Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Volume 4 - The Elf Dreaming of an Affair with an Orc Feels Frustrated Again Today (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "W-What is this?"
"Hold on, Lia! That painting is..."
The one silver lining in all this mess was that it wasn't a piece I'd drawn myself.
If it had been an original manuscript of mine, hiding the fact that I was "Siu" would've been a real struggle. So, in that sense, it was a relief.
The problem, though, was that the painting she'd found was ridiculously erotic, regardless.
She alternated her gaze between me and the painting, her face flushed beet red as she shook her head furiously.
She tried her best to appreciate the artwork seriously at first, but then she started glancing back and forth between my crotch and the painting in the weirdest way.
Ah, damn, I can tell exactly what she's comparing it to, and it's making me panic.
"I-I just bought it at an exhibition because I loved the painting so much!"
"The painting is just so, so... No, what even is this...?"
Truth be told, when she first laid eyes on it, I'd hoped she'd see it as just a pretty picture and move on without finding it lewd...
But Professor Rondo's masterpiece White Light had power in its hyper-detailed massive orc manhood and the delicate elf's belly crushed beneath it.
Even Rozaria, who used to brush off drawings of naked men without batting an eye, was reacting like this.
Honestly, it wasn't weird that I'd lost control looking at it, right?
"Y-Yeah... It's definitely a pretty painting. The, uh, male anatomy is so detailed it threw me off. If it'd been female anatomy, I probably wouldn't have minded as much."
"It's Professor Rondo's latest work. I saw it and thought it was so masterfully done that I grabbed a copy right away."
"This was Professor Rondo's new piece!?"
She jumped in shock and started scrutinizing the painting again with renewed vigor.
But when she couldn't find any resemblance to the professor's previous works, she started freaking out in genuine amazement.
She muttered something incomprehensible like, "Is this the power of a fully realized foundation from our Basic Magic professor?"
"I'm calming down now. It gets easier to look at after a few times."
"That's a relief..."
"B-But, Kali...?"
"Huh?"
"The painting's fine now, but my eyes keep drifting over to you...?"
"D-Don't look!"
I mean, right in front of me, this beautiful girl was blushing while staring at an erotic painting.
It'd be weirder if my dick didn't react to that.
What should I say here to play it off naturally?
"M-Maybe it's because it's been so long since you last saw me...?"
You're right that it's because of you, but not because it's been a while—it's your embarrassed look that's turning me on.
But fuck, I can't say that, so I averted my eyes quietly. Then she suddenly switched to beaming-smile mode, pressed right up against me, and hugged me tight.
Whoa, crazy, now my erection's gonna poke right into her...!
"So you do see me as a woman, after all?"
"O-Of course...!"
"I'm embarrassed, but more than that, I'm just so happy it hit me all at once."
Hit you with what?
I'm the one about to burst with cum and struggling to hold back.
Since it's all my fault, can you forgive me already?
No, why is she tormenting me like this the second she shows up for break? Didn't you promise not to tease me?
"S-Sorry, but... I'm at my limit. Can we stop here?"
"Huh? Oh, y-yeah... Sorry, I guess I got carried away because it's been so long."
"No, it's not your fault. I'm just about to lose it."
"...Lose it?"
"Like the orc in that painting."
"......"
Hearing that, she gave me a look like, "That might actually be kinda hot?" and started closing in on me again.
But then she must've pictured the scene, because her face turned crimson as her body bumped into my raging hard-on. She shivered violently and bolted away.
With my lower half that stimulated, it started demanding to pounce on her right then and there. I suppressed the urge as best I could and said,
"I said I'd take whatever you dish out as your lover, but let's take it slow. We got ahead of ourselves just now."
"Huh? Y-Yeah..."
It's not that I didn't want to do it with Rozaria, but right now was a tricky time with a lot on my mind.
Once we crossed that line, who knew how far we'd go? I wanted to watch the situation a bit longer.
Still, I'd promised to accept lover-like things, so maybe I should comfort her a little?
