As Gio successfully completed the jerky process and was about to fall asleep, the world outside the frame was in the middle of its work hours.

“So, you called for me?”

“Ah, let’s have a conversation, why such a scary face?”

“Thinking that I’m only in charge of ‘Gio’s portrait’ would be a huge misunderstanding...”

“I’m giving you an incentive.”

“Damn capitalist society.”

Yoo Seong-Woon had been called out by the guild leader.

“I told you I would organize the report and send it soon, didn’t I?”

“How am I supposed to wait until then?”

“Why can’t you wait for it?”

“You know me.”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“You need to talk to someone face-to-face.”

“An excessive insult toward the highly developed modern society, isn’t it?”

“Nowadays, there’s no warmth. Especially in our staff.”

“I don’t know why you’re asking me to care about that, either.”

“Everyone’s too indifferent.”

“You’re the one who likes it this way and then makes nonsensical comments.”

Bisa Beul smiled and handed Seong-Woon a fruit syrup as he looked utterly tired.

“Shall we drink this and cheer up?”

“Is it poison?”

“Oh, our esteemed portrait master gave it to me as a gift, and you call it poison?”

“Just give me poison. I’ll drink it and lie down…”

No matter how gentle ‘Gio’s portrait’ might seem, it was still an entity at its core, and easily put, it was a monster. Dealing with rare humanoid monsters was already tough, and the tasks Seong-Woon had to deal with weren’t just about that.

“Lately, the seas have been a bit chaotic, so I got called again.”

Seong-Woon was also handling external commissions.

“I’ve noticed some strange movements from the progeny of the source. I’ll be submitting a report on that soon too, probably by tomorrow or the day after…”

“That can be reported later. It wasn’t my request.”

“You’re a fast learner.”

“Then, will you tell me about Gio now?”

“I knew you’d say that.”

By the way, Bisa Beul still hadn’t had a conversation with Gio.

“You’re avoiding Gio by acting so burdened, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean, what did I do?”

“Many staff members have seen the black cloak, but you, guild leader, have never even spoken to him. At this point, it’s dereliction of duty.”

“I did try to talk.”

“I meant you should change your approach.”

It was a matter related to Gio’s personality.

“Doesn’t Gio dislike rude people?”

“He doesn’t hate them.”

“True, but…”

‘Gio’s portrait’ disliked two things.

Rudeness or malice.

“…But although Gio dislikes rude people, he doesn’t completely despise them.”

Just like how some people like dogs and cats but dislike reptiles, it was kind of like that. Gio avoided rude people, not necessarily despising them but not enjoying interacting with them.

“That indifferent side is quite similar to the progeny of the source.”

“I suppose so. Even if Gio claims to be human, not everything about him can be human. He might be consciously avoiding the fact that he’s not human…”

In reality, Gio didn’t think much about it.

“Well, criminals don’t seem to have that indifference.”

When facing rudeness, Gio might think ‘It’s whatever,’ but when faced with malice, Gio showed clear disgust. Even though he had never actually encountered a criminal, his usual behavior was enough to tell that.

“Either way, you need to be cautious. Guild leader, you should be careful too.”

“I’ll try to.”

“You’ll probably just say that. Anyway, so…”

It was obvious why Bisa Beul had called Seong-Woon.

“You’re curious about how Gio behaved during the Seoul sightseeing trip, right?”

“Of course, I’m curious. An entity of the source that we don’t even know the identity of wandered around the human world. And he came back without causing any major accidents?”

“Correct.”

Though there was one unsettling fact.

“One of the Sun Priest’s members went missing, right?”

“Well, that’s nothing. When I looked into it, his past didn’t seem that clean either.”

“So, it’s something being hushed up internally.”

“Since there’s an upcoming induction ceremony, they probably don’t want to publicize it.”

“…It seems like Gio was involved in the missing case.”

A curator-level hunter couldn’t just observe and remember ordinary things. Seong-Woon remembered a man dressed as a scholar he had met at Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the missing priest was that same person.

“On that day, Gio made a hand gesture like a camera and looked at the man.”

“A camera? Considering Gio is a portrait, wouldn’t it be closer to a frame?”

