The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 127

It was a peaceful world.

“.......”

Isn’t it?

My mentor, who had died a terrible death, was alive and breathing, and he always prepared a meal for Aria, waiting for her to come. He consoled her with the same voice as before, laughing, chatting, and enjoying himself with his new children... .

He had no intention of ruining this terrible peace.

“...Giovanni.”

No matter what happened in the future, Aria had decided to cherish this peace.

“My teacher.”

“Yes, Aria.”

After the short meal, Geo returned to his blunt face. With a calm face that seemed to have never smiled before, but with familiar affection, his mentor asked.

“Do you need dessert?”

“Is that a dessert with a lot of sugar?”

“Yes, it’s very sweet.”

“The cake I ate last time was really delicious.”

“Aria, what you want is right here.”

“This is what I always wanted.”

“You’re so smart.”

He brought a small cake.

“Is this what you wanted?”

“Exactly. You gave it to a human named Yoo Seong-un who visited here before?”

“Yes, and I got a bungeoppang in return.”

“That’s a very modest price to pay....”

The ‘price’ coming out of his mouth sounded like a child’s play.

“For such a delicious cake.”

It had a very light texture, resembling a small round cake.

First of all, the sheet was like that. It had a soft crunch like chewing on a well-baked meringue cookie and a soft texture that soaked right in. The outside was smooth and had sweet sugar powder sprinkled on top.

The layers were divided into four: vanilla cream, green tea cream, and mascarpone cream cheese. Although it was said to contain a lot of sugar, it felt lighter than I thought, perhaps because of the exquisite harmony.

“I didn’t know that you were talented at pastry.”

“Your baking skills are not bad, so I think that might be the influence.”

“That could be true.”

It definitely had a crunchy texture, but the weight and texture were so light that I didn’t even realize it was going down my throat. It was an ecstatic texture that no human could ever create.

“You can’t hide your discomfort just because the taste you feel is human.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say. Do you have any advice for me?”

“I just said it once. I don’t know what you want to be, sir....”

The taste was quite familiar. When I spied on Earth, I found that this kind of sweet and soft cream was popular. Maybe ‘Sergio’ wanted to copy it.

Nevertheless, Aria, an excellent analyst, knew what kind of an ecstasy this was. You can tell that with just one bite of cake. It wouldn’t be easy for someone to imitate this texture.

“I respect you, teacher.”

Geo was smart, but he wasn’t someone who was easily caught up in his surroundings. He was even someone who could kindly bestow his own death.

Oh, how arrogant he was.

“You can make a cake like this, right?”

“I feel ashamed that I’m receiving excessive praise for just one cake.”

“For such a delicious dessert, I deserve more praise.”

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Have I not had my tea yet?”

It was so delicious that I forgot for a moment.

“Would you like a cup of what you’re drinking right now?”

“Yes, I will.”

A soft and clear sound like beads made of cut gems clashing. The sunlight coming through the window shattered into the pale blue tea. It seemed like the contents should have been jewels, not liquid.

Nevertheless, what Aria received was tea of ​​the right temperature.

“.......”

She drank it and looked around.

“...I cherish this place.”

“I can tell without having to hear it directly.”

“But if you ask me if I like it, I’m not sure.”

“I know that too.”

“...Yes, Giovanni....”

Aria smiled wryly.

“This must be sadness.”

It was different from anger.

“This must be missing.”

“.......”

“It’s also a feeling of regret.”

In this comfortable place, Aria felt such emotions.

“I wondered why I felt such emotions in such a peaceful and quiet world. A place where I could meet my teacher again anytime, a cabin filled with sweet honey and fruit, and where I could hear the chirping of beautiful birds. A wooden house filled with warm air.”

It was just good.

“I always feel sick when I come here.”

Aria asked.

“Why does this place feel like a grave to me?”

“I am alive.”

“I feel like you are going somewhere again.”

“I will stay here forever.”

“It is so strange to talk about such eternity.”

Giovanni never spoke of ‘eternity.’ That was proof that we had come such a long way.

The one before his eyes had already died once, and would experience countless more deaths in the future. And he would reveal even more changes to those he loved. That was how it would be.

“A person who misses the dead is a failure. He will never be able to bring them back to life, so he will be buried in the past for his entire life, and a person who rebels against fate is no longer human, so he becomes a monster.”

That was the situation now.

“I became that monster.”

“Don’t overthink it.”

“Gio, how are you?”

Are you human?

“Can you think of yourself as human?”

“I’m asking you this, but how could you not?”

“Well.”

Aria couldn’t bring herself to say ‘no’ to him.

“You’re always right.”

The being drinking tea with me in front of her is not human.

It could possibly be human, but its essence itself cannot be called human. In the end, Aria’s only human teacher is here, but she concludes that he is not like her.

Giovanni is alive, dead.

‘Stuffed.’

Like a faded portrait of the most beautiful times.

‘How many more of the most beautiful times will be stuffed in the future?’

She feels distant from that short, colorful life and the eternal changes. Geo would never remain stagnant for even a moment, and Aria would be in a hurry to keep up with his changes.

Even though they were drinking the same tea together, he felt hurt. He felt so distant.

“... Longing is such emotion.”

Aria continued.

“It seems good, but it makes my insides a mess.”

“It’s because we’re not immune to emotions.”

“Have humans become accustomed to this emotion?”

“We all live with longing, no matter what object we think of.”

“It’s horrible to think that I’ll live like this my whole life.”

“It’s not that horrible.”

