Compensation θ ~ I might be late for reincarnation, but since I was born as the talented eldest son of a prestigious noble, I might be on the winning side.

“Hmm ♪ Hmm ♪ Hmm ♪”

Trace, trace, tracing.

While humming a tune, I’m currently enjoying my work.

Since the incident with the nectar, my caretaker overprotectiveness has gone into overdrive. I’m feeling like they might have overdone it.

Still, there’s no chance to leave the mansion. In this forced confinement, just taking a walk isn’t enough to dispel the gloom.

Well, the only thing to do is to enjoy indoor activities.

—That’s how I started doing replica paintings.

To paint, you naturally need art supplies. I already have paper, ink, and a pencil-like tool with a long, narrow piece of graphite wrapped with a string in hand.

Since there are several paintings in the mansion, I expressed a desire to draw, thinking that they might have something. Then, they specially ordered it from the royal capital. A wooden box adorned with dazzling decorations was presented.

What caught my eye was the beautiful flowers floating on a gold background. Are they painting on gold leaf? It doesn’t look like a tool case at all. Truly befitting of nobility.

The wooden box had hinges, and by undoing the latch, the lid easily opened. Lined up neatly inside were bottled mineral pigments, adhesive glue, brush cleaners, various types of brushes, a dish for dissolving paint, and a small spoon for scooping paint.

“All the art supplies other than paper seem to be here. Can you tell me more about this box?”

“It’s called a Corrin paintbox. There are several types of art supplies, but this is said to be the most user-friendly.”

It seems that the children of nobles sometimes engage in painting as part of their education, and such luxurious art supply sets are sold.

There was no sketchbook, but there was a kind of white drawing paper. The papermaking technology in this world seems to be more advanced than I expected.

What I’m drawing is not a copy but a replica.

It’s an image captured by Luciola while flying, projected onto the virtual screen in my brain through [Sensory Sync].

At first, I was just looking at it for a change of mood. It was fun to see the world expand, and within the range where [Sensory Sync] was possible, I had Luciola fly around.

In these two years, quite a lot has happened.

I actively studied, learned noble etiquette, and became able to perform elegant gestures naturally.

My physical strength has increased, and in terms of vision, my eyesight has improved significantly. Or rather, having separate eyes has been too convenient.

Luciola, who was once just a strand of hair, has evolved dramatically.

Not only has the function as an eye improved, but she also excels in other senses. She has grown to be able to separate from me, change her appearance according to the situation.

What’s even more amazing is that she has features like flight, optical camouflage, and survey functions. She has become a high-spec kid in terms of reconnaissance.

In the past few years, I’ve become accustomed to the way of seeing with magic eyes, and it hasn’t caused any inconvenience in daily life. Therefore, for Luciola, I actively send her out to relieve the stress of confinement and gather information.

Looking at the territory from the sky with Luciola’s eyes is interesting, like aerial photographs. Luciola Earth. Exactly that kind of feeling. When I see the stunning natural and scenic beauty, my often gloomy mood clears.

Actually, I’m secretly making a map.

I capture the images Luciola sees through [Sensory Sync], and via Araneola, I store them in my memory. Under Ai’s supervision, I correct any distortions in the saved images and add supplementary information to organize them.

From a high position, I observe the terrain with a wide field of view. The survey function is excellent, allowing for not only an aerial perspective but also three-dimensional analysis.

By utilizing the parallel activation of the magic eyes, the terrain image projected onto the virtual screen in my brain appears as if it’s projected onto the paper I’m looking at with the magic eyes.

I reduce and project the image onto the paper, faithfully tracing and drawing over it. It feels somewhat similar to projector tracing, I guess?

Each sheet of drawing paper is reasonably large, about the size of a pad. Once I finish one, I shift the coordinates and draw the adjacent area at the same scale. The slices may be crude, but I include contour lines and color differentiation.

When I connect the finished sheets of drawing paper, I have a large map with a diorama-like feeling.

—However.

Because Luciola, the natural color specialist, is away on a business trip, I’ve been observing and drawing the map with the magic eyes. Therefore, the colors are off.

The mineral pigments appeared to be different colors due to their elemental content. So, I was choosing paint based on those colors I saw. When Luciola returned and looked at the picture with natural colors—it looked like hell.

A psychedelic abstract painting swirled with vivid colors resembling tree rings, all on a six-mat-sized canvas.

If it had been green or brown, someone might have realized it was a map.

But in reality, the main component colors were yellow, blue, black, and red in order of high elevation. Plains and forests were a sea of blood, and the small hills looked like a multicolored dartboard. The summits were a perfect bullseye.

Yes.

I can’t stand the way the other looks at me. A slightly unbearable look, as if consoling a pitiable child.

Only Moriss-jiisan seemed to have an understanding of avant-garde art, or perhaps he was checking my psychological state, as he was earnestly gazing at the painting.

“Lord Lyon, what was the theme of this painting?”

“Um, well, a landscape of the mind?”

It’s not entirely a lie. Besides, I can’t exactly say it’s a view from the sky.

—Let’s refocus. Now, onto a new area.

I began with an understanding of the mansion’s surrounding geography, explored the Spirit Forest, observed life in small villages and towns. When I got bored with that, I had Luciola fly eastward to expand our investigation to just before the capital city of Glassbridge.

As I looked at the lush hills, forests, vast fields, and orchards, I could truly feel that this was a rich land. It’s important to see things with your own eyes, after all.

With the completion of the map, the eastward exploration came to an end. The next destination was south. There was something I really wanted to see.

Isn’t that it? Amazing. I didn’t think it would be this authentic.

Grid-like irrigation canals and embankments running through vast and neatly arranged plots, countless cultivated fields. The crops growing vigorously still had long, slender ears sticking out.

“Paddy fields!”

Needless to say, I couldn’t help but shout in excitement.