Chapter 89

"Wh-What? Create a spirit vein!?"

"Yep."

Immediately, when I went to consult with Fay, she just stared at me blankly.

"Well, it's not about creating a place where magic flows. It's not about bringing water from somewhere else, but rather, creating a new place where water springs up and increasing the water itself... I thought it would be nice if we could do that..."

As I explained further, Fay... started laughing heartily.

"That's great! If we can do that, no one will have to feel bad! ...Although whether it can actually be realized is another matter."

"Yep..."

That's right. It's not clear if it can be realized. I understood what a spirit vein was from books, but I don't really know how it is formed.

...But it seems Fay liked my idea.

"Um, actually, how about it? Can't you create a spirit vein?"

"Well, I don't know..."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Just because you became a spirit doesn't mean you can create a spirit vein so easily..."

"By the way, how do you create a spirit vein? Can you draw it out or something?"

"Well, in the end, it's about creating magic, right? Then, wouldn't it be enough to draw a magic stone like usual? If you draw a magic stone and bury it in the ground, it might work..."

...Is that okay? Well, if it's okay, I'll do it.

Since I'm still a bit unsure, I decided to do some more research.

I had already exhausted the resources in the Redgard family's library, so the next day, I went to the capital's library.

...Actually, Fay's brother and father were going to come too, but if the entire Redgard family gathered in the capital to do research, it would look suspicious. So, only Fay, Laocles, and I, along with Rian and Anje, went. ...Cloe decided to stay home and refrain from activities in the capital for a while. It can't be helped.

"I've been in the capital for a long time, but this is my first time entering a library."

"Is that so?"

"Wow... so many books..."

Rian and Anje were looking at the capital's library with sparkling eyes. Well, if they had lived a life far from libraries, it must be quite a moving experience to come here.

"You can look at any book you like."

"No, I don't want to. I'll help properly. Let's go, Anje. Will you help the fairy find it? If you find it, I'll get it for you."

"Okay!"

"Alright. I'll count on you. I'm relying on you."

I would have been fine if the angelic siblings were just enjoying reading, but they seemed eager to help, so I asked them.

When I asked, Rian smiled happily. ...Yeah. He might like working.

"The books the fairy picks are quite special... Even books with titles worn out and hard to read have good information in them."

And again, we read the books. As expected, the books in the capital's library are diverse. There are old books too. Thanks to this, I understood some things that were unclear in the Redgard family's library.

"Interesting... It says that a place where a powerful magic beast resides becomes a spirit vein. Well, if there's a creature that uses magic, it makes sense that it would draw magic from the land and create a flow of magic, forming a spirit vein."

"A spirit vein is also called a dragon vein. So, a place where a dragon resides becomes a spirit vein, right?"

It seems that a spirit vein can be created quite easily. ...However, the part Fay found, 'When a powerful magic beast resides, it draws magic and creates a flow,' is just changing the flow of a river and doesn't increase the water, so it's on hold for now.

"...Hey. How about this?"

While reading a book, Laocles showed me a book he was reading.

It said, "When a creature with a lot of magic dies, as its body decays, a large amount of magic seeps into the land, sometimes forming the source of a spirit vein. It is also said that the spirit veins that remain today are the traces of the remains of dragons that died in ancient times."

I see. When a creature with a lot of magic dies. At the moment, the creature with the most magic in the forest is... me. Yeah. In other words, I...

...No, I shouldn't think about it. Yeah. It's not good to think about such things.

"It seems that as long as magic seeps into the land, it's fine. Dragons and other creatures with a lot of magic..."

At that point, Laocles suddenly looked at me.

"...Are you thinking of something strange?"

"N-No, I'm not."

Indeed, I had started to think about how I would end up as a skeleton in the forest, but I stopped halfway. It's fine.

"To seep magic, huh? If a creature dies and its body decays, it becomes a spirit vein, so just creating magic stones might take a long time to become a spirit vein."

I still don't fully understand magic, but I think when a creature with magic dies, the magic in its body can't stay in the decaying body and comes out.

...In other words, just by a creature with a lot of magic living, the magic in that place might increase. It's like recycling. When a creature lives, it inevitably releases something. If that decomposes and returns to the land, the magic increases... Ah, maybe the forest in the Redgard territory is maintaining a certain amount of magic this way? ...Yeah. That forest might be a place of massive magic consumption, production, and recycling.

