A Ghost Story for Survival

While eating rice cooked in broth steeped from the various vegetables harvested from the garden, along with plump grilled fish, Ji-oh spoke.

"A ghost story?"

"Kkureuk."

"Doesn't sound so bad."

Honey had offered something like concern over the fact that a ghost story about the "Black Cloak" had sprung up around Ji-oh, but Ji-oh himself didn't particularly mind. Part of it was his naturally easygoing personality, but that wasn't the only reason.

"If people start treating me as a ghost story, the risk of being attacked should drop a little."

That was why Ji-oh had tolerated Bi Sa-beol's scheme—if one could even call it that.

"After heading back to Earth a few times, I got it. Even if the planet flipped once and the entire world had its environment overhauled, a haunted portrait is still a rare existence. I'm not joking—it wouldn't be strange at all if I were dragged off to a lab and tortured for real."

He currently thought of himself as "an awakened with a slightly unusual case."

Unlike ordinary hunters who only brushed against the Source through the System, he had fused with it directly, so it wasn't entirely wrong—but the problem was that the rest of the world would never look at it that way.

"In the thirty-one years Korea never saw, it felt like the place had gotten one step closer to hell. A boneless pure-meat chicken like me wouldn't last a single day before dropping straight into the abyss."

"Kkureuk?"

"Well, yes, I'm not actually chicken, but Daddy's point isn't that. The issue is that a fragile portrait like me would get hauled off to a lab full of mad scientists for experiments in no time."

In that sense, the "Black Cloak ghost story" wasn't a bad thing at all.

"At the very least, I won't look easy to mess with. And it leaves plenty of room for imagination."

Not only did the Black Cloak side look far more combat-capable than Ji-oh's true form, the name itself had a cool ring to it. Nicknames like that scratched some deep masculine itch.

"More than anything, once something's labeled a ghost story, it carries this strong feeling of smoke you can observe but never quite grab hold of for study. In a harsh world like today's, who knows—but the odds of getting attacked by every random dog and cow should drop a bit, don't you think?"

"Kku, kkureuk…"

"Yu Seong-un really is something. Spotting my weakness and proposing this path—he's the ultimate all-rounder. The kind of human I should aspire to be. From now on I'll feed him meals and snacks and get even closer. And someday I'll kidnap him."

Saying something that would make Yu Seong-un faint if he heard it, Ji-oh casually flaked off a piece of the fish—tender and crumbling like a fresh castella cake—and fed it to Dana as he continued.

"So the appearance of ghost stories about the Black Cloak is something to welcome. Call it a bluff for survival."

It wasn't as if he had deliberately introduced himself as "I'm a portrait" to the hunters he met in the Abyssal Kingdom.

"At first I just couldn't bring myself to give my real name, so I substituted with 'portrait'—and it worked surprisingly well."

"Kkureu…"

"To survive in this bizarre world, I'll have to lend a hand to this ghost story myself."

"Kkung?"

"I'll need to think a bit more about exactly how to help it along…"

Something worthy of the reputation of a haunted portrait would be ideal.

"Haunted portraits usually hang in schools a lot, don't they?"

"…? Kku…?"

"Right, you wouldn't know Earth's culture well. Or maybe it's just because I used to be a teacher that I can't think of anything outside schools."

"Kku, kkukkukku."

"Oh, do you have some advice for me?"

The teddy bear nodded. In the world he originally came from, public education hadn't been widespread, so school-related ghost stories were rare—but there were a few tales connected to mansions.

"A mansion, huh…"

Ji-oh listened intently and nodded.

"A portrait hanging in an abandoned mansion is definitely a popular ghost-story motif. I understand what you mean."

"Kkuuu."

"Yes. Every piece of information like this will eventually reforge me into a magnificent ghost story. The 'Black Cloak' known to the public right now has a lot of shortcomings as a proper ghost story, but…"

Ji-oh nodded.

"If we keep working at it without giving up, someday we can become an excellent ghost story that plants real fear in people."

"Kku…?"

"That's how we make a living too, Father. People these days are terrifying—without at least this kind of bluff, you can't easily survive in the cracks."

It wasn't exactly something a harmless portrait like Ji-oh should be saying, but the Sun God simply accepted it and moved on. He knew that for all the talk, this man wasn't the type to actually harm humans.

In any case, Ji-oh resolved to firmly establish his concept as a ghost story.

"It was lucky that the first person I met was Guildmaster Bi Sa-beol."

Even now the mere sight of that machine-gun mouth drained his energy so thoroughly that he still refused conversation, but Bi Sa-beol was a good person.

