The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 138

Black Cloak.

A humanoid monster first spotted in the S-class dungeon Country of the Deep Sea last winter, and later recorded on the Hunter Association’s website. It is famous for tormenting bad people and giving gifts to good ones.

Its characteristics include being very tall, wearing a black cloak, and dressed in a suit with bare feet.

“......”

In her solitary dorm room, the new curator, Park Ju-Hee, clenched her teeth.

“...Now that I think about it, it’s all similar...”

She remembered the first time when Yoo Seong-Woon, the curator, explained about someone named ‘Sergio.’

“He’s often misunderstood because he has similar characteristics to the Black Cloak.”

It wasn't that Park Ju-Hee hadn’t thought that Sergio and the Black Cloak had something in common. It was just that Sergio had been too kind, human-like, and had a very soft smile.

But now that she thought about it, it made her dizzy.

‘It was too idealistic.’

She should have doubted it.

‘Would someone who smiles as if they’re frozen in their best form really be normal?’

Sergio smiled, talked, and showed consideration like an ordinary person, but his actions and expressions lacked any fluctuation. He had the atmosphere of a non-existent being, and Park Ju-Hee had definitely noticed that about him.

“...Is this... is this okay?”

She was confused.

Because the other person seemed so human, she couldn’t imagine they might be a monster. She wondered if she had been charmed or deceived somehow. There was a high chance that the ‘Sergio’ the Black Cloak showed was likely a mask.

‘I haven’t known him for long enough to feel betrayed or anything.’

She had only met him twice so far. If it were someone she had known for over a year, she would have passed it off if they deceived her. But now, having only met him twice, she didn't feel betrayed.

‘I’m not angry either. I’m not disappointed, either. We didn’t have that much trust between us. But the confusion is real...’

What should she do?

“...I don’t think I’m in a position to take any action?”

The curator's gallery was filled with dangerous works, and there would undoubtedly be numerous protocols for dealing with unusual phenomena. There must also be safety measures and information control in place.

“Besides, all the other staff seemed to know.”

Only the new hires didn’t know that Sergio was the Black Cloak.

“But it’s not like they were hiding it meticulously...”

It wasn’t that Park Ju-Hee was especially slow, but with this many common points, the other curators must have already figured it out.

For some reason, the collectors simply tolerated the existence of the Black Cloak.

“......”

After thinking for a while, she knocked on the door of another dorm room.

“...What’s going on?”

“Sorry, but I’d like to talk to you about something.”

“To me, a fellow newbie?”

“Bina-ri, you’ve... met Sergio, right?”

“......”

One of Park Ju-Hee’s fellow curators, Bina-ri, nodded.

“Come in.”

“...Excuse me.”

In the deep night, their conversation was long.

Among the new curators, Bina-ri was the only one responsible for the works on the third floor.

“I knew.”

“Just as I thought... was I the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) only one who didn’t know?”

“That’s not it.”

He had been one of the first to realize that Sergio was the Black Cloak.

“When Yoo Seong-Woon first warned us about Sergio, I had a feeling. Also, B-class hunter Jeong Eun-Byeol raised some doubts.”

“Ah...”

“We figured it out, and it seemed like Yoo Seong-Woon had also noticed we were suspicious. But he never gave us a heads-up. It seems that inside the collector's guild, it’s common knowledge that ‘Sergio’ is the Black Cloak.”

Bina-ri added:

“Besides, there’s no such thing as a night shift in the collector’s guild.”

“...True, I thought it was hidden because it wasn’t mentioned on the website, but I thought it was done to protect such an important asset.”

“After asking around, I found out that Sergio is the only one assigned to the night shift.”

“But maybe it was a measure for appearances.”

“Yeah, it could be seen as a special privilege for an extraordinary individual.”

He shrugged.

“Just like the others are probably thinking.”

“...True. It still feels a bit too careless, but...”

“Maybe they thought it was something they could hide from the new recruits like you, just as you figured it out today.”

“What happens to those of us who realized Sergio’s true identity?”

“I don’t think we’ll be penalized. It might be a way of seeing how we adapt.”

“Why... why is this happening...”

Park Ju-Hee stumbled over her words, then took a short breath before speaking again.

“There are a lot of things that don’t make sense. Why didn’t they tell the new recruits about the Black Cloak? It’s a humanoid monster, after all.”

“Indeed, the basic training we received didn’t include any information about ‘Sergio.’ Maybe because we were interns, it wasn’t something they felt necessary to disclose.”

