The Rejected Art Student of Sixth Street

Lolis were the precious crystallization of subcultures, the symbols of cuteness and moe, treasures bestowed upon humanity by the second dimension, and justice incarnate from another dimension!

Lolis gave humanity immense courage and motivation!

She was a blooming flower, a singing bird, the future and hope, the beauty of life, and she represented the miracle of gods...

All right, you lolicons don't need to make excuses; just turn on the electricity!

Direct current to keep shocking, alternating current to switch it up.

Griseo: Sister Belle, when are you coming back?

Phaethon (Younger Sister): Lei, I've already reached the Sixth Street convenience store and will be right back!

(That's right, it was that little Griseo you're thinking of!)

Sixth Street, the most ordinary corner of New Eridu.

Many unknown stories were hidden here.

Behind every mundane shop, there might be a heaven-shaking secret—of course, it might also truly just be mundane.

Convenience store number 101. Belle put away her phone and pushed open the door, and the store owner also poked his head out from behind the shelves.

"Ah! Belle is here! This is that set of painting tools you ordered, which I just received."

The store owner placed a package on the counter, peeling back layers of newspaper to reveal the paintbox and brushes inside.

"Take a look, imported, the colors are exceptionally vibrant." Belle glanced down, nodded, and prepared to pay, but the store owner was in no hurry to take her money.

The store owner smiled and fished a box out from beneath the counter, pushing it toward her.

"This is a gift from me to our Sixth Street's little princess!"

"Huh?"

Belle was momentarily stunned.

The store owner smiled and explained, "Didn't I hear that little Griseo got into the New Eridu Academy of Fine Arts? Our Sixth Street has produced a prodigy!"

"Well... the results aren't out yet, actually." Hearing this, Belle felt a bit at a loss and could only force a bitter smile.

"She's definitely getting in! That child paints as if things are real!" The store owner shoved the box into her hands. "Take it, take it. Just consider it a small gesture from me."

Belle opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

"Thank you."

"No need for formalities! Go tell little Griseo this good news!"

Belle walked out of the convenience store, the door closing behind her.

Good news, was it.

She thought... if failing the entrance exam also counted as good news, then it was probably only in a certain sense.

As for why things turned out this way, it had to start from this morning...

"What do you mean a single paintbrush costs 500,000 Dennys? A set of pigments costs 5 million?"

New Eridu Academy of Fine Arts, Admissions Office Director's Office.

Belle slapped a scroll on the desk, with the three characters 'Griseo' written in the upper right corner, alongside a bright red annotation: Full Marks (300 points).

"Why did my sister score full marks yet fail to get admitted?"

Sitting across the desk was a middle-aged man with a shiny bald head and a polished smile.

His name was Meipu, the admissions director. Having occupied this position for twelve years, he picked up his teacup and took a leisurely, measured sip.

Meipu raised his gaze, his appraising eyes sweeping across Belle's clothes, accessories, and backpack one by one... before finally landing on that full-marks test paper after confirming they were all cheap street goods.

"You are...?"

"I'm her sister."

"Oh—"

Meipu dragged out his tone, put down his teacup, and revealed a professional smile. "It's like this, young lady. Admissions at our academy don't just depend on scores."

"Then what do they depend on?"

"Classmate Griseo is indeed exceptionally talented; we fully recognize that." Meipu stroked his Schrödinger-esque hair. "However, what our academy cultivates are artistic talents with a profound foundation."

"Foundation?"

Belle wanted to press further, but the moment she looked at a price list 'accidentally' displayed by the bald teacher... all her doubts vanished into thin air.

She saw a piece of paper placed beside Meipu's teacup, printed with 'New Semester Procurement Tasks', which upon closer inspection was a detailed inventory.

