Chapter 7

I did it. I finally got the blue paint.

Despite being forced to eat terrible-tasting fruits, getting sick from them, and being made to incubate eggs, everything turned out well in the end. I managed to draw the bird, and even its chicks.

Most importantly, blue!

The blue shell of the giant bird's giant egg! I managed to get a fragment of it and use it to make blue paint!

Now, I have red, yellow, and blue. I also have green, purple, and orange, so I should be able to draw most things.

Well... what should I draw with this?

I returned to the tent. It's been a while. I stayed in the bird's nest for two nights. ...What am I doing, really?

Never mind. Let's get back on track. The first thing I'll make is a 'color sample.'

I started applying colors to several sheets of paper, noting down where each color came from and how I made it.

This is like a backup in case I lose the paint tubes. If I have the color fragments, I can make new paint tubes. If I have notes on how I made the colors, I might be able to recreate them.

I plan to regularly take color samples, or color backups. ...After all, it's not easy to get blue eggshells.

Now that I have blue, I can draw many more things.

First, I'll draw fruit trees. Why? Because it's a hassle to draw food every time. I wanted to be able to supply food without relying on materializing drawings, especially fruits.

So, I decided to draw several fruit trees near the spring.

The temperature wasn't that low, so it must have been early summer, but I wasn't sure about the season, so I drew pears, grapes, and peaches, just randomly, without much thought.

They grew well and bore fruit that I could pick and eat. Feeling confident, I also drew tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes. They grew too. And just because I liked them, I drew edamame. They grew as well.

...This should take care of my meals for a while. I think I just need to occasionally cook some meat.

After the garden, I decided to try building a house.

...However, I didn't want to faint like I did with the spring, so I decided to do it gradually.

First, I made the foundation. A raised wooden platform, like a deck.

I was quite tired just from this, but I didn't faint.

The next day, I made the pillars and beams, the framework. I was a bit tired, but I didn't faint.

...The following day, I made the walls, and the next day, the roof.

On the fifth day, I finally made the furniture... and that's how I managed to build a house.

"...It's comfortable."

That night, I finally got to sleep in a bed.

I had been sleeping on the ground or in a bird's nest, so the softness of the bed felt fresh. It was nostalgic, in a way.

...By the way, it's been half a month since I came to this world.

During that time, I've been drawing almost constantly...

Well... it's not like I had a choice. After all, the drawings materialize. I've been able to survive because I can draw. If I hadn't drawn, I would have starved to death long ago. Yes, that's the case.

...So, I have to draw to survive, but this situation is also very happy for me.

After all, I can draw as much as I want. It's difficult to gather all the paint colors, but I can obtain anything I can draw. I can use expensive art materials as much as I want!

And I have all the time in the world. There's no school, so I can draw all day. And most importantly, there are no parents to watch over me, so I can draw all day.

...I wonder if my parents are worried about me not coming back. They probably are. They're the kind of people who would be.

However, even if I found a way to return to the original world right now, I'm not sure if I would go back immediately...

Because I can draw here.

For me, being able to draw is the most important thing, so in that sense, this world is much more comfortable than the original world. I might want to stay here forever.

...The only thing I'm worried about in the original world is that I'm probably causing my parents and others to worry.

I've abandoned school and everything else, so that's a concern.

And then... there's my teacher.

My teacher is a difficult person to explain. An adult, but very different from other adults. I've never met anyone like my teacher.

To me, my teacher is not just a teacher but also, probably, a friend.

The only person who understands me, and I think I understand my teacher, at least a little. I'm not very confident about that, though.

Unfortunately, there's a clear power difference (economic power, etc.) between us, and I'm definitely in my teacher's care and causing them trouble... but I think my teacher enjoys that care and trouble to some extent. I'm grateful for that.

Anyway, that's the kind of person my teacher is. So, I'm worried about my teacher.

Even if I can draw as much as I want in this world, my teacher is in the original world... so I think I should look for a way to return.

But my teacher would probably find it interesting if I disappeared for a year in another world. So, I don't think I need to rush.

As for my parents... well, I'm sorry.

The day after I slept in a bed for the first time, I slept so well that I didn't wake up until noon. ...Beds are really comfortable. I was surprised at how refreshed I felt. It was amazing.

Well, today, I'll draw another spring.

Why? Because I wanted to separate the water for daily use and drinking.

Also, the spring for daily use had become a bird's bathing spot.

...The giant bird seems to have taken a liking to me. Maybe it realized I'm not an enemy, or maybe it's grateful for the incubation. It's gotten quite attached to me.

It's a bit scary to be so close to such a large body, but the bird doesn't care and comes to me, making 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