Chapter 24

"Hey, Togo. You didn't seriously decide on this one, did you?"

"Yeah."

I pointed to the person inside the iron bars, who looked like a statue, and said,

"I'm going with this one."

Fey, who had caught up with me, looked carefully at the living statue inside the iron bars... then at me... and then back at the statue... and said,

"...What's wrong with your taste?"

"I want to draw."

I conveyed my desire directly. And this is my hobby.

"No, no, no! If you're going to draw, there are better options! Cute ones, beautiful ones!"

"Yeah. I'm going with this one."

"Are you serious!? He's a man!?"

I'm fine. What are you talking about, Fey?

"Because, you're buying a slave, right!? It should be a woman! You should choose a woman!"

"...I'm not ready to draw a nude of a woman... yeah."

"Wait! Are you planning to draw a nude of a man!?! Are you serious!?"

Hmm... yeah. I feel like I can learn a lot from drawing this person. It's like a specimen of muscle structure.

It's not that I want to draw nudes, but I want to draw these muscles from many angles. I want to see them from different angles and draw them many times.

Mostly, it's a statue. Statues are like the standard motif for pencil sketches.

And right in front of me is a living statue. I have to draw it!

"...Do you, by any chance, like men...?"

"No, I don't."

I don't. But I've always wanted a statue.

Then I started explaining the statue to Fey.

Statues are replicas of excellent sculptures. They are a motif that every sketcher must draw at least once. I can't visualize a statue in my head, so I can't create one from imagination alone.

And... I've always admired drawing statues.

I've always admired drawing statues. I envied the art club members when I saw them drawing statues.

When I visited the art club's exhibition during a cultural festival, there were a few statue sketches.

I wanted to try it too. But statues are expensive. Too expensive for a high school student's lunch money. I was already struggling to buy oil painting canvases, watercolor paper, paints, and pencils, so I couldn't afford a statue.

...So, I want to draw a statue.

If there's a living statue, I want to buy it.

I want to draw this person.

As I explained enthusiastically, Fey's face became indescribable. I think he was thinking, "This guy is crazy," but also, "If he wants it that much, I can't stop him." That's the kind of face he had.

...Then Fey groaned, groaned, and approached the iron bars.

"Alright... Hey, you there! Can you do housework!?"

Then he started talking to the living statue on the other side of the iron bars.

...The living statue moved.

Slowly, its head turned, and its eyes looked at us.

Amazing. When the body moves, the muscles change shape. The skin stretches and contracts, and the impression changes depending on the angle! Amazing! I want to draw!

"Are you planning to buy me?"

"Seems like it! So, can you take care of this guy!?! This guy is so detached from the world, he forgets to eat and sleep, and he seems to float away! Your job is to take care of his meals and remind him to do his daily chores!"

...This is a terrible introduction. I do forget to eat and sleep sometimes, but I'm not detached from the world, and I don't float away. What does "float away" even mean? Do I look like that? ...Hmm.

"Are you serious? The only thing I can do is fight. ...Look at that tag."

The living statue said this and then pointed to the tag attached to the iron bars with his chin.

"...Ugh."

Then Fey groaned as he looked at the tag. ...What does it say?

"As you can see. I've killed people. That's why I'm here."

...Ah, maybe it's the charges...?

It seems this statue has killed people before. I see. That's tough.

"Hey, Togo. Maybe we should pass on this one... for now?"

"No. I'm definitely going with this one."

Hate the sin, not the sinner.

"No, are you forgetting your original purpose? To replace the magic stone in the seal and get some help with daily life, right? Anyone can replace the magic stone, but you came to find a slave who can do housework! ...Hey! Slave! Can you do anything other than fight!?! Come on, say you can! If you say you can, I can convince Togo!"

"Choose another slave if you want housework. I have confidence in my strength and stamina, but don't expect anything else. You can see that, right?"

"Yeah. I can see that. It's great. Nice to meet you."

I can see it. The more I look, the more it looks like a statue. That's right.

