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Chapter 164: Chapter 164

12 o’clock sharp.

"What kind of place was that rainforest you called your hometown?"

Even though Yu Seong-un was too busy and absent from attendance, the corridor meeting began without fail.

"You seemed to be in a good mood when you talked about that place."

"I certainly am in a good mood."

Today’s Jio, adorned with extravagant leather and accessories and draped outside the picture frame, was, naturally, Argio.

"Isn’t that what a hometown is?"

"It’s certainly a word that can make one feel various emotions."

Ju-hyeon smiled awkwardly.

"More than that, seeing you like that...."

"Why?"

"You’re scarier than usual."

"..."

Jio, who had been half-hanging out of the portrait and lying on the table, slowly sat up.

"...Am I scary?"

"You’re like a typical ghost."

"What ghost is as handsome as I am."

"That’s true."

However, the dignity that ’Jio’s Portrait’ exuded crushed his external beauty.

The proof was that most of The Collectors’ guild members felt fear before they even realized ’Mr. Seo Jio’ was handsome.

However, Ju-hyeon felt a little sorry to say this part, so he mumbled.

"It’s just... like that."

"Do The Collectors’ employees still fear me?"

"I tried to hold it in, but that’s such an unscrupulous question that I can’t help but speak."

"Yes, go ahead and lay it all out honestly."

"Isn’t it too much of a thief’s mindset to not even imitate a human properly, yet expect people not to be afraid of you, Argio?"

The ’Jios,’ who could be considered his human egos, preferred that other people not fear them as much as possible.

He was trying to refrain from commenting, feeling sorry for them being conscious of that part, but wasn’t this truly an absurd thing to say?

"If you’re bothered by people being afraid, please be a little kinder."

"Where in the world is there a haunted portrait as kind as I am, for you to say something so harsh?"

"I acknowledge that, but separate from that, you expect too great a result for your investment."

"If I invest any more than this, that’s just being a pushover."

"...I certainly can’t refute that either."

Ju-hyeon also didn’t want Jio to be taken for a pushover anywhere.

"To be honest, you are already showing an excessive amount of goodwill as it is."

"But if I don’t even do this, won’t I just become a scary portrait?"

"In the first place, your identity is just a scary portrait, so aren’t you dreaming too big, Mr. Jio?"

"I might just go on strike at this rate."

"Please put up with that. What will you do if you go on strike after accepting the job yourself?"

"Of course, I’m not that irresponsible of a guy. Don’t you worry, friend."

Jio, who had waved his hand, draped himself over the table again.

’A giant tiger.’

Beasts belonging to the cat family were exactly like that. When full, they like to lounge and sleep in the warm sun....

"So, are you willing to answer?"

"What about my hometown?"

"Yes, you seemed to stop in the middle of talking about it."

"Isn’t it all because you scolded me, Mr. Ju-hyeon?"

"Rather than scolding, I just informed you of reality."

"That is scolding, what do you mean...."

The long-braided red hair scattered along with Jio’s languid movements.

All sorts of gold, silver, and treasures decorating his hair rattled, hitting the wooden table.

He rubbed his forehead against the table and grumbled.

"..."

Seeing that, Ju-hyeon obtained another piece of information about ’Jio’s Portrait’.

’...Argio must be the clothes he wears when he’s angry or annoyed.’

This portrait took Giovanni’s form when bestowing mercy and patience, and Argio’s form when spewing excitement and anger.

In daily life that didn’t require much interaction, it was Seo Jio’s form.

’They mix a little sometimes, but it seems they each have their own purpose.’

In that case, will the ’Jios’ used to express other emotions also gradually increase?

"...You said you were 24 years old, Mr. Argio?"

"I did, probably."

"Probably?"

"There was no one to count my age for me."

"Is this the time where I should apologize?"

"I just stated a fact, what’s with that?"

Argio propped his chin on the table.

"I lived a life closer to a beast than a human, and around me were only family members who were born beasts. It was just one guy who had no intention of counting his age and others who didn’t know how, so what would I know properly."

"Did you have any thoughts of counting it yourself?"

"Only later did I become curious about how old I was. I’m not the type to endure wanting something, so I went outside and assessed the situation. So before I died, I thought, ah, I’m dying at 24."

Before Ju-hyeon could say anything more, Jio cut in.

"Above all, the Black Forest wasn’t a suitable place to count the days. Morning, evening, night, it was all dark, so how could one measure time. A child who lived like a beast, having thrown away all human dignity, had no mind to count the days."

At that, Ju-hyeon asked.

"Was it a forest that was just dark all the time?"

"Yes, it was a place where you couldn’t feel the flow of time."

"An average person would probably go mad not long after entering."

"They’d die from the vicious beasts and terrible poisons before that, don’t you think?"

As if intrigued, Jio’s characteristic sullen smile spread across his face.

"Did you say you were curious about my hometown?"

"And that hometown, um. It seems it was called the Black Forest."

"That’s exactly it. You’ve understood well, I grew up in the Black Forest."

It was a place that suited Argio’s temperament quite well.

"First, I mentioned it was a place without a sun or moon."

"What exactly does that mean? By what principle could you not distinguish day and night?"

"The trees of the Black Forest are extremely thick and tall. Their leaves are dense, and that’s why you can’t see the sky."

"Were there other climate changes?"

"Well, the most common occurrence was rain falling."

"Right, you did say it was a rainforest."

Saying that, Ju-hyeon tilted his head as if something was strange.

"...You’re saying it could rain in a forest where you not only can’t see the sky but also can’t even feel the flow of time? At that level, the sky and forest would be completely separated, wouldn’t they?"

