“Again!” Lune instructed.

“Haah!” I tried Materializing a nearby rock he was holding in his hands, “Damn! Didn’t work again!”

“No worries, you got this! Again!”

And so, day after day we tried all sorts of things to hopefully get me to learn how to use Materialize. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how far I pushed myself, it just seemed like the Ability was getting more and more out of my reach. But I can’t give up, because in order for both of us to present our thesis on Iro Abilities, we both need to be skilled enough to at least demonstrate them to the Officials.

I tried suggesting to Lune that we have more than enough to showcase with just Going Solipsistic and Spark, add to that the fact that he can also use Fireball, but he simply brushed the idea aside with a simple ‘You wanna get laughed at?’

“I don’t see why you’re rushing things so much.” He parroted Joseph’s words, “You won’t get anywhere by brute forcing the process.”

“But I gotta give it my all, otherwise I’ll be left with nothing but regrets. If I don’t try now, then when will I?”

Taking a minute to think up a good solution for my stump, he finally had a eureka moment and told me to follow him. He was pretty secretive about this grand plan of his, which is something I really dislike about him. Why can’t he just give it to me straight?

“Wait, isn’t this just my house?” I asked as we approached the place.

“Mr. Joseph!” Lune called out, “Meil told me he wants to learn how to draw just like his old man, can we join you for today?”

Eh?! I never said that!

“What?!” Joseph popped his head from behind his canvas with a surprised face, “Meil said what now?! Lune, please tell me you’re being serious here, my Meil said he wanted to learn how to draw?!”

“Well, it’s honestly quite embarrassing for him to not know by now.” Lune explained, “I mean, given that he’s known worldwide as ‘The Artistic Genius from a Faraway Land’, I had kind of expected him to at least know how to draw some essential stuff – like women for example.”

Gahh! Shut up, you’re embarrassing me! He knows how Joseph feels about drawing women, so he really buttered it up for him!

“Ooh!” Joseph gawked at Lune’s words, “You’re right! A Deram should know this stuff! Come on you two, take a seat and grab some brushes! We’re drawing us some women!”

Uuuuugh! What the hell, Lune?! What does this have anything to do with learning Materialize, dammit! I bet you were just aching to draw some women yourself, weren’t you? Damned dog in heat…! Ack, fine! I’ll follow along with your whims today, but you best believe I’m gonna complain the whole time!

And so, we were first told to sit down beside Joseph and learn from his example. Starting off with a circle, then a line in the middle, after that come the eyes, nose and mouth. Then the ears and hair and there, you’ve got the basic sketch done!

“Question, Joe?” Lune asked nonchalantly, “Why do your illustrations have such big round eyes and such small noses? Isn’t it kind of unrealistic?”

“Ah, that just adds to the cuteness factor, you see? By focusing on the emotional aspects and disregarding the unemotional ones, you’re left with only the best handpicked parts of the female expression!”

“Cuteness factor…” He jotted the phrase down on his notebook, “Got it! But can you explain it once more? I don’t understand how you gauged the distance between the eyes and mouth.”

Oh come on! He literally JUST showed you how to draw it! Were you even listening at all? While I was fuming over his stupid repetitive questions, Joseph was all too happy to have a student who was willing to learn.

“Good question! One rule of thumb I like to follow is by drawing two lines from the top and bottom of the ears, and right in between those lines is where the eyes should be!”

“Aah…!” Lune looked intrigued.

“And if you wanna gauge the distance between the eyes and the nose and mouth, you make another line in the middle of these two ‘ear lines’, then you draw the nose and mouth at the halfway point of the middle and bottom line respectively. See?”

“Whoa!!” Lune’s eyes glistened, “I’ve never drawn all that much before, just little doodles when I’d get bored of figuring out how an invention works. Do you think I could one day draw like you?”

“Of course you will!” Joseph patted him on his head, “The beauty of art is that it isn’t something like a talent that you’re born with. Anyone can draw, as long as they stick to it long enough!”

“Really now?” I interjected, “Because I’ve never been any good at art either.”

“Well that’s why you two are here to practice!”

Just like that, we were told to sit back down at our own seats and begin drawing. The theme for today’s drawing was, you guessed it – women. Namely, Joseph specifically requested the woman who was standing by a nearby stall to buy some fruit.