I forced down my erection and hugged Rozaria with pure intentions.
I gently stroked her hair and whispered that I loved her.
She melted into my arms, barely managing to whisper back that she loved me too.
"Kali, what do I do?"
"Hm?"
"I'm so happy on day one that I might die. How am I supposed to go back to the academy after break?"
"You don't wanna go back?"
"Yeah..."
"No helping it. But we can spend winter break happily together too."
"No, I don't wanna."
"One semester at the academy and you come back a total spoiled brat."
Thinking about it, she'd always had a bit of that vibe, hadn't she?
Anyway, cuddling with Rozaria felt pretty great, and she seemed to feel the same. We spent a good while wrapped up in each other's warmth.
"Hmm, you seem a little different, Kali."
"Me?"
"You're still subtly shy, but your eyes are all sparkly or something? Yeah, good vibe. It's starting to feel like the Kali I fell for as a kid."
I'm pretty shy too, but I didn't wanna hear it from you.
No idea what she meant by my eyes changing. Maybe because I'd quit the sword and found satisfaction in drawing?
Definitely, my life satisfaction was skyrocketing compared to before.
With my work getting such rave reviews, it'd be weirder if my confidence hadn't shot up.
"So, you don't like the change?"
"No? I told you, it's like the version of you I crushed on. It brings back memories, and it's great."
"Good, then."
We giggled like that for a while until she suddenly remembered something and asked if she could see my drawings.
I dodged by saying everything now was scrapped and ruined, and that I was practicing hard.
But eventually, I'd have to show her something...
"Then can you at least show me a quick sketch?"
The issue was, to keep from getting outed as Siu, I'd either have to draw badly on purpose or change my style.
But I'd stuck to my style so long that switching felt impossible...
And deliberately drawing poorly wasn't my thing.
Even speed sketches always carried my signature style, right?
'Wait, I've never publicly done SD art before.'
SD—short for Super Deformed—was depicting characters in 2-to-3-head proportions.
My usual fan art was Light Deformed (LD), with body ratios close to real life.
LD and SD felt totally different, especially if you wanted that cute vibe; the styles diverged a lot.
'I don't use SD often personally, but I did for quick stuff sometimes.'
Casually, I sketched in my usual SD style, then realized belatedly that this world had no super-deformed art that pushed cuteness to extremes.
Could I pass this off as Kali's work instead of Siu's?
"Kali?"
"Y-Yeah. Something like this."
I pondered a bit, but with no clear answer, I decided to just show her the sketch.
Putting my SD skills out as Siu's might hurt the name anyway.
I could let Kali take credit for that level of work...
"Ah! You were thinking the same as me, Kali?"
"Huh...?"
What the hell was she on about now?
I stared at her in utter confusion, and she pulled out something like a notebook, flipping through her own drawings.
The moment I saw them, I couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuckle.
'Thinking I had to show mine first to get her to share was pretty dumb.'
Rozaria's drawings were already high-level SD.
It'd be a lie to say they were flawless, but SD wasn't my strongest suit either, so the gap wasn't huge.
Even if I'd sketched lightly, feeling like she'd already caught up to me was weird.
Magic and art talent must be related— is this what it takes to be called a genius?
"Why?"
"Nah, just pretty. Guess we think alike. Even on stuff like this."
"Yeah! Oh, this is from early on. Later I added shading and color too."
...And seeing her "later" upgraded version hit me with the raw talent gap.
She was already surpassing me in SD output, wasn't she?
She nailed how to turn the awkwardness from heavy simplification into pure cuteness—that subtle sense.
The only slight flaw was her coloring skills still being a bit raw.
Of course, the shading-only sketches felt overwhelmingly prettier, but the colored ones weren't bad either.
"Kali?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry. The drawings are so pretty I can't stop looking."
And beyond the skill, it was the charming, smile-inducing cuteness of the style that stood out big time.
Isn't that the most important thing in SD?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