Chapter 627: Girls Night Portrait 2
I was allowed to enter one of the guest rooms, which had been turned into a studio, to watch Gloria-san’s brushwork (and of course to gaze at Sharon and her friends naked), but Gloria-san’s painting scenery was very strange. I mean, there was only one paint on the palette, but she was painting in all natural colors.
“What’s going on here……”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“Brilliant use of color when there’s only one color of paint on the palette……”
“Ah, this? Simple magic”
Gloria-san, smiling, moves the paint with the tip of her paintbrush as if kneading it lightly and the near-white skin tone becomes much darker.
“This is all it takes to manipulate color. Of course, you can’t make any color and there is a limit to how much you can change from one pigment to another. You can’t turn black into gold”
“That’s very convenient”
“It’s the kind of magic that any elf can do. This is not a great trick. ……It might be unfair to a race that can’t do it, though”
Gloria-san, who runs her brush fluidly. The real Sharon’s nude body in front of her is wonderfully sexy, but the image on the canvas is just as sensual as the real Sharon.
“At this rate, it shouldn’t take me more than a few days”
“I, I’m confident in my quick hands……but I’d like at least one more day. She’s a good model. The body is toned in all the right places and the skin is spotless and well undressed. I’ve hired models for money, but a lot of women don’t want to undress in a sunny window”
“I guess that’s true……”
Of course, you don’t want to be seen by an unspecified number of people and you don’t want your skin to burn in the strong sunlight. I’ve heard that since many of our women are elves, they usually take care of sunburns and such with magic when they feel like it.
“I know that many of the women are of good status, but still, this beauty is not common. I wonder if that doctor is doing something to her skin with a secret potion or something?”
“Hilda is good at that kind of thing, too……but the truth is, I think it’s thanks to the amazing spring in Polka”
“Ah……you mentioned it. It’s good for beauty, too”
“But you always praise others, but aren’t you good enough yourself, Gloria-san?”
“I’ve been taking care of it, but my skin is rough in many ways and it’s all over the place, you know”
“I guess that’s how it is……”
“I don’t live a life of drinking, filling my stomach with snacks……and having sex in a dimly lit inn every day. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve acted like an artist”
That’s why she doesn’t wear tight clothes, Gloria-san muttered with a hint of self-mockery. ……It seems that the realization that she’s letting her guard down is very painful.
“Even a woman like me still has men lining up to wait for me……I guess I can forgive myself as long as I’m wanted, but when I’m surrounded by such high-class women, I feel inferior”
“I, I don’t mind too much, but……it’s not good to be unhealthy and maybe you should improve your life a little with Polka sooner or later”
“Oh dear. I never thought that a sightseeing trip following a harem guy would lead me to think about my health”
“I think it’s good to think about your health no matter what”
Even as she spoke, her hands did not stop. In the blink of an eye, the skin tones of Tetes and Naris were painted on. Sometimes she holds the brush backwards and strokes the canvas with the palm of her hand, is she fine-tuning the colors, or is she using some kind of drying magic?
“Nn……then again, your posing is a bit unbalanced”
Gloria-san says suddenly, pointing at Naris. Naris (naked, of course) was astonished.
“It’s a little late for that!? It’s been about an hour since I started this pose! I mean, you’ve already drawn quite a few!”
“Hmm, well, yeah. It just occurred to me”
“What do you mean by just? You’re going to draw another pose now, aren’t you!?”
“I’m going to draw it like this. The only thing is, when I put them together like this, compared to the other three, I don’t think they’re fully aware of the fact that they’re going to be seen”
“I, I thought I put a lot of effort into this pose……!?”
Naris couldn’t resist and came to see the canvas as it was. The four nude figures were painted side by side on a single canvas. The four figures are not in the same size ratio as they appear to be from this spot, because the occupancy of the screen was intentionally changed in order to fit them into a single canvas. However, Naris certainly looked a little more dowdy than the other three.
“Kuu. My poorness shows in the picture……”
“No, no, no. Looking pretty in the eyes of others doesn’t really sink in unless you’re constantly conscious of it. For example, the angle of your face from the other person’s point of view, whether or not your back is straight, the angle of your waist……you see, this girl here is posing in a way that looks good. Your poses look drastic, but they are too straightforward”
“Muu……you don’t have to say that……”
“You don’t look in the mirror much, do you?”
“I, I take care of my appearance as much as anyone else”
“Women who care about being seen, if you give them a mirror and a wardrobe, they’ll spend half a day with it, you know?”
“……That’s a bit much”
“You’re a knight, so you’re well-toned and flexible, so why don’t you try studying how to pose like that?”
