Pygmalion.
The name of a figure from Greco-Roman mythology, a man who felt hatred and disillusionment toward real women and sculpted his ideal woman himself. He even married that statue and had a child with it.
No matter how much help he had from a goddess, the basics of it were that he had sexual relations with a body made of stone.
I decided not to bother thinking about how that was possible. Aphrodite probably made the statue into the exact same form as a human.
There were also stories that she had made it not into a human, but a living, moving automaton, but to be honest, that was not particularly important.
What mattered was that he, a figure from myth, had reappeared in the world in the form of a Mystery.
“The first place he was discovered was inside a public restroom in Gimpo.”
Kim Iseo spoke as they walked.
“The police went to the scene after receiving a report about strange hammering sounds, but most of them were killed on the spot. After that, the case was transferred to the Bureau. Since he was discovered relatively recently, I remember it in considerable detail.”
“……”
“The cause of death for the officers was statuary. To put it simply, the moment Pygmalion swung his hammer down, they became statues, shattered, and died. Naturally, there was no blood or organs.”
“He sounds like a rather violent Mystery.”
“That isn’t the case. Pygmalion has a gentle temperament.”
She turned the corner to the left. Containment Team employees passing by greeted her, and Kim Iseo returned the greetings in moderation as she continued.
“But he is merciless toward women. The original Pygmalion also despised real women, after all. It isn’t strange.”
“……Then if one is a man, there’s no problem?”
“That’s right. All of the police officers who died at the scene were women. To begin with, Pygmalion himself was in the women’s restroom.”
“And the reason he appeared?”
“We don’t know. Like all other Mysteries, he simply appeared there all of a sudden.”
Step.
Kim Iseo stopped walking and stood in front of a containment room. Ian checked the nameplate beside the containment room door from behind her.
[Pygmalion]
A nameplate written in a clear gray hue. Seeing the faint sprinkling of stone dust, it seemed to have been decorated with carving to suit the anomalous entity’s nature. This was probably another of the methods used to contain him.
Through the window beside the door, a faint smell of water drifted out. When he turned his head slightly to check, he saw streams of water flowing along the edges of the room.
It was not a large amount, but it was enough of a current to create a certain atmosphere. Kim Iseo took out one of the masks piled beside the containment room and put it on as she spoke cautiously.
“Pygmalion is one of the most human-friendly anomalous entities in the Bureau. However, as you know, all Mysteries are ultimately harmful to humans. He is no exception.”
In the center of the room stood a lone ivory statue in the shape of a man. The statue held a stone hammer and a nail, and was in the middle of newly assembling someone’s face on top of a display stand. Stone dust fell to the floor in a patter, and the flowing water carried it away into the drain.
“The maximum amount of time one can converse with Pygmalion is twenty minutes. If that limit is exceeded, Pygmalion gains inspiration and attempts to ‘sculpt’ the other party, regardless of sex. Since he is an entity that cannot be physically destroyed, one must leave quickly in order to survive.”
“……”
“Also, you must not insult or critique his statues. There is no need to go out of your way to praise them.”
“Is it safe during those twenty minutes of conversation?”
“If you are male, it is safe. If you’re lucky, he may even make a statue for you himself.”
“……”
Make a statue for him.
It sounded extremely unpleasant, but if it was enough for the Bureau to officially call it lucky, then it at least wouldn’t be harmful. Taking one and trying to dismantle or recreate it with magic wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Ian put on the mask Kim Iseo handed him and looked back at Pygmalion, who was absorbed in his sculpting. The entity still seemed not to have recognized the two of them, slowly swinging his hammer.
Each time the faint clang rang out, a weak scent of blood mingled with the fragrance of water and drifted through the air.
The smell came from the fact that part of the lump being sculpted had originally been human. Some portion of the corpses or bodies of death-row inmates procured through the Cartel was probably over there.
It was not particularly surprising. He had long known that among the items the Cartel dealt in were processed human flesh, organs, and even whole corpses. There was no reason the Bureau, which had established a cooperative relationship of sorts with them, could not use the Cartel’s services.
Thanks to that, he was not especially curious about how they had brought in the corpses. Instead, his curiosity was stirred by the prospect of a direct conversation with an anomalous entity.
‘Now that I think about it, I’ve never had a long conversation with a Mystery before.’
The Eight-Foot Ghost? He had ripped out her arms on the spot.
The monkey? Unfortunately, Ian possessed intelligence more evolved than a monkey’s.
Vampires? Would monsters stronger than those ghouls even have a language system?
He had exchanged a few words with the employees at the theme park, but all of it had been questions and answers that fit the space. The hospital had been the same.
The only time he had spoken at any length was with the librarian in the library, but at the time, his condition had effectively been no different from a kindergartener’s. He had certainly not been a Mystery in a sound state. The captain of the cruise, too, had been closer to a human fused with a Mystery than a Mystery itself.
So if he had to be precise, this was his first chance to have a proper conversation with a Mystery. There was no need to refuse.
