The Artist Who Paints Dungeon
Chapter 199

“What are you doing?”

At the young, pure question—tinged with a bit of sadness and worry—Aria paused, then answered after a moment,

“You could say I’m relocating roots.”

“People have roots...?”

“Every being has roots.”

Even inanimate things, for that matter.

“Why? Do you want to come to the sea too, Cha I-Sol?”

“I like things just the way they are.”

“That’s a shame. If you came, Giovanni would return so much more easily...”

“Why do you keep saying he’s coming back?”

“You sure ask a lot of questions for a tiny human.”

“If it bothers you, I’ll stay quiet.”

“You do know your place, don’t you...”

Trailing off, Aria continued as she adjusted the system.

“He was always meant to be in this sea.”

This was supposed to be his home.

“He just had it taken away.”

“Who took it from him?”

“Fate.”

That damnable fate had made them this way.

"......"

“Is hyung hurting?”

“...It’s not the kind of thing that hurts.”

As proof, Gio’s face submerged in the seawater was as peaceful as someone asleep.

“I’m just returning him to where he’s supposed to be.”

“This is where Gio hyung was supposed to be?”

Cha I-Sol murmured with a sorrowful expression.

“It’s too cold here. There are lots of sparkly things, but it’s so big... there are no friends, it’s too quiet... and the chair he’s sitting on doesn’t even look comfy.”

“But that chair carried the honor of the century.”

“If you sit too long, it looks like it’d hurt your butt.”

“You sound just like Giovanni.”

He used to say odd things like that often. That the buildings of the Church of the Sun sparkled too much and hurt the eyes, or that the vast, empty temple was too lonely for anyone to live in.

“So you really are the first disciple he chose, huh?”

“My sister said she was jealous of that. Is it something good?”

“If you only look at that part, well, I’m not sure.”

She spoke from experience—as someone who had once basked in Giovanni’s full affection.

“He was so special that he could never be ordinary, not even for a moment. He was always caught up in tragedy or praise, or else right at the center of it all.”

"......"

“But... in so many ways, he was ordinary. So ordinary you’d yawn. Loving someone like that, and being loved by them, is incredibly hard.”

Aria turned her gaze toward the pope’s chamber, now filled with seawater.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“What is?”

“It looks perfect.”

It was a place that should rightfully have belonged to Giovanni.

All the glory and honor had once been his...

If he had been the rightful owner of that throne, back when this temple wasn’t cold, before the Sun was destroyed by the mermaids’ hatred—then perhaps, truly, sea and sky would’ve become one.

Then maybe her pathetic little brother wouldn’t have had to suffer.

"......"

“...Um.”

Cha I-Sol asked carefully,

“Why do roots have to return to their original place?”

“Are you asking why I’m doing this to Gio?”

“Well... even plants get their pots changed when they outgrow them, into bigger ones...”

“First of all, the pot called Earth doesn’t look all that nice.”

Aria folded one finger.

“Second, I just want to die with my teacher.”

“That’s... wow... really a lot to take in.”

“He said the same thing. You really are alike, you two.”

So strange, this complete lack of tension.

“You see Giovanni like that, and that’s all you have to say?”

"......"

Cha I-Sol turned to look at Gio, who was bound in the center of the water-filled room.

He really did look asleep.

Even without a smile, his face was calm enough to bring peace to those who saw it—swallowed up in the sea that seemed to mute all sound.

The jeweled chains wrapped around him shimmered, almost transparent...

“...It’s just...”

Cha I-Sol had felt this feeling somewhere before.

“It’s kind of like when I climbed a tall mountain.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“When you stand at the top and look down.”

It was like that fleeting moment when the whole world came into view and you thought, wow, or how beautiful.

He didn’t have the words yet to describe the emotion—it just felt like one of nature’s masterpieces.

And so it made him sad.

“Gio hyung is a person, so why is he like that?”

“I’m the one who made him that way.”

“That’s... a little different though...”

“...Could be.”

Aria felt it too.

“Moments like this make my heart drop.”

He once led them as a human. But the one they’d reunited with was no longer human.

That brought Aria a strange kind of pain.

“Come here. If you touch that seawater, a small thing like you will die just like that.”

She bent down and tapped the gem of the necklace hidden under Cha I-Sol’s cleric robes.

“If you get hurt, won’t your sweet little friend be sad?”

"......"

“Don’t worry. As long as Giovanni is there, I won’t harm or hurt you.”

“...It hurts now.”

“Because you saw your teacher locked up like that?”

So gentle, really.

“I hope that kindness one day devours you.”

Just like it did Giovanni.

That was the greatest blessing—and warning—Aria could offer.

"......"

"......"

Cha I-Sol took Aria’s hand and walked beside her.

...I came because I wanted to help Gio hyung and everyone else.

If only he hadn’t been so stubborn when they told him to stay back—maybe things wouldn’t have ended up this way.

