Chapter 138

The Black Cape.

A humanoid monster first witnessed last winter in the S-Class Dungeon ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea’ and listed on the Hunter Association’s website.

It is famous for being a monster that harasses bad humans and gives gifts to good ones.

Its characteristics are that it is very tall, wears a black cape, is dressed in a suit, and is barefoot.

“……”

In her solitary dormitory room, the new curator, Park Ju-hui, clenched her teeth.

“…Come to think of it, it’s all similar….”

She recalled the time when Curator Yu Seong-un first explained about the person named ‘Seo Jio’.

‘That he is often misunderstood because he has similar characteristics to The Black Cape.’

It wasn’t that Park Ju-hui hadn’t thought that Seo Jio and The Black Cape had similar aspects.

However, to think so, Seo Jio was too kind, too human, and had an incredibly gentle smile.

But thinking about it now, it was dizzying.

‘He was overly ideal.’

She should have been suspicious.

‘How could a person who smiles as if he were preserved in the best possible form be normal?’

Seo Jio smiled, talked, and was considerate like a normal person, but there were no fluctuations in his actions and expressions.

She was definitely aware of Seo Jio, who had an atmosphere as if he were a non-existent being.

“…Is this… is this, is this even okay?”

She was confused.

She hadn’t thought he could be a monster because she felt he was too human, and she was suspicious whether she had been bewitched or deceived.

There was a high probability that the ‘Seo Jio’ shown by The Black Cape was a kind of mask.

‘It’s not like I feel betrayed or anything since I haven’t known him for long.’

He was someone she had only met twice so far.

She would have let it slide even if an acquaintance she had known for over a year had deceived her, but there was no room to feel betrayed by someone she had only met twice.

‘I’m not angry either. It’s not like I’m disappointed or anything. There wasn’t that much trust between Mr. Seo Jio and me. But it’s true that I’m confused….’

What should I do about this?

“…I’m probably not in a position to take any action, am I?”

The Collectors’ Gallery is a place where all sorts of dangerous artworks are gathered.

As such, there would be many response protocols for unusual phenomena, and safety measures and information control would also be in place.

“Besides, all the other employees seemed to know.”

Only the newcomers were unaware that ‘Seo Jio’ was The Black Cape.

“But, it’s not like they’re hiding it that thoroughly either….”

It was because Park Ju-hui herself was being particularly dense, but if there were this many commonalities, there would have been other colleagues who had already noticed.

For some reason, The Collectors were simply tolerating the existence of The Black Cape.

“……”

After contemplating for a long time, she soon knocked on another dormitory door.

“…What is it?”

“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I have something I want to consult you about.”

“With me, a fellow newcomer?”

“Mr. Binari, you’ve… met Mr. Seo Jio, right?”

“……”

Binari, one of Park Ju-hui’s colleagues, nodded.

“Come in.”

“…Excuse me.”

Deep in the dawn, the conversation was getting long.

***

Curator Binari, the only one among this batch of The Collectors’ newcomers to be in charge of a 3rd-floor artwork.

“I knew.”

“As I thought… so you did. Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

“That’s not it.”

He was one of the people who had noticed early on that ‘Seo Jio’ was The Black Cape.

“In my case, I had a hunch from the moment Curator Yu Seong-un first gave a warning about the person named Seo Jio. Other than that, Ms. Jeong Eun-byeol, who was introduced as a B-Class Hunter, was suspicious.”

“Ah….”

“Curator Yu Seong-un also seemed to have a rough idea that we had noticed something was off. But he never gave us a separate hint. It seems that the fact that the person named ‘Seo Jio’ is The Black Cape is public knowledge within The Collectors.”

Binari added.

“In the first place, there is no such thing as a dawn shift team at The Collectors.”

“…It’s true that there was no such introduction on the website, but I thought it was hidden because it was important personnel.”

“When I inquired around with the seniors, Mr. Seo Jio was the only one belonging to the dawn shift team.”

“But it could have been a measure for the sake of justification, couldn’t it?”

“That’s right, one could think of it as a special privilege to be considerate of very special personnel.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Just as the other colleagues are thinking right now.”

“…That’s true. Though I still think they’re hiding it too carelessly….”

“Just as you just found out today, Ms. Park Ju-hui, I think they judged that it could be hidden from the newcomers to some extent.”

“What do you think will happen to people like us who found out Mr. Seo Jio’s true identity?”

“I believe that at the very least, we won’t receive any disadvantages. It could be that they are watching to see how we adapt.”

“In the first place, why… why is this….”

Park Ju-hui, who had been stammering, let out a short breath and opened her mouth again.

“There are more than one or two things that are strange. Why didn’t they tell the newcomers about The Black Cape? Even though it’s a humanoid monster of all things.”

“Certainly, there was no information about ‘Mr. Seo Jio’ in the basic training we received. I think it’s probably because we’re in the position of interns who could be let go from the company at any time.”

“Interns… so, they didn’t tell us for the sake of a kind of confidentiality, right? Because they can’t tell important circumstances to interns who can be let go at any time.”

