The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 347

Cha Eun-Hyeok really was trying not to acknowledge anything.

“......”

That is, until one of his siblings went missing—and another was selected to participate in this extermination raid.

“Shit.”

Let’s retrace exactly how things got this bad.

First, Cha Ara, who had left on a trip to earn money, went missing. Whether or not she became a clown, like the grim rumors going around these days, no one could say for sure. What was certain was that the second child of their family had vanished.

According to the Association staff who broke the news, her entire team, including Cha Ara, had disappeared inside a dungeon. So perhaps it wasn’t clown-related. But then again—what if this was someone’s “happiness”?

It was entirely possible that Cha Ara had become a casualty in the clown’s wish-granting process.

'Should I tell Cha I-Sol or not...'

Their youngest sibling, sniffling.

People called her a genius everywhere she went, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still just a kid. Too young. If he could, Cha Eun-Hyeok wouldn’t have told her about any of this. But objectively speaking, no one in the family was stronger than I-Sol. Not even him.

It wasn’t that he was trying to offload the burden just because she was capable. But if things went wrong down the line and she found out on her own and said, “I could’ve helped—why didn’t you tell me?”, what could he possibly say?

'She’s a pre-approved first-grade citizen, and a priestess of the Church of the Sun... She might feel responsible. No matter how young she is, she’s not the type to ignore it if her family is hurt. So maybe... no. But still...'

And before he could even decide how to handle it, she contacted him first.

— Hyung! I got picked for the new dungeon raid that opened!

“...Why? How? Does the Church of the Sun not have anyone else?”

— Nope!

“......”

Her cheerful response left him speechless. And then he began muttering curses under his breath at the incompetence of the Church’s priests. What were those fully grown adults doing, not protecting their precious trainee priestess?

— Our teacher got super mad, but even he said there was no helping it.

“If it’s your teacher... You mean Priest Kang Seodam, right?”

Because of a pair of prodigiously talented trainees, Priest Kang Seodam had recently been taking near-exclusive care of the two. His involvement had become almost personal.

'If this is a decision that went through even after Kang Seodam himself objected, there’s really nothing I can do about it. He’s not exactly someone who gets pushed around in the Church...'

Though young, Kang Seodam had a powerful voice within the organization. Some may have disliked his strictness and sense of ethics, but he was strong enough to silence any complaints. Still, perhaps due to his youth, his influence had limits.

He was rarely the type to raise his voice. So if he’d gotten angry enough that even I-Sol noticed, it meant he’d fought with all his might—and failed.

Cha Eun-Hyeok felt like he was losing his mind.

“......”

— Hyung?

“I-Sol.”

— Huh? What’s wrong?

“Your sister’s gone missing.”

— ...Oh.

In the end, Cha Eun-Hyeok chose not to hide the truth.

“Just so you know, I only heard about it recently too. I’m telling you because if you found out on your own later and went off and did something reckless, I’d have no excuse.”

— Got it. Uh... should we summon Gio-hyung?

“You don’t just summon a god like that—no, wait... Hah. I’m not entirely unconnected to him either. I’ll try contacting him myself.”

Not knowing whether his family was alive or dead—of course the temptation to rely on an all-powerful god was there. But one of Cha Eun-Hyeok’s strengths was his self-awareness.

He seemed to be in the Black Cloak’s good graces, but that was only because that being rewarded the good and punished the wicked. Trying to use the Black Cloak selfishly could easily invite divine wrath.

Even as he was driven mad by the loss of his sister, Cha Eun-Hyeok knew he was just one among countless humans asking for divine help. How many had pleaded for their families to be saved?

'Besides, Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon once said this—divine grace always comes with side effects. That making a trade is the safest, most universal way to engage with a god.'

That applied not only to him as a civilian, but to Cha I-Sol too—despite being cherished enough to be called an apostle. Divinity was vast, and humans were small. No matter how gifted I-Sol was, she hadn’t transcended human limits.

So even if they asked for help, it had to be done indirectly. Anything else would be arrogance. That was what Cha Eun-Hyeok believed, and so he tried his best to plan ahead.

“Priest Kang Seodam is coming too, right? He’s not the kind to leave his students alone.”

— Ah... right, he said he’d come with us.

“Good. Then listen to him. Really listen. Don’t rush into the dungeon core like last time with the mermaid incident. I’m counting on the fact that you did learn something from that, okay?”

