Chapter 49

"Fey! Fey! The mochi in the picture didn't turn into real mochi!"

"What!? What!? What are you talking about!?"

When I went to report to Fey, he was confused. Yeah, he's from another world and doesn't know about 'mochi.'

...So, I told him that, basically, "I didn't really think about it, but the picture didn't materialize."

Then Fey... he was really happy about it.

"Great! Finally! That's good, isn't it?"

"Is this really a good thing?"

"Basically, it means you can control your magic without trying too hard! That's a good thing, isn't it?"

...When he puts it that way, it's a bit embarrassing.

"Right. Togo, you're growing fast. I heard I didn't have any problems controlling my magic by the time I was three and a half. Oh, by the way, Fey was still leaking until he was four."

"Shut up! Even you leaked when we went to test our courage together!"

...So, is magic really treated like that? Like when a kid starts talking? Is that the kind of story?

"Hmm. I thought I just prepared a seal recently. This means we need to upgrade the seal again. If you keep growing at this rate, we should prepare the next one too."

When even my brother and father praised me, it was a bit embarrassing and awkward. But probably, I was happy.

"Right. Since you changed the seal, your control got a lot better, didn't it? Was the old seal really that bad? That doctor..."

"No, I don't think it's that. I think it's because I decided to become an artist. That's why I feel like my magic control has improved."

I don't think the seal has much to do with it.

...Maybe it's because my goal is clear, and I really want to work towards it, so I'm more focused on practicing.

"Right, just that made you better... No, having a goal is important. If you don't want to do something, your magic won't improve."

Fey said that with a smile... and then, as if he had just thought of something, he said:

"Then you should start thinking about your summoning beast soon!"

Fey leaned in, his eyes shining, and said:

"If you can control your magic without the seal, we'll get your summoning beast right away! We'll prepare your summoning beast!"

...Right. Summoning beast.

This is a bit... no, I'm really looking forward to it.

...While looking forward to the summoning beast, I poured all my excitement into the Redgard family portrait.

They are kind and energetic people. So, I wanted to make it an energetic painting.

I used watercolors, so it's light and transparent, cool and refreshing, like a clear, sunny day. I tried to express it that way.

The shadows are dark. The light is as white as the paper. The shadows are less blue, more like the Redgard family... meaning, more red, to compose the whole picture.

I suddenly thought of adding the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon seemed happy to be included in the portrait and looked like it was smiling.

...But, with all the characters being red, they don't stand out.

So, the background is a soft gradient from yellow to green, the color of the forest trees.

Red and green are opposite colors, so bringing in a gentle green against a red background makes the red stand out. But to avoid clashing with red, I mixed in some yellow to make it a gentle, blurry color.

The background is always the background, so it's blurry. The characters are clearly defined. In the end, I made the characters stand out and adjusted the colors...

...And the Redgard family portrait was completed.

"Look! I'm about 20% more handsome, right?"

"Yeah, I'm about 10% more handsome too."

"Haha. Then I'll just be the same as in real life."

"You're sneaky, Dad! Report based on your conscience!"

They were happily talking about the painting. By the way, I drew everyone as they are. But I tried to capture the best expressions they had, and put them in the painting.

...Looking at it again, I think I captured their good expressions. It's thanks to them being the models.

They are a close family, and you can tell at a glance. Watching them talk in front of the painting, I think they really are a close family. Yes. Watching them makes me feel happy and a bit envious.

"Alright! This is the first one! Togo's first commission!"

...Yeah. This is my first job.

I don't really feel like I've done a job, but maybe that's how it is. Hmm.

"The next commission... maybe after you get your summoning beast?"

"No, you don't have to think about that. I'll practice controlling my magic, and that's not related to the commission."

"Is that so? Then, let's start with the reward for this time. Hmm, what should it be..."

While waiting for the next commission, Fey started thinking about the reward.

"By the way, the reward is fine. I don't need money, and..."

But I don't really want the reward. I don't lack money, and since I'm being 'supported,' it feels a bit wrong to take money on top of that.

"No, Togo, that's not right! What do you think, Dad?"

"You're right. A commission comes with a reward. It's the same whether it's work for our family or others."

...Yeah, I understand. So I need to do a job that matches the reward... but I don't have much confidence yet.

"But Togo doesn't really need money... Hmm, let me think about the reward."

Seeing me like that, Fey's father said with a wry smile.

Then, his brother and Fey approached with excited looks.

"Then, Father. I have a good idea."

"Me too! I have a good idea too!"

...And so, the family meeting began. Yeah. They are really a close family.

"So, here's your reward."

When Fey came back from town and gave me the reward... it was books.

Two thick and heavy books. Two thinner books. What are these...?

"You can't read, right? So, open them and see."

