The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 226
“Welcome!!”
Paang―!
Flower petals burst into the air, greeting Gio.
“We’ve cleaned the burrow so that our honored guest may rest comfortably!”
“Was the journey tiring? We’ve prepared foxes to fan you!”
“If you desire anything at all, please don’t hesitate to tell us!”
Chieftain Laami, still disguised as a human, watched her kin welcome their “guest,” sneaking glances at Gio’s reaction. She smiled with her usual slanted expression, rubbing her hands together.
“To ensure you may look around freely, we’ve already spruced up our burrow. You may explore as much as you like. We may not be able to offer a meal, but this much humble service we give with glad hearts.”
“Oh, I see.”
Gio looked around.
“This is quite a different atmosphere from the wolf tribe.”
“Hehe, the wolves have no interest in decorating their dens. They’re strong, both physically and mentally, so even a bare cave is enough for them. But we foxes are terribly delicate.”
Laami made a deliberately sad face.
“Without a soft bed, our bodies break down. If our homes are dim, we grow depressed. So we try to decorate our burrows as best we can.”
“Interesting. What about the crow tribe?”
“Since they’re the smallest among us, their homes are small as well. They use twigs, leaves, mud, and their own feathers to build round nests—like eggs.”
You could call it the most cost-effective kind of house.
“Of course, they collapse easily, but that’s why crows claim every tree in this forest as their home and frequently move from one to another.”
“So it’s not wrong to say the entire forest is their home?”
“They’ve even drawn the most detailed map of this forest. Unlike us, they can fly to places too dangerous for others and conduct explorations.”
“I see...”
The fox burrow was undeniably different from the gloomy dens of the wolf tribe. Despite the world having ended, it was filled with gold and treasures from who-knows-where. Each area was neatly arranged, the mood bright and orderly.
“You’re even growing plants.”
“Ah, those...”
Laami laughed as she looked at the plants placed throughout the burrow.
“They’re air-purifying plants to help with breathing. We can’t build fancy devices like the crows, but we foxes are no slouches when it comes to using our heads.”
“Without them, you can’t breathe? That’s odd, considering you crossed the Black Forest without any device to meet me.”
“Well, I’m the chieftain! The strongest and cleverest fox must sit in this seat. Of course, I’m not the only one who can withstand the Black Forest’s toxins. We have those who primarily work outside—hunting and gathering.”
“Hmm.”
Gio turned his gaze to the other foxes watching him with smiling faces. They were still pale, their smiles trembling slightly from fear, but it was clear they were doing their best.
“Are foxes always so good at disguise?”
“Specialization in shapeshifting is one of our tribe’s greatest advantages!”
“I see!”
The artificially cheerful atmosphere made Gio think:
‘They’re cute.’
And also exhausting.
Argio wouldn’t have cared how others perceived him, but as Sergio or Giovanni, he instinctively rejected this sort of thing. He stroked his chin, relishing the contradiction of emotions.
“Are all the ones here adults?”
“Yes, they are. We’ve put the immature ones out of sight. They might make mistakes.”
“Oh dear, no need to fear me that much.”
“......”
“So thoughtful.”
He praised them for their consideration, and Laami’s face went ghostly pale. It was clear now—she’d hidden the young foxes not for any practical reason, but because she feared he might harm them.
Gio thought again.
‘Adorable.’
So what was he supposed to do with this?
‘Honestly, it’s a bit... awkward.’
All these “Gios” had a tendency to act first, think later. They liked to imagine the best and worst outcomes, then charge ahead when the time was right.
The problem was how these foxes reacted. The wolves hadn’t shown this level of fear, so at least he hadn’t felt guilty.
‘But these ones are truly terrified of me.’
And they were trying their hardest to appease him, groveling with all their limbs. That desperate plea for mercy—it didn’t bother Argio, but Gio wasn’t sure how to handle it.
Even showing just 5% of such devotion would usually lead him to shamelessly declare, “We breathed the same air, we’re friends now, right?”
“......”
But in this situation, if he said, “Hey, wanna be friends?” the answer would obviously be, “Yes, I’ll gladly be your floor mat, just please spare me!”
So Gio decided to bury the idea of pen-pal friendship deep in his mind.
This kind of uncomfortable goodwill was a fuzzy concept for him. He pitied the givers, and while he wanted to repay their sincerity, the odds of that gesture being welcomed were low.
‘What’s the right way to handle this again...?’
Rarely for Gio, he stumbled.
“......”
“......”
Look at that. This awkward silence was uncomfortable for him, and terrifying for them.
