Chapter 99

After our short trip to the capital city came to an end, we decided to return to the forest for a while.

Well, I can be anywhere at any time, but it’s not that simple for Fay. We also need to report to Fay’s father.

So, we returned to the forest of the Redgard territory and held a strategy meeting there.

The meeting room was my house. The drink was tea from the capital city. The snacks were fairy cookies and madeleines. I was told to wait until the drawing was finished to eat the jar of candy.

While watching the fairies who had moved from the city greeting the forest fairies at the edge of the table, we started talking.

"Well... maybe it’s best if I, my father, or my brother talk to the Bronpa family. Laila herself said we should do that."

Yeah. She herself seemed to be aiming for the competition in her current state and was not willing to back down. If that’s the case, I’m sorry, but we might have to leave it to the nobles to talk it out.

"Fay, I’m sorry."

"No, it’s not your fault, Togo. It can’t be helped. It can’t be helped. It was just a disaster, that’s all. Yeah. Well, I was surprised that you didn’t withdraw her entry from the competition, though."

"I’m sorry."

Yeah. Fay forgave me, but if it were someone else, they might not have forgiven me.

"Is it okay? Togo, you’re worried about it, right?"

But then, Cloa said with a wry smile.

"Ever since we went to the museum, you’ve had a troubled look on your face."

"...Yeah."

Laila said the paintings in the museum were just names on display. In this country, only nobles and painters patronized by nobles are evaluated.

What I felt at the museum was probably a sense of discomfort with that.

The value being placed on the name tag rather than the painting itself... I can’t accept that. It would be better if the name didn’t matter and the painting was just there on its own... In that sense, it might not matter who painted it.

That’s why I wanted her to enter the competition as she was. I wanted to see clearly if the name mattered or not.

Besides, that painting was too beautiful to withdraw. Yeah...

"Well, in that case, we’ll have to work hard on the negotiations, Fay."

"Whoa, w-well, yeah... I’ll work hard. Yeah."

...But, doing so will cause trouble for Fay and the others.

"I’m sorry..."

"No, it’s fine. I’m a bit curious about the standards of the royal museum, too."

But then, Fay smiled and suddenly looked a bit gloomy.

"If Togo hadn’t come here, I would have lived without questioning the museum at all... The thought that I would have just thought, 'Ah, this is what’s wonderful,' is scary."

I see. Fay is a noble, too.

...No, Fay is a noble, yet she talks to me like this and goes along with me...

"Seeing your painting, I thought, 'This is what I like in a painting!' I’ve rarely thought a painting was beautiful before. I’ve become so critical of the royal museum. Is that a bad thing? Probably not."

Yeah... probably not.

Some people say it’s better not to know certain things, but I think we should know as much as possible.

The teacher once said, "People who don’t know much are just unaware of their misfortune, but being unaware of misfortune is not the same as being happy." That’s why we should know everything and make our own judgments to walk towards happiness. ...Knowing increases possibilities, and it’s the duty of adults not to take those possibilities away from children.

...It’s really nice that Fay thinks the same way.

"Besides, it’s easier to 'resolve things smoothly' if there’s a big fuss at the competition... Cloa is aiming for that, right?"

"Hehe. Well, yeah. I was aiming for that a bit."

Then, Fay smiled wryly, and Cloa smiled broadly.

...Huh? She was aiming for it? What exactly?

"Quietly handling it internally would be boring. If we’re going to do it, let’s do it thoroughly. To prevent the fourth and fifth Togo from appearing."

...Cloa seems to be really excited.

"In that sense, it’s easier for the opponent to come out in a very prominent and irreversible setting like a competition. They have no place to run."

Then, Fay and Cloa talked about something, but I didn’t understand the details.

I just... felt really uneasy.

"What will happen to that girl?"

When I muttered that, Fay and Cloa both looked surprised... and then they answered.

"Well, it depends on the Bronpa family. If the Bronpa family claims that 'this painter just used the name Togo Uesora, and we were deceived,' they might just punish Laila and be done with it."

"I don’t intend to let that happen. From what I’ve seen of Laila, it doesn’t seem like the Bronpa family was unaware of anything."

...I see. Hmm, that girl’s position will be tough. Yeah, that’s right, yeah...

I don’t want her to stop painting. I really like the painting of the stormy forest she did.

But it’s true that she used my name, and that’s a bad thing... If so, she needs to be 'punished.'

...Yeah.

"Anyway, normally, you don’t cause trouble for your employer. Even if there’s a meeting with the Bronpa family, what happened last night looks more like she was actively trying to cause damage to the Bronpa family. Her attitude and the way she set me against the Bronpa family..."

In the middle of this, Fay said something like that.

"There must be something behind it. And the other party is actively showing us that something."

Laocles nodded in agreement. It seems there’s something going on with Laila.

"Is there some bad blood between her and the Bronpa family?"

When I tried that, Cloa giggled. ...She didn’t have to laugh.

"Well... whether or not Laila and the Bronpa family have bad blood, it might be more that that’s the purpose."

Cloa said this while elegantly picking up a fairy cookie. ...Is the bad blood the purpose? As I was thinking, Cloa, after swallowing the cookie, whispered softly.

