Chapter 80
Pygmalion.
A man from Greco-Roman mythology who felt disgust and revulsion toward real-world women and sculpted his own ideal woman. He even married the statue and had a child with her.
No matter how much help he got from a goddess, at the end of the day he was still having sex with a body that was basically nothing but a lump of stone.
I decided not to bother thinking about how that was possible. Aphrodite probably just made the statue human-shaped.
There were also stories that he had made it into a living automaton instead of a human, but honestly, that detail wasn’t very important.
What mattered was that he, the one from myth, had reappeared in the world as a Mystery.
“The first place it was discovered was inside a public restroom in Gimpo.”
Kim Yiseo said as she walked.
“We received a report of strange hammering sounds, so the police went to the scene. But most of them were killed there. After that, the case was handed over to the Bureau. Since this was found relatively recently, I remember it fairly clearly.”
“…….”
“The officers’ cause of death was being turned into statues. In other words, the moment Pygmalion swung the hammer, they were turned into statues and shattered to pieces. Naturally, there was no blood or organs.”
“Sounds like a fairly violent Mystery.”
“Not really. Pygmalion has a gentle personality.”
She turned left at the corner. Bureau containment team employees passing by greeted her, and Kim Yiseo returned the greeting as she continued speaking.
“But it shows no mercy to women. The original Pygmalion also despised real-world women. It isn’t strange.”
“...Then is another man fine?”
“Correct. All of the police officers who died at the scene were women. From the start, Pygmalion itself was in the women’s restroom.”
“And why did it appear?”
“I don’t know. Like other Mysteries, it simply appeared there all of a sudden.”
Step.
Kim Yiseo stopped walking and stood before a quarantine room. Ian checked the plaque mounted beside the door from behind her.
[Pygmalion]
A plaque written in bright gray. Judging by the fine stone dust falling from it, it seemed to have been decorated with carvings, in keeping with the aberration’s nature. This was probably also one of the methods used to contain it.
A faint watery scent drifted through the window beside the door. When he turned his head slightly to check, he saw streams of water flowing along the edge of the room.
It wasn’t a large amount, but enough to enjoy the ambiance. Kim Yiseo took a mask from the stack beside the quarantine room and put it on, then said cautiously,
“Pygmalion is one of the most human-friendly aberrations within the Bureau. However, as you know, all Mysteries are ultimately harmful to humans. It’s no different for it.”
In the center of the room stood an ivory statue in the shape of a man. The statue was holding a stone hammer and nails, busily reassembling someone’s face atop the display stand. Stone dust pattered down to the floor, and the flowing water carried it all toward the drain.
“The maximum time you can speak with Pygmalion is 20 minutes. If you go over that, Pygmalion will be inspired and try to ‘sculpt’ the person in front of it, regardless of sex. Since it’s an entity that cannot be physically destroyed, you’ll have to leave quickly if you want to survive.”
“…….”
“Also, you must not criticize or disparage his statues. There’s no need to praise them, either.”
“Are we safe for those 20 minutes of conversation?”
“If you’re a man, yes. If you’re lucky, he might even make a statue for you personally.”
“…….”
He’d make a statue for me.
It sounded extremely unsettling, but if the Bureau was calling it lucky, then it probably wasn’t harmful at the very least. Taking one and using magic to disassemble or recreate it wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Ian put on the mask handed to him by Kim Yiseo and looked back at Pygmalion, who was engrossed in sculpting. For now, he seemed to still be slowly swinging the hammer without noticing the two of them.
Each time a faint clang rang out, a slight scent of blood mingled with the fragrance of water.
It was the scent of something made from parts that had once been human. Some of the corpses or executed prisoners supplied through the cartel were probably there.
It was hardly surprising. Among the items the cartel dealt in, there had long been processed human flesh or organs, or even an entire corpse. There was no reason for the Bureau, which had built a sort of cooperative relationship with them, not to use the cartel’s services.
Thanks to that, he wasn’t particularly curious about how they had brought the bodies here. Instead, his curiosity was piqued by direct conversation with the aberration.
‘Thinking about it, I’ve never had a long conversation with a Mystery before.’
Eight-foot ghost? I’d rip its arms off on the spot.
Monkey? Unfortunately, Ian had a mind more evolved than a monkey’s.
Vampire? Do monsters stronger than that ghoul even have a language system?
He had chatted a little with the staff at the theme park, but it had all been little more than back-and-forth fitting the setting. The hospital was the same.
The only time he had managed a fairly long conversation with a librarian at the library, he had basically been no different from a kindergartener. He definitely wasn’t a normal Mystery. Even the cruise ship captain was closer to a human fused with a Mystery than to a Mystery itself.
So if he had to put it plainly, this was the first real chance he’d had to have a proper conversation with a Mystery. There was no reason to refuse.
“If I’m safe for 20 minutes, I’d like to talk to the aberration. Is that possible?”