Geo’s voice was quiet, as if there was no sound.

“We can have memories because we miss.”

“Do you call this a memory?”

Then Aria is now.

“I’m now lost in those memories.”

She felt like she was suffocating.

I felt like a fish in fresh water, not the ocean. I felt like a human trapped in a world filled with nitrogen instead of oxygen.

It felt painful and peaceful at the same time. It was a really strange feeling.

“How should I define this peace?”

“Why don’t we just enjoy it without worrying?”

“It’s like the devil’s temptation, a cleverer proposal than any devil I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, you’ve met the devil.”

His blunt voice became warm, as if he was trying to appease his student. He asked with a gentle voice and smile.

“How were they?”

“Well, they were much lower quality than you.”

In many ways.

“To be honest, I don’t have the confidence to accept this peace. I think it’s all a lie, even though I know it’s true. I think it’s a mirage, even though I know it’s real.”

“Aria thinks too much, and it’s a problem.”

“In my opinion, it seems that you are not thinking deeply. I don’t know what kind of symbol you are, being able to define yourself as human without any hesitation.”

“Is there a reason why my change won’t make me human?”

“There are many reasons. There are many, but I think you, the teacher, would find them unsuitable. That stubborn stubbornness is truly trustworthy....”

Or should I say it’s ominous?

“You can achieve everything you want.”

However, Geo was something she could not control or possess, despite his ominousness. If the peace she longed for now suddenly disappeared one day, Aria would be able to accept it.

And on that day, she would learn despair. The long road we had already walked had already proven that it was a predetermined fate.

“I have already learned fear.”

“How did that happen?”

“Because you weren’t in my dungeon.”

When I lived as a monster, thinking that it would never exist and that it had already left my hands, I would rather laugh. My benefactor, whom I could not grasp, was hovering around me with a smiling face, so it was so scary.

Once was enough. I couldn’t lose him twice. There was no way I could endure such a loss again.

“That’s the guy named Giovanni. He comes up with ideas that ordinary people wouldn’t even think of, and on such a topic, he gives as much as he can, and he understands even the smallest things, and his patience is beyond imagination.”

He was a man who tried anything.

“But now, he’s not just trying, he’s gained the strength to do it. I’m not sure if it was always like that or if it became like this later... But in the end, you’re still my teacher.”

“.......”

“You’ll change again and again. You’ll disappear someday. You might die before me or live longer than me. If you want it, it will happen, and if you don’t, you’ll just enjoy your fate.”

“.......”

“I admit it. But don’t you know, Geo? We’ve killed and harmed so many people because we realized our hatred for your death. We’ve endured all these years. And what is this?”

Aria looked at Giovanni.

“You’re too much to comfort us all these years...”

It soon turned black.

“.......”

“.......”

It turned red again.

I heard.

“...You’re so fickle.”

“You understood me well.”

“That makes me very anxious.”

It was too long.

“I’ve lived through all that time with hatred and anger, but the teacher I met again unexpectedly doesn’t respond to my greed. I’d like to put you in my dungeon, admire you without taking my eyes off you for even a moment, and spend all that time together.”

Argio laughed awkwardly at the mermaid’s greed.

“That’s not fun.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be caught easily, and I didn’t know I’d fail if I tried.”

It was because Geo didn’t forgive them, and so he wouldn’t accept them.

That couldn’t hurt Aria. I think it was natural and obvious. However, because of that, the mermaids couldn’t completely get their hands on their teacher.

“I wonder how the teacher will disappear in the meantime.”

“That’s what makes you anxious.”

“That’s because the only variable I have is the one that acknowledges and loves.”

Aria laughed similarly.

“How can you believe in this peace?”

“I think that’s the homework that remains for you.”

“That’s something you would say.”

The fact that a mere human was invited here, the future in which Geo’s color would change countless times, the enormous responsibility of the mermaids that could not be fully taken care of even after tens of thousands of years.

All of these were homework that Aria had to bear. Homework to believe in the current peace.

“It would have {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} been better if I were a stupid human.”

Then I would have believed.

“Isn’t that so?”

“But that’s not a wise choice.”

“...Is that so?”

“Constantly worry and doubt.”

Golden eyes widened with affection.

“That will prove you.”

“As expected, you are...”

Aria smiled weakly.

“...You are my teacher.”

A human who had no limits in strange places, always spoke of a realistic future, and was busy teaching something.

Let’s remember that the person in front of us was the only one who loved us, the mermaids... .

“I love you.”

“Me too.”

Only then did I feel at ease.

We are still in our daily lives today.

Giovanni always said, ‘Learn as many emotions as you can while I am here.’

“That will be a sign of your mermaid life.”

“Sign?”

“Emotions are signs of memories, learning, and all those memories.”

He said that would help you, the mermaid, grow.

“The emotions you have now will show you the path to take.”

“Gio, can’t you tell me?”

“I, who am not completely like Aria, can be erased and disappear from that life at any time.”

“I won’t erase you or let you disappear.”

“After all, aren’t we drawing different futures now?”

“.......”

“...even if I’m not there, even if I’m there.”

Geo always said.

“I hope that sign will help you understand more.”

But before he could understand that much, Giovanni died.

Death took away more than he thought. It meant that there was no one to smile brightly when he woke up in the morning, no one to force him to eat at a set time, and no one to cover him up to the neck with a blanket even when the night was over.

Each and every one of them was truly ordinary and big. Small and many.

“.......”

We have always learned about death.

So today was not much different.