About Kayama Esumi 2

It isn't actually that rare for a painter—or rather, an artist—to get involved in the world of politics.

To give some real-world examples, back in Japan where I spent my brief previous life, there was a painter named Kuroda Seiki. He studied under the plein-air French painter Raphael Collin and flourished as a Western-style artist and art educator. After his father passed away, he inherited the title of Viscount and eventually took a seat in the House of Peers at the age of fifty-three.

Then there is Edi Rama, the thirty-third Prime Minister of Albania, who followed a similar path of pivoting from painter to politician. Born into a family of artists, he was active as a painter from a young age, eventually entering politics and serving as the Mayor of Tirana and Minister of Culture before being tapped for the premiership. He was still an active politician when I was alive in my previous life; I wonder how he is doing now that I am gone?

We also shouldn't forget Winston Churchill, the sixty-first and sixty-third Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 1915, during the height of the First World War, he faced a political downfall after the defeat at the Battle of Gallipoli, having been the architect of the operation as the First Lord of the Admiralty. While struggling with depression, he took up painting at the suggestion of his sister-in-law. Churchill, who was in his forties at the time, became so passionate that he carried a canvas with him everywhere he went as a politician, right up until he passed away at the age of ninety in 1965. His dedication truly commands respect.

As an aside, Churchill produced roughly five hundred works in his lifetime... I want to paint that much too. I wonder if I can?

By the way, while Churchill was primarily an Impressionist landscape painter, are you aware that he published a book titled Painting as a Pastime? The Japanese title would be something like Gorkaku to shite no Kaiga. It is essentially an essay filled with his burning passion for art and his personal philosophy. It thoughtfully includes several of his own paintings, and it is a rather eccentric book where he essentially argues—quite bluntly—that one should prioritize painting over walking or reading.

Interestingly, there was an American politician who later encountered this book and truly fell in love with art as a hobby.

That would be George W. Bush, the forty-third President of the United States. To be clear, I am talking about the son, not the forty-first president, Papa Bush. In his case, he discovered his passion for painting after his presidency ended when he happened to read Churchill’s book. So, he didn’t exactly transition from being a painter to a politician, but still.

Well, I realize I started things off by suddenly dumping a bunch of art trivia, but what I really wanted to say is: I am not particularly pessimistic about being involved in politics. My habits as a troublesome art geek just slipped out. My apologies.

Now, let us take a moment to look back at how I got here.

First, I was furious that my beloved art was being weaponized for the sake of harassment, so I decided to intervene in Trinity Integrated Academy’s famous power struggles between factions. Basically, I went in swinging. To borrow a line from a famous story: "Esumi was incensed. She resolved that she must remove that treacherous, cruel Sanctus faction."

However, I did not actually intend to wipe them out. If I did that, the original story wouldn’t be able to proceed smoothly. I just wanted them to suffer a little bit.

But as it turned out, what I thought was a punch with a power level of one hundred ended up hitting with a hundred times that force. To be blunt, I apparently pushed the Sanctus faction to the brink of collapse. Then again, since that faction was crawling with students neck-deep in crime and corruption, it was only natural that the organization needed a thorough internal cleaning.

Regardless, Tsukusu-san, the head of the Sanctus faction, handled everything beautifully, so there are no more issues on that front. She really is a capable woman, fitting for a former Host of the Tea Party. Everyone said it would take a year or two to rebuild the faction, yet she managed it in about six months.

In exchange for causing that chaos, however, I was marked as a dangerous person by some of the faction members. Following Tsukusu-san's advice, I started working as an information broker to protect myself. Basically, I took on a side job.

Honestly, having two roles like this—a painter who is also an information broker—makes me feel like a character out of a movie or an anime. And yet, my main profession is supposed to be an artist.

That said, I am well aware that I acted in a way that stood out far too much. While students with a sense of self-interest might leave me alone, it is a fact that I am now in a position where I could be attacked at any moment by radical students who act purely on instinct.

I might be safe as long as Tsukusu-san is still in school, but she only has a few months left until graduation. To establish myself as a perfect information broker who can protect her own skin, I ran myself ragged all over the Trinity district. I gave it my absolute all, every single day. I had to identify trustworthy people who wouldn't let secrets slip, deepen ties with students who could provide reliable intel, and manage all that gathered information so it wouldn't leak. I really worked hard.

Unfortunately, regardless of whether my position was precarious or not, I couldn't abandon my studies as a student, and I certainly couldn't stop my activities as a painter—a dream I had finally grasped. There were moments when the lack of rest was so intense it brought back memories of working at a "black company" in my past life.

In the end, all that effort paid off, and I was able to start my work as an information broker much earlier than planned. However, for a few months, I was plagued by constant fatigue and stress.

It was during this period that I celebrated Kirifuji Nagisa's birthday along with Misono Mika. As I mentioned, my fatigue and stress levels had already hit their limit. I wasn't thinking clearly. For some reason, thinking she would like it, I invited Nagisa to my house. Seriously... am I an idiot? A total moron?

