Ch.90Exhibition (2)

As I’ve mentioned before, being an artist is a hungry profession. One needs tools to create their work, and even the cost of those tools is not insignificant.

Moreover, artists tend to have firm personal beliefs or philosophies, often discarding completed works on a whim. This leads to a vicious cycle where money is spent while the quality of work suffers.

This structure has created the perception that art is a culture enjoyed only by nobles. For nobles, money is abundant unless they indulge excessively in gambling or luxury, so engaging in the arts is no trouble at all.

Therefore, when examining famous artists, most are either middle-class nobles or merchants known for their wealth. For this reason, art was for a long time the exclusive domain of nobility, as were musical groups and theater troupes as we know them today.

However, after the Jairos Revolution broke out in the Kingdom of Teres, culture spread throughout the nation, and even commoners and lower classes began to throw themselves into the arts.

Of course, without exceptional talent, success was nearly impossible, and most ended up squandering their money before giving up.

To continue creating art, one needs money, but ironically, one can only earn money when there are people who appreciate their work.

Yet even in such circumstances, there are artists who consistently create their own works. From the beginning, artists are often those who choose honor over money, so they cannot simply walk away.

This is why artists from common or lower-class backgrounds tend to have strong determination and firm personal beliefs or philosophies. Add to that their tireless patience and stamina.

These types fall into one of two categories: either they become exhausted and drop out, or they succeed and engrave their names in the public consciousness.

People in this world praise the latter as having “craftsmanship spirit” or whatever, but with my memories from my previous life, I could sum it up in just one word.

‘Perverts.’

“…What is this?”

And I was able to experience firsthand what results these perverts could produce with time, money, and inspiration as soon as I entered the village.

While I was blankly staring at something prominently displayed at the village entrance, Cecilly, who was beside me, blurted out a comment.

“It’s a statue.”

“I know it’s a statue. But what is… why is it so big?”

Marie responded to Cecilly’s assessment. But she, like me, seemed captivated by the statue’s imposing presence.

I stood rooted to the spot for a while, carefully observing the statue.

To describe the appearance of the statue I’m looking at: a young-looking man is being beaten by a middle-aged man holding a club.

The young man is crouching in a defensive posture, as if begging not to be hit, while the middle-aged man is swinging his club with an excited expression.

What’s remarkable here is not just the meticulously depicted muscles, but most impressively, the expressions.

Should I say they’re overflowing with vitality, or that they were sculpted based on real human expressions?

Above all, the quality is so terrifying that I doubt whether this was really “sculpted.”

“There’s a sign here too. It says… ‘Xenon being trained by his master’?”

Cecilly, who discovered the sign while we were admiring the statue, explained to us.

I had already sensed it when I first saw the statue, but I never expected it to depict a scene straight from the beginning of Volume 1 in such detail.

I stared at the unnecessarily high-quality work, scratching my head and muttering in an incredulous voice.

“Of all the scenes, why this one…”

“That’s written here too. It says they sculpted it because they related to learning through being beaten by a master.”

Thank you for the kind explanation, Sister Cecilly.

Still, I couldn’t shake off my bewilderment.

The expressions were truly exquisite, making it difficult to look away from their faces.

“So how does it feel as the original creator? They’ve taken content straight from your introduction.”

“Eek!”

While I couldn’t tear my gaze from the artwork, Cecilly whispered in my ear. Her rich voice penetrated deep into my ear.

Her voice was already sexy enough, but whispering directly into my ear made me jump in surprise. My ear tickled so much that my body trembled.

“Y-you startled me. You scared me.”

“Hehe. So what’s your answer?”

Cecilly smiled gently and asked me, ignoring my startled reaction. I covered my ear with my hand and turned my head back toward the artwork.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have some talent for drawing, so I add illustrations to my work.

Thanks to this, readers can get a general idea of what the characters look like.

Also, I put a lot of effort into describing appearances in my stories.

Perhaps that’s why the statue’s depiction of Xenon and his master is identical to what I had in mind.

‘I wonder how many months it took to sculpt this…’

I wanted to applaud the sculptor. This wasn’t just fan appreciation; it was worthy of respect.

Although I’m not a sculptor, I could tell how much effort and dedication went into creating such a result.

Moreover, sculptors can hardly grow without a master’s guidance, and their results are heavily influenced by innate talent.

“I feel proud but also respect for the sculptor. I just write, but this person sculpted.”

“Aren’t you being too modest? You changed the world with your writing.”

“It’s just a different perspective. Anyway, let’s look around at other things. Marie, let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh, okay. Let’s go.”

After calling Marie, who had been quietly admiring the statue for a while, I moved on to find other works.

Not long after, we found another statue, and it seemed that statues were exhibited throughout the entire street.

“Is this Jin and Lilly?”

“Judging by the horns, definitely.”

“They’re beautiful.”

Despite the many passersby and tourists on the street, there was no difficulty in appreciating the statues.

Occasionally, people would glance at Cecilly or Marie, but they too focused on viewing the artworks.

“Isn’t that woman a demon?”

“Yeah. Was there a demon who said they would attend?”

“They look like nobles, let’s not bother them.”

But as expected in the medieval era, I occasionally overheard people’s whispers.

What bothered me most were the lewd comments directed at Marie and Cecilly. I couldn’t help but frown, even though I wanted to ignore them.