Curious, I opened one of the thick books. It was... an encyclopedia. Of animals.

"Wow."

"Right? I thought you'd definitely need something like this!"

It's an encyclopedia of various animals, just like the one Carnelia showed me. There are some creatures not in Carnelia's encyclopedia, maybe new species. Similarly, there are some in Carnelia's that aren't in this one. Well, that's different for each book.

"And this is a mineral encyclopedia!"

When I opened the other one, there were many pictures of gems. This is amazing too.

"It also has some information about summoning beasts' preferences, which might be useful."

...But I can't read, so I'll have to ask Laocles to read it for me if I need to.

"And this is my idea."

Next, Fey's brother opened one of the thinner books.

...Even if I can't read, I can understand.

"Picture book?"

"Yeah, I thought it might be good for learning to read."

Ah... right.

If I can't read, I should learn to read!

That day, after leaving the Redgard family, I started studying in the forest.

"...The forest spirits made the flowers bloom... Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"The fruit trees are not lonely. ...Is that right?"

"It's correct. ...You learned to read pretty quickly."

"I just memorized it."

With Laocles as my teacher, I memorized the characters.

First, I listened to the picture book and memorized the content.

Then, I learned to associate the characters with the sounds. (Fortunately, the basic characters in this world are phonetic!)

Next, I tried reading the picture book myself, recalling the content, and Laocles checked if the characters and sounds matched. Then, I focused on matching the characters and sounds, regardless of the content.

...This way, I think I can read the basic characters.

But, as expected, this is another world... there are no 'dakuten' or 'handakuten' like in my world, and each character is different. Also, things like 'small tsu' are different characters... well, if you think about it, it's strange that Japanese uses 'tsu' to represent gemination.

"Hey, can you give me some problems? Just using the characters from this picture book, give me some words to read."

"Sure."

Then, Laocles gave me some problems. After thinking for a moment, he wrote some words on a piece of paper.

"Let's see, 'tori.' 'sora.' 'hoshi.'"

"Yeah."

"...'ikada.' 'hibana.' 'rappa.'"

"Correct."

"Let's see... 'togo!' 'fei!' ...'laocles!'"

"All correct. You seem to have no problems. That's impressive."

Good. I think I've got a handle on these characters. Well, it's just about memorizing the shapes and sounds, so it's not that difficult. For example, in English, you have to memorize the spelling, pronunciation, and meaning, so it's much easier than learning English words.

"Laocles. I need to learn to write too."

From now on, I might need to sign something, and Laocles might be involved. I need to learn quickly.

"Learn to write your own name before mine."

Hearing Laocles say this with a sigh... I suddenly thought:

"...By the way, should I change the way I call you?"

"What's this all of a sudden?"

What I thought was... well, he has a real name.

Interlia calls Laocles 'Ed.' When I'm around, she calls him 'you' or something like that, maybe to be considerate.

...Balkraed Oryens. That seems to be Laocles' real name.

So, I think I should call him by his real name.

"...About your name."

"Yeah."

Then, Laocles looked a bit exasperated.

"Then I'm 'Laocles.' You decided that, didn't you?"

"But you are Balkraed Oryens."

I called him that, emphasizing that I remembered it, and he made a slightly uncomfortable face.

"I've abandoned that name. So, I'm Laocles. It's not your concern."

...Hmm. Even if he says that, he is 'Balkraed Oryens,' and when Interlia calls him that, he doesn't seem to mind, and he looks nostalgic and happy...

"Um... then, a nickname. Let's make it a nickname."

So, I decided to compromise here.

"Balkraed Oryens. Your nickname is 'Laocles.' So, I'll call you this nickname with affection, respect, and admiration. Okay?"

"...I guess that's fine."

Yeah, let's do that.

He is 'Laocles' to me, but he doesn't have to be to others.

So, it's a nickname. If I decide that in my mind, I don't feel bad about it. Probably.

"...By the way, I understand the affection, but what respect and admiration are you talking about?"

"Physical beauty."

Laocles is Laocles because of Laocoön and Hercules, meaning 'honor and physical beauty.'

...Since it's a good opportunity, I wrote 'nikutai bi' on the paper.

"Hey. This is 'nekutai bi.'"

...Writing is still a bit difficult.

After that, I continued studying the characters.

But it was getting late, so we decided to stop.

"If we work hard tomorrow, we should be able to read and write. But there are also ideograms."

"Ideograms... Ah, characters that represent meanings. Yes, magic and contracts are often written in those characters."

Right. I need to work hard.

...But.

While studying the characters, I suddenly wondered about something.

"Hey, Laocles."

"What?"

"This might sound strange, but... can I really speak properly?"

I couldn't read characters.

But I've never had trouble with conversation.

...What does this mean?