23

Chapter 23

Meanwhile, Gio had fallen into an idle quandary. It was a truly idle quandary.

“……”

Since coming to this world, he had not painted a single landscape.

‘No, I suppose it wasn’t quite none.’

Thinking back, he had once created the lake for Honey and the other waterfowl of his kind, but that was all. Strictly speaking, that had merely added another fixture to this world. It was not a proper landscape painting.

That raised a question.

“Fruit, buildings, animals…”

He had been able to paint them all into existence.

“Then what about landscapes?”

What would happen to a world I painted?

“……”

Still pondering the question, Gio began to paint.

Three of them, for the time being.

‘Breathing Sea’

Searching…

………

…..

………

Corresponding dimension exists.

Entry possible.

………

Compatible Candidate confirmed.

Synchronization available.

‘Animal Kingdom’

Searching…

………

…..

………

Corresponding dimension exists.

Entry possible.

………

Compatible Candidate confirmed.

Synchronization available.

‘City of the Void’

………

…..

………

The corresponding dimension does not exist.

Would you like to register it?

You have three unchecked notifications.

“What is this?”

Please check your new notifications.

“……”

Gio felt it.

‘A premonition of fun.’

New content had appeared with uncanny timing, just as he finished farming.

Working through the night was an artist’s companion and a sacred act symbolizing a free spirit. After painting all night, Gio had completed three landscapes in total.

“Hmm.”

Judging by the three notifications, he could roughly guess what they concerned. He felt as delighted as though he had received a Christmas present accidentally delivered on Chuseok.

“Good adults are rewarded one day.”

“Kkuuung?”

“Where in the world would you find someone as good as Dad?”

“Kkururu…”

“To think the trust between father and son could be so flimsy. How lamentable.”

Wearing a solemn expression, Gio expertly spouted nonsense as he checked the System notifications.

“……”

Then he asked,

“Where might I find the Help menu?”

Indeed, he could not interpret them.

‘I know they have something to do with the three paintings I completed yesterday.’

For his first painting, Gio had depicted a seascape; for his second, a wilderness; and for the last, an empty city.

‘I never gave them names like Breathing Sea, Animal Kingdom, or City of the Void.’

He supposed the System must have named them on its own.

“The System must have discovered my talent for naming things and stolen my chance to title the works… But even so, what does ‘corresponding dimension exists’ mean?”

Taken literally, it sounded as though real dimensions existed that matched the landscapes Gio had painted.

“I wonder whether the ability to discover an entire dimension is feasible for a human.”

Naturally, it was an ability that New Gio, freshly evolved into a portrait, might possess. Now that a human had evolved into a painting, he could leave human standards beside Andromeda for the time being.

“Ta-da.”

Having rationalized the matter brilliantly, Gio resumed his deductions, rivaling Sherlock Holmes himself.

“Since it said entry is possible… some of the dimensions I painted must really exist, and it seems I can enter them myself.”

He had not expected an update of this scale. He did not remember human life having such diligent administrators, so this was a highly encouraging change.

“Nice.”

A refreshing soul from Gangwon Province who never walked the same path as others, Gio affirmed and cheered on the exceptional challenge he had somehow undertaken without ever thinking about it.

“But there are still some things I don’t understand…”

He could not make sense of the terms “Compatible Candidate” and “Synchronization.”

“……”

“……”

“What makes someone compatible, and what am I synchronizing with?”

“Kkung?”

He was cute, but Gio must not be deceived. That did not mean, “Good question.” It meant, “How should I know?”

“Right.”

Gio nodded.

Judging by that impure gaze, Honey appeared to have entered puberty. Even so, his dutiful response to every word from his father proved what an earnest son he was.

Bad paints existed in the world, but bad paintings did not. Honey was proof of that.

‘How admirable.’

As Gio examined the System window, he soon discovered a new list.

Compatible Candidate List

It was obviously the answer.

“Let’s take a look.”

Breathing Sea_Giovanni

Synchronization Rate: 0%

Animal Kingdom_Argio

Synchronization Rate: 0%

What was that supposed to mean?

“……”

Description: Compatible Candidate

“At least you have a conscience.”

Compatible Candidate

A method of understanding an unfamiliar dimension more conveniently. Among the beings already existing within the displayed dimension, the individual corresponding to “Gio” is designated the “Compatible Candidate.” With the Compatible Candidate’s consent, you may borrow that individual’s soul and body to understand and travel through the dimension with ease.

“What would you do if I still couldn’t understand after all that? I’m almost curious to see how you would respond.”

But he understood.

“If a Compatible Candidate exists in a real dimension, I can travel around using that person’s body…”

This household did good work. Gio did not know how the Compatible Candidate in question might feel, but from the user’s perspective, it was an exceptionally considerate structure.

“I won’t know anything about the dimension’s culture, and more importantly, it may contain pathogens incompatible with my current body. Humans may breathe air on Earth, but elsewhere they might breathe a gas like nitrogen.”

In that respect, accepting help from the Compatible Candidate would be a convenient choice.