Argio smiled as if satisfied.

"You’ve thought it out well, friend. In a rainforest that dense, no matter how tremendous a downpour, it would only be a few drops at best. However, the Black Forest collected that rainwater."

"Collected rainwater...?"

"And then, from time to time, it would release that rainwater little by little. The reasons varied. A giant beast stomped its foot, a tree was impacted and tilted, or beasts sat on the leaves...."

"It seems they are all problems related to beasts."

"That rain was, in the end, rain created by the beasts of the Black Forest. The rainwater, while pooled, couldn’t withstand the assault of all sorts of flora and fauna and took on a thick toxicity. Without immunity, your flesh would rot and your bones would fester."

"It seems no different from a dungeon at all."

As if affirming Ju-hyeon’s words, Jio nodded.

"Also, if the forest temperature rose excessively, a fog would set in. The fog, originating from all sorts of toxic substances secreted by the Black Forest’s flora and fauna and from the terrible swamps, was black like a shadow. If you got trapped in it, it was hard to even breathe properly."

"..."

"Also, as your vision darkened, you wouldn’t know if you encountered a dangerous beast on the path, and you wouldn’t know what traps were set on either side. I couldn’t even tell if the step I was taking was on land or swamp."

The Black Forest was that kind of place.

"A place where even small animals, insignificant bugs, or mute plants couldn’t survive without being vicious. Since it was that kind of place, in the end, the only things left to form the ecosystem were those vicious monsters."

Jio let out a small laugh.

"There was a reason it was the source of all sorts of ghost stories."

"...Ghost stories...."

"How frightening must a two-legged beast, alive and well in that place, have been to people?"

"...Is that the reason you gained infamy?"

"I believe it had some influence."

"How on earth did you survive, Mr. Argio?"

Ju-hyeon asked with a face that showed no particular emotion.

"Didn’t you say you were... left there when you were very young."

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

To Argio, that was a turning point in his life, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

"It was quite enjoyable."

"Why? Weren’t you scared when you headed to the Black Forest?"

"I might have instinctively felt it was the place I was supposed to be."

Also.

"Compared to being among those dogs and pigs, it just looked so much more fun."

"You usually say things like you’ll turn us into pigs...."

"The pigs I speak of can’t always be a compliment, can they?"

"Then is what you’re saying now clearly an insult?"

"They just really looked that way."

Those fools who, if they dressed up extravagantly, thought they were human and not beasts.

"Though it was quite fun seeing such stupid and cute sights, too."

"...Stupid, okay, but cute? What part?"

"Even if I tell you, you probably won’t be able to empathize with me."

"I’ll at least try to understand."

"I really like that attitude of yours."

Argio said nonchalantly.

"Are puppies or cats common companion animals these days, too?"

"Other popular companion animals include reptiles or bugs. There are fish, too."

"Right, let’s say you were walking down a path and saw a bird that plucked a roadside flower to adorn itself."

"Ah, yes. A bird adorning itself with a flower."

"Or a cat chattering away about something incomprehensible."

"A cat chattering incomprehensibly...."

"Like a puppy that comes up to me and boasts about its toy."

"..."

"How about it?"

He asked.

"Is it cute?"

"...I think it would be cute."

Unfortunately, Ju-hyeon had understood Argio’s words.

"Did the world look that way to you? Even when you were human?"

"I’m still human now. It’s very troublesome if you discriminate against me for being a portrait."

"Ah, right. Anyway, was that your perspective even when you were an ordinary human?"

"What’s wrong with my perspective?"

"Well... that...."

Just in case, Ju-hyeon double-checked if his understanding was correct.

"So, you’re saying that people who adorned themselves and spouted nonsense or boasted looked like those birds or cats or dogs to you, Mr. Jio. Is that right?"

"I’m glad you seem to have understood well, my honorable friend."

"Recalling how you described them quite negatively, it doesn’t seem like they showed good hearts or good conduct. So it seems like it was

something similar to abusing the power, and that was ...."

Ju-hyeon asked.

"Cute?"

"Isn’t being stupid cute?"

"I understand well that you were truly different from a young age."

"It’s because I’m such a special person."

Argio gave a sullen smile.

"A puppy that thinks it’s human is truly cute."

"There would be quite a lot of people who’d get angry at that comparison...."

"Of course, I’m not saying the two are completely the same, I just wanted to make you understand."

"Just putting those two on the same level as an example to help understanding is a little uncomfortable."

"...Is that so? I admit it’s an example too good for those dogs and pigs...."

Jio, who had raised his body, naturally went back inside the portrait.

As the red hair that had been draped over the table disappeared, Ju-hyeon even felt a sense of emptiness.

The portrait continued.

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

"...Treasures? Suddenly?"

"Didn’t you ask about my hometown."

"I did that."

"Gold, silver, and treasures overflowed there."

"..."

"Poison is medicine, and also becomes treasure...."

That smile was heavy.

"It bloomed on top of corpses."

A calm and heavy smile, making it impossible to tell if he was in a bad mood or a good one.

"I want to hurry up and visit this rainforest I’ll be visiting this time."

"...It certainly seems similar to the dungeon you described."

"I can feel it; that place won’t be my hometown, so don’t worry. It’s a completely different dimension."

"I’m relieved you told me that, but on the other hand...."

Ju-hyeon trailed off.

"..."

He soon asked.

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

"I’d like to go visit."

"Not that you want to return to that time?"

"I don’t hold lingering attachments to things that have passed."

"I see."

"I love my family and friends."

Also.

"I died because of it."

Ju-hyeon could not interpret the meaning of that smile.

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