Chapter 60

Holding the pencil, I opened the sketchbook, and perhaps for the first time, I couldn't draw anything.

"Ah, um, can I turn off the light…?"

"…If you turn it off, won't you not be able to see?"

"The moon is bright tonight, so I think it will be fine."

The white skin illuminated by the lamp's light was dazzling to my eyes, so I asked to have the light turned off.

…But then, in the darkened room, Cloa, illuminated only by the moonlight coming through the window, looked even more alluring.

Perhaps because everything else became invisible in the darkness, I could hear Cloa's breathing, and for some reason… I couldn't handle it.

"Y-Yeah, I'll turn it back on."

"Hehe, please do."

I wondered what I was doing, but there was no helping it. I turned the lamp back on, and then…

This time, I resolved to look at Cloa.

…It's fine. What I need to do is a sketch. Isn't it something I always do?

I just need to look at the subject and draw. That's all…

"…Ugh."

But Cloa's vivid emerald eyes, which stared at me intently, made me incredibly nervous.

I felt more nervous than usual. It didn't feel like I was just being watched. It felt like she could see through my mind, as if she could read my thoughts.

I was being watched while I was watching.

Cloa didn't seem embarrassed at all, but I felt so embarrassed, and it seemed strange.

At the same time… perhaps due to the tension, my head gradually became fuzzy. I felt a feverish heat, and my body was hot, and my mind was filled with unnecessary thoughts…

"Here, Togo-kun. Look at me properly."

Cloa said this with a perfect smile. When I met her shining emerald eyes in that smile, it was over…

…Cloa is really beautiful, I thought, my mind completely melted.

I really want to draw this person, I also thought.

Once I decided to draw, the rest was quick. My head became surprisingly clear.

I want to draw Cloa. Cloa is very beautiful. Such a charming person, if I don't draw her, I'll definitely regret it.

Now, I was completely possessed by Cloa's charm and the charm of drawing her, and everything else seemed to have vanished from my mind.

…As I moved my hand, the resistance to moving my eyes disappeared.

Looking at Cloa became easier.

Once I started to concentrate, I was completely absorbed. It felt like a lie that I had been so embarrassed just a moment ago.

"…Togo-kun?"

"Don't move."

For a moment, Cloa looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I asked her not to move her expression while I was drawing.

"…Just like that. Stay still, please."

I looked at Cloa's body and drew it. I intended to represent everything I could see on the paper.

Her supple limbs. The curve of her torso. The soft, plump areas. The way her heavy, soft body sank into the bed.

…No matter how much I looked, it wasn't enough. To express all of this, I couldn't say, "I won't look because it's embarrassing." So I looked. I drew. I had to draw. I couldn't help but draw.

I drew as if I had lost my mind. I drew relentlessly.

Specifically… I drew all night until dawn.

When I realized it, it was morning.

…And on the bed, Cloa was sleeping naked, and there was a sketchbook where I had drawn Cloa non-stop.

Flipping through the sketchbook, I saw several sketches of Cloa starting from the first page. The last ones seemed to have been drawn while Cloa was sleeping.

"…W-What did I…"

Looking at the sketchbook, and then at Cloa on my bed… I suddenly felt embarrassed, as if I had woken up from a dream.

What was it really? Once I started drawing, the embarrassment disappeared, and I was completely focused on drawing and Cloa… but what is this?

…For now, I covered the sleeping Cloa with a blanket and left the room.

"…So, you look sleepy?"

"Yeah… I felt more tired than usual when drawing a normal picture."

While having breakfast with Laocles, I reported what happened. Laocles, who noticed I had stayed up all night, asked me, but I felt embarrassed remembering everything…

Laocles seemed to have figured out what I had been drawing last night.

"Well, it's good."

"Yeah… I'm glad I could draw, but…"

I felt a bit awkward and looked away while eating the breakfast bread.

