Drawn Mochi Volume 3 Chapter 19: The Mysterious Egg*3

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　The bird came back with fruit in its mouth. It seems that it intends to feed me again.

　But when it saw Fay sitting in the nest with me and the Red Dragon perched on a branch outside the nest, it tilted its head. They looked with an expression saying, “We’ve been getting a lot of visitors lately.” Yes, I have. It’s because you kidnapped me, you know?

“Um, I need to talk to you.” (Tougo)

　When I called out to him, the bird tilted its head again, but didn’t push the fruit at me… I wondered if they could understand me at least a little

“Are you trying to turn me into a spirit?” (Tougo)

　…So, when I asked them that directly… the bird nodded.

　They nodded. I can communicate with them, and they’re trying to turn me into a spirit, this bird.

　Hmm… no but this is a big step. If you can communicate with someone, there is some, you know, hope. Maybe.

“I don’t want to drop out of the human race.” (Tougo)

　When I said that, the bird chirped. Oh, this is probably one they don’t understand.

“Um, I don’t want to be a spirit.” (Tougo)

　So, I rephrased it, and the bird seemed to get it this time. He ruffled his feathers, a little surprised, and then shuffled off. …I started to feel a little sorry for him.

“It would be a problem if they arbitrarily changed me without explanation. I’m scared of what I don’t understand.” (Tougo)

　Even though I feel a little sorry for the bird, I have to back out here. If I stay here, I will be leaving the human race. If I stay here, I will be dropping out of the human race!

“So, um, what exactly is a spirit? I’d like you to tell me.” (Tougo)

　For now, I asked the bird. The bird twisted its head a few times… I knew it would be difficult for them to communicate with each other since they don’t seem to be able to speak. Especially, it is quite difficult to ask them to explain. So…

“Okay. Then I’ll ask you a few questions. Shake your head vertically or horizontally to answer. Yes is vertical, no is horizontal. Okay?” (Fay)

　When Fay said that, the bird immediately shook its head vertically.

　…Yes. The only way is to ask questions steadily from this side, right?

“First of all, are you a spirit?” (Fay)

　The bird nodded when Fay asked with a slightly weird tone for dealing with the “Lord Spirit “. …Yes. I see. They are a spirit, huh? On second thoughts.

“…Well, me, Tougo, Laocles, and the recently arrived woman named Croix, do you really don’t like the idea of people living in the forest?” (Fay)

　When Fay asked this, the bird shook its head.

“You don’t hate it?” (Fay)

　This time, the bird shook its head vertically… It seems that this bird doesn’t mind us living in the forest.

“I see. So, you didn’t kidnap Tougo not because you didn’t like him, but because you liked him?” (Fay)

　Vertical again, and again, and again, it seems they were happy. And then, they looked quite proud. I see. They liked it. What should I do? I don’t think this is good.

“By the way, if Tougo warms this egg, will he turn into a spirit?” (Fay)

　Vertical again. …I moved away from the egg for a bit. I’m afraid. I’m scared. That’s it.

　Well, we’ve pretty much guessed right up to this point, but… here comes the question.

　Why did this bird want to make me a spirit? Why was it necessary to do so?

　What is a spirit anyway? What would happen if I became a spirit?

　I have to ask these questions with questions that the other person can answer with “yes” or “no”. This is… well, it may be quite difficult.

“Um, if I’m turned into a spirit, will I look like a bird?” (Tougo)

　First, I had to ask them something very important. …and the bird shook his head. I feel like they’re laughing a little. Hey, this is no laughing matter for me.

“But if I become a spirit, I am no longer human, right?” (Tougo)

　Vertical this time. So, even if I become a spirit, I will drop out of human race!

“…I’m in trouble because I can’t hold a brush when I’m in a non-human form.” (Tougo)

　Oh, now horizontally. What? Does it mean that I won’t have any trouble even if I can’t hold a brush? Or is it…

“Does it mean that the form can remain human.” (Tougo)

　Ah, now vertical. Oh, I see. I’m starting to think that even if I have to drop out of the human race, there is a good chance I can stay in a human form.

