"...."
"Hm? Why."
"…You idiot brother…."
"Yeah."
"What is that?"
At Cha Ara's question, her older brother, Cha Eun-hyeok, tilted his head.
"…A gem?"
"No, I can see that it's a gem. How did you get it."
"Ah, that's…."
"Oppa."
It looked like he was preparing some kind of excuse, but long-winded talk was not to Cha Ara's taste.
"Look at this."
"…That's a gem."
"I got it as a gift from some humanoid monster."
"...."
The eldest son, Cha Eun-hyeok, silently pressed his forehead, and the youngest, Cha Isold, dropped his spoon.
Letting out a long, deep sigh, Cha Eun-hyeok spoke.
"…Sorry for trying to pass it off with a lie. Let's talk this through, step by step, no bullshit."
This was two days before the youngest's initiation ceremony.
***
"Ah, so…."
The Cha family's eldest son, Cha Eun-hyeok, nodded his head.
"So that was the insurance money you brought in."
"Yeah, it was money the Collectors guild gave as a sort of damage compensation."
"Thanks to that, we were able to buy the youngest's priestly robes, but why are you telling me this now."
"Because I had no intention of telling you, you fucker…."
"Do you not trust us that much?"
"What are you talking about, you normal people who'd get bruised if I so much as tapped you."
Cha Ara grumbled with her usual sensitivity.
It wasn't that she was particularly angry or hurt; it was just a habit of Cha Ara's to act like a very wary wildcat.
Though she herself was unaware of it.
With a slightly softened expression since it was her family, Cha Ara continued.
"I wasn't going to tell you originally. The youngest's job has manifested, but he's a, uh, non-combatant… not a field worker but an office worker… that kind of feeling, you know, where we don't know when he'll be chosen. And Oppa is a complete civilian."
"That is true."
"It seemed the Collectors guild also wanted me to keep it quiet as much as possible. It's because I'm thoughtlessly blabbing like this, but it actually felt like a very important secret."
"For something like that, it doesn't seem like you even signed a non-disclosure agreement?"
"That part was a bit strange. It felt like, 'We'd prefer it if you didn't talk, but it's a story that will eventually spread someday, so if your mouth is really itching, go ahead and talk…' That kind of feeling? Conglomerates are run more carelessly than I thought."
"What are you talking about?"
Cha Eun-hyeok pressed his throbbing temples.
"And in the middle of all that, you saw me with that… that gem, and that's why you told me?"
"They said there's only one gem in the world with that kind of crystal structure. So what does that mean? It means you've already met that monster too, Oppa. If that's the case, I figured there was no point in hiding it, so I spilled."
"The youngest is listening too."
"So should we leave him out? Hey, why are you making him sad."
"No, that's not what I meant…."
Cha Eun-hyeok, who was about to say something, soon nodded his head.
"Isold."
"Yeah, Hyung."
"You can't go around telling people this stuff, okay?"
"I'm good at that."
"It's a bit worrying that you're already good at this, but anyway, I'm proud of you. If things go wrong, your sister and I might get captured by a big guild in Seoul and end up as test subjects."
"Then I really won't tell!"
"So cool."
Watching the youngest cheerfully give a thumbs-up and her older brother praising him, Cha Ara took a moment to reflect on her life.
What karma did we accumulate in our past lives to have only these fucking idiots gathered here?
'I have to protect them.'
Unaware that all her family members saw each other as someone to be protected, Cha Ara stirred her white rice and mumbled.
"Ah, this isn't the right taste…."
"You went and ate a seven-dish meal after being dragged away by a monster, and now you've just become a picky eater. Look, our youngest eats well without being picky. How commendable."
"This is so fucking unfair. When have I ever been a picky eater? And he's my youngest brother too, you know? Why aren't I commendable, after rolling around here and there to get insurance money?"
"You may have contributed to the household, but you should have realized that my own sense of shame grew just as much. I'd rather barely scrape by than live off your insurance money."
"You pushover, are you going to starve the youngest? If you live so nicely, does money fall from the sky? Does our grandpa who went to the afterlife bestow you with lottery numbers?"
"Look who's talking, acting all high and mighty."
The Cha family were pushovers for generations.
It wasn't a situation where one could say who was better.
Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara worried about whether the youngest, Cha Isold, would get scammed somewhere, but considering Cha Ara was a little better than that and Cha Eun-hyeok was slightly better than her, it was like acorns measuring their height.
"You even gave the scarf the youngest knitted for you to a complete stranger the other day."
"Ah fuck, so am I supposed to just watch someone about to freeze to death?! What are you, a fucking psychopath?!"
"Then you should have just huddled like a penguin instead of spending money, Hunter Cha Ara! That would have been much more economical!"
"He's a complete stranger, what's with the creepy huddling? Stop talking such bullshit!"
"Yeah, and you gave the scarf the youngest knitted to that complete stranger, didn't you?!"
Watching the two of them, the youngest, Cha Isold, just happily shoveled in the long-awaited white rice.
"This is really delicious."
"Your hyung made it."
"I made the vegetable broth."
"Yeah, it's delicious! It's the best!"
At the innocent sight of the youngest giving two thumbs up, the two heads of the household gained strength and were able to stop their meaningless fight.
"When our youngest goes to the dorms, will we not be able to see his face?"
"It'll be tough."
"Cha Isold, don't you miss your sister's face already?"
"I'm looking at it right now, sister."
"Fuck, I can't even talk to him."
Cha Eun-hyeok chided his younger sister.
"Don't swear at the youngest."
"When the youngest goes to the dorms, I'm the youngest."
"Did you get a hole in your head after meeting a monster? The second is forever the second and the youngest is forever the youngest…."
"Let's fight."
In the midst of the unfolding chaos, the youngest, Cha Isold, just ate his rice.
"Hehe."
The white rice he was eating after a long time was very delicious.
The monster his sister had met seemed to be a very kind monster.
***
"...."
Cha Eun-hyeok, who had stepped outside for a moment, was lost in thought.
'…The person I saw that day was a monster?'
It had been strange from the beginning.
'Of course, when I met him at dawn, I also thought he was a kind of… monster.'
The dark dawn, with no one around.
The man who appeared wrapped in a pitch-black cape did not look human at all.
'He had an atmosphere similar to those wraith-like things that only I can see, so I guessed he was one of that kind.'
But he was visible not only to Cha Eun-hyeok but to other people as well.
His extreme bluntness was a personal trait, and I had considered the sense of otherworldliness I felt to be merely the holy power of a devout follower.
"...."
But what if he was just a humanoid monster?
"…Still, that doesn't make sense, does it?"
Something was strange.
'I've seen monsters too.'
In the world, there were not only monsters that could only be seen by entering a dungeon, but also monsters one could encounter just by being on Earth.
Even if they were weak enough to be caught by a civilian, their ferocity did not change.
Cha Eun-hyeok was a civilian, not a Hunter, but he had hunted monsters, and so he could tell that the aura he felt from them and the aura of the Black Cape were disparate.
'That wasn't the aura of a monster.'
Cha Eun-hyeok, sitting in the yard, looked up at the dark sky.
"...."
He could see a large, pitch-black snake-like thing slithering past beyond the dark clouds.
It had human hands and feet, and was slow and enormous.
"…He was definitely one of those things."
He couldn't figure out the Black Cape's identity.
'If I consider the situation objectively, it's definitely right to see him as a humanoid monster. He said he has his own personal dungeon, too. But the aura itself is strange, and… to consider him that kind of monster… he's too….'
He acted like a person.
"It feels like he's a mishmash of all sorts of things."
He seemed like a monster, like the monsters only I could see, and a little bit like a human.
Because so many characteristics were felt together, it paradoxically felt more natural.