“Interns, huh... so you mean they didn’t tell us to maintain confidentiality? We could be let go at any moment, so they wouldn’t disclose important matters to us.”

Park Ju-Hee pondered.

“But isn’t it a bigger problem if we haven’t received safety training and something goes wrong? The senior curators always emphasize that if we’re going to die, we should just die as curators.”

She had heard that when dangerous works cause accidents, they often spiral out of control.

“The key here is the rules. If we, who don’t know about ‘Sergio’s’... condition, end up angering him, isn’t that a bigger problem?”

“Jeong Eun-Byeol and I thought the same for a moment. And we came to a conclusion: it seems that treating Sergio like an ordinary employee won’t cause any issues.”

Bina-ri sighed.

“I think the collectors must have considered all of this. So, if we treat the Black Cloak as just an ordinary employee, there’s no problem. Even if an anomaly occurs, he’s not someone who’ll cause a huge accident.”

“...Is it just a problem where we might die?”

“I think that’s the extent of it. It’s like a test. To see if we’re qualified to be a collection item, qualified to be a member of the collector's guild, qualified to be colleagues of the Black Cloak...”

“Since we’re here, I think we already qualify as collection items.”

“The collector’s guild is probably fine with it. As long as we continue thinking of Sergio as a regular night-shift worker, it won’t contradict the conditions, and if we realize the identity of the Black Cloak, they can see how well we adapt.”

He awkwardly smiled.

“So, the faster we figure out Sergio’s true identity... I think it might speed up our promotion to full-time status. Just a guess, though.”

“...Ah, I see. If all the other employees already know the identity of the Black Cloak, then, well, the essential condition for becoming a full-time employee would be... knowing the identity of the Black Cloak.”

They also knew how much effort Bisa Beul put into his collection. Once someone was promoted to a full-time position, they could no longer leave the collection and could not be expelled from the guild.

“But if we show that we know the identity of the Black Cloak as interns and adapt well...”

They could be reassured and embraced in many ways.

“For both us and the Black Cloak, it means that he doesn’t dislike the new recruits, right?”

“That’s right. So, this loose security measure seems like a way to confirm the intentions of the guild leader and Sergio.”

“Even so, it would be nice to know the exact details... like the conditions for accepting a monster.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s important to us. And even if we try, we can’t become full-time employees unless Sergio accepts us.”

“......”

Park Ju-Hee’s expression grew subtly strained.

“...So... why is that?”

“...It seems the collector’s guild considers the Black Cloak as a basic component.”

“A basic component means it can’t be excluded, right...”

“......”

“...Ah.”

She lifted her head.

“Could it be?”

“Well...”

“At the gallery?”

“...Well...”

“Was it a work of art?”

“...Huh...”

Bina-ri sighed and then spoke.

“Actually, it’s well-known even among ordinary citizens that the Black Cloak is a portrait. Some collectors have even become enthusiasts for the portrait series created by the portrait artist.”

“Did the guild leader bring it in thinking it was a work of art? When Yoo Seong-Woon explained about Sergio, I think he mentioned it was one of his collection pieces.”

“There are quite a few monsters that resemble works of art in the collector’s gallery. It’s illegal to breed monsters, but once they enter the gallery, they are treated as objects...”

“So the Black Cloak was treated as one of the guild leader’s collection pieces? Really? Does that make sense?”

“I think it does. Perhaps Sergio didn’t want to leave the collector’s guild and kept lingering around, so the guild leader brought him in. Well, there are many possibilities.”

But this was information the new recruits wouldn’t know.

“Anyway, the important thing is that the collector’s guild is essentially the same as the guild leader’s gallery. No matter what harm or changes occur, the collector is pretty greedy... So, they wouldn’t want to throw away an unusual collection piece like the Black Cloak.”

Bina-ri made a strange expression.

“Even if they want to throw it away, I wonder where they would.”

“Ah, right...”

“What's certain is that the collector’s guild has already adapted to Sergio’s existence.”

“...Can we think of it as a kind of executive, or like a potted plant?”

“A potted plant?”

“Like the ones placed in the hallway...”

“Maybe it’s better to think of it as a work of art hanging in the hallway.”

“That seems more accurate since it is a work of art.”

Park Ju-Hee barely managed to organize her thoughts.

“So, now the works in the gallery are roaming around the company.”

“We just don’t know, but there may be other works besides Sergio.”

“It would be better to think of it as a manual within the company rather than just a gallery.”

The collector’s gallery had different activities on each floor, and separate manuals were prepared for it. For example, before opening the 39th door on the second floor, you had to knock three times, or before passing the first corridor on the fourth floor, you had to drink some water...

