Chapter 146

“Mrs. Maiden wanted Ripen to practice drawing.”

Of course, she wouldn’t want the kind of pictures Ripen drew with crayons.

She probably meant something far more refined.

And wouldn’t you know it, we had someone among us with that exact high-class artistic talent.

Come to think of it, wasn’t it common for noble families to hang paintings on their walls for decoration?

The fact that it was commonplace meant that nobles not only had an eye for art but lived lives closely intertwined with it.

Sure, the ones on the walls were painted by professional artists, but separately from that, plenty of nobles had painting as a hobby.

Even in that RP dungeon we cleared.

No matter how sword-obsessed the Western Empire was, they weren’t indifferent to the arts.

Salons where nobles gathered to paint and exchange opinions on art were held quite frequently.

Let’s not dwell on the fact that every painting there depicted ‘knights overwhelming their foes with splendid swordsmanship’ for now…… These sword-crazed, hyper types!

Anyway, I wasn’t sure if it was the same here, but given that Mrs. Maiden was pushing Ripen to paint, there was a ninety percent chance they had that kind of culture.

“You want me to draw it?”

Shin Jae-heon pointed at himself after hearing everyone out.

I nodded.

“It really seems like there’s no other suitable gift we could prepare in this situation.”

Joo Yian chimed in with his agreement. So Yeri the hunter nodded too.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s not the type to want some fancy item anyway.”

High-class items would be overflowing in the inventories of those three S-ranks, so if that had been the case, the dungeon might have been easier.

Just that damn chivalry!

“I’m not sure I can draw properly without the right tools, though.”

Shin Jae-heon tilted his head.

“A craftsman doesn’t blame his tools, right?”

He responded to my words with dead seriousness.

“I’m not that kind of craftsman. If you asked me to carve a monster into a star shape, I wouldn’t fuss over the tools.”

Would that make you a craftsman?

S-rank dealer…… yeah, kinda……

Even as he spouted nonsense, Shin Jae-heon tugged the bell cord to summon a maid.

“Do you have any tools prepared for painting?”

“Of course.”

The maid looked at him a bit surprised.

Apparently, following the ‘boring-looking’ Joo Hunter Yian, Shin Jae-heon had been pegged as the type who ‘wouldn’t draw pictures’ based on his face.

It wasn’t long before the maid returned with various drawing tools and a canvas.

“Where should I paint?”

Shin Jae-heon pondered, pencil in hand.

“Not in the room, that’s for sure!”

So Yeri hunter immediately suggested.

“You need good lighting for a great painting!”

Isn’t that photography?

As I scratched my cheek, So Yeri tugged the bell cord again.

“I want to do some painting. Mind if we wander around?”

The maid nodded.

“Of course. The mistress instructed us to let you rest freely.”

It felt more like ‘freely prepare your gift,’ but we had permission anyway.

“From what Ripen said, it sounds like she wants a portrait.”

I said as we stepped out of the room. Joo Yian tilted his head.

“Drawing someone from this mansion won’t be easy.”

We couldn’t draw the servants, we had no idea where Ripen was, and Mrs. Maiden didn’t seem like she’d pose as a model.

That left only one option.

“One of us can model.”

I alternated glances between So Yeri hunter and Joo Hunter Yian. Shin Jae-heon was drawing, so he was out.

Now, the question.

Which of us had a face that matched Mrs. Maiden’s tastes?

Joo Hunter Yian looked conflicted, but So Yeri and my eyes were fixed on him.

“It has to be Joo Hunter Yian among us~”

So Yeri burst out laughing. Joo Yian froze.

“Pardon?”

No way she’d prefer someone as active-looking as me or So Yeri.

Joo Yian, we believe in you!

“The problem is, since it’s a gift for Mrs. Maiden, just Joo Hunter Yian alone won’t cut it.”

Shin Jae-heon offered his opinion.

We dragged the bewildered would-be model Joo Yian around the fourth floor.

We stayed vigilant, but the fourth floor was suspiciously empty of anything noteworthy.

Only Mrs. Maiden knew if it was a sign to get on with preparing that high-class gift without interruptions.

“Oh, this place is perfect!”

We soon found a spacious room.

The entire outer wall facing outside was glass.

Pushing through the door led to a wide balcony.

Beyond that stretched the well-kept Maiden family garden and, in the distance, a small river-like stream, all in clear view.

“Not bad.”

As Shin Jae-heon set up, Joo Yian awkwardly took his position.

He stepped onto the balcony and stood straight, facing us.

“……Like this?”

Shin Jae-heon looked up at him, pencil in hand.

“I’m not a passport photo expert.”

Joo Yian burst into laughter at the lame joke.

“First time modeling.”

“Look out at the scenery naturally.”

So Yeri hunter, the only one among us with modeling experience, advised.

Joo Yian turned his back to us completely—not a glimpse of his face.

So Yeri cracked up.

“Our healer’s got a handsome back view too!”

What were we to do with this guy? Shin Jae-heon and I had long been in a ‘hold back the laughter’ challenge.

Noticing So Yeri’s laughter was getting out of hand, Joo Yian turned back to us.

“Then how……?”

He really had no clue.

To be fair, he wasn’t the type used to posing for photos.

His face came out perfectly even in candid shots, making media photos artistic masterpieces—but not one was a deliberate pose from him.

In the end, I stepped up as coach.

“Like this. Naturally.”

I ran to Joo Yian’s side, draped one arm over the railing, twisted my body slightly, and gazed into the distance.

Just enough for Shin Jae-heon to see my face.

“Like this.”

Joo Yian glanced at me and tried mimicking the pose stealthily.

