Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Experienced One
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“What the fu-, uh, what weird thing is that supposed to be...?”
“I'll say it for you! What the hell are you talking about, Aren?”
“No, I'm serious. I just want to commission some illustrations.”
“Ah... so that's what you meant...”
“Right? It's not weird at all.”
“...So why?”
“Because you're really good at drawing?”
“Good at what?”
“Uh... it just feels that way at first glance?”
“That's it? Why?”
“Does the reason matter? If a picture catches my eye right away, isn't that enough?”
“Is it?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm...”
“...”
“....”
“......”
Did I convince her?
“I'm not really sure?”
“Teacher! Teacher!”
“Yes?”
“The conversation isn't over yet, Teacher...”
Failure.
What I wanted was a simple 'Yes or No' answer.
If it was yes, we'd dive right into the details. If no, I'd give up cleanly...
Well, I'd probably cling to her pant leg and give up pathetically instead.
But I never expected a barrage of 'Why? Why? Why?'
What about my proposal doesn't make sense...?
No, to be more precise, it's not that my proposal doesn't make sense...
It's that she can't comprehend the idea that her own drawings are being highly praised.
“I really don't get it...”
“Get what?”
“Oh, before that, could you grab me that potion...? It hurts...”
“Ah.”
Forgot about that for a second.
“Phew... that's better...”
“Glad to hear it!”
“Whew.”
“Anyway, I really don't get it.”
“I'm all ears.”
“The thing I can't understand most: You didn't react much to the drawings hanging outside, so why suggest working together after seeing the ones stuffed in the drawer?”
“Because these felt way more appealing than the ones outside.”
“Hmm... that just raised another question...”
“What?”
“Are you a pervert?”
“No, why would I be?”
“What other reason could there be for finding that drawing appealing when you ignored all the others?”
I agree, but that's not the reason.
It's purely from a cool-headed business perspective. There's demand for this stuff.
“What kind of drawing is it, Aren? I wanna see too!”
Ranyori got curious too.
“No way!”
And got shut down immediately.
Ranyori wilted at the elf's cold rejection.
“Hiiing... sorry...”
“Uh... you don't need to apologize that much...”
“Sorry. Sorry for hurting you. Sorry for making you uncomfortable all the time...”
“No, no! Don't cry! It's not because you're a burden!”
“Then...?”
“...It's just a kinda lame drawing.”
“But you just said it was appealing...”
“Ah... um...”
“Got it... You don't have to show it if you don't want to!”
“No... uh... Sigh... That drawing.”
“Yes!”
“It's a bit risqué.”
“Yes...?”
“It's got some spice to it. That's why I hid it.”
“Yes?!”
Ranyori jumped in shock.
“Arreeen!”
She yelled at me.
With a face full of utter shock. And a bit flushed.
Wow, the elf was like this earlier, and now the beastkin too.
Yeah, the elf was right.
The drawings in the drawer have a totally different vibe from the ones outside.
The outside ones are mostly realistic pieces.
The drawer ones? Illustrations.
All—every single one—featuring female characters.
What the elf meant by 'risqué'...
They're not outright nude or anything. Everything's covered where it counts.
The issue is, uh, a lot of them emphasize certain body parts.
Breasts and hips are standard fare...
But thighs... armpits... feet... abs... Those got suspiciously heavy focus.
That's why the elf freaked out when I saw them.
It's also why I proposed collaborating with her.
The art style's solid. So refined it's hard to believe it came from this world... and the characters are all gorgeous.
Among all the illustrations I've seen so far, these scream subculture the most.
Finally, seeing these made me dead sure we'd click.
A bit of a cultured(?) type. That's the vibe.
Setting aside whether readers would bite, this is the one who can satisfy my tastes.
I can request the compositions and scenarios I want.
Asking other artists would be a pain.
What I have in mind are illustrations designed on Earth to empty players' wallets.
And don't readers prefer this over realistic character portraits anyway?
The folks reading my novel would rather see cute stylization than hyper-realism.
Yeah, exactly.
...So that's how I pitched the collaboration to the elf.
For now, time to calm down the thoroughly shocked Ranyori first.
“It's not as bad as you think.”
“What do you think I'm thinking?!”
“At least no one's naked.”
“Hmmm...!”
Ranyori still looked skeptical, but whatever. It's the truth.
“Huh?”
