The Color of the Sea

After finishing their meal, Yu Seong-un led Ji-oh to Cheonggyecheon.

"……."

But sure enough, the Cheonggyecheon Seo Ji-oh remembered from Seoul was quite different from this one.

"Here we are. This is Cheonggyecheon."

"It's remarkably natural scenery."

"Right?"

"Flowers blooming even in winter…."

Are they insane?

Has Earth finally broken down under the strain of putting up with humans?

Fortunately, Yu Seong-un added an explanation.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but they just took special measures to turn it into a greenhouse."

"What kind of measures?"

"The city has a separate department in charge of urban landscaping. When they build the city, they make sure a certain amount of greenery stays."

"So they make it a greenhouse even in winter like this?"

"That's right. Look—doesn't the air feel incredibly mild?"

Yu Seong-un waved a hand through the empty air and pointed at Cheonggyecheon.

"It's been treated with magic so anyone can enter except 5th-Class Citizens who include criminals, or threatening monsters. It blocks the cold winter air and only lets sunlight through—a truly greenhouse-like system."

"……."

"It was pretty warm in front of our company too, right? Places near companies that handle a fair amount of money, or public spots where people gather a lot, all get this kind of magical treatment. In the first case the company owner installs it privately; in the second the government foots the bill…."

Ji-oh mulled over Yu Seong-un's words and asked,

"When you say 'threatening monsters'… does that mean non-threatening monsters can come in?"

"Ah…."

Yu Seong-un considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Well, that's how it has to be. Even if they're monsters, they're already part of Earth's ecosystem and play a role in nature's cycle—you can't just reject them outright."

From that, Ji-oh understood that monsters were treated as something like half-feral cats or pigeons.

"So monsters aren't something you only see when a dungeon breaks open."

"Hm? Ah, well, humans aren't quite that competent."

Yu Seong-un continued his explanation.

"When I was little, a lot of people insisted every monster had to be dealt with. But no matter how many hunters there are, there aren't enough to protect all of humanity, and even if there's an extremely strong hunter, having that person chase down and eliminate every single monster would be inhumane."

He shrugged.

"More than anything, if a hunter that strong caused a terrorist incident from stress, how would anyone handle it? Same goes even if they're not that strong. Hunters are people too—how can they just work nonstop?"

"I see."

"They say most of the native monsters that have settled on Earth now are ones that couldn't be handled in the early days of the Great Cataclysm."

"In the beginning?"

"Hunters were much weaker than they are now, the systems were sloppy, and people with tracking skills were rare, so of course."

"So the monsters they couldn't kill back then…."

"Became part of Earth."

As he spoke, Yu Seong-un nodded toward the clear stream of water flowing past.

"Like that one."

Flutter-fluff—.

In the middle of the stream, a round little bird was preening its feathers.

"That one's a monster too."

"……."

It was definitely a bird Ji-oh didn't know.

But the System did.

"……."

A silkworm cocoon?

It looks almost completely like a ball.

In any case, Ji-oh accepted it.

"The Cotton Fluff Bird doesn't seem threatening."

"…You know that one?"

"I just learned it."

According to the System's explanation it was basically a bird-shaped silkworm cocoon, yet watching the slightly oversized cotton puffs preen their feathers in the stream brought a sense of calm.

Yu Seong-un, who had been staring at Ji-oh, soon continued.

"…Yeah. Creatures like that. Ones that are numerous and small-bodied but judged not to have a major negative impact on humans or the ecosystem mostly settled in as Earth's native monsters."

"They're cute."

"They don't look cute at all, but you like that sort of thing?"

"When something's small and round it looks astonishingly harmless, so isn't that nice?"

"No wonder your water bird was so round too…."

Yu Seong-un laughed hollowly.

"Even so, the native monsters now are already part of the cycle, so we leave them alone. Any invasive species that come in recently get fully dealt with. Monsters as beings hate Earthlings a great deal to begin with."

"Is that so?"

"Usually, yes. Even without hostility they can still be enough of a threat to humans. The native monsters left now have already passed the Association's safety inspections and are managed at the government level."

Yu Seong-un pointed at the Cotton Fluff Bird once more.

"Those ones too—whether because they've stayed on Earth a long time and adapted, their hostility toward humans has softened to about the level of ordinary wild animals. In the early days of the Great Cataclysm they were supposedly dangerous enough to tear into human flesh, but now they're about as harmless as pigeons."