“Like this?”

But it felt off. What was with that stiff, block-toy-human rigidity?

“Look. You’re glancing at Shin Jae-heon hunter like this.”

I looked at Shin Jae-heon, then peeked back over my shoulder.

“Then you hear So Yeri hunter flying in from outside. So you turn like…… yes, exactly!”

I caught the moment Joo Yian turned.

“Freeze right there!”

That was it!

“……!”

At ‘freeze,’ Joo Yian went rigid.

“……You can change your expression during freeze tag.”

As I whispered, Joo Yian quickly relaxed his face.

“Got it.”

For real?

Yeah, for real.

Even as I teased, Joo Yian couldn’t move.

Hmm, this was kinda fun to mess with.

While Shin Yuri was adjusting Joo Yian’s pose.

Shin Jae-heon stared at the model with pencil in hand.

More precisely, at Shin Yuri beside the model Joo Yian. His pencil hand itched.

His hand knew what picture its owner wanted to draw.

With just a few habitual lines, he could recreate Shin Yuri.

Of course, the Shin Yuri he created held little value to him.

Maybe like a drop or two of water to wet his parched lips.

Only the real Shin Yuri could quench his thirst. That was when he unconsciously pressed his lips into a tight line.

So Yeri watched Shin Yuri and Joo Yian bicker, then stood behind Shin Jae-heon.

She cupped his face with both hands and gently turned it toward Joo Yian.

“The model’s that way.”

“……”

Shin Jae-heon awkwardly turned his head a bit. He knew, of course.

He was supposed to be looking at Joo Yian right now.

But he couldn’t help his gaze drifting there despite himself.

Blood rushed to his ears anew.

“What do we do, what do we do? Your red ears are gonna get noticed.”

So Yeri whispered with a grin. Shin Jae-heon took a deep breath to calm himself.

Meanwhile, Shin Yuri stepped away from Joo Yian.

“Perfect! Now that’s a painting!!!”

Turning at her words, Joo Yian really did look like a model on the balcony.

With Shin Yuri out of the canvas frame, Shin Jae-heon felt a pang in his fingertips.

The thick regret swirling in his mind lasted only a moment.

He decided to focus on the task at hand.

Yeah, the important thing was Shin Yuri—and the people she cared about.

“I’m not great at landscapes, though. I only do portraits.”

He said as he started sketching. It was true.

More than any background, more than anything, capturing that one person had always been what mattered to him.

But Shin Yuri shut him down with one line.

“Then should I draw it?”

A vein bulged on Shin Jae-heon’s forehead.

“……I’ll draw the background like a portrait.”

Meanwhile, two Eastern Empire mages and one knight faced each other with grave expressions.

The three of them had been in a state of panic ever since Mrs. Maiden’s test.

Occasionally, her favorability and Ripen de Maiden’s favorability appeared before them in magical script.

Both were already in the gutter, so they’d made what they thought was their best choice on the third floor.

‘Let’s cast magic on the weakest-looking kid first!’

They’d planned to debuff her with weakening or poison spells.

Of course, that meant knocking her out first.

They’d successfully sneaked into the kid’s space on the third floor, evading surveillance. But.

‘What are you guys?’

A few crayons hurled by the kid had left them battered and fleeing.

“What kid’s that strong?”

“Stronger than me, even.”

Without system windows, they had no clue Ripen was SS+ while they were A-rank.

“So, what gift should we give?”

“A handkerchief would be polite, no?”

They couldn’t just sit idle. The dungeon wouldn’t let them.

Luckily, aside from the coachman-turned-monster, the servants had been kind, letting them progress fairly easily so far.

If not for that damn warning!

‘Agh, aaack!’

They recalled the mage’s final scream as he was dragged underground.

One of the four magic stones they’d carried to signal each other’s status had shattered then.

A mage had died.

Cold sweat beaded in the brutal situation.

Still, they had to keep going.

Defy the dungeon’s demands, and they’d be the ones dragged underground!

“A handkerchief? What, are you heading off to war?”

The immediate problem was just as thorny.

What gift to give the mansion’s mistress?

No, if she wanted a gift, she should’ve hinted before we entered!

They thought like nobles of proper etiquette, but gates didn’t play by those rules.

“And why’d the Pope, Emperor, and Tower Master all show up over there?!”

The knight spat bitterly.

“Right?!”

“Exactly!”

Neither the shouting mage nor the complaining knight knew what exactly was ‘right.’

Anyway, those three’s arrival was a serious issue.

“What the hell happened?”

They’d entered as ordinary Western Empire mages, knights, and priests!

At some point, they’d changed!

It didn’t take long for the gritted-teeth pondering to reach a conclusion.

“It’s all that Tower Master’s scheming!”

With no knowledge of the Guardian Knight Commander’s ‘God’s Shop,’ they united in cursing the Tower Master.

“Using magic to deceive people!”

“Outrageous! Unethical!”

As the mages spat their fury, the knight quietly grimaced.

So trying to bury those four in a map corner to die was ethical?

“Got a problem!?”

But as an Eastern Empire knight outnumbered by mages, he couldn’t voice his complaints.

Say the wrong thing, and even if he survived, he’d be treated as nonexistent back home.

“……No.”

The knight muttered bitterly.

As discord leaked among them, one mage suddenly shouted.

“We can’t just sit here! Let’s move!”

A thoroughly ‘ethical’ plan spilled from his mouth.

The other mage’s eyes widened.

“Brilliant idea!”

And the knight could only stay silent.

……Won’t this get us killed?

No point saying such realistic thoughts—he’d just get chewed out.