“Well, I’ve got a general idea of how to handle the works.”

All the manuals were rules to avoid angering the many works in the gallery. If you thought of Sergio’s Black Cloak identity as something hidden in a similar way, it wasn’t too difficult to understand.

“Thanks for helping me understand.”

“We should help each other as fellow newcomers.”

“After all, the comrades are important.”

“Because there are times when we need help...”

Still, there was a lingering unease.

“......”

“......”

“...Isn’t this a bit too complacent?”

“...That seems to be the motto of the collector’s guild...”

“Love the works?”

“Yeah, that.”

“...This is...”

The collector’s guild was operating under the mindset of ‘if something happens, it can’t be helped,’ even with a humanoid monster walking around. There was no safety training or strict confidentiality policy.

“...We don’t know, but monitoring and evaluation are probably ongoing. If we leave the company, there will likely be measures taken for confidentiality.”

“Yeah, there must be countermeasures and all, but I don’t know if there’s anything to protect interns like us.”

“Even if we’re not full-time yet, we’ve already stepped into Bisa Beul’s collection. I hear the treatment of the collection pieces is pretty good, so let’s hope for the best.”

Bina-ri asked next.

“But you’re not as shocked as I expected?”

“Uh... you mean when I found out about Sergio’s true identity?”

“We’re not complete strangers, and you’ve spoken with him twice.”

“Well... I just didn’t know how to react. It didn’t feel real...”

Park Ju-Hee hesitated and continued.

“...I didn’t think he was quite human from the beginning.”

And their conversation had entered the safety management department within the collector’s guild.

The safety management department, the only department that operates 24 hours a day, had staff whispering after the eavesdropping was completed.

"Seems like they’re figuring it out faster than we thought."

"Yeah, Sergio’s been wandering around the company more often lately."

"He used to only appear late at night, but now...”

"Right, now he’s often seen during working hours?"

"Has something changed with his mindset?"

Gulp.

A staff member sipping coffee asked.

"Three people have already figured it out. Shouldn’t we just promote them to full-time?"

"That’s not for us to decide."

"Has the guild leader not confirmed yet?"

"We need to confirm the Black Cloak's intentions too."

"Well, still, it seems like he’s starting to like this new batch of recruits."

"At least the fact that none of them were immediately dragged into the portrait means they passed."

"I guess it means these new recruits are polite and good people."

"Ultimately, it’s Sergio’s judgment."

"As long as they meet his criteria, they’re good enough..."

A staff member, who was staring at the CCTV screen while sipping coffee that looked like poison, spoke up.

"Anyway, Sergio’s been more active lately."

"He’s showing up even when there are people around."

"Has Yoo Seong-Woon made any remarks?"

"He hasn’t sent any reports or requests. He just told us to keep an eye on him."

"I heard that too. He didn’t mention anything about submitting papers..."

"But we know what topics Sergio’s been asking about."

"You think I don’t know?"

The safety manager sighed.

"He’s been asking about the Dark God."

"Why suddenly the Dark God?"

"Actually, he’s been asking about the definition and qualifications of the Dark God."

"Could this be about him personally?"

"It’s not impossible."

"Still, it’s not something we can be sure of without examining the work."

One of the staff members paused mid-sentence.

"Uh."

"Hey, Case. That guy’s watching the CCTV."

"Shutting off screen 53 on the 14th floor."

As the Black Cloak was about to look at the CCTV, the staff quickly cut the screen feed. As soon as the black screen appeared, the other staff members, who had been watching different screens, sighed in relief.

The manager spoke.

"You remember the last time, right? The employee who nearly fainted after getting a ‘deep eye kiss’ from Sergio through the screen?"

"He didn’t faint, but he passed out, right?"

"Same thing, wasn’t it? Anyway, yeah, Ha-ryu. When’s he coming back?"

"He’s still in the counseling room, walking around."

"Hasn’t it been a while? Come on, we’re short on staff..."

"Apparently, he’s still holding off because he thinks he’ll create a cult if he sends him back now."

"Wow, that’s serious. We’re not going to get any vacation time at this rate."

"Don’t bring it up... Just get paid and take the time off."

"I don’t want to get paid. I want the vacation time."

"Me too."

One staff member turned the screen back on, and in the spot where the Black Cloak had been, only the portrait remained.

Staring at the portrait, which was the only thing left in the empty corridor, the manager spoke.

"Wow, the atmosphere is dead."

The screen flickered.

In the portrait, behind the black paint, Sergio’s eyes met theirs.