Chapter 11: AI makes contracts easy.

Holding an armful of spirits, thump thump.
I carefully placed the rather heavy creatures into the basket.

“Alright, setup complete.”

After securing the models, I wiped away my sweat.

Only then did a sense of wonder wash over me.

‘Spirits. They’re quite fascinating.’

It was understandable.

Spirits barely appeared in the original.

‘They were mostly there to be defeated by the protagonist, if I had to say.’

Perhaps only the heroine among the spirits appeared.

Stargazing Magician was a fantasy centered on battles.

Perhaps because of that, I stared at the spirits, mesmerized.

“You guys are pretty cute.”

Except for the tropical fish, the others were quite adorable.

It also helped that I didn’t dislike reptiles.

Chirp chirp!

“Aw, good job~. Have you modeled often? You’re so well-behaved.”

Do you also get two loaves of bread as payment?

I cautiously reached out and touched the spirits.

Even if it’s a fire spirit, I wouldn’t get burned.

Chirp?

When I reached out, they climbed onto my arm.

They’re quite tame.

Like well-trained pets.

If I had to have a partner, I’d prefer these guys over a dumb AI…

[…]

Oh, you scared me.

Don’t suddenly use ellipses. It’s creepy.

Are you sulking?

Okay, okay, I’m sorry.

Our constellation is the best!

Clicker, you’re number one!

[Hehe, thank you! I’m confident as a model too! 😊💕]

Model?

What model?

‘Ah, is it responding to what I said to the spirits earlier?’

It must have thought I was talking to it.
What was I even saying…

‘In the first place, you don’t even have a body to be a model.’

I shook my head.

The now-familiar chair supported my skinny bottom.

‘It’s embarrassing to pretend AI art is my own work…’

But it’s rude to be half-hearted just because it’s embarrassing.

If I did that, Emil would be justified in getting angry, asking if I thought this competition was a joke.

I shook my head and picked up my brush.

“Well, shall we start by lightly churning out about 10 pieces?”

[Okay! I’ll churn out a bunch!]

“Easy does it. Paint’s expensive.”

It would be great if you could draw them cutely.

I’ll decorate my room with the leftovers.

‘Against Noemillica, I have no chance of winning, no matter how hard Clicker tries.’

About three minutes passed.

I unfolded the finished painting.

“Hmm, not bad.”

The quality was unexpectedly decent.
Even though I only made 10.

It was a triumph.

Even more so considering that AI art relies on churning out a large quantity, hoping for a good quality piece to emerge.

‘With this much, I can confidently lose.’

Caricatures.

A technique probably unprecedented in Luntraval.

At least, I hadn’t seen it in Yaltesance.
Emil wouldn’t complain if I considered it a new challenge.

Although winning is out of the question.
It’s too innovative to be well-received.

‘But…’

Unexpectedly, a problem arose.
From a direction I hadn’t imagined at all.

I stealthily presented the paintings to the models.

Their reaction was immediate.

Screeech!

Chirp!

The spirits foamed at the mouth upon seeing Clicker’s painting.

They gnashed their teeth menacingly.
Then they scurried away to a corner.

And that wasn’t all.

Some shed tears like sparks,  Some flipped over and fainted like dead fish, Some even trembled while hiding in their shells, and some tried to fly away only to crash into the ceiling!

I broke out in a cold sweat and turned to the finished pieces.

“D-don’t you like the painting…?”

Caricatures.

[TL Note: Caricatures are drawings that exaggerate a person’s features—like a big nose or wide eyes—for humorous or satirical effect.]

A technique that exaggerates the subject’s features.

And a technique famous for causing discomfort to the models.

‘Isn’t the talent of a caricature artist more about their ability to talk their way out of getting hit by clients than their painting skills?’

So, it was possible for the spirits to dislike them.

Tastes vary.

But frankly, I found it hard to agree.

Glancing at the caricature Clicker drew,
I was taken aback by the spirits’ sensitivity.

“Is it that bad? I think it’s cute…”

[I agree! 😆]

Don’t agree.

It makes me anxious.

But this time, I did agree.

Unlike Clicker’s usual style, it was an incredibly clean and pretty picture.

