Chapter 78

"......So, one painting of a night forest, one of a daytime forest, and two of angels. And one of a knight," said the person.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

Fey had brought the request, but it had suddenly increased. What should I do?

"Oh my, it has increased quite suddenly. I wonder what happened," said Fey.

"Well, a guest came to Saphire's place, saw the paintings in the entrance hall, and was quite intrigued. They said this style of painting is quite rare," I replied.

Come to think of it, watercolors are a bit rare. Hmm, I see.

"So, Saphire showed off the paintings and then introduced the Redgard family as the place to go if they wanted to commission an artist," said Fey.

"......So, all of a sudden, five paintings?"

"Yep. By the way, there were three guests. One person ordered two forest paintings and one angel. The others ordered one angel and one knight each."

Wow... I don't know what to do. I'm in a bind. I never expected this to happen.

"So, what are you going to do? For now, I've had them stay in the guest room of the Redgard family because of the number of people, but..."

Hmm... What should I do? What should I do?!

Since I couldn't just keep worrying, I moved to the Redgard family. I was in a hurry, so I was put on a red dragon and it was super express. Hmm, it's fast. Phoenixes fly pretty fast too, but dragons are definitely faster.

"......I'm getting nervous."

"Yeah, you seem to get nervous pretty easily."

Yeah, probably.

"Well, just try to relax, okay?"

Yeah... If only it were that easy.

Then, I sat next to Fey and Laocles in the Redgard family's reception room, and I nervously watched the guests sit across from us.

One was a portly uncle who was smiling at me. Another was a man a bit older than Saphire, who was looking at me with interest. And the last was an old lady who was looking at me happily.

......Being watched like this is really nerve-wracking.

"He's our artist, Togo Uesora. He's young, but he's very talented," Fey introduced me, and I bowed. Then the three guests also bowed.

"......But, he's only been taking commissions for a short time. I'm also worried if he can handle five paintings at once," Fey said, mentioning the thing I was most worried about. The guests nodded in agreement.

"......So, Togo, how about it? Can you handle five paintings?"

"Um, if I have enough time, I think I can manage."

Fortunately, all the themes of this request are ones I've painted before. I don't need to go catch an angel or buy a statue. Especially, painting a forest is like painting my own hand, so I'm relieved.

"Oh, really!? I ordered three, but is that okay? Ah, of course, it's not urgent. It would be fine if it's ready in about six months."

"Yes, I think I can manage that," I replied, and the old lady happily took my hand. Yeah. With six months, I have more than enough time. Even three weeks would be enough. This is a privilege of watercolor painting.

"We're about to have a baby. I wanted a painting of an angel like the one at Saphire's place for our home."

"No problem. I still have a model, so I can paint it."

This time, I'll start from where I finished catching the angel. I've also painted angels for Saphire's family's request, so I think I'm getting used to it.

When I answered, the man also took my hand and smiled.

"I'd like a painting of a knight to protect our home. You see, we're in business, so something too intimidating wouldn't be good, but your paintings are soft and warm. I thought a painting like that could be displayed without offending our customers."

"......I can't guarantee it will be a protector, but I think I can paint a knight like that. I still have a model for knights."

I have models for angels too, but also for knights. It's a good thing I have a forest with many models. A painting that can be a protector might be difficult, but I'll do my best.

This 'knight painting' might be the most challenging. After all, I've never painted a Laocles who can be a protector. ...Well, I've painted Laocles many, many, many times, so I think I can manage. Yeah.

When I agreed, the portly man thanked me with a friendly smile and shook my hand vigorously.

Then, I decided to have the guests fill out order forms.

The things to paint, the size of the paintings, color preferences, and delivery deadlines... I needed to get these in writing to avoid confusion with five paintings.

"......Are you really going to take all five?"

"Um, yeah..."

While the guests were filling out the order forms, Laocles quietly asked me.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, if you're okay with it, it's fine... But aren't five paintings a burden?"

"Yeah, because I can paint about four angel paintings in a week."

In other words, if I can paint freely, I can probably paint about five in two weeks. For commissioned paintings, I think I can manage five in about four weeks. Yeah, there's no problem.

"......Oh, that's right."

"Yeah."

If it were five tasks I didn't like, it would have been tough. But painting is fun and not a burden. ...The only thing I'm a bit worried about is that I might get tired of painting as I make it my job... But I'll think about it when the time comes. For now, it's fun. That's okay.

Eventually, the guests finished their order forms. ...They seem to be quite laid-back. They've given me quite a long deadline, which makes it easier for me.

So, I accepted the request for five paintings, took them back, and decided to start painting them right away.

That day, I started painting the angel paintings. I had been painting angel paintings recently, so it was just right. I finished the underdrawings for two paintings in one go.

One is for the male friend of Saphire. In other words, a painting for the baby to be born. So, I'll paint a happy-looking angel. However, this time, they want a lively scene, so the angels will be in a flower field instead of a nest.

Two angels weaving flower crowns surrounded by colorful flowers. The crowns are for the baby to be born. I want to make this a blessing for the baby. ...By the way, Celia will teach me how to make the flower crowns. Thank you for your help.

The other angel painting is of an angel in the forest, so I painted an angel sitting on a high tree branch and smiling in a lush green scene.

The client is the old lady. She told me she loves forests. She used to play in a forest near her house, but it was cut down due to development.

...So, I painted two angel paintings and then moved on to the two forest paintings requested by the old lady.

The daytime forest is a vivid emerald green. The night forest is in a calm color.

For the night forest, I thought about painting fairies and horses gathering around a bamboo grove collecting moonlight, but I decided against it because I don't think the old lady's idea of a forest includes bamboo.

Instead, I decided to paint fairies floating and glowing among ordinary trees in the night forest. Yeah, like fireflies.

