Architectural Discussion

“...And w-well… It is said that the creator of architecture cultivation was inspired by a trip he made to a ‘Great Realm’. A place called ‘The In-Between’, where he witnessed seemingly infinite places–Some familiar, some completely alien... And this is how he got the inspiration. He wanted to recreate the feeling the realm had given him”

“I don’t think it ever worked out for him. He couldn’t build it as he desired.... Since then, no one else has ever managed to enter The In-Between. From my understanding, this realm can’t really be entered at will. You just sort of… Fall into it at random”

Haoyu talked at length, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort as Edrick stayed close to him. It was honestly surprising that the scion’s palm hadn’t already landed on the Foppoof’s thigh. Anoteros was listening without doing anything odd–Yet, at least.

“...M-Maybe I could show you a project I am working on…? It’s something outside of my comfort zone, but I am making it to try and improve my skills when it comes to building an outdoor environment… Like, not bring the outdoors indoors, but genuinely create a biome of some kind, from scratch? W-Well, it is indoors right now, but the idea is that it could be done outside, too”

“I would love to see your work, Haoyu. You told me that you were more interested in building ruins, right? Making brand-new things seem ancient and decrepit? Does this artificial biome of yours follow the same philosophy, or are you really going out of your way to try something novel for you?”

“...You remembered what I said last time?”

“Of course. I almost spaced out because of your enchanting voice, but I managed to listen nonetheless”

Haoyu cleared his throat, covered the lower half of his face for a few moments, before standing up from the bed.

“T-T-Thanks… People don’t usually remember my ramblings. This is why I had stopped discussing with others, actually... Anyway! Please, follow me, Young Master. I-I’ll show you directly what I am building, it is better than just explaining!”

The core disciple led the way to a door on the opposite wall from the entrance to his private quarters. Edrick really should have expected it, but Labyrinth Palace truly defied all common sense when it came to internal layout… Haoyu had a slew of empty, hollow rooms and hallways connected directly to where he slept and spent most of his daily life.

It seemed like being the favourite core disciple had its pros…

Anoteros passed by several rooms, which mostly consisted of ruins that definitely looked ancient. Some were overrun by nature, some were dusty, some seemed to have suffered from a fire… He frankly wouldn’t be able to tell that they were recent constructions at all if not for the current context. Haoyu was indeed extremely talented.

However, there were also constructs of other kinds, and they exuded the exact same skill and refined craftsmanship as the rest–And yet, Haoyu did not seem nearly as confident about them. It showed in his body language. He almost looked ashamed of letting the scion see them.

‘...What’s this, imposter syndrome or something? I’ll need to straighten you, Haoyu. You need to open your eyes and acknowledge that you are literally acing everything’

Thankfully, Edrick was very capable when it came to giving confidence boosts. His skills in bed were just that good.

In any case, Haoyu eventually stopped in front of a room. With a clap of his hands, the lights within brightened up, revealing what looked like a tranquil garden featuring a pink cherry blossom tree, a small pond surrounded by very rounded, smooth rocks, and even a stool accompanied by a fishing rod… There was actually a little story being told here, which was quite cute.

“...I know it isn’t very good, but I usually build my architectures on their own, and never design a custom environment around them… I thought it was time to finally get to learning it–But… It is just my first time trying this, so of course it isn’t going to be good”

Anoteros stared at the Foppoof for several seconds intensely.

“Haoyu. There is literally nothing wrong or bad about this. Even the damned grass is not too uniform in height across this little biome. If this were put outside of this room, it would just look like someone’s garden, and a little place in the wild someone decided to use for themselves”

“...Really? But… Doesn’t it look bad?”

“It doesn’t look bad, not at all–And don’t think that I am saying this because I am trying to put a ring on your finger. When it comes to the people I want as my wives, I am always perfectly honest. If this were garbage, I would have told you without a shred of hesitation. On the way here, I only saw masterpiece after masterpiece… It is genuinely mind-blogging how there wasn’t a single piece of architecture that was bad or unconvincing. You are a fucking talented genius at this, Haoyu”

“For real…? But why do I not feel like it's right, then?”

“Heh, hard for me to tell, I can’t exactly look inside that cute head of yours, but if I had to guess, you are just too in love without your ruins and feel like anything that isn’t one is ‘wrong’. You just love the aesthetic too much. Get in the right headspace–Imagine that you aren’t the one who built this, and the architect tells you that they made a garden. What would you think this looks like? Would you think it’s good?”

“I… Yes…?”

“See? Doubting yourself over nothing like this will just hold you back… Anyway, you told me you were working on this–So it isn’t done yet? What do you want to add? Nothing seems to be obviously missing”

“Oh, I wanted to make a forest around the pond by planting some small birch trees. I was told that birch wasn’t a pretty wood, but I quite like it personally. What do you think, Young Master?”

“I would say that the birch should meld well with the pink of the cherry blossom tree–But it isn’t like a biome needs to follow our sense of aesthetic”

Haoyu raised both of his hands, and suddenly, full birch trees flew into the room from somewhere further down the long hallway, and under the noble’s eyes, they were seamlessly planted in the ground. The core disciple didn’t even hesitate. He placed them all, and somehow, even though he had just seen it happen, Edrick could see that the placement was magnificent.

‘I swear…’

“Haoyu”

“Yes, Young Master?”

“I want you. Right now”

“H-Huh?”