Park Ju-hui contemplated.

“But isn’t it a bigger problem if we cause an accident because we didn’t receive safety training? The seniors at the gallery always emphasize it, don’t they? That if someone has to die, it should only be the curator.”

She heard that when dangerous artworks cause accidents, they often get out of hand.

“Whether it’s the artworks here or the monsters, the important thing should be the rules. Isn’t it a bigger deal if we, who know nothing, don’t know ‘Mr. Seo Jio’s’… conditions, and end up angering him?”

“Both I and Ms. Jeong Eun-byeol, whom you just mentioned, had similar thoughts for a moment. And we came to a conclusion. It seems that there is no problem if we perceive and treat Mr. Seo Jio as a regular employee.”

Binari let out a sigh.

“The Collectors must have thought of everything. So, The Black Cape doesn't cause any problems when treated as a regular employee, and even if an unusual phenomenon occurs, it is not a being that causes a major accident.”

“…Is it a problem to the extent that only we would die and that’s it?”

“We were guessing it would be to that extent. So we thought of it as a kind of test. Whether we are qualified to become The Collector’s collection, whether we are qualified to become an employee of The Collectors, whether we are qualified to be The Black Cape’s work colleague….”

“First of all, the fact that we are in this place means we are qualified for the collection, I think.”

“The Collectors doesn’t really matter. If we think of the opponent as an ordinary dawn shift team member until the end, that too would not violate the conditions, and if we have found out The Black Cape’s existence, they can check how well we adapt.”

He gave an awkward smile.

“So we were thinking that the faster we figure out Mr. Seo Jio’s identity… the faster our promotion to a full-time employee will be. It’s just a guess, though.”

“…Ah, that makes sense. If all the other employees already know The Black Cape’s identity, then, how should I put it? The essential condition for a full-time employee… hmm, would like to know The Black Cape’s identity.”

They also knew how devoted Bisabeol was to his collection.

Once promoted to a full-time employee, one can no longer leave Bisabeol’s collection, and is not expelled from The Collectors.

“But if we show that we can adapt well even after already knowing The Black Cape’s identity during the internship process….”

Wouldn’t they be able to embrace them with peace of mind in many ways?

“Not just us, but it also means that The Black Cape doesn’t dislike this batch of newcomers. Right?”

“That’s right. So this lax security probably seems like a device to confirm the intentions of both the Guild Master and Mr. Seo Jio.”

“Even so, it would be nice if we could get accurate information… like the monster’s tolerance conditions.”

“Our position isn’t important. And isn’t it that we can only become full-time employees if Mr. Seo Jio tolerates us, not something we can achieve through our own efforts.”

“……”

Park Ju-hui’s expression is distorted subtly.

“…So… why is that?”

“…Certainly, The Collectors seem to view The Black Cape as a fundamental component.”

“To say it’s a fundamental component must be because it absolutely cannot be excluded….”

“……”

“…Ah.”

She lifted her head.

“No way?”

“Well.”

“In the gallery?”

“…Well.”

“It was an artwork?”

“…Phew….”

Binari let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“In the first place, the fact that The Black Cape is a portrait is something even ordinary citizens know. A certain niche of enthusiasts who covet the portrait series drawn by the portrait has even emerged.”

“Did the Guild Master bring it in thinking of it as an artwork? I think Curator Yu Seong-un might have mentioned that he was also one of the collection items when he was explaining ‘Mr. Seo Jio’.”

“In The Collectors’ gallery, there are a significant number of monsters in the form of artworks. Raising monsters is definitely illegal, but if it’s after they’ve entered the gallery, they are treated as objects, so….”

“The Black Cape, too, was treated as the Guild Master’s collection item like that? Really? Does that even make sense?”

“In my opinion, I believe so. It’s possible that the Guild Master brought in Mr. Seo Jio, who was lingering around not wanting to leave The Collectors, or, hmm, there are many possibilities.”

However, these were not matters a newcomer would know.

“Anyway, the important thing is that The Collectors is no different from Guild Master Bisabeol’s gallery. No matter what damage occurs, no matter what changes are endured, I heard that the collector is quite greedy… so there’s no way he would want to throw away a peculiar collection item like The Black Cape that periodically creates artworks.”

Binari made a strange expression.

“Even if he were to throw it away, it’s a question of where he should throw it.”

“Ah, that’s true….”

“What’s certain is that The Collectors has already adapted to Mr. Seo Jio’s existence.”

“…Should I think of him as a kind of executive, or a flowerpot….”

“A flowerpot?”

“Like a flowerpot placed in the hallway….”

“Wouldn’t it be better to think of him as an artwork hanging in the hallway?”

“That would be more fitting, since he is an artwork.”

Park Ju-hui managed to organize her thoughts.

“So an artwork that should be in the gallery is walking around the company.”

“We might not know, but there might be many other artworks besides Mr. Seo Jio.”

“It would be more comforting to think of this as a manual within the company building rather than a gallery.”

The Collectors’ gallery had different activities for each floor, so there was a separate internal manual.