It was as if that Black Cape was the source of everything.
"…What nonsense…."
To say he was the source from which monsters, ghouls, and humans were derived would be to say he was no different from a god.
'No, even a god would have a hard time with that.'
It was an absurd thought.
'After looking into things for the youngest's case, the beings called gods aren't as omnipotent as I thought….'
Cha Eun-hyeok thought to himself.
'In that sense, should I consider the Black Cape that Cha Ara and I saw to be a being of a higher class than the gods served by priests?'
But.
"...."
Thinking about that.
"Umm…."
The holy power he had felt last time was bothering him.
No matter how much of a civilian he was, there was no way Cha Eun-hyeok, with his varied experiences, would fail to distinguish a god's holy power.
That was definitely the aura of a god.
Something different from the aura Cha Eun-hyeok had felt from the Black Cape.
"…Considering how warm it was, it must have been related to the sun or fire…."
Because there was a Temple of the Sun nearby, he was certain he was a follower of the Sun God.
Surely it wasn't possible to have a second job as a priest while having the job of a Tamer, so he must have been a devout follower who gained holy power.
But if he was neither a follower nor a human, then what was that aura from back then?
"The aura of a god…."
There was no way a mere monster could possess that, right?
"...."
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a topic beyond his capacity to ponder.
"…For now, it's certain that he's not just a simple monster. The Collectors only confirmed that he wasn't human."
A monster that can handle the aura of a god could no longer be called a monster.
'Is the only choice that makes the most sense, those monsters I've been seeing all this time?'
While he knew a lot about monsters and humans within the bounds of common sense, he knew little about those 'monsters.'
Perhaps among them, there was a monster that could use a god's power.
'Though I've never seen one until now.'
A monster with such gentlemanly conduct.
Even if he was a humanoid monster and not that, he was a remarkably friendly being, having personally picked up his lost and abandoned sister, fed her, and sent her home.
'But if I think this way, he could be a higher being than the gods of Earth. The Black Cape I saw that day possessed the aura of a god, but the god did not possess the aura of the Black Cape….'
The train of thought that had reached that point came to a halt.
He didn't want to waste his energy.
"…I won't be able to figure out anything more about his identity by thinking about it."
Cha Eun-hyeok just thought about the future ahead.
"Cha Ara said she even went to that person's dungeon."
Cha Ara was openly treating the man in the black cape as a monster, but for some reason, Cha Eun-hyeok was referring to him as a 'person.'
It was something Cha Eun-hyeok himself was not aware of.
"Then does that mean we might run into him again one day."
For one, Cha Eun-hyeok had invited him to the initiation ceremony.
Now that the youngest's initiation ceremony was decided, the probability of meeting him again was high.
'He seemed quite interested, so I don't think he won't come.'
The misunderstanding of him being a follower of the Sun God was now gone, but he was, in any case, a person who handled holy power close to the sun.
They would surely meet at the initiation ceremony.
"…I hope I haven't invited someone too dangerous…."
After a night spent worrying like that, the next morning.
"...."
"...."
Cha Eun-hyeok's mind went blank for a moment.
"…Hello."
"Yes, hello."
The Cha family, who had come up to Seoul together for the first time in their lives, came face to face with none other than Jio.
The strange man in the pitch-black cape.
"It's been a while."
It was a composed greeting.
'Even though I thought the possibility was high, I didn't think we'd meet again this quickly.'
The Black Cape they met again was still cloaked in a bizarre atmosphere.
It wasn't for nothing that Cha Eun-hyeok had thought, 'This isn't human,' from their very first meeting.
In the meantime, the white-haired man next to the Black Cape also greeted them.
"Nice to see you again. Looks like the whole family came up together?"
"What, you and Oppa knew each other, Mr. Yu Seong-un?"
"We met a few times while buying bungeoppang."
"Ah, fish shaped pastry…."
Cha Ara, who had nodded, soon looked at the Black Cape with a strange expression.
"...."
"Is there a problem?"
"…I'll buy you bungeoppang later, too."
Cha Eun-hyeok finally thought his flower pig had gone crazy.
To openly offer a gift of bungeoppang to such an intimidating opponent.
Of course, the Black Cape had bought bungeoppang from Cha Eun-hyeok himself, but that must have been as part of a social experience….
But surprisingly, the Black Cape accepted it meekly.
"I do not know the reason, but thank you."
"Um… yes."
He likes fish shaped pastry?
'…He's more easy-going than I thought, is… he?'
With that kind of atmosphere?
'It's an atmosphere like he's about to put a sinner on the gallows and judge them.'
The Black Cape was being cloaked in a noticeable air.
Perhaps because of the pitch-black cape, he was like an evil spirit or a grim reaper.
That much, he resembled not a human but a ghost, and was ominous, cool, and empty.
He looked as beautiful as an exquisitely crafted ornament, but at the same time, he felt a strange grotesqueness.
It wasn't just Cha Eun-hyeok.
"...."
Looking around, the gazes of people on their way to work were occasionally fixed on the Black Cape.
"Don't mind it too much."
"…Ah, yes."
"He always has that kind of atmosphere."
"I see."
At Yu Seong-un's words, Cha Eun-hyeok felt a strange anxiety.
'It's the youngest's initiation ceremony.'
This will end well, right…?
-x-X-x-
The initiation ceremony consists of a total of three stages.
"The first is the preliminary explanation, the second is the preliminary training, and the third is the main ceremony."
"...."
"…is what I understand."
Chii-ik―
Flipping a piece of pork belly, Yu Seong-un asked.
"Is that right?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
The guardian of the prospective priest, Cha Eun-hyeok, who had been momentarily engrossed in the meat, nodded his head.
Under the command of Yu Seong-un, who had decided they needed a place to talk right after meeting at the station, they were seated at a pork belly restaurant.
The room, blocked off on all sides, was quite quiet and cozy.
"What we will be attending today is the preliminary briefing session. They say it's a place where they explain everything from the characteristics of the priest profession to what kind of training they will receive in the future, and what kind of priest they can become."
"The preliminary training must be a separate session for the prospective priests before the main ceremony?"
"It would be difficult to conduct the main ceremony right away for young children who know nothing. They learn things like the etiquette to be observed at the main ceremony and the roles they have to play… I think that's what it was."
Cha Eun-hyeok asked as he looked at his younger brother, Cha Isold.
"You said you'd enter the temporary dormitory right after the briefing to learn the ceremony etiquette, right?"
"Yeah, they said it would take about a day."
Having said that, Cha Isold turned to Yu Seong-un and Seo Jio and smiled bashfully.
"…yo."
"Ahaha, if you're uncomfortable, you don't have to use formal language."
"I'm good at using formal language."
"Really? That's impressive."
Yu Seong-un chimed in and laughed.
"So it's a two-day event in total?"
"No. It's one day for the preliminary briefing and training, and two days for the main ceremony, so it takes a total of 3 days."
"The main ceremony takes two days? It's not my field, so I didn't know, but it goes on for quite a while."
"It seems that's because the longer the main ceremony, the more advantageous it is for receiving a god's gaze."
"Then that makes sense. Come to think of it, it seems that renowned religious orders generally had long initiation ceremonies."
Jio, who had been quiet until now, asked.
"Is the gaze of a god absolutely necessary?"
"…Well, that's because a priest can't do much without being chosen by a god."
Cha Ara, who had been constantly stealing glances in the extraordinary situation of eating pork belly with Jio, who might be a monster or something else, continued.
"Just because you become a priest doesn't mean you always get a chance to receive a god's gaze. If there's the biggest chance, it's at the initiation ceremony when you're first recognized as a priest, and the rest… what was it called?"