She had black hair, and her eyes were blue. Hmm, blue eyes? I wonder if she can use Materialize… Ugh, quit thinking about your training, Meil! I’m supposed to be taking a break from it now, so I should only be focusing on the lady over there! Let’s see, what else, her nose is pretty big. Joseph said I should make it small, but I feel like that’d be dishonest. I should just try and sketch it to be as realistic as possible. The truth is harsh, but at the end of the day, it is the truth and nothing more. Trying to escape from reality by beautifying the world and people around you will only lead to disappointment later down the line, so really this woman should be thanking me.

Hmm? It’s not really coming out exactly how I envisioned it… Maybe if I just erase this part and…? No, that just made it worse. Eh, I’ll just skip to the lineart, that’s bound to make it look better! O-Or maybe not… Alright then! I’ll just color it in!

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Meil?” Joseph nudged me, “Already at the coloring phase? Don’t rush it.”

“I know what I’m doing!”

“…Suit yourself.” He then turned to Lune, “And you? What phase are you at?”

“The third sketch.” Lune replied calmly.

T-Third sketch?! What the hell do you need three sketches for? Just hurry up and get it done, at this pace I might not even have an hour of Iro training left before the day’s over!

“Ah, I see you’re taking it slow!” Joseph sounded pleased, “Meil, learn from Lune’s example! Art isn’t something you half-ass!”

“Just shut up and keep drawing, old man!” I hissed.

With that, we continued our drawing. These two were being slower than a snail, so I finished first. She didn’t really look that good, but if you squinted you could kind of assume that I was drawing with her image in mind. That being the case, I went to grab something to drink while these two were drawing. Although, even when I came back, they were still just finishing up. Slowpokes…

“Alright!” Joseph sat up, “Everyone finished? Great! Now let’s present them!”

First up was mine. I’d say it was pretty good for a first time artist, but these guys were really taking the mick out of me. Actually, I would’ve preferred if they just started laughing instead of patronizingly trying to find something to compliment.

“Pfft! I-It’s very… unique.”

“Y-Yeah! Unique, I’d actually say I like this one more than the actual model (pfft, haha!)”

“Oh shut up!” I stood there redfaced, “If you’re so good, then show me yours!”

Just like that, it was Joseph’s turn. We both knew what to expect, given this is his job and hobby. It was pretty amazing, but you could tell he wasn’t trying to make it any more spectacular than he usually does. Maybe he just pulls out all the stops with every illustration? Oh, but one thing to note is that Lune actually stood there, a bit surprised.

“Wait, you both drew the same woman?”

“?” We tilted our heads to the side, “Did we not agree that the model would be that lady over there?”

“Really? I thought we were drawing any woman of our choice!”

Wow, you really should get your ears checked, Lune! First it was with the instructions, and now this! Maybe inventing the AFP really did a number on your hearing…

“It’s alright.” Joseph replied, “Just show us what you made. I don’t mind, so just turn the canvas like the proud artist you are!”

That said, he sheepishly turned over the canvas for our eyes to see. It was… a redheaded child? Who the hell is this? She’s got yellow eyes too, what a weird combination… Hmm, her hair is short, but you could tell he got the cool but conniving expression just right. Maybe I should’ve asked for another explanation myself, after all…

“T-This is my g-girlfriend, Cecily.” He said with a flushed expression, “She looks kind of young here, since I last saw her when we were fifteen or so. B-But I couldn’t really pull off the cuteness factor like you explained! She’s actually way cuter in person, and her sharp cold glare is enough to send chills down your spine!”

“Lune…” Joseph asked, “You sure this is your first time actually drawing? It’s pretty amazing!”

“Yeah, even I can’t bring myself to belittle the work put into it.” I joined in, “But wait, you’re saying you cheated on such a wonderful looking person?”

At this, Lune gave me a bit of a guilty expression, and I was slapped on the back of the head by Joseph for saying something insensitive. Why are you booing me, old man? I’m right!

“Haha…” Lune chuckled weakly, “Yeah, I really am a scumbag, aren’t I? When my wife died, I should’ve immediately went home to apologize to Cecily, but I was too scared, too ashamed to face her.”

“…” We felt the mood get heavy.

