Drawn Mochi Volume 3 Chapter 18.2: The Mysterious Egg*2

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“The eggs of spirits take a large amount of non-spirit magic power to hatch, so most of them take a long time to hatch. However, in an environment with rich deposits of magical stones, meadows of magical grass, or other creatures other than spirits with high magical power, the eggs may hatch in as little as a week.”

“If a spirit finds something it likes nearby, it may give it favor to increase its magical power and then hatch its egg.”

“When the Spirit Eggs hatch in their respective forms, they become new spirits. Also, it is said that the person who hatches the egg may be infused with the power of the spirit, turning them into a spirit.”

　…woah.

“Scary……” (Tougo)

“It’s scary…” (Fay)

　I think I might be about to be turned into a spirit. It’s scary.

“By the way, what does it mean to become a spirit…?” (Tougo)

“Well… I’ve never seen a spirit either. I have no idea what’s going to happen.” (Fay)

　I see. Well, I guess you’re right. The first time we met, Fay said. I’ve never met a spirit. There was no mention of spirits in any of the encyclopedias. This is very rare information…

“Well, I don’t know if Tougo is about to be turned into a spirit, you know? You see, even if you don’t become a spirit, it’s a good thing there’s a young spirit in this egg…” (Fay)

“…But at that time, I wonder if they will think that I, who hatched their egg, is the parent because of imprinting.” (Tougo)

　I don’t want to be a spirit, but I also don’t want to be the parent of a spirit.

“That’s right… Hmm, but, you know, that bird went out of its way to choose Tougo to hold its eggs. Then, I think he wanted to do something from Tougo…” (Fay)

“Well, they were trying to have me incubate the eggs, you know?” (Tougo)

“Well… Ah, but maybe it reacted to Tougo’s magic stone or something like that? They simply brought something with a lot of magic power back to the nest to make them hatch the egg!” (Fay)

　I see. Well, they are birds. Maybe they like shiny things. I have two jewels stuck in my bag. Maybe that’s it.

“There’s no guarantee that the bird is a spirit in the first place. Maybe the spirit was making the request through the bird.” (Fay)

　If that were the case, I would be a subcontractor’s subcontractor, wouldn’t I?

　Well, that makes me feel a little better. Yes, that’s right. Rather than thinking that the bird is a spirit, it’s better to think that a spirit laid eggs through the bird…

“Did that bird do anything else strange?” (Fay)

　Fay asked me that, and I answered with some ease.

“Yes. Well, it made me warm its eggs… and also made me eat strange fruits to warm its eggs.” (Tougo)

　Then… Fay makes a strange expression.

“…Huh? You were made to eat something strange?” (Fay)

“Yeah. Something like a spicy persimmon… When I ate it, I got a fever and became sluggish, and by the way, this time, the magic power was spinning in my body, and my body was itching.” (Tougo)

“Oh, I see…” (Fay)

　Fay’s expression warp into a troubled expression.

“…you, isn’t that a Spirit’s Favor?” (Fay)

　…huh?

“Look. The doctor once told me that one of the cases of a sudden increase in magical power is when you receive the favor of a spirit. He’s the one who betrayed me, but he wasn’t a stupid doctor, and I think he deserves that credit.” (Fay)

　Oh, that doctor. Yeah, I think he said that. The first thing I did was to dismiss the possibility of that happening… but I didn’t think so.

“That bird is a spirit…!? No, no way!” (Tougo)

“No, I’m full of feelings that I don’t want to admit it, but maybe that’s what it is. Thinking normally, such a big bird doesn’t exist.” (Fay)

　No, there are horses that fly and horses that stab, so there are at least big birds…

　…well, yup.

　Now that I think back on it, that bird brought me a contract to punish the poachers. That, maybe that was something they did to protect the forest.

　So that means that bird is… surely, the spirit of this forest?

　I’m sure that there is a reason why he has such a big attitude… or is so imposing, or is so magnificent, or something like that.

“Well, it’s because of the fruits fed to you by that bird that your magical power increased, right? Then that bird must be a spirit. If it’s not a spirit, it can’t do that.” (Fay)

“‘Spirit’s Favor’? Like…you mean, affection?” (Tougo)

“You know, they say that the act of birds feeding is an expression of affection.” (Fay)

　Are they talking about courtship feeding? …I am very troubled if the bird is feeding me fruits with that intention.

“No, those fruits tasted outrageous as signs of affection, but…” (Fay)

　Was it some kind of whip of love? If so… hmmm, I’d appreciate it if they’d refrain from doing that next time.

“No, I don’t think it’s the taste that scary. First of all, it proves that the spirit loves you.” (Fay)

　Yeah. That’s why I’m so confused.

“And look. That fruit, from what I’ve heard about your symptoms, is supposed to be circulating your magic power and increasing it, right?” (Fay)

　Well, maybe. So that means the bird wanted to increase my magic power? The reason why it wanted to increase my magic power is…

“Because if you increase someone’s magic power… you’ll go from being human to being close to a spirit…” (Fay)

　Aaaaah! I’m scared! I don’t like it! Don’t do it! Please don’t tell me anymore scary stories!

　I don’t know what to do. I’m going to be turned into a spirit. Or, I’ll be the parent of a spirit.

　Either way, I kind of don’t like it.

　…Teacher said before. For the Japanese, “God” is neither absolute nor good, so it’s pretty scary to be “favored by God”.

　“God bless you” and “The goddess of victory smiles upon you,” are a little scary for Japanese people… if you think about it carefully.

　Maybe there are some disadvantages to the blessings of the Japanese gods, such as “becoming inhuman” or “being cursed if you offend the gods,” and the person who is “smiled upon by the goddess of victory” will be favored by the goddess of victory and be divinely cursed. Yeah.

　In other words, if I become a “spirit” or a “spirit’s parent”. that would probably mean that I would graduate from being human. No, not graduate. Probably, a drop out. I don’t want to drop out of the human race.

　…To me, that’s the image of a “spirit” in this world. And it seems that Fay and the others feel the same way.

　Come to think of it, I don’t know much about religion in this world, and I don’t even know if there is a religion in the first place… But whether the religion is monotheistic or polytheistic, there are certainly “spirits” underneath it, and those “spirits” are apparently the same as the “spirits” in the encyclopedias and so on. The “spirits” in this world seem to be similar to “Japanese Gods” as far as I have read in illustrated books and so on.

　The “spirits” of this world come in many forms and are sometimes selfish. They can be loving or jealous, kind or mean, generous or greedy. They are probably a little bit like humans. Maybe.

“When I first saw you, I thought you were a spirit. …I never thought you would really become a spirit.” (Fay)

“I don’t want to be. I’m scared.” (Tougo)

　I don’t even know what a spirit is in the first place. It’s scary to be remade into something I don’t really understand.

“Well, for the time being, there’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s talk directly to them!” (Fay)

“…The other party is a bird, though.” (Tougo)

“Tougo’s mysterious power will help us.” (Fay)

　I can’t do anything about it. What do you mean by “mysterious power”?

　…but I have to be prepared.

　In order not to drop out of the human race. Not to be turned into something mysterious that I don’t understand.

　Yes. Because the bird is back…