Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Art (1)
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Late at night.
I climbed up to the rooftop of the dormitory. I unfolded the easel and folding chair I'd prepared in advance.
I sat quietly, gazing at the night view of the Aerial Garden. A chunk of the moon hung right in front of me, and the clouds on the horizon reflected the moonlight like a mirror.
It was scenery more than sufficient for an assignment.
"...How is it?"
Suddenly, a voice drifted in from behind me.
A person had appeared out of nowhere, without a sound. Had they flown here from the sky?
"It's the Aerial Garden that Libra prides itself on."
He said that as he approached my side. His gray hair swayed in the wind.
"This view is perfect for an assignment, isn't it?"
Bellingham Kanta.
I replied sullenly.
"Sure seems like it."
"Here."
Suddenly, Bellingham held out a box.
"What's this?"
"A mana core. I don't know why a senior like you wants one of these. Is alchemy or enchanting your future aspiration or something?"
He'd brought it already, just three hours after I'd mentioned it.
I opened the box lid. The mana core was wrapped in luxurious velvet.
"There's a certificate of authenticity included too."
"Ah, got it."
Mana cores have origins and grades. Ghost cores are the most despised, beast cores are average, and those naturally formed from plants, minerals—especially gems—are considered the highest quality.
[Origin: Plant]
[Grade: A]
Jade's gift was an A-grade mana core of plant origin.
It was a bit small, but this would still fetch 70,000 to 80,000 ren. As expected of Jade—generous to a fault.
"Wow. Awesome. Please thank him for me."
Honestly, I felt no gratitude toward Libra. Yet these words flowed out effortlessly. Guess I'm getting used to it.
A good sign.
"More than that, impressive. Earning the favor of a direct Libra descendant so easily."
Bellingham placed his hand on the railing.
"But without the skills to back it up, it won't last."
A warning, or perhaps advice. If trash like Esher or Kain had said it, I'd have ignored them, but Bellingham was an overseer.
Among a knight's many ranks, the highest—said to be reachable only by monsters. The minimum qualification to become an overseer was active second-rank knight status. Most graduates from the Mana University Knight Faculty became upper knights, then took ranking exams.
Most graduates received eighth-rank certification, while elite knights from prestigious schools started at sixth-rank or higher on average.
Yet Bellingham had passed the overseer qualification exam right after graduating from Edshilla University.
To put it in perspective, it was like passing the bar exam before even graduating college and becoming chief prosecutor the moment you did.
"Well, my abilities probably don't measure up to yours. Still, I've got confidence in mine."
Bellingham smiled silently.
"Good. Suppose you do have the talent to enter the Aerial Garden. Then you'd have to pick your line among the direct descendants."
He seemed to be probing. Was he acknowledging me? It felt good, but annoying too.
He asked casually.
"Jade, right?"
I managed my expression carefully.
Jade was rotten to the core, but I couldn't let that show.
"...No."
"Then who?"
I picked up my palette with one hand. As I mixed paints on it, I answered.
"Zia."
"Zia... Zia..."
Bellingham repeated it with a hint of puzzlement.
"You mean the youngest miss, Zia?"
"Yes."
"Hm... Why?"
"You know my caliber."
"Hmph."
His reaction was lukewarm. Even Bellingham didn't yet know what claws Zia was hiding.
That meant she hid herself well.
"Don't want to get caught up in the succession struggle?"
Contrary to Bellingham's guess, far in the future, Libra's master wouldn't be Jedric, Jade, or Jahanah.
Zia.
Her alone.
"Yeah. I figure that's about my level."
Clinging to the loser and working like mad to make them win was harder than attaching to the winner and playing the loyal retainer.
That was the size of my vessel.
"..."
Bellingham fell silent. He seemed a bit disappointed, but I didn't care.
I picked up my brush. I mixed paints suited to the night sky. I applied oil to the canvas. I captured the scenery on it.
"The more I watch, the more it seems like a talent the art school would covet."
"It's a hobby. No use coveting it."
"Shame."
Scritch-scratch. Bellingham, who had been watching the canvas, asked briefly again.
"The College Board. How's it going? Think you can get into a national university?"
I replied while painting the moon.
"It's a done deal."
Pfft. Bellingham laughed as if amused.
"I like the confidence."
At the same time, in Jade's office.
"...Hm."
He was staring at his own portrait hanging on one wall.
The deep, intense colors seemed to transplant light itself, while the black rose in the background was shaded as if shadows had been sliced off with a blade and sanded smooth. The vivid light and dark clashed on the canvas, glowing fiercely.
The brushwork evoking emotion recalled fragments of some master, infused with hot, unique respect for Jade himself.
"Excellent."
Extremely satisfying.
Jade placed this masterpiece in the most luxurious frame and hung it in his office, opposite his desk.
"...Hm."
Yet, somehow, it felt slightly unsatisfactory.
Not the painting itself, but its position.
Fine when standing to admire it, but off when seated.
He stood, picked up the frame. He moved it a bit to the right. Being an artifact-grade frame, no nails were needed.
"Hm..."
Jade stepped back to look. He shifted it stealthily left and right. He viewed it close up and from afar.
