Drawn Mochi Volume 3 Chapter 10.1: Honey Trap and Trap Breaking *5

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　What should I do? I’m in trouble. Nude paintings. Nude paintings? Well, I’ve never drawn or seen someone nude before… have I?

“What do you think? Now, nude paintings are very popular in the Royal Capital. After all, a woman’s body is an art form that supersedes all others. Especially with a woman like Croix, it would be a wonderful art piece.” (Tryphen)

　…eh.

“What? Oh, you mean the nude paintings of—Ms. Croix?!” (Tougo)

“Yes. Please draw one of Croix.” (Tryphen) [T/N: Creep alert! Call Mr. Policeman. There’s a pervert perving on his adopted daughter here.]

　When I looked at Ms. Croix, Ms. Croix had a smile without any signs of feeling upset. I imagined Ms. Croix’s perfectly sculpted body wrapped in her dress, then under her dress…

　…Whoa.

　What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

　I feel blood rushing to my face. My face is hot. I know what I’ve been thinking. What should I do? What should I do? But I can’t do anything about my face, which is absolutely blushing, and all I can do is look and feel embarrassed. All I could do was to keep my head down so that they couldn’t see my face.

“Fufu, what a cute little boy.” (Croix)

　I’m so embarrassed to be called a “little boy,” but I can’t help it….

“Um… about drawing a nude painting of your daughter? As her father, what are you thinking?” (Fay) [T/N: He’s a pervert period.]

　While I was in trouble, Fay asked me what I wanted to ask. I can really rely on him. Thank you.

“Do you think I’m unfit to be a father?” (Tryphen) [T/N: Yes, you pervert.]

　Then Mr. Tryphen looks at Fay with a thin smile. Challenging him.

“No, well… hmm.” (Fay)

　Fay looks at him smiling and a mischievous look in his eyes…

“… No, I don’t. I think.” (Fay)

　Then, as if on second thought, he said so with a serious face. …This one is just a challenging, too.

　Then Mr. Tryphen—starts laughing.

“Hahahaha. You are a young man with a lot to offer. Your open manner and the strong sense of justice behind you are truly wonderful.” (Tryphen)

　Mr. Tryphen said so… And continued with a wry smile.

“Croix is an adopted daughter, but that is just a title we use to protect her. But that’s only in the name of protecting her.” (Tryphen)

“What do you mean?” (Fay)

“Well, you get the idea.” (Tryphen)

　He smiled and the conversation ended. …What does that mean? [T/N: Mistress. Okay, more acceptable but still gross. Hmm… Japan has no same sex marriage, so they adopt their partner to make them part of the family registry. Now I can see it as sort of acceptable. Is she a first/second wife candidate or something? I’m going to stop pondering or else I’m going to have a headache.]

“Oh, I see. …Hey, Tougo. What are you going to do?” (Fay)

　I don’t know what to do, but I don’t understand the situation at all…

　…Hmmm.

“…Um, is that okay with you, Ms. Croix?” (Tougo)

　I don’t know, so I decided to ask her.

“Yes. Of course.” (Croix)

　…And I got a quick reply.

　When this happens, how can I say it… I feel like an idiot for worrying about it.

“…Fay, is that okay?” (Tougo)

“Hmm? Well, well, if you want to, I think you should accept it. Also, Ms. Croix says it’s fine.” (Fay)

　Fay seems to have some thoughts about the exchange with Mr. Tryphen just now, but in the end, it seems that Ms. Croix’s intentions are important.

　Yes. Then it’s decided.

“Then, um, I’ll accept it. Even if I’m not confident…” (Tougo)

　I decided to accept the request.

　After that, we went back to the party venue for a while, where Fay was silently approached by various people, and I acted ill again… Somehow, we made it through the party.

　…and.

“Then please take care of Croix.” (Tryphen)

　We decided to take care of Ms. Croix.

“Ah, is it really okay?” (Tougo)

“Yes, she wants to do it.” (Tryphen)

　I asked just in case, but both Mr. Scheele and Ms. Croix were just smiling at me. I wondered if it was okay.