“That could be true. Anyway, after meeting the man’s gaze, Gio said we should leave Gyeongbokgung, but he didn’t seem happy.”

“Did he get upset because he ran into a bad person who didn’t match his preferences?”

“Most likely, yes.”

“So Gio judges people based on that? Good to know.”

Based on Bisa Beul’s intelligence, the priest was already known to have a shady past. Seong-Woon trusted Bisa Beul, and both of them had no doubt that the priest Gio dealt with wasn’t someone harmless.

“Still, from how quietly it was handled, we can see that Gio has a good understanding of human society. He probably didn’t want things to get chaotic.”

No. It was just Honey’s solo action while Gio was sleeping. Honey didn’t want chaos, but after sensing his father being threatened, he handled it and returned without causing a fuss.

However, Gio didn’t seem like the kind of person who would lack consideration. On the contrary, when he knew a lot, he felt more like a quiet existence, and they continued the conversation under the assumption that Gio knew everything.

“In this case, I’m curious about what would happen if he confronted a criminal directly.”

“Why are you curious about that? Don’t get too weirdly curious.”

“Such indifference.”

“……”

Would I want to grow old like that?

‘I won’t age like that.’

Seong-Woon ignored the pitiful act from Bisa Beul.

“The most surprising thing from this sightseeing and observation was, of course, Gio lowering his own level to that of a human.”

“…Lowering his level?”

Bisa Beul showed a rare look of surprise.

“Gio? You’re saying he lowered his level to that of a human?”

“Yes, surprising, right?”

“Before anything, that’s…”

Bisa Beul paused, then found an appropriate word.

“Disgusting.”

After all, Gio wasn’t human.

“The way he casually carved into his own flesh.”

“I was shocked when I saw it for the first time. If Gio were human, he could never have made that decision.”

“It’s even more understandable when he did it just to avoid creating chaos.”

Bisa Beul hadn’t talked to Gio, but he had seen him many times. The level of Gio he knew was incomparable to that of any human.

“Yet, for him to lower himself to feel human…”

It was no different from being tortured by having pieces of yourself carved out alive.

“Didn’t it seem like his health was fine?”

“There was nothing wrong as far as I could tell, and his expression was the same as usual.”

“I see.”

For Gio, who had originally been human, that sensation wasn’t strange. But for others, seeing him pull out his eyes, cut off his limbs, and remove his organs was a grotesque level of behavior.

“Were there any other unusual details?”

“Um…”

Seong-Woon picked a lighter topic.

“He seemed to really like food.”

“No wonder he kept getting food gifts.”

“He seemed interested in both eating and cooking.”

That made Seong-Woon a bit worried.

“I thought he might get taken advantage of.”

“Oh dear.”

That was a problem.

“I said something about it, but I don’t know if he understood.”

“On the contrary, the cooperative entities of the source are much more troublesome to deal with.”

If they were regular monsters, Seong-Woon could have dealt with them normally, but because continuous communication was necessary, there were more things to be cautious of. Protecting was harder than attacking.

“Well, at least it’s good that he seems willing to cooperate.”

“Probably because he’s a good kid…”

Excluding the threatening aura, Gio was definitely a good kid.

“He’s a threat just by existing.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I know.”

But regardless of Gio’s sincerity, continued caution seemed necessary.

“…Ah.”

“What else?”

“It’s about Gio’s personality.”

“Personality? Now you’ve got me interested.”

“Gio, after lowering his level, really looked like a human.”

This needed a little explanation.

“He looked like a completely different being than usual.”

“That sounds like more than just a matter of level.”

“It also seemed to affect his personality.”

“Could it be a side effect of lowering his level?”

“That’s highly likely, right? It’s better for us this way, but…”

Gio, in the painting or wandering around the buildings at ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) dawn, had an eerie presence. He was more like the embodiment of death itself, rather than just a reaper.

“No, more like death itself, without will or emotion.”

Dressed in a black cloak, his footsteps were barely audible, always walking with his hands behind his back, neatly like a noble, looking at the world with curiosity. Yet, his expressionless, grim face was strangely chilling.

That coldness didn’t indicate Gio’s personality was cold, but rather it felt like his existence itself couldn’t contain warmth.