And someone else reacted.
The elf. With pure bewilderment.
“...Is there a problem?”
“They're not naked?”
“Correct.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“How high are your standards?”
“??”
No, aside from the mild spice, they're not naked.
Not even swimsuits—just sleeveless tops and shorts at most?
...Maybe it's that. Elves live buried in nature, so they're a bit conservative, right?
But I thought living among humans longer had loosened that up.
My standards aren't sky-high; hers are just low.
Thinking that, I went to browse more drawings.
“Ah, can I look a bit longer? They're really good. I'll close it if you don't want me to.”
“...Just look. It's my fault for forgetting to throw them out and telling you to check the drawer. Sigh...”
“Got it.”
Of course I got permission. I'd already been rude.
Hmm... all solid. The more I see, the more I think I gotta convince her somehow— Whoa whoa whoa?
“Oh shit.”
“Ah, so you finally saw it.”
Flipping through to the ones at the bottom, the skin tones exploded.
What... that pose... No, can't even describe it. Bold as hell.
Really just barely covering the essentials. ...Right?
I was terrified of what might be on the very bottom one.
Anyway, she showed them, so it shouldn't be that(?), but I lacked the guts to check. Just closed it.
The elf wasn't exaggerating at all.
“So, you saw them all?”
“Uh... more or less?”
“...Right, what were we talking about?”
“Whether Aren is a pervert!”
“No, it was about whether you'd work with me, Ranyori.”
“You still haven't changed your mind...?”
“Nope. It's even stronger now.”
“...What kind of work?”
“I'm writing a novel right now.”
“Erotica?”
“All-ages.”
“Hmm.”
“Anyway, I'm asking you to do illustrations.”
“...If you really like my drawings that much, I don't have a reason to refuse.”
“Right.”
“Feels off, though? I was just out for some sun.”
“We were too.”
“Really? Might be different for us? Elves' mental health tanks hard without regular sunlight...”
“Ah.”
“Aah.”
Elves are just that frail.
“Didn't know that.”
“Our ancestors probably didn't either centuries ago. Never thought descendants would wheeze from missing a bit of sun.”
“...What about cloudy days?”
“That's why rainy season wrecks our bodies and moods.”
“Oof.”
“That's why elves have bad tempers.”
“...I think you're fine.”
“Nah, that's just lip service. It's because we feel crappy, so everything annoys us.”
“So why bring that up...?”
“Our bitchiness peaks in rainy season, but we're too sick to vent it. Other races probably think that's when elves are most docile?”
“...”
If an elf ever shows up in my novel, I should make her happy...
“Back to the point: I was out for sun, then my ankle snaps. Looking back, it was bad luck.”
“Sorry—”
“No more sorries. Heard enough.”
“Guh...!”
“...Anyway, I end up inviting strangers—a human and a beastkin—home, they rummage all my hidden drawings, and now a collab offer?”
“Don't opportunities come by chance?”
“You think this is that big an opportunity for me?”
“Uh... I'll pay generously.”
“That's nice, but...”
“And I'll request tons of drawer-style stuff. Sound fun?”
“Ooh, yeah, that hooks me.”
“What are you gonna draw...?”
Ranyori shuddered quietly.
“...Alright, let's try it.”
“Smart choice.”
“Contracts later... complicated stuff.”
“I don't know much either, so I'll get help from the publisher.”
“Sure. But one condition.”
“What?”
“...Take care of me until my ankle heals.”
“Obviously.”
“I'll help too, Ranyori!”
“Cool. Oh, should we introduce ourselves properly?”
“Yeah.”
We still didn't know her name. Just calling her 'elf'.
“You two are... Ranyori and Aren, right? Beastkin is Ranyori, human is Aren.”
“Yes!”
“That's right.”
I never gave my name.
Ranyori leaked it.
“I'm Eliana Arweniel Rosiern.”
“Uh...”
“Long, huh? Don't worry, people shorten it.”
“Eliana or Elli okay?”
“No? It's Arwen.”
“? Why chop that part?”
“Got a problem?”
“Nope...”
Anyway, collab with Arwen is on.
We wrapped up for today and left her to rest.
Have to tend to her for a bit as a condition, but...
This is fine. Right?
“Hey, question.”
“Yeah?”
“With a body that fragile, won't healing take forever?”
“...”
Ah, fuck, I got played.