— B-But... what about unnie...

“I have to keep my dignity, I-Sol. If I dump this responsibility on you, what kind of brother does that make me?”

Cha Eun-Hyeok forced himself to sound calm.

“No matter how strong you are, you’re still my little sister—and you’re still so young. You’ve got amazing talent, and the Church praises you constantly. That’s probably why they included you in this operation. Right?”

— ...But you’re still worried about me, aren’t you?

“......”

Before he could say another word, I-Sol spoke first. Despite her cheerful nature, she was surprisingly perceptive—and often overly sensitive to others. Eun-Hyeok paused, then continued in a composed tone.

“Yeah, so please—be careful.”

— I’ll be as careful as I can.

“I won’t say ‘don’t get hurt.’ I know what life as a hunter is like. But hearing you promise to be careful makes me feel a lot better. Thank you.”

— You be careful too... And if you find out anything, anything at all, you have to tell me. I won’t do anything reckless. I swear I won’t. So please...

“I will.”

After a few more exchanges of concern and well-wishes, the call ended. Cha Eun-Hyeok had heard various noises on the line—suggesting the Church of the Sun was in chaos from this situation too.

“...It really is terrifying...”

Too many people had died. And everyone understood that now. The clown had tried over and over to define “happiness” for humans—but happiness was inherently subjective and impossible to pin down.

One person’s happiness pushed an innocent soul off a building. Another made someone end their life. Someone else’s happiness tore apart a stranger’s limbs.

'And that was just the tip of it.'

Even without directly taking lives, those “happinesses” had accelerated society’s collapse. The government and the Association had tried to minimize damage by controlling civilians and mysteries—but it had all spiraled out of control.

'So in the end, they decided to seek divine aid.'

It meant they judged this as a crisis humans couldn’t resolve alone. Or even if they could, they lacked the time to get there. With a dungeon almost certainly tied to the clown opening up, rapid action was essential.

'Seeking divine help brings all kinds of side effects... But for the higher-ups to reach out so openly to various religious orders like this—it really shows just how dire the situation is.'

The news had already broken that the new dungeon had been opened by the Black Cloak. Its distinct appearance—as a painting in a frame—made it unmistakable. Of course they knew who created it.

Slowly piecing things together, Cha Eun-Hyeok just stood there in silence.

“......”

And then... he cried a little.

“...Why is this happening to us...”

What did we do to deserve this?

'Our kids lived so kindly—why is this all they get in return? Why?'

He knew full well that the world didn’t run on justice. But the resentment still surged. Dark thoughts swirled in his mind.

What if Ara really was sacrificed for someone’s happiness? What if I-Sol died in this war?

With trembling hands, he packed his belongings.

'No... it’ll be fine.'

Even if she was the weakest among hunters, Ara had a strong will to live. She might be overempathetic to a fault, but she’d do her best to survive.

The same went for I-Sol. The ever-kind youngest knew how devastated the family would be if anything happened to her.

'It’s all going to be fine.'

Dressed and packed, Cha Eun-Hyeok raised his head.

'That’s why I have to do my part too.'

He wasn’t a seasoned gardener. He couldn’t handle skills like a hunter. He had no great wealth or power. But he did have one thing he could call a strength: 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“...I have to do what I can.”

He would pretend not to know. He’d keep pretending not to know anything. But even so, people still had to be saved. And it went without saying—his family counted among those “people.”

One day, he stood before a picture his youngest sibling had drawn of the Black Cloak—and called out to him.

“Mr. Gio.”

“Are you ready to clock in?”

“Yes.”

“Just so you know, you can take the day off.”

“I’d rather not.”

This was not “Hunter Sergio.”

Nor was it the “Black Cloak” who had opened this dungeon to bring the incident to an end.

This—this pitch-black mimic of divinity—was someone Cha Eun-Hyeok knew very well.

It was the smell of flowers that gave him away.

“Mr. Zeorge, where’s today’s worksite?”

“You always see right through me, Cha Eun-Hyeok...”

The bipedal garden responded:

“Do you still remember that I am a garden?”

“Of course.”

“And we always ran food stalls together—whether in gardens or dungeons.”

“I remember that too.”

“Then this time’s no different.”

“A new dungeon’s opened, hasn’t it?”

“Let me introduce you to the ‘Garden of Pleasure,’ Mr. Cha Eun-Hyeok.”

