The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

In this narrow, narrow world, there are two things that only humans can possess.

『One is conviction, and the other is malice.』

If you desire my wrath, then become human.

For no matter how long a beast may bark, how could I ever grow angry?

***

Hunter Sergio, having truly only shown his face, exited the event room.

“Captain.”

A member of the Haryeong Guild approached the blond hunter with a familiar expression.

“Why’d you do that? Just now, with the Collector’s Guild hunter?”

“Yeah, I wonder. Why did I?”

“Hmmm, didn’t want to get teamed up with him?”

“Did it look that way to you?”

“When you don’t want to work with someone, that’s how you act.”

The man, addressed as “Captain,” curved his eyes into crescents.

“I don’t always act that way, you know?”

“Living up to your name, huh—Liar?”

“Ah... I hate that name.”

“The Association gave it to you. You should be grateful.”

“I said I hate it.”

“That was obviously picking a fight, just now.”

The guild member nudged his captain in the side.

“And did you see it?”

“See what? The eye color change?”

“You totally saw it. Don’t play coy.”

“When he suddenly pulled up his hood like that, of course I looked...”

Trailing off, the blond hunter swept his gaze across the room. His dark, almost lightless eyes absorbed the scene.

“Looks like a few others noticed it, too.”

When he jabbed at Hunter Sergio earlier and got a smile and eye contact in return, he waved casually—and right after that, Sergio’s eyes changed color beneath the hood.

“What do you think the color was?”

“Hard to say. The shadow under that hood was strangely deep...”

“Hmmmm, must be an item?”

“From what I saw—yellow?”

“I’ll go with gold.”

“Then it’s probably gold.”

Another guild member chuckled and asked,

“Didn’t the Collector’s eyes look gold, too?”

“No, no. His were... lighter in tone.”

“‘Lighter’ as in fluorescent?”

“Something like that.”

“Still, don’t you think... it’s possible?”

“Possible what?”

“Oh come on, you know what I mean.”

“Admittedly, it’s an interesting idea.”

The blond hunter smiled slowly. Clearly, his charming little guildmate wanted to suggest: What if Hunter Sergio, whom Collector Bisa Beul so obviously favors, is actually related by blood?

“Just wondering who he takes after, to be so empty-headed.”

“Should I shut up now...?”

“Mm-hmm. Might be good to tone it down. Some Collector’s Guild members are still in the hall, and they’ve got ears, you know?”

“Then I’ll shut up, Captain.”

“Don’t know who you take after, being so cute. Must be me?”

Feigning affection, the man slung an arm around his teammate’s shoulder with a grin.

“Let’s be careful, yeah? I don’t wanna pick a fight with the Collector...”

“Because the team lead will chew you out?”

“That, and other reasons.”

“Still, wasn’t what you just did already asking for a fight?”

“Ah-ha, was it now?”

His eyes curved again.

“How troublesome.”

It was the face of a liar.

***

“Haryeong...”

Curator Garasani continued speaking.

“They’re a textbook guild of brawlers.”

The hunter was attending to Gio in his assigned room while explaining.

“They prefer to live without brains.”

“Without brains?”

“I don’t mean they literally remove them. Just that they live without thinking.”

“Ah, I see.”

Gio hadn’t asked because he didn’t understand—but silence often kept him out of trouble.

The Fifth Floor Director looked on at the attentive ‘portrait’ without smiling, clearly pleased, then turned to Joo-Hyun, who had been helping Gio unpack.

“Miss Joo-Hyun, do you have any material on the Haryeong Guild?”

“If it’s information on the guilds participating in the operation, I’ve got it here.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Garasani took the transparent tablet from Joo-Hyun and turned back to Gio.

“May I continue with the explanation?”

“It would be very helpful if you did.”

“I’m honored. Thank you.”

Wearing a calm smile befitting his alias as “Housemaster,” Garasani resumed.

“The man who approached you in the event room is named Sanarae. His alias is ‘Pinocchio.’ He holds the title of Captain within the guild. Haryeong is structured into standard members, captains, section chiefs, unit leads, and the guild master.”

“Those ranks... Were they borrowed from industrial job titles?”

“You’re quite knowledgeable about human social hierarchies. Impressive. Yes, members of Haryeong view themselves as a kind of sanitation crew. And sanitation jobs are, of course, a type of industrial labor.”

“So Haryeong members think of themselves as street cleaners?”

“They embrace the idea of ‘cleaning’ in multiple senses. Haryeong handles not only monsters, but also Red Hunter-class citizens—those rated fifth tier. In a way, they clean both dungeons and society.”

Garasani brought up profiles of the Haryeong guild members on the room’s display screen.

“However, don’t expect them to possess ordinary civility.”

“Yes, you described them earlier as people who live with their brains removed.”

“Thank you for remembering. Haryeong’s members are hard to manage unless you’re their direct superior.”

