Drawn Mochi Volume 4 Chapter 22.1: Dragon’s Bed*6

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　When it comes to dragons, I don’t think detailed paintings are suitable.

　I wanted a monochrome ink painting.

　I thought so, and I materialized a brush and ink first. I painted with black watercolors, and the sumi ink [T/N: Ink typically used in monochrome paintings] was nice, and collected it in the fruit shell.

　I also made thin light ink by scooping water from the spring into another fruit shell. The glass-like shells are placed nicely between the quartz crystals, and I’m ready to go. Immediately, I begin to draw.

“…Hey, Tougo?” (Fay)

“Yep, wait a little longer.” (Tougo)

　Painting a monochrome picture is difficult. I guess you have to decide what you are going to draw in your mind and then move your arm accordingly. …Each stroke is large, and yet, it is something that cannot be redone. It makes me nervous.

　…But I feel like drawing a dragon while being nervous is somehow different, so I decided to draw without thinking.

　The Ryuu’s head looks up to the sky, its horns are strong, and its beard is long and fluttering.

　Rather than focusing on the individual scales, I wanted to emphasize the momentum of the body’s movement. The detailed expressions are drawn in light ink. I wanted to wash my brush on the way, so I drank one of the fruits. It was sweet and tasty. They are sweet and delicious.

　I filled the empty fruit shell with water again and washed my brush with it while continuing to paint the Ryuu.

　A Ryuu is a creature that brings rain. When you think of Ryuu gods, they generally control things like rain and water. …Ryuus are often treated like gods in Japan. It’s a very mysterious creature.

　I paint the Ryuu in black and white. No matter how I do it, it will be black and white because it is an ink painting.

　…The Ryuu’s scales are pure white. The shadow is light ink. The horns are transparent.

　I drew the Ryuu roughly and boldly, but not too roughly. My idea of a “Ryuu” was gradually appearing on the screen.

　The final piece is the eyes.

　The finishing touch of the “painting”. I drew the Ryuu’s eyeballs in dark ink.

　The painting trembled.

　…And the Ryuu stretches its body.

　The Ryuu emerges from the painting, stretches out, and flies into the sky. Yep. The Ryuu is a creature that can fly without wings.

　The Ryuu went up into the sky toward the hole in the ceiling of the cave, turned around… and came back down.

　It spun around in a loose coil, on a crystal islet, in a tree-hugging position. I, who was painting at the base of the tree, was also embraced by the Ryuu.

　The Ryuu pushes their face close to mine and looks at me intently.

　I looked into its quiet, peaceful eyes and gently stroked its newborn head.

　The Ryuu’s eyes narrowed as it purred. I was somewhat happy to hear that, so I continued to stroke the Ryuu.

　…However, while I was doing that, I started to feel sleepy.

　This is bad. Before I fall asleep, I have to ask them a favor.

“…Um, I’d like you to make it rain.” (Tougo)

　When I say this to Ryuu, they stare at me quietly and calmly.

“I want the water from the spring here to fall all over the land. The spirit veins have been dammed…” (Tougo)

　The Ryuu is probably smarter than I thought. When the Ryuu heard my words, they gently nodded as if to say, “I understand,” and deftly stretched out their beard and began to stroke my head with it. …Ah, no. When I relax, I get sleepy. I get very sleepy, but as I am being stroked, I get more relaxed…

　It’s raining heavily.

　Noticing the sound of rain… I open my eyes and look around me.

　Above me is a gold and copper tree that bears crystal fruits. The leaves, which look like jade or emerald, are wet from the rain and dripping from time to time.

　Ah, this is the crystal island.

　Thinking so, I tried to wake up… but I couldn’t.

　I thought, “What’s going on?” but I couldn’t get up as if I was in bondage.

　While I was struggling with my motionless body, the Pipe Fox that was sleeping on my stomach and the Houou that was sleeping with its head resting on the nape of my neck woke up.

　I heard each of them squealing, and it was only then that I realized that I had a blanket on me. I also noticed that the magic crystals under me had been well scraped away, making it look like a bed.

　…I wondered if someone had draped it over me while I was taking a nap. Then they scraped the crystals off and made it into a bed. Hmmm…

　I have a bad feeling about something…

　As I lay there in a daze, a fluffy, pure white body descends from the treetop.

　The Ryuu with pure white scales came to the base of the tree, right by me, and looked into my face, a little surprised.

　Then the Ryuu looked up and gazed above me at the fruits on the branches of the tree. The fruit softly left the branch and slowly fell down… and landed in the wings of the Houou.

　The Houou rolls the fallen fruit and places it between the crystals, then pecks at the fruit with its beak, making a hole in the shell.

　 The pierced fruit then floats back up. …Is this the power of the Ryuu? Psychokinesis? No, because Ryuu’s use divine power, not psychokinesis, but divine power, yep.

“Um, you…” (Tougo)

　Just as I was about to talk to the Ryuu, my body moved on its own. My upper body sat up on its own as if I had been placed on a reclining bed. …It’s a new feeling.

　I raised my upper body up to about 45 degrees diagonally, and the slightly larger Pipe Fox crawled into the area around my waist and became a cushion for me. As soon as that happens, the power to move my body on its own disappears, and I am unable to move my body again.

　The slightly larger Pipe Fox is strong enough that I can lean on it. I don’t have to worry about crushing it, so I rest my weight on it without worry.

“…Are you doing this?” (Tougo)

　I asked, and the Ryuu blinked slowly. It looked like they were saying, “Yes.”

　Well, it’s a Ryuu, so this is what they are supposed to do, I thought, when the fruit that had floated in the air came up again, it was gently placed near my mouth.

　The fruit gently tilted and poured sweet juice into my mouth. I knew I was supposed to drink it, so I swallowed it meekly.

　The juice from the fruit was delicious. It is sweet and sour, rich and thick, with a refreshing aftertaste… and an invigorating effect.

　When I finished drinking one of the fruits, I could move my fingertips.

　Then, the Ryuu pulls a second fruit from the tree (with divine power, of course).

　The Houou makes a hole in it again, the Ryuu brings it to my mouth, and I drink the contents and…

“…Um, my stomach is starting to bulge.” (Tougo)

　In the end, I drank about ten servings. My stomach is growling. It was about the same size as when I contributed to the consumption of the mysterious tea at Teacher’s house.

　But the energizing fruits had a remarkable effect, and I managed to get up on my own. I still don’t have any strength in my body. But for the time being, I can stay awake without using the Pipe Fox as a cushion, and I can also move around by crawling.

　I feel bad that I have to be like an elderly patient forever, so next time I’ll drink the contents of the fruits on my own.

　For the time being, I decided to sit down and recline against the trunk of the tree. The Houou is leaning against me, and the Ryuu is on the other side. The Pipe Fox is back to their original size and is sitting on my lap. It was warm.

“…Houou. I’m sorry to bother you for a moment, but could you go tell Laocles what happened to me?” (Tougo)

　Then I asked Houou to do so. Houou chirped and then nudged me on the cheek like it was kissing me, and then flew away.

　…A little while after the Houou flew away, it returned.

　And a little while after the Houou came back, Laocles on the alicorn flew in.

T/N: So, the title is a bit wrong, but it would spoil the surprise. Teehee~!

BTW, I really love Loongs and Ryuus. Serpentine creatures are just amazing.