"Anyway, when there's an event. Or if you get a fortuitous opportunity in a dungeon, or prove your competence as a priest, the probability of catching a god's eye increases."
"So I've heard."
While his sister and brother were talking back and forth, Cha Isold, with his fluffy, puppy-like hair, was stuffing his mouth full of meat.
"Thish ish delishush."
"Eat a lot."
Yu Seong-un smiled as if he found it cute.
A rural resident would rarely have the chance to come to a restaurant, so he must be eating so deliciously, but even considering that, Cha Isold ate his food very heartily.
'It makes everyone watching feel good.'
Perhaps Jio felt similarly, as he was pointedly placing meat in front of Cha Isold.
"Thank you."
"You eat well."
"I eat well."
"Commendable."
"Ehee."
The three adults who knew Jio's identity were watching the scene with a strange feeling. Especially the two Cha siblings.
'Oh my, Isold….'
'We have to do something about that sociability.'
They had definitely talked about the 'Black Cape' while eating dinner before coming up to Seoul, but seeing this, it seemed his younger brother hadn't realized that the 'Seo Jio' in front of him and the 'Black Cape' were the same person.
"...."
"...."
As the Black Cape openly took care of Cha Isold, Cha Ara, Cha Eun-hyeok, and Yu Seong-un exchanged glances.
'Does he normally like kids?'
'I don't know either.'
Yu Seong-un shook his head, but on second thought, Jio was said to have been keen on feeding Cha Ara something when they met, too.
He also always gave gifts of food to Yu Seong-un and others.
Considering that, it seemed he just had a strong interest in filling someone's belly.
"Umm…."
Well, what's good is good.
"Jio, what do you want to do?"
"Are you asking about the initiation ceremony?"
"It seems to be taking longer than I thought. Are you okay?"
Jio seemed to have a hard time when he was outside the picture frame.
'How could he not have a hard time when he's killing his class down to the level of an ordinary human.'
Even now, Jio was maintaining the level of an A-class Hunter with his usual class suppressed.
It would definitely take a toll on what should be called his soul, some essential part of him, and I didn't know if he could last for 3 days.
"I was worried you might find it difficult."
"That much is fine."
"That's a relief, then."
In contrast to Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara, who looked like they knew what the two were talking about, Cha Isold, who was diligently picking up meat, asked with a questioning face.
"Hyung, can't you stay outside for long?"
"...."
"Are you frail?"
Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara were silently horrified, but Yu Seong-un, though a little surprised, decided to watch the situation.
He was curious how Jio would respond to the young human's question.
Jio answered after a short pause.
"I do not think I am frail."
"Then?"
"In my case, I believe my spirit is weak."
"You don't look like it?"
"I am trying to look like there is no problem."
This answer was unexpected for Yu Seong-un as well.
'…I don't know if Jio's spirit can be called weak, but….'
I thought I knew why he blamed his spirit instead of his body.
Lowering one's class would be more mentally painful than physically.
But from a human's perspective, he was enduring pain on the level of having his limbs cut off and being beaten, and that couldn't be described as 'weak.'
Seeing that, it seemed that unlike other beings of the Source, Jio did not consider himself a strong being.
'No, it's probably closer to being unable to.'
He had often shown signs of his personality and memories being disorganized, so it was natural that self-awareness would be difficult.
Like an elephant with poor eyesight that doesn't know how big it is.
"Which god do you serve, bro?"
"A god?"
"Yes, I can feel something warm…."
At Cha Isold's words, who seemed to be sizing something up as he gazed at Jio, Yu Seong-un's eyes widened.
"You can feel that?"
"Yes? Um, yes. It's very warm."
"Oh…."
"Is this something I'm not supposed to feel?"
"Not that, but it's rare for a priest to notice another person's holy power."
Yu Seong-un tapped his chopsticks.
"Especially a young priest like you who has no affiliated divinity."
At those words, Jio muttered.
"Affiliated divinity, it sounds like a political party."
"It's probably similar? They say gods also have power struggles and fights over shares. The more followers they have, the stronger that god's power becomes, and the easier it is to be active…."
"They are only gods in name; it seems they are not treated as sacredly as one would think."
"They say a more secular image has formed recently after the Great Catastrophe."
Having said that, Yu Seong-un lightly clapped his hands while holding his chopsticks.
"Congratulations, guardians. At this rate, Cha Isold will be chosen by a god at this initiation ceremony."
"Uh… really?"
"Any god would covet a good talent. I'm not a priest, so I can't guarantee it, but he seems to have a gift."
Yu Seong-un added an explanation.
"In the first place, holy power is power borrowed from a god, so unlike magical power, it's hard for others to feel it."
"Ah…."
"Look, I'm an A-class Hunter, but I didn't even know Jio could use holy power, and I didn't know what kind of aura it was."
"Oh, I see…."
Cha Ara looked at Jio with a strange expression.
'I don't know if it makes sense for a monster to use holy power….'
As if he knew what Cha Ara was thinking, Yu Seong-un nodded.
But he couldn't say it openly in front of Jio, who thought he was human, so he let it pass.
Even in the midst of this, Cha Isold was persistent.
"So who is the god you serve, bro?"
"I do not serve any particular god."
Yu Seong-un, with a stiff face, smiled awkwardly and whispered.
"Jio."
"Yes."
"It would be better to say you do."
"Why would I say I do when I don't?"
"Because people usually do."
Whether a chosen follower or a devout priest, wielding holy power meant that one had been chosen by a god in the first place.
For someone who had even healed Cha Eun-hyeok with holy power to say he served no god made no sense.
From the humans' perspective.
"...."
"...."
"If you use holy power without serving a god, that's just…."
"Shut it, flower pig."
"Sorry."
At her brother's wise, sharp warning, Cha Ara shut her mouth.
The only being that could wield holy power without serving a god was a god.
At the very least, it meant he was a being of an equivalent class.
'My mouth is a disaster.'
It was well under control in front of other Hunters, but I didn't know why my tongue became so free-spirited only in front of the Black Cape.
While Cha Ara's pupils were quietly trembling, Cha Eun-hyeok was also trying hard to collect himself.
'…It was so completely different from the image or atmosphere of the beings I know as gods that I thought, "no way, it couldn't possibly be that," but… at this point, wasn't it too blasphemous for them to have introduced the Black Cape to Cha Ara as a monster she could talk to?'
Was his suspicion from last night, which was close to a delusional disorder, correct?
Cha Eun-hyeok was greatly shocked and felt a sense of skepticism at the way the world just went on as it pleased.
'There was no need for me to know the truth about this immense being.'
He was extremely tired, but the youngest person here, Cha Isold, was as cheerful as ever.
"Wow, you can have holy power even without serving a god!"
No, you can't.
'That person is the strange one.'
Why is he pretending to be human and doing this here?
Cha Ara, a porter Hunter who had seen it all, and Cha Eun-hyeok, who had been seeing strange beings since he was young, skillfully swallowed their true thoughts.
But they didn't get scared and ran out of their seats.
The 'gods' of this era were, in the first place, on the level of dragons enjoying the amusement of a medieval fantasy.
This was thanks to the occasional news stories about eccentric gods who disguised themselves as humans or monsters to enjoy life on Earth.
"...."
Unlike the two Cha siblings, who had somehow accepted this situation, Yu Seong-un was conflicted in his own way.
'…I knew that Jio had a great connection to the Source, but still, to have holy power….'
Yu Seong-un sighed inwardly.
'It's a bit strange. You can't just possess divinity simply by having a high class.'
Could it be a problem related to Jio's personality?
'I still don't know what kind of being he is.'
Yu Seong-un scratched his neck.
He had known for a while that Jio was unskilled at imitating humans.
Now that not only Cha Ara, who had been dragged to Jio's dungeon, but also Cha Eun-hyeok seemed to have a rough idea, could this be hidden any longer?