With a glance at Garasani for permission, Joo-Hyun added,

“If I may offer a supplemental explanation—the members of Haryeong give complete authority over themselves to their superiors. That includes their lives.”

“You’ve touched on a very important point, Miss Joo-Hyun. Yes, most of them seem like people desperate to die. We can categorize Haryeong members into three main types.”

Garasani listed them calmly:

“First, those who simply enjoy battle. Second, those with terminal-stage danger insensitivity—people who throw their lives away. And third, those addicted to the sensation of death.”

He pointed to the profile of “Haryeong: Sanarae” on the screen.

“This one here falls into the third category.”

“I’m not quite sure I understand what it means to be addicted to the sensation of death.”

“It means exactly that—someone who can’t detach from the experience of death. A kind of addict.”

Sensing his explanation wasn’t clear enough, Garasani paused and rephrased.

“Hunter Sergio, are you familiar with how a person behaves when addicted to a substance? It doesn’t have to be drugs—alcohol or cigarettes can be addictive, too.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“Then you can think of it like that. Sometimes humans lose control of themselves, flirting with death or drowning in lethargy. Hunter Sanarae is a far more hedonistic kind of person, but...”

“A hedonist?”

“You could categorize him as a pleasure-seeker. He often behaves like someone intoxicated by all kinds of stimuli. Even if he seems to think and act rationally, he’s fundamentally unwell. Not someone you want to form personal ties with.”

Garasani returned to the list of Haryeong members.

“To continue—the guild members are that much more obedient to their superiors.”

“I didn’t get the impression their hierarchy was particularly strict. Don’t any of them rebel?”

“The probability is extremely low. For them, mutiny holds no meaning.”

At that, Joo-Hyun chuckled and added,

“They’re a guild made up of people who don’t want to deal with complicated things.”

“Ah, I understand now.”

In short—they want pleasure without responsibility.

“Then I suppose they wouldn’t want to rise too high in the ranks.”

There would be no reason to. From the sound of it, they hated thinking so much that the idea of shouldering more responsibility clearly didn’t appeal to them.

“They’re not shallow thinkers, in a way. That’s what makes them oddly admirable.”

“Admirable, are they? You’re very generous, Hunter Sergio.”

Garasani smiled fondly, like a grandfather watching his brilliant grandchild get into a prestigious university. Then, returning to the earlier subject, he said:

“Back to what we discussed—Hunter Sanarae’s disrespectful behavior toward you surely had a motive. At the very least, being a Captain, he’s not someone entirely devoid of thought.”

Garasani stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Haryeong... does not care much for so-called ‘young masters’ or ‘ladies.’ The guild is largely composed of individuals with unclear backgrounds, and thus they hold deep resentment toward the ranking system. It’s a classic case of status-based conflict.”

“Their backgrounds are unclear?”

“Yes. Take Hunter Sanarae, for example—he’s from the slums. Especially Sanarae... I must warn you, what I’m about to say may be unpleasant—but he is quite well-known for his hatred of ‘greenhouse flower’ hunters.”

Despite his appearance—like a chivalrous knight or a fairy tale prince—Sanarae’s behavior bordered on thuggish. He had a lazy grin and an instinct for getting under people’s skin. Unless authority was enforced through strength, he didn’t listen. He knelt easily, as if it were second nature, but behind that gesture lay different intentions. And with a face that never seemed capable of it, he lied with the ease of breathing, causing endless headaches for those around him. Sometimes pathetic, other times beast-like in his cruelty. He could calmly utter false vows with perfect grace. He smiled charmingly through every deception—so no one ever truly expected obedience or loyalty from him.

“His eyes clearly say he’s not in his right mind, yet he behaves as though he is. There's a widespread rumor that had the Haryeong Guild not taken him in, he would’ve been designated a Tier 5 citizen.”

Joo-Hyun nodded in agreement.

“He’s often described as someone whose thoughts no one can read. Betrays people without hesitation, acts irrationally without warning.”

“He does seem to get along well with other Haryeong guild members, though. But they hardly interact with anyone outside their own.”

Garasani nodded.

“I believe that connects back to what we discussed about status conflict.”

“You mean their attitude toward so-called ‘young masters’ and ‘ladies’?”

“Yes. Not always, but on average, they maintain a peculiar hostility toward those they perceive as ‘greenhouse flowers.’”

“Unfortunately, I am indeed a greenhouse flower.”

Gio declared this with confidence, but Garasani only smiled softly—as if watching a cat clumsily roll over. It was the kind of fondness that treated nonsense as endearing. Gio, once again, fell silent.

Garasani continued.

“Hunter Sergio certainly gives off that ‘young master’ impression from the outside. You're under the overt favor of our guild master, and even among this team, it's obvious you’re accompanied by a special support group.”

“It must have been obvious.”

“Regrettably, yes. And your sudden rise to fame as Hunter Sergio is likely being dismissed as a stunt by the Collector’s Guild. Which only adds more reasons for Sanarae to take issue with you.”