“If it’s safe for twenty minutes, I’d like to talk with the anomalous entity. Is that possible?”
Ian asked, tilting the grimoire slightly. Kim Iseo nodded.
“It is possible. However, I cannot enter with you. I am a woman, after all.”
“That doesn’t matter. I can protect my own body well enough.”
“Understood. Then I will wait outside. If a problem occurs, please press this firmly.”
Slide.
She held out an object to Ian that looked like a security alarm. It was exactly the sort of alarm minors commonly carried around.
“……”
Ian accepted the alarm despite the doubtful look on his face. Even if its appearance was a little much, there was no reason to refuse an extra safety measure.
“Do I just press it to use it?”
“Yes. Once used, the speed of all organic and inorganic matter approaching you will become extremely slow.”
“……What, is it something like a School Zone anomalous entity?”
“You’ve pinpointed it exactly. The principle is similar.”
It was so absurd that only a hollow laugh escaped him. Ian let out a deep sigh, put the alarm in his pocket, and pressed the entry button for the containment room.
Whirr.
The door slid open without any resistance. At the same time, the smells of stone, blood, and water rushed out. Ian stopped for a moment, then held the grimoire so it would be easy to open and slowly approached Pygmalion. Before he had gone more than a few steps, the door closed automatically.
“……”
He looked back at the window. But all he could see was a smooth wall. It seemed measures had been taken so that the outside could not be seen from within.
It was a fairly reasonable precaution. Ian exhaled slowly, opened the double doors of the containment room, and stepped fully into Pygmalion’s workshop.
With a crunching sound, the stone dust rolling over the floor was crushed under his shoes. At the same time, Pygmalion opened his mouth.
“Sit in a chair and wait a moment. I only need to finish this piece.”
The voice of the moving statue was thicker than expected, and also clear. The only difference from an ordinary person was that it sounded slightly halting. Everything else was natural enough that one would believe it belonged to a human.
“……”
Ian did not bother going against his words. He stood leaning against the wall and waited for him. Pygmalion’s head turned toward him for an instant, then tilted back down toward the sculpture.
A short while later, having completed the finishing touches on the carving, he placed the hammer on the table and slowly rose. As he moved, the statue’s body that formed his flesh crumbled and regenerated again.
“So.”
After finishing his tidying, Pygmalion looked at Ian and spoke.
“What brings a great mage here?”
Creak, creak.
Forcing legs that did not move well into motion, he slowly stepped closer to Ian. Ian tapped the cover of the grimoire in his hand with his finger and answered.
“I only wanted to have a brief conversation.”
“Ah, conversation. Good. Any man who pursues feminine beauty is welcome. What are your tastes? Do you prefer a pretty face? Or an ugly one? What about the figure? Breasts and buttocks should be large, of course. And there should absolutely be no hair.”
A topic far more vulgar than expected came out. Ian’s face crumpled for an instant, but he glanced at the statues displayed nearby and answered roughly.
“……I don’t really care about the body. As long as the face is pretty.”
“Ah, quite right. In the end, ultimate beauty lies in the face. That’s why sculptors like me carve faces with such care.”
He laughed cheerfully and pointed with a finger at a statue placed in the corner.
“Do you see that? It is a statue modeled after Lady Aphrodite’s appearance, and among all the statues I have carved, that one is the most beautiful. That is why, every night, I breathe life into it and make it move like the real Lady Aphrodite.”
Breathing life into a statue. Considering the story of the original Pygmalion, it was not particularly strange.
But while the statue he had made in the actual myth gained life through the power of a goddess, the anomalous entity Pygmalion could breathe life into statues with his own power.
It was a far more fraudulent ability than expected. It seemed the Bureau had not kept him here for nothing. Ian let out a low hum and pushed himself away from the wall.
“Since when have you existed?”
“Who knows. I’m not sure. I’m not the sort who lives thinking about such things.”
Pygmalion chuckled as he spun a nail between his fingers. Each time his joints moved, stone dust fell in a patter.
“More importantly…… hmm. Looking at you, inspiration wells up within me. You are an excellent model, the likes of which I haven’t seen in a very long time.”
“……What?”
“As I said, I value the face above all else in this world. I am not saying other things are unimportant. I mean the face is the most important.”
“……”
“In that regard, your face is quite excellent. However…… there is no need to provoke a mage unnecessarily. I will refrain from sculpting your face.”
Pygmalion licked his lips regretfully and set down the nail.
“Still, since you have given me inspiration, I shall repay you in one way. Tell me the model you want, and I will carve it in that exact form. If you wish, I will even put life into it.”
It was an unexpected question. But there was no reason to refuse.
Even before entering, he had already been told that Pygmalion might make him a statue he wanted. Taking it away and putting it through all sorts of tests with recreation magic would be more than worth researching.
“Good. Then I’ll ask for one.”
Ian smiled faintly and tapped the grimoire with his hand.
“A little girl with black hair and red eyes. Is that possible?”
[Woong!?]
The Deep Sea Record vibrated briefly, having realized whom his description was depicting.