Chapter 59

From that day on, I started doing things that felt like being in the forest.

However, since I wasn't quite sure what "forest-like things" actually meant, I decided to take a stroll in the forest with Cloa.

"Here, please."

"Ah, thank you..."

Cloa seemed unaccustomed to walking in the forest, so I asked a horse to carry her. There were several horses that were very willing, so a few of them took turns carrying Cloa. ...Incidentally, the other horses carried me and Laocrates. ...These horses seemed to particularly like women and were a bit reluctant to carry me and Laocrates. Well, it's fine since they did carry us.

"Um... Where are we heading?"

"Well... I just told the horses to take us to a recommended spot."

However, these horses seemed very enthusiastic about carrying Cloa and taking her to a particularly beautiful place in the forest. So, it's like a guided tour.

And so, swaying gently on the horses, we enjoyed the scenery of the forest.

"I haven't come this way much."

"Oh... But you live in the forest, don't you?"

"Yeah. But usually, I only move around the area near the house. I should have gone for walks earlier."

The forest I know is actually quite small.

From the place I was when I came to this world to my current house. From my house to the giant bird's nest. And from my house to Fey's house. These three areas are the only parts of the forest I know.

So, I could view the forest with a fresh perspective.

"There are quite a few flowers blooming this way..."

"Yes, they are beautiful."

Seeing flowers I've never seen before, I realized how vast this forest really is.

"Ah, a butterfly."

"Huh? ...Oh, really. But it's strange. It's completely black."

"Black... even darker than your eyes."

"Yeah. Maybe darker than my eyes. It's not a Crow Butterfly... I wonder what it is."

Then, we found a butterfly. I thought it might be a Crow Butterfly, but it was different. It looked like a black lace butterfly, so it's probably a butterfly from this different world.

...Oh, by the way, this is the first time I've seen a living butterfly in this forest. I've only found dead ones and used them for paint.

"Laocrates' color is... Ah, that flower is similar to your eye color. It's a chick yellow."

"...My eyes are chick yellow?"

"Yeah. Cloa's eyes... yeah, they're above."

Laocrates looked a bit dissatisfied with 'chick yellow,' but when I pointed up, he looked up. Cloa also looked up and saw the leaves swaying in the wind, translucent in the sunlight.

"Green."

"...Yeah, that's right."

Cloa looked up and then smiled.

"You think my eyes are beautiful, don't you?"

"Yeah. Of course. You are beautiful in every way, but your eyes are especially beautiful."

The vivid green in Cloa's eyes serves as an accent, making her look quite stylish. I have Japanese hair and eyes, so I don't have any accent... which might be why Cloa's color scheme looks so beautiful to me.

"Ah, there are some fruits on the tree. Let's stop for a moment."

Then, a little later, I found some fruits on a tree.

...I recognize these fruits.

"First red."

"...What's that?"

"Yeah. The first red I used in the forest was the juice from these fruits."

Yes, these fruits were the ones I used to make the red paint when I materialized the rice cake and then the cherry tomatoes. So, it must have been a bird or something that dropped these fruits.

"Should we try eating them... Ah, are they poisonous?"

"...If you don't know, don't eat them."

Just to be safe, I asked Laocrates before eating, but he stopped me.

"Hey, Cloa. Are these fruits poisonous? I think they're not poisonous because birds eat them, but..."

"Huh? No, they're not poisonous... but..."

Cloa seemed surprised by the sudden question but answered.

"...But they're not very tasty?"

And her next words surprised me.

"Have you ever eaten them?"

Because Cloa doesn't seem like the type to eat fruits from the forest.

She looks like someone who eats neatly cut fruit... no, neatly cut 'fruits' with a silver fork. Yes, that's the image I have of her.

So, I was very surprised to learn that she had eaten fruits that weren't very tasty.

"Um... When I was little."

When I was surprised, Cloa answered in a slightly surprised and confused tone.

...I wonder what's going on.

Although Cloa's behavior is a bit concerning, I'm more interested in the fruits for now.

"Um, so they're not poisonous."

"Yes, they're not poisonous. But they're not very... tasty."

"I'll give it a try."

Cloa was surprised, but I ate the fruit.

...It was sour, almost no sweetness, watery, and a bit astringent.

Indeed, it's not very tasty.

"...From the look on your face, it's not very tasty, is it?"

"Yeah..."

It's a taste that makes your mouth pucker. Yes, it's not very tasty.

"Since it's not very tasty, you didn't have to eat it, did you?"

Cloa said this, looking a bit worried and puzzled.

"Yeah, eating something not very tasty is probably food for the soul..."

But this is important to me.

"Food for the soul?"

"Useless things are necessary for the soul. ...That's what I learned from my teacher."

Eating these fruits is definitely a useless thing and something I didn't need to do. But I believe that such things are food for my soul.

The leaves looking beautiful in the sunlight, the flowers being chick yellow, the butterflies flying, and the experience of eating a fruit that isn't very tasty...

I think these are all necessary. There are no unnecessary things, and they all become food for my soul.

"Let's take some of these fruits back."

I immediately picked a few fruits from the tree and put them in my bag. ...It's a fake weapon, but it's quite useful for such occasions.

"Um, are you going to eat them?"

"No, not to eat them, but to make paint."

When I started collecting the fruits, Cloa seemed a bit anxious, but the purpose was different.

