Chapter 368.4

T/N: The random question marks (?) between paragraphs in this chapter are verbatim from the author.

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The Academy’s Secret Club [Part 4]

“President, how about the paintings of the artist from the slums you talked about before? You have had high hopes for him, mentioning how that painter has many interactions with children and should be able to draw a splendid work…”

That member was talking about Harold. With the ability to draw fancy strawberry patterns for Joshua’s storefront, and the experience of taking care of children in the slums, William reported to Carne and [the 2D Girls Appreciation Society] that he might be the artist they had been looking for.

“About that… I was too hasty in jumping to conclusions.”

William had already requested Harold to draw for him, but…

“President? What’s wrong? We have been looking forward to it very much, you know?”

“I have had him draw something. I have, but… Would you like to see it? You need to prepare your heart before you can see this…”

William took out a piece of paper from his bag reluctantly.

“We, [the 2D Girls Appreciation Society], have always been ready… ?!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Vice President…? What’s wro…?!”

“What is it, you… two…?!”

[2D Girls Appreciation Society] members became speechless the moment they saw the picture of slum girls drawn by Harold.

As requested, it was a picture all drawn in light colors and gave off soft vibes.

Ten little girls in matching clothes were smiling as they were surrounded by soft fabrics in various colors.

The drawing style was somewhat too realistic to be considered a moe picture, but it truly conveyed the artist’s wonderful drawing skills.

The girls’ carefree smiles were all cute.

The problem was the person who, for some reason, was drawn in the center of the picture, George Stuart.

“President! This… Just what is the meaning of this?!”

In the picture, President William’s older brother, George, was sitting smack in the middle, surrounded by girls.

“When I requested a picture from the artist, Mr. Harold, this was what he said: ‘I just happened to have a sketch from the other day. I will color it for you…’”

William clenched his fist and squeezed an answer out of his gritted teeth.

“Huh? A sketch, you say?”

“Which means, this dream-like, heaven-like situation actually, really happened…? Is that how it is? President?”

“N-No way. Please tell me it’s not real. Even though Sir George was surrounded by girls like this, his expression… doesn’t show any hidden evil designs at all…”

It wasn’t impossible, but they couldn’t be like that.

No, they couldn’t even feel any evilness from this picture.

They could see from this picture that the artist who drew this didn’t harbor any feelings that would cause strange intentions toward little girls.

“Ugh… Do you have to have a heart as pure as a saint to get closer to girls?”

“What’s with this picture! This sense of humiliation as if it’s vividly describing the definite reason we are not popular with the girls… No, not humiliation, but a sense of defeat? No, it’s a sense of despair!”

“President, is your older brother perhaps a messenger sent by God to judge us who were born with peculiar preferences or something?”

George in the picture was smiling kindly.

His kind smile seemed to be telling them that even the act of admiring 2D little girls was wrong… showing them absolute justice. It made [the 2D Girls Appreciation Society] members sick of their own ugly side.

“No, I don’t think George nii-sama was born with such a crazy life mission…”

If anything, his older sister was the one who was set on exterminating all lolicons.

“He isn’t carrying any saintly responsibility, but is just naturally like this?”

‘George is surrounded by little girls like it’s a matter of course, but why are we gathering in this dim, empty classroom, only staring at pictures with fellow boys?’

The members suffered heavy emotional damage upon realizing the ridiculous gap between what was depicted in the picture and their current selves.

‘Only pictures have been kind and forgiving to the likes of us. But if the picture were like this, it would be no different from reality, wouldn’t it?’

“No way… So not just in 3D but even in 2D too, there’s nowhere we belong… Is that how it is?”

“Such a thing… For something like this…”

“ARRGHHHH, I CAN’T STAND IT ANYMORE! Showing such a thing to us is too cruel! …That’s it. Let’s disband this club. I can’t go on. I can’t admire 2D lolis with a pure(?) heart like I used to anymore!”