“Umm, what do you want for the requested painting? Painting materials, size, style…” (Tougo)

“What? Oh, I’ll leave it all up to you. Just give me what you think is the best nude painting.” (Tryphen)

　That’s troublesome. I thought it would be nice if there was at least some kind of specification, but… Hmmm, I really can’t do anything about that. I have no choice but to just do my best….

“Well then, I look forward to seeing the requested item.” (Tryphen)

　After Mr. Scheele left, only us and Ms. Croix were left behind.

　…Hmm.

“And, for the time being, it’s already late today, so we’ll stay overnight and then depart… Is that okay? Ms. Croix.” (Fay)

“Yes. I’ll follow your lead.” (Croix)

　I wonder if Ms. Croix is used to this kind of thing.  I think I was more upset than she was. Rather, we are in a hurry.

“…Well, there was one more room left in the inn. It’s just fine. We’ll stay one night and then leave! Done!” (Fay)

　But Fay did his best to help me out. If it had been just me and Laocles, we might have just been stumped…

　And so. we returned to the inn. The inn has four bedrooms, so we allocated the extra one to Ms. Croix.

　…and.

“…as soon as possible?” (Croix)

“Yes.” (Tougo)

　I was allowed to paint Ms. Croix as soon as possible.

“It would be a shame if I didn’t.” (Tougo)

　For the time being, Ms. Croix must be tired today, so I’ll just do a simple one. But still, there is no option not to draw. Absolutely.

　I had a dreamy moment for a few minutes looking at Ms. Croix.

　She is so much fun to paint. I had fun with Laocles, but with Ms. Croix, it was a different kind of fun.

　I felt that a woman’s body is different from that of a man. Bones and so on.

　I think it is interesting that I can understand Laocles’ body better when I draw Ms. Croix. When I look at the curves of Ms. Croix, I can see how rigid Laocles’ body was…

　Yes, I would like to draw Laocles again after I have drawn Ms. Croix as much as I want. Actually, I want to draw the two of them side by side.

“Hey.” (Laocles)

　At that time, Laocles spoke to me.

“When you’re done, come to my room before you go to bed.” (Laocles)

“Then I’m going to bed, too. Good night. Don’t stay up too late either.” (Fay)

“Huh? Oh, of course.” (Tougo)

　Laocles and Fay said that and probably went off to their bedrooms. I heard the door open and close behind me, so they must have both gone into their bedrooms already.

　…I wonder if they have something to do. Hmm…

　Well… if Laocles has something to talk about, it’s going to be bad if I don’t go early. He must want to go to bed early. He has Alicorn to lead tomorrow.

“Um, Ms. Croix. That’s all for now…” (Tougo)

　So, I decided to call it a day. Yeah, I’ll be fine. I still have a lot of time, two months, so I don’t need to rush today.

　Then Ms. Croix chuckled and said,

“Oh, I hope I don’t have to take my clothes off.” (Croix)

　…umm.

“Um… that’s still fine. I want to wait until I can get a feel for the shape of your body over your clothes.” (Tougo)

“I don’t know. I think you’ll improve faster if you see the real thing, don’t you?” (Croix)

“Uh-huh. I want to wait until I have some idea of the structure and features of the body. I can draw faster that way.” (Tougo)

　When I said so, Ms. Croix looked a little strange. I wondered if she was used to being the model for nude sketches. I’m not sure if it’s rude of me to assume so, but I’m still curious about it.

“…I don’t want you to stay still for too long. So, I’ll practice a little so I can draw faster.” (Tougo)

　Ms. Croix laughed and went into the bedroom. She said to me again, “You’re a cute little boy,” okay, I’m fine with that. I’m a cute little boy anyway.

　After that, I then sent Ms. Croix off to her bedroom while I put away my art supplies, sharpened my pencils for tomorrow, and then decided to go to Laocles’ room.

　…and then.

“Hey, Tougo. You’re pretty fast.” (Fay)

　For some reason, Fay was there.

“…what is going on?” (Tougo)

“We called you because I wanted to talk to you.” (Fay)