I mean, I kept telling myself not to get too close to the Blue Archive characters, yet here I was making a direct move that would make a pickup artist blush. Where did my self-control go?

And Nagisa was just as bad at the time! She accepted my invitation so easily! You should have turned me down; your virtue was at stake! There shouldn't be a beautiful girl artist in the world of Blue Archive who tries to take the birthday girl home!

Now that I can think straight, I can feel those emotions and immediately recognize my blunder. But again, I was not normal back then. To make matters worse, Mika, who was there for that terrible moment, decided to play along and even prepared a ride and a change of clothes for an overnight stay.

Well, in the end, we were both exhausted from our busy schedules, so as soon as we arrived at my house, we took a shower together and went straight to sleep. Unfortunately, for those of you expecting some steamy girl-on-girl action, absolutely nothing happened.

Honestly, the fact that I have zero memory of what happened after we got home is terrifying, but I feel like praising my past self for not crossing the line. Just to be sure, I asked Nagisa about that night during breakfast. She gave me a brilliant smile and immediately replied, "Nothing happened at all." So it must be true. I have triumphed over my own foolishness!

On a side note, I gave Nagisa a set of art supplies as a birthday gift. Apparently, inspired by me, she had started painting as a hobby. Since I was planning to give her an art lesson soon, I thought it was a perfect gift. However, Nagisa seemed happier about spending the night with me than she was about the gift. Considering I put a lot of thought into what she would like for the "first" gift I ever gave someone, I felt a bit slighted and decided to give her cheek a good pinch. I think I was in the right.

Alright, let's change the subject.

From here, I'll give a brief summary of what happened before I moved up to the second year.

First, having successfully launched my information broker business, I decided to go to the desert alone during the long holiday as a reward for all my hard work.

Now, you might be thinking, "Going to the desert? Have you lost your mind?"

Don't worry. The destination was the Abydos Desert, which appears frequently in the original Blue Archive story. While the damage from desertification increases every year, it was once a district that rivaled Trinity or Gehenna in prosperity. Because of that history, there are surprisingly many ruins and artworks of artistic value buried in the sand.

I didn't actually go to dig them up, but I wanted to reflect on the scenes of the past and gain inspiration for my own work. Basically, it was a sightseeing trip. It's almost impossible to paint outdoors there because of the frequent sand-filled winds, so I went as a tourist with indoor art supplies in hand. I stayed for three days—mostly because I admired the story of a certain light novel traveler on a motorcycle.

And so, arriving there with high hopes of refining my artistic pursuits, I immediately... ended up helping a tall Abydos student who was being scammed.

"What are you doing?"

To be honest, the details of the Abydos story had almost completely slipped my mind. I had no idea if the scene in front of me was something that actually happened in the original story, nor did I recognize this student with light blue hair, a timid expression, and a surprisingly large chest.

I didn't intend to get involved unnecessarily, but I couldn't ignore someone being sold a suspicious painting. In the debt-ridden Abydos district, it was blatantly unnatural for anyone who wasn't a scholar to be dealing in art.

"That painting is clearly a print. Looking at the quality of this reproduction, I'd say it's a silk-screen. One of the characteristics of silk-screen prints is that they are sold at a much lower price than the original, but the amount you were quoting this student is about ten times the market rate. Honestly, even if this student bought it and tried to sell it on the market, it wouldn't be worth much."

Since I have experience working in an art gallery in my previous life, telling a print from an original is easy for me. Silk-screening is a widely used printing technique, and while it's famous for being able to get as close to an original as possible, its value as a work of art is quite low. Most sell for between two hundred and four hundred thousand yen, and unless it's an original, it almost never sells for nearly a million.

Therefore, you'll either be offered a low price when trying to sell it or find that no one will take it at all. This "art scam" is a common type of fraudulent business practice. Given the situation, I assume the scammer told her that if she bought the painting and sold it for a high price, she could quickly pay off Abydos's debt. Trust an adult to play dirty.

"I know a merchant who is well-versed in these kinds of art scams. If you doubt my words, I'll contact them right now. What do you want to do?"

Whether or not art is being used, fraud and predatory business practices are crimes. Furthermore, I needed to prevent Abydos's debt from increasing any further, and I didn't want to change the core of the story that serves as the beginning of the original Blue Archive. My decision to help that student was born from a fear of altering the future.

In the end, whether it was because he was afraid of me or realized he couldn't win, the crooked merchant broke into a cold sweat and hurried away. One less thing for me to worry about.

"You should be careful with those shady scams from now on. You'll just end up increasing Abydos's debt."

Having settled the matter, I gave that warning to the student who was still standing there in a daze. I started to walk away to resume my sightseeing, but then the student suddenly hugged me and started thanking me profusely.

"Wait, why?"

I could understand the gratitude, but was the hug necessary? I don't think so. Moreover, once she found out I was there for sightseeing, her eyes lit up, and she offered to be my guide—all while still hugging me. She has a beautiful face, as expected of a Kivotos resident, but her face was too close and I could feel her breath. I really wanted her to let go.