…Yeah. I think what I did last night was strange. Because I had lost my mind and memory…

Why? Because Cloa is a wonderful person? Because I was absorbed in drawing? Or, simply, because of the, well, female nudity… I got into that mood?

"…If this happens every time I do a nude sketch, it might be a bit problematic."

"…For you to say that is rare."

"Yeah…"

…For now, I decided to apologize to Cloa when she wakes up. I'll say sorry, somehow. But, what am I apologizing for? For losing my memory? For possibly doing something? For continuing to draw after she fell asleep?

…Yeah. I'll apologize for everything.

I decided to apologize and waited anxiously for Cloa to wake up.

But… Cloa didn't wake up even after noon.

"…Is Cloa really in the room?"

"Was she kidnapped by a unicorn?"

"Rather, suspect the possibility that she escaped on her own."

I worried that a horse that really liked Cloa might have taken her away… but when I checked my room, Cloa was still sleeping on the bed.

"Um… should I wake her up?"

"Probably. It's already past noon."

If she sleeps too much, she won't be able to sleep at night. I resolved to call out to Cloa.

"Cloa."

…But she didn't wake up.

"Cloa!"

…She still didn't wake up.

I hesitated a bit and tried to shake her shoulder through the blanket, but she didn't wake up.

"…Hey, show me."

"N-No, Cloa, you're not wearing anything."

"That's not it."

While I was panicking, Laocles looked at Cloa's face…

…And with a puzzled expression, he said.

"This is a depletion of magic power."

I asked a Pegasus to bring Fey. It was a big deal that Cloa had depleted her magic power.

I asked Laocles to move Cloa to a hammock.

After that, I summoned a pipe fox and placed it on Cloa's stomach. The phoenix was napping next to Cloa. The unicorns, who really liked Cloa, came forward and sat tightly around her.

"Will this replenish her magic power…?"

"Well… we can only wait."

I have experienced magic power depletion many times, but this is the first time I've seen someone else go through it.

…Yeah. It's quite scary.

Even knowing that she will wake up once her magic power is restored, seeing Cloa with weak breathing and a very weak heartbeat, I felt very anxious.

"Togo! Cloa has collapsed!?"

"Yeah…"

After a while, Fey also came. So, Fey also joined in looking at Cloa on the hammock.

"…Depletion of magic power?"

"Um, Laocles said that."

"Togo, I've seen this enough. It's definitely it."

…Yeah. I often cause you worry.

"Okay, depletion of magic power…"

Fey walked through the unicorns, looked at Cloa on the hammock, and then came back and said.

"So, what magic did Cloa use to end up like this?"

…Huh?

"Um, no… I don't know."

"Eh? But if she depleted her magic power, she must have used some magic, right? She must have tried to do something beyond her limits…"

…Now that you mention it, that's true. Since she depleted her magic power, I think she must have used magic.

But… ugh, what should I do. I have no memory of it! I only remember drawing!

"T-Togo? What's wrong? Your face is red?"

"…Last night, I finally started practicing nude drawing."

When I couldn't say anything, Laocles explained to Fey. Yeah, um… yeah. That's right. I finally started practicing nude drawing.

"Wow! Finally! So, how was it!?"

And Fey asked with sparkling eyes…

"Um… I don't remember anything."

"…Huh?"

Fey gave me a strange look, but there's nothing I can do about not remembering.

"I kept drawing Cloa. I was so focused that I couldn't think of anything else. …My head became fuzzy, and I felt feverish, and I could only think about drawing Cloa. I think I kept drawing even after she fell asleep. There are sketches left in the sketchbook."

"…Eh? Then, what was Cloa doing during that time?"

"I don't know. When I realized it, it was morning, and Cloa was already sleeping."

When I answered, Fey made a difficult face and pondered.

…After thinking, Fey finally spoke.

"…Um, just to confirm. What? Togo, you have no such experience, right?"

This is what he said after thinking.

"There's no way."