“I tried to tie up all the loose ends from my time as Sol, but I really did underestimate just how many projects I started, but never finished. Heh, what a procrastinator I am…” He tried joking, “Attending the Mobius Awards is actually my last thing to check off the list before going back home to her. I plan on apologizing, and if she’s alright with it, proposing to her on the spot. She might not accept me, but I’ll be happy as long as she forgives me for doing something so horrible to her.”

“Lune…!” Joseph went to hug him, “I’m sure she’ll forgive you! You just gotta explain to her the situation from your point of view!”

Geez, gramps… You don’t even know what the situation from his point of view looks like, so stop trying to encourage his petty transgressions! That being said, I do agree that he seems to genuinely love this girl, given the fact that he seems to be honestly repenting for his infidelity. I don’t quite know why myself, but I seem to be rooting for them to get back together as well.

“Sniff, you guy…!” Lune forced me into his embrace as well, “Thanks for saying such nice things, but a guy like me doesn’t deserve her at all. Honestly, she’d have to have a screw loose if she really decided to forgive me! I just want her and my Nelly to be happy…”

Who the hell is Nelly? Eh, whatever, I don’t wanna ruin the moment, so I’ll just leave the matter be for now. I might get smacked on the back of the head again if I say anything witty right now.

“…?” Lune gave me a confused look, “Isn’t this usually the moment where you ask who Nelly is?”

This asshole…!

***

And so, Joseph waited for the paint to dry on our “masterpieces”, before framing them and putting them up on the wall of the house. Honestly, I really don’t want anyone who enters the place to be greeted by my horrible painting, but Joseph tried to justify it by telling me it’s important to always have a reference so I can always see how much I’ve improved over time. I don’t really plan on drawing any more, anyways, so I don’t really see the point in doing this, but I guess I’ll leave it be if it makes him happy.

That being said, he told Lune that he’s free to keep his painting and gift it to that girlfriend of his as a sort of apology gift. A kind gest and all, but I can’t imagine it’s going to help him much. That guy didn’t just cheat on his wife, he literally married another girl and (almost) had a child with her. I don’t think any painting in the world would be enough to make her forgive him even one bit.

“Alright, Meil!” Lune chimed in, “Come on, we still have some time before the Sun sets. Let’s get a bit more training in before we call it a day!”

“Finally! I was beginning to think you forgot by now! Hurry, to the alleyway!”

Running at top speed, I was sweating bullets from the heat, but this guy wasn’t fazed at all. Just what the hell is that body of his!? He’s slim and looks like he’ll break in half at just a light touch, but he’s surprisingly agile, and strong to boot! He’s not even breaking a sweat, this is just a leisurely jog for him!

“Alright, phew!” He wiped literally a single drop of sweat from his forehead, “That really limbered me up! How are you doing?”

“Haah, haa…! F-Fine!” I gasped for air, “But never mind that! I need to get Materialize down, pronto!”

First off was a light warm up exercise. Namely, I tried Materializing a button again. This was kind of just used for testing purposes, to make sure I didn’t forget at least this much. As one would expect, the button I kept in my pockets for testing immediately Materialized in my hands first try. That’s too easy!

“Hey, give it here for a sec.” Lune demanded.

I handed him the button, expecting him to inspect it or something like that. What I didn’t expect, though, was for him to immediately throw it as far as he could. He actually threw it so far out that I’m pretty damn sure it reached all the way to outside the quik.

“Alright.” He brushed the dust from his hands, “Now try Materializing it.”

“What the hell?! I can’t it from that far away!”

“Not now.” He said, “But one day. The reason we even had this drawing session with Joe was because I wanted you to understand the prospect of taking things slow.”

“What?”

“If something doesn’t work no matter how hard you force it, then that’s a clear sign that you ought to step back and take a different approach. From now on, your goal isn’t to Materialize something else within a close proximity, but to Materialize the button from far away. I also made sure to throw it somewhere far away in the desert, so there’s absolutely no way for you to cheat and go grab it yourself.”

“Grr… Fine! I’ve been Materializing that damned button thousands of times by now! I’ll accomplish this little challenge of yours easy-peasy!”

Little did I know, but this challenge had in fact proven to be harder than the previous one. Before I knew it, the remaining days had gone by in a flash, and I was still unable to find the button despite my best efforts.