And Jio had no thoughts whatsoever.

"The mudskipper fruit dried out too much again."

"Coo."

"This is all because there are too many suns."

How could there be three suns under one sky?

"This isn't right."

He was wailing in front of the mudskipper fruit that had turned into something like gold.

"We're too warm."

Giovanni, who held the divinity of the Sun. The teddy bear with the previous Sun God inside it. Honey, the light-attribute evolved waterfowl who had received an abundance of love from the two of them.

With three suns, large and small, living in the cabin, it took no time at all for the fruit there to dry out.

"I have to overhaul this divinity at once."

"Coo, coo, coo...!!"

"Coo...!!"

Leaving behind the waterfowl and teddy bear restraining the pig who got angry when he could not eat tasty things, Dana peacefully washed her face like a cat and sprawled out. The house, hot with sunlight, was no different from heavenly paradise to her.

Jio collapsed facedown in the yard.

"Grandmother, I am sorry. This potato has now become an idiot who cannot even dry a single fruit properly."

"Coo."

"I am a talking potato. All I know how to do is talk. I think this is my identity."

"Coo...?"

The previous Sun God was confused, unable to understand why this sun of a son was calling himself a potato. His identity was closer to a sun than a potato, and closer to a Root than that.

Having composed his sorrow, Jio swept up the hardened mudskipper fruits like an old sack-carrying bogeyman and said,

"I am well aware that I do not resemble a potato."

It was something he admitted whenever he thought of it, but he did not seem especially harmless to that degree either. A real potato could not turn people into paint.

"I resemble the Silkie in the yard a little more than a potato. Being all black and all..."

"Trillll."

"I suppose you like it because it is a fellow bird, Honey. Next time, I should try drawing a feather cloak."

If one had to compare him, who had enjoyed dressing in all black since his Seo Jio days, to something, it would definitely have to be something completely black.

"Maybe I covet shiny things even more these days thanks to Mr. Arjio."

Or perhaps the soot in the furnace, or a crow the size of a house. Even to Jio, it seemed difficult to find any connection between himself and potatoes. Even so, the reason he could not let go of potatoes lay in his childhood.

"This is all because of the elders."

To the residents of his mountain village in Gangwon Province, Jio had been nothing more than a highly functional potato that could talk well.

It was not as though Seo Jio lacked self-awareness. When you taught high school students overflowing with energy to the point of exploding, it was impossible not to develop it. On top of that, his impression was not exactly harmless.

"It is a little funny, though."

People treated Seo Jio as an exceptionally special great man even when he did nothing but breathe.

It seemed they thought he had done something when he had not done anything, and no one, including Seo Jio himself, knew exactly what that "something" was. He remembered leaving it alone because, though he had no idea why they did it, watching them was funny.

"I think everyone thinks of me as too difficult."

"Coo..."

"That is why I go on about potatoes, if only in my heart."

It was so that he could remind himself that he was nothing more than one ordinary human.

"Such is the rebellious psychology of humans."

If you had not found me difficult in such an interesting way, I never would have had to go on about potatoes.

Seo Jio knew very well just how unspecial a human he was.

He could do a lot of miscellaneous things, his grades had been reasonably good, and he had a reasonable number of friends, but that did not mean he was as perfect in every field as the people around him imagined.

"I am such an ordinary person, but everyone treated me as such a special being."

On top of that, his face was even exceptionally handsome, so the people around him tended to perceive him as an intimidating existence. Jio knew that was a ridiculous misconception, but other people did not.

"Only the elders in our mountain village saw through my fleeting essence."

That was why he could only find the nickname potato all the more welcome.

"It feels stable."

In other words, it was the home of his heart.

"It is a little funny that everyone gets flustered just from looking at my expression, but..."

"Coo??"

"Then I get scared that I might really start mistaking myself for something special."

"Coo, coo."

"No, I am not special."

Seo Jio knew his place.

"I am ordinary."

He was only an ordinary person with bizarre social skills.

"..."

"..."

Seeing the teddy bear's wavering gaze, Jio nodded. He felt as if he knew what it was imagining and fearing. But it was a misunderstanding.

"... Even I do not go outside and loudly proclaim, 'I am a potato.'"

"Coo."

"Not only do I not proclaim it, I simply do not say it. I know it will sound insane."

What kind of embarrassing thing would that be?

Jio was rather fond of the other identity of potato, given to him by the peaceful elders of the mountain village, but that was that and this was this. Even Jio, the introverted human whose house was the loveliest thing in the world, still had to function in society.

"I only act this ill-mannered inside the house. Outside, I always live with proper manners and polite conduct. You do not need to worry that your son will act immaturely in society too."

Just as there were many grandchildren in South Korea treated like little rascals, but those grandchildren did not go around society claiming that they were little rascals. Even elementary school students did not do that, and now that he was a black-clad twenty-nine-year-old man, he had no intention of doing it.

"Coo, coo?"

"Why am I an old man?"

"Trill."

"Being thirty the day after tomorrow means that."

It felt somewhat ambiguous to call himself a young man.

"Since the first digit is still a two, it does feel ambiguous to call myself an old man..."

Since he was a portrait for the time being, he was not adding to his age when the year changed, but even so, due to the various special circumstances surrounding him, Jio felt he was indeed an old man.

"My current self is also thirty-two, so I think I am an old man."

"Coo...?"

"Or not? If it is twenty-four plus thirty-two plus twenty-nine, am I just elderly...?"

In any case, his conscience hurt to call himself purely a young man.

"Anyway, what should I do with all these mudskipper fruits?"

What else could he do?

"I suppose I should make blood dumplings."

"I should go draw a little more lulupu."

At the sound of lulupu, Dana, who had been sprawling out, rose to her feet. Perhaps it was because she was affected by the clear day, but unlike her appearance from the night before, which had resembled the Milky Way, she now had a clear blue glow.