"...."
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere that had turned awkward in an instant, the Black Cape also seemed to become awkward.
'Don't be awkward.'
If you act like that too, the atmosphere will only get worse.
Hesitantly, Jio spoke.
"…I do serve a god."
"Now you say it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Uh, no, I was just saying."
Yu Seong-un, who had dealt with the whimsical and stubborn children of the Source, smiled cleanly and played along with Jio.
He didn't want to anger this unknown being whose identity was still not identified.
"So which god is it?"
"The Sun God."
"Right, that's the most universal god…."
Even on Earth, the religion that had appeared in various parts of the world was the Solar Cult.
In this small country alone, there were over 50 sun temples.
To the point where many people knew it as a religion that had existed since before the Great Catastrophe.
And just as much, it was perfect for lying, 'Hey, I'm a follower of the sun.'
"Ah, so that's why it was warm."
Only Cha Isold was fooled by Jio's words.
"I like the Sun God too."
"Thank you."
Why are you thanking him?
'Is he really not planning on hiding his identity?'
Cha Eun-hyeok almost choked.
It was the first time in his life he was eating at a restaurant, but he couldn't taste the food.
Actually, the reason Jio had said thank you was that he was thinking of the old man resting in the main room of his cabin.
'Father will be pleased.'
He had been feeling sorry for the sullen teddy bear because it had no followers and it was only natural for him as a son to feel gratitude towards Cha Isold, who said he liked the Sun God.
"Would it be alright if I introduced you to a Sun God that I know?"
"Wait a minute, Jio."
Yu Seong-un put on the brakes.
"We have to give Cha Isold a chance to be noticed by other gods, too."
"I only said I would introduce him…."
"Why are you making that introduction in the first place?"
"Isn't it good if he makes more friends?"
"Can a god and Cha Isold be friends?"
"Why not?"
"Oh…."
Jio had intended to introduce the lonely old teddy bear, but from the adults' perspective, who didn't know the circumstances, it was as if he had said, 'I'm something like a Sun God, and I want to befriend you.'
'He really has no prejudice.'
This was definitely not a conversation to be had at a pork belly restaurant like this.
"…You really are big-hearted, Jio."
"Thank you."
"Right, let's eat."
It seemed I had to get him to see the initiation ceremony and send him back to the picture frame quickly.
***
"...."
Bisabeol blinked at the text he received from Yu Seong-un.
"…The Sun God, huh."
I hadn't particularly thought it would be that one.
'In the first place, I didn't feel any divinity from Jio's Portrait. It's right to assume that it's something you can't feel unless he shows it himself.'
Besides, it was very unstable to define Jio's identity as a 'god.'
"That can't be all there is."
His divinity was just one of the many characteristics Jio possessed.
He was still a chaotic being.
He had the characteristics of a monster, had an ambiguous side like the children of the Source, and according to what Yu Seong-un said, he was also a being with godhood.
"At the same time, he resembles a human."
Sometimes, he becomes a monster.
Sometimes, he becomes a human.
If so, sometimes, he could also become a god.
As if everything in the world was his derivative.
'…But, if you look at it that way….'
In other words, it meant that Jio was the 'Source' of everything in the world.
"...."
The Source.
"…Hmm."
Is it possible for it to be a sentient being?
If Jio caused a slightly bigger incident, I would be able to find out for sure.
His goodwill was just a shame.
-x-X-x-
"Oh, they're having an initiation ceremony."
"Should we watch for a bit?"
"I was cold anyway, so this is great."
"Which cult is this event for?"
"I think it's the Solar Cult…."
"If it's the Solar Cult, it's worth watching."
No matter which religion's initiation ceremony it was, they didn't block spectators, even if they weren't related.
This was because the more members there were at the initiation ceremony, the higher the possibility of a god descending.
"Thanks to that, we got a seat too."
"There are more people than I thought."
"It's hard to receive a god's gaze with just one or two people gathered."
Of course, there were cases like Jio.
'Not all gods are like you.'
Even though Jio's identity had not yet been confirmed, it had become certain that he was the subject of some divinity.
It was just that more factors had been added, making it more confusing; there was no reason to deny the fact.
The Cha family had already moved to the seats for event officials.
Yu Seong-un, who had scanned them with his eyes, offered Jio a seat.
It was a table at a moderate distance from the murmuring crowd.
"Shall we sit here?"
"Sounds good."
Perhaps it was because being too close to humans was chaotic, or perhaps burdensome.
Jio went and sat in the seat Yu Seong-un offered, as if welcoming it.
Thanks to that, it was easier to talk.
'…Most of them are civilians, not Hunters, so they probably won't hear our conversation from here.'
Yu Seong-un, who had moistened his throat with the water on the table, opened his mouth.
"Can you handle divinity?"
"By divinity, do you mean the authority of a god?"
"You could say it's similar. Or, how should I put it… you could also call it something like a certificate."
"Ah, so it is a certificate."
"Indeed…?"
Although he was momentarily puzzled, Yu Seong-un soon added.
"It's not strange to express it that way. It could be seen as a god's certificate."
Divinity is different from what is commonly called holy power.
The power that a human chosen by a god handles with their help is called holy power, and divinity refers to the godhood of a single god itself and the authority derived from it.
They were beings of a completely different class.
"...."
Jio, who seemed to be recalling something, spoke.
"If you were referring to the certificate, then yes, I received it."
"…You received it?"
"I was the only follower."
"...."
Yu Seong-un knew instinctively.
'…Is this related to the blonde, blue-eyed Jio I saw at Cheonggyecheon before?'
I had guessed that when Jio's personality changed particularly, there was also a change in his appearance.
The image of Jio, whose hair had been dyed platinum blonde like a fallen leaf that had changed color after dipping its foot in water, was still vivid in my mind.
'But because of his particular connection to water, I thought it would be a sea god, or a river or pond, something like that….'
For the sun to come out of nowhere was quite interesting.
If Bisabeol had been here, he probably would have felt the same.
I wondered what the story was.
"Receiving a god's certificate, that's amazing. It's not something that usually happens."
Although he expressed his admiration as if it were no big deal, as far as Yu Seong-un knew, it was something that never happened.
No god gives their own class to a mere human.
'Why would they needlessly do something that would make both the god and the human suffer.'
But Jio's voice was still blunt and business-like.
"He said he did not want to be alone anymore."
"…The previous Sun God before you?"
"As I was the only follower, I interacted with him, ate together, talked… as we spent more time together like that, he seemed to feel a fear of being alone like before."
"...."
"Then he gave me this certificate. He said he wanted to share what I see and hear, and that it was half a gift. Although he called it a certificate, it does not seem to be something with a physical form."
Yu Seong-un mumbled with his lips.
'Should I say… the former Sun God was too weak, or that Jio is amazing….'
It was probably the latter.
Usually, a god is a one-and-only being and doesn't feel lonely from being alone, but perhaps in the process of their interaction, Jio made the god feel such emotions.
In that case, Jio was indeed amazing.
'Besides, if he were an ordinary human, he wouldn't have been burdened with such a load in the first place.'
If I thought about it in the same context, it would be more accurate to say that because Jio was a being close to a god's class from the start, that Sun God recognized him as an equal, felt lonely, and also gave him godhood as a gift.
"...."
Though that would make the identity of the being called Jio even more unknowable.
If he was at a level that the Sun God would judge as an equal, didn't that just mean he was a different kind of god?
At the very least, it meant he was a being of a high enough class to be able to contain divinity.
What should I define that as?
'What in the world are you?'
The more I dig, the more unknown stories come out.
I wish someone would just organize it into one thing.
***
The preliminary briefing proceeded quickly.
