Drawn Mochi Volume 5 Chapter 4.2: Painting Excursion*3

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　What should I do? From what the man has to say, it seems like he’s in a pretty desperate situation.

　I don’t want to get in their way either, but the idea of me and a woman I don’t know being in a relationship is a little… embarrassing? Troubling? Hmmm. I don’t know how to say this.

　I looked up at Laocles in distress as the man shook my shoulders. Laocles pulled his hand away from my shoulder and pushed the man away a little, then let out a small sigh with a pained look on his face. Yup. I know. This is troubling.

　…But for now, there is one thing I definitely want him to do.

“…Um, for now, I’d like you to give me back my sketchbook. I’m in the process of drawing it. Besides, there are many other things I want to draw.” (Tougo)

　The man had my sketchbook in his hand. I wanted to draw more soon, so I had to ask him to give it back to me.

　When I held out my hand… the man hid the sketchbook behind his back.

“I-I don’t want to! If I had this, I would be a more perfect Tougo Uezora…” (Man)

　…However, at that moment, the sketchbook floated up behind the man.

“Eh!?” (Tougo)

　The man, who could not see fairies, was surprised, but Laocles and I could see fairies. When I saw the two fairies fluttering around, holding both ends of the sketchbook, even though it must have been heavy, I felt a sense of both sadness and joy.

　The fairies did their best and managed to return the sketchbook to me. Thank you very much.

“What… What is going on?” (Man)

　The man must have been surprised because he could only see the sparkles. But since the fairies were smiling in front of me with one finger in front of their lips, I decided not to say, “It’s the fairy’s work.”

“Thank you for returning it.” (Tougo)

　I thanked him anyway, but the man remained blankly silent. Was he that surprised? I see.

“Well, I’d also like you to stop calling yourself by my name if possible…” (Tougo)

　Also…I thought it might be cruel to him, but I decided to say it.

“That’s it! Then, how am I going to explain this to her!” (Man)

　Sure enough, the man rebuffed me. Yes, that’s right. Hmmm…

“You could say you were lying.” (Laocles)

“She’ll hate me if I do that!” (Man)

“I don’t care.” (Laocles)

　Laocles is cold. With a look of cold marble, Laocles said this and glared at the man…

“If you have more to say, you’ll have to come to court and face justice.” (Laocles)

　In the end, Laocles’ words seemed to be the deciding factor, and the man promised to stop calling himself “Tougo Uezora.”

　However, I’m sure that his lover will dump him. Since he was lying, it would be natural to say so… but if his lover had fallen in love with anything other than “Tougo Uezora”, I am so sorry.

　… Yeah. I don’t want them to think I’m dating a woman I don’t know, and I don’t want them to take my sketchbook, but I don’t want to get in their way.

“Um.” (Tougo)

　I gently called out to the man who looked devastated. Then the man suddenly looked up.

“…Would you like to draw a picture together?” (Tougo)

　That’s why I make a proposal.

　If your partner is a woman who likes artists, why don’t you try becoming an artist now?

“…I was turned down.” (Tougo)

“Well… I see.” (Laocles)

　I was rejected by the man. He said, “Even if I start practicing now, I won’t be able to make it in time and it is not in my nature.”

“He wanted to become an artist for the sake of the woman of his dreams, but he doesn’t want to paint…” (Tougo)

　It’s strange, to say the least. Is it that he just wanted the title without the substance? But I think that would be absolutely immediately obvious…

“…I don’t paint pictures, so I kind of understand how he feels.” (Laocles)

“Eh?” (Tougo)

　When I was wondering, Laocles told me that with a bitter look on his face.

“Those who do not paint do not understand the thoughts of those who draw. They do not know what they are looking at and how they see it. Therefore, they don’t know what they need to see, and they assume that they should be able to see things the same way they do.” (Laocles)

　…Well, that’s a difficult thought. But I understand what he is saying. Somehow.

“People who don’t know how to paint don’t know what kind of knowledge a painter should have, because they don’t have the knowledge of a painter. They are not afraid to tell lies that, in the eyes of a painter, would be easily exposed. Because of their lack of knowledge, they see painters as being just like them. That’s why they tell lies like that so confidently.” (Laocles)

　Without professional knowledge, it is difficult to tell professional lies. On the other hand, if you have no professional knowledge at all, you don’t even know how difficult it is to tell a professional lie, so you just tell a lie. So that’s how it is.

