CH 14

DRAWN MOCHI VOLUME 1 CHAPTER 14: SCARLET DRAGON*1

That night I spent the night in a place that wasn’t my bed.

Somewhere. Outside, in front of the house.

I slept under a tree, wrapped in a blanket, and… surrounded by horses.

I ended up relaxing at the fountain until the evening after seeing Redgarde off, but when I tried to go inside afterward, the horses wouldn’t let me leave.

I think they were probably anxious. The horses had just had a bad experience, and my lying down seemed to have caused them to worry.

…So, I went outside to sleep surrounded by the horses.

I was so nervous, but I was not comfortable.

I think I have a tendency to get restless when I sleep with other animals around me, especially horses. Horses, in particular, have a higher body temperature than humans, and when they are close by, you can tell that they are close by. …Well, it’s hard to relax.

The horses maybe the same too, and when I think their eyes are closed, they open them, and I don’t know whether they are sleeping or not. I wonder if they are still restless. I can’t say for sure, but I think it might be because horses are creatures that don’t sleep that much in the first place.

Since I can’t sleep, I think about a lot of things.

First of all, the poachers. Will they be properly punished?

…I feel a bit hazy when I think about this. I want them to be punished, but I feel guilty for wanting them to be punished.

Well… I can’t help it. I am that kind of person.

And then there’s the bird.

It was that bird that brought the proof that would be used to punish the poachers.

I wonder what that bird really is. In a world where there are horses with feathers and horns, I wondered if giant robins were common, but even so… that bird seems strange.

They are very expressive. They are not afraid of people. They let me hold their eggs. I don’t know where or how they got it, but they even brought me the contract.

What on earth is that thing?

…And finally, my thoughts turn to the world from which I came.

I’ve probably been in this world for about a month now. I’m not sure if I’m counting the days correctly. Maybe about a month.

Speaking of one month… I wonder if I’ll be okay when I go back to my world. What about my high school credits? Will I have enough days of attendance?

I don’t know, I’ve never really paid attention to that part of the system. I’ve never missed a day of school unless I caught a cold or something, so I guess that means I never had to worry about it.

Yeah, well, I’ve attended almost everything so far, so my credits would still probably be fine.

If it doesn’t work… yeah, I don’t want to think about it too much. I should stop.

But even if I leave the high school credits behind, I’m sure I’ll have to go to cram school every day. I might not have time to draw… because I would have to study for what I missed because of my absence.

…I hate it.

I don’t want to go back to my old world.

There’s only one clear reason why I want to go back, but that’s it… but there are too many other things that are too complicated.

Now that I’ve come to this world and I’m enjoying my life, I wonder if it’s too much, but… but I think I’m getting more uninterested in going back to my old world.

When I was lounging among the horses while thinking, dawn came before I knew it. I don’t know if I stayed up all night or if I fell asleep and not noticed.

…whatever.

The dawn sky glows pinkish and is very beautiful. Just seeing it was worth the trouble of not being able to sleep well.

And then… Well, maybe the horses were satisfied.

That day, I was being taken care of by the horses.

When I went to bed and woke up, the horses had already brought me fruits for breakfast, and then the unicorns carried me to the spring to let me bathe, and then I was dried by the feathers of the Pegasi, but I got a change of clothes by myself, and then I had to nap again, surrounded by horses.

…what’s going on?

Various horses came next to me, one after another. Apparently, they were taking their turn. Well, I don’t know why they take turns, but at any rate, they are smart…

That night, too, I slept surrounded by horses. …It was getting hard to sleep on the ground with blankets and horses as bedding, so I decided to hang a hammock from a tree and sleep there. The horse still seemed to agree with me. He still tried to sleep under my hammock, though and tried to be with me in some way.

And the next day.

…I was feeling somewhat better.

I had been surrounded by horses last night and the night before and hadn’t been able to sleep much, so I thought maybe I hadn’t recovered particularly well… but it turns out that wasn’t the case, and I no longer felt any physical discomfort.

