kind of your whole identity though? ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ A scary painting with aspirations way too high."

"Careful, I might just go on strike."

"Please don’t. You’re the one who accepted the job—what would we do if you went on strike?"

"Of course I’m not so irresponsible. Don’t worry, friend."

Gio waved his hand and flopped back onto the table.

A great tiger.

Big cats often looked like that—sprawled lazily in warm sunlight, full-bellied.

"So, would you be willing to answer now?"

"About what—my homeland?"

"Yes. You were about to speak but stopped."

"And wasn’t that because you were scolding me?"

"It wasn’t scolding—it was just giving you a reality check."

"That is scolding, come on..."

Gio’s long, braided red hair slipped off the table with his motion. The ornaments in his hair clinked faintly against the wooden surface. He rubbed his forehead into the table, grumbling.

"......."

Seeing this, Joo-Hyun gathered a new piece of intel about “Gio’s Portrait.”

‘...Argio appears when he’s angry or annoyed.’

The portrait manifested Giovanni’s form when showing mercy or patience, Argio’s when stirred by anger or passion, and Sergio’s for mundane, everyday interactions.

‘They sometimes mix, but each seems to have a purpose.’

Would more forms of “Gio” appear as he expressed different emotions?

"Mr. Argio, you said you were twenty-four, correct?"

"That’s right... probably."

"Probably?"

"No one really counted for me."

"Is this the part where I’m supposed to feel sorry for you?"

"I’m just stating a fact."

Argio rested his chin on the table.

"I lived more like a beast than a human. Everyone around me was born a beast. None of them cared to count age—or knew how."

"You never tried counting yourself?"

"Later, I started wondering how old I was. I’m not one to ignore what I want, so I went out into the world to check. Before I died, I figured, ‘Ah, I guess I’ll die at twenty-four.’"

Before Joo-Hyun could respond, Gio continued.

"Besides, the Black Forest isn’t a place where you can mark dates. It’s dark—morning, night, it’s all the same. A child living like a beast doesn’t have the mind to track days."

Joo-Hyun asked,

"Was it really that dark, all the time?"

"Yes. A place where time doesn’t flow."

"Most people would go insane in a place like that."

"They’d probably die first—from some wicked beast or toxic air."

Amused, Gio showed his usual crooked smile.

"You wanted to hear about my homeland?"

"And that place was... called the Black Forest, wasn’t it?"

"That’s right. I grew up in the Black Forest."

It was a place that suited Argio’s nature well.

"I’ve told you, there was no sun or moon."

"What does that mean, exactly? Why couldn’t you distinguish day and night?"

"The trees were massive and thick. Their leaves were so dense, you couldn’t see the sky."

"Were there any weather changes?"

"Rain was the most common."

"Since it was a rainforest, of course."

Joo-Hyun tilted her head, puzzled.

"Wait—if you couldn’t see the sky and couldn’t feel time passing, how could it rain? At that level, it’s like the sky and forest were totally separated."

Argio smiled with satisfaction.

"Good thinking, friend. In such a dense rainforest, no matter how heavy the rain, only a few drops would reach the ground. But the Black Forest stored that water."

"Stored the rainwater...?"

"And it would release it bit by bit—because a beast stomped its foot, a tree leaned from impact, or animals rested on branches..."

"So all the triggers involved beasts."

"That rain was, in the end, made by the beasts of the Black Forest. While it sat, the water absorbed toxins from plants and animals, becoming thick with poison. Without immunity, your flesh would rot and bones dissolve."

"Sounds no different from a dungeon."

Gio nodded, affirming her words.

"And when the forest grew too warm, fog would rise. A fog thick with poisons from flora and beasts, with gases from deadly swamps. It was dark as shadow and hard to breathe within."

"......."

"And with vision obscured, you couldn’t see beasts or traps, nor whether you were stepping on ground or into a swamp."

That was the Black Forest.

