Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Waving the Revolutionary Panties (4)
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'Ah, it wasn't anything weird after all.'
But come on, anyone would freak out.
Just sending a single letter, and they dispatch the Knight Commander? Any normal person would panic.
Sure, it was probably meant as a sign of high regard, but for someone like me with a history of nearly being hauled off by the authorities, it was downright terrifying.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That said, I'm not a clothing designer—I'm an artist who draws pictures..."
Was it because I designed and distributed those bras this time that they came to me with this request?
The letter had stated that the nation planned to redesign the academy uniforms.
And they wanted to entrust the design to me.
'Well, it's not like they expect a perfect design. They'll probably take whatever designs I sketch out and implement them.'
It felt like a kind of collaboration.
They mentioned testing it first at one imperial academy, and if the feedback was good, rolling it out to all imperial academies.
I didn't need to worry about those details...
"The compensation includes funding, but I'm not exactly hurting for money anymore, so that's not a big deal. But they said they'd consider any policy suggestions I make...?"
They'd take my policy ideas into account?
This was probably because they mistook me for some great archmage—an elder with deep experience.
Still, since there was something I really wanted to request on that front, it felt like a pretty good deal.
'I should ask them to maintain the current no-censorship policy for artwork, just like now. And since there are hardly any commoner mages compared to swordsmen—at least from what I know—maybe request a bit more support for commoners in drawing and such. That should be enough.'
Of course, they noted they couldn't grant everything, so they'd treat it as requests.
That's why I'd thrown in everything I wanted to say.
I'd worded it carefully, mixing in gratitude like "Things are great as they are now, so please keep it that way," to avoid offending them.
"They told me to leave the reply at the exhibition hall."
Besides blocking future censorship risks—like I'd thought earlier—honestly, I also wanted to spread the cute school uniform culture I knew from Earth.
Wasn't the whole lolicon report I got back on Earth partly because of characters in uniforms showing skin?
As someone who personally loved seeing neat, uniform outfits—starting with school uniforms—gradually loosen up and turn sexier, it felt so unfair.
I'd even specified they were adults in the settings, but nope, "they look like young students" was enough to cause all that trouble.
So yeah, I had a real grudge against school uniforms.
And if the academy uniforms here were even cute, I might've enjoyed their designs too.
But after seeing Rozaria wear hers last time, nope—not even close.
The men's and women's were almost identical, blurring gender lines, and worst of all, they made everyone look ugly regardless.
Even the most hated Korean school uniforms were probably cuter than that.
"Damn, they're fast."
It'd only been a day since I sent my reply, and already I got word they'd consider it seriously.
The response felt a bit automated, which bugged me, but at least they weren't dismissing it outright. Guess I had to be satisfied with that.
And so, the imperial commission was a go.
'Now the key is deciding the base design for the uniforms. First thing that comes to mind is the sailor suit.'
It originated as naval attire, but in Korea and Japan, it's become a staple for school and academy uniforms, so it's familiar to me in that context.
That's why it popped into my head first when they mentioned academy uniforms.
And there's a logical reason for that choice too—I've got someone right here who's at the academy.
When Rozaria and the other female students wear theirs together, the best design to showcase that is hands-down the sailor suit.
Why? Because I freaking love sailor suits, and that's the only reason.
"Didn't I make a sailor suit design back for the Avatar series?"
I'd scrapped it here because character-specific casual outfits fit the work better than uniforms.
As a prototype, using it as-is would be iffy.
But I could refine it into a finished version using that as the base.
Even the prototype would beat the current academy uniforms by miles, in my opinion.
'Another issue: that setting was for an all-girls school, so I need a cool male uniform to match.'
True, it'd be dishonest to just slap together old designs for a commission.
Since I'd started, I wanted to deliver something proper and spark a boom in school uniform designs like the ones I knew.
Even just standardizing all imperial academies on sailor suits would be super satisfying.
Not that I need to see it in real life—comics and art with academy settings would get the sailor suit wave too.
Fun comics were starting to pop up here, and I was getting into fanning over them.
Finding fuel to amp up that fandom right now? Perfect.
Honestly, the current academy uniform culture here was just too frumpy for my taste.
Base decided, time to sketch.
Sure, it needed tweaks, but sketching and refining bit by bit was the way.
It's different spotting fixes visually versus just thinking about them.
That's why I doodle nonstop while storyboarding.
"Huh, this feels off."
Once I started sketching, the lines wouldn't come out right at all—I was baffled.
Hand stiff from a break in drawing?
Nah, didn't feel like that.
"Why's the line veering that way? Ugh, driving me nuts."
The lines kept shooting off in unintended directions, and even simple shading for sketches turned grotesque.
I couldn't figure out why my sketches just wouldn't complete properly.
"Am I sick or something?"
Maybe the recent stress?
Figured a break would help, so I stopped drawing.
It was fine otherwise, but whenever I tried to draw, my arm shook and went limp—weird feeling.
No clue why this was happening.
'Damn...'
Worried it might be health-related, I visited a temple for healing hymns.
Then a clinic for magic treatment.
Even slept deeply thinking I was just exhausted, then tried drawing again after full rest.
"Holy shit, this is maddening."
It was fine until recently—why did my fingers sabotage the drawings every time now?
And not just random deviations; they ruined the exact designs I wanted.
Even in sketches, erasing those lines would mess up the whole look...
'No, let's erase and finish it anyway.'
It's not meant to be perfect—it's a sketch.
Trace clean lines later, so prioritize getting plausible outlines first.
I kept erasing the weird parts and slowly built the picture.
"Finally done... Urk, blegh...!?"
As the sketch neared completion, the shaking worsened, headaches kicked in.
The moment I saw something close to my vision finished, nausea hit and my head spun.
What the fuck is this?
"Goddamn forced trauma arc bullshit. What a pain..."
Suspecting the worst, I shoved the drawing aside—and the headache eased, breathing normalized.
Even the intense arm tremors faded.
I'd sensed something off earlier, kinda knew the reason but ignored it.
Why hadn't I drawn sailor suits, which I used to love so much?
Why had I decided character casuals were better than my beloved sailor suits?
Was my subconscious blocking it, like I naturally shouldn't draw them?
"Ha, hahaha..."
I set the sailor suit sketch aside and practiced with something else—problems solved instantly.
No shaking, no mistakes, lines flowed perfectly.
No weird vibes looking at the finished sketch.
In short, only "school uniform"-looking drawings were the issue.
What happened back then wasn't just some bullshit—it still haunted me deeply.
In the worst way possible for an artist.
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