The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

The so-called ‘Breathing Sea’ was literally a world submerged in water.

There was no one else besides Gio. The water was filled up to such a high level that even the sun seemed trapped under it, and traces of human civilization like brick houses and fences were also submerged as he was.

Among all this, Gio was sitting at the edge of a cliff.

“Being completely underwater, I have no idea how to fish.”

“Cooooorr.”

“Honey, stop drinking the seawater. Your body is getting too big and scaring away the fish.”

Many aquatic creatures could be seen everywhere.

A creature with a body that looked like an extremely large hermit crab making ticktockticktock noises while moving clumsily, crossing a red roof with its companions. Meanwhile, a snake with a gentle impression that appeared to be a water snake kept popping out from within the sand with a pop sound and hiding repeatedly.

Besides these, large whale pods were floating high in the watery sky, colourful seahorses dancing in pairs as if singing, fish hiding among seaweed growing between bricks…

”  ”

“I don’t think a fishing rod is going to get me anywhere in this situation.”

”  ”

“A net? That’s not a bad idea either.”

Though he was enjoying the dreamlike scenery, he hadn’t caught a single fish.

“Since it’s not like I’m a great swimmer.”

Thanks to ‘Giovanni’s’ world having a very close relationship with the sea, 90% of humanity was skilled at swimming. ‘Giovanni’ belonged to the 5% who were particularly bad at it.

“When I first met Aria, our relationship continued because she threw me into the sea. Personally, I can’t say Aria was a good child, but she was still a diligent student.”

”  ”

“Since Father doesn’t resent Aria, my heart is at ease too.”

Gio’s characteristic kind smile soon turned into a troubled expression.

“But… how should I catch fish after all?”

Giovanni wasn’t skilled at swimming, and while Seo Gio was good at swimming, he had never caught fish like this before.

No matter which skill he relied on, it didn’t seem like he could snatch the fish that looked agile just by looking at them.

”  ”

“Yes?”

Gio turned to look at the bright yellow waterfowl who the Sun God pointed at—none other than Honey. Honey sparkled brilliantly under the Sun God’s spotlight like an actor on stage. It was none other than God’s divine revelation.

“Honey?”

“Honey, can you catch them?”

“

“Why are you avoiding Dad’s gaze?”

Seeing the face that clearly said ‘I can do it but I don’t really want to’, Gio tilted his head. If it was just not wanting to, he wouldn’t force it, but it wasn’t exactly a reaction of disliking work itself, so it was hard to interpret.

“Why don’t you want to?”

“Coocoocoong…”

Seeing the father and son struggling to communicate, the Sun God discreetly revealed the truth.

”  ”

”  ”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Gio recall that his waterfowl was not an ordinary bird.

Well, of course, living water in the shape of a bird would never be ordinary, but anyway. Honey had much more powerful potential than Gio had expected.

“Our child can evolve?”

“Oh my sun.¹”

Honey was very capable indeed.

“So you’re being sulky now because you need to evolve to catch fish but don’t want to take that form….? Really? Oh my, that’s both amazing and ridiculous. You really have a conviction to maintain your cute appearance, don’t you?”

His son clearly had a prince complex.

“I thought I told you just thirty minutes ago that no matter how cute and adorable you act, the only one you can conquer is your dad. What’s the point for you to be so recklessly cute like this?”

”  ”

“I apologize, I was being a bit silly. But Father, don’t you think your grandson very cute?”

The Sun God just laughed, saying that the family relationship looked very nice to see.

Though he didn’t get a clear explanation, Gio decided to be satisfied with this. The most important thing now was for everyone to work together to overcome this hopeless situation, catch some fish, and prepare a meal.

Not wanting to force him to work, Gio simply explained the reality of their situation.

“Honey.”

“Coong.”

“Dad can’t swim.”

“…Coo?”

“So I can’t catch fish either.”

“If you really don’t want to, that’s fine, but if you don’t catch fish for us, we’ll all have to go hungry. If you still refuse, we’ll have no choice but to grill the leftover sausages from last time for lunch today.”

At those words, Honey’s pupils shook. Though it was unclear where exactly the pupils were in those eyes made of water, it was evident that Honey was trembling with shock at the reality of their situation.

Gio nodded solemnly like a judge delivering a verdict.

“Yes, we’re in a situation where we have to eat the same menu over and over again.”

It was a miserable reality that was hard for them to accept as gourmets and big eaters.

“But if you still don’t want to, this dad will try his best to make stir-fried sausages, sausage fried rice, and sausage soup for lunch today.”

The Sun God was startled by the strange confrontation. Even to him, stir-fried sausages, sausage fried rice, and sausage soup seemed a bit excessive.

The Sun God, who had gotten used to the meals Gio prepared for him recently, anxiously watched the situation.

The winner was Gio.

“Coorr.”

But there was a condition.

“You want me to close my eyes?”

“Coo.”

“But dad can love our son no matter what he looks like. Why is that?” So why?”

“Coo.”

“Puberty has come after all.”

Well, even from parents, everyone has secrets they want to keep. Although Gio had never even dated, let alone gotten married or had children, he knew it was important to respect a child’s personal space.

Gio nodded with his eyes closed.

“You don’t want to show your evolved form that much? Dad is truly, really, very curious, but if this can make you feel at ease, Honey, I can close my eyes as much as you want….”

“Coorr.”

