Chapter 19

Since that day, I took my rehabilitation seriously. I moved my body to regain mobility, my fingers, my arms... I struggled to move my body until I could make the brush move as I wished. I probably moved my body as hard as I could in my life.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard? You were bedridden for 10 days, you know?"

"Uh-huh."

"Don't push yourself too hard. I understand you want to get back to the forest quickly... but..."

"Uh-huh. I want to draw quickly."

"...Ah, that's it, huh."

I want to draw quickly. I want to draw this person. I don't know if I can heal him, but still, I want to draw Redgard in his uninjured, healthy state. If drawing can make a difference, I want to draw.

...As I thought this while moving my body...

"You really love drawing, don't you?"

Redgard sighed, seemingly impressed.

...I see.

Yeah. I really, really love drawing.

Drawing, the way it materializes, the way it reflects reality, the way it can create creatures that shouldn't exist... even if I put all that aside... yeah. I love it.

I love it. I love drawing. That's right. I remembered.

"Uh-huh."

When I nodded in response, Redgard...

"Hey, Togo smiled!"

He seemed happy.

"You should always have that face. Not the usual grumpy one."

Do I look grumpy? I don't really notice. But... yeah, if I can draw as much as I want, I'll probably always have 'that face.' I guess so.

Then my body recovered, and I was able to draw again.

So, we decided to return to the forest with Redgard to get my art supplies.

"Alright. You go that way."

...And I was immediately in trouble.

"Um... what is this?"

"Huh? It's my summoned beast."

In front of me was a wolf made of fire.

The wolf was bigger than me. And Redgard was already riding another one. ...Riding a wolf.

"Yeah, it's fine. These guys can run normally even with me on them. Togo looks a lot lighter than me, so you don't need to worry. Besides, they're fire spirits."

I wondered if it would be hot, and gently touched the back of the fire wolf.

...It felt soft, not like fur, but something lighter. And it was warm.

"I've already told them about Togo. It's fine."

"Uh-huh."

I decided to get on the fire wolf.

Surprisingly, it felt very comfortable. ...It seems the fire spirits adjusted their shape to fit me. That's why it fit so well.

"Alright! We can't go too fast, but let's take it easy. Take it easy."

As soon as I got on the fire wolf, Redgard said... and the two wolves started running at an incredible speed.

We reached the forest in about two hours.

...I guess it was the 'can't go too fast' speed. But it was too fast for me. Yeah, I was a bit tired...

"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it!"

When we arrived at the house in the forest, there were... a lot of horses. Unicorns and pegasi all came to me.

"See, I kept my promise! I brought Togo back safely!"

When Redgard said that, a pegasus patted him with its wings. I guess that was a 'well done' kind of thing.

"Hello."

When I greeted the horses, they came even closer. ...I was being squeezed and tickled by their wings and tails, which was a bit uncomfortable.

"Wow, Togo is popular."

"Um... can you back off a bit? I want to get my art supplies."

I somehow managed to get the horses to back off and returned to the house. When I came back with my bag of art supplies... I was surrounded by horses again.

"Um, excuse me."

Even when I protested, the horses didn't back off. They didn't back off at all. And more horses kept coming from deeper in the forest, surrounding us.

What should I do? I can't move like this.

"...Is this... we can't go back to the house?"

"Yeah..."

It seems Redgard and I couldn't go back to his house.

Since there was no other choice, I decided to draw Redgard here.

I felt bad about it, but he laughed and forgave me. "If we bring Togo back here again, the pegasi and unicorns will be really angry this time," he said, sounding amused. Yeah. I guess they would be angry...

I had Redgard sit comfortably on the sofa, and I set up my easel and watercolor paper on a wooden board in front of him. I decided to draw him.

...This is the first time I've drawn a person. It's also the first time I've used such a large sheet of paper... I'm a bit nervous.

But I've sketched Redgard many times. I know his face well enough to draw it without looking.

Even if he has bandages covering half his face and one arm, I remember him well enough to draw him without them.

"Alright! Draw me coolly!"

"Uh-huh."

And most importantly, his crimson eyes are looking at me, shining strongly.

...It's fine. I can draw him.

The first day ended with just the underdrawing. It was partly because my stamina ran out, and partly because Redgard's stamina ran out.

...Being a model is tough. Sitting still for hours must be really hard.

"Aaah, my body feels stiff!"

"Sorry."

"Huh? It's fine! As long as you draw me coolly!"

Redgard stretched his good arm and got up from the sofa, coming over to me.

"Let me see... oh."

He peeked at the underdrawing... and his eyes widened.

Of course, the drawing showed Redgard without any injuries.

Seeing this, he seemed to understand what I was trying to do.

"You... you're trying to heal me?"

"...Uh-huh."

I nodded, a bit nervous... and Redgard's eyes widened.