　But then… I have a strange feeling.

“…what is a spirit?” (Tougo)

　Certainly, the pages of the encyclopedia had pictures of spirits in various forms. Perhaps spirits aren’t that kind of race, but they’re something that increases in the form of other creatures becoming spirits.

“Um, ah, why him? Do you have a reason for wanting to make Tougo a spirit as soon as possible?” (Fay)

　Fay asked, and the bird nodded. …What, is it an immediate emergency?

“Are you in a hurry?” (Fay)

　Vertical again. Hmmm, this I finally don’t understand.

“Do you want to change me?” (Tougo)

　Vertical again. Let’s see… does this mean the bird wants to retire being a spirit?

“Yeah… so you’re saying you pulled the Tougo so you can retire as a spirit?” (Fay)

　Oh, sideways. What does it mean?

“You like Tougo, so you want Tougo to become a spirit for Tougo’s sake?” (Fay)

　This time it’s a gesture where they’re tilting their head. I don’t know what it means, or… is it an answer that’s neither yes nor no?

“…if Tougo doesn’t become a spirit, will something bad happen to him?” (Fay)

　However, they nodded at the next question.

　…eh.

　This is… I’m in trouble.

“Umm, bad for Tougo, it is not bad for you?” (Fay)

　Now a head twist. I guess it means both.

“I guess you mean bad for me and bad for Mr. Spirit.” (Tougo)

　Vertical this time. Vigorously vertical.

“By the way, will bad things happen to Fay, Laocles, and Croix?” (Tougo)

　More verticality. The head shaking is very powerful.

　…yes.

“Fay, what should I do…” (Tougo)

“Uh, hmm, this is a problem…” (Fay)

　If something bad happens to me, the birds, or even Fay and the others, I should become a spirit, I wonder…

“No, I’m not going to sacrifice Tougo, I’m not.” (Fay)

“Yeah, I don’t feel comfortable dropping out of the human race either.” (Tougo)

　But I don’t want bad things to happen to Fay and the others. Hmm… Is there a compromise?

　The bird suddenly grabbed me with a swoop while I was looking anxious. Then it chirped at the Red Dragon.

　I wondered what was going on… and then the Red Dragon nosed Fay and began to push him up onto his back.

“Hey, hey, what’s going?” (Fay)

　Fay and I were both puzzled… and the bird took off with me in its grasp. The Red Dragon also took off, with Fay on top of it.

“Hey, Red Dragon, where are we going?” (Fay)

　The Red Dragon is apparently chasing after the bird. The bird looks back from time to time, carries me, and flies away. The Red Dragon with Fay on its back followed in its wake, and one bird and one beast flew easily through the forest sky.

　The bird did not fly that far. But when I landed in the center of the forest, where I had first come to this forest, the bird released me.

“Is there something here?” (Tougo)

　The Red Dragon landed as well, and the bird, having seen to that, began to bounce around a bit on the ground… I was so excited to see a bird of this size walking on the ground.

“Where do you want to guide us?” (Fay)

　Fay asked, but the bird continued on its way. …No way around it. I’m going to try to follow it.

　A few minutes following after the bird. We were under a big tree.

“It was as big as a bird’s nest tree.” (Tougo)

　I tried to climb the tree, but it looked like it would be a climbing or rock-climbing tree. It’s big.

“…Oh? There’s a bird in there. Are you related to them?” (Tougo)

　And indeed, there were several bird nests in this tree. The bird that emerged from the bird’s nest was familiar… It’s a big robin. It’s not that huge, but it looks about the size of a human child.

　… It was probably the first chick I hatched. I guess that chick grew up and came to live here. Birds grow up so fast, don’t they?

　When the bird chirped and greeted the baby birds, they responded with a chirp or a squeak. I am glad to hear that they are doing well.

　The bird was not interested in the tree or its children… though it was after greeting the birds, they quickly walked toward the base of the tree.

　When we caught up with the bird, it looked back for a moment… and then ruffled its feathers.

