The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

In the morning, back to bed.

“Coorr?”

“Hmm.”

Gio was lost in shallow thoughts.

It wasn't the first time he learned that his personality could change.

“There's also Giovanni's case.”

But now that he thought about it belatedly, Gio seemed to sometimes deviate from his usual personality. Mainly when interacting with people outside in his 'portrait' state.

“Come to think of it, praising employees or giving gifts out of the blue isn't exactly a normal reaction either.”

“There were people older than me too, but for me, a healthy young man from the country of etiquette in the East¹, to act that way—honestly, it's not exactly normal considering my current state.”

The problem was that Gio himself didn't feel any sense of discomfort about such changes.

“At the time, I just thought it was natural.”

It seemed certain that the identity of being a 'portrait' was indeed changing him.

“Oh God of Heaven and Earth.”

“Coongcoong…”

“When I stayed inside the portrait, I felt the same as usual so I didn't notice anything strange.”

“Cooor?”

“No, it's fine.”

Whether his personality changed or whatever else changed, Gio wasn't one to falter by just this level of mystery.

“But I should be careful not to act rudely towards others.”

At this rate, it seemed he might soon find it natural to pat the head of a stranger he'd never met before.

“I can't do such an unsightly thing no matter what I become.”

The act of patting someone's head was only possible in fiction or when parents did it to their children. Even between lovers, such a bold touch was discouraged, so Gio felt the need to be careful with his behaviour.

“Of course, I've never had a lover.”

“How dare you look at your heavenly father that way.”

I'm allowed to not have a girlfriend, you know.

“Anyway, personality changes aren't that unfamiliar of a situation. Even when I went on the tour in Seoul, there were times when my awareness as Giovanni grew stronger… I think it's quite similar to the topic I'm thinking about right now.”

However, it didn't feel like the 'personality' itself was literally changing.

“If it was that extreme, I would have noticed long ago.”

If he had to describe it, it was closer to the feeling of recalling forgotten memories.

“It's not quite 'Seo Gio', but it is me, that kind of feeling…”

“… Cooorrr?”

“It's not a dual personality. That's a misunderstanding.”

Just as in his past life he lived as the priest Giovanni with his trademark benevolent smile, but in this life he lived as Seo Gio who was often asked 'Do you not know how to smile?'. It was similar to belatedly recalling his past life and having forgotten habits pop up here and there.

“I didn't expect there would be problems due to my identity as a portrait as well.”

Gio muttered.

“I think it's a similar issue to resolution. When trying to act human-like with a portrait's body, errors seem to occur somewhere. My speech becomes stiffer, and my actions and thoughts become strange…”

It seemed he would need to be careful.

“Let's try to be more self-aware from now on.”

“Coong.”

“You think it's bothersome? Honey, you should work on your social skills.”

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Seeing Honey grumbling, Gio placed the round waterfowl on his hand and rolled it around. Honey, rolling around like a plump water pouch, didn't seem to mind too much.

“Are you having fun?”

“Cooorrrrrr.”

“I see.”

Gio, who had been momentarily surprised by the personality change, was able to settle his mind at that carefree sight.

“Anyway, it's fun so it's alright.”

What could be stranger than not finding this ever-changing life entertaining?

“Then shall we eat now?”

“Cooorrr?”

Though Honey expressed doubt, Gio got up from his seat without minding.

“Even if not right now, it's good to prepare soup or side dishes in advance. We already have bones from the dismembered deer, so if we clean them up and make bone broth, we can store it in the ice storage and use it whenever needed.”

Bone broth can be a hearty meal on its own. Gio nodded.

“Whenever I had indigestion, my grandmother told me to drink bone broth with a bit of green onion and salt.”

He didn't know about others, but when Gio had indigestion, such bone broth was much easier on his stomach than porridge. While it didn't fill his stomach since there were no solid ingredients, perhaps being a rich broth, it still felt like he was eating something.

“If you add a pinch of salt, some chopped green onion, and freshly cooked rice to milky white broth, that's beef bone soup². The deeply simmered bone broth has an incredible savoury flavour. That's why even such a simple meal feels filling.”

“Cooorrrrrr…?”