“Before lowering his level, Gio was very polite, organized, and heavy. Even those who only saw the portrait without talking to him often commented, ‘It feels like a portrait of someone at their deathbed.’”

Gio really felt like the embodiment of a funeral.

And that vastness.

“You can’t say he’s human.”

“Would a personality change even be something we should talk about?”

“I confirmed it’s affecting him.”

When Gio lowered his level, he truly looked like an ordinary person.

“A bit stiff, but polite.”

But the usual Gio was different.

“He was more arrogant.”

“Hm?”

“Not exactly arrogant, but… how should I put it…”

It was hard to express.

“…He looked like someone higher up…”

Gio looked down at humans.

Like someone with a hobby of keeping insects, watching diligent ants, or like someone admiring them.

“In reality, Gio gave gifts to people many times. That was part of the reward system, but it definitely had the form of a humble gesture. Despite claiming he was a normal 29-year-old human, he evaluated and praised staff members much older than him.”

Then Bisa Beul asked.

“But, the Gio who lowered his level was different?”

“Yes, when he did, he really looked like an ordinary young man.”

The ‘Gio’ Seong-Woon had seen was a 29-year-old with good manners and few words.

“That’s a bit… too curious, and there were times he tried to settle debts with jewels…”

“Real humans aren’t that way, so such quirks are unavoidable. But still, it’s amazing how he acted so much like an ordinary young man.”

“He said he took separate actions, so it was probably because of that.”

There was also something worrying.

“Normally, I wouldn’t have thought about it because of his high level, but when he looked like a 29-year-old young man, I started to worry that he might get scammed.”

“…Is that so? But he has emotional skills…”

“When he was human, his personality seemed much more tame, and there were limitations to his abilities. To check that emotional skill, he had to do the hand gesture like a frame.”

And one more thing.

“He got weaker the more he was outside.”

It was just that he had been exposed to modern society after a long time and had drained his energy, but for Seong-Woon, who was very sensitive to Gio’s condition, he couldn’t help but give it more meaning.

“I’m worried someone else might touch him.”

“That could definitely be a problem.”

“Right?”

“Gio too, but that…”

Bisa Beul scratched his chin.

“Just because he lowered his level doesn’t mean the essence is gone.”

Let’s say you compress one of two large metals into a smaller size.

While one side would shrink and the other would grow larger, the weight would remain the same. In fact, the smaller one could easily injure a human.

A similar example would be a bomb. If it were processed into a small and cute form, it would explode the same once lit. In fact, it might explode even more violently because it was compressed.

“I don’t have exact analysis, so it’s just speculation… but since Gio thinks of himself as human, if you poke at his essence, the backlash will be much bigger. We don’t need that kind of disaster.”

“I think so too.”

“Unless the whole nation agrees to suicide?”

So when Gio became human, he definitely needed protection.

“We’ll have to issue a Hunter’s ID.”

“That would definitely reduce conflicts.”

In this world, Hunters were like authorities and celebrities. Just showing the Hunter’s ID would solve most conflicts. The association strictly prohibited fighting between Hunters.

“And one more thing.”

Seong-Woon continued.

“It’s also a personality-related issue.”

“What other issues could there be here?”

“When Gio was human, he could be defined as a 29-year-old young man named ‘Sergio,’ right?”

But Seong-Woon clearly witnessed it.

“When Gio dipped his feet into Cheonggyecheon…”

“……”

“And when he took a water taxi.”

Gio had changed.

“It was like he was looking at the water through the eyes of someone else.”

That gaze wasn’t that of the quiet, reserved 29-year-old Gio.

It looked more seasoned, with clearer emotions, and though there was a clear distance, it wasn’t cold. It was more like the gentle, beloved smile of an exemplary student. There was even a light and cheerful quality, like a cool sea breeze.

It was very different from the usual ‘Sergio’ or ‘portrait.’

“His form also changed. His hair turned white, and his eyes reflected the color of the water.”

“Oh, that’s pretty similar to Seong-Woon the Curator, right?”

“It felt a little… different from mine. It’s similar, but…”

The color was much warmer.

Like summer sunlight or the surface of the sea.

“……”

It wasn’t certain.

“I’ll look into it further.”

“Let’s do that.”

There was so much more to learn about Gio.