"...Master?"
"When I came here last time, I was pretty pissed off thinking I'd lost to you."
"It wasn't pure drawing skill that beat me—it was the idea, right?"
"You know that makes me even madder?"
Rondo couldn't help but burst out laughing at her master's unexpectedly cute reaction, so unbecoming of his age.
Why is this guy, who's lived plenty long enough, acting like this?
Whenever he studies magic, he's always the one learning from me and marveling in awe.
But he insists on competing even in his hobby of drawing.
"Still, your era might be coming to an end. I figured it would take at least half a year before anything could catch up to your work..."
"Huh?"
Only then did Rondo realize this conversation wasn't about the piece she'd submitted a few months back.
What on earth did he see to make my picky master give it such high praise?
The work I'd entered three months ago had taken ten tries with similar concepts just to satisfy his standards before submitting.
If it had only been a fresh technique, he would've started with 'what a shame' instead of that.
So what did he see?
"This... is this a person? A human?"
But could you even call that thing human?
The piece titled Su Baek Hwa sparked that very question the moment it met Rondo's eyes.
Not just the unrealistically exaggerated eye size—the overall vibe was worlds apart from any real human.
Her master was probably thrown off by this bizarre way of depicting a person.
Of course, art deviating from the human form wasn't entirely new.
The issue was that straying too far from humanity meant losing that essential 'human beauty.'
Beauty was the defining value of modern art, and the unease from excessive unrealism had always stifled such experiments.
So what was this painting?
It clearly simplified the original human form to an extreme degree.
Yet there was no discomfort at all—instead, it sparked positive emotions like 'sparkling' and 'beautiful.'
"Ha...?"
"Strange, isn't it? Truth be told, even I didn't get it at first."
Then it hit him.
We'd been far too terrified of deforming the human figure.
Why didn't this one cause any unease?
"No way...!"
"Exactly. It strayed too far."
The deformations we'd attempted, which we'd thought were extreme, were actually quite tame.
That's why those ambiguously human-like oddities triggered revulsion.
But cross a certain threshold...
"Isn't it wild, though? It's deviated so much from the human form..."
"Yet you can still tell it's a person—not just that, but even the race."
"And that's not all. It's a fully realized masterpiece as a painting."
If it were just an idea sketch, her master wouldn't be reacting like this.
He knew firsthand—his own envied World Within the Door had earned similar acclaim through the same approach.
Drawing maximal realistic beauty while naturally rendering impossible scenes.
Capturing that essence wasn't hard, but elevating it to a complete work demanded immense effort and talent.
The very dilemmas Rondo had wrestled with were echoed here.
Though on a whole other level of difficulty.
"You can feel the extensive research behind this style. It's astonishing that it's the artist's first entry—it screams experience with pieces like this..."
"Unbelievable. And the fundamentals are on a monstrous level too."
Of course, it'd be even more absurd if someone capable of this couldn't draw at all.
If anything, it seemed more likely to be a renowned painter or mage hiding their name.
Where the hell did this monster come from? Rondo let out a hollow chuckle, feeling oddly deflated.
The dreamlike lake itself wasn't particularly special.
Rondo's hometown had lakes just as stunning, so any well-traveled artist could draw inspiration from them easily.
The real issue was the girl lying atop it.
From those massive, gemstone eyes—as if declaring, this is the answer you've been seeking—to the exaggerated curves so common in today's art scene.
Every element conveyed an otherworldly beauty without a hint of discomfort, beautiful enough to draw gasps of awe.
The lake's ripples flowed naturally along the exquisite lines of her body, majestic in their grandeur.
Her blazing-white hair, half-submerged at the water's edge and cooling, perfectly captured that hot-and-cold sensation.
The oversized eyes and vivid flush—unnatural facial features—harmonized flawlessly into pure beauty.
Tears streaming from those eyes, mingling with the lake water, stirred a profound, enigmatic emotion laced with uncertainty.
Beneath, the clean line of her collarbone showcased the innate grace of the human form, down to the delicate veins faintly visible beneath her skin.
Her arms stretched languidly skyward, as if grasping at the heavens, conveyed subtle emotional nuances; the revealed curve of her armpit was so detailed and lovely that Rondo wanted to study it herself.
The sharp definition of her nipples and the pink tint of her areolae proudly asserted an ideal breast form.
Descending further, her dramatically widened hips ignited an irresistible eroticism.
Sweat and water droplets trailed from those areas, differentiated by subtle nuances; their cocktail pooling in her sparkling navel was rendered with exquisite, breathtaking detail...
It was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Even the genitals have an elven feel.
Clearly a human girl, yet the sight of her perfectly smooth, hairless slit felt like beholding one of her own kind.
Sure, fully exposed nudes abounded, but one so tightly sealed, revealing nothing inside? Rare indeed.
Combined with the total absence of hair, it exuded a uniquely sleek beauty that set her heart racing.
Now that she thought about it, the armpits were hairless too?
She omitted human traits like body hair, rendering them elven-style for that special touch.
No matter how she sliced it, this screamed deliberate intent.
The artist's exact purpose was hard to pin down, but one thing was crystal clear: the emotions it evoked.
Having mulled over her impressions, Rondo boiled it down to a single conclusion.
"It's... truly beautiful."
"Right?"
Long ago, her brash younger self had been embarrassed to call a mere human her master.
He'd brought her here and unveiled a new world called painting.
That long-forgotten thrill was back, pounding in her chest once more.
If this was the pinnacle of human mage culture...
Then it proved her choice to study magic and art among humans was right.
And her role as their professor was the proper path.
"Is that all it stirred in you?"
"Want to buy it?"
"The thought crossed my mind. But the artist didn't put it up for auction—probably no intent to sell."
"Can't blame them."
Anyone who could produce work like that surely had financial security.
More precisely, the monetary value paled against the attachment of handing one's creation to a stranger.
She understood—she hadn't sold World Within the Door for the same reason.
"Makes sense, but you're wrong."
"Oh? And what grand insight did you have, Master?"
"Heh, getting cheeky lately, eh?"
"Be honest—I'm more famous for painting than you now, aren't I?"
"Tch, you used to have that cute charm... now you're a sly fox."
"Give some thought to my age."
Sure, she looked twenty-something and stayed trendy enough to pass as a 'young professor' to academy kids, but it'd been nearly thirty years since she first met her master.
At his continued babying—despite all his years—Rondo vented a bit of frustration.
His response was even more outrageous.
"Elves are young at a hundred. What's the fuss?"
"You're a hundred nine! That's just nine years older than me!"
"I'm human."
"Speciesism much? No, seriously—what am I supposed to feel here?"
"Curious? Heh, your reaction's too fun. Makes me not wanna tell."
This old coot's lost it.
If he weren't so much stronger, she'd smack him upside the head.
But she had no desire for a 'training session' beating at her age, so Rondo sighed and swallowed her irritation.
"Simple, really. The one thought you're supposed to have when you see it."
"You mean...!"
"We want to draw like that too."
"Ah."
Short as it was, Rondo grasped her master's point completely.
She stared vacantly at the painting that had ignited such feelings in them both.
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