Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: My Lewd Drawings Aren't Crimes, They're Masterpieces? (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Far from it, I was the one feeling a bit flustered.
If he had yelled and forced me, I could've shouted back that I wouldn't do it and fought him on it.
But when he apologized and made a request instead, it actually made it harder to refuse.
No matter how deep the rift in our emotions had grown, he was still my father in the end.
'That doesn't mean I can give up painting and switch to swordsmanship.'
I could learn magic naturally while painting.
But swordsmanship was a completely different field, so it was hard to just grant my father's wish outright.
I had no choice but to persuade him somehow.
Still, the initial impulse to just run away from home and figure things out had mostly faded.
Now, I wanted to convince my parents as best I could and resolve this properly.
Come to think of it, there was no way I truly hated my parents deep down.
Wasn't it because I cared so much that he'd poured his greed into practicing the sword like that?
"Father, to be honest, I can't really understand your thinking. With my lacking skills, the family honor won't..."
"That's not it. I was just worried about you being compared to the rest of the family—it's fine if your skills are lacking."
"......"
He said it would be hard to tolerate the family swordsmanship lineage itself coming to an end.
If Father were younger, maybe he could wait for a grandchild to carry it on.
But in this country, where the average marriage age was in the thirties and kids came in the forties, it was unrealistic to expect that, which was why he was so urgent.
It would take about forty more years before he could personally teach the sword to a grandchild, and he probably didn't have the confidence to stay active as a swordsman until he was over a hundred.
'Now that I think about it, nobles do have late marriage ages.'
Even though the gender ratio differed between sword and magic practitioners, with so many women entering academies to pursue their dreams in this world.
Most people focused on honing their swordsmanship or magic rather than romance.
That's why I knew the marriage rate spiked only after they'd accomplished what they wanted and settled down.
Ah, right—that was why the Church of Goddess Mia, the empire's main religion, disliked nobles.
Their doctrine held pregnancy and the birth of life as sacred blessings from the gods, encouraging childbirth.
But nobles married late, naturally having fewer kids, creating an atmosphere completely opposite to their teachings.
"Then, should I give you a grandchild early?"
"...What?"
"Ahem, forget I said that."
Of course, if there was a good person, it wouldn't be a bad solution, but that would just be passing the buck to my kid.
It wouldn't be right to dodge the issue that way when I was the one insisting against it now.
The only other option was to have a ton of kids and pray one liked the sword?
But that felt downright impossible.
"I get what you're worried about, Father. But I don't want to pick up a sword anymore."
"Kali..."
"That said, we could make it conditional."
If I achieved grades worthy of a Sword Master evaluation through painting alone, he'd acknowledge this path.
If I couldn't produce such results by graduation at age twenty-four, I'd take up the sword again.
I begged him, saying this was the first thing I'd ever truly wanted to do, despite living my life focused only on the sword until now.
Of course, my paintings were already recognized by Elder Sharon, so that condition was basically met.
It felt a bit like deceiving my parents, which made me guilty.
But since this was about my future in painting, I wanted to push forward with a sure-win condition.
"A Sword Master evaluation or higher... In magic, where there's no clear benchmark like an Aura Blade, it's even harder to get solid recognition like that."
"It doesn't matter. If you'd prefer a defined standard, then let's make the condition drawing something Elder Sharon would acknowledge."
"...You seem confident."
"It's not about confidence—it's that I want to try this badly enough to set a condition like that."
Father let out a deep sigh and nodded, looking half-resigned.
To him, it probably seemed like an insanely difficult condition, so he figured he'd yield this time since I wanted it so much.
"But don't even dream of receiving family support."
"Pardon?"
"We can't undo what's already been bought, but from now on, your living expenses will be cut to the minimum."
He wrapped it up on a somewhat humanitarian note for him, throwing in a petty spite along the way...
Shit, and now material support gets cut off here?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In a World Where Lewd Comics Are Legal
"Whew, finally I can get some painting done."
My head had been a total mess from my parents' unexpected visit, but now that I was alone, my mind was clearing up.
Still, if I use up all the canvas and materials I just bought, I'll be broke—what then?
Maybe I should just go with a regular auction this time?
With material support suddenly cut off, and Mother deciding not to help either if I rile up Father too much and risk everything falling apart.
The only one I could ask for help was Rozaria, but she'd only show up once summer break started.
If I'd known, I should've stocked up on several months' worth like last time...
"But how am I supposed to resist these tools?"
I'd bought tools of every type, and with weight limits on unlimited storage items, it was tricky buying everything.
In my rush to try magic tools ASAP, I'd only bought as much as I could normally carry.
I'd figured I'd adapted enough that the second piece would come quicker than the last, and I'd buy more when I returned to the capital for submission anyway.
Who could've predicted support would get cut off like this?
"Earn money, huh... Oh yeah, they said printing tech is pretty advanced here too."
So artists keep originals and sell copies at decent prices.
Selling print illustrations like that sounds solid.
That thought sparked another idea that lit up my brain.
If printing and selling individual paintings is possible, bundling them into books should be too.
Sure, magic books were black-and-white, but they often included illustrations of magic circles for mass distribution.
With printing that advanced, why not comics too?
'Of course, comics as a concept aren't fully established here.'
Early wordless proto-comics existed, but they were just that—primitive.
Compared to a single illustration packed with emotion, comics lacked detail and relied on text for storytelling, so they'd probably flop here.
But the artist "Siu" currently held massive prestige, right?
If such an artist followed up with comics to pioneer a new genre, it might actually gain recognition.
"Yeah, I thought White Flower on Water would flop too, but it became a mega-hit beyond success. No reason not to try comics."
If I fail here, it's not like I'd lose money anyway.
Worried? Exhibit the comic first, gauge reactions, then publish as a book.
This feels like a killer idea.
"Whoa, and fountain pens are a whole new world."
No wonder fountain pens weren't developed—makes sense now.
This black ink pen powered by mana exceeded my wildest expectations.
Why waste time and money on fountain pens with a cheat tool like this?
The incredible tactile feedback and smooth pressure transfer were fantastic from the start.
It even adjusted line thickness from ultra-fine to medium.
And the ink, generated by mana on the fly, never smudged.
"Oh... There are so many great things."
Brushes especially had size and shape micro-adjustments.
And functions like cleaning paint off in one second.
The brush that let you paint over wet oil paints blew my mind once I tested it.
"Shit, no wonder quick-dry aids aren't that popular."
Drying time wasn't a big issue for oil painting in this world to begin with.
They weren't avoiding the aids—they just used them as tools to enhance expression.
Why had I suffered so much before?
"And I bought the copier on a whim, but it was a godsend move."
Black-and-white only, but perfect for text-heavy books.
Cheap and widespread, ideal for stable book distribution.
Color copiers for art or magic circles existed, but pricey ink and costs made them unthinkable.
"Bought it to recycle line art, but for comics, it'll be insanely useful."
I sincerely praised my past self and let out a sigh of relief.