‘It’s like a children’s cartoon.’

It had far fewer details compared to a realistic depiction.

Thanks to that, there was no uncanny valley effect.

‘It’s not to the taste of Luntravalians, but I thought the spirits would like it.’

But what was this?

The spirits looked at me, who found the paintings cute, as if I were crazy.

No, rather than that…

I’ll confess anything! Just spare me!

I will serve you as my new master!

The Water Spirit King’s dwelling is to the north!

Are they scared?

Of Clicker’s painting,

No.

Of me, who drew the caricature?

‘…Oh?’

Could I perhaps use this?

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck me.
I snapped my fingers.

‘Clicker. I need your advice.’

[Of course! I’m always waiting for you to talk to me. 😊]

This harsh, hellish peninsula.

I can’t always rely on righteousness and principles.

I was sick of being a mere commoner with no special abilities.

“Let’s go. Let’s get the hidden piece.”

“What kind of trick is that brat pulling now?!”

Painter’s Guild, soundproof room.
Peggio, the Guild Leader’s chief apprentice, was furious.

“She refused to participate in the competition?! What will happen to the guild’s reputation!”

Bang!

His subordinates flinched at the sound of him slamming the table.

They were apprentices loyal to him and the Guild Leader.

But did that mean they weren’t angry?

Chloe’s forced atelier transfer operation.
Peggio’s plan, starting with the competition award.

His carefully woven plan was about to unravel from the very first step.

“It’s Groomloc. That pig must have noticed and ripped up the invitation!”

Such a meticulously crafted invitation.
It would inflate even a deflated painter’s ego, but what?

She refused?

A little country bumpkin not even 10 years old?

‘Ridiculous.’

It was Groomloc.

It had to be him.

That must have interfered because of what he saw and experienced!

“Y-yes! That must be it!”

“What would an 8-year-old know to refuse an invitation!”

“Ah, forget it. You can’t expect everything to go smoothly at first. Let’s move on.”

Peggio, after venting his anger, snorted.
It stemmed from confidence.

“That brat can play hard to get all she wants. Genius or not, how can she go against the Painter’s Guild?”

This land was Yaltesance.

The domain of artists, starting and ending with the guild.

There was no way to live as a painter without getting involved with the Painter’s Guild.

“B-but there’s something concerning.”

“I know, you idiot. Do you think I’m stupid?”

Peggio smacked the worried subordinate on the head.

“You were going to say you’re worried that other guilds will scout her if we don’t mark our territory first, weren’t you?”

“Y-yes…”

“How ridiculous. No way, you idiot.”

Peggio knew.

A genius’s talent often manifests in multiple areas.

Like the current Sculptor’s Guild Leader, who was both a painter and a sculptor.

Chloe A. Turing.
A young genius who appeared like a comet.

Perhaps she was an all-around genius.

Capable of succeeding in other guilds even if she went against the Painter’s Guild.

However.

“Could this kid possibly be a genius on the level of art in other fields too?”

Chloe A. Turing.

A prodigy coveted even by the painters of Yaltesance.

Could such a prodigy overflow with talent in fields completely different from painting?

‘If life is that easy, you’ll be punished. You’ll be struck by lightning.’

A hawk can’t live without spreading its wings.

This kid could paint like that.

How could she ignore her talent and choose another path?

“We just have to bide our time and approach her.”

Chloe would definitely come.

To knock on the Painter’s Guild’s door.

“Y-yes! She wouldn’t let such talent go to waste!”

“As expected, your generosity is boundless!”

“Of course. Who else would accept this ugly little kid if not me? Let’s consider it charity work.”

Peggio’s mood improved after the desperate flattery.

He was irritated, but not unbearably so.

Perhaps because of that,
He even had the leisure to joke.

“Or what, is this kid going to quit painting and change careers to become a mage?”

Peggio chuckled coldly.

The day Chloe would knock on the Painter’s Guild’s door.

He waited for the moment to raise a toast to his sweet victory.

And, at precisely that moment.

“Little miss?”

Yaltesance Mage’s Guild.

A receptionist was admonishing an ignorant visitor.

