Chapter 68

"Ah, I'm home..."

"Welcome... Whoa!? Togo!? What happened!?"

I was brought home while still being held by the bird. It seems that Fei, who was inside the house, noticed the flapping of the bird's wings and came out. She saw me and, surprised, hurriedly helped me get away from the bird.

"Wow, you have a fever! Hey! Laocles! Hey! Togo has a fever! Alright, I'll take you to the bed!"

"What, did you eat something strange again?"

Huh, I have a fever? Hmm... Ah, no, thinking about it makes my head feel like a forest. A forest...

"Hey, bird! What did you make Togo eat?"

Laocles and Cloa also came out of the house, suspecting that the bird had made me eat something. Yeah, I did eat something, but it's been a while since I ate it, and the bird looks confused too. Right now, that's not the issue...

Then I was carried to my room and laid on the bed.

And Fei's diagnosis was...

"This is a wisdom fever!"

...That's too much!

...After that, I was taken to my room's bed and received treatment for the wisdom fever.

"I'm sorry. If I could use ice magic, it would be better..."

"No, it feels good. Thank you."

First, Cloa made a gentle breeze. It seems that Cloa can use not only enchantment magic but also the gentle breeze magic. That's amazing. Cloa wanted to make an ice pillow or something, but this is good enough.

"Anyway, drink water and eat fruit. Even if you can't eat, at least drink."

"Okay, I understand."

Then, Laocles prepared the meal for me. Since my body is hot and I have no appetite, just water and fruit.

...Thinking about it, while I was in the bird's nest, I lived only on mysterious fruits and delicious fruits. How did that work? Maybe my body is weakened from that. I don't really feel it, though.

Maybe becoming a spirit reduced my appetite? Hmm... No, I still don't understand my own body well.

"Alright. Then, Togo, stick close to Laocles, Cloa, and me. Got it?"

...Then, Cloa sat on the edge of the bed and held my hand, Laocles sat heavily in the chair next to the bed, and Fei patted my head.

"Huh? What is this?"

"Hmm? It's the treatment for wisdom fever."

...Maybe the wisdom fever in this world is different from the one I know?

"See, wisdom fever happens when your magic power suddenly increases, or you suddenly use or withdraw magic, or you overuse magic, or you suddenly learn a new magic and your internal magic gets tangled up."

What? I don't know that. That's not the wisdom fever I know.

"So, when you have a wisdom fever, it's good to be around creatures with lower magic power. They can absorb the excess magic, and you'll recover quickly."

"Oh, I see..."

In other words, it's the opposite of when the horses came to me when I was out of magic. I see. That's why I'm inside the house this time.

"Usually, it's younger siblings or neighborhood kids who stay with you. But compared to a spirit, our human magic power is so low, we're like kids! Even compared to you, I had less magic power."

"I'm not very good at magic either. But I can probably absorb the excess magic."

"Hehe, people say that if you go to a neighbor who has a wisdom fever, you'll grow faster. I think it's because you get some of their magic. ...What will I do when I grow up?"

Yeah, that's right. This world is different from mine in many ways.

"Anyway, get plenty of rest and balance the magic in your body. Got it?"

"Okay."

But in any world, recovery starts with sleep. Yeah.

"Then, when you feel a bit better, use some simple magic to consume your magic."

"Does that mean I should draw?"

Got it. I'll draw something after a nap.

"Yeah, that's right. When you feel a bit better, use a larger scale to consume your magic..."

"Does that mean I should draw?"

Alright. I'll draw something big.

I was thinking about what to draw... Fei laughed and patted my head again.

"...Alright! This is the best treatment for you! Draw as much as you want!"

"Yay!"

"But only after you get some sleep!"

"Okay, I understand."

Sleep and then draw. Sleep and then draw. Then I'll sleep. Alright. Good night.

Just as I was about to dive under the blanket to sleep, Fei suddenly said,

"...You know, I thought something had changed in you after becoming a spirit, but... you've become even fluffier."

...If the change in me after becoming a spirit is that I've become fluffier, that's a bit... well, I don't like it.

When I woke up, the confusion in my head had calmed down a bit.

Yeah. I still have the feeling that a forest has formed in my head, and it still gets tangled up, but it seems to have settled in a bit.

...It seems that I can now understand the forest to some extent.

Now, I know where things are, how the barrier is, and so on.

The area around the house where I live now, the area around the bird's nest, the area around the ruins, and the area where I first came to the forest are the center of the forest. In the center of the forest, there are almost no ordinary creatures. Only creatures with a lot of magic live here. ...That is, spirit birds, horses with wings or horns.