“The criterion for finding one must be that the other person is a ‘Gio’…”

Looking at the names on the list gave him a rough idea.

Breathing Sea_Giovanni

Synchronization Rate: 0%

Animal Kingdom_Argio

Synchronization Rate: 0%

“These people were probably called ‘Gio’ too.”

Did it not matter as long as their names included “Gio” somewhere?

“…No. If that were the case, the System would not have deliberately used the term Compatible Candidate. There must be other conditions, important enough that it created an entire list to keep track of them.”

Perhaps it had checked their synchronization with Gio or their capacity to adapt to him.

“Interesting.”

He liked it very much.

Read only on MUGEX

“I will never be bored for the rest of my life.”

The volume of updated data was so vast that he did not know whether he could enjoy all of it within his lifetime.

“An update on the scale of entire dimensions.”

It was truly astonishing.

“……”

But even after that lengthy explanation and analysis, there was still one matter left.

“What is the City of the Void?”

‘City of the Void’

The corresponding dimension does not exist.

Would you like to register it?

“Did I create a new dimension?”

It was complete madness.

“I can hear my life becoming more spectacular already.”

Excellent.

Gio never thought too deeply. This occasion was no different.

Of course, if world peace, friendship, and love had been at stake, he would have contemplated the matter deeply with the unsullied heart of a young man from a mountain village. This, however, did not particularly motivate him.

Gio looked like someone who drank nothing but espresso every morning, yet he possessed the palate of an elementary schooler who spat out anything bitter and swallowed anything sweet.

“Hmm.”

His supremely positive outlook would not be discouraged by something as trivial as creating a dimension.

“It isn’t as though a random nuclear power plant somewhere on Earth will explode one second after I create a new dimension.”

That settled it.

“Honey, do you agree?”

“Kkururuk!”

“Then it truly is settled.”

Now that he had obtained his family’s consent, nothing remained to hold him back.

It was a scale he had never experienced in his life, but such minor information could not impede the growth of the deeply rooted tree that was Gio. Gio was a portrait with convictions.

“Life is incredible.”

As one lived, new content would always arise.

“If I do not enjoy this content immediately, then I am not human.”

“……”

“I don’t know which part of that made you fall silent, but trust your dad, Honey.”

Gio was confident.

Confident that he would enjoy it immensely.

“Life is a hurricane.”

After freely letting his tongue run wild, Gio selected [Giovanni] from the list of Compatible Candidates. The name felt needlessly familiar because it was sometimes used in Italy on Earth.

And then Gio…

—Pop.

“……”

‘Pop?’

He was left alone in an operating room.

“……”

Honey, who rightfully belonged on his shoulder, was nowhere to be seen. Sorrow washed over him.

‘I’m lonely.’

What sort of treatment was this?

Dropped by the System’s machinations into an operating room that looked as though it belonged in eighteenth-century Europe, Gio grumbled inwardly,

‘It feels like less than thirty minutes—not even yesterday—since I marveled at the System’s divinely inspired management and vast amount of content, so what is this thoughtless delivery service?’

The System’s inconsiderate conduct had wounded him deeply. It should have asked for Gio’s opinion once more and kindly informed him that transportation would then commence.

While Gio wondered which customer-service center should receive his complaint, he noticed that someone had appeared before him and stopped wallowing in self-pity.

“……”

“…Ah.”

Startled by the sudden presence, Gio became shy for a moment. Whoever this was possessed stealth skills to rival Senior Agent 0○7.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“…Hello?”

While Gio briefly entertained the ridiculous thought of “101 Dal○atians delivering a killer self-introduction,” the man who appeared to own the operating room spoke first. He looked to be in his early thirties.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Giovanni of House Bartlan.”

“…I am Gio.”

“Yes, I know. You may call me Gio, sir.”

His kind, trustworthy smile suited him perfectly, and he resembled Gio to a startling degree. So much so that Gio thought this was precisely what he might look like if he were Western and a little older.

And Gio bravely refused to restrain his question.

“You look remarkably like me.”

“We are probably alike in many respects.”

“I cannot smile kindly like you. I am inept at smiling in general, so people have often misunderstood me.”

“What an adorable and candid concern, just like those of the students I used to teach. It is all right. From now on, you will be able to smile as I do.”

After making that suggestive remark, Giovanni smiled with a hint of embarrassment. He seemed a far more magnanimous adult than Gio.

“You seem to be a very straightforward and warmhearted person, Mr. Seo Gio.”

“I believe the same is true of you, Mr. Giovanni. From the compliment you gave someone you had only just met, I can tell that your very way of thinking is kind.”

“Affirming the light within another person is merely my duty as a priest of the Sun. There is nothing particularly kind about it.”

“…A priest…”

A priest?

“…This appears to be a hospital. Are you not a physician?”

“I am a physician as well. Not every priest of the Sun must remain inside a temple reciting scripture. Many priests like me work out in the wider world.”

Having said so, Giovanni soon sighed.

“No… there used to be many.”

“I see.”

“My world was covered by seawater and came to an end.”

Oh, that was sudden.

“Is the destruction of your homeland not a subject too personal to share with someone you have only just met…?”

