#677 A Sculptor and the Snow Festival

I’m a genius artist.

I am Pisoccho from the human race.

My name will be engraved in history and passed down for hundreds of years to come.

Why, you ask? 

Because I’m a prodigy!!!

But not just any genius, you know?

A genius artist!

God must have given me such rich talents to be both a genius and an artist!

Huh?

What do you mean a genius and an artist are different concepts?

An artist with a talent for celestial works isn’t considered a genius artist, you say?

You plebians don’t understand!!!

Being an artist is not such a simple concept!

Only a handful of people chosen by God can be considered artists!

Art is self-expression!

That means those who have powerful self-expression are allowed to be artists!

That’s a different story from being a genius!

I possess a self worthy of an artist, coupled with my celestial talent!

That’s why as a genius artist, I am supremely great on a cosmic level!!

Who was that? Who said I was being noisy and annoying?!

Oh, bother.

Anyway, because of who I am, everyone loves and respects me.

I was invited to the castle and had an audience with the king and ministers, who praised my works without reservation.

They bought many masterpieces expressing my true self, and each time, they paid me a huge sum of money.

But that’s all in the past.

What about now?

Even now, I’m still a hit! All the works I create are met with great enthusiasm!

...Sorry, that was a lie.

After the war ended and the Human Kingdom fell, the environment around me changed completely.

Most of my patrons were former Human Kingdom officials.

They all lost everything after losing the war.

The art I created with all my soul was no longer bought because “there’s no money to spend on them.”

So, I went to try to sell my work to the big shots of the new ruling power, the Demon King’s Army...

But they just said, “What are these? I don’t get it,” and sent me away.

Ultimately, those barbaric demons did not understand my genius artistic talent!

What a misfortune!

This prodigy artist is sinking without being accepted by the times!

Can this really be happening?!

Do my art pieces have no choice but to be buried until people’s culture matures enough to understand their value after I die?!

It’s been a few years since that happened.

My painted pieces and carved sculptures don’t sell at all.

I’m struggling to make ends meet and secure my next meal as my savings are running out.

It’s a true artistic crisis.

The harshest calamity has struck an artist not understood by the world!!!

“Don’t say that. Keep on creating, maestro,” says an old acquaintance, an art dealer.

In the past, he could turn one of my works into a large sum of money on the same day, but now, he’s useless and can’t achieve any results.

“Well, that’s because you haven’t been doing works that are in tune with the times. No matter how business-savvy I am, I can’t sell something that has no value, hm?”

Nuh-uh, it’s because you’re incompetent!

What I create are works of art!

If it’s art, it’s only natural for ordinary people to trade it at a high price. Why do they have to haggle and buy it for dirt cheap?!

“As I said, the times have changed. We lost the war, right? The trend is growing stronger that there’s no value in worshiping the celestial deities who didn’t protect the Human Kingdom.”

So what?

“You usually make pictures or sculptures of Zeus or Athena, hm? They don’t sell.”

What are you talking about?!

My talent is a gift from the heavens. That’s why I’m a genius!!!

Crafting works of art using the celestial gods as a motif to express gratitude to heaven is only natural!

Back in the day, works featuring the motifs of celestial gods sold well!!!

“Again, times have changed. Those who happily bought Zeus statues or paintings of celestial goddesses (usually half-naked or fully naked) have all fallen in the defeat of war and lost their fortunes. Your regular clients no longer have the financial power to spend big money on those things.”

“Ugh...”

“Catering to the needs of the people no longer wealthy won’t get us anywhere. Instead, what you should be drawing now are underworld gods like Hades! The higher-ups of the invading demon race have money to spare, you know? Let’s create works that appeal to them!”

You fool!

Are you telling me to suck up to the people who were our enemies just yesterday because we lost the war?!

I am a genius artist!

The essence of being an artist is expressing oneself, not pandering to others! If you grovel before others, you lose your own self! 

That’s why artists shouldn’t cater to others! It’s the others who should pander to art!

“Artists are such a pain...”

Don’t summarize it in one sentence!

“Why don’t we just honestly make a huge profit? Use the motifs of underworld gods that will appeal to demons. How about a portrait of Demetersephone, Hades’ wife? Of course, while making her show a lot of skin!!!”

I only draw what I want!

Let the plebians buy it for a high price!

“Hmm, still as stubborn as ever. What should I do...? Oh, I know.”

What is it, art dealer?

You clearly look like you just thought of something.

“Well, I heard a rumor recently. It snowed a lot this year, didn’t it?”

Yeah, I guess so. 

It wasn’t that bad near my mountain villa, though.

“Why do people who pretend to be artists always want to live in remote places like this? Anyway, the snow was terrible, and transportation was cut off. The situation is pretty dangerous. I won’t be able to deliver our packages to our clients, so we’re in big trouble.”

Ah!

By packages, you mean the art supplies or paintings, right? I mean, you are an art dealer.

Art or statues made by anyone other than me aren’t works of art! 

Just bury them in the snow!

“In the end, thanks to the reliable people who shoveled the snow, we were able to resume logistics work.”

Tch.

“Now, the main point starts here. It seems there’s a Snow Festival to be held.”

Snow Festival?

“They’re trying to reuse the removed snow, so they have snow sculptures and other things on display. Wouldn’t it pique the interest of a great artist like yourself?”

Oh?

“Some acquaintances of mine have gone there, and apparently, there are splendid snow sculptures of deities. They’re really well made. And there’s also a tower made of huge piles of snow or something?”

Hmm?

“So? Why don’t you go and see it once, maestro? You might get some inspiration. They say it’s going on for a while, so you can still make it if you go now.”

...Hmph.

So this genius artist is being asked to evaluate those snow sculptures?

Made by amateurs?

Interesting!

They must have followed the trend and added some gaudy elements to their sculptures. As a true artist, I’ll criticize them to no end!

“The most annoying type of client...”

This is perfect for venting my frustration at my unsold works!

Watch and learn! This genius artist will teach those amateurs what true art really is!!!