"...Yeah. Maybe the purpose is to have the Bronpa family judged by the Redgard family, Laila might be aiming for that."

Then, Cloa and Fay went back to the capital city. ...Um, for some kind of investigation. What kind of investigation? Hmm.

And I started looking around the forest, thinking about the composition of the painting I would enter in the competition.

"What should I paint?"

"If I were you, I’d paint the horses. There are a lot of them, and they’re cool!"

When I muttered, Lian said that. Lian has become really close to the horses since he started taking care of them, and the horses look at Lian like he’s their little brother. ...Yeah. Being treated like a little brother by horses. The horses here are a bit cheeky.

"Ange?"

"Um... Ange would paint... the fairies baking cookies."

When I asked Ange, I got that answer. I see. That could be a good painting. It’s kind of simple and...

But... I have a feeling.

Laila Lazward painted a motif that I would paint, but in a way that I wouldn’t.

So, maybe I should paint a motif that Laila Lazward would paint, but in a way that’s true to me.

...But, what kind of motif would be like Laila? Hmm.

Then, I walked around the forest, trying to find a 'Laila Lazward-like motif.'

But it didn’t go well. I had no starting point. I didn’t know what to do or where to start. Hmm...

"Don’t think too much about it, okay?"

"Hmm..."

But, I need to hurry. The competition has a deadline. There are only 20 days left. I need to complete the painting in just 20 days.

So, I want to decide on the motif right away, decide on the composition, imagine the colors and details, and start painting...

"Togo, is it okay if the fairies tie ribbons on you...?"

"Yeah..."

"...Ah, you’re thinking again, aren’t you?"

"Yeah..."

"Ah, forget it. Let the fairies do as they please. Togo doesn’t even notice. We’ll let him reflect on it when he comes to his senses."

"Yeah..."

...Then, I suddenly realized I was wrapped in ribbons.

There were ribbons in my hair, and Ange’s hair was braided with a ribbon that was swaying. Ange was smiling, saying, "We’re matching," and Lian was laughing at the sight of me wrapped in ribbons.

Hmm... Fairies and angels are so free...

I started drawing pictures of fairies and angels to cheer myself up, and even started drawing the jar of candy, but I still felt uneasy.

Time was passing, so to avoid the worst-case scenario of not having anything to enter, I started painting a forest.

...I thought about painting the stormy forest, but it felt off, so I painted a regular forest. Yeah. The usual one. The kind that you can tell is by Togo Uesora just by looking at it.

...Is this okay?

"Hey, Laocles."

"...What?"

I called out to Laocles, who was chopping wood outside.

"What do you think a Laila Lazward-like motif would be?"

When I asked, Laocles stopped his hands and started thinking. ...Then, he threw out words to help me organize my thoughts.

"What did you think of Laila?"

"I thought she was like a storm."

"Okay. What kind of storm?"

"Cold and intense, blowing everything away... Maybe a storm with hail."

Yeah. The more I thought about it, the more she seemed like a storm. She swept through, whipping up the wind, pounding the rain, and maybe even hail or knives, and passed by. That’s the image I had.

"Then that’s fine, isn’t it?"

...Laocles said that casually, but is it really okay?

Is there something else? Something that makes up who she is. Something she likes. Is there anything like that?

I tried to think hard, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I tried to recall my impression of Laila Lazward from yesterday, but no matter how many times I replayed the short time in my head, she was mostly just a storm.

...But then, I realized.

"...When I think about it, I hardly know anything about her."

"Yeah, you wouldn’t."

Yeah. That’s right. I only talked to Laila once yesterday. Of course, I wouldn’t know much about her.

I don’t know what she likes to eat, where she lives, her family... I don’t even know why she paints or why she used my name. Yeah. I can’t understand her.

"Thanks. I realized that."

"I didn’t do anything special."

Still, talking to Laocles is the best way to organize my thoughts. Yeah. Like the teacher said, talking to the 'world’s best plaster statue' is really effective.

"I need to know more about her. I’m using her name, after all."

"...The other party probably doesn’t think that way."

"Hmm, it’s okay if she didn’t know me when she used my name, but I can’t paint without knowing her."

I just don’t feel like it, or I don’t have a starting point. I want to get some hints from 'Laila Lazward.'

"I’m going to the capital city for a bit."

So, I decided to go to the capital city right away...

"...Hey, wait."

I was stopped by Laocles when I tried to go to the capital city.

"Fay and Cloa are currently active in the capital city. Wait until they come back."

...Yeah. I see. I’ll wait a bit longer.

...But, just waiting is a bit too unsettling. I feel like I need to do something, even a little.

"I’m going to contact the animals in the forest."

So, I decided to do what I could.

"...What?"

"I’m going to tell them a storm is coming. Starting from today at noon..."

"...Hey, wait. What do you mean?"

When I was about to go to the animals, Laocles grabbed my collar.

"Storm? You’re going to cause a storm?"

"Yeah. I’m going to ask a dragon to make a storm. I think it will look good if I paint it after seeing it."

I think a dragon can do it. If they can make it rain, they can probably cause a storm. It doesn’t have to be large-scale. I just want to see a storm with my own eyes and get a feel for it...

...Laocles sighed deeply and said,

"I’ll go put boards on the windows, so wait until I’m done."

Laocles is the best!