Slightly unnatural.
Jade picked up the painting again and placed it behind the office entrance.
"Hm."
He stroked his chin contemplatively.
The light was decent, satisfying to view from the office chair, but it didn't catch the eye well.
Such a fine painting couldn't be hidden. Guests or secretaries should see it the moment they entered.
Jade moved the frame again. This time behind the desk.
"Hm..."
And so, he spent his precious time—honestly, he wasn't that busy, but still, three valuable hours—on interior decorating.
The next day, Tuesday morning.
I returned to Endex without being late. Thanks to Libra sending me back personally.
My condition was decent too. The knight's driving was so perfect I'd slept the whole way.
[Latynel]
Entering the Latynel classroom, Elise and Rae caught my eye first. They sat together but in different poses. Elise was reading a script, while Rae eyed her with the world's most aggrieved expression.
"...Ah, Sion!"
Rae spotted me and shot to her feet.
"Elise keeps not showing me the script!"
Elise furrowed her brow at Rae's pointing.
"You've already got your parts."
"Nooo~ I want to read the next script too!"
"Your behavior's too flighty. You'd just show it around to everyone."
"What?! That's not true!"
A pretty agreeable reason, honestly.
I sat at my seat without a word.
"Sion! Writer! Tell her! I'm on the theater team too, why can't I— Oops."
Professor Beache arrived just then. Rae hurriedly sat back down.
"Good to see you all~"
Beache looked at me.
"I heard the script's finished. Mind if I take a look?"
I glanced at Elise. She pulled an antique-looking leather-bound book from her bag. The script for Bard.
"...Why won't you give it to me?"
As Rae glared enviously, Elise handed it to Professor Beache, who smiled brightly.
"Yes. I'll read it during break. Now, shall we start class? Turn to page 77 of Chapter 5."
And so the lecture began.
"This passage is from an ancient Latynel newspaper. Even back then, there was press, and the words used in media differed from everyday speech..."
She lectured on "Latynel Usage in Formal Settings" in her usual gentle tone.
I fought sleep as usual, pretending not to doze off.
"...Oh my. Time flew by."
10:30 a.m.
Ninety minutes since class started.
"Twenty-minute break."
Professor Beache left with the script but returned before break ended.
"This script... Sion really wrote it?"
Her excited face was flushed, a rare sight.
....
After Latynel class, I startled in the hallway. A crowd had gathered.
"Ah, there he is. That's Sion."
Theater team member and college student Miller pointed me out. A dozen pairs of eyes turned my way.
"Hi~"
"That's the writer?"
"...Uh, yeah."
As I awkwardly scanned them, Elise approached from behind.
"They're staff. All pros. I screened them."
"Nice."
Now I noticed their outfits screamed staff—laptops, mics, sound gear strewn on the floor.
"Yeah. Do your best."
"What?"
I tried to pass by, but Elise grabbed me.
"What's with the irresponsibility?"
"Elise is irresponsibly not giving me the script."
Rae jumped in at that moment. Elise ignored her.
"You wrote the script, so you should direct too."
"Oh, right."
Almost forgot. I pulled a notebook from my bag.
"What's this?"
"Storyboards."
Done in the Aerial Garden before bed. Pencil sketches depicting the timeline of every scene from the Bard musical I'd seen.
"Better than me directing."
"What can you do with storyboards..."
Elise opened the notebook. Her words cut off. Her eyes fixed on the pages. Rae peeked over her shoulder.
"...Wow. Sion draws so well."
As Rae admired it, Elise glanced around slyly then snapped it shut.
"Ugh, so unfair not to show me this either!"
Elise tucked the storyboard into her inner pocket.
"Well. Better than you directing, Mr. No-Tact. More importantly, got an outfit ready for festival greetings?"
"Why greet? I'm not an actor."
"Curtain call. Press will be there."
Elise eyed me up and down. I felt a slight sting.
"You only have your uniform, huh?"
A cheap shot with facts. Nothing decent besides the uniform. I did wash it daily, though.
"I'll buy one."
"Where?"
"East Gate over there. Sets around 30 ren."
"I mean for formal occasions. At least Bellor level or higher."
Bellor was mid-tier luxury at about 3,000 ren per outfit.
"You gonna have your ancestors pay? Huh? Skip the prayers and the money dries up?"
Of course, I had money. Plenty from dark web DP. Problem was laundering it. Edshilla's tax agency wasn't a joke.
"Haa..."
Elise sighed and pulled out a long wallet. A crisp card slid out.
"Here."
—Haha... Sure?
—Well... Prints are fine, right? Let me see.
Miller looked troubled as he refused.
"What are you doing? Take it."
Elise urged, card extended. I asked cautiously.
"...Expensive one?"
"Buy whatever you like."
She replied coolly, pocketed her wallet, and walked off briskly. Staff and college students followed.
"...What was that?"
I checked the card first.
[Edshilla Saerto Centurion Black]
[Elize Vanessa Petra Clarice]
Saerto Centurion Black. Unlimited limit black card. Annual fee around 10,000 ren, probably. Their world, for real.
I murmured quietly at Elise's retreating back.
"She said definitely to buy something expensive."