"Does that mean we just need to release creatures and kill them? But, that doesn't seem right..."

I found one way to create a spirit vein, but it's not something I want to do. I don't want to release dragons just to kill them.

"No, as long as there's magic, it should be fine. It doesn't have to be a creature. Um... Wait, didn't I read somewhere that magic stones can be used as fertilizer?"

Look. Fay came up with something!

"Fay, here, the fairy said..."

And Anje just found the perfect book.

We all eagerly read the book Anje brought.

...It seems to be a book about agriculture.

"When magic stones are crushed into sand and the magic seeps into the land, the land's magic is fulfilled. There are records from ancient times that crushed magic stones were used as fertilizer in fields, but with the current decrease in magic stone production, it is not practical to use high-purity magic stones as fertilizer. Research is being conducted to see if the same effect can be achieved using scrap magic stones..."

I see.

In other words, it doesn't have to be a creature's remains. Maybe the best way is to release a lot of magic stones, crush them, and spread the sand.

"...Spread sand all over the forest?"

When I thought about it, Rian had a strange look on his face.

"Hmm... I think we might spread it outside the forest too."

"If we do that, we might cause various problems. You know, bugs and such..."

...Yeah.

Well, spreading sand all over the Redgard territory would be quite a task, and turning everything into sand doesn't seem good. It wouldn't be good for agriculture or the living environment of creatures.

I thought spreading the powder of magic stones would be good, but it wouldn't be good if the Redgard territory became covered in sand. Yeah.

"Can't we just extract the magic and spread it?"

"You, that's what the alchemists in the castle are working hard on..."

Ah, that's right. It seems that extracting and refining substances is difficult in any world...

"Can we spread it with water or something?"

"Then, mix the crushed magic stone sand with water and spread it?"

"No, I don't think the magic will dissolve in water just like that... Ah, damn, I'm not very good at alchemy either..."

Yeah. I'm not just a little, but completely clueless.

"I think the reason for spreading magic stone powder in fields is that the crops absorb the magic from the magic stones. Plants are good at absorbing things."

That's right. ...Um, maybe even bamboo? Yeah, it makes sense.

"So, how about planting plants in the magic stone sand, crushing the grown plants, mixing them with water, and spreading them...? Um, it would take quite a long time, though."

Hmm, it probably won't work well. It would take a lot of time and effort.

But, creating a spirit vein might be like that. It might not be possible to just draw it and be done with it.

While we were thinking, Rian, who had been playing with the books, suddenly looked at my face and said,

"...Hey, Togo, can you draw things and make them appear?"

Ah, I hadn't explained it in detail, but I had been drawing things in front of Rian and Anje, like ice spirits.

"Yeah, to some extent."

When I confirmed, Rian tilted his head and said,

"Then, why don't you draw a tree that grows from magic stones and spits out water?"

...Yeah.

Blind spot.

We immediately returned to the forest.

Then, I... found a suitable location and headed there.

"I'm thinking of creating a spring here."

It's a cave. A cave with a slightly open ceiling.

If I create a spring here, it might become a semi-underground lake. If it's underground, it probably won't freeze in winter. Probably.

Also, it's close to the ruins of the barrier, so it should be easy to manage. And since it's in the center of the forest, other creatures shouldn't enter unintentionally.

I immediately started drawing the spring.

...I drew it as big as a lake. If I don't make it big, there might be a water shortage.

When I finished, I was quite tired. Drawing big things is tiring.

...As soon as I created the lake, I started drawing the next thing.

"Huge."

"Yeah, while we're at it."

What I drew was a small island in the center of the underground lake. ...The island was made of very transparent crystal.

I also grew several large crystal formations from the lake. They were transparent, sparkling, and huge, and looked very beautiful when completed.

"...Maybe we should have some on the ceiling too?"

The transparent crystals in the lake were beautiful, but since we're at it, I wanted some on the ceiling too. I wanted to fill the cave with crystals.

"Hey. Let's stop here for today. You don't look good."

"Huh?"

When I was about to start drawing, Laocles took the brush from me.

"...Don't rush so much. Even if the magic from the spirit vein is cut off, it won't cause immediate problems."

"Yeah..."