“That's not spicy.”

Honey, who had shown a strong aversion to spicy sausages last time, seemed to be wondering if beef bone soup was spicy. But unless red pepper powder or spicy seasonings are added and mixed in, beef bone soup shouldn't taste spicy.

“If it's too plain, you can add meat, or add noodles instead of rice. It's not bad to eat both together either. I think one of the charms of beef bone soup is that you can add as many seasonings or pepper as you like.”

There were many places to use bone broth as well.

“Even if you just boil spicy ramen with broth instead of water, it creates an amazing flavour.”

“Coor! Coor! Coor!”

“Still, the broth itself makes the soup milder… Alright, let's move on from this.”

Honey, who disliked spicy food, voiced strong opposition, and Gio, being the dad, respected Honey's opinion. If there are humans who eat everything well in this world, there are also fragile waterfowl somewhere who can't eat anything spicy at all.

“Then it might be good to add more vegetables and make a different soup. dumpling soup³ would be a representative example, I suppose.”

Gio muttered.

“Then sliced rice cake soup⁴ is good too. army base stew⁵, made by boiling various vegetables and ham all at once, isn't bad either… But even simple dishes like soybean paste soup⁶ or seaweed soup⁷ become much richer in flavor with bone broth.”

“Coong?”

“Except army base stew, the rest won't be spicy, unless you add Cheongyang chilli peppers⁸… Come to think of it, did you know that using broth instead of water when cooking rice makes it taste much better?”

“Coorrr.”

“Right, let's go make the broth.”

Ever since eating rice balls last time, Honey had become a waterfowl who loved rice more than anything in the world. It was obvious he was imagining how delicious grilled rice balls made with bone broth rice would be.

As Gio was heading down to the ice storage where the bones were stored, he suddenly felt uneasy.

“Come to think of it, isn't bone broth usually made with cow bones?”

“…Coo?”

“Well, when I cleaned and organized it last time, it was quite full of marrow. Perhaps because it was just freshly butchered, the red edges of the bone cross-section were distinct, so its condition shouldn't be bad. Thanks to the deer being so large, the bones are thick and sturdy, so simmering bone broth should be fun…”

“Well, since when have we only eaten Earth's food to be so particular about this?”

When making bone broth, the bones used are usually from the legs of animals. If it were a cow, it would be the cow's feet, but Gio figured it wouldn't be much different for a deer, so he had prepared it. He brought out the bones from the ice storage to the kitchen.

“I washed them once back then, but it still feels a bit unsettling.”

After thoroughly washing the bones that had been cut to clearly show the marrow, he dropped them all into a large pot. When he lit the firewood with bellflowers, the water quickly boiled.

“I drained all the blood when I first butchered it, so there shouldn't be too many impurities rising. It should be quite clean too since I drained it for almost a day, but there are still some foreign substances left inside. We need to remove those to get good broth.”

“As you're probably guessing now, it's a disgustingly long process.”

“Coocoocoong…”

“I wasn't even expecting to be able to eat the broth today anyway.”

Once the bones are completely clean after being blanched in boiling water and washed, it becomes a battle of time and dedication from that point on. There was a reason why 'real' bone broth was expensive.

“You can just keep boiling it in the pot like this, but you shouldn't boil it over too high heat. Even if it takes a bit longer, simmering over low heat brings out more of the savoury flavour in the broth.”

“The longer you boil it, the more oil and various impurities float to the surface. Perhaps because the bone marrow comes out as it is, the first broth is usually too greasy and rich, and it was said to be uncomfortable to eat. So we can't even eat the first broth that comes out…”

“Coong.”

“You're saying you'll eat it?”

“Coor.”

“Pig.”

Honey protested vehemently, but that doesn't change reality. The affection that refuses to give up even the first broth, which makes your mouth greasy to the point of making slurping sounds. This obsession.

“You're already a splendid pig.”

“Coorrrrrrrrrrrr!!!”

“Accept reality.”

If anything, he wishes he'd get a bit plumper.

“Enough for me to lean on…”

More precisely, he wished he'd get plump enough for him to lie down and use as a pillow.

At the face that showed firm determination, Gio nodded.

“Is it puberty?”

