Drawn Mochi Volume 3 Chapter 21.2: Forest Colored Charm

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“I-I see. What you draw in the picture becomes real…” (Croix)

　Ms. Croix was puzzled, but when I drew a jewel in front of her and showed it to her, she understood.

“I see. With this, I’m sure you can afford to hire me.” (Croix)

“Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t paid Ms. Croix. How much?” (Tougo)

“Nothing. I don’t need that for the time being. I got that house. I have to stay with you for a year for that alone.” (Croix)

　I see. Then I’ll have to build ten more houses.

　…Well, that’s beside the point.

“So, I’m thinking of building more houses in the future, in case there might be some sudden visitors or more residents.” (Tougo)

“Oh. do you think I could help you with that?” (Croix)

“Yes. Please.” (Tougo)

　Ms. Croix seems to have good taste, so I would like to hear her opinion on what kind of interior decoration should be used.

“…but as the spirit of the forest, is it okay to develop this forest?” (Croix)

“Yeah. I’d like to know what kind of interior design you think would be best. I will try not to disturb the creatures that live here now.” (Tougo)

　It is okay for us to live in the central part of the forest, but I think it would be better if we build a few houses for guests outside the forest and a few houses near the center of the forest. If the number of people increases too much, I’ll think about it then…

　Then I built the houses with the help of Ms. Croix and Laocles.

　Ms. Croix gave me advice on the interior design, and I asked Laocles to help me with the land. You see, I cut trees and so on. I asked them to turn the cut trees into firewood, and so on… I can make the trees disappear, but if it’s a good opportunity, I want to use them properly.

　So, for the time being… I tried building one.

“It’s built…” (Croix)

　If you build it, you built it. House is. A whole house. ……I haven’t run out of magic. Should be fine. It has been built.

“… I see. My house was built like this too.” (Croix)

“Well, Ms. Croix’s house was divided into foundations, pillars, walls, and roof. I thought it would be a good idea to have the whole house. But this time, I felt like I could do it, so I did the whole house.” (Tougo)

“Hey, are you sure you can handle one house out of the blue?” (Croix)

“Yeah. It looks like it’s okay.” (Tougo)

　At any rate, now we know that we can take out “one house” without running out of magic power. And even after leaving the house, I’m in great shape.

　I knew this is a good idea. I’ll draw the next house as soon as possible.

　As I was drawing more houses, the number of houses increased. Specifically, there were five houses. This is amazing. This is great. It all grew at once. It was worth having a forest in my head.

　I’ll leave the interior design for tomorrow’s work. …For now, I can handle sudden visitors or a sudden increase in models. Good.

　The next day I did the interiors.

　This was a very fun job. …When I followed Ms. Croix’s instructions and drew pictures of wallpaper like this, lighting like that, and furniture like this over here… the house started to look more and more beautiful.

“It’s amazing! It’s amazing! Oh, there is no one in all of the Royal Capital, not even the royal family, who can afford such luxury!”

　As we built the house according to her ideal, she looked so happy and her eyes lit up. I’m glad she’s enjoying it.

“…But, Tougo, are you all right? I’m not sure if you are. You’ve been drawing and drawing since a while ago.” (Croix)

“Yeah. I seem to be in good shape.” (Tougo)

　And also, when doing the interior decoration, I could feel the increase of my own magic power. As long as I draw, I will have no trouble materializing. Even after materializing the interiors for five houses, I was only a little tired. In fact, it was not my magic that was tired, but my drawing hand that was tired.

　…I spent a few days drawing and painting, and then I was able to calm down.

　I finally became able to stop and look around for the first time since I became a spirit, it seems.

　I became a spirit.

　And I took on the role of protecting the forest.

　I can now understand what’s going on in the forest, and I have more magic power.

　…but I am still me.

　The bird taught me that I am still me. The “I” that existed up until now just has the trait of a “spirit” attached to it. I’m still me. I will remain me.

　…so even now that I am a spirit, what I want to do is the same.

　I want to draw. That will never change.

　After becoming a spirit, I painted jewelry, houses, etc., but after that, I think about it again.

　I still want to draw. No, rather, the more my vision and senses have broadened since becoming a spirit, the more things I want to draw.

　…I guess this is how it will be from now on. Every time I come into contact with something new, the number of things I want to draw increases.

　It may be that I am changing, or it may be that my heart is becoming full after eating waste. Or maybe this is what it means to grow up.

　Yes, it is. That’s right. Growth is change. It is scary to change, but I can’t stay the same forever. If I keep getting the same things all the time, my heart will run out of food.