"I see, I see... that's amazing!"

He stared at the drawing for a few seconds... then started asking me questions.

"Hey, how long will it take to finish? Of course, at your own pace!"

"Um, about three days...?"

The underdrawing, adding layers of color, and then detailing... it would probably take about three days. I want to finish it sooner, but with my skills, it might be impossible. So, I'll do my best to finish it in three days.

...I felt that oil painting would be better for drawing Redgard, but I wanted to finish it quickly, so I chose watercolor, which dries faster. Of course, I'm not very familiar with oil painting.

"Got it! I'll be healed in three days! That's amazing, Togo! You're doing great!"

"Um, it's not certain that I can heal you yet."

"No way! You will! You will! Oh, then we should stop the medicine. It'll be a waste. Oh, can I have this paper?"

"Um, sure. ...Wait, what?"

Then Redgard took a piece of memo paper, wrote something on it with a pencil... and suddenly summoned a bird made of fire.

...This is probably another of his summoned beasts. The fire bird came out of Redgard's ear ornament, took the memo paper from him, and flew out the window. It probably went back to Redgard's house.

"Alright! The medicine is canceled! And I told them we'll stay here for about four days, so it's all good!"

"Um...?"

Is that okay? Stopping the medicine... isn't that a big deal?

I started to feel nervous.

...But Redgard patted my back and laughed.

"Have confidence. You brought a red dragon back to life, right? Then healing me should be easy!"

When he said that, I felt...

...Yeah. I'll try my best. I'll definitely make it work.

That night, I ended up sleeping surrounded by horses. Outside, in a hammock.

...My body was tired, and I probably should have slept in a bed, but the horses dragged me so much... yeah, I gave in.

The horses were densely packed around and under the hammock, in a strange situation, and I went to sleep. Despite the unease, I fell asleep quickly, probably due to fatigue and lack of stamina.

The next morning, I felt better.

...I've had this before, maybe it's horse therapy?

"Maybe the pegasi and unicorns are sharing their magic with you?"

"Huh?"

That day, while drawing Redgard again, I got this theory about horse therapy from Redgard.

I got it, but...

"See, they apparently share their magic with close friends. When a friend is injured, they surround them and share their magic, I read in a book."

...It's true that the horses took turns surrounding me.

But I remember it, but I don't know what happens next.

"Is that why they want to sleep with you? When you're weak from lack of magic, they want to share their magic with you, those earnest creatures?"

When Redgard asked, I felt a bit guilty... and I had to ask.

"...What is magic?"

"Huh!? Oh, right, you don't know about that! Ah, I see!"

And I immediately felt the cultural gap. I guess Redgard felt it too. Yeah, I'm sorry.

"Well, magic is... a kind of power. Magic happens because of magic, and living beings live because of magic. It's inside your body and flows outside to some extent. ...It's like blood, does that make sense?"

"Uh-huh."

I decided to accept it as 'that kind of thing.' I said 'uh-huh,' but I didn't really understand.

"So, people have different amounts of magic. For example, I have very little, so I can only summon beasts that really get along with me, and I can't use them for long. Yeah, in that sense, the red dragon is... I'm still puzzled. Why did it bond with me? I clearly lack magic..."

"...Maybe because I used your blood to draw it. I used your blood for the eyes. Maybe it thinks you're its parent."

"Hmm... that could be it. I don't think it thinks I'm its parent, but if it was drawn with my blood, it makes sense that it was created with my magic. Then it makes sense that we get along well."

Hmm, he said 'magic is like blood' just now, but is blood really magic? I'm getting confused.

"...Well, it's a bit of a subtle point, but magic also has compatibility. With people, with magical beasts, with magic... there are many combinations that work or don't work. For example, my magic works well with fire magic, but not with anything else."

I see. So if my drawings materializing is a kind of magic, then it means my magic works well with drawing magic.

"That means you get along well with unicorns and pegasi."

"Uh-huh... maybe."

Being able to get along with horses is nice. Yeah. I don't really understand, but it's good.

"So, let's get back to the point. Got it? Togo. 'Humans die when their magic runs out.' Remember that."

"Huh?"

I was startled. If drawing is magic, and I was thinking about various things... that means...

"When you materialize your drawings, you're probably using magic. And when you faint from drawing too much, it's because you've run out of magic."

...When I think about it, it makes sense.

When I healed the pegasus's wing and fainted, I felt something being pulled out of my body. That was probably my magic.

But... if 'humans die when their magic runs out'... then...

"...So, the reason I didn't wake up for 10 days..."

When I asked hesitantly, Redgard nodded slowly and heavily... and said.

"It was really, really dangerous."

I intend to keep drawing, even if it means death.

I'll keep drawing, even if it means death. If I can't draw anymore, I'll die.

But... yeah. I want to draw as much as possible...

...I'll be careful.