They weren’t confronting him head-on like the wolves, or silently observing like the crows—they were showing submission he hadn’t even asked for. What was he supposed to do with that?
“Hmmm.”
As Argio, all he’d ever done as the “evil god” was lash out.
“Alright, then...”
He decided to start by feeding them.
“You said you were hungry, right?”
“Ah, yes! If you would take pity on us and grant mercy... We’ll do our absolute best to give you anything you desire...!”
“The wolves said poison-free meat was enough.”
“! Same goes for us—it’s more than enough!”
Everything they could hunt or gather from the Black Forest was poisonous. Even that was becoming rare, and most of what remained was far too dangerous for the foxes to hunt.
“If you give us the chance...!”
“I already planned to give a gift, so don’t worry.”
But simply giving didn’t sit right with him. Even if they seemed weak now, Gio wanted to be their friend. He disliked relationships where he just “bestowed” things.
‘Maybe I’ll try nudging a bit.’
Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to turn into a cozy relationship right away.
He decided to make a “trade” offer to comfort the foxes groveling at his feet. Give-and-take made everyone more comfortable. It was a harmless trick.
‘Besides, I’m looking for someone.’
No matter how much time passed, the voice that had once called him hadn’t come again.
‘How can they be this relaxed about it?’
In the end, Gio would have to find the caller himself. He wasn’t about to lose a promising new friend. frёewebnoѵēl.com
‘It might get complicated, but with help from ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the locals, it’ll be easier...’
He smiled and bent down to meet Chieftain Laami’s gaze.
“Now then.”
“......”
“How about this.”
She, still in the form of a human woman, was quite small compared to him. Gio tilted his head gently, softening his voice so she wouldn’t feel threatened.
“But when a gift is given, it’s only natural to expect something in return...”
“......”
“What do you think?”
“...We had prepared for that, of course.”
“Hm?”
How did she know what I was about to say?
“Most of the foxes prepared for this are elderly and waiting to die, but I—I am only seven, still young for a chieftain. My flesh is tender, and I am in excellent condition among the foxes. Surely I will not disappoint your palate.”
“W-Wait a minute.”
“Yes...!”
“......”
Argio remembered—finally.
“...Ah.”
Come to think of it, there was that story about the evil god eating people alive.
***
Gio eventually resorted to asking for help from Sankallut, another evil god like himself.
“If you help me, I’ll hold a festival of blood.”
“Gio?”
“Have you ever heard of blood-sausage soup?”
“...Why do you call that a ‘festival of blood’?”
“I could also offer you blood-filled sausage.”
“No, really, your word choices... is this because you’re an evil god?”
“I want your opinion.”
Though Joo-Hyun had come along with Sankallut, who was now her guardian, and tried to intervene several times, Gio paid her no mind.
He was in a rare state of personal crisis.
A little red snake tilted its head.
“What troubles you? You seem uneasy.”
“My children are afraid of me.”
“I believe that’s natural?”
“It’s not natural to me. And by the look on your face, I can already tell you’ll be no help at all.”
“Sudden blame only makes me feel unjustly accused.”
“I feel unjustly accused too.”
He was helpless in the face of this strange, broken atmosphere the foxes had shown.
Argio had grown used to rejection, wariness, or rage. He had no experience with trembling children trying to show affection while being utterly terrified.
“They think I’m obviously going to eat them.”
“What exactly have you been doing in the ‘Animal Kingdom’...?”
“Honestly, I feel wronged, my friend.”
He’d heard of such rumors, but Argio had never actually eaten a person. Even when Gargar told him the stories, he had only laughed and thought, “So my infamy’s grown that big, huh?”
“Could it be I was punished for trying to enjoy some honey?”
“......”
Joo-Hyun silently smiled and placed Sankallut, who had been wrapped around her neck, onto the table. Realizing where he’d been placed, Sankallut straightened his spine, eyes wide, and stared at her.
“So I’m really being offered as a snack to an evil god. I never imagined our friendship meant so little. I assure you, my body doesn’t taste good.”
“Well, since Gio made that body, I’m sure it tastes fine. But I didn’t put you on the table as a sacrifice. Gio just wanted to talk to you. I wanted you off my neck.”
“I don’t believe you. This is a table, and I’ll be eaten. Crunch, crunch. Please spare me. I have value.”
“It’s just a table, and we happened to be at it. Gio wants advice. That’s all.”
“You’re lying. I don’t want to be eaten. Put me back.”
“I’m not lying. Why would an evil god be scared of being on a table...?”