They said it was okay, that this would’ve happened anyway.

And he knew they meant it. But it was also true that his presence had made things harder for Gio.

So now he couldn’t help but fall into thought.

He wanted to help somehow.

What can I even do?

Right now, he couldn’t even sit beside Gio and chatter to keep him company.

He’d followed, thinking Gio would be fighting on the coastal front—not that he’d already be deep inside the dungeon.

Ruda and the teachers must be worried too. This isn’t like that village where I could just move around without thinking. If I’d just thought a little more before acting...

Suddenly, Cha I-Sol thought of the gentle Sun who had sent him here.

"......"

There’s a reason for everything gods do.

Mm. He smiled.

“...Why are you smiling?”

“They say smiling brings good luck.”

“Well, I’ve never found that to be true.”

“Maybe because we’re from different worlds?”

“...Maybe.”

Aria asked,

“Have you finished your thinking?”

“Yes!”

“Then I suppose it’s time to lock you up.”

“...Huh?”

Cha I-Sol squinted.

“But I made a promise with Gio hyung...?”

“Yes, not to kill you immediately.”

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me either.”

“That’s right. I’m just going to imprison you.”

“Adults are so unfair.”

“It’s called wisdom earned with age.”

From the opposite hallway, Iser appeared.

“Sister, are you heading to the sea?”

“Yes. I’m entrusting this child to you.”

“Where should I put him?”

“Somewhere he won’t be harmed.”

Aria glanced down at Cha I-Sol.

“...Somewhere he won’t feel pain.”

Her cold but gentle touch slipped away.

“Looks like the humans have started rampaging in the sea. I’ll have to go now.”

“It’s hard to control the entire ocean from Earth.”

“You think I don’t know that? Since I’ve manifested here, it’s your job to cover the gap.”

“I’ll handle any humans who enter this place.”

“Good. No different from usual.”

Aria continued down the temple’s corridor.

“A monster follows the path of a monster.”

What would happen was uncertain, but after this fleeting dream, the end was near.

“I’ve done plenty of waiting.”

“...Understood.”

A miracle had come.

Now it was time to go meet it directly.

***

Kang Seodam was at a loss for words.

“......”

“...Hhk, ngh...”

“...Sister Iru Da?”

“Cha... Cha I-Sol...”

“Why are you here?”

He glared fiercely at the brothers from the Church of the Sun who had arrived with Iru Da.

“You brought a novice priest into a battlefield?”

“N-No! We really tried not to bring her...!”

“You should’ve stopped her even if she was being stubborn. That’s the role of the leader in charge!”

“She was sobbing like she couldn’t breathe, so we came under conditions...”

“What kind of conditions?”

“That we’d go back if Priest Kang Seodam refused...”

“......”

Kang Seodam ground his teeth at the sight of his comrades shifting responsibility. Veins stood out on his forehead, but before the weeping child, he couldn’t raise his voice. All he could do was sigh quietly.

He looked down at Iru Da’s tearful face.

He had thought he’d seen a lot from her already, but this was a first.

Her thoughts were mature, but a child was still a child.

Which was exactly why she shouldn't be here.

Kang Seodam bent down.

“Sister Iru Da, I heard you came because you were worried about your partner.”

“...Snf, they said... they said he was taken, so...”

“Can you place your trust in the other brothers and sisters here?”

Truthfully, even in a situation like this, Iru Da was a capable asset.

So was Cha I-Sol, who was presumed abducted by the mermaids.

Their talents were considerable—beyond their years.

But {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Kang Seodam didn’t want such untainted sprouts to be injured here, not physically or mentally.

Childhood wounds, even if unacknowledged, remain deeply etched in the mind.

“I promise you, I’ll bring Brother Cha I-Sol back safely.”

“B-But...”

Iru Da, sniffling and trailing off, suddenly wiped her nose and lifted her eyes firmly.

She tried hard to compose herself and make a wise decision.

Pushing emotionally won’t get me what I want.

She’d come this far, convincing the priests to take her to the field. She couldn’t let them send her back now.

She had achieved what she truly wanted. Just a bit more.

“...As far as I know, there’s no clause that bans novice priests from being dispatched to the field. In fact, during states of emergency, the entire Church of the Sun is supposed to summon all priests, including novices.”

“You’ve done your homework.”

Kang Seodam was outraged by the current state of affairs that didn’t care for the rights of young novice priests.

If the Church had long ago prepared the proper laws, this dilemma wouldn’t exist.

“That depends on the situation. This is indeed an emergency, but not one severe enough to mobilize novice priests. We’d call in the full priests, not novices. They’re not meant to be handled lightly.”

“But in all religions that recognize divine providence, partners are seen as one body. I have the right—and duty—to move for my partner. I checked multiple precedents from the Church of the Sun during emergencies. My actions fall fully within our rules.”