"But, you know, the way you are, your atmosphere, your face… it seems like you might have had such experiences… I'm sure there were a few girls who liked you nearby."

I don't know about that.

"Whatever."

If it's fine, I don't want to hear it.

"Anyway… it's clear that Togo is overly innocent."

I poked Fey. I think I have the right to poke Fey.

"…Maybe. Togo, were you enchanted?"

…Eh?

"Enchantment is an old magic… basically, it's a magic to make the other person your captive."

Fey explained for me, who was completely lost. Thank you.

"From what you said, the symptoms seem quite similar. …Did you see Cloa as the only one shining, or something like that?"

"…Yes."

When I thought about it, I did. When I saw Cloa at the party, she seemed to be the only one shining.

"Being obsessed with Cloa might also be due to the enchantment magic."

…If that's the case, from the party? Since then? But, even if you say that, I don't have any awareness. So, I'm just confused.

"Enchantment is often used to extract information from the target or to make the target let their guard down and kill them."

That sounds scary, but… what I did was just drawing. Hmm…

"Skilled users can enchant with just a gaze. Togo, when you were drawing the nude, did Cloa look at you?"

…But I remember that.

Cloa's emerald eyes were vivid, and I felt like I was captivated by them. I felt like I was being drawn in. And then, my body became hot, my head became fuzzy… I think I lost my mind.

"I… might have been under the enchantment magic."

At first, I thought it was due to the tension of doing a nude sketch for the first time… but, yeah, thinking about it now, it's definitely strange. Losing consciousness and just drawing relentlessly… I think it was strange. I rarely don't remember what I did while drawing.

"Got it. Then it's settled."

Fey nodded after listening to me and approached Cloa on the hammock… and then.

"This guy tried to enchant Togo to do something! We should tie her up!"

He started tying Cloa with soft cloth.

"Laocles! Help me a bit! Lift her up! There, there!"

"Got it."

And before I knew it, Cloa was tied up with a blanket and rolled up, and then… she was rolled onto the hammock.

…She looked a bit cute.

She woke up in the evening. I went to see her when Laocles told me she had woken up.

"Ugh… where is this?"

"Ah, you noticed?"

I went to see Cloa. She still looked dazed and had a dazed expression even when she saw me.

"Um… Cloa, you helped me practice nude drawing, but you ended up falling asleep…"

I was at a loss for how to explain. How should I tell her about the magic power depletion and the enchantment?

"Anyway, you collapsed due to magic power depletion. Cloa, did you use enchantment magic on Togo?"

…While I was struggling, Fey bluntly asked.

But at that moment, Cloa's expression froze. Yeah, I thought it would come to this, so I didn't really want to say it clearly…

"What was your purpose? Tell us."

"Can you be honest with us? It would help a lot."

…Laocles and Fey are relentless. Yeah.

"…Um, Cloa"

I didn't want to leave everything to Laocles and Fey, so I resolved to ask.

"Did you, by any chance, have something urgent?"

"…Urgent…?"

Cloa repeated my words in surprise, with a puzzled look.

"Wh… Why do you think that?"

"Intuition. Um… you suddenly started practicing nude drawing, and if you depleted your magic power, I thought you might have been trying really hard to enchant me."

"That…"

Cloa looked away from me, but in her bound state, she couldn't run away, and I think she probably didn't have the will to run away anymore.

Cloa sighed deeply and said.

"…Yes. I was in a hurry."

She was in a hurry. That one word was an affirmation. It means that she was indeed using enchantment magic on me and was in a hurry.

"So, I panicked and failed. I think you can understand that."

Cloa's expression when she said this was different from any I had seen before. It was a mix of dislike and confusion. She seemed to be putting on a tough act, but was actually troubled.

"You were in a hurry because you had a two-month time limit?"

When Laocles asked, Cloa was silent for a moment. …But then, she sighed again and said, resigned.

"That was part of it… but I also wanted to complete my mission before I lost myself."