Besides, if I'm going to use him as a model, he needs stamina. A living statue with stamina... Yeah. It fits the criteria perfectly.

"No, no, no! Togo! Come to your senses! Choose someone else! Come on!"

Fey says this, but I want the statue.

"Besides, Togo, what about your daily life? How are you going to manage it?"

Life. Life...

...After thinking for a bit, I approached the iron bars.

The living statue on the other side of the iron bars looked a bit puzzled... but I knew what I was going to say.

"...I'll do my best to keep you healthy."

The statue looked extremely puzzled. Ah, when it has an expression, it doesn't look like a statue anymore. But, this is this...

"...I know I shouldn't say this, but are you sure you want me?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not a good choice. I'm not a good choice, but... Togo won't budge, so there's nothing I can do... already..."

So, I decided to buy the living statue. I'm very satisfied.

I did it. I got a living statue.

Amazing. The more I look, the more it looks like a statue. Deeply carved, I guess. The face, the well-built body, and the atmosphere. He doesn't talk much and doesn't move much. That makes him even more statue-like. Amazing.

What should I do? I'm looking forward to it. This person will live in my house and pose as a model.

Ah, maybe it's better if we don't live together. In that case, I should build another house for him.

Then, I need to clean him up. Since he's a criminal slave, he hasn't been well-maintained... basically, he hasn't had haircuts or baths. Since I'm going to use him as a model, I need to take care of that.

So, I should build a bath. A water bath for a living statue seems a bit disrespectful. I want him to take a proper bath, warm up his body, and improve his blood circulation.

I'll take care of him, not the other way around. Yeah.

"...Togo. You, you... no, I won't say anything. It's my best friend's choice. I shouldn't interfere...!"

Yeah. I'm glad Fey is the kind of person he is.

...By the way, the cost of the living statue is being covered by the Redgard family. I tried to decline, but they said, "Then we'll build you a cottage in town," so I decided to accept it.

"Hey, Togo. Want to buy another slave? A proper one who can take care of you. This one is a criminal slave, so he's much cheaper than the budget. You could hire another one if you want."

"No, it's fine. There wasn't anyone else I wanted to draw."

"...Well, I was looking for a slave to take care of you, not a model... Ah, never mind."

Yeah. That's the case.

So, I got a living statue. I got Fey's approval, so it's all good. Yay.

"Well... There's no point in arguing here. Let's go home for now."

"Yeah."

It's almost sunset. It seems I'll be staying at the Redgard family's house tonight. Thank you for your hospitality.

First, I was laughed at by Fey's older brother and father.

I went out to hire a slave to help with daily life and came back with a living statue. It seems they found it quite amusing. Yeah, if they find it amusing, that's fine.

"Hehe... So, Togo. You're this kind of person, huh?"

"Let's get this slave's appearance in order. Let's start with a bath."

So, we decided to give the slave a bath at the Redgard family's mansion.

During this time, I waited in the Redgard family's garden.

When I offered to take the statue to the bath, the maids said, "We can't let Togo-sama do that," and gently kicked me out, so I ended up waiting in the garden.

Why the garden? Because I could see the flowers from the window. When I said I wanted to see them, Fey kindly allowed it. So, we're in the garden now.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Our gardener is a good guy."

Fey answered with a smile. Right. This beautiful garden is made by someone.

The garden was a colorful display of flowers I didn't know. Probably, these flowers don't exist in my world. There are some similar ones, but they're a bit different. Yeah. I want to draw this garden someday.

...While I was looking at the garden, Fey spoke up.

"Hey, Togo. About that slave..."

"Right. This slave is a criminal slave, so he has a collar."

"Yeah... I was thinking of taking it off because it's a bit in the way."

I remember the collar. It looks like it's made of iron, a bit wide. Because of it, the neck area is a bit hard to see. I want to take it off.

"Listen to me! ...You see, that collar is a magical item. As long as he wears it, he can't attack his owner or anyone the owner doesn't want to be attacked, and he can't move more than a certain distance from his owner."

Ah, it has that function.