TOPS Shenglin Group custom paintbrushes... 500,000 Dennys/piece

Weifedi Premium Radiant Porcelain Pigments (12 colors)... 5,000,000 Dennys/set

Yunkui Mountain talisman-grade premium Xuan paper... 500,000 Dennys/book

Ether Purified Fixative (Professional Grade)... 300,000 Dennys/bottle

Back-to-school essential kit (textbooks not included)... 200,000 Dennys per set

"..."

Belle stared at that string of numbers for a long time, her initial confusion replaced entirely by anger and resentment!

The bald teacher also noticed Belle's gaze, but he didn't rush her, simply sipping his tea in silence—after all, this was the result he had intentionally engineered.

"Class materials... do they absolutely have to be these?"

"Of course they aren't strictly mandatory, but it's best to use them!" Meipu then launched into his usual bureaucratic spiel.

"Only works created with professional art supplies can showcase a student's best level!"

"After all, we are the best academy in New Eridu, and our pursuit is providing the most professional materials and top-tier teachers!"

"Naturally, this was also the school board's founding policy, carrying on a noble tradition."

Hearing Meipu's words, Belle didn't speak; she simply packed away Griseo's test artwork in silence, then turned around.

As she walked out of the office, she heard a faint sneer from behind her.

"Director, truly any old riffraff thinks they can get into our academy!" After Belle left, a female teacher whose appearance strongly resembled the Cart Titan couldn't help smiling and saying.

"Young people nowadays, they're just too prone to wishful thinking! This year's special slots have already been reserved by the conglomerate's young misses."

The bald teacher took a sip of tea and said, "Cart, how about grabbing a drink after work?"

Hearing this, the female teacher instantly put on a flattering, sly look and fawned, "OK, Director, wait for me!"

When she returned to the video store in Sixth Street, it was already close to noon.

Belle stood at the entrance of the video store, her hand hovering over the doorknob as she hesitated over whether to open it.

She could already picture the scene that awaited her...

Lei would be drawing while leaning over the small desk at the reception counter, her sky-blue long hair hanging down, paint-smudged small hands clutching a paintbrush.

Then, hearing the door open, she would raise her head, her dual pupils flashing with a pure, expectant light.

She would say happily, "Sister Belle is back!"

And then, bathed in that gaze, she would have to utter the words "failed to get in."

Belle clenched her fists. Although this mysterious little Griseo had only been here for a year, she had already completely become a part of this family.

Such a gentle and sensible child had become the darling of Sixth Street, and everyone called her the Princess of The Stars.

Such a child, why on earth should she have to hear that kind of news?

Just at that moment, a bizarre sound drifted from inside the shop—"Yo, Griseo, oh oh~ awesome, kimochi~"

Belle's brow furrowed into a knot instantly. That voice was... Big Brother?

"Lei, a little lower, use a bit more force!"

Immediately following Wise's voice, a crisp child's voice rang out: "Is Brother Wise doing it like this?"

???

Belle's brain crashed for half a second, and then she shoved the door open, practically roaring, "I'm back!!"

The next second, time froze.

Wise was lying prone on the tatami mat spread across the floor, squinting with an expression of pure bliss.

Lei was barefoot, stepping back and forth on his back, her blue long hair swaying gently with her movements.

Wise raised his head and locked eyes with Belle.

Belle's expression went from shock, to confusion, and finally to an indescribable... disdain.

"Hm? Brother Wise, what's wrong?" Lei stopped moving, tilting her head. "Your color turned gray, like a sky about to rain."

Belle fell silent for a hundred-thousandth of a second, then she whipped out her phone, her fingers moving so fast they blurred.

"Hello, Public Security Department? Sixth Street video store, there's a super-duper invincible lolicon here!"

Wise: "??? No, Belle, let me explain!!"

Note: The worldview of Zenless Zone Zero is relatively small, and can't compare to Honkai Impact 3rd. Plus, I want to write about Griseo plus the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, while leaning towards slice-of-life. Therefore, this book might have various issues—power scaling, character OC-ness, plotting, and so on—so please, if possible, bear with it.