The fact that he treated the haunted portrait Ji-oh as a proper person with a personality already proved his noble character.

"……"

"What is it, Honey?"

"Kkung."

Honey thought, Isn't that more a matter of taste than character? but didn't bother saying it out loud. Bi Sa-beol wasn't a harmless human, yet Honey knew he was utterly devoted when it came to works of art.

Toward everything else he might be different, but at the very least Bi Sa-beol became extremely harmless toward his own collection pieces. That much was fact.

"Kkureureu, kkungkung."

"You wanted some fish too, huh? Shall I flake some for you?"

"Kkureureureureu."

"What a cute little guy."

Ji-oh pulled off a thick, steaming morsel of flesh and continued.

"Anyway, I plan to proceed with the plan I mentioned soon. I'm tired of wandering the Abyssal Kingdom with nothing to harvest while half-heartedly cultivating a ghost story."

"Mmeeeung."

"Can you eat the bones too? Here, carefully now."

After giving Dana the fish bones, Ji-oh went on.

"Anyone coming with me?"

"Kkureuk."

"Of course it's only you, Honey. You know Daddy loves you a lot, right?"

"Kkung."

Honey had absolutely no intention of letting soft-hearted Ji-oh face the outside world alone.

"Honey…!"

"Kkureureu."

Moved by the warm heart of the son he had created with his own hands, Ji-oh covered his mouth to show the depth of his emotion, while the Sun God silently decided to just keep eating fish. Dana was already uninterested.

As always, they really were a close-knit family.

And Ji-oh wasn't the only one planning something for their next meeting.

Quite coincidentally, the mermaids had also finished their own preparations.

"Hey, Flower Pig."

"What."

"Where's the youngest?"

"Isn't he in the garden?"

"I don't see him."

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Cha I-sol had been kidnapped.

"He hasn't even fully rested yet…"

Normally a novice priest who finished the entrance ceremony would enter the dormitory temple, but because of the recent Abyssal Temple incident they had been given a short rest period. In short, he had been kidnapped while at home.

"Is resting the important part right now?"

"You're right."

The news reached Yu Seong-un in the Collector Guild office immediately.

"Huh? Kidnapped?"

"Yes."

"Why…? Who? Where, how…?"

"We're not sure of the motive either…"

Cha Eun-hyeok, the eldest son of the Cha family, said while offering bungeoppang as a bribe.

"There was seawater sprinkled over the garden."

"If you put it that way, anyone would think the culprits are mermaids. Wait, and what's with these bungeoppang?"

"Right?"

"You don't need to give me more bungeoppang. Stop, there's already too many."

"Please give some to Ji-oh-ssi as well."

"Uh…"

"I received the official notice with Cha Ah-ra and we looked at it together."

Cha Eun-hyeok continued with a haggard face.

"Seo Ji-oh-ssi has a one-to-one rule, doesn't he? If he receives goodwill from a human he returns goodwill, and if he receives rudeness he responds with rudeness—that's what I heard."

"…So…"

Yu Seong-un asked seriously.

"You're offering bungeoppang to get him to save your little brother?"

"…It felt like the odds of I-sol coming back alive would be higher than offering nothing at all… Even if Seo Ji-oh-ssi doesn't actually step in, doing at least this much would put my mind at ease."

"It's basically like offering a sacrifice in front of a sacred image. And with bungeoppang, no less."

"I have nothing to say to that."

"No, Ji-oh really does like bungeoppang a lot. It's just that sometimes the gifts he gives back in return are a bit terrifying…"

In this age when faith had become widespread, plenty of people visited temples and offered small sacrifices. Even if nothing concrete came back, it made them feel better.

"I don't like putting it this way, but Ji-oh isn't a proper god. He's something that merely has the characteristics of one. Unlike traditional gods who sometimes show mercy when it comes to their followers, there's a high chance he won't meet your expectations."

"I don't mind. I brought them as a gift, after all."

"I'll pass them along for now…"

Yes—Ji-oh had a rule.

Will bungeoppang be enough to hire him?

Judging by the reactions he had shown before, Yu Seong-un knew Ji-oh bound himself by that rule. Even when he cooked and shared food, he always tried to find "payment" from Yu Seong-un.

Cha Eun-hyeok said,

"It doesn't have to be Seo Ji-oh-ssi's help—Black Cloak's help—specifically. But if the seawater we found really is a trace of mermaids belonging to the Abyssal Kingdom…"

"Right."

"Isn't this an interesting story even from the perspective of a large guild like Collector?"

With his characteristically blunt face, yet desperately, Cha Eun-hyeok tried to persuade Yu Seong-un.