"Ah, I see."

"Since they're monsters, touching them or raising them privately is illegal… but coexisting is possible. Dungeons and Earth are inseparable, so I guess they decided this is better than unconditional rejection."

Coexistence with monsters—Earthlings seemed to have gotten considerably tougher while he wasn't looking.

"That's enough explanation. Want to walk around a bit? The water quality is thoroughly managed so it won't do any harm. The monsters and animals here are all pretty harmless too."

"……."

Ji-oh gazed at the clear, rippling stream, then soon moved his feet.

Clear as liquid glass.

Up close, the stream was even more beautiful where sunlight shattered across it.

In weather as mild as spring, large trees, vines, and flowers filled the place like a giant greenhouse. Pastel-toned butterflies settled on petals, and creatures resembling squirrels gnawed at the trees' fruit.

Why were the birds that looked like sparrows pecking the trees' flowers? It could have been for fun, or they might have been after the nectar inside.

"…If you change the seasons to suit people like this, doesn't it cause any problems for the ecosystem?"

"There was a time when that caused a lot of talk, but they say they've adjusted everything somehow by now. More than that, there are plenty of cases where they deliberately create seasons so Earth's original animals don't go extinct because of monsters."

"I see."

In many ways, it was different from the time Ji-oh had lived in.

"If you want, try dipping your feet in."

"Is that all right?"

"There are rules against picking fruit or plucking flowers to take home, but nothing that regulates that sort of thing. In summer when there are lots of people, plenty come here to play in the water."

"For that, there's no one here today."

"It's the middle of work hours, not vacation or a holiday—who'd come play in the water? Besides, in winter a lot of people don't want to get wet anyway."

"You're right, Mr. Yu Seong-un."

Ji-oh took off his shoes and socks and, just like that,

dipped his feet into the flowing water.

"……."

It was cool.

And soft.

A sweet scent rose.

Whether it was the scent of flowers, of trees, or of the monsters settled in this water, he couldn't tell. Perhaps, unlike the colorless, odorless water of the past, the stream water itself had evolved.

But the way pebbles rolled and tumbled in the water like a summer valley stream….

"……."

The tiny living things moving so finely…

made Giovanni glad.

"…It's beautiful water."

His black eyes held the water's light.

"Clear, and deep."

"……."

"Deeper than I expected."

"……."

"Why does the scent of the sea come from this place?"

Yu Seong-un sensed something change.

"…Ji-oh?"

"There's the scent of the sea. A little metallic like the surface of iron, cool like pine needles, like a fierce wind that scatters sand…."

"Ji-oh."

"It resembles that place."

A gentle yet detached voice.

"The color of the sea."

In that moment.

"……."

"The color of a mermaid."

At Giovanni's feet, all kinds of underwater creatures gathered in silence.

"What the deep sea tends…."

Before he knew it his feet had turned to transparent water-light….

"—Ji-oh."

"……."

His "friend's" voice.

He blinked twice.

"…Yes."

"…You…."

"Did you call me?"

Ji-oh turned to look at Yu Seong-un.

"……."

"……."

"…Seo Ji-oh, right?"

"That's correct."

He nodded.

"My name is Ji-oh."

Yu Seong-un's face twisted strangely.

A little while later, in front of the hotel room.

Yu Seong-un handed Ji-oh a card key marked "Room 4501."

"Here, this one's yours."

"Thank you."

"I'll be right next door, so call if you need anything."

"Yes."

"Dinner's reserved for 6:30, so… meeting around 6 should be fine."

At that, Ji-oh asked,

"What's on the dinner menu?"

"French. It's a set course restaurant, so you just go and eat."

"Understood."

"Then get some good rest."

Once he was alone in his room, Yu Seong-un

"……."

was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"…Just now, earlier…."

Back at Cheonggyecheon.

"…That wasn't 'Ji-oh.'"

Something had changed.

Whether because he was conscious of being in Korea, normally Ji-oh introduced himself as "Seo Ji-oh." Even when Yu Seong-un pointed that out, the one at Cheonggyecheon had defined himself as "Ji-oh."

So exactly what kind of change happened?

Yu Seong-un still remembered the black-cloaked figure at Cheonggyecheon.

It had started the moment Ji-oh's bare feet touched the stream water. An indescribable sense of wrongness rose, something strangely wavered, and Ji-oh's eyes—which had been ordinary black the whole time—shifted into the color of the sea.