Of course, both women possessed beauty that matched their unique personalities, and their figure-revealing dresses naturally drew attention.

At times like this, I resented my unusually sharp hearing. I wished I couldn’t hear anything…

Snap!

While I was frowning and looking around, Cecilly silently snapped her fingers. Then something amazing happened.

The somewhat noisy village sounds suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings became quiet. It was so quiet that I felt as if we were the only ones in this space.

Blinking in surprise, I looked at Cecilly, who smiled brightly and spoke.

“It’s a silence spell. I took measures because it was a bit noisy around here. Since you seemed uncomfortable, Issac.”

“…Was it that obvious on my face again?”

“Yes. I’m used to hearing such things so it doesn’t bother me, but seeing you uncomfortable makes me feel bad too. Besides, isn’t this better?”

I gave Cecilly a wry smile at her consideration. Using magic just for my sake seemed like an imposition.

It might be no problem for a demon who uses magic as easily as breathing, but I still felt apologetic.

‘But she said she feels bad too…’

Was there any need to add that last part? I stared at Cecilly’s kindly smiling face for a moment before setting the thought aside.

What mattered now was the exhibition, not Cecilly’s feelings. Besides, having such thoughts with my girlfriend right beside me was inappropriate.

I turned my head from Cecilly toward Marie. Marie seemed absorbed in the exhibition itself, intently admiring a statue.

“Are you okay with this too, Marie?”

“Huh? With what?”

“Um… never mind.”

Her reaction was so cute that I pinched her cheek. When I pinched her cheek, Marie tilted her head in confusion.

“Why are you pinching my cheek? Do you want a kiss?”

“Later. Let’s look around first.”

“Okay. By the way, why did it suddenly get so quiet?”

“It was a bit noisy, so Cecilly used magic.”

Afterward, we ventured deeper into the village and began enjoying the festival disguised as an exhibition in earnest. Thanks to various support from the imperial palace, there was an abundance of food and sights to see.

What was particularly noteworthy was that among the passersby were not only humans but various races. Naturally, humans were the most numerous, but elves, dwarves, beastkin, and even “demons” were viewing the exhibition.

Demons, like Cecilly, with jet-black hair, red eyes, and finally the devil’s symbol—horns—stood out even more.

“…There are demons here too.”

“Yes… I’m not the only one attending. It feels like a dream…”

Cecilly, momentarily surprised to see other demons enjoying the exhibition, expressed her feelings in a slightly emotional voice.

Until the launch of the Biography of Xenon, demons were treated like time bombs, making it impossible to openly walk the streets, but now they were enjoying the festival.

For someone who had always worked toward fulfilling the wishes of demonkind, she couldn’t help but be moved.

I was just as surprised as she was, but soon I smiled warmly as I watched people enjoying the exhibition.

With just one exhibition, all races gathered together to enjoy the festival. This would have been unimaginable before the Biography of Xenon was published, and it was proof of how much the world had changed.

‘I’m getting more ambitious.’

Father said that this exhibition itself could be politically exploited, but seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t help but be ambitious.

How wonderful would it be if it could become a festival where all races could happily enjoy themselves, like the current exhibition?

Of course, the divide between races would still exist, but that could be narrowed gradually.

I watched the demons mingling with the crowd and enjoying the exhibition, then shifted my gaze sideways.

Cecilly, as if unsure whether what she was seeing was a dream or reality, had her hands clasped tightly together with her eyes closed.

“Thank you. Mora… for bestowing such a blessing upon me and our demon race…”

“…”

Seeing her praying to Mora, the deity primarily worshipped by demons, made my heart swell. While she had entered the academy as a princess, other demons had not, so it must have been even more moving for her.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck and turned my gaze sideways, only to meet Marie’s eyes.

Marie must have seen Cecilly praying too, as she chuckled and whispered to me.

“Our cute author. Now you understand how amazing you are, right?”

In response to her playfulness, I simply pinched her cheek. Pinching her snow-white, soft cheek was incredibly addictive.

I wanted to caress it, but with so many people watching, I could only feel regret.

After pinching Marie’s cheek, I quietly waited for Cecilly to finish her prayer. Eventually, Cecilly slowly opened her eyes, revealing her moist red eyes, and I suggested to her.

“Sister. How about we go over to those people?”

“Huh?”

When I made the suggestion, Cecilly turned to me with a questioning expression. For some reason, her red eyes seemed even deeper.

“You’re curious too, aren’t you? About how those people came here. Seeing them with humans, it seems like there might be an interesting story. How about we ask them?”

“Hmm…”

After hearing my explanation, Cecilly looked toward the demons mingling with a group of humans, viewing the artworks.

If they were nobles from Helium, they would be wearing formal attire, but the demons currently mixed with the human group were uniquely equipped with gear.

This suggested they were likely ronin or adventurers who had left Helium to wander the world, and since the Biography of Xenon had just launched a year ago, it was natural to be curious about how they had been living until now.

Eventually, Cecilly watched a demon chatting amicably with a human woman, then nodded and answered.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Great. Marie?”

“Hmph. I’ll let it slide this time.”

What does she mean by letting it slide? I was puzzled by Marie’s prim attitude, but soon moved forward.

Cecilly, her heart seemingly racing, approached the demons viewing the artwork with a brighter expression than before.

“Hold back. Hold back… I can’t do this here…”

On the way, Cecilly gently patted her chest and muttered quietly.