“As expected, teenagers are not easy.”

He heard the sound of something large swaying once, followed by the sound of seawater being stirred. Yet not long after listening carefully to the sound.

“Coocooorr.”

Ah, already?

“Can I open my eyes now, son?”

“Coorr.”

“Alright.”

And Gio saw.

“Oh.”

He saw about thirty fishes caught inside Honey’s body, which had swollen up from holding seawater.

“That’s impressive?”

“Coorcoor.”

“You look like an excellent pig.”

“That was a compliment.”

Honey being this plump was something he had seen constantly since coming to the ‘Breathing Sea’, so this form couldn’t be Honey’s ‘evolved’ form.

‘He probably swallowed the fish in his evolved form and then returned to his original form.’

Anyway, it was funny and good.

“Pig…”

“Coo.”

“A pig with fish inside…”

“Coocoocoo.”

“Nice.”

Giovanni beamed brightly with his characteristic cheerful smile.

“This is so reassuring.”

Gio had big hands.

* * *

Upon returning to the cabin, Gio immediately began preparing the fish.

“Exactly 33 pieces.²”

It was a number that meant Gio’s hands would be worked to the bone today, but he decided not to mind.

Showing weakness in front of just 33 salmon-sized fish would be a disgrace as a pig his grandmother acknowledged.

“Fortunately, they’re all edible, so I can prepare them without worry.”

“Cooorrrrrr.”

“Honey, spit out one piece.”

“Coo.”

Ptooey.

The still-large Honey spat out one fish.

Staggering as he received the fish, Gio felt dizzy for a moment.

‘What kind of challenge have I gotten myself into?’

Anyway, it was time to prepare seafood, where freshness is the key.

Although food doesn’t spoil in this painting world, it was uncertain if it would prevent an already dead fish from becoming fishy over time.

Gio firmly poked the forehead of the first fish with an awl and sent it to the Dragon Palace.

“Hmm.”

He confidently believed it was a technique as nimble as that of an assassin’s skill in martial arts novels.

“It pays to have experience in filleting fish.”

“Coor?”

“The taste of cutting and eating freshly caught fish on the boat is something special.”

Reminiscing about the fond past, Gio quickly moved his hands.

He cut off the fin area, scraped off the scales with a satisfying sound, and then inserted the knife to an appropriate depth to avoid bursting the innards, cutting all the way to the vent.

“There’s hardly any fishy smell even from the innards, so it must be really fresh. Now, after removing the innards like this, next…”

“Cooorrrrrrr.”

“Honey, if you only eat the innards, someday you’ll become as fishy as them.”

Where on earth did that habit of snatching only the innards while Dad was cooking come from?

‘…More than that, the way he dissolves objects selectively is always fascinating.’

Waterfowls enjoy decorating themselves by putting things inside their bodies.

Honey, who likes gems, was no different, but in the case of food rather than just for decoration, it quickly dissolved inside Honey’s body.

To be more precise, rather than dissolving, it seemed more correct to say that the nutrients that entered the body were converted into water. The swallowed food gradually became more and more transparent and rippled until it soon became invisible.

Whose son was born to be so interesting?

‘How fascinating.’

Even the way he ate was interesting, so it was clear that Honey was indeed Gio's son. He seemed like a kid for whom even the simple act of breathing was remarkably content.

“Hmm…”

“Coong?”

“I was just wondering when I’d finish preparing all of this.”

If it were fish already prepared from the market, he would have bought a lot without worry, but preparing live fish personally was a task that required quite a lot of effort.

“Let’s continue.”

He removed the innards and emptied the belly of the fish, in human terms—scraping out all the blood pooled inside the ribs. Gio diligently washed the inside of the belly clean and continued dissecting the fish.

And he discovered a surprising fact.

“…Was it really salmon?”

“Coor?”

“No, it’s true that it’s not salmon.”

But the flesh inside was very peculiar.

“The texture is like white fish, but the colour is orange like salmon or trout.”

When separated like sashimi, the visible flesh inside was soft and easily crushed with just a little pressure, like salmon.

However, the texture was round and chewy, divided into segments like white-fleshed fish such as flounder or sea bream.

Munch.

The taste was similar to salmon, yet given the refreshing watermelon flavour that felt cool, it also seemed like trout.

‘The texture is much more springy and chewy though…’

It felt very strange.

Even for a fantasy world, having something that overlapped with elements he knew in this way was, well, a bit oddly funny.

“Uh…”

“Coong?”

“…It tastes good, so it’s fine.”

Thanks to the soft flesh, the preparation was quick.

“I’ll slice some for sashimi, and fry some whole in oil after trimming them properly.”

“Cooorr?”

“It’s tastier than I expected. In the first place, there’s no way food fried in oil could taste bad. Honey, don't worry and just wait for the fried fish comfortably.”

“Coorrrrr…”

“It’s even more delicious if you add some spicy sauce.”

“Coongcoongcoong…!!!”

“Is there really a need to dislike it that strongly? There are plenty of fish left, so don’t you want to make at least one spicy fried fish for your dad, son?”

After finishing all the cooking, Gio half-fainted.

“Cooorrr.”

“It was a record-breaking day.”

The conclusion was that 33 large fish were too much.

The stressful and repetitive labour tires Gio out.

1. it's a parody of 'oh my god' (신이시여).
2. counter for animals, I put pieces here hopefully that's alright.