“Please listen.”

“Yes. You have my full attention.”

“The only people left in that world now must be the merfolk hiding beneath the sea. Our planet was reduced and regulated like a single game board.”

“Like a game board?”

“I believe it underwent something known as… dungeonization.”

“You know of dungeons?”

“The concept did not originally exist in our world, so I remained unaware of it until my death.”

Judging by the way he spoke, Giovanni seemed to be someone who had already died.

“But the moment you called me, Mr. Seo Gio, I came to understand.”

“……”

“We are the same ‘Gio.’”

He continued wearing his benevolent smile.

“But we are by no means the same person.”

“May I regard you as myself from a parallel world?”

“No, that is not it either. We are entirely separate human beings who, by miraculous coincidence, share a great many similarities.”

“……”

“Similar faces, similar voices, similar dexterity… But our souls are by no means the same color.”

After thinking for a moment, Gio asked,

“Do you enjoy painting? After all you have said, I’m curious whether our tastes are truly similar.”

“It is one of my secret hobbies. I loved painting the sea that resembled the merfolk.”

“The sea that resembled the merfolk…”

They even shared a love of painting. That alone was enough for Gio to acknowledge that they were the same “Gio.”

“I would like to see it.”

“You will see it soon.”

His voice overflowed with affectionate certainty. That gentle tone, which did not seem easily broken, raised a question in Gio’s mind.

“I understand that I will be taking your soul and body from you. Are you not afraid of me, or resentful? Merely to appreciate a new dimension, I am robbing you of everything.”

“This is not robbery. To begin with, I am already dead. My soul returned to the Sun’s side, while my body became earth and was buried in the ground… Hmm, I suppose it neither became earth nor was buried in the ground. By now, even that land has undoubtedly been submerged beneath the sea.”

“Is this the same sort of dark joke elderly people make when they say there is no need to buy them anything expensive because they will die soon? You may be untroubled by it, but I am not. You seem to have forgotten that we only just met.”

“Hahaha…”

Although it had not been amusing in the slightest, Giovanni laughed as though he had truly made a wonderful joke, then continued.

“My soul will become one with yours, Mr. Gio. You might call it a kind of resurrection and reincarnation. I will permeate you, spend more time, gather memories, and live within the Source in that way.”

“…The Source?”

“The concept must still be unfamiliar to you.”

He smiled gently.

“But you already live there.”

“Are you saying the place where I reside is the Source? A new acquaintance of mine recently mentioned it.”

“In truth, even that must be a name given to it by Earthlings. We cannot know what name it actually bears, or what rules and form it possesses. As a humble soul, all I can do is answer the summons and resonate with you.”

Giovanni then spoke apologetically.

“If possible, please look after the Sun God. To be precise, I mean the Sun God of the world where I lived.”

“I cannot believe a request to look after a god came from a mere humble soul. You have made another very amusing joke. In truth, it is not particularly amusing.”

“I thought the same while I was alive. But unless they are the Source itself, even gods are ultimately forgotten without followers. That will not cause the Sun to cease to exist, but as his son, I cannot help worrying.”

“How can I look after a god? I am only an ordinary human myself.”

“Remember him, converse with him occasionally, or borrow his power. As a priest fashioned from sunlight, I swear upon my honorable soul that it will not be terribly burdensome for you.”

Gio nodded.

‘He calls him a god, but in summary, would it be like visiting an elderly person who lives alone?’

As a former art teacher, Gio had occasionally volunteered ever since his university years. Among those he met were quite a few elderly people who were growing old alone after suffering unfortunate circumstances.

Seen in that light, Gio was an experienced hand. His confidence returned after shrinking at the word “god.”

“I am good at that.”

“Haha, what a relief. I leave him in your care.”

“Is there anything else you desire?”

“Is the request to look after a god not burdensome enough?”

“It was until a moment ago, but it is not anymore.”

Gio had been the only child in a village deep in the mountains of Gangwon Province, a society of the ultra-ultra-ultra elderly. He was at least confident in his ability to charm senior citizens.

Sensing that confidence, Giovanni hesitantly spoke.

“…Aria…”

“Aria?”

“She is the name of my student.”

“……”

“This conversation has grown too long.”

His tone remained gentle, yet it was tinged with sorrow.

“Give her an ending.”

At that moment—

“…Ah…”

Gio returned to the bed in his cabin.

“……”

“……”

“Kkururu…”

“…Right…”

Breathing Sea_‘Giovanni’

“I’m all right.”

Giovanni’s Quest

“Dad is all right.”

Communicate with the Sun God (0/1)

Give the Mermaid Princess an Ending (0/1)

“Truly…”

Synchronization Rate: 1%

“I am all right.”

“……”

“There is no problem.”

It was a strange feeling.

As cold climbed over his entire body and pain split his bones—and sorrow greater than either consumed him—Giovanni wept without knowing why.

He could not remember a thing.

“……”

“……”

He cried until the moon set and new sunlight streamed in. Then…

“…I have no regrets.”

He smiled through raw, swollen eyes.

I was happy.

(To be continued)