When Yu Seong-un clearly recognized the change and spoke to him, the slowly smiling Ji-oh seemed as if his entire personality had switched.

What color was his hair…? Silver? Or platinum blond? It was hidden under the hood so I couldn't check properly.

It had begun dyeing here and there little by little, and soon his body transformed until there was no distinguishing water from feet. The form stayed the same, but those were clearly not a person's feet—they belonged to water.

And when he saw even minnows naturally climbing that transparent ankle, Yu Seong-un couldn't hold back from calling Ji-oh's name.

That was

"……."

not human.

It didn't seem alive, yet he could tell it wasn't dead either. It simply didn't breathe, yet it held life.

Something that only minutes before had been a human he could touch and converse with transforming into something closer to… nature—that was not a sight one could endure while fully conscious.

"…Haa…."

How stupid.

Did I let my guard down because his rank dropped?

A being of the Source could never become human. Especially not an existence like Ji-oh that couldn't even be defined as a monster.

No matter how closely they dress themselves up to resemble humans, they can never become the same kind of being as us.

It was just that Ji-oh was so human and kind that he hadn't stayed wary.

"I need to get my head on straight."

At this rate I'll get my Gardener qualifications revoked.

"…Well, still, it went a lot more smoothly than I expected."

He let out a pointless breath.

Yu Seong-un tossed his bag of basic supplies onto the bed and sat down beside it himself. Then he replayed everything from the start of the day up to just now.

"……."

There was nothing particularly problematic.

…There were a few awkward points, but thanks to having human memories, Ji-oh is skilled with human society's rules too. On a level that can't be compared to other monsters.

An ordinary monster, no matter how high its intelligence, would never understand why it had to pay a set price to receive something.

Actually that's normal. When humans go look at an anthill, do they dig carefully while considering the ants' circumstances?

Same principle. From a monster's perspective, if a meal or luxury item was just lying out in the open, they simply took it.

If it didn't exist that would be one thing, but if it existed there was no need to go around without taking it. That was their natural everyday life and rule.

So from Ji-oh's standpoint, Yu Seong-un's act of paying money to receive a meal must have been incomprehensible.

"Still, seeing how he got through it without fuss, maybe he's trying to play at being human in his own way…."

Strictly speaking, even for that there had been plenty of immature parts.

"It was obvious he was full of curiosity."

Things a human would already know or roughly figure out from context alone. Ji-oh asked Yu Seong-un about each and every one of those.

What is this, what is that, can I have this, how was that made….

"It'd be hard to call Ji-oh a monster, but those points definitely resemble humanoid monsters too."

They had always been curious about human goods and rules.

"…Hmm, is being too light for a human another one of those points?"

He had lowered his rank almost to human level, but it seemed his body itself hadn't become completely human. On the way to the hotel, Ji-oh had nearly been carried off by the wind.

Even if it was only for a second of floating, with that height and build it's ridiculous.

Ji-oh had always been so light you couldn't hear his footsteps. Today he seemed a bit heavier, closer to human, but that was only the added weight of shoes and clothes—he still seemed excessively light for a human.

"……."

Even if the wind had been a bit strong, remembering how Ji-oh nearly flew away for a moment….

Honestly, it was a little chilling.

"…He's really not human."

Ji-oh was not human.

His usual light weight, and at Cheonggyecheon too.

A human couldn't be that light.

There was the weight of the clothes he wore, the weight of organs and bones, the weight of the blood circulating inside. A human couldn't be like a leaf just set down so that it made no sound at all.

And tiny minnows couldn't climb up inside that body either.

"……."

The sight of pale skin slowly changing into transparent water the moment his feet touched it.

The sight of fish and air bubbles burrowing into that interior was a moment so mysterious and grotesque the brain could barely process it.

"But that isn't even a monster…."

Nature imitating a human.

"……."

That was closer to the truth.

"…Scary."

Beings of the Source were of course classified as nature with a self, yet for some reason Ji-oh seemed cut from a different cloth even from that, and a baseless fear rose.

It felt like receiving the goodwill of an existence that should not exist.

At that same time, Ji-oh.

"It's the 45th floor."

"Kkurreureuk!"

He was thoroughly enjoying the top floor of a five-star hotel together with the Honey he had secretly smuggled in.

Yes—he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

(To be continued)