"Until now, monsters from the Abyssal Kingdom have never come outside the entrance. It could be some kind of omen, or we might be able to learn more information through this. So…"

"Calm down, Cha Eun-hyeok-ssi."

Yu Seong-un soothed the young man.

"You don't have to say all that—I was already planning to go rescue Cha I-sol. The Abyssal Kingdom is a dungeon I'm deeply connected to as well, and Black Cloak seems very interested in that direction too… I was thinking of visiting soon anyway."

"……"

"Just think of it as going a little earlier."

"…Thank you."

"Alright, then…"

Trailing off, Yu Seong-un looked toward the deathly pale Cha Ah-ra.

"Will Hunter Cha Ah-ra be coming as well?"

"…I, I… Can I come too? Even though I'm only F-class…"

"As long as you fill out a contract saying you're prepared to die, I can take you."

"…It's shameless of me, but please."

Unless you intended to use them as a meat shield, bringing an F-class hunter into a B-class or higher dungeon put a heavy burden on the other hunters. In practice you ended up becoming manpower whose job was to protect the F-class.

So this was Yu Seong-un's consideration. Cha Ah-ra herself knew she would be of little use even if she went, yet she still asked to accompany them.

"I'm sorry."

"It's a matter involving family—I understand how you feel. You don't need to apologize."

Fortunately the Collector Guild gave its affiliated hunters a high degree of freedom, so no one would complain if Yu Seong-un stepped out for a while.

It simply meant more overtime days for him. And for the sake of Ji-oh and Earth's peace, Yu Seong-un endured it.

"I want to go too, but I'd just be a nuisance, right??"

"Your physical abilities are F-class level—what are you talking about. Stay behind."

"What a shame."

Only Bi Sa-beol complained in a different sense, but the support itself was generous.

"……"

"…? Why is Priest Kang Seo-dam here?"

"The guildmaster of Collector requested assistance from our temple."

"He's being more generous with support than I expected."

"Even without a request I would have stepped forward. Brother Cha I-sol is a student I am responsible for."

Kang Seo-dam said with a weary face.

"Even if he hasn't started formal classes yet because of the incident, that fact remains unchanged."

"Wow, reliable."

"More importantly…"

Kang Seo-dam looked at "Seo Ji-oh" gathered at the harbor.

"…Hunter Seo Ji-oh is… coming along as well?"

"I have a connection with student Cha I-sol. Even at the Abyssal Temple, many people received a great deal of mental support thanks to that energetic student, didn't they? This is repayment for lightening my burden as both a doctor and a believer."

"Ah…"

"And student Cha I-sol's guardians also gave me bungeoppang."

"Bungeoppang."

Kang Seo-dam had also received the official notice about "Black Cloak" from the Collector Guild. He knew that the rule was briefly summarized as "one-to-one," so he could quickly accept Ji-oh's participation under the word "repayment."

But it also worried him.

Could this aspect be exploited by humans?

Calling it one-to-one sounded nice, but it could easily lead to large numbers of humans forcing compensation onto "Black Cloak."

And if this person were to become angry… then…

Worrying about a future catastrophe, Kang Seo-dam nodded.

"I understand. Thank you for accompanying us."

"There's no need to thank me. I'm simply doing what I can."

"I see. Where is that yellow bird I saw last time?"

"Right here."

Just as in the previous Abyssal Temple, Honey peeked its face out from the hood of the black cloak Ji-oh wore. Honey carefully studied Kang Seo-dam, whose solar energy felt especially dense.

"……"

"……"

"……?"

Just as Kang Seo-dam was about to show his confusion, Yu Seong-un—who had sensed something—stopped Honey.

"No, Honey. That's not food."

"…Does it eat?"

Ji-oh shook his head.

"It doesn't."

"But just now Yu Seong-un-ssi…"

"The meals I make are much tastier—why would it bother eating an unseasoned person?"

"……"

"Honey is a gourmet and doesn't eat just anything."

Kkureu.

An affirmative cry came from inside the hood.

"…I see."

It wasn't particularly reassuring.

It was staring at me with incredibly sparkling eyes.

Remembering Honey's greedy gaze only made Kang Seo-dam's skin crawl more.

"……"

"Shall we go, then."

"…Yes."

And so, led by A-class Yu Seong-un, the Cha I-sol rescue team of Kang Seo-dam, Cha Ah-ra, and Seo Ji-oh was formed.

In truth this portrait hardly needed anyone's help, but…

…Helping Ji-oh with his social life…

Yu Seong-un found it a little funny.

"……"

Yes, that was sarcasm.

(To be continued)