“…But I sometimes hear that even if you can’t lay eggs, you can still taste eggs.” (Tougo)

“I’m sure that’s true. But that is also a statement made by those who have never laid an egg. I can’t say that there isn’t something that only those who have laid eggs can understand.” (Laocles)

　Laocles said that… and made a bitter face again.

“Only those who underestimate the value of what they want are reluctant to pay for it. The guy from earlier is a perfect example of that.” (Laocles)

　…Really. Was the man from earlier underestimating my painting skills and my name? And yet, he doesn’t like painting pictures himself…

“…I’m a little angry.” (Tougo)

“I don’t think you have to settle for a ‘little’.” (Laocles)

　Really. Well, I’m very angry.

　…But I wonder if this is okay. Why am I angry? Was it because I felt like I was being looked down upon for painting? Or am I angry that my name has been undervalued?

　If the latter, do I want people to think highly of me?

　That’s… kind of a bad feeling, isn’t it?

“You have a complicated look.” (Laocles)

“Yep…” (Tougo)

　Laocles looked at my face and smiled wryly.

“I… Well.” (Laocles)

　Laocles was about to say something, then softly kept his mouth shut. He started patting me on the head instead…

“Whoa!” (Tougo)

“Well, that was a disaster.” (Laocles)

　…Hearing that, he continued to pat me, and my hair was messed up… I was completely convinced.

　Yeah. It was a disaster.

　I don’t want to think too hard about it. Maybe I’m just a little tired from all the things I’m not used to. If I’m going to think about it, it’s better to think about it when I’m feeling better.

“Anyway, things have been sorted out for Tougo 1 and Tougo 2. You can relax a little and start painting.” (Laocles)

“…Yep. I’ll do that.” (Tougo)

　I agree. It’s a waste of time to worry. The time I can stay in the Royal Capital is short, so I have to draw as much as I can during that time.

　I decided to start painting the clock tower that I had not finished yet and… I was surprised.

“…It’s sparkling.” (Tougo)

　The picture was sparkling.

　It was as if a shard of light had been sprinkled softly from the edge of the paper.

　…And next to me, two fairies were fidgeting.

　Apparently, the fairies’ scales had fallen off and made the painting sparkle. [T/N: Yep, it’s scales. So, the fairies have butterfly or moth-like wings. I was imagining Tinkerbell with the dragonfly wings.]

　Yes, um…

　…Well, this is…

　After I had finished the mysterious and sparkling picture, I just kept on painting.

　Behind the clock tower was a small church-like building, the faded and cracked stucco was wonderful, and the stained glass windows with the setting sun shining through were also wonderful.

　…But it got dark while I was drawing it, so I’ll have to continue tomorrow.

　I put away my art supplies and headed to the inn with Laocles.

　…something happened on the way.

“a”

　I spot a familiar horse-drawn carriage under a streetlight.

　It’s the carriage I saw yesterday. A beautifully crafted carriage with four horses. It was parked on the side of the road, next to a streetlight.

“…Do you know them?” (Laocles)

“No, it’s not like that, but it was the same carriage I saw yesterday.” (Tougo)

　When I explained this to Laocles, he raised one eyebrow and looked a little wary.

　We continued on our way, and as we passed the carriage, I took a quick peek at it.

　…However, it was dark, and I couldn’t see what was going on inside.

　After we had passed the carriage, we started talking.

“It’s probably a carriage belonging to some noble family… Do you have any idea?” (Laocles)

“No. Not at all.” (Tougo)

　I have no idea. If it’s a carriage belonging to a nobleman’s family, I’d imagine the person riding inside is either a nobleman or someone related to him…but the only thing I can think of is “Tougo 3”.

　…But I’m a little happy.

“…You look happy, what’s wrong?” (Laocles)

　I happily reported to Laocles, who looked suspicious.

“I heard the sound of pencil sketching as I passed by the carriage. Whoever was inside, he’s an artist!” (Tougo)

“…you can tell?” (Laocles)

“Yep.” (Tougo)

　I understand. I mean, that’s one thing I’ve been doing all this time. I know the sound of a pencil scraping against paper.

“So, you said they were drawing pictures… So, you mean Tougo 3? He probably said that so he can work as an aristocrat’s personal painter.” (Laocles)

　…maybe.

　However, if that’s the case, I’m sure things will go well this time, and if anything, we might even be able to become friends.

　Because that person is an artist!

T/N: That’s a flag. Remember the phrase “famous last words”. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Anyway, good luck Tougo 3.