Prim and Rhone had come many times while I was relaxing, but the Queen had warned them about it, so they were reluctant to come.
But Sherry worked as a stuffed animal repair shop.
When the orphanage was poor, she would mend clothes, so she might be good at mending them.
I also wanted the Kumayuru and Kumakyu stuffed animals to be used until they fell apart rather than sitting on the shelf collecting dust.
When a stuffed animal became worn out, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a new one, but for those children, even the same stuffed animal was one of a kind in the world, and there might be no way to replace it.
But I wish they had told me.
Then maybe I could have done something for them.
As I was thinking of relaxing today, an unusual visitor came to my house.
"Yuna-chan, is it okay now?"
"I’m going to sleep now." (Yuna)
"That means it's okay."
"I said I was going to sleep." (Yuna)
"So I guess you have time."
She couldn't understand the language.
Sleep was an important job for humans.
If you didn't sleep, you would die.
But the person in front of me didn't seem to go away.
I gave up and asked her to go inside the house.
"Kumayuru-chan, Kumakyu-chan, it's been a while." (Mylaine)
Mylaine-san greeted Kumayuru and Kumakyu, who were relaxing in the room, while patting their heads.
"So, what do you need?" (Yuna)
"I was thinking of asking Yuna-chan to do a drawing." (Mylaine)
"Eh[1]!?" (Yuna)
"Yes, it’s a picture." (Mylaine)
By the way, the current "Eh?" is a surprised "huh."
"Does a picture mean a picture drawn on paper?" (Yuna)
"Yes, that's right. There's no other way." (Mylaine)
"I'm not a painter." (Yuna)
"But I guess you drew a picture book for them at the orphanage. They showed it to me." (Mylaine)
Had you seen that picture book?
"I would like to sell that picture book, but the royal family is involved." (Mylaine)
"Do you know?" (Yuna)
"On the back of the picture book, there was a small emblem of the royal family. Even I, as expected, can't interfere with the fact that the royal family is involved." (Mylaine)
Even the amazing Mylaine seemed unable to compete with the King.
"But if it's a picture, it'll be fine." (Mylaine)
"But the painting is not a request for an adventurer." (Yuna)
"Of course, this is not a request to Yuna-chan as an adventurer. It's a personal request." (Mylaine)
"Then I can refuse." (Yuna)
"Maybe you can draw it for me?" (Mylaine)
"In the first place, I have no reason to draw." (Yuna)
"It's probably between me and Yuna-chan." (Mylaine)
I was not so heartless as to say that we probably wouldn't get along. It was true that I was indebted to Mylaine-san.
She helped me when I set up the store, and when it came to eggs, she listened to my request and stopped me from selling the eggs to Cliff, even though there was no benefit to Mylaine-san.
Considering the future, I couldn't treat it maliciously.
"I understand. I guess I can just draw it." (Yuna)
I took out the paper for the picture book from the bear box.
"So what kind of picture should I draw? Will Mylaine draw one too?" (Yuna)
"I'm glad that you drew me, but that paper is too small to begin with." (Mylaine)
"Small?" (Yuna)
I always used this size of paper when drawing.
It was the same when I wrote the picture book, and when I drew Fina in a kimono in Land of Harmony.
"I've prepared the paper here. It's too narrow to draw here, so let's move." (Mylaine)
"Too narrow?" (Yuna)
Am I drawing on that big paper?
Mylaine took me away.
What came was a haunted house. This was the mansion where Prim was.
"I heard from Cliff that this place will be used as a lodging." (Yuna)
"Yes, and I would like you to draw a picture to hang in this inn." (Mylaine)
I remembered the picture in this mansion.
There was a picture of a man on display that made me want to punch him.
Once inside the mansion, Mylaine took me to the place I had in mind.
As you could imagine, there were pictures of a man on display.
"I'm planning to dispose of this painting, so I'd like Yuna-chan to draw a picture to hang here." (Mylaine)
Disposing... I didn't know who the person in this picture was, but I felt sorry for him.
However, if someone asked me if I wanted a picture of this guy, I would throw it in the trash.
Well, if they were going to turn it into an inn, I didn't think they needed a picture of a person like this.
"But am I going to draw such a big picture?" (Yuna)
It was much larger than the size of the paper scratched in picture books and Land of Harmony.
It was over 1m tall.
I had never painted such a big picture.
The larger the picture, the more difficult it became to draw.
"I might not be able to draw well." (Yuna)
"Hehe, humility is good." (Mylaine)
It was not about humility.
You didn't know if you could do something you had no experience with.
"Then I'll show you to the drawing room." (Mylaine)
Mylaine-san said so and led me to an empty room on the second floor.
The canvas was already set on the easel and ready to paint.
Paint-like items were also available.
It had been a while since I colored, but I wondered if I could use it?
"When do you need it?" (Yuna)
"I'm not in too much of a hurry, so it's okay. This inn is still being prepared. The cleaning has finished, but there's still a lot of things to prepare. Besides, of course we need to secure human resources, but we also need to train them." (Mylaine)
It was true that just because you had a building didn't mean you could start an inn right away.
Even if you recruited employees, if they were not trained, they would not be able to provide you with quality service. What kind of food would they serve? The bed also needed to be made. Rules for cleaning and laundry. There was also the purchase of ingredients.
It was not something that could be done easily.
The same went for my shop.
That was why I left it to Tilmina-san, since I was too lazy to do it.
"It would be helpful if Tilmina-san could help." (Mylaine)
As if reading my mind, Tilmina's name appeared.