“Even so, using a novice priest is unacceptable. More importantly, we can’t be sure Brother Cha I-Sol is even in the so-called ‘Nation of the Abyss.’ The timing of his disappearance was just suspicious—there’s no concrete proof. To deploy you, Sister Iru Da, under these circumstances...”

“I... I have proof.”

Her hands fumbled around her neck. She wanted to respond calmly and intelligently, but controlling her body was hard.

After a few trembling attempts, Iru Da pulled out a round gem with shaking hands.

“......”

“This is a resonance stone...”

Upon closer inspection, not just her hand, but the stone itself was trembling.

“Hah.”

Kang Seodam let out a hollow laugh.

Resonance stones, born as twins, vibrated more intensely the closer their pair was.

Though now adapted for communication devices, this was an unprocessed raw stone.

“It’s something I shared with my partner, Cha I-Sol. I brought the certificate too. It’s never been altered or processed. Even if it lacks the precision of other artifacts, one trait never changes—it reacts to its twin nearby.”

Kang Seodam furrowed his brow.

“The one holding the stone now might be a monster.”

“I... I gave it to him as a necklace. The chain is an artifact that doesn’t come off naturally. Unless his neck is severed... he still has it. Even if the worst happened, this proves that Brother Cha I-Sol is nearby.”

“With this much evidence, we have no reason not to search.”

Only after a long silence did Kang Seodam speak again.

“...I think I understand why you insisted on coming all this way.”

“You could’ve hidden the truth about the stone to protect me.”

“That’s... true. As underhanded as it sounds, I might’ve done just that.”

There was no law explicitly barring novice priests in such situations.

They were simply not brought along because they were small, vulnerable, and ethically unfit for such dangers.

Damn it.

With all the grounds she had laid, there was no excuse left to deny her—a priest who could clearly pull her own weight. Some of the priests who brought her here must’ve thought the same.

Worried by Kang Seodam’s silence, Iru Da fumbled to pull out another set of papers.

“These are my performance records. E-Even during field training, I showed sufficient results. I’ve achieved just as much as formal priests—and I’m a tank, so I won’t go down easily.”

“......”

“Here, I also brought my medical history. The divine power I serve protects me. The Goddess of the Sun has graced me, and so I don’t get sick, and m-my regenerative ability is strong...”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Seodam finally couldn’t hold back a sigh.

“You don’t need to say any more.”

It was unbearable, watching a child so small list out their usefulness like that.

Looking at Iru Da’s pale face, he spoke again.

“You’ve removed any valid reason I might have had to refuse your cooperation. You’ve prepared this much even in chaos—if that’s the case, I trust you won’t act recklessly or get seriously injured.”

“T-Then...!”

“But you must promise me something.”

As if she already understood, Iru Da nodded. She was still trembling, but her expression was bright.

“I swear I won’t suffer any major injuries. If things get dangerous, I’ll use an escape token. I won’t wander alone and I’ll rely on other adults. I promise I won’t act recklessly—I stake the trust we’ve built together on that.”

A brilliant child.

“......”

“Please believe me. Just this once... I won’t be stubborn again.”

“...I believe in you, Iru Da.”

It was the world he couldn’t trust.

“May the blessings of the Sun be with you.”

“...Thank you...!”

If she had just been fifteen, it might have been easier to accept. But she was still far younger than that.

Kang Seodam cursed this world where being young wasn’t enough to protect someone like her—and cursed himself for being part of that world.

***

“Ah, really now.”

Laughter echoed across the sea.

“Must you ruin your homeland like this?”

“......”

“Humans are as fickle as ever.”

A form made of seawater and ice—glinting like gemstones—narrowed its deep eyes.

“Don’t you agree, Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon?”

“Don’t really care to hear it from a monster.”

Yoo Seong-Woon smiled back.

“Planning to fight me yourself now?”

“I can’t stand by while you keep wrecking the sea.”

“So, where’d you leave our Hunter Sergio?”

“I’m in the middle of relocating his roots—from this filthy Earth...”

“Wow, must’ve been busy. You actually made it out?”

“Consider it an honor. Isn’t this quite the achievement for a human?”

“Sweet-talking monster, huh.”

“Isn’t that the trait you all assign to humanoid monsters?”

“Yeah... and I also know this talk is pointless.”

CHIIING—!

He raised his spear.

“Do you like the frozen wasteland I created?”

“Oh, heavens.”

Aria burst into laughter.

“It’s absolutely divine...!!”

CRAAAAASH—...!!!

The sea of ice howled under the mermaid’s hatred.

“...It was too warm here, wasn’t it?”

The sea screamed.

“A resonance—!!”

“Ugh...?! What is this?!”

“Watch beneath the surface!!”

“Multiple monsters approaching!”

“Inside the sea, now—”

Someone glimpsed a figure beyond the ice.

“That’s...!!”

“A mermaid...?!”

A swarm of mermaids was rising up from the deep.