"It's not taking as long as I thought."
"Perhaps the schedule is tight."
"Could be, they need time to train the prospective priests."
A simple class. The definition of a priest.
How such a priest should act, what virtues are necessary….
After a light explanation about those who serve a god, the conversation continued with stories related to the initiation ceremony.
The content mainly consisted of the training and benefits that the prospective priests would receive.
"After you have all spoken with your families, the prospective priests will follow me. Prospective priests without guardians, please come to me in advance."
As the dark-blonde priest spoke, several children hesitantly approached him.
A priest with a strong impression, as if from a fantasy movie, led the children.
His Western facial features and curly hair were impressive.
Although such Western faces could be easily found in Korea now, perhaps because he was a priest, his atmosphere was different.
Jio's gaze, which had been observing the head priest, fell to the children below him.
"It seems those children's families did not come."
"Well… while the family is the most universal form of human organization, in this day and age, there are more cases of humans who are not formed into such blood-related groups."
Yu Seong-un nodded as if he knew what Jio was curious about.
Jio, whose knowledge of humans had some ambiguous aspects, would know that 'humans form family communities,' but there are always exceptions.
"You can see that most of those children are not particularly clean, right?"
"I see."
"They're probably Carnation Children who have awakened as priests."
"What is a Carnation Child?"
"Should I call them orphans who actively seek out guardians."
On the outskirts of the city, there are the poor, who are 4th-class citizens, and there are also quite a few intentionally abandoned children.
To the point where there's a saying that it's a trash can for abandoning humans.
"Among them, Carnation Children are children who promote themselves on the street to find a guardian to take them in."
"They promote themselves?"
"Yes. A child who wants someone to take them in holds a flower. A child in slightly better circumstances holds a real carnation. If not, they fold a flower out of tissue or paper… as long as it looks the part, the meaning will be conveyed."
The so-called 'Carnation Children' was a culture created right after the Great Catastrophe, when many orphans were being created.
"The Great Catastrophe happened in the spring, and after that came what was called Parents' Day… a day when children would give carnations to their parents. So they made carnations in memory of their deceased parents, but they had no one to give them to."
Adults who felt sorry for such situations began to take in the children holding colored paper carnations one by one.
The clever orphans who saw these folded carnations they had no intention of making and went out to the streets holding them, and this became the beginning of the 'Carnation Children.'
"Actually, I don't know the details either. It was something that happened a generation or two above me…."
"I see."
"Anyway, starting from there, even now, orphans who want to be adopted prepare carnations in that way. Whether they fold a carnation from tissue or colored paper, pick a flower blooming on the street, or work hard to get money to buy a single carnation… it means 'please take me.'"
"It doesn't seem like they go through proper adoption procedures. Is there no risk of the adoption being annulled again?"
"Why wouldn't there be? It's one of the social issues listed in elementary school textbooks. They say it was noisy for a while because there were many children whose adoptions were annulled in that way right after the Carnation Child culture first emerged. There's no way things have gotten any better now."
No one thinks of seriously adopting a Carnation Child.
"The Carnation Children themselves, too. Right after the Great Catastrophe, they might have been adopted with the intention of being treated like family out of pity, but now it's just… like hiring a free worker? It's closer to that feeling."
"...."
I don't know why I keep hearing such surprising news every time I come to this hometown of mine.
'The world has become a very scary place.'
If I'm not careful, I could have my nose cut off while my eyes are open. Physically.
"But isn't it possible that those children are just simple orphans and not Carnation Children?"
"Even if they awakened as priests, the temples usually only take responsibility for the Carnation Children."
"Why is that?"
"Because they are a good source of labor?"
"...."
Where have children's rights gone?
"…Don't look at me like that, it's scary when you condemn me with your eyes. In the first place, 4th-class citizens who are neglected without any particular poverty relief policies are not well-employed by general companies. Unless it's some back-alley manufacturing labor."
"Is it difficult for a 4th-class citizen to get a formal job?"
"In the first place, 4th-class citizens have a bad stigma attached to them as 'pests who entered the city without the ability to handle it and just planted their butts down.' Not everyone is like that, but they usually lack the will to work."
"...."
"Even if you hire them at full price, their efficiency is low and the public's perception is not good, so no one wants to take them unless they want to be cursed at by customers. The perception of 4th-class citizens is that bad. It's because they are under the city's protection without making any proper effort."
A company that hires a 4th-class citizen receives bad looks from the citizens.
Why give an opportunity to vermin who try to share in the city's interests while lazing around like bedbugs without doing anything?
"In the same vein, a temple doesn't necessarily accept a child from the slums just because they manifested as a priest. The probability of being chosen by a god is low, and they don't have the capacity to take care of a poor child while receiving bad looks… that's the context."
"The calculation is clear."
"Unlike other 4th-class citizens, the Carnation Children's will to work can be confirmed through the 'carnation,' and since they are still young, the public's perception is not entirely bad. Unless they have already been chosen by a god, if an orphan who has merely awakened is in a place like this, there is a high probability they are a Carnation Child."
"...."
Jio made up his mind.
'I'll just watch the initiation ceremony and bolt back to the picture frame.'
This harsh world.
I couldn't live because it was so tearful and scary.
It wasn't that he didn't feel sympathy, but to decide to break down this social atmosphere all by himself, Jio was just an adult who had only gotten older.
Hoping for the world to become warmer, Jio looked around.
It was intended to distract himself, but his mind became at ease sooner than he thought.
"...."
"Why? Does something resonate since it's the same Sun God lineage?"
"I was thinking that it feels good because it's warm."
I didn't know why, but I felt welcomed.
"Especially that divine statue…."
"...."
"...?"
I'm sure my eyes just met with the statue in the form of a goddess.
Jio blinked about twice.
'What, is this a ghost story?'
His judgment was swift.
'Nothing happened.'
He decided to treat it as a hallucination.
"The divine statue is wonderful."
"I think there was some kind of blank just now, but I'll let it slide, since I don't want to get involved in the affairs of gods with the body of a mere human."
"Thank you."
He didn't understand Jio's burden, but from the position of a mere human, Yu Seong-un gritted his teeth and avoided the miracle that had appeared before his eyes.
He, too, was a member of the Collectors guild, after all.
Yu Seong-un had definitely seen it too.
The gazes that openly poured out when Jio praised the temple's atmosphere and the beauty of the divine statue.
Yu Seong-un had never felt such a direct gaze from a god.
'Please cause these miracles when I'm not around.'
He didn't want to get involved in the slightest.
"Our dear Cha family seems to be talking too, how about you try to join in."
"Sounds good."
The two of them ignored the god's gaze with their whole bodies, but the priest who served her could not.
There was a priest who was looking at the two, who were about to head towards the Cha family, with wide eyes.
'We're screwed.'
Yu Seong-un thought so without realizing it.
The dark-blonde priest clearly seemed to be the high-ranking priest who was presiding over this event.
To be at a place like this, he was surely one of the priests who served a bishop at close range.
In other words, it meant he was a person who could not fail to know where the Sun God's gaze was directed.
"...."
"...."
A strange tension filled the air.
"...."
With a face that seemed to have realized something, the blonde priest gave a faint bow.
Perhaps because of his strong impression, it was a particularly sacred-looking gesture.
Yu Seong-un realized the meaning of that bow.
'He noticed.'
It seemed he had realized that Jio possessed divinity.
"Jio."
"Yes, please speak. I am listening."
"Shall we go back right now?"
"If it were a problem that could be resolved by doing so."
"Probably not, right…?"
Yu Seong-un wanted to go home from work.
-x-X-x-
Looking at the being covered in a pitch-black cape, the blonde priest, Kang Seo-dam, thought.
