As evening approached, Gio sat in the attic room of the cabin, surrounded by a gentle light and the scent of the forest. In front of a round window stood a black wooden desk where he was organizing the rules he had discovered within this painted world.

"So...," Gio continued, "it amounts to a 1:1 ratio."

In this realm within the painting, Gio could do almost anything. He hadn't tried everything, of course, but he felt as if he could—even creating a warm corpse if he wished. In this world, nothing seemed impossible for Gio.

"But things change when reality gets involved."

Asking Yoo Seong-woon to draw an apple had been part of a test to confirm this theory.

"A drawing I make or one made by someone else is the same from my perspective, and I can enjoy it without issue. But the moment it leaves here and enters reality, it becomes real. If there were no restrictions, that would be too much."

It all started with a doubt.

"It's a good thing Yoo Seong-woon is so kind."

He had been touched by Yoo's willingness to draw an apple on request.

"He’s quite mature, even accommodating my nonsensical portrait talk."

Through the kindness of the caretaker and his experiments over the past few days, Gio had come to understand his situation.

When Gio leaves the painting, his presence in the painting disappears, and the frame becomes a simple landscape. If Gio wants to give a gift to someone outside the painting, he must receive something from them in return.

There was a general rule of give and take, a 1:1 ratio.

"..."

The snacks he had distributed to the 17 staff members previously were simply acts of goodwill.

"Everyone seemed so scared, I thought maybe snacks would lighten the mood."

Indeed, it had changed the atmosphere, from fear to bewilderment. Yes, he too would be startled if a dark mass suddenly emerged from a painting and handed him cookies.

"And it's true that those people helped me."

In the end, it was just a matter of showing courtesy.

If he received something from someone or owed someone an apology, his grandmother had told him to accompany his persuasive words with tangible gifts. That was the basic courtesy of living among people.

"She said that mere words of thanks or apology are as good as a corpse."

Speaking nicely was expected, and whether able or not, even a small gift should be offered, according to grandmother. For Seo Gio, whose facial muscles were less developed than a pony’s, this advice was vital.

Thus, good potato Seo Gio, now 29, still faithfully followed his life mentor, his grandmother. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become a teacher beloved by students.

Anyway, that’s why.

"I can't just take help without giving something in return."

That was Seo Gio’s principle.

"In that sense, the rules of this world suit me quite well. Like the animals of the forest, they might be a reflection of my personality."

He liked that.

"To transfer something from my painted state to reality, I too must receive something."

Gio could do quite a lot freely.

Having almost the power of a creator in this painted world was a given, and even outside, he could act without being tied to any particular rules.

"I can even make a passageway through the painting so I don’t need to use the elevator to reach other floors."

However, when Gio was in the painting and the other side was in reality, he could not break this 1:1 rule. This was a fact he learned while communicating with Yoo Seong-woon, the caretaker of the portrait.

"When I asked him to draw an apple, the system explained it."

It was an explanation to reciprocate, and there was even a time limit.

"Was it about a week?"

He wasn’t quite sure what issues would arise if he didn't reciprocate within a week, but it seemed unlikely to be anything good, so he gave Yoo a gift the very next day.

"..."

Gio fiddled with some knick-knacks next to his desk. They clattered against the wooden surface.

"Gems..."

Among them were gems of various colors.

"I didn’t know I could make these."

Gio liked various styles of painting.

A proper painter is said to have their own universe, but maybe because Gio was just a teacher and not such a painter, he drew in various styles. He was particularly good at hyperrealism.

The gems he was handling were born out of such methods.

"Making paint from these made it easy to draw the gems I gave to Mr. Yoo."

As if the paint, the picture, and the result itself were a living entity.

"..."

It felt like something inanimate was imbued with life.

"It's a special fit for this wonderful potato without limits...."

At 29, he had never felt such a sense of freedom that seemed to strip away all constraints, but having many things he could do was gratifying. As a result, Gio seemed to have evolved into an even more charming potato.

Having somewhat organized his thoughts, Gio continued with the contemplations of someone with little else to occupy him.

"...I'll sleep outside tonight. Sleeping under the stars feels good. What shall I make for breakfast tomorrow? Just baked potatoes with a bit of salt would be tasty. And if I get bored, I might as well farm. If I ask Mr. Yoo...."

The weather being nice, the crops would grow well. Finding pleasing seedlings and farming would invigorate him.

He would then eat using those crops, and also gift something to Mr. Yoo outside the painting. If there were bees around, he thought about bringing some in to keep.

"Let's travel a lot."

Then he would return to the cabin and paint.

When he paints....

"..."

Half-dozing in the sleepy spring air, Gio quietly opened his eyes.

"I need a pet."

The scale had expanded, but after all, wasn’t this rural living?

"Having a pet in a house with a yard is like having pork belly with soju. And I am a robust Korean man who enjoys pork belly with soju.... Thus, I conclude I need a new family member."

The creatures of the forest were friendly toward Gio, but since a basic wariness of wild animals remained, they weren’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ easy to touch.

"I wanted to handle them like sticky rice cakes, but I was firmly rejected."

And Gio, being a gentleman, did not pester a rabbit that didn’t want to be touched.

The forest friends easily approached Gio and just as easily left—they were merely wild animals, after all. Becoming friends with such creatures would certainly be enjoyable, but Gio had other options.

"If I paint..."

He couldn’t create humans, nor did he want to. One human was enough responsibility for him.

But what about animals?

"...Can I make them?"

Gio headed to the second-floor studio.

Everything Gio had painted so far had been inanimate.

"They had no ego."

