(MC POV)
It's been a few days after the festival and things have settled back down. The gods have all returned to their own planets and our home here got quiet again.
"Ara? What is Master doing?" Iris asked, while looking over my shoulder.
I looked down at the canvas in front of me, "Well… I thought that if I were to pick up a new hobby, I could avoid feeling bored without relying on things like the festivals from before."
"Ara, ara~ So Master has picked up painting I see~ Ufufufu~ So what is Master painting?"
"Mmm… Just the cookie stall over there. I've not really drawn much aside from inscriptions in this life after all, so I'm still learning."
"Ufufu~ It's beautiful, Master."
I looked at the drawing I did, already spotting a few imperfections in the drawing where I had missed out a few details.
I shrugged, "I still have a long way to go, plus it's merely just a simple drawing done using basic watercolours on canvas, nothing too fancy."
"But it's still beautiful, nevertheless~"
"Oh you're just saying that. It's still not that good."
"Ufufu~ If Master says so~ But what does Master intend to do with the completed drawing?" Iris asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Hmmm… Nothing? Maybe I'll just keep it somewhere."
"Ara, ara? In that case, would Master mind giving it to me instead?"
"Err… Sure I guess? What are you planning to do with it? If you want I can always just give you one drawn specifically for you."
"Ufufu~ There's no need to Master, this is good enough for me~"
I shrugged and gave that painting to her.
She received it with both hands before it disappeared into thin air, presumably being teleported to wherever she was storing it.
I then got up from the ground I was sitting on while carrying my canvas, deciding to try and find another spot for my next painting.
Just as I did so, Elaria descended from the sky to land in front of me, "Onii-sama! Onii-sama! You won't believe what I-- Oh? What's Onii-sama doing?"
"Hmm? I've just picked up drawing recently. Did something happen?"
"Yes! That fake little sister… Eh?! Wait!! Did Onii-sama say that you're drawing?!"
"I just recently picked it up, as I said. What about it?"
"Then that's perfect! I need your help, Onii-sama! Please!!"
I raised an eyebrow, "Errr… Sure? What do you need help with?"
She grabbed my hand, "Follow me, Onii-sama!!"
I was then pulled along with her as she flew up into the air, Iris seeing us off with a casual wave as though she had predicted something like this would happen.
We flew to the back of my courtyard where a building I did not remember seeing had been built. As I got closer to it, a few other buildings also seem to materialise out of thin air, revealing it to be a compound of sorts.
"What's this place?" I asked, looking down at the buildings below us.
"Oh! This is where we come to do our things, Onii-sama! I'd show you around but I don't think the others would appreciate me doing it for them so Onii-sama will just need to be satisfied with mine for now! It's over here!"
Hold on… I definitely sense some kind of illusion being set around this place… My eyesight isn't that bad so that meant this place was hidden from sight unless you were already close by… Why were my disciples hiding this place?
I set my questions aside for now and let Elaria guide me towards one part of the compound.
She brought me to a building that looked like some kind nineteenth century gothic mansion where the doors automatically opened when we got close to it.
Despite its exterior look, the interior looked like a modern studio apartment which made me pause to look at its exterior again to make sure I did not hallucinate when I first saw the building.
"Over here, Onii-sama!" Elaria beckoned, prompting me to enter the gothic mansion/studio apartment and letting the doors close behind me.
I realised that Tsuki was also there and she looked quite upset while seated in front of what looked like a drawing tablet hooked up to a computer.
Tsuki scowled at Elaria upon seeing me, "Really? Just because I won't do it, you got Aniue to come and convince me?!"
Elaria waved her hand at her, "Oh please, I'll do you one better! I'm asking Onii-sama to do it for us instead!"
My other little sister immediately rose to her feet, "Ohhh!! Now this is something I can get behind! Aniue! Over here! Over here!!"
Err… Ok?
Still feeling rather confused about what was going on, I was guided to the seat that Tsuki had just vacated.
I looked down at the tablet in front of me, wondering if it would shine some light on what exactly was going on.
What I saw only made me even more confused as I quickly realised they were drawing some kind of manga where what appears to be a stylized version of me was talking to stylized versions of my little sisters.
"What's this?" I asked.
"We're drawing a manga!" Elaria explained with a proud smile.
"I can see that… But why am I here then?"
"Because we're drawing a manga about Onii-sama and us!"
"No, no… I don't mean why am I inside the manga… I meant why am I here sitting in front of this tablet?"
Tsuki crossed her arms, "In this scene, Aniue is supposed to embrace us in a hug but this fake little sister wants her to be hugged first before I get the hug. That is completely unacceptable! Of course Aniue would hug me first before hugging her!"
"Hey! You're using my tools so I get to say who gets hugged first!"
"Well, you're depending on my composition and styling so I get to decide it!"
Err… Ok… I guess I wasn't the only one around who thought about getting a hobby… Elaria and Tsuki must have taken up drawing manga for themselves to occupy their time.
My other disciples must have also taken up hobbies for themselves as well, which would explain all the buildings around this compound.
But looking at the manga in front of me right now… What I was supposed to do?
First of all, I'm not even good at drawing people. Do you know how different it is to draw people as compared to just drawing a food stall? I don't even have experience in drawing in the manga style either and I was practising watercolour painting…
Even if you ask me to help, what the heck was I supposed to do?
I raised my hand, "I'm not really sure I can help with anything though… I don't even know the story and my art isn't in this style either…"
Tsuki then picked up a stack of books before dropping them on the table, "Don't need to worry Aniue! These are all the volumes we've drawn so far! Once you read through them, you'll be fine!"
Wait, you want me to learn on the job? There's at least twelve books there and you want me to read through them all right now?
I know I am bored but still…
Maybe I shouldn't have let them know that I had taken up painting as a hobby after all…