A bit further out, there are more flower fields and other creatures, like deer, foxes, and squirrels. ...It seems that the forest is divided to some extent.

But this information suddenly appeared in my head, or my head connected with the forest, so... I think it will take some time to get used to it.

For now, I'll follow Fei's advice and start drawing.

First... I was a bit curious, so I drew a gem.

"Wow, it's beautiful."

"Yeah. I thought this one looks like Cloa. This one is Laocles. This one is Fei."

"...That's quite a pick-up line, isn't it?"

The gems I'm drawing are like them.

I draw them one by one, looking at a gemstone guide. I draw big ones, small ones, and various shapes. As I draw, they materialize one by one, and soon the bed is full of gems. Well, this is fun. And apparently, drawing helps with the wisdom fever. As I materialize them, my condition gradually improves.

"Still, why gems? Are they for a gift to Cloa?"

"Oh, that's fine too. If you want one, you can take it."

"...You're being too generous, which is a bit scary."

Okay. Then I'll stop.

"I thought that by drawing gems, I could understand my current magic power from the state of the gems."

When I explained why I was drawing gems, Fei nodded and... then picked up a newly formed fluorite and examined it.

"I'm not an expert, but..."

"Yeah."

...After a while, Fei said,

"If you sell these carelessly, it could start a war, so don't."

...Yeah.

I thought that my sudden increase in magic power might make it hard to control, but maybe the practice I did once helped. After a bit of practice, I could draw a "non-mochi mochi" and produce "gems that won't start a war." Yeah, that's good.

...Maybe that bird was waiting for me to be able to control my magic power to some extent.

From the state of the gems I produced without thinking and the sensations I felt when they materialized, it seems that my magic power has definitely increased. It's probably because I became a spirit, and the strange-tasting fruit the bird made me eat is also related.

In other words... if I couldn't control my magic power in this state, it might have been a bit of a problem. Yeah.

For the next two days, I spent my time drawing things on the bed.

I produced mochi, ate it, produced barley tea, drank it, produced paint, and thought that a desk would be convenient to use on the bed, so I produced one...

...During this time, my body felt much better, my head cleared up, and I felt energetic, so I decided to... build a house.

"Cloa. I have something important to talk about."

"Eh, yes. What is it?"

So, I decided to tell Cloa too. Probably, it's okay to tell her now. The forest says it's okay.

"I can make things I draw come to life."

"...Eh?"

But it's a bit difficult to explain.

"Y-Yeah. The things I draw materialize..."

Cloa was confused, but she understood when I drew a gem in front of her.

"I see. In that case, you won't have to worry about money to hire me, will you?"

"Oh, right. I haven't paid you yet. How much is it?"

"Come on. I don't need it for now. I already got a whole house. I'll stay with you for at least a year with just that."

I see. Then I need to build about ten more houses.

...Anyway.

"Also, unexpected guests might come, and the population might increase, so I want to build houses."

"Oh, that's great. ...Hey, can I help?"

"Yeah, please."

Cloa has good taste, so I want her opinion on what kind of interior would be good.

"...But, as a forest spirit, is it okay to develop the forest?"

"Yeah. I'll try not to inconvenience the creatures living here."

I think it's fine to build a few houses for guests on the outskirts of the forest and a few near the center. If the population increases too much, we'll think about it then...

So, I built houses with the help of Cloa and Laocles.

I got interior advice from Cloa and asked Laocles to prepare the land. Cutting trees and using them as firewood, for example. ...I can make the trees disappear, but it's better to use them properly.

So, I built one house.

"It's built..."

When I built it, it was built. A whole house. ...I didn't run out of magic power. It's fine. It's built.

"...I see. So, my house was built like this too."

"No, Cloa's house was built in parts: the foundation, pillars, walls, and roof. But this time, I felt I could do it, so I built a whole house."

"Hey, is it okay to build a whole house at once?"

"Yeah, it seems to be fine."

At least, I learned that I can build a whole house without running out of magic power. And I feel great even after building the house.

I see, this is good. I'll draw and build the next house right away.

As I drew, the houses increased. Specifically, five houses. Wow. This. I've grown a lot. It seems that becoming a forest spirit was worth it.

I'll do the interior tomorrow... For now, this will allow me to handle unexpected guests and an increase in models. Alright.

The next day, I did the interior.

This was a very fun task... Following Cloa's instructions, I drew such wallpaper, such lighting, and such furniture... and the house became more and more beautiful.

"Amazing! Incredible! No one in the capital,