For example, to knock 3 times before opening the 39th door on the 2nd floor, or to drink water before passing through the 1st corridor on the 4th floor….

“Well, I’ve got a rough idea of how to please the artworks.”

All those manuals were rules to avoid angering the numerous artworks in the gallery.

If she thought of Mr. Seo Jio, who was hiding the fact that he was The Black Cape, as something similar to this, it wasn’t that difficult.

“Thank you for helping me understand.”

“We’re colleagues from the same batch, we should help each other out.”

“I did hear that colleagues are important.”

“Since there will be many times when we need help….”

Still, she was anxious.

“……”

“……”

“…No matter how I think about it, isn’t this too complacent?”

“…I think that’s The Collectors’ motto….”

“Love the artwork?”

“Yes, that.”

“Oh dear….”

A humanoid monster of all things was walking around, yet The Collectors were managing it with the mindset of ‘if an accident happens, it can’t be helped.’

There was no safety training, no coercive confidentiality.

“…We might not know it, but surveillance and evaluation are probably being conducted at all times. The moment we leave the company, there will also be measures for confidentiality.”

“That’s probably true. There would be some countermeasures and everything, but I’m not sure if there are means to protect interns like us within that.”

“We may not be full-time employees yet, but we have set foot in Guild Master Bisabeol’s collection. They say the treatment of the collection items is good, so let’s look forward to it.”

Binari continued to ask.

“But you’re not as flustered as I thought?”

“Uh… about finding out Mr. Seo Jio’s identity?”

“It’s not like you’ve never met him, and you’ve spoken with him twice, you said.”

“It’s hard to react because my sense of reality is just lacking, and….”

Park Ju-hui, who had been hesitating, continued.

“…From the first time I saw him, I didn't think he seemed particularly human.”

And their conversation also reached the Safety Management Department within The Collectors.

***

The Safety Management Department, the only department that works 24 hours a day.

The employees who had finished the eavesdropping murmured.

“They’re figuring it out faster than I thought.”

“It’s because Mr. Seo Jio has been walking around the company a lot lately.”

“He used to only come out late at dawn….”

“Yes, recently he’s often seen even during work hours, right?”

“Was there some kind of change of heart?”

Slurp.

An employee who had drunk some coffee asked.

“Three of them have already figured it out, why don’t we just promote them to full-time employees?”

“That’s not for us to decide.”

“Hasn’t the Guild Master confirmed it yet?”

“We also have to confirm The Black Cape’s intentions.”

“Well, he seemed to like this batch of personnel, though.”

“First of all, the fact that they weren’t dragged into a portrait right away is a pass.”

“I guess this batch of newcomers are all well-mannered and nice people.”

“In the end, it’ll be up to Mr. Seo Jio’s standards, though.”

“That much alone is a human pass….”

The employee, who was sipping coffee the color of poison given as a death sentence and had his eyes fixed on the CCTV, opened his mouth.

“But Mr. Seo Jio’s activities have certainly increased a lot lately.”

“He comes out often even when there are a lot of people.”

“Did Curator Yu Seong-un not say anything in particular?”

“No separate report or request form was submitted, he just told us to keep a close watch.”

“I heard that too. Hmm, he said no separate documents were submitted….”

“But I do know the topic Mr. Seo Jio has been interested in recently.”

“As if I wouldn’t know?”

The head of the Safety Management Department let out a sigh.

“He’s been going around asking about the evil god.”

“Why the evil god all of a sudden?”

“To be precise, he was asking about the definition and qualifications of an evil god.”

“Could it be about Mr. Seo Jio himself?”

“The possibility is not zero.”

“Well, it’s an artwork we haven’t even been able to inspect yet, so we can’t be sure….”

The employee who was about to say something flinched.

“Uh oh.”

“Hey, Mr. Gyeong-u. That guy is looking at the CCTV.”

“Temporarily suspending screen 14th floor, number 53.”

Just before The Black Cape, who was strolling down the hallway, turned to look at the CCTV, the employees cut off the screen transmission.

As a black screen was cast, the other employees who were staring at other screens also let out sighs of relief.

At that, the department head opened his mouth.

“You know that employee who had an intense eye kiss with Mr. Seo Jio on the screen last time and fainted.”

“It wasn’t quite fainting… more like passing out? Right?”

“Isn’t that the same thing? Anyway, right, Mr. Ha Ryu-seo. When is he coming back to work?”

“He’s still making the rounds at the counseling office, they say.”

“Hasn’t it been a while? Jeez, we’re short on manpower….”

“They said they can’t send him back yet because he’s on the verge of creating a cult.”

“Oh my, is it that bad? This is a big problem. We won’t be able to use our annual leave.”

“What’s new… we’ll have to take it as cash.”

“I want to take a vacation, not receive cash.”

“Me too.”

The employee turned the screen back on, and in the place where The Black Cape had disappeared, only a single portrait remained.

Looking at the portrait that was the only thing in the empty hallway, the department head said.

“Wow, the atmosphere is killer.”

The screen was distorted.

Inside the portrait, behind the black paint, Mr. Seo Jio was making ‘eye’ contact.

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