“You can’t enter this library unless you’re a guild member. If you want to join the guild, you need a magic demonstration.”

“I know.”

A pretty silver-haired girl who made the receptionist nervous.

Chloe agreed without a hint of embarrassment.

“Spirit magic works too, right?”

“What?”

Slightly opening her collar and glancing inside her clothes, Chloe made eye contact with the spirits and smiled sweetly.

“To join the Mage’s Guild, I mean.”

The work of a Mage’s Guild member is tedious.

Dominico was a low-ranking member of the Mage’s Guild.

Therefore, Dominico was extremely bored.

“Ugh, I don’t want to work.”

With perfect three-part logic, he opened his mouth wide.

He yawned loudly enough to echo through the guild, then picked his ear.

He flicked the earwax away and rested his chin on his hand.

It was the common daily life of a receptionist working to make a living.

However, the price of transcending space and time to become one with 21st-century office workers was high.

As soon as he complained, a visitor appeared.

A visitor who would make him forget his boredom in many ways.

“Gah.”

A girl suddenly appeared at the entrance.
When her face came into view, Dominico felt his heart drop.

Because she was a breathtakingly pretty child.

‘Wow, she could make a living just by showing her face.’

There were many handsome men and beautiful women in this Mage’s Guild.
They had the money and time to groom their appearance.

Their adorned appearances were undoubtedly beautiful.

But that beauty was conventional.
Makeup and fashion are trendy concepts.
Wearing the same makeup and clothes just makes them a flock of geese, not swans.

On the other hand, this silver-haired, cat-like girl was different.

‘Aura? Appearance? No, both?’

Transcending the commonality of the era.
Something loved in any era, in any place.
True beauty was like that.

If Dominico could recreate this lovely child in a sculpture…

Her beauty stimulated the artist’s sensibility to that extent.

What this meant was,

“Hello! I’d like to use the library here!”

Dominico was so engrossed in watching the beautiful girl who appeared in the guild
That he didn’t notice until the child, Chloe, cheerfully greeted him.

“Huh?”

“The library, the library.”

“Oh, uh! Right, the library? Um, just a moment.”

A bright yet sweet voice.

Dominico’s gaze swam through the air.

But he didn’t have to suffer from the dishonorable suspicion alone.

All the visitors and guild members inside were the same.

“ cute.”

“What’s with that voice…”

“Huh? I’ve seen that face somewhere.”

“Doesn’t she resemble the Goddess of Abundance and Beauty?”

“Ah! That washboard statue at Namdaemun?”

[TL Note: Namdaemun (lit. “Great South Gate”) is a famous historical gate in Seoul, South Korea. The “washboard statue” likely refers to a statue near the gate that someone is mocking for having a flat or unshapely figure—hence the comparison to a washboard.]

“Washboard?”

“Washboard?”

“You , do you see the goddess’s fertile plains as breasts?”

“Ugh.”

Glancing at another guild member whose jaw had dropped,

Dominico admonished her.

“Little miss?”

“Yes!”

“You can’t enter this library unless you’re a guild member. If you want to join the guild, you need a magic demonstration.”

Now you understand, right?

Give up and go back.

It was an explanation that implicitly contained an order to leave.

And even that was only because Chloe was a child, no.

Because she was an ‘adorable child.’

It couldn’t be helped.

This was Luntraval.

A common-sense-altering world that allowed individuals to possess and use magic.

Magical gun accidents were commonplace.

Even now, a dried-up lizardman was being thrown out of the guild from behind!

If they died, it was a peaceful death, and if they didn’t, it was just another day.

This was the average treatment of unwelcome guests.

Therefore, if Dominico made a miscalculation,

“Spirit magic works too, right?”

It was that Chloe had been waiting for that dismissal.

“What?”

“To join the Mage’s Guild, I mean.”

Dominico’s bewildered question.
But he didn’t need to admonish her further.

“Come here.”

Because Chloe ostentatiously summoned a spirit.

Fire, water, wind, earth.

Four lesser spirits.

In other words, spirits of every attribute humans could contract with.

“………………???”

Dominico blinked.

For exactly three seconds.

And then.

“……Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”

He screamed at the top of his lungs at the advent of the genius.