While being guided by a local is standard in any world, I was a bit... hesitant to rely on a student who had almost been scammed. She seemed to read my expression and pushed even harder, saying, "It's fine! Leave it to me!" I told you, your face is too close! She was so excited to repay the favor that she wouldn't listen. She was so close our lips might have touched, so I kept my face turned away, my ears turning bright red.

Also, my chest is quite large compared to others my age, but hers was even bigger. As she pressed against me, she was squishing my chest, and I could hardly breathe. I tried to grab her shoulders to push her off, but for some reason, she wouldn't budge. I noticed a large shield lying nearby; despite her appearance, is she incredibly strong? Is she like Mika?

"Alright, I get it... just let go. I can't breathe."

I couldn't just stand there forever, so I gave up and accepted her offer. It was better to give in than to risk suffocating.

"Thank you! I won't let you regret it! Abydos has so many charming places... probably!"

"That last part makes me really uneasy. I've heard the rumors, so I'm not exactly surprised, though."

"But you came all this way to Abydos, I'm so happy! Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet!"

"I don't really need to know your name—"

"I'm Yume. Kuchinashi Yume!"

"You're not listening... sigh, fine. My name is Kayama Esumi."

"Esumi-chan! That's a lovely name!"

Kuchinashi Yume seemed genuinely thrilled to know my name, and she held both my hands with a wide, energetic smile. She was far too bright.

After that, while she was showing me around the district, she kept getting involved in the residents' problems and dragging me along to help. She also kept writing things about my personality and preferences in her notebook, and she even took photos of me. Are you actually doing your job as a guide? You're acting like a student who came here for fun, but you are a student of this district, right?

Still... even though it was only a three-day acquaintance, I enjoyed my time in the Abydos district quite a bit. I even managed to get some creative inspiration, so I suppose I'll call it a case of "all's well that ends well."

"Come back and visit next week! Promise me!"

"No, I won't. I'm not that free."

As we parted, she said those words to me; apparently, she had taken a liking to me. Perhaps it was because I had painted her portrait as a memento of our meeting and given it to her. It probably won't have any artistic value until hundreds of years after I'm dead, so I wouldn't recommend trying to sell it for cash right now.

"Please, just focus on paying back Abydos's debt from now on," I told her as my sightseeing trip came to an end.

Since then, my days have continued without much change. I've had private chats about art with Tsukusu-san, who successfully rebuilt the Sanctus faction; I've been dragged to band concerts by Onikata Kayoko; and I've focused on my primary work as a painter. Before I knew it, I had moved up to the second year. It was fast. Time passes way too quickly. Apparently, when you spend your time without too much hardship or busyness, time goes faster than you expect.

Moving up to the second year means I will encounter even more Blue Archive characters, not just Nagisa and Mika. I have to make an effort to keep my interactions shallow—just acquaintances at most. Since I've spent so much time in the world of Blue Archive, I can't remember my knowledge from my previous life without hints anymore. I vowed to make use of my work as an information broker and continued attending Trinity Integrated Academy.

Oh... by the way, now that I'm a second-year, I've taken on a disciple.

I've gained a fellow art lover; it's great. As people who love the same field, we hit it off immediately; our wavelengths were perfectly in sync. I ended up with a disciple simply because Nagisa introduced her to me. My disciple's name is Cheri. Otaru Cheri. It's a cute name. Apparently, Nagisa's family, the Kirifuji house, has a patronage contract with her because of her promising talent. As the rumors suggested, her talent as a painter far exceeds others her age. In my opinion, she is a junior with enough artistic sense to be called a genius.

But this disciple... despite her great talent, she has a very strong personality. Far too strong. She's a named character who wasn't in the original story, so I don't even know how to deal with her. It's like I've acquired a new product that came without an instruction manual.

Hm? You want to know what I mean? You'll understand if you see our next interaction.

"Master, you and Nagisa-sama are clearly meant for each other! You're like two halves of a whole! As someone who serves Nagisa-sama in the Filius faction and as someone who studies art under the famous Esumi-sama, I couldn't be happier!"

"I see. First of all, could you calm down?"

"I can't be calm! My favorite pairing is unfolding right before my eyes, Master!"

"Please refrain from talking about pairings in front of the actual people... that's 'real-life' shipping."

Good grief... do you see what I mean now?

In truth, she is a hardcore "real-person" shipper who desperately wants Nagisa and me to get together. A very serious one. I have no idea why she's so obsessed with our "pairing." She won't tell me, even though I'm her master. Well, everyone has a weird fetish or two, so as long as it doesn't make me too uncomfortable, I'll let her do as she pleases. My concern is that even though she's an apprentice painter, she is still Nagisa's personal attendant. I just hope she doesn't cause trouble for those around her... I'll just have to trust Nagisa to handle her.

For now, I warned Cheri to stop talking passionately about real-life ships in front of the people involved, and I went back to my painting time. Art class really is the best. It's perfect for escaping reality.

I hope I can spend my second year in peace.

But right after this, Mika came charging in with a massive amount of sweets in her hands... I think that was the moment my peace was shattered, and I was moved to tears. By the way, the sweets were handmade by Mika, and they were incredibly delicious.