Chapter 8

In the spring that serves as my water source and has also become a bathing place for large birds, a horse has come.

However, this horse is a bit strange... It has something like wings growing on its back.

The word "Pegasus" flutters through my mind. Yeah, if such a thing existed, it might look like this.

...But this Pegasus (tentatively) seems a bit off.

Observing from my window, I figured out why.

"...It's injured."

The wing growing from the horse's back was only on one side. The other side... was cruelly cut off at the root.

I thought, if it could run, it would. But when I quietly stepped out of the house, the bird noticed me.

The bird noticed me but didn't seem particularly wary, and it slightly moved its body to make space downstream. ...It seemed to be clearing space for my bath. Well... I'll take it as a kind gesture.

Now, about the bird, that's fine, but the horse.

The horse noticed me and showed a frightened look.

But perhaps because it saw that the bird wasn't particularly concerned, it didn't try to run away even as I approached the spring.

...When I got closer, I saw that one of the horse's legs was injured. Maybe it can't run very fast even if it tries to escape.

Feeling sorry for it and thinking it must be painful, I decided to take my usual bath. After all, the bird had made space for me.

As I bathed, the horse seemed to get used to me, even though it kept an eye on me. After drinking water, it stayed near the spring and didn't show any signs of running away.

So, after finishing my laundry and bath, I quietly took out my drawing materials and returned... and drew some medicine.

Yeah. Healing ointment. The old stuff that was always kept at the teacher's house, from who knows when. Though old, it worked for cuts, burns, and scrapes, and I've been helped by it quite a bit.

...Since I could make such ointment right away, I took it to the horse. The wing on one side couldn't be helped, but the leg wound could, I thought.

However, it might have been an unnecessary kindness from the horse's perspective.

When I approached with the medicine, the horse kept a bit of distance. When I got closer again, it moved a bit further away.

...Feeling sorry for it, I gave up on getting closer. In the meantime, the horse returned to the depths of the forest.

Hmm... I wanted to help, but maybe it was an unnecessary kindness after all.

I was concerned about the horse, but there was nothing I could do.

So, I decided to draw and materialize more medicine in case of emergencies, and also to materialize more pencils that I had failed to materialize earlier, and to make a knife because one wasn't enough. While doing this, I felt like drawing glass, so I drew and materialized a glass lamp.

...After drawing and materializing as much as I could, night fell, and I went to sleep.

When I peeked out the window the next morning... it was there. The horse from yesterday.

Its leg wound and the single wing were still the same. It looked painful, and it was hard to watch.

Moreover, it seemed to have trouble moving its body and couldn't bend down to eat grass. It must be hungry.

But, I'm not a veterinarian, and if I tried to treat it, it might run away.

...Alright.

I drew grass right there. Tall enough to eat without bending much, and soft enough for the horse to digest.

...First, I quickly sketched the ground. I drew the edge of the spring and the rocks there, and then grew the grass.

Drawing grass is actually quite difficult. Since I had to hurry, I couldn't draw each blade of grass, so I had to use a watercolor technique to quickly sketch it.

But, it worked.

As soon as the drawing was complete, it trembled, shrank, and then spread out.

And there was grass on the ground.

The horse was confused. It was natural to be confused when grass suddenly grew.

But, the horse, though confused, started to nibble on the grass. ...I hope it tastes good. I don't eat grass, so I don't know the taste.

...By the way.

When I drew the spring, I had a similar thought. It seems that "drawing something new in an existing place" is a bit different from "materializing a drawing."

This time, when I drew the grass, it didn't appear on the paper but grew on the ground. The drawing reflected the actual landscape.

This... Hmm, what does it mean? One thing I can clearly say is that reflecting a drawing in the actual landscape is more tiring than materializing a drawing... But, it's fine.

I want to experiment.

I'm curious about how far I can go with "reflecting a drawing" instead of "materializing a drawing."

This is a race against time. I hurriedly sketched the horse on watercolor paper.

I don't have much experience observing animals up close, but I've seen photos and videos, so I can manage with observation. I know the general structure of the body, so I just need to fill in the details.

Once I had a basic sketch, I started coloring. I'm cutting corners a bit, but I think it will work. Even if it doesn't, I'll try my best.

The horse is white, so coloring is difficult. White fur with golden mane and tail. Thinking it's a beautiful horse, I kept coloring. I left the white parts of the paper and only added color for the shadows.

...And in the process, I added a bandage to the horse's leg.

Thinking that if I could make water spring from a dried-up spring, I could probably attach a bandage to an injured horse's leg.

And when I added and colored wings to the horse's back, the drawing trembled, shrank, and then flew off the paper and disappeared.

Thinking "Huh?" and looking up from the paper...

"...I did it."

Outside the window, the horse was looking at the bandage on its leg, confused.

When I quietly stepped outside, both the bird and the horse noticed me.

The bird, as usual, made space for me, so I entered and did my laundry. The horse approached.

...Yes. The horse approached me.

"...Can I touch you?"

When I asked, the horse extended its neck as if to say "Sure."

I tentatively touched the horse's neck... and felt the skin under the fur, the bones and flesh under the skin, and the warmth of a living being.