Fruits, vegetables, food, plates, furniture, and many other things he had painted, but none were living beings, separate from the faint sense of life Gio felt in them.

"..."

Gio sat in front of a canvas.

"...Will it work?"

He had failed with humans, but what about a small animal?

"...There’s no one else here, but there are other animals...."

It seemed possible.

"..."

Gio stood up from his chair and approached the wall filled with small drawers, reminiscent of a cabinet one might find in an old herbal medicine shop.

There were too many to count, but Gio knew where everything was.

"...Here, for sure..."

Click.

He opened a drawer.

"There it is."

A blue, translucent gem was inside.

Gio didn’t know exactly what this gem was, but it was refreshing. Rather than cold, it was invigorating, and though hard to the touch, it seemed to flow fluidly inside like water.

"..."

Sparkling and flowing within a solid form, it was like a liquid that was no different from a living, breathing being.

"Let’s use this."

Besides, Gio took out several other gems, dried leaves, and minerals.

He broke the gems with a chisel and hammer. The vividly colored leaves, despite being well-dried, and the minerals of various hues were all ground into a fine powder. Turned into paint by Gio’s hands, this fine powder was like flour.

"..."

He added fluidity to the paint with sap found in the forest.

"..."

And adjusted the consistency further, finding the right viscosity.

"..."

The finely ground paint on the glass pane glowed faintly like fireflies.

'...Pale like the Milky Way....'

But it gave a refreshing feeling.

"That’s it."

Gio began to paint.

There was no lake in this forest. Perhaps it was natural, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful. He wished for a modest pond or a majestic lake, or an endless sea that would bring the smell of water.

Thinking of the cool breeze that would come from a vast body of water, Gio moved his brush.

"..."

Round body.

Small head, large wings. The beak doesn’t need to be large since it will only sing. These creatures would make their homes in places where water exists, and that home itself would become them.

"..."

A bird made of water.

"..."

What kind of bird would that be?

"...They seem like they’d flock together."

They would live in groups.

They could stay anywhere there was water, and even without it, they could create ponds, lakes, or seas anytime.

Living and breathing as they were, they were transparent water and also the wind that cooled the air.

"The colors will vary."

Since water is transparent, those with egos might think.

‘I want to have a color to express myself.’

They’d be cute companions.

To adorn their transparent selves, they’d stuff all sorts of treasures into their bodies. Like all birds that preen their feathers, they’d pick treasures suitable for their bodies with their small beaks, inserting them into their transparent bodies to decorate themselves.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

It could be flowers. It could be gems or fruits hanging from trees or leftovers from human meals. Maybe even very old artifacts or small fish.

"Everything is..."

Up to you.

You, who are both water and birds, were free to do anything.

It was okay to fall asleep in a flowing stream or fly freely in the vast sky. They had freedom.

"..."

Gio created a very small bird.

The body was round, the wings just as wide as the body, the tail feathers long, and the beak short. The small creatures knew they were water and could hide anywhere.

Living water.

"..."

As gems, flowers, and fruits filled their transparent bodies, shining colorfully...

It was beautiful.

"..."

Gently tapping the beak of a bird with the tip of his finger, Gio remarked.

"Ah."

—Splush!

"..."

The bird, carrying its own treasures in its body, perched on Gio’s shoulder.

"Hello."

Crackle.

"Nice to meet you."

Crackle, crack!

"Yeah, me too."

Instead of making a chirping sound, the bird rustled, producing sounds with the flowers inside it.

Quiet yet boisterous, it was a chatty friend.

"Chatty, isn’t it?"

The petals trapped within the small, transparent body playfully made faint noises.

"Impressive."

Soon Gio’s room was filled with transparent, sparkling birds.

They fluttered around Gio for a while, then quickly flew out through the open window. The wind stirred by the living droplets was more massive than imagined.

The scene, like cherry blossoms fluttering in a clear spring breeze, was truly picturesque.

"..."

Gio stood dumbfounded for a moment, then stepped out onto the terrace.

"...Ah."

There they were.

"They didn’t go far."

They had formed a small pond next to Gio’s cabin. He leaned against the terrace railing, resting his chin on his hands.

"Resourceful creatures."

The pond—or lake—encircling the cabin flowed quietly.

Below it, like beach sand or river pebbles, countless 'treasures' were spread. Flowers, gems, fruits, and other such items sank into the lake, glittering enchantingly in the moonlight.

They all became one, flowing quietly, then suddenly burst upwards, looking around curiously before hiding again among their companions in the pond.

"..."

Gio closed his eyes. As the vision of the twinkling, moving water disappeared from his sight, he soon heard their breathing.

Instead of chirping, the sound of gems clattering, petals brushing, and small stones or sand shifting faintly was how these companions communicated.

It was like the sound of summer insects...

"...I should go to sleep."

Gio, carrying only a pillow, stepped outside the cabin and lay down between the cabin and the pond.

"..."

Rustle—.

As he lay down to sleep, the sound of the animals approaching could be heard.

‘Considering they all ran away when I tried to touch them, they sure approach quickly.’

Birds perched on branches fluttered down and sat on Gio’s chest. A deer sniffing around the shallow pond moved its long legs to come beside Gio.

Bush-dwelling squirrels inserted acorns or small fruits into the pond and then flocked to his side.

"..."

Gio muttered at the scene.

"...A toll?"

A tollgate fee?

In any case, both the squirrels and the pond birds seemed satisfied.

‘Then it’s fine.’

Isn’t it peaceful?

If the friends Gio had created were not deserving of rejection, if they could blend in and integrate with the existing ones, then he was sufficiently content with that alone.

At that moment, Gio thought.

"..."

Decorating this portrait would be fun, too.