Ian asked, tilting the grimoire. Kim Yiseo nodded.
“Yes. However, I won’t be able to go inside. I am a woman, after all.”
“Doesn’t really matter. I can protect myself just fine.”
“Understood. Then I’ll wait outside. If anything happens, press this firmly.”
Swish.
She held out an object shaped like a burglar alarm to Ian. It was the same kind of bell minors often carry.
“…….”
Ian wore a displeased expression, but he accepted the bell. It looked a little odd, but there was no need to refuse a safety device.
“Just press it to use it?”
“Yes. When used, the speed of all organic and inorganic matter approaching the magician will become extremely slow.”
“……what, like some kind of child-safety-zone aberration?”
“You nailed it exactly. It works on a similar principle.”
All he could do was let out a dumbfounded chuckle. Ian sighed deeply, put the bell in his pocket, and pressed the entrance button of the quarantine room.
Buzzz.
The door slid open to the side without any resistance. At the same time, the scent of stone, blood, and water wafted out. Ian paused for a moment, then held the grimoire so he could open it easily and slowly approached Pygmalion. After only a few steps, the door closed automatically.
“…….”
He looked back at the window. But all he could see was a smooth wall. It seemed they had taken measures to prevent anyone inside from seeing out.
It was a reasonably sensible precaution. Ian exhaled slowly, opened the quarantine room’s double doors, and stepped fully into Pygmalion’s workshop.
With a crunch, the stone dust rolling across the floor was pressed under his shoes. At the same moment, Pygmalion opened his mouth.
“Wait on a chair for a moment. I’m just finishing this piece.”
The voice of the moving statue was deeper than expected, and also clear. The only difference from a normal person was that it sounded slightly cut off. Otherwise, it was natural enough to pass for human.
“…….”
Ian didn’t bother to contradict him, and instead leaned casually against the wall to wait. Pygmalion’s head briefly turned toward him before tilting back to the sculpture.
A little while later, after finishing the final touches on the sculpture, he set the hammer down on the table and slowly straightened up. As he moved, the statue-body forming his flesh crumbled away and then regenerated.
“So.”
After tidying up, Pygmalion looked at Ian and spoke.
“What brings the esteemed magician to see me?”
Creak, creak.
He forcibly moved his poorly functioning legs and slowly walked closer to Ian. Ian tapped the cover of the grimoire in his hand with his fingers and answered.
“I just wanted to have a brief conversation.”
“Ah, a conversation. Nice. Any man who pursues the beauty of women is welcome here. What’s your preference? Do you like pretty faces? Or ugly ones? As for the body? Big breasts and a big ass are naturally best? And there has to be no hair, naturally.”
He had launched into a more vulgar topic of conversation than expected. Ian’s face twisted for a moment, but he glanced over the statues displayed nearby and answered vaguely.
“...The body doesn’t matter much. As long as the face is pretty.”
“Ah, that’s right. In the end, it’s the ultimate beautiful face. That’s why sculptors like me carefully carve the face.”
He laughed brightly and pointed a finger at a statue placed in the corner.
“See that? It’s a statue modeled after Lady Aphrodite’s appearance. Of all the statues I’ve carved, that one is the most beautiful. So every night I infuse it with life and make it move, just like the real Lady Aphrodite.”
To breathe life into a statue. Thinking about the original story of Pygmalion, it wasn’t that strange.
But in the actual myth, the statue he created gained life thanks to the goddess’s power, whereas the Pygmalion aberration could directly breathe life into statues with its own power.
It was a far more broken ability than expected. No wonder the Bureau had caught and kept him here for all this time. Ian let out a small sigh and pushed himself away from the wall.
“When did you come into existence?”
“Who knows. I’m not the sort of person who thinks about things like that.”
Pygmalion chuckled and twirled a nail between his fingers. Each time his joints moved, stone dust pattered down.
“More than that... Hmm. Just looking at you is making inspiration gush out of me. You’re a splendid model I haven’t seen in a very long time.”
“...What?”
“As I said, I put the greatest importance in this world on the face. I’m not saying other things don’t matter. I’m saying the face matters most.”
“…….”
“In that regard, your face is quite excellent. But... there’s no need to provoke a magician for no reason. I’ll refrain from sculpting your face.”
Pygmalion licked his lips as though disappointed and set down the nail.
“Still, you did give me inspiration, so I’ll repay you with one thing. Tell me the model you want, and I’ll carve it into exactly that form. If you want, I’ll even put life into it.”
It was an unexpected question. But there was no need to refuse.
Just before going in, he had heard that Pygmalion might make whatever statue he wanted. There was enough value in taking it and experimenting with recreation magic.
“Good. Then I’ll ask for one.”
Ian gave a small smile and tapped the grimoire with his hand.
“A small girl with black hair and red eyes. Is that possible?”
[Humm!?]
The Deep-Sea Chronicle began vibrating briefly as it realized who he was describing.