'I didn't know a god would come to an event I was pushed into against my will.'
This event was not his.
Kang Seo-dam had taken over after the priest who was originally supposed to supervise went missing, and he had never imagined that he would encounter a god in an unexpected form at such an event.
'But it's remarkably quiet for a place a god is personally attending.'
Both the Goddess of the Sun he served, and that god who was enjoying amusement by blending into the crowd pretending to be human.
For such an exceptional situation, no chaos had occurred.
'…I can understand people not noticing since the Goddess hasn't descended, but for a god who has openly taken a human form to be this quiet is a wondrous thing.'
It seemed to be a god with a high understanding of humans.
"...."
Well, most gods who enjoyed amusement were human-friendly.
'It has a cool and desolate atmosphere, unlike the Temple of the Sun. Could it be a god of the death or disease type? Seeing the cool energy, it could also be a god related to the deep sea.'
Jio had received a 'certificate' from the Sun God, but that was just one of the elements that constituted Jio.
Jio fundamentally had a gloomy atmosphere, as if he personified a funeral.
Unless he checked up close or came into contact, there was no way for Kang Seo-dam to know what type of divinity he possessed.
He roughly guessed and looked around.
"…Hmm…."
Acting like I know him to a god who enjoys amusement will only get on his nerves.
'He doesn't show any signs of wanting to bestow a miracle of disaster. Seeing him interact sufficiently with other humans, he probably has no intention of ruining this event. Let's just let this pass quietly.'
Perhaps he was a god with low name recognition or one who sought a small elite group, and was thinking of finding his own followers at this event.
It was a rare event globally, but he had heard it was something that happened secretly in the religious world.
"…This batch is lucky."
The god in the form of that black cape might choose them himself, and even if not, this was already a place where the Goddess of the Sun had cast her gaze.
The interest of other gods would also rise, so the probability of the prospective priests being chosen would increase.
"...."
Suddenly, Kang Seo-dam realized that the Black Cape was staring intently at him.
His mind went blank for a moment.
"...."
The moment he recognized his situation, Kang Seo-dam did not act defiantly and immediately lowered his gaze.
'There's no act more foolish than trying to withstand a god's gaze directly.'
Though it may have been out of consideration for other humans, or perhaps for a higher quality of amusement, the Black Cape's class was lowered to a human level, to the point where almost no divinity could be felt.
But that didn't change its vast essence.
A god was, in the end, a god, and Kang Seo-dam was a priest who was particularly sensitive to a being's class and divinity.
If he were to meet a god's gaze directly, he might lose consciousness.
"...."
"...."
As if he knew that, the Black Cape withdrew his gaze again.
'…Was he being considerate?'
It was a great relief that it was a god who knew that humans were weak beings.
Most gods who enjoyed amusement without knowing such things would harm humans without any malice.
"...."
Kang Seo-dam, who had quietly swallowed a sigh of relief, checked the time.
"…In 1 minute from now, prospective priests, please finish your greetings with your families and gather before me. I will guide you to the dormitory where you will learn the main ceremony etiquette."
God or whatever, Kang Seo-dam himself just had to fulfill his responsibilities as a priest.
***
"I think I have to go now."
At Cha Isold's words, Cha Ara nodded sternly.
"Right, if it's hard, just run out."
"You just don't want to say anything proper, do you?"
"Ah why, he can just live by farming like the village head."
"So you're urging him to give up before he even starts? Are you trying to break his spirit?"
"Isn't it better to do what you're good at than to hold onto something that's not working out."
"That's true."
Cha Eun-hyeok also nodded his head.
"If you really feel like this isn't for you, you can just come out."
"Yeah, I will! But I'm going to become an awesome priest in the future and become the head of the Cha family, so I'll work hard!"
"I'm the head of the household."
"I will become the pillar of this family!"
"I'm the pillar too."
"See you tomorrow!"
Cha Isold, who had grinned with a pure smile, turned his gaze to the other guests.
"I'm going now."
"Oh, right, Cha Isold seems like you'll do well, so don't worry too much."
"Thank you!"
Cha Isold, who had extracted praise and support from the white-haired Hunter, turned to the Black Cape with sparkling eyes.
"Hyung!"
"...."
"I'll do well, you know?"
"I think so too."
"Hehe."
Cha Isold finally managed to extract encouragement from the Black Cape as well.
"If I get chosen by the Sun God, can I smell like you, Hyung?"
"Do I have a smell?"
"I don't know for sure, but you smell like a sun-dried blanket."
To describe it a little more, it was a feeling like 'a sun-scented blanket just put in the wardrobe.'
When he smelled him, it felt like he was in a dark cave made from a blanket that had been hung out in the yard, hiding snugly inside.
It was dark, warm, and cozy.
"...."
Cha Isold, who had been looking up at the Black Cape for a long time, suddenly made a bold demand.
"Hug me just once!"
"Isold, please."
You frustratingly cheerful kid.
Cha Eun-hyeok was horrified by his younger brother's disastrous sociability, but Jio didn't mind much.
"If that is what you wish, I can hug you."
"Wow!"
"Come here."
The Black Cape opened his arms.
'Cool.'
Was it because of the lighting from above?
The inside of the cape was nothing but black shadow.
Into the embrace of the Black Cape, which looked as dark as the night sky and as cozy as the inside of a wardrobe, Cha Isold scurried and buried himself.
And quite surprisingly, his body temperature was cool.
He thought it would be warm because of the cozy warmth he felt, but it was unexpected.
"It has been a long time since I have hugged a child the size of student Cha Isold."
The gentle voice falling from above sounded like a lullaby.
"That child was also small, like you, student Cha Isold."
"I'm not small."
"You are smaller than me. Of course, student Cha Isold will soon become a wonderful adult."
"Hehe…."
"May the sun shine upon you."
"...."
Cha Isold lifted his head and saw the face under the black cloth that only he could see.
Gentle eyes that resembled the sea entered Cha Isold's vision.
"…Wow."
Those eyes,
were very large.
And cozy.
"…You're really handsome, brother!"
"I hear that often."
"That's amazing."
"Is that so?"
The face under the cape that no one could see was smiling with a kind light.
"Then I will see you tomorrow."
"Ah…."
Cha Isold let out a disappointed gasp.
He was sad to part with him, but it was also a shame to see his platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes being dyed black as if a light bulb had gone out.
He looked really cool just now.
'Isn't that a color that suits Jio-hyung much better?'
But Cha Isold did not insist any further.
"Then I'm really going now!"
The other prospective priests had already gathered in front of the real priest.
The blonde priest was checking the number, names, and faces of the gathered children and telling them something.
As he got closer, he could hear what the blonde priest was saying.
"Cha Isold?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Cha Isold will be partners with Eun-ha from now on."
"Partner?"
"I will give you a detailed explanation once all the students have gathered, so for now, please pair up with Eun-ha and stand in line. The student with blue hair over there is the Eun-ha I mentioned."
"Okay!"
Cha Isold approached the child the priest had pointed out.
The friend the priest had identified as 'Eun-ha' had blue hair with a warm, blue-green hue.
As Cha Isold approached his side, the boy gave a somewhat soft and kind smile.
"You're Cha Isold, right?"
"Yeah, you're Eun-ha? He said we're partners."
"I think it's because priests work in teams of two as a rule."
"You mean two people are one team?"
"That's right."
Eun-ha's pearl-colored eyes crinkled. It was a benevolent smile reminiscent of the priests.
"The partners might change after the main ceremony, but I heard that partners who met at the initiation ceremony often stay together until the end. We might stay partners… so I look forward to working with you."
"That's so cool."
"You think so?"
Eun-ha, who said that, let out a small laugh and Cha Isold felt a sense of déjà vu from that smile.