Joo-Hyun added with an awkward smile,

“To be fair, the number of people sent for your support... it was more than usual for the Collector’s Guild.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, usually the Collector’s Guild doesn’t...”

Joo-Hyun trailed off, hesitant to say it outright. Garasani filled in, confirming her point.

“That’s right. The Collector’s Guild typically does not dispatch this many personnel for a single hunter.”

“From what I know, the Guild usually recruits experienced hunters. Since they're already skilled, the risk is considered minimal.”

“Of course, when danger is high, the Guild does not hesitate to offer robust support. But usually that comes in the form of material resources or sending basic field agents.”

Gio asked,

“But the people who came with me aren’t all just field agents, are they?”

“Exactly. I myself am a curator, and two of the members with us are trainees from the gallery.”

Garasani seemed pleased with Gio’s observation.

“In the Collector’s Guild, even the uniform design differs by role. This makes it easy for outsiders to identify a member’s position at a glance.”

Field agents wore sleeveless cloaks. Trainees wore light, mobile capes. Curators wore neat overcoats. Those without uniform but wearing suits with the Collector’s insignia were typically administrative staff. Outside of official events, most members didn’t bother wearing uniforms—but not in this case.

Garasani gestured to Sergio’s black cloak.

“For instance, the cloak Hunter Sergio is wearing—it’s also a type of field cloak.”

“Yes, it doesn’t have sleeves.”

“Then most people will assume you're a field agent of the Guild.”

“Even though it’s not the official uniform?”

“Hah. Hunters are creatures of habit. If it looks familiar, they’ll assume it’s standard.”

Hunters often avoided unfamiliar gear—any discomfort, however minor, could decide life or death in battle.

“And since the Collector’s Guild emphasizes uniformity, even outside formal occasions, they often provide gear that resembles the standard set. People will perceive you accordingly.”

Garasani smiled gently.

“When the departure ceremony begins the day after tomorrow, will you wear the official Collector’s Guild uniform, Hunter Sergio?”

“Yes, I look forward to it.”

“Thank you for your generous spirit, despite how this might have made you feel.”

Garasani bowed slightly, then continued.

“For all these reasons, I believe Hunter Sanarae may have simply been testing you. There’s been much talk about you, yet little actual record of activity.”

With his usual blank expression, Gio nodded.

“I sensed that too, from what you said.”

“Yes. And if not that, then perhaps...”

Garasani stroked his chin again, as if weighing something.

“...he simply doesn’t want to be in the same team as you.”

“Really?”

“Hunter Sanarae is known for this kind of behavior on the day before dungeon entries.”

“Ah, so it’s a pattern.”

“He’s the kind of person who swallows bitterness, but always finds a way to spit it back out.”

Joo-Hyun gave a knowing, faint smile.

“As I mentioned, these events provide useful insight into team chemistry. He may have acted out to ensure he gets placed on a different team.”

To that, Garasani gave a tidy smile.

“Of course, the reverse often happens.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because when paired with so-called ‘greenhouse flowers,’ Hunter Sanarae tends to perform well.”

“I imagine he doesn’t enjoy it, though.”

“Precisely why he works harder.”

“To finish it quickly?”

“Correct, Hunter Sergio.”

Garasani nodded.

“Even aside from that, his wild, unstructured combat style pairs well with the more rigid techniques of ‘young masters’ and ‘ladies.’ They dilute each other’s extremes.”

Surprisingly, such contrasting hunter types often ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) formed effective teams.

“Still, whenever possible, we separate them. Especially now, when we have plenty of excellent personnel. No need to let friction fester.”

“I see.”

“So then...”

Garasani asked politely,

“Hunter Sergio, what would you like done about this man?”

Having finished the explanation, all that remained was to learn Gio’s intent.

“I am here to offer you what you desire. If it did not offend you, please share your will with me. I have the power—and the willingness—to follow it.”

“......”

“You may use me however you wish. Whether you seek interference, detachment, or even just idle conversation—only say the word, and I will follow.”

“...Hmm.”

Gio, with those pale blue eyes and that expressionless face, answered:

“There was no malice.”

***

“There was no malice.”

The straight-haired blond hunter, Sanarae, said with a smile shaped like a crescent moon.

“I just thought it’d be fun.”

“...That’s it?”

“I wanted to poke at him, I guess.”

“What kind of nonsense is that...”

“I was just curious.”

He possessed a sense more beast than man.

“That one... didn’t smell human.”

And so, he had to know.

What kind of being was standing among them?

***

Gio said,

“He simply seemed curious about me.”

“Ah, I see.”

“That’s why... I found it a little disappointing.”

Argio, with golden eyes, gazed at the profile of Hunter Sanarae on the screen.

“...I prefer clarity.”

Was this one a beast?

Or was it human?

“......”

No matter.

Both are valid.