He could sense a strong determination that he would maintain the current cute and adorable appearance no matter what.

'He knows he's cute.'

Even if he was a son born from paint, if the child has the right convictions, he should support him. Gio decided to back off. Fat animals are cute, but forcibly fattening them up is animal abuse.

“Anyway, the bone broth won't be ready right away. The impurities only rise after some time has passed, so there's nothing we can do just stick right next to it.”

“Coorrr?”

“Right, so we need to prepare another dish. Let's give our generous bone broth friend some alone time.”

Gio looked at the pot that wasn't even boiling yet due to the freshly added water.

“I don't know for sure, but I've heard that boiling bone broth too many times is actually bad for the body… I'm not sure how to handle the Treehorn Deer's legs.”

Treehorn Deer Bone

The prepared bones from the legs of Treehorn deer. They are greasy due to being full of bone marrow, but bones boiled for over three days will completely dissolve into the broth and become a tonic. Characterized by a strong meaty flavour to the point it could feel nutty or salty.

Refinement method: After thorough cleaning, boiling over low heat for three days causes the marrow and bones to fully dissolve, becoming a tonic. The medicine made this way can be used immediately, and when used on humans, all bone abnormalities will be healed. The degree of recovery varies depending on the amount consumed and the individual constitution.

Gio nodded.

“There was no need to worry.”

What kind of realistic concerns was he having in this fantasy world?

“It said the marrow and bones will dissolve on their own, so we just need to filter out the impurities occasionally while waiting. Let's stop worrying about those self-sufficient fellows and start thinking about our lunch now.”

“Coorrrrr.”

“Then something good would be…”

After pondering for a moment, Gio soon made up his mind.

“The day has finally come.”

“Coorr?”

“It's time to go fishing.”

After eating a large amount of meat, didn't his tired stomach need to be refreshed with some fish?

“That's proper manners for my tongue and stomach.”

And Seo Gio was a true gourmand who learned the term Engel coefficient (the proportion of food spending in household expenses) at the age of five. He still remembered his grandma's warm voice, who laughed warmly while saying, 'We have a pig potato at home.'

Like that, Gio thought about eating fish. There were many ways.

“Although the stream is narrow, it's quite deep and I've seen large and small fishes here and there when passing by. Especially since the waterfowl's nests are connected to the stream or spring so that various creatures can move around… just going to the nests should be enough to find good fishes.”

At Gio's words, Honey, who had been tilting its head, soon came close to his ear and poked his cheek. It didn't hurt at all, as the beak was so small and harmless to the point where it was unclear why it even existed.

“What's the matter, Honey?”

“Corrrrrrrr.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, Gio had another source of fishery.

“There was the 'Breathing Sea.'”

The 'Breathing Sea,' one of the dimensional gates Gio had previously created, was literally a world submerged in the sea. The last time he saw it, it was clearly overflowing with all kinds of creatures.

Gio accepted Honey's advice.

“You're smart.”

“Coor.”

Honey puffed up proudly. It was extremely cute.

“No matter how cute you act, the only one you can conquer is your dad.”

“Coocoocoong.”

“Do you think acting cute elsewhere will get you someone who can treat you as well as I do? Where in the world would you find such a capable butler like me? You should just stick close to your dad.”

Today, too, they were a happy family.

Gio went straight to the second floor, specifically to the storage where completed works were collected. That was because the frame that allowed him to travel to 'Breathing Sea' was hanging there.

Gio, standing in front of the frame filled with blue light, seeped in slowly as if melting.

And soon after.

He was underwater.

“It's been a while, Father.”

Giovanni had entered the 'Breathing Sea.'

“It hasn't been that long, has it?”

“  ”

“I just went out to see the outside world for a while.”

The one conversing with Gio was none other than the Sun God of the destroyed world, the lonely old man whom 'Giovanni' had previously requested him.

He asked Gio what had brought him here today.

“Ah.”

And Gio was confident anytime, anywhere.

“I came to do some fishing.”

Hand over the fish.

“If it goes well, I'll share it with you.”

“  ”

“I knew you'd like it.”

The Sun God was pleased.

As expected, it was clear that only pigs had gathered at that place.