The garden smiled mischievously, as if joking.

“Though, I suppose I’ve already introduced it before...?”

“Probably.”

This job site was the “Garden of Pleasure.” And it seemed to be Zeorge himself.

Which meant, then...

“......”

Did you hurt my sister?

***

So Zeorge sent only Cha Eun-Hyeok to work—and then vanished.

The issue was, even Gio didn’t know that.

Which meant: when “Hunter Sergio,” freshly returned to public life, stumbled across Cha Eun-Hyeok all alone inside a dungeon he had created—his confusion was only natural.

“...?”

“...Uhhh?”

Even Yoo Seong-Woon, standing next to Gio, was taken aback. So much so that, for a moment, he thought it might be a hallucination. But no matter how many times he looked, it wasn’t—it was real.

Faced with a civilian dropped into a metaphysical garden-dungeon handcrafted by the Black Cloak, Yoo Seong-Woon was completely flustered.

“Why is Cha Eun-Hyeok here?”

“Right? Why am I here?”

“Did your sense of duty really compel you to open a food stall even today?!”

“I’m... not sure myself...”

Cha Eun-Hyeok sat at the stall inside the garden with a serene, enlightened expression. The guild members from the Collector, who had managed to reach this deep part of the garden thanks to Sergio’s efforts, were equally stunned.

“Cha... Cha Eun-Hyeok, sir...?”

“I heard this place wasn’t a normal dungeon but a garden...”

“Even so, running a business in the middle of this mess seems a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Why are you here...? Are you alright? Are you mentally okay?”

And through it all, Bisa Beul was just grinning ear to ear.

“Since we’ve met, could I get a fish-shaped pastry?”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

“How much?”

“I used to charge for them, but...”

Cha Eun-Hyeok trailed off with a bitter smile, and Bisa Beul’s grin widened. The sight of this fragile man, running a food stall alone in a metaphysical garden, seemed... hilarious to him.

“Ah, so you’re volunteering today?”

“I’ve been forcibly volunteered. Usually, my boss—Mr. Zeorge—handled payments, but as you can see, he didn’t show up today. So I can’t even charge anyone. And now there’s not even a reason left...”

“Rather heartless of your boss, don’t you think? Abandoning such a delicate employee in this chaos.”

“Right? Just leaving someone like me—a puff of wind could knock me over... sigh...”

“Oh dear.”

Whether he was on the verge of tears or a tantrum—or both—Cha Eun-Hyeok looked as if he were silently screaming. Bisa Beul nodded and turned to his subordinates, cheerfully announcing:

“Looks like we’ve found the perfect Safe Zone!”

“...Sir, you’re kind of heartless, aren’t you?”

At Hunter Sergio’s calm assessment, the Collector staff thought:

'He’s got no heart, that’s for sure.'

'Maybe he just realized he’s not human either?'

'At this point, it might be genetic.'

The situation was absurd on multiple levels. These were high-ranking officials—they at least knew roughly who Cha Eun-Hyeok was. A civilian running a Safe Zone food stall with a humanoid garden.

But in the end, he was still just a civilian. He might have gardener potential, sure, but that wasn’t enough to make a place like this safe.

“Well, then...”

Gio tapped his chin, then smiled faintly.

“Shall we sort this mess out a little?”

“I support that.”

Yoo Seong-Woon nodded beside him.

“It’s already chaos. No need to make it worse.”

Given how bad things were already, the future wasn’t looking any easier.

***

“...Good. Very good.”

Zeorge beamed as he patted Jeong Hae-Woon, seated in a chair.

His demeanor was like someone tending a pet dog, but Jeong Hae-Woon didn’t resist. Still, he didn’t smile either. He could’ve, if he wanted to—but he didn’t see the point.

Even knowing that, Zeorge grinned with joy.

“It’s finally starting, student Jeong Hae-Woon.”

“......”

“Thanks to you, I made it this far. Ah, perhaps it’s because you were the gardener who once oversaw all mysteries in this country? The way you spread chaos was absolutely masterful.”

“......”

“The clowns you created were adorable.”

Zeorge’s face, as he praised Jeong Hae-Woon, looked like a man in love.

“I was truly delighted...”

“...Hah.”

Among all the clowns, Jeong Hae-Woon laughed dryly at the syrupy, grotesque misanthropy on display.

“Of course you were.”

It was time to become as ugly as he wanted.