Alysa, The Painter

After returning to the old village chief's house, Elias had a meal with the others and promptly stayed silent the whole time.

Everyone noticed his silence, but no one disturbed or asked him for his own privacy.

After finishing his meal, Elias decided to take a rest and told the group his intentions. He went up and rested in one of the rooms on the second floor.

***

The morning sun rose, shining brightly through the mirror.

Elias' eyes twitched and slowly widened. After a while, he woke up to the sight of a wooden ceiling and remembered what happened yesterday.

It was quite eventful, all things considered, he managed to execute his plan and escape, destroying the legend of Tartarus.

Of course, that was without consequences. Now he couldn't use his own identity anymore… but that was a small price to pay for freedom.

"I should get up…"

Elias yawned before promptly deciding to get up. Before leaving, he cleaned his own bed and fixed the arrangements.

He went down to the first floor and saw no one else but Alysa, who was sitting on the table and painting quietly.

Creak…

His footsteps caused the stairs to creak, making Alysa turn her head in and noticed him on the stairway. She flashed a gentle smile and said.

"Sir. Elias, you're finally awake."

"Thank you. I wonder where the others are..?"

Elias nodded and asked with confusion.

"Oh, the others? Grandfather is attending to his duties and Sir. Donato and the rest decided to go outside to interact with the villagers. As for Sir. David and Sir. Francis, they already went their way early in the morning."

Alysa explained patiently with a smile.

'They're already gone? A pity...'

Hearing that, Elias thought and couldn't help but express slight disappointment.

Although right now David and Francis were nobodies and weak rankers, in the future, they certainly would change qualitatively.

In five years' time in the novel, David and Francis would quickly advance to ranks and become 'Hopes of Humanity'.

They were called the [Twin Stars of Humanity] by the Ranker community, gaining unprecedented prestige and fame.

That was why his mind was in turmoil after hearing their name. Of course, he was at first doubtful since David and Francis were very common names in the first place.

But a quick handshake and [Appraisal] made him confirm that they were the two characters he was thinking of.

It was a pity he couldn't capitalize on his meeting with them. If he could establish a relationship with them early, it might help him in the future.

But… considering his time limit in his main mission, he reckoned they most likely wouldn't help much anyway.

Elias quickly shook his head and forgot about the matter. He turned to Alysa and nodded with a grateful expression.

"Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it, Ms. Alysa."

"It's no problem at all, Sir Elias! Do you want some coffee?"

She chuckled and offered.

"Sure."

Elias nodded and promptly sat on one of the chairs. He couldn't help but notice what she was doing on the table before she stood up.

After he sat, Alysa stood up to go brew some coffee in the kitchen, moments later she came back with a cup of coffee in her other hand.

After she arrived, she saw Elias' curious expression and explained with a soft smile.

"I really like to paint as my hobby. I love art… I've been painting for years now. I hope you don't mind me painting in front of you."

"Not at all, continue to do so Ms. Alysa. No man would reject such a beautiful sight."

Elias smiled in jest. He looked at the painting and had an expression of amazement before continuing with a compliment.

"You've been painting for years? No wonder it's so beautiful. I can see that you really love art with your painting. Although I know little of art, I know enough to say this is quite amazing."

Alysa was speechless and couldn't help but stiffen ij surprise. She smiled softly, but it couldn't conceal the faint blush on her cheeks.

Noticing the lack of response, Elias raised his brows.

"Ms. Alysa?"

"... Yes! Thank you!"

Alysa couldn't help but stammer in surprise. She rubbed strands of her hair awkwardly, unable to look at him directly in the eye.

Inwardly, she berated herself in her embarrassment.

Elias looked at her expression and couldn't help but be amused. He wasn't dense and realized she was not used to compliments at all.

Which was somewhat strange, considering her beauty. But he would just chalk it up to fantasy world beauty standards.

'It's my fault anyways that this world is filled with beautiful people.'

Elias coughed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist but admire your painting skills. You see, I also love art and painting. It calms me down for some reason."

"Uhm, it's fine, Sir. Elias! I also understand what you mean. I grew up with a painting brush and learned to draw as I grew old… during some sad times, I used painting to calm myself down."

Quickly calming down, Alysa expressed with a nostalgic smile.

"I see. That sounds wonderful. Also, the coffee..?"

Elias nodded and reached out for the coffee.

Realizing that she hasn't given the coffee yet, Alysa smiled in embarrassment and quickly gave the coffee to Elias.

He accepted and let her sit down on her chair.

Afterward, she sat down and picked up the brush on the table. As soon as she touched the brush, she became one with herself and focused on the painting intently.

While watching her paint silently, Elias sipped his coffee.

That morning, while the birds chirped and the sun shone brightly, the sight of a beautiful girl painting with determination and focus gave out a soothing and calming visage.

After a while.

"...And there! I'm done."

Alyssa finished up the closing touches and smiled brightly while looking at the painting. It was an illustration of a woman with a red rose in her hand, staring at the starry sky.

"That looks absolutely stunning. You're amazing, Ms. Alysa."

Near her, Elias couldn't help but comment in amazement.

Alysa was surprised by the voice and quickly turned her head slightly before asking:

"You're still here, Sir. Elias?"

"I have been here since you started painting."

Elias chuckled, much to Alysa's embarrassment. Looking at the painting, he curiously asked.

"But why a woman holding red roses?"

"Hmm…"

Hearing that, Alysa paused for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, she looked at Elias directly and answered cheekily.

"I don't know myself. I just drew it because It appeared in my mind. I just wanted to draw this for some reason. Some say art is prophetic and mystical, it could mean something or mean nothing at the same time."

Elias nodded and agreed, not pursuing the topic. At that moment, while they were talking to each other, the door of the house opened.

Donato, Galilei, and the rest entered.

"Oh you guys are here, that's perfect."

Seeing them, Elias smiled. He was just about to go find them and discuss something—in particular ask them to train him for the entrance examination.