Wow, amazing. Just wearing the collar means "he can't attack the owner or anyone the owner doesn't want to be attacked." This world is really a different world. ...No, maybe in my world, if we stuck electrodes in the brain, we could do something similar...

"So, it won't be a big problem, but you should be careful. ...Got it? Don't forget. This slave's criminal record is 'murder,' okay?"

"Yeah."

Right. That might be... a bit scary.

...But, looking at the living statue being processed, he seems very calm... and if he can't attack me, there shouldn't be a problem. Probably.

"Also! Take care of your daily life! If the slave doesn't do it, you have to do it yourself!"

"Yeah."

That's also a challenge.

For daily life, mainly meals, I need to prepare for two people from now on. I need to try hard. Mainly, I need to remember to eat.

"Togo-sama, it's done."

Then, the maids brought the living statue.

...Yeah. Amazing.

"He's clean now."

He took a bath and had his hair and beard trimmed. His long, unkempt hair is now neatly trimmed. I asked them to keep his beard trimmed, so he really looks like the statue of Hercules. Or, the statue of Laocoön in the art textbook I borrowed from my teacher.

Hmm, which one? Hercules? Laocoön? The well-defined muscles are closer to the Laocoön statue. The face looks much younger than the Laocoön statue. Maybe it looks like a young Hercules statue. His hair isn't curly, so it's a bit different from both. But, yeah, it doesn't matter.

...Then, he was cleaned up, and I could finally see his colors clearly in the bright light.

His hair is steel gray. His skin is slightly tanned, and his eyes are a beautiful yellow. Yellow, or golden... Yeah. In winter, when the sun rises late, and the morning sun comes from the side. At that time, the clouds, power lines, and roads all turn this color. Yeah. His eyes are the color of the morning sun.

I wonder. Maybe it's because his eyes are light. It makes him even more statue-like. You see, statues are all white, so there's no difference in color between the eyes, skin, and hair. And the living statue in front of me... the hair is dark, and the eyes are a bit lighter... there's not much contrast.

For example, my hair and eyes are black, and my skin... I don't go out much, so it's not tanned. So, the difference between my eyes, hair, and skin is clear. But there's no such difference in the person in front of me.

Amazing. It's like a foreign or otherworldly atmosphere. I thought the same when I first met Fey. There are people with such beautiful colors.

I looked at the living statue for a while. Then, the living statue looked a bit awkward. Maybe I was staring too much. Sorry.

"...Master. What is your name?"

Then, the living statue asked. His voice was low, like the sound of heavy stones rubbing against each other. It's pretty cool.

"Name? I'm Togo. What's yours?"

"None."

"None-san?"

"...I don't have a name. You can call me whatever you like."

Hmm... a bit confused, I turned to Fey. Fey looked a bit surprised. Ah, I thought this might be normal in this world, but it doesn't seem to be.

"Hey, what do you mean you don't have a name?"

"I abandoned it."

Can a name be abandoned?

"Well, given that you've killed people, you must have a story. Whatever."

Ah, it's fine. If Fey says it's fine, it's probably fine.

"So, Togo. Give him a name. 'None' is not good."

"Yeah. Statue."

"Something else."

Ah, okay.

...So, the name of the living statue was decided.

His name is Laocles. Of course, it's taken from the statue.

"Nice to meet you, Laocles."

Laocles didn't say anything, just looked at me and sighed. Yeah, it's fine.

"Anyway, I'll need you to pose as a model today."

"...What do you mean?"

Laocles looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Staying still must be tough, so I'll try to draw quickly. But I want to take breaks and draw different poses. For now, just sit on that sofa..."

"Hey, master."

I was busy preparing my drawing materials. Drawing paper and pencils. The pencils are the kind with the lead extended for sketching. Since I came to this world, I haven't been scolded for sharpening my pencils this way. Yeah. I'm happy about these little things.

"It's fine. I won't stay up all night. I'll stop after about three drawings."

"What are you talking about? What do you plan to do?"

I was a bit surprised... but seeing Laocles sitting on the sofa, I felt happy.

"I want to draw your picture. I want to draw you."