I want to keep these fruits as a memento and make paint from them. The color of the fruits and the juice.

"...But you have much better red paint, don't you?"

Yeah, I understand Cloa's point. I have many red paints, like the color of flowers or my blood, which are much more vivid than the red from these fruits.

...But I still want them.

"Well, it's useless, but it's food for the soul, so it's necessary..."

"...Your paints increase like that, huh?"

"Yeah."

It's not just the subtle differences in color that are appealing, but I think the process of increasing my paints is a 'useless thing' and therefore 'necessary' for me.

"...Useless, but necessary?"

Cloa looks puzzled, and I can see a hint of confusion behind her puzzlement.

So, I decided to share a bit of my teacher's theory about the soul's food.

"There are useless things that can be discarded and useless things that shouldn't be discarded... like looking up at the sky and thinking it's beautiful, or seeing something you've never eaten and wondering about its taste, or going for a walk with no particular purpose... These useless things shouldn't be discarded, and by consuming them, our souls live. That's what I learned."

Yes, we live by consuming useless things. Our souls are big eaters, so my teacher often went for walks with no particular purpose, grew cherry tomatoes and edamame in the garden even though he could buy them, and even lounged on the sofa when he should have been sleeping... He took me in even though it wouldn't benefit him in any way.

And I eat fruits I don't need to eat, try to make unnecessary paints, and draw pictures.

"Drawing a picture of food won't fill your stomach, but it will satisfy your soul. That's why I draw. It's a useless thing, but I draw because it's food for my soul."

"...Is that so?"

Cloa looked puzzled again.

But after a moment, she smiled and nudged me.

"That's a wonderful way of thinking. You turned out to be such a wonderful boy because you had a teacher like that."

"...Yeah. I learned a lot from my teacher."

"I'm envious. To have met such a wonderful teacher."

Yeah, I'm glad I met my teacher and learned a lot from him. I like his way of thinking.

I hope Cloa likes this way of thinking too. But maybe she doesn't need as much uselessness in her life.

There are people who can live without consuming useless things... Yeah, I've seen many such people. So, um...

...Maybe Cloa doesn't need uselessness?

While pondering this for about 10 minutes, we finally arrived at the place recommended by the horses.

...It was a beautiful flower field.

"Wow."

I was the first to be delighted, even before Cloa. Yeah, because there were flowers of various colors. White, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. There were even light blue flowers, and I thought, if I had found this place, I could have made blue paint without the giant bird's eggs.

No, the blue of the eggshell is different from the blue of these flowers, so it was right to get the bird to lay the eggs...

"Thank you for showing us such a beautiful place."

I was happy to see this beautiful flower field and immediately petted the horses. ...They don't seem to like men very much, but they don't mind being petted. They swayed their tails and seemed to enjoy it.

"Cloa, do you like this place?"

"...Huh? Yes, it's a very beautiful place."

Cloa seemed a bit dazed but soon smiled and said so.

"...Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, it's not that. It's not that, but..."

When Laocrates asked, Cloa looked a bit puzzled and troubled... and then smiled again to hide it.

...Seeing this, I couldn't help but ask.

"Um, maybe your soul is a light eater?"

"Light eater...?"

"Well... Some people don't need much uselessness. I thought you might be one of them."

There are many people who can live without looking up at the sky or gazing at flowers. For example, I think my parents were like that.

So... if Cloa is like that, she probably doesn't need a flower field. Being in this forest might be a 'useless thing' for her...

"If that's the case, maybe you don't need the sky or flowers, and I'm forcing you to do something you don't need."

When I said this,

"It's not like that!"

Cloa said this with a face I've never seen before.

...Cloa can make such a face.

A bit desperate, troubled, and anxious. Such a face.

I had only seen her composed and perfectly put together, so it was quite surprising.

"Everyone needs something. I think seeing flowers and finding them beautiful is necessary for everyone, including me..."

Cloa said this and then fell silent, as if she was surprised by her own words...

"Then, why don't you try looking at them?"

Laocrates gently pushed Cloa towards the flower field.

"You might be disoriented by the sudden change in environment... but if you think it's necessary, you should consume the uselessness."

Cloa looked at Laocrates and then at the flower field... and then smiled a bit.

Ah, I thought.

Her smile at that moment... it was... very beautiful.

"How do you like it?"

"...You're very skilled."

"Hehe, thank you. You... you're skilled too."

Then, Cloa made a flower crown. I watched her and decided to draw it.

I had my sketchbook, pencils, and a portable watercolor set, so I quickly sketched it.

...The watercolor's bleeding colors suited the flower field perfectly. It also suited Cloa making the flower crown.

Cloa's expression still seemed a bit off. Maybe she was aware of being watched. Or maybe she's someone who doesn't need much uselessness, and this activity has no meaning for her.

But... that one moment of expression was really good. So, I think I'll keep taking Cloa around for a while.

"...Then, I'll give this to you."

Cloa hung the small flower crown on the unicorn's horn. The horses were very happy and rubbed against Cloa. Yeah, that's good.

...By the way, after I finished drawing, I also made a flower crown and gave it to the unicorn, but it just looked at me with a 'whatever' expression. Its attitude was quite obvious.

We spent the rest of the day in the flower field and then went home.

"...How was it? Do I look more like I belong in the forest?"

On the way back, Cloa said this as if it was a joke.

"Yeah. For a moment. You looked... not just like you belong in the forest