“Mmm……uh, is it wrong to redraw it after all?”
“Okay, but can you make it the next one? I’ve already arranged it like this, so if I make it a different pose, there will be an unnatural space”
“Ugh……”
Naris slinked back to where she had been and reposed herself. But there is a logic to it and there is also a different spirit than I expected. The professionals are amazing, after all.
“The woman’s nude picture is something we just look at with an erotic eye, but……I guess they’re really particular about it, aren’t they?”
I can’t help but mutter to myself.
“Even if you don’t understand the reasoning, a good painting is one that you can intuitively appreciate. If people become fans without this kind of petty reasoning, that’s the greatest reward of an artist”
“I don’t know. I guess that’s the way it is”
It was while we were talking like that that Sir Buster arrived.
——————————————-
“Neia was ordered to come up to the castle?”
“It’s not really an order, it’s an invitation from the queen. She wants her to show her face. It’s an imperial decree because it’s not usually necessary to express yourself so gently when you’re close by, but if you’re in a hurry and can’t do it, I’ll let her know”
Sir Buster said and crossed his legs on the sofa. The four gauntlet knights continued to model for the painting. I was the only one to leave and move to another drawing room where the other girls were waiting.
“What do you say, Neia? If you have no particular reason to refuse……”
“Eh……well, if it’s not a grand sojourn at the castle, I’ll be in short order”
“I was thinking of having the queen talk to you for a night or two”
Sir Buster scratched his neck.
“I’m sort of Beatrice’s chaperone now and I can’t……leave her out too much”
“Wait……I don’t really care! We can speak the same language here!”
“Even if you could speak the language, there’s still too much you don’t know about walking around, isn’t there?”
“Th, That’s……not you, there are plenty of others……”
“You know that Tetes-chan and Naris-chan will be gone by now, right?”
“…………”
Beatrice is silent. But, well.
“Neia, I think it’ll be okay if you talk a little more slowly. Emma and Maia can look after Beatrice for a little”
I’m not saying I should. On the contrary, it might just make her more troublesome. But Neia looked worried.
“Beatrice shouldn’t be that close to the dragons……”
“Even if that’s the case, it’s no position to be in if she refuses to do what I say, even if it’s just to take care of one person”
Right, I said, turning my attention to Maia and the others. They both nodded as if it was obvious. However, Neia was a little sulky.
“……?”
“……Don’t you really want me to come back?”
“Eh, no, that’s not the case”
Having heard that, Sir Buster sighed softly.
“I wonder how you managed to tame that hero so well. On the surface she was always smiling and stubborn, but now she’s become so spoiled”
“Th, There’s……no such thing, but”
“What? Quite……I mean, Smithson, what are you really? The war god and the dragons……you just seduce every woman you see, regardless of who they are. That story about Tetes’ strange misunderstanding before doesn’t seem so crazy after all”
“As for Neia, well……it’s because I really hit on her, isn’t it?”
She averts her eyes a little, but I still insist that I tried my best with Neia on my own initiative.
“……Haaa”
Sir Buster looks bitter but does not ostensibly argue, but sighs out his frustration.
“I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to assign Neia, who has been influenced by your culture, to the position of queen, but……it’s an imperial order, after all”
With that, he stands up.
“Let’s go, Hero. Seriously, don’t tell the Queen anything strange”
“What do you mean by strange things?”
“Even so, she is still a young girl. I’m telling her to avoid overly stimulating topics at an age when she is full of curiosity. Especially anything related to Smithson”
“I can only vaguely note your indirect advice, if that is alright. Also, I’m already not a hero”
Neia’s assertion is suddenly backed up by an aloof voice.
“They say you are now a female slave. If you want to call her by a pronoun, call her that”
“!!? What was that voice?”
“I see, I haven’t spoken to Buster-sama directly yet. I’m Neia’s beloved sword, the Flash Sword. I have not spoken, but I have known you for a short time and I have been inattentive”
“……This is the sword that speaks? I had seen it in the reports of the Sword Saint Brigade……but I am sorry, I am distraught”
“Flash Sword, you’ve been quiet for so long, but only today……”
“Since Neia has awakened to her color……if she asserts herself to a poor chance, she will be wrapped up in a tank, thrown in a barn or treated poorly. But if I don’t get involved, she won’t be treated poorly if I talk once in a while”
“……You’re having a hard time, aren’t you?”
The voice of the Flash Sword, which I haven’t heard in a long time, fades away with the two of them. That guy doesn’t seem to want to hide his true identity anymore. Well, he had already told the Sword Saint Brigade, so there was no point in keeping it a secret from Sir Buster……I guess.