'Huh, he resembles Jio.'
Cha Isold instinctively felt the difference between 'Seo Jio' and 'Giovanni.'
He realized that the change in Jio's hair or eye color was not a simple matter of appearance, but an essential change in his personality and nature.
And Eun-ha's smile was strangely similar to 'Giovanni's.'
'Why?'
Of course, Cha Isold didn't know that the name of the Jio with platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes was 'Giovanni,' but he at least knew that it was quite similar to Eun-ha.
"You have a really cool smile!"
Cha Isold came to a simple conclusion.
"A hyung I know smiles just like you."
"…He smiles like me?"
"Yeah!"
"There can't be many people like that."
Eun-ha rolled his eyes to the side and said, as if muttering.
"How strange."
"…Yeah…."
Cha Isold felt something was off.
'He's smiling, but it's like he's not smiling.'
Eun-ha's smile was very similar to 'Giovanni's,' but unlike Jio, from whom he could feel warmth without even looking, it was strangely cool.
It was a temperature similar to a snake or a river stone he had once touched.
Unaware of Cha Isold's thoughts, Eun-ha, still with a faint smile, asked.
"Is the 'hyung you know' that person over there?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Eun-ha was talking about Jio.
"That's Jio-hyung."
"...."
Eun-ha, who had blinked his eyes silently, asked again.
"Jio?"
"His last name is Seo. Seo Jio."
"Ah, I see."
Eun-ha, who had looked back at the Black Cape whose face was completely hidden, opened his mouth.
"He has a unique atmosphere."
"Right? He's super warm, you know?"
"Is he someone chosen by the Sun God? Or…."
"He said he's a follower of the Sun God."
"A follower."
Eun-ha muttered in a faint voice.
"He's not on that level."
"Huh?"
"I just thought he must be a very devout person."
"He's super warm, right?"
"He is."
And also as cold as if he weren't human.
Cha Isold, who heard that small mumble, couldn't interpret Eun-ha's words and his eyes widened, but Eun-ha didn't talk about Jio anymore.
He asked about his family.
"Then the black-haired people next to that black cape… are they your family?"
"That's right, we look alike, don't we?"
"You do look very alike. I can tell you're family at a glance."
Eun-ha smiled slightly.
"I also look very much like my older sister."
"Really? Then she must be very pretty."
"She is as beautiful as a princess."
"Huh? Uh… really?"
Do people normally call their own older sister 'as beautiful as a princess'?
'He seems like a very learned person.'
Cha Isold, who had picked up Cha Ara's speech habits, concluded that Eun-ha was a 'learned person.'
For some reason, his smile and the gentle tone of his voice, like Jio-hyung's, seemed very sophisticated.
So he liked it.
"Let's be friends!"
"…Should we?"
"You can take your time."
This friend probably doesn't trust people easily, so I have to be considerate.
"I'll wait."
Cha Isold was a quick-witted child.
***
The Mermaid Princess always wanted to know about humans.
What kind of lives did they lead above the water's surface, where the sunlight shimmered like a net.
Why did they, who couldn't even breathe in the water, sometimes throw themselves into the sea?
Why did they fall apart like that?
What did they think, what did they eat, and by what structure did they laugh, cry, and get angry.
The mermaid went up.
She kept going up and.
She saw the prince.
"...."
Warm.
The warmth that spread over the water's surface was a symbol of the sun.
Platinum-blonde hair, which held the net-like sunlight she had looked up at from the deep sea, flowed in waves like the ocean, and it sparkled like silver on the water's surface.
Blue eyes that held a warm light felt warm, despite having the color of the sea.
The Mermaid Princess who ruled the sea was curious about humans.
She was curious about the limits of humans.
"...."
Would the human who resembled that sunlight be warm even in the sea?
So she held his hand, and just like that….
"...."
Splash.
"...."
Into the sea.
"…Ah…."
I think I fell.
The eyes that held pearls blinked dazedly.
The blurry focus soon became clear, and red lips drew a languid curve.
She had, at some point, woken up from her sleep.
"My."
The beautiful princess, wearing a large doctor's gown, said.
"I had a good dream."
Didn't I, Giovanni?
The Mermaid Princess, sprawled on the water's surface, smiled.
-x-X-x-
"Was he a foreigner?"
"Huh?"
Yu Seong-un asked back at Jio's words.
"What do you mean by that?"
On the way back after finishing the first initiation ceremony and parting with the Cha family.
Yu Seong-un tilted his head at Jio's sudden mumble.
He didn't understand what exactly Jio was asking.
"A foreigner, you say."
"That blond priest I saw at the initiation briefing earlier…."
"Ah, I see what you're talking about."
Jio was rigid in strange ways.
He had old-fashioned common sense, just like a grandfather, and seemed worried that he might have been racially discriminatory without realizing it.
Even though he was polite and gentlemanly in all matters.
He really worries about the strangest things.
"He's probably Korean, too. You were just confused because he looks a little different from the traditional Korean appearance, right?"
"So he was Korean. With blond hair and blue eyes, and a bone structure slightly different from the Koreans I know, I thought he might be a Western foreigner. Was that a rude thought to have?"
"It is a bit of an old-fashioned mindset."
"I will be more careful."
"You've been stuck in a picture frame all this time, so it can't be helped that you don't know."
Besides, from the perspective of a Source being, it must have been difficult to distinguish between human nationalities.
Just as it's hard for a human without expert knowledge to distinguish between all the numerous types of ants.
'Above all, Source beings have a tendency to believe the human rules they learn at face value….'
Source beings don't understand human exceptions well.
There were some who couldn't understand not eating three meals a day, and others who couldn't understand why someone would be missing hair that should obviously be there.
'Saying things like, aren't humans supposed to be this way.'
If anything, it was impressive that Jio distinguished them enough to categorize them as 'Western foreigners'.
Though in this case, it seemed that a little knowledge was a dangerous thing….
"Of course, traditional Koreans generally have black hair and black or brown eyes. The bone structure is a bit different too. But these days, it's a bit… difficult to determine nationality just by hair color or bone structure."
To make a Source being understood by humans, it was best to explain the flow originating from its history. Yu Seong-un began to tell a story again.
"You seem to know about the Great Catastrophe, and the world was turned upside down during that time. It wasn't my generation, so I don't know exactly what it was like, but it must have been much more chaotic than now. It must have had a real apocalyptic atmosphere, right?"
"...."
"…Do you know what apocalypse means…?"
"I do."
"Oh, impressive."
It was probably one of the memories that the human persona of 'Seo Jio' possessed.
"Anyway, back then, the concept of national borders was faint. To be precise, it faded. People started migrating here and there to escape the disasters in their own countries, and as they did, the entire planet began to mix with various races, like a giant salad bowl."
Because of that, the existence of a 'traditional Korean' had become rare.
"If we're talking about a pure-blooded Korean, in our country, you could probably only find one very rarely in rural areas with very little exchange with other regions. There are some rather rigid elders who feel an extreme aversion to their children's blood mixing with that of a foreigner…."
"There are people like that everywhere, I see."
"There are always people who hate change. So it's hard to figure out someone's nationality just by their appearance. Still, considering that the blond priest you mentioned is in charge of an event like this, I think he's probably Korean."
"Don't they entrust events to foreign priests?"
"No, it's more like… if he's in a position to oversee such a big event, he must hold a pretty high rank in the Seoul Solar Cult. And he would be living in Korea, so wouldn't it be harder to think of such a person as a foreigner?"
"Aha."
I understood.
'So, in effect, the distinction of race has disappeared.'
Regardless of where their blood originated from or what they looked like, as long as they had Korean nationality, they were Korean.
This was an obvious fact even before the Great Catastrophe, but the atmosphere then and now was a little different.