“This is Gio’s stomach. This is the altar. I will be devoured. You lied to me. You said I’d be sent home. I feel betrayed.”
“Your vocabulary’s really improving.”
As Joo-Hyun grimaced, Gio sniffled, explaining Sankallut’s behavior.
“To him, this table must feel like a sacrificial altar. After all, history shows that things placed on tables tend to get eaten.”
“Is this really the time to bring up history? And hasn’t he eaten with us at this table many times before? Why be afraid now?”
“Back then, there were plenty of tastier things. He didn’t think it would be his turn. He even got his own plate. He assumed being invited meant he wouldn’t be eaten.”
“If divine beings want to live on Earth, they should go back to kindergarten and relearn common sense. I can’t keep up with their thinking.”
Still, she understood.
‘So this is what Yoo Seong-Woon meant.’
As a curator, he had warned her again and again how different divine beings thought. What seemed trivial to humans could be mortal insult to the mysterious. She had to learn their “rules.”
‘If Gio hadn’t helped me, I would’ve made serious mistakes.’
Embarrassed, Joo-Hyun gently patted the snake’s head. She had a duty to raise this clueless and foul-tempered god properly. She coaxed him gently.
“Take this as a learning moment. Gio will never eat you. And if things really get scary, I’ll put you back on my neck.”
“Scary human... scary human...”
“I didn’t expect you to cry.”
Gio interjected at the sight of the snake shedding crystal-clear tears.
“Crocodile tears.”
“Aha.”
So that was the plan—to earn Joo-Hyun’s sympathy. Somehow, it didn’t make him angry. It just made him curious about what Gio actually wanted advice on.
“What happened in the Animal Kingdom?”
“Joo-Hyun, my noble friend. Please hear me out.”
“You’re speaking so formally today... Alright, go ahead.”
“I returned to my hometown, and...”
After listening to the full story, Joo-Hyun’s face twisted into something complex.
“......”
“You’re angry?”
“You’re not angry after being smeared with such a terrible rumor?”
Joo-Hyun could understand the fox tribe’s position. When death was the only thing left, what choice did they have but to cling to whatever they could, even an evil god?
What made her angry was the humans before the collapse—those who recorded Argio as the worst kind of monster. How vile could they be?
“You don’t even know what I did back then.”
“I don’t need to. We’ve spent time together.”
She didn’t know exactly what he’d done, but she was certain he hadn’t committed acts like cannibalism. Argio was a god of pure wrath—not a being of such vile acts.
“Even objectively, it’s unlikely you’d eat humans. Livestock are bred to yield more meat. Humans don’t exactly have good meat yield.”
“Exactly. I’m a gourmet.”
Along the same lines, he had no intention of eating foxes who could speak, disguise themselves, and had nothing to offer in terms of meat.
Still, it was hard to explain that while delighting in the evil god’s infamy.
“No matter what I say, they’ll just be scared.”
It was exhausting.
“I just wanted to ease their fear and make a trade, but she suddenly offered herself as a living sacrifice, so I gave them food and ran.”
“Well... giving food despite that is very Gio-like. But was there something worth trading with the foxes?”
“I was going to ask them to help me find someone. Someone in the Animal Kingdom called me. I haven’t found them yet. I wanted help from the locals.”
“Isn’t it unusual that you can’t find someone who called you? You usually have no problem with that on Earth. Why now?”
“Because it’s hard to track the location. The voice was faint. And the area is twisted due to the dungeoning. If they called again while I was in the Animal Kingdom, I’d know immediately—but for now, it’s difficult.”
“Don’t tell me... they’re dead? I hate thinking this, but that place sounds chaotic and dangerous.”
“I don’t think they’re dead. But there’s no choice now but to find them myself.”
It wasn’t realistic to search that massive forest alone. He couldn’t send Dana or Honey by themselves either—it might be dangerous.
He had only asked Dana to collect spirits because she could identify them with precision.
‘That’s different from a full-blown exploration. It could be dangerous.’
Not just for his children, who’d have to enter the forest, but also for the forest that would have to endure his children.
If he could solve it with local help, there was no reason to risk more.
And if he could comfort the other beast tribes in the process—well, that would be ideal.
“......”
Thinking of that, Gio felt wronged all over again.
“My children are afraid of me...”
“Please don’t cry.”
Joo-Hyun was at her wit’s end.
‘Twice in one day... I’ve seen an evil god cry twice in one day.’
This ridiculous situation continued until Yoo Seong-Woon visited Joo-Hyun’s home.
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