I was using my personal terminal as I watched Kouki and Shingo search through the powered suit scrap some distance away.
The email I’d received from Mrs. Arakawa this morning had said, “My son will be up to something soon, so keep a very close eye on him.” But I hadn’t expected that he’d actually be up to anything.
Perhaps Mrs. Arakawa was worthy of admiration for being able to predict her son’s actions so well, or perhaps Kouki was just easy to predict because he took after his father, Shuuichi, by causing trouble on a daily basis. It was a tough one to call.
“But I couldn’t have predicted he’d ask me to create new culture with him,” I murmured.
This year I’d turn 35. If I could get so fired up over the words of a young boy who had lived only half as long as I had, maybe I wasn’t as sharp as I used to be. I had no great talents. I didn’t have the courage of Shuuichi and the members of his ghost unit, nor was I as smart as Mrs. Arakawa or her researchers.
All I had was an above-average level of combat skill. And in comparison to the population of the Hakone base, even my combat skills might have been below average. At this rate, I would die of old age as just another face in the crowd. At least, that’s what I’d thought. But now Kouki had given me new hope.
“Your artistic talent is just what I need right now! Won’t you try to create something new with me? It won’t matter if we fail, but if we succeed, you’ll leave your mark on history. You’re a man, so you’ve got to have big ambitions.” Then Kouki had smiled a pure smile that reminded me how young he was. I’d been dazzled by it.
Big ambitions...? How long has it been since I gave up on my ambitions? It must have been when I entered the armed forces. No... I’d already given up on a lot of things by then. Is it too late to chase after some big dream just one more time?
While I was debating with myself, Kouki brought over some armor plates of just the right size that he’d found. “Mr. Baldy! I found some unpainted armor plates that look perfect. The size is about right. Let’s paint on them as they are! You must have a lot of ideas. Go ahead. Paint whatever you like, however you like.”
Kouki handed over an armor plate with a smile. It was a prototype armor plate that was already painted white. This meant there would be no need for us to paint these white first. But it was hard to figure out what I was supposed to paint onto it after being told to paint whatever I liked.
After thinking about it for a while, I was about to ask Kouki what kind of picture I should paint, but then I stopped in surprise. On his own armor plate, Kouki was painting an elegant-looking girl with black hair dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono. On her head, he’d given her fox ears.
“That’s... such a cute girl,” I said.
“Thanks. You can paint whatever you like too. Everyone here likes this sort of thing, so go ahead and paint whatever you’re interested in without feeling embarrassed.”
My own interests...? In that case, I’ll paint something I’ve been thinking about for some time! I’ll follow Kouki’s lead and use the full size of this armor plate to paint something I’ve had in mind ever since I’d first learned to draw! I should be able to paint it now better than I ever could in the past.
With that in mind, I gave my full concentration to painting on the armor plate. I’d been painting for some time when I realized that someone was standing over me.
“You’re really focused on that. I finished my painting. How’s yours going, Mr. Baldy?” Kouki asked me with a smile.
Has it already been so long? I checked my terminal and was surprised to find that three hours had passed since I’d started painting.
“Sorry. I got carried away and took longer than I thought. It’s done now.”
“Buh hee... This is... the only word I can think of is amazing. Don’t you agree, Kouki?”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect that he’d be able to paint something on this level.”
The two of them were looking at my painting and showering it with praise, but I was so embarrassed that I raised my hands to cover it.
Kouki laughed and asked me, “We want to sell these paintings at auction like we said. Does your painting have a name? There’s only one suitable name for it that I can think of.”
“Right... How about ‘Girl in the Moonlight’?”
For me, this was my greatest masterpiece, and these two boys were the first like-minded people I’d encountered. When I told them the name I’d given it, they told me that they thought it was a great name. Despite my age, I felt my face turn red as I took another look at the painting.
This really is my greatest work. It might even fetch a high price. Maybe, just maybe, this painting will sell, and I’ll have one last chance to chase after big ambitions.
As I looked at the smiling girl lit by the moonlight in my painting, I decided, Together with Kouki and Shingo, I want to do something that’ll make my name known throughout the world.