Shimmering pale blue, Dana lightly bumped her head against Jio's calf.

"Mrrf-woof..."

"Daddy is going to use this batch to make medicine."

"Mraaak."

"Ah, you just want to come along."

"Mraow."

"Then let us do that."

Dana the giant cat often served as a reliable escort.

Meanwhile, there were other places thrown into commotion by the existence of "Hunter Seo Jio."

"I had no idea an anti-cat had such an ability."

"Ha ha, it really is remarkable. To let people see souls..."

"It is not a certain matter, so I think it will require review."

They were none other than the Sun Cult and the Moon Cult.

Basically, religions that served traditional gods followed providence, and naturally had a great deal of interest in the birth and death of life. And before the Church of Death, these two were the religions most closely associated with funerals.

"By the way, they say the monster called an anti-cat is not easily tamed."

At the words of one elder priest, a priest younger than him chimed in.

"Yes, when I looked into it, they say it is a difficult monster that even trainers cannot handle."

"Is that the result from all cases overseas as well, not just domestic trainers?"

"Yes. They say this is the first successful taming of an anti-cat worldwide."

"This is something people overseas may covet as well..."

"It seems there is already a commotion among trainers."

A trainer's authority and honor depended on how many monsters, and how diverse and difficult the kinds of monsters, they could tame. If it was true that he had tamed an anti-cat, then the Hunter named Seo Jio would gain a fairly high-quality reputation.

"I heard anti-cats do not give humans any room to approach them in the first place."

"I do not know that field well, so I ask, but can they not be captured by force?"

"They say if you offend its temper, it burns everything around it."

"If it were a Hunter with fire resistance..."

"They say it is fire that burns the soul, so no matter how strong their resistance is, even Hunters would have difficulty."

"Goodness, fire that burns the soul."

The priests, who could only be sensitive to the subject of souls, stirred uneasily.

"I would like to glimpse that power once. Would it be possible?"

"I think it will not be easy, since Collector has been keeping that talent tightly hidden."

"He seems to be a Hunter receiving all of the Collector's affection... If we approach clumsily, we will get badly burned."

"But does the authenticity of that ability not need to be confirmed?"

"What authority would we have to determine that authenticity?"

"Ahem, I apologize. My feelings got ahead of me."

Command authority over a Hunter always belonged to the guild he was affiliated with, and interfering with that meant being willing to engage in a battle of nerves with the guild in question. The Sun Cult had no desire to engage in such a power struggle with one of South Korea's top three guilds.

"I understand how you feel. If an anti-cat truly has the power to interfere with souls..."

"It could be a great help when the priests of the cult are mobilized for funeral masses."

"It will also greatly help the Sun Cult's image. The cult's influence has shrunk a great deal recently because of the dungeon-opening incident that happened not long ago."

"The prospective priests are still anxious as well."

"At times like this, should we not show the cult's strengths and honor so that prospective priests and believers alike can put their minds at ease?"

Another elder priest looked troubled.

"But the one who can handle an anti-cat is not a priest, but a trainer, is it not? Even if the anti-cat's ability is real, the cult would not be able to train that child..."

"Could we not receive some help with that part from the Hunter named Seo Jio? From what I hear, during the 'country of the deep sea' incident, he also displayed healing power close to the sun, so he likely does not have bad feelings toward our cult. Even if he was caught up in such an incident, faith is..."

"No, everyone. Should we not be worrying that the problem is not whether his feelings are bad, but that we could make even good feelings turn bad? From what I hear, he disliked attention so much that he had lived as an unofficial Hunter until now."

"Seeing as he has openly revealed himself now, he must intend to live as a publicly recognized Hunter. That said, I agree that there is no need to earn Hunter Seo Jio's dislike. If that ability is real, we must approach him as politely as possible."

"More than anything, I..."

A middle-aged priest continued.

"I believe his ability is real."

"What made you think so?"

"Is he not a Hunter of the Collector, if nothing else?"

"Ah, indeed..."

"He is not someone who would show favoritism frivolously."

Collector Bi Sabeol's tastes were widely known, and if there was one most basic condition, it was to be "competent and diligent." There was no way a man with eyes that discerning would cherish a Hunter inflated with empty hype to such a degree.

"Well, if Guild Master Bi Sabeol has acknowledged him..."

"Then we can only trust it."

"If not the Collector's eye, what would we trust?"

Was he not a human whose collections were his purpose in life?

"But we still do not know his exact ability."

"Trying to swallow up another household's Hunter's ability whole without effort would be the mindset of a wicked fellow."

"Th-that is true, but..."

Though he was not a Guild Master, digging through an innocent Hunter's personal details was an extremely rude thing to do. Information on what exactly his ability was, what skills he used, and what his rank was, for example.

"Now that things have turned out this way, what is meant to become known will gradually become known."

The elder priests knew how to read the flow.

"The fact that he showed his face, and a guild as significant as Collector did not control it... means they are ready to show the Hunter named Seo Jio to the world."

"Is a dungeon not the best stage on which to debut a Hunter? It is not as though this is a world with no dungeons to raid, and it is not as though there are no guilds curious about his abilities..."

"If there is no suitable place, we could provide one from our side. Could we not request cooperation on raiding the dungeon previously discovered in Gangwon Province?"

"In any case, something like the authenticity of Hunter Seo's abilities will soon be known. Ha ha, if possible, I am truly curious about the ability of that child called an anti-cat."

The priests who said so soon looked at one young priest.

"..."

Priest Kang Seodam, who had once gone on a dungeon raid with "Hunter Seo Jio," secretly clenched his teeth.

'O Sun.'

Please grant this priest the courage to endure the hardship given to him.