　Then a path opens at the base of the tree.

　……Yes. A path, a path was made. A pathway leading underground has appeared. I don’t know how it works, but the roots of the tree moved, and something like a stone moved underneath it, and an entrance appeared.

“Gee. What is this? Ancient ruins or something?” (Tougo)

　Fay didn’t even know it existed. Um… is it okay if we come in?

　The bird chirped and started walking toward the path leading underground. I guess, we have no choice but to go inside.

“For now, let’s go and see…” (Fay)

　Fay scratched his head and followed the bird. I followed suit and decided to start at the base of the tree and work our way underground.

　There was only the bottom of the tree, and I could see the roots here and there.

“That’s a building made with human hands, right? The tree roots have buried most of it.” (Fay)

　The ceilings and walls of the stone buildings had collapsed a little, and tree roots were entering through them. However, the passageway was well maintained, and the trees seemed to have a “flattened” because of erosion.

“Bright.” (Tougo)

“Yeah. It’s probably a kind of lamp that lights up with magical power. The patterns on the walls and ceiling are glowing… I wonder where the magical power comes from.” (Fay)

　The passageway is bright even though it is underground. The reason is that the patterns carved into the stone walls and ceiling are softly glowing. Thanks to this light, we were able to move forward without any problems, even though we had entered the building without any particular light.

“…I wonder what’s going on here.” (Tougo)

“I don’t know. Well, in general, it’s probably a temple built for the spirits long ago. Before this bird took over, another creature was probably the spirit.” (Fay)

　Yeah. Now that I know that spirits seem to replace each other, I have also solved the mystery of the “Spirits” page in the illustrated book.

　I’m sure there are many different forms of spirits, but I think that means that many different creatures have become spirits. I think that the fact that I am chosen means that even if I become a spirit, there is a relatively high possibility that I will be able to stay in human form. It’s wishful thinking.

“…wait. It looks like we’ve arrived.” (Tougo)

　And as we were talking and moving forward, the bird was waiting for us at the end of the path.

　There was a ceiling higher than the passage. The space was brighter and wider than the passage. It was made of stone, eroded by tree roots, and…

　In the center of that room was a dimly glowing ball.

　The dimly glowing ball rests on a stone base. On top of it, it glows dimly, weakly, and pearly.

　Something is precisely carved into the stone base. The carvings, which looked like letters or patterns, glowed as if the light of a sphere had seeped into them.

　The light seeping into the pattern spread to the floor of the room, where it also took the form of intricate letters or patterns.

“What is this? Hey, Fay…”

　I couldn’t understand what was in front of me, so I tried to ask Fay… but Fay was absolutely lost in thought.

“…Fay?” (Tougo)

“…I’m sorry, I just saw a lot.” (Fay)

　When I thought he finally spoke, Fay said that… Then let out a sigh of admiration.

“This is a protective barrier magic. It’s also a ridiculously large one.” (Fay)

　A protective barrier. …Is it like a wall? A security measure? In other words, like a fence?

“Oh, I see. You don’t understand, do you? Let’s see, a defensive ward is like a… s wall that works mainly against magic. But this one… is probably even more outrageous.” (Fay)

　It’s a great ward, isn’t it? …How does it work?

“This is… hey, Lord Spirit. This barrier is a barrier to prevent bad things from entering this forest, right?” (Fay)

　When Fay talked, the bird tilted its head a little, then nodded.

“In other words, this is magic that protects the forest?” (Tougo)

“Oh. That’s right. It’s quite old. I don’t really understand it either… but it’s getting weak, I guess.” (Tougo)

　I’m weak … I wonder if the reason this light is dim and feeble is because it’s weakened.

“I don’t know what it is, but it means that a situation will come up not too long from now where the forest will need to be protected, right? Is that what you wanted Tougo to help you with?” (Fay)

　The bird puffed up its wings and gave a big nod. …I see.

“You want Tougo to become a spirit and take on the role of protecting this forest, don’t you?” (Fay)

　Fay asked again… and the bird nodded deeply.