'It's as if nationality is being treated like a light certificate, like a driver's license.'
Yu Seong-un said the priest was likely Korean simply because he would be commuting here.
It wasn't about where or as whom he was born, but simply that he was registered as a Korean, and therefore judged to be Korean.
"...."
A truly unified Earth.
'…It seems good.'
This seemed rather desirable.
'Although it's a bit unfamiliar.'
Jio was still feeling like a stranger in his own hometown.
Now he worried he wouldn't even be able to order food at a hamburger joint.
For Seo Jio, a living ancestor, this world was moving way too fast.
"So problems like racial discrimination won't occur."
"That's the kind of conflict you'd only see in textbooks."
Yu Seong-un shrugged his shoulders.
"Having said that, I can't say there's no racial discrimination at all."
"Didn't you say there was no distinction of nationality?"
"No, it's not that kind of problem…."
He looked around, and after confirming no one was listening, he continued.
"There's class discrimination."
"Ah."
"It might sound like an excuse… but I don't really think that way. Still, 1st and 2nd-class citizens seem to be particularly arrogant. Especially 1st-class Hunters, who find the very act of interacting with citizens of 3rd-class or below unpleasant…."
"...."
I had a bad feeling ever since I heard they classify citizens by grade, and now it seems the class system has really been revived.
"…Is that the difference between nobles and commoners?"
"Ah, would that be easier for you to understand? It's certainly a similar perspective."
"I was surprised that the classification and treatment seem clearer than I thought."
"Well, anyway."
Yu Seong-un chuckled softly.
"So be careful, because if you judge someone's race by their appearance, people will call you a crazy old man. I understand your situation, but if other people heard you, it would sound like absurd discrimination."
"Thank you for letting me know."
"I wonder if there are any pure-blooded Koreans left these days. Even though I'm not a native, for that matter…."
The nuance was a bit strange, but I let it pass and asked another question I was curious about.
"Is the reason for all the different hair and eye colors also due to the mixing of races? Of course, I know that there are no pure genes that produce blue hair, but just in case…."
"Ah, in my case, it's just the effect of awakening."
If he meant awakening, it was probably related to being a 'Hunter'.
"Does your color change when you awaken?"
"Not everyone, but if you have a particularly strong affinity with an attribute, your color can change accordingly. Something like the blue hair you mentioned isn't a naturally occurring color, so it's probably the effect of awakening."
"I see."
"An attribute isn't something the System clearly displays like grade or job; you generally define it yourself as you get to know your own abilities. To add to that, the attribute I have is 'Ice'."
Only then did I notice Yu Seong-un's snow-white hair and glacier-chilling blue eyes. It was a color similar to 'Giovanni's', but unlike his, it definitely had a cold feel to it.
"I used to have brown hair and brown eyes, but it became like this after I awakened."
"…I see…."
I thought dyeing hair was just a trend these days.
'Was I too unbiased?'
To be honest, even after becoming a haunted portrait and seeing all the unusually standout hair and eye colors, I hadn't paid much attention to it.
That's because Jio was an unbiased person who respected human diversity.
'I figured, the world got turned upside down and fashion became bizarre, so why not hair dye….'
Or perhaps I just thought of it as a form of evolution and casually overlooked it.
Even to myself, I was quite an indifferent person.
"I can change my color, too."
"Huh? So suddenly? You're originally black. Wasn't that your identity?"
"The idea that color can be a person's identity sounds very interesting, but I am not black. I just added that because you said your color had changed, Mr. Yu Seong-un."
"No… in the first place, your black color is a bit… uh… to be that of a native Korean."
Isn't it too jet-black.
'Like an abyss or obsidian.'
Jio's color was difficult to describe as a simple color.
That black, as if embodying death or silence, often made one's mind grow distant.
'Even now, having lowered his status to that of a human, it's still a bit burdensome to make direct eye contact.'
As if finding Yu Seong-un's reaction strange, Jio asked back.
"Isn't it a normal black color?"
"…If that's what you think, then fine."
Yu Seong-un returned to the previous topic.
"So, you can change your color too?"
"I can change it if I pay a little attention. At this rate, could I be considered a modern person?"
"What's a 29-year-old young man saying things like an old man who can't keep up with the times…. No, could it be? Platinum blond hair and blue eyes?"
"So you knew."
"You changed to that color at Cheonggyecheon and when you were on the water taxi."
"Unlike others, have I perhaps evolved into a chameleon?"
"Rather than that…."
I think it was a change in personality.
"...."
"What were you trying to say?"
"…Just that it's strange."
By this point, Yu Seong-un was starting to get a feel for Jio.
'Jio… likely has numerous personalities.'
Centered around the personality named 'Jio's Portrait' by the Source, various other personalities spread out from it like branches.
Usually, he acted with the 'Jio' personality, but it seemed that when certain situations arose, a corresponding personality would react.
'He's a difficult one to deal with. The Guild Master and I hastily pushed him out into society out of our own greed… but if a personality hostile to humans were to emerge, it would become quite troublesome.'
Even if that happened, Bisabeol would probably preach his hard-to-sympathize-with taste, saying, 'Dying while appreciating a work of art is part of art,' but for ordinary people, unlike the man with an irrational obsession for collecting or a Gardener like Yu Seong-un, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
'Even I am aware of that much.'
His conscience had already been smoothed out after going through this and that, but he still had a bottom line.
After pondering how to deal with Jio for a moment, Yu Seong-un opened his mouth.
"By any chance, that…."
"Yes."
"...."
Is this not the place to have this conversation?
"Can you tell me about yourself? Not here, but when we get back to the hotel."
"I thought I have told you a lot about myself so far."
"I want to know about something deeper. I'll listen when we get back to the hotel, and if you're not uncomfortable, please answer. It's also my job as a Curator."
"I will do so."
"Thank you very much for that."
Perhaps thinking this topic wouldn't come up again until they reached the hotel, Jio brought up something out of the blue.
"I'm worried about the cat I left at home."
"…A cat? You got a cat at home?"
"It's an Anticat, I met it for the first time in the Water Vein of Jewels."
"...."
"But the teddy bear is watching over it, so it should be fine."
"…I haven't known how to react for a while now…."
Yu Seong-un asked with a peculiar expression.
"An Anticat, well, that's you, so I'll let that slide."
"I don't know what you mean by that."
"What do you mean the teddy bear is watching the Anticat?"
"Literally, the teddy bear is watching over Dana."
"Did you make it?"
"An elder has entered the doll that was abandoned in the sea."
"Who is this elder, and why did they enter a teddy bear of all things?"
"It is the sun god I serve."
"...."
After a brief silence, Yu Seong-un decided not to ask any more questions.
"Mm, I see."
He was already confused enough.
***
A soft, blunt hand.
The hand of a doll with fur of a color similar to Giovanni's slowly stroked the back of the kitten that had burrowed into its embrace.
As if the embrace was comfortable, the jewel cat's body was languidly stretched out.
"...."
The teddy bear ceaselessly stroked the small jewel filled with dead spirits.
Patting, stroking down, and sometimes covering it to share its warmth.
Although it had become a sun of mere traces, with not even divinity left, it could still perform a miracle enough to warm this cold body.
After all, it was just them holding each other tightly.
"...."
With its stuffed smile, the teddy bear looked into the picture frame depicting a blue sea.
It exuded a calm life force, as if a single personality had been drawn.
Its child called this the 'Breathing Sea'.
"...."
And this was surely connected to the world of the mermaids.
"...."
Jio will meet a mermaid.
The teddy bear hoped that Giovanni would embrace the mermaid princess once again.
"...."
It wouldn't regret giving up its divinity for that.
Even without something so grand, this place was… sufficiently bright, and warm.