...About 15 days after receiving the request, I finished four paintings.

This time, I redrew one of the forest paintings after feeling unsatisfied, and I did some rough sketches for the angel paintings before starting the underdrawings, but I still managed to finish in 15 days. Hmm, I'm surprised.

The last one was the knight painting. The composition and image were already clear.

"......Are you really okay with me?"

"Yeah, there's no better knight than Laocles."

Laocles seemed to have some hesitation or reluctance about being a model for the painting. But I really wanted to paint him as a knight.

He looks incredibly cool in armor, helmet, sword, and shield. His original statue-like appearance is even more impressive, and I think the painting will be very heroic.

...But this request is for a 'soft knight image.' It should be a protector without being intimidating. So, I asked Laocles to take off his helmet.

He holds the helmet with his shielded arm and rests his other hand on the hilt of his sword. I asked him to look at me and smile a little.

A knight, helmet off, looking at me with a non-threatening expression in the wind.

...As a protector that doesn't intimidate, isn't this just right? It's a painting of a knight ready to fight if necessary, but not immediately.

Then, I tried to paint it in a way that would soften the image. I used more bleeding and blurring, didn't paint the light too clearly, and finished it with a hazy touch. This makes the image softer and lessens the knight's heroic and intimidating presence.

The overall smoky colors blend with the background, creating a somewhat unreal scene. This also makes Laocles look less human. If there were battle gods, they would probably look like this.

...So, I finished all the commissioned paintings in about 20 days.

"Alright. Let's deliver them right away."

"Wait. It's better not to go too soon."

When I was about to write a letter to the Redgard family saying, "Please come to the Redgard family," Laocles stopped me.

"Let them wait a bit. It's fine to wait for about two months."

"......Isn't it better to go sooner?"

"If they know you can paint this fast, it might cause trouble later."

...Trouble? Is that how it works? Hmm.

"At least wait a month. When you deliver the paintings, there won't be any complaints."

If Laocles says so, I'll do it. I want to deliver the blessings and protections as soon as possible, but... I understand Laocles' point. His sense of these things is definitely more solid than mine...

During the idle month, I painted. Yeah, of course.

...But, I also did a bit of work. Forest maintenance.

I was worried that the forest's barrier might be unstable because I once collapsed from magic exhaustion, so I went back to the ruins to repair the barrier.

However, I might have worried too much. The barrier was perfectly fine, and when I tried to repair it by pouring in magic, it became even more robust. Hmm, maybe I overdid it.

Maintaining the forest's creatures is also part of the maintenance.

I can see everything in the forest because it's in my mind, but I thought it would be better to meet them in person. So, I went around the forest, greeting the creatures living there.

Rabbits, deer, birds, snakes, mice... These forest creatures didn't run away when they saw me. They came close out of curiosity, sniffed me, crawled into my hands, and rubbed against me. It seems they know I'm the forest spirit. Smart.

I spent my time painting them directly, playing with them, and watching and painting Rian and Ange covered in rabbits.

...A one-month break is, well, a bit, fresh. I'm doing almost the same things as usual, but somehow, it feels like, now that I can work, I can also take a break, or, I have a sense of balance, or, hmm... It's a strange feeling.

Two months after receiving the request.

...That day was quite cold, a bit like winter. Come to think of it, the temperature for water baths has become uncomfortable recently. Oh, this world has seasons. So, it must snow. Snow fairies flying in the air must be beautiful, and horses walking on the snow-covered ground under the moonlight must be beautiful, and angels playing in the snow must be beautiful. I want to paint them.

But before that, I need to make the living quarters warmer. Horses must be cold, so I want to build a proper stable. I might also need to build birdhouses and rabbit houses.

And, the bath. I should implement a shower like the one in the capital's inn. I want them to take a warm shower, soak in the bathtub, warm up, sleep well, and stay healthy.

...While thinking about these things, I finally wrote a letter saying, "The paintings are finished."

I put the letters to the three clients in envelopes, sealed them with wax, and stamped them. ...When it came to sending the letter, Celia told me, "At least seal it. Otherwise, you'll be looked down upon," so I made one.

When I heard "wax seal," I first imagined a white envelope with a red wax seal, but red is Fey's color, so I decided not to use it.

When I consulted Fey about it, she advised, "Then use white!" and gave me a navy blue letter set. So, I wrote the letter with white ink on a milky white wax seal. The white ink on the navy blue paper looked a bit like a starry sky. Fey is stylish.

I entrusted the finished letter to a phoenix. The phoenix would fly to the Redgard family, and from there, Fey's summoned creature would deliver it.

...Maybe I should have a summoned creature for sending letters from the forest.

A few days after sending the letter, the day to deliver the paintings was set. I gave the paintings to the three clients and received the payment.

...40 gold coins per painting. The smaller ones were 20 gold coins, but the larger ones were 40.

160 gold coins for the five paintings this time.

Somehow... Is this okay?

"Thank you. Now I can see the forest while drinking tea, and the night forest will be next to me when I sleep. And to have an angel at the entrance, it's wonderful."

The old lady, who ordered three paintings, was very happy. I'm glad she's happy.

"Hey, can I introduce you to my friends? I think they'll like your paintings too."

"Um, sure, that's fine, but..."

"Great? Then, I think my friend will make a request soon. If you can, please accept it."

The old lady said this, shook my hand, and left. ...Yeah.

Um... Well, it's a good thing. Yeah. Somehow, it feels unreal.

A few days later.

"Hey! Togo!"

Fey came to the forest again, on a red dragon.

...Then, Fey said,

"It's a request!"

What Fey gave me was a stack of order forms. Yeah, a stack.

...It seems the number of requests has become quite large.