"If you involve Tilmina-san, I will cut ties with Mylaine-san." (Yuna)
"I'd like to say I'm free to work, but I won't go so far as to cause Yuna-chan's animosity. And Yuna-chan, have you forgotten who I am? I'm the guild master of the Commercial Guild." (Mylaine)
"That's why you used authority to involve Tilmina..." (Yuna)
"What kind of unscrupulous merchant are you? I wouldn't do something like that. But there's no doubt that she's actually the person I want." (Mylaine)
I also thought she would be able to secure some really good personnel.
"There are many people looking for work. However, it is difficult to find people who are willing to do the work seriously. No matter how good they are at their jobs, if they are unable to lead their subordinates. You can't leave someone above you, and you'll need to have a certain level of relationship with them. Since you'll be serving customers, you can't leave it to someone who isn't kind or arrogant. On the other hand, Tilmina-san is very serious and has experience in store management. She's an excellent person, so I think I want her. But there's no point in making Yuna-chan an enemy and trying to lure her away." (Mylaine)
It was true that while I was indebted to Mylaine-san, she was also indebted to me.
It might be a one-on-one relationship.
"Also, I was thinking about having the children at the orphanage work as well. What do you think?" (Mylaine)
"If the kids want to do it, that's fine. Don't force them to do it." (Yuna)
"Don't you think it would be cute if they dressed up as a bear and made them work?" (Mylaine)
"This is not a store I run, so I'm rejecting the bear." (Yuna)
If she dressed them up as a bear and made them work here, rumors would spread that I was running this inn.
"If you do that, I won't be able to draw." (Yuna)
"I'm just kidding. I'm kidding about the kids too, so don't worry about it. Besides, even if I tell the kids, no one will want to work at this inn." (Mylaine)
"Why?" (Yuna)
"Because this inn has nothing to do with Yuna-chan." (Mylaine)
"...?" (Yuna)
I didn't understand why my children wouldn't work unless it had something to do with me. I didn't think she could understand that unless she asked the children. Some children might want to work at an inn.
"Hehe, the answer is because everyone wants to be praised by Yuna-chan." (Mylaine)
Mylaine-san said with a smile, and said, "Okay then, please," and left the room.
I didn't understand what it meant.
I praise the children if they worked hard no matter where they work. It had nothing to do with my store.
I didn't understand the meaning of Mylaine-san's words, but since I accepted the job, I had to draw a picture.
Come to think of it, I forgot to ask what kind of picture I should draw.
I guess anything is fine.
Well, it was not my store, so bears were excluded.
If that was the case, I could think of only one thing.
When I picked up my pen, I began to draw a rough draft.
I'm sure it's like this.
It's like this here.
It's nice to have a smile.
Lift the mouth.
……
Then, a few days later, the painting was completed.
Mylaine must have been busy, but she never showed up since then.
Instead, people from the guild came to watch.
"Yuna-san is good at it." (Lianna)
Lianna-san saw the completed painting and complimented it.
Maybe I was able to draw it well too.
Mylaine-san was painted on the canvas.
She was sitting elegantly on a chair and smiling.
"I’m sure the Guild Master will be happy too." (Lianna)
"Then I'd be happy." (Yuna)
"I told you her would be completed today, so I think she will come later." (Lianna)
As we were talking, the door opened.
"Yuna-chan, I heard that the painting was completed." (Mylaine)
"Yes, I made it." (Yuna)
"...!?" (Mylaine)
Mylaine-san looked at the picture and froze.
"I think I was able to draw it well, what do you think?" (Yuna)
"Why me!?" (Mylaine)
"Mylaine asked me to draw a picture other than that portrait." (Yuna)
"Why does it become my picture?" (Mylaine)
"Don't you want your portrait painted to show who owns this building?" (Yuna)
"No, I said look at the picture book. I wanted you to draw a picture of a bear." (Mylaine)
"I haven't heard that you want me to draw a bear, and it's not my inn in the first place, so I won't draw one." (Yuna)
"And what? You're so good at this. Yuna-chan could draw a picture like this?"
I wouldn't say it was a photo, but I thought it was similar enough.
Recently, when I went to Land of Harmoni with Fina and the others, and I drew a picture for her.
"Didn't you ask me to draw a picture of you so you could see who owned the inn?" (Yuna)
"I don't have the hobby of asserting myself." (Mylaine)
"However, I think it’s a waste that Yuna-san took the trouble to draw it." (Lianna)
Lianna-san sent a rescue ship.
"Yes, Yuna-chan. Could you draw me a cute bear?" (Mylaine)
Mylaine-san put her hands together and asked.
"Then, what should we do with this picture of Mylaine-san?" (Yuna)
"That is……" (Mylaine)
After all, I tried my best to draw it.
I didn't want them to be disposed of or stored in a warehouse.
"How about displaying it at the Commercial Guild?" (Lianna)
"No." (Mylaine)
Lianna came up with an idea, but Mylaine quickly rejected it.
And the result of the discussion.
Instead of me drawing the bear, Mylaine's drawing would be displayed in the Commercial Guild's resource room.
There was an idea for it to be the Guild Master's room, but she didn't like having a picture of himself in his room, and she didn't want customers who came to see the Guild Master to see it.
So, Lianna came up with a compromise and decided to display it in the reference room. She said she would put up with it being seen by staff.
Then, I drew a cute picture book-style picture of a bear and its cub.
Author's Note
It's no good if you don't have a proper conversation.
That's why a picture of a bear was put on display in place of the picture of the man who embezzled money from the orphanage.
And Mylaine-san's picture will be displayed in the Commercial Guild's reference room...
Translation Note
[1] A pun. Kanji 絵 is pronounced え (hiragana "E") which means "a picture", while え (read: "Eh") is commonly used as a surprised expression.