[18.4] Art is the Devil's Work

Felix changed the subject, "What do you usually do after class, Hazel?"

Hazel spoke, "I usually just stay in the library… Or go home. I'm not very good at making friends."

Felix laughed, "Well you've made friends here."

My lips curled in disgust.

Why do I feel like something keeps pushing these gross children on me!?

Hazel beamed with joy, "I-I really am so happy to hear that! I-It's been very lonely here… So far away from home…"

I felt my heart get stabbed by guilt.

Ugh. Now I feel bad for my previous thought…

She continued, "But… Well. It's not so bad. The Academy is a lovely place. There's actually a place I've been dying to find… But…"

Felix tilted his head, "What place?"

She looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eye, "It's called the forbidden library. Have you heard of it?"

He frowned as he thought, "I'm not too sure… Isn't that where the Headmaster stores the dangerous relics?"

She nodded, "That's not all. I heard there are all kinds of books on dark magic there. Everything that has been banned can be found there."

Felix frowned in disapproval, "Do you mean like necromancy?"

She nodded quickly, "Exactly! I heard there is even a book written by the Fairy of the mountain herself! They have books that are thousands of years old!! Can you believe it?!"

I raised an eyebrow, "How do you know all this?"

She pinched her eyebrows together and looked down submissively, "Oh… Um… The teachers never… Notice me… So they will just talk about anything around me..."

Zephyr burst out into laughter, "You really do lack a presence!"

I smacked him in the back of the head and glared at him.

Hazel forced a smile, "Actually… It's not so bad. I get to hear a lot of gossip about everyone."

Zephyr's eyes sparkled, "Really? Tell me more!!!"

She leaned close to him with a mischievous smile, "Well, apparently Teacher XXXX and Teacher XXXX have been having an affair-"

I ignored the two as they gossiped to their heart's content. I placed my brush down, "Done."

Everyone turned to look at my painting in interest. However, Felix and Zephyr seemed to be staring at it with odd expressions.

I looked at Felix and Zephyr who were carefully scrutinizing it, "What? What is it? You think it's bad?"

Zephyr mumbled, "It looks familiar."

Felix snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, "Reika. Is this your first time? You paint like a professional."

I smiled smugly and flipped my hair, "It's not my first time. I actually have been practicing for years."

...Far longer than you children have even been alive.

Caldwell chuckled, "Are you sure you're not a demon, Reika?"

How the hell would I know? I've learned to stop looking for logic in this world.

I leaned over to look at Felix's painting and was stunned. His use of colors…

No. His skill.

I couldn't help but admire it, "This is fantastic."

Felix flushed, "I-It's not as good as yours…"

I smiled back at him, "You shouldn't compare it to mine. Your art piece is in a class of its own."

Felix blushed shyly and averted his gaze. He quickly changed the subject, "How did yours turn out, Hazel?"

We all turned our attention to Hazel's.

Those colors… Are all wrong.

Felix looked at it carefully, "This looks really good for your first time, but why did you use this color scheme?"

"Oh… Well.." She tried to hide behind her glasses shyly, "To be honest… I'm colorblind."

Zephyr stared at her in disbelief, "Just how many problems do you have?"

I smacked the back of his head, "Oi, shut up."

I turned to Hazel and ignored his muttering, "Don't listen to him. I think it looks really cool."

Felix agreed, "It is one of a kind. You should be proud."

Zephyr smirked with an arrogant expression, "My painting is FAR better than hers."

We all stared at Zephyr's painting while he was standing next to it and looking proud of himself. I tilted my head, "...Abstract?"

Felix nodded, "Looks like it."

"IT'S NOT ABSTRACT!" Zephyr shrieked, "There! Look! That's the cloth and that's the bowl-"

Hazel grinned, "I think it looks very nice."

He puffed out his chest, "Little girl, you have excellent tastes."

We then moved to Caldwell's while ignoring Zephyr. He showed it off proudly, "Tada!"

I blinked, "...Why did you paint a portrait of Cyrus?"

Felix sighed, "We were doing still lifes. Not portraits."

Caldwell crossed his arms, "Don't hate on my creativity."

I looked at it more closely, "I'm just shocked at how good you are at it. It looks so lifelike."

He smiled sheepishly, "I actually like to draw so-"

I cut him off, "So you draw Cyrus nonstop?"

Caldwell: "..."

Felix looked over to Cyrus who was panicking. Cyrus covered his canvas, "Don't look!!"

Felix smiled soothingly, "Why are you trying to hide it? I'm sure it's not bad."

I snickered, "Can't be any worse than Zephyr's."

Zephyr shrieked, "OI!"

Felix tried to encourage him, "It's okay, Cyrus. You won't face any judgment here."

Caldwell promptly picked Cyrus up and moved him out of the way. We all jumped forward at the opportunity to see it.

His painting was extremely simple and crude, much how you would imagine a child would paint.

I smiled, "Aww… It's so cute."

His face flushed a dark red, "I-It's not supposed to be cute! It's-It's! AHH!"

Cyrus ran out of the room still screaming from his embarrassment.

Caldwell ran after him, "Wait!!! Young Master!!!"

I puffed out my cheeks, "I didn't mean it in a bad way…"

Felix let out a sigh, "Cyrus is… Well, he's a bit sensitive about these kinds of things."

That's an understatement.

He chuckled, "Although… I've never seen him so animated before. Usually, he works so hard on acting prim and proper. I haven't ever seen him blush until you came along. You've really changed him, Reika."

I made a face, "You make it seem like he has a crush on me or something."

"Haha! I don't know about that, but it's true no one can get such a response from him other than you."

Just the thought of a little boy having a crush on me…

Makes me shiver in disgust.

I clicked my tongue, "This is why you shouldn't save people."

Hazel looked at his and Caldwell's paintings, "They left their paintings… What should we do with them?"

Felix tilted his head, "I guess we can keep them in storage here, but there's not much space..."

I spoke up, "I don't mind holding onto them."

Felix smirked, "Oh? Why do you want to take it?"

I cleared my throat and averted my eyes, "You can see how hard he worked on it… It would be a shame just to put it in storage or throw it out."

Felix chuckled, "And what about Caldwell's?"

I frowned at his inference, "It's better to have a portrait of an artist next to the painting… Plus, he will probably want it back later so I will just hold onto it for him in the meantime."

Felix smirked, "Mhhhm. Sure."

Gods help me not hit this child.

I promptly took the paintings and left the room with my nose held high.