"Small animals, lowly bugs, even mute plants—if they weren’t vicious, they didn’t survive. So only monsters remained to form the ecosystem."

Gio gave a dry laugh.

"There’s a reason it's the root of so many horror stories."

"Horror stories, huh..."

"How scared must people have been to see a living, two-legged creature coming out of that place?"

"...Is that part of why you gained infamy?"

"It played a role, I think."

"How did you even survive there?"

Joo-Hyun’s face was calm, but her voice was sharp.

"You said you were left there when you were very young."

"Yes. I was abandoned in the Black Forest."

For Argio, it was a turning point in life, but not one he considered particularly grand.

"I actually enjoyed it."

"Why? Weren’t you afraid when you were sent there?"

"Maybe I instinctively felt it was where I belonged."

Also—

"It looked a lot more fun than staying with those pig-dogs."

"You always talk about turning us into pigs..."

"My pigs aren’t always meant as compliments, you know."

"So this one is clearly an insult?"

"It just appeared that way to me."

Those fools who thought wearing glitter made them human, not beasts.

"Watching their stupid, adorable antics was kind of fun, though."

"Stupid, I understand—but adorable? In what way?"

"You probably won’t agree even if I explain."

"Let me try."

"I like your attitude, friend."

Argio said it like it meant little.

"Do people still keep dogs and cats as pets?"

"That, and reptiles, insects, fish—lots of popular pets."

"Then picture this. You’re walking down the street and see a bird decorating itself with flowers."

"Okay, a bird wearing flowers."

"Or a cat chattering away with nonsense words."

"A cat babbling gibberish..."

"Or a puppy bringing you its toy like it’s the greatest treasure."

"......."

"What do you think?"

He asked.

"Isn’t that cute?"

"...Yeah. That would be cute."

Unfortunately, Joo-Hyun understood what he meant.

"So that’s how you saw the world? Even when you were human?"

"I am human. Don’t discriminate just because I’m a portrait."

"Ah, right. I meant when you were a regular human."

"And what’s wrong with that perspective?"

"Well... um..."

Just in case, Joo-Hyun tried to confirm.

"So you’re saying you saw people—those who dressed themselves up, who spoke nonsense, who bragged—as birds, cats, dogs... That’s what you meant, right?"

"I’m pleased you understood, my honorable friend."

"But you described them so negatively. Doesn’t seem like they were good people. So... was that abuse of power? And still..."

She asked.

"Did you find them cute?"

"Isn’t stupidity endearing?"

"I see you’ve been like this since you were very young."

"I’ve always been quite special."

Argio smiled slyly.

"A dog that thinks it’s a human is just too adorable."

"You might upset a lot of people with that analogy..."

"Of course they’re not the same. I only used it to help you understand."

"Using them as examples in the same breath is pretty uncomfortable."

"...Is it? I admit it may be too flattering for those pig-dogs..."

Rising to his feet, Gio slipped naturally back into the portrait.

The long red hair spread across the table vanished, leaving Joo-Hyun feeling oddly empty. From inside the frame, the portrait spoke again.

"The Black Forest was always full of rare treasures."

"...Treasures? Out of nowhere?"

"You asked about my homeland, didn’t you?"

"I did, yes."

"There was gold and silver in abundance."

"......."

"Poison became medicine, became treasure..."

That smile was heavy.

"It bloomed atop corpses."

A calm, grave smile—its meaning unreadable.

"I look forward to visiting the rainforest soon."

"...It does sound similar to the dungeon you described."

"I feel that way, but rest assured—it’s not my homeland. Entirely different dimension."

"I’m relieved to hear that, but at the same time..."

Joo-Hyun trailed off. Then asked quietly:

"...Do you want to go back?"

"I’d like to visit."

"Not... go back to that time?"

"I don’t cling to the past."

"I see."

"I loved my family and friends."

And—

"Because of that, I died."

Joo-Hyun couldn’t decipher the meaning behind that smile.