“Maybe it’s because I slept surrounded by horses.” (Tougo)

I tried whispering to the horses, but the horses were just walking leisurely and eating grass, without responding to anything in particular. …I don’t think there is such a thing as animal therapy or in this case horse therapy. Hmm…

Now that I feel a little better, I started to paint again.

This time, it’s just a sketch. I found a beautiful stone in Redgarde was wearing… and I wanted to record the feeling of it, so I drew it.

A bracelet with a deep red stone. I drew it, remembering how it looked on his left wrist.

At that moment.

“Hey! Tougo!” (Fay)

…I saw Redgarde coming from far away with a smile on his face.

“We did it! We caught all the poachers!” (Fay)

Apparently, he was able to successfully incriminate the poachers after that using the contract.

“There are still a lot of procedures to go through. But for now, it is done!” (Fay)

“I see. That’s good.” (Tougo)

Now there will be no more poachers. The horses would be safe. That’s really good.

I called out to the horses, “You’ll be okay,” and they neighed cheerfully. Yes, that’s good.

“I’m really indebted to you this time. You caught the poachers and even prepared the contract that I need.” (Fay)

“The horses saved each other, and the bird helped you, not me. And as for the poachers, I’m sorry I put you through all that trouble.” (Tougo)

“No, you saved me. I’m not sure how much I’m going to do it without your help. It was relatively easy to bring down the poachers, and I was able to pull the traffickers together with them.” (Fay)

Oh, I see. If there are people selling horse feathers and horns, there are also people buying them. And this time, he caught the “buyers” as well.

That’s good. I’m glad to hear that, even though it wasn’t me at all.

“…but you were the one who saved me. If it weren’t you, the Pegasi, Unicorns, and umm, bird? I’m sure they wouldn’t have moved.” (Fay)

Redgarde said and patted my back.

“So, thank you, Tougo!” (Fay)

I see. I’m glad I was able to help you.

…But please use a little less force.

“…So, I was wondering how I could thank you. I thought “stuff” would not be good, wouldn’t it? You, you can get everything you want if you draw it…” (Fay)

Redgarde’s eyes are on the bracelet I am drawing in my sketchbook.

“I didn’t draw this one because I wanted it, but because it was beautiful and it was for recording.” (Tougo)

“Hmm? Oh, is that so. A record… well, it would certainly be the most complete record if the actual thing remained intact.” (Fay)

I didn’t intend to materialize it… And that’s why I drew it while trying not to draw too much detail… but I’ll keep quiet about it.

“I wonder what would be good… maybe a medal? I’m going to consult with my father.” (Fay)

“Um, I don’t need that.” (Tougo)

“Is that so? Territory then?” (Fay)

“I do not need it.” (Tougo)

If I own land, it will be troublesome. …That’s right.

“What do you want then? I’d like to give you whatever you want, as long as I can make it happen.” (Fay)

“…anything?” (Tougo)

I was a little hesitant while looking up at Redgarde, but for the sake of the future, I decided to say something.

“Then, please give me permission to live here.” (Tougo)

“…you really do not desire anything…” (Fay)

I want you to say that I am security-focused.

…after some time.

Did Redgard go through various procedures after that? It seems that he managed to do something about the poachers. He seemed to be busy, but he took time out of his busy schedule to come to visit us.

He brought me food and brushes for my horses as souvenirs.

He also told me many stories… above all.

“Well, let me take a short nap!” (Fay)

“Okay. Then let me draw a little.” (Tougo)

“Ha-ha-ha. Okay, I’ll take a little nap. Take your time.” (Fay)

“Same to you.” (Tougo)

Redgarde comes here to play, takes a nap or a break, and then goes home. In short, he seems to come here to relax.

And while he naps, rests, and reads, I am allowed to use him as a model to do figure drawing.

Today, too, he started napping in the hammock, and I started practicing sketching with him right away.

Human beings have complex shapes. It’s interesting.

…… Yeah. I’m glad Redgarde came to visit us. It’s fun