I'm anxious, but rushing won't lead to good results. I need to put all my effort and strength into each step. ...I'm not even sure if I can create a spirit vein with my drawings. I need to be careful.

That day, we ate sandwiches with cheese and ham, had a leisurely tea, and spent the day drawing things that wouldn't materialize, deciding on the design of the trees I planned to grow, and so on.

Then, since the hammock outside was cold, we slept inside, wrapped in blankets, futons, a phoenix, and a pipe fox, and slept soundly. I overslept a bit and hurriedly got up, then quickly went to draw the next thing.

Continuing from yesterday, I grew crystals from the ceiling and walls. When I got tired, I slept and continued the next day. ...As I did this, the walls, ceiling, and floor of the cave were all covered with transparent crystal formations and sparkled. Yeah. It's beautiful.

The fairies jumped into the lake happily and were playing and laughing loudly. Yeah. They seem to be enjoying it, which is great.

After filling the cave with crystals, I finally drew the 'tree that grows from magic stones, absorbs magic, and spits out water.' The design was already done, so I just needed to draw it and materialize it.

The roots were strong and embedded in the crystal. The trunk, which looked like it was made of red copper and gold, twisted and spread its branches widely. The leaves were lush and green, like jade or emerald... and there were fruits growing everywhere.

The fruits were transparent and contained a liquid...

...I drew such a tree.

A tree of gold and gems on a crystal island. I kept drawing such things.

Drawing transparent, sparkling things is fun. Before I knew it, I was just moving the brush...

Then, the drawing on the paper trembled and gathered, flying to the crystal island... where it took the shape of a tree.

"...It's beautiful."

Looking at the newly grown tree, Fay let out a small sigh. Yeah. I feel the same way. I think it turned out well. I'm satisfied.

I immediately flew to the crystal island.

Holding onto the phoenix, I crossed the water and reached the island, then picked one of the fruits from the tree.

It was a fruit like a glass orb decorated with gold branches. It was about the size of an apple, round, and felt good in my hand.

After rolling it in my hand for a while and feeling satisfied, I broke the hard outer skin.

The outer skin was harder than it looked, but the phoenix helped by pecking it with its beak.

...Then, the juice came out from inside the fruit.

I tried drinking the clear, thick liquid... and it was incredibly delicious.

It was sweet and sour, rich but not heavy, with a refreshing aftertaste and a good aroma...

...And it gave me energy. I felt very energetic.

Since the fruit gave energy, I wanted everyone to taste it before spreading the contents in the Redgard territory.

"It's really delicious. Here."

"Wow... It's the fruit of the spirit's tree, so it must be delicious..."

"...Is it okay for me to eat it?"

"Should be fine. It was given directly by the spirit, right?"

"Anje and I will share it."

"Okay! Then, the fairies and Anje will share it too!"

Everyone was looking at the fruit and rolling it in their hands, but Fay, who was the first to break the outer skin with a knife, took a sip...

And spat it out.

"...Fay, are you okay?"

While patting Fay's back, who was coughing, I thought maybe he had choked.

"Togo! This makes you drunk!"

"Huh? It turned into alcohol?"

"No, no, no, it causes magic intoxication!"

...Ah.

"You... How can you drink this and smile, saying it's delicious?"

"...Wasn't it delicious?"

"No, the taste is good, but... just, for humans, this is too strong..."

...Maybe I've become too detached from humans.

Somehow... not being able to share something I found delicious is a bit... sad.

Feeling a bit down, I started collecting the fruits.

The tree slowly extended its branches and leaves, and occasionally produced fruits. Probably about two fruits per hour.

Overripe fruits fell from the tree, hit the crystal on the island, and broke, with the contents flowing into the spring. This way, the spring water would become full of magic. And it would probably become the source of a spirit vein.

All I need to do is occasionally add more crystal to the lake, I think.

After creating the tree, I was a bit tired. I was sleepy.

"...By the way, how are we going to spread the contents of the fruits?"

"But, how are we going to do it? With a dragon?"

...Yeah. Even so, it would probably take a lot of time.

Um... Can we make the contents of the fruits rain down by themselves? Maybe I should have drawn the tree to throw the fruits? No, that's probably too much...

"Draw it. Something that can make the lake water rain down."

...What kind of creature is that? A creature that makes it rain? A sea slug? Um, what kind of creature is a sea slug? A sea snail-like