Drawn Mochi Volume 3 Chapter 11.1: Honey Trap and Trap Breaking *6

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　Then, life with Ms. Croix began.

　She was a bit confused, being in the forest, but she followed our instructions for the time being.

　The horses seemed to be very interested in Ms. Croix. Some of the unicorns were a bit wary of him, and some of them were pointing their horns, but some of them approached her from the beginning. After about 10 days, most of the unicorns had come to accept the fact that Ms. Croix was there. Some of the unicorns that don’t stay away from him don’t stay away from him, but some of the unicorns that are …… seem to be completely fond of him.

　For the time being, I decided to let her use the guest room at my house. And when Ms. Croix first came to the forest, I took him to Laocles’ house right away and had her have tea with Fay and Laocles there, while I went back to my house under the guise of ‘I’m going to clean up the house for a bit. …I added another guest room to my house.

　…because it would be better for Laocles to be in the same house.

　If everyone is wary of Ms. Croix, it is better to have Laocles stay with me all the time, and it is better for Ms. Croix to stay with me all the time, too. That’s why the expansion.

　I thought, “This is a relief,” and from then on, I just kept on drawing Ms. Croix.

　I was still too nervous to do nude sketches of her, so I painted her clothed self as reference.

　However, it would be a problem for Ms. Coix only wore the same clothes, so that is why Fay bought women’s clothes in town for me. Ms. Croix’s daily necessities are mainly provided by Fay and the maids in Fay’s house. It is helpful.

　…So, Ms. Croix became accustomed to the forest, and now, after two weeks, she is beginning to live a life that looks reasonably familiar.

“Um, well, I’ll be asking for your help again today.” (Tougo)

　And today, for the first time, I paint Ms. Croix outdoors.

　It’s not a nude, of course, but, you know, a normal one. I’m going to paint with transparent watercolor on a piece of paper, the usual kind.

　But until now, I have only painted indoors. I wanted to paint her sitting on the sofa, lying on the bed, or in a comfortable position.

　But today, I painted outdoors. The background was the forest! The vivid green of Ms. Croix’s eyes shone through, and it was so beautiful.

“Is this okay?” (Tougo)

“Yes. It’s a little bit…” (Croix)

　Today’s picture of Ms. Croix is of her sitting in the forest. I put a piece of cloth on the soft undergrowth and had her sit on top of it. Just by doing so, some unicorns will come and sit next to her, and Pegasi will come over and flap their wings in a curious manner, so I’ll put that on paper as well.

“Well, then please don’t move for 20 minutes from now.” (Tougo)

“Yes. I understand.” (Croix)

　Then Ms. Croix stays motionless for the next 20 minutes.

　…For someone who does not work out as a model, nor has she trained her muscles and strength like Laocles, it must be very difficult to stay still for 20 minutes.

　The first few times Ms. Croix also seemed to have a hard time after about five minutes, and I would cut him off when I saw that.

　But after a week of continuous drawing, he seemed to have gotten used to it. Thanks to her, I can do a rough sketch in 20 minutes, adjust the rough sketch during her break, and then ask her to do the same pose again and correct the rough sketch…

“Thanks for your help. Please take a break.” (Tougo)

　I said this after roughly finishing the rough drafts, and immediately, Ms. Croix’s posture collapsed and took a deep breath.

“Haa… I thought I was getting used to it, but it’s still difficult to stay still.” (Croix)

　The horses rub against Ms. Croix who is looking a little tired. The horse probably meant to say, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“I’m sorry, I’m giving you a hard time.” (Tougo)

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind it.” (Croix)

　Ms. Croix smiled, then stood up and came over to me. And after that, she looked into the drawing paper I was working on.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the finished painting.” (Croix)

　Yes. I’m looking forward to it too. Ms. Croix chuckled… and then suddenly said.

“…But how do you never get tired of it?” (Croix)

“I never get tired of looking at you.” (Tougo)

“I’m glad to hear that, but I don’t think you’re getting much sleep. Yesterday, too, you had finished a painting that was supposed to be in the process of completion…” (Croix)

　Yes, that’s true.

　I had a picture that I was going to finish if I just finished it a little bit, so I didn’t sleep on it. When I came to, it was morning. But, well, I guess that’s just the way it is.

“…how many paintings have you done in the last two weeks?” (Croix)

“Well, only one watercolor. …and about three pencil drawings. …of um Ms. Croix.” (Tougo)

　I flipped through my sketchbook and found that most of the pages were filled. I drew a lot.

“I’ll ask you again, you are never ever bored?” (Croix)

“Yes.” (Tougo)

　I nodded my head in agreement to Ms. Croix, who looked a little puzzled. I can assure you that I never get tired of drawing her. I can assure you of that.

“I’m learning all the time… like the way you have curve lines. The fact that you have fewer muscles than Laocles makes it easier to understand her in many ways and makes it more enjoyable.” (Croix)

“Fufu, that might be so.” (Tougo)

　Laocles is a mass of bones and muscles, so it’s hard to tell if there’s fat or not. There are shadows that are hidden by the swells of muscles, so when I draw Ms. Croix, I can understand that well.

　I think it was only when I was drawing Ms. Croix that I realized that the human eyelids cover a sphere, or that the skin from the arms to the sides is pulled in this way, or that Laocles’s hands are very muscular. I could notice that. …Comparisons are important.

　I finished the rough sketch of Ms. Croix.

“Thank you for your hard work. That’s all for today. I think Laocles is preparing the bath, so please go ahead and go in.” (Tougo)

“I understand. …I’ll take your word for it, thank you.” (Croix)

　Ms. Croix is a beautiful lady, so we are going to boil a bath properly for her every day. When it’s just me and Laocles, we sometimes just bathe in the spring because it’s too much trouble for both of us. …Well, bathing outdoors in the presence of women is a bit, well, um, so there is an enclosure wall.

　After I watched Ms. Croix go home, I painted the forest in the background.

　Since I had already painted Ms. Croix himself, all that remained was the background. Since the background is a background, there is no need to paint it in great detail. Especially if it’s a watercolor underpainting, it’s too much.

　…it’s just.

“…Hmm?” (Croix)

　It feels a little strange.

　…What is it? I’m not sure what it is.

　I’ve drawn Croix correctly, and the forest, well, I’ve drawn it many times, so I’ve got it right.

　…But somehow, somehow, it looks strange. Specifically, the figures and the background look out of place.

“I wonder why.” (Tougo)

　I murmured while stroking the horse that came near me, but I didn’t know what was wrong.

　Um… I wondered why the background and the person in the image looked so incompatible. Is the perspective wrong? Is the drawing wrong? Is it because I drew the person and then looked at the background without the person?

　…I tried looking at it while thinking about this, but I still can’t find the answer. In other words, the drawing is probably imbalanced.