　My heart is gluttonous, so I have to feed my heart a lot of food for the heart… and then some things will change little by little, and some things will stay the same.

　…Maybe this is what it means to be alive.

“Laocles. Ms. Croix. I have a request.” (Tougo)

　I asked two people at the breakfast table.

“If you become a spirit, you will be able to understand the forest.” (Tougo)

“That’s abrupt…” (Laocles)

　Yes. Come to think of it, I probably didn’t say much.

　But it doesn’t matter if I know what’s in the forest or not. What is important is what comes after.

“I found a beautiful place, the remains of old ruins, a big tree with an unusual shape, an open wasteland, and a place where the grass is very thick. I’d like to paint both of you there.” (Tougo)

　They both agreed to my request, so I started to paint them.

　They are models, after all. It was really fun to draw them. As for Laocles, I wanted to paint him as a knight, which I had wanted to do for a long time. He is sitting reclining against a large tree of an unusual shape, with an alicorn resting with him.

　For Ms. Croix, I had her wear a mysterious dress made of thin cloth at a place that looked like the ruins of an archaeological site, and I painted the moment when she spun around. She looks like a queen in a fairyland. The atmosphere of the painting is totally different from that of Ms. Croix’s nudes, but this is another image of Ms. Croix. I am satisfied.

“…it was fun.” (Laocles)

“I never thought you would draw two pictures at the same time.” (Croix)

　This time, I did only the preliminary drawing and the groundwork on site, and all the rest was done indoors. This way, I can paint Laocles’ and Ms. Croix’s paintings at the same time, so I can use the time until the watercolors dry effectively! …I can paint almost twice as many pictures in the same amount of time!

　Thanks to being a spirit, I can see the forest with my mind’s eyes, so I can reproduce all the colors of the forest as much as I want. This is convenient.

　Put the colors of the forest on the drawing paper. Draw a picture of the forest. The colors of the forest blur in my mind. I am completely fascinated by the colors. The eyes of the magician who uses enchantment magic are also green, much like the color of the forest. Does green have the power to charm people?

　Thinking about this, I just keep on painting.

　…After becoming a spirit, I have more things I can do and more things I want to do. I have more things I can draw, it is more convenient to draw, and there are more things I want to draw.

　That’s what makes it fun. Checking the power of the new spirit that has settled inside me as I paint is similar to the feeling of experimenting with new painting materials. It’s a lot of fun, and it makes me happy.

　…Yes. unexpectedly, I’m glad I became a spirit!

“Wow, there’s a lot more!?” (Fay)

　Then, one month later.

　Fay, who hadn’t been here in a while, was surprised to see my house.

　After all, my house has two floors, and the entire second floor is where I keep all the paintings I’ve done.

　…Yes. I may have drawn a little too much. But once I could understand the whole forest, I knew all the creatures and places in the forest and such things… I had no choice but to draw it.

“Amazing, this… hey, can I have one? It’s to decorate my room.” (Fay)

“Yeah. Go ahead.” (Tougo)

　Looking at the paintings on the walls and screens, Fay’s eyes shined muttering, “Which one should I choose?” …It’s a little embarrassing and to be able to look happily at the picture I drew like this. Also, I’m happy.

“…Hey, can I have two? Please?” (Fay)

“As many as you want.” (Tougo)

　Yes. happy.

　Fay ended up choosing two paintings to take home.

“Thanks a lot! I’m going to show off to my dad and brother!” (Fay)

“I’m glad you’re happy.” (Tougo)

　Fay chose two paintings, one of the spring and the trees in the background, and the other of the many trees in the forest.

“I’m thinking of decorating this spring in my room. Look, this is where I first met you, right? I have a fondness for it, and above all, it’s beautiful. It’s a waterfront in the forest.” (Fay)

　Yes, it is. I like my own expression of this spring. The colors of the sky, the light, and the leaves are not bad.

“This is… I think I should hang it in the parlor. See, the wall is a little sad, isn’t it? The color of this one is nice, isn’t it? I think it would make me feel at home if I put it up.” (Fay)

　I see. This is for the parlor… Oh, I mean, that’s where the guests will see it, right? I wonder if it’s okay.

“Hehehe. Every time a guest comes, I’ll show it off.” (Fay)

　… I see. So you’re going to show it to your guests. I’m happy, but I’m still a little embarrassed.

“Oh, I’m going to show it to them! I won’t tell anyone that it was drawn by a spirit of the forest!” (Fay)

　Oh yeah. Please keep that a secret.