When I stroked it, the horse let me. ...Maybe it recognized that I had bandaged its leg. If so, it's a very smart horse.

Well, it's fine.

It seems the horse no longer views me with suspicion. I don't dislike animals, so I'm happy about this.

Most of all, I'm really happy if its leg gets a bit better.

Still, this was another discovery.

It seems I can not only "materialize what I draw" but also "reflect a drawing in reality."

Using this, I can make fruit grow on existing fruit trees, regrow grass that the horse has eaten, and even bandage a horse without touching it.

This is convenient. ...But, it seems to be tiring if used too much. Yeah, I need to be careful.

And one more thing.

...It seems that even if I draw hastily and cut corners, it can still materialize to some extent. I wonder why. Maybe because there was an original, and I only materialized the bandage.

Hmm... I want to try it, but I'll leave it for today. My head is full of the horse.

So, I spent the day practicing drawing horses, remembering the horse. Drawing animals is rare, so it's fresh. I've been doing still life sketches all the time.

Living beings have fur, skin, flesh, and bones, and they are warm.

I could feel the pulse and the breathing. It was the sensation of being alive.

...I didn't dislike that sensation. I wanted to draw that sensation completely.

Yeah, I need to practice for that.

I need to practice...

"I didn't expect you to bring a practice subject."

The next day, the horse brought another horse.

"Eh... eh? This is also a horse...? A friend?"

I was troubled. Really troubled.

I was surprised by the horse with wings, but I was also surprised by the horse with a horn. Why does this horse have a horn on its forehead?

...No, I should say "had." The horn was broken off near the base, and the cross-section was visible. I think it originally extended straight... But...

It also had many wounds. The horse with the horn had wounds all over its body, some of which were still bleeding.

"...Do you want me to heal this horse too?"

The horse with wings nodded, as if to say "Yes."

Then I drew the horse with the horn and started bandaging it.

While I was drawing, the horse with the horn seemed uncomfortable, but it didn't run away because the horse with wings was by its side, seemingly reassuring it.

The horse with the horn had many wounds, so it needed a lot of bandages. The horse on the paper was gradually covered in bandages.

...It was a bit sad and hard to watch.

What could have happened to get so injured? Did it fall off a cliff? But, it seems to have many cuts...

...While thinking, I continued to bandage all the horse's wounds. But, just a little more.

I drew the horse's horn.

The broken horn, but I drew it with a bandage at the broken part and a horn extending from it.

Like a prosthetic hand or leg. I thought that if I gave this horse a prosthetic horn, it might feel a bit better.

...No, I don't know how the horse feels, and it might be rude to assume, but... Yeah, it made me feel better.

The white horse's body with a silver mane and tail. And the still beautiful, pale blue horn.

So, I did it.

...And I finished bandaging the horse with the horn.

The horse, suddenly bandaged and given a prosthetic horn, was surprised but only for a moment... then it calmed down.

It poked the water and the ground with the prosthetic horn, turned around in the spot, and seemed confused, but it wasn't running around, just confused.

When the horse with wings approached, the horse with the horn also approached. Then the horse with wings leaned its head on the horn of the horse with the horn... and rubbed against it, making a happy sound.

Then the two horses started drinking water together. It seems they were satisfied with the treatment.

Yeah, I'm glad. I hope the pain is reduced a bit. The wounds looked very painful.

...Well, I'll take a bath now.

When I started my bath, the horse with the horn made a slightly unhappy face. No, not just the face, but the whole body showed "dislike."

...I remember that "unicorns" dislike men. Yeah, I'm sorry about that. But I want to take a bath.

When I continued my bath, the unicorn still looked unhappy, but it seemed to be reprimanded by the Pegasus, which seemed to be more understanding. The Pegasus's personality seemed to show, and it was a bit amusing.

The unicorn, reprimanded by the Pegasus, seemed reluctant but eventually approached me.

"Can I touch you?"

When I asked, it didn't run away, so I stroked it.

It felt a bit different from the Pegasus. Maybe the fur is shorter. But the tail feels really good. The Pegasus is fluffy, and the unicorn is smooth.

...Then, the horn caught my eye.

I think the bandages went well, but how about the horn? Was the prosthetic horn a bother?

"Um... can I touch the horn?"

When I asked, it lowered its head and brought the horn closer, as if it understood me.

Feeling a bit intimidated by such a beautiful creature, I gently touched the horn.

...The horn was warm.

I instinctively pulled my hand back.

Because I didn't expect the prosthetic... the artificial horn to be warm.

But, I immediately realized something was wrong.

The horn felt... like a living, real horn.

I touched the horn again.

The beautiful, pale blue horn, straight and twisted, a work of art. I touched it.

...It was still warm.

"...Can I take off the bandage?"

After asking, I gently touched the bandage at the base of the unicorn's horn.

Under the bandage, there should be a joint. Because the horn was broken there. I only drew the horn there...

Under the bandage, there was a horn.

Without any joint, not broken... A "real" horn was firmly growing there.

As soon as I confirmed this, I felt my consciousness fading... and I probably fainted.