Chapter 161
You too, huh...?
I stop by the lakeshore and look up.
As I get closer to the lake, I can see it, but I still can't believe it.
But apparently I wasn't mistaken.
Is it somewhere near the middle of the lake?
Floating above it, I can see an island.
...I really can see it.
The island is about one-fifth the size of the lake... no, maybe a little smaller.
I feel like the lake itself has gotten bigger, too. Am I imagining it?
...Though I only vaguely remember how big it was before.
The floating island is hovering fairly low, so I can see trees growing on it.
And a huge amount of water is pouring off the island into the lake, creating a waterfall.
"No way!"
The island's structure, where all that water is coming from...
This is no good. I really can't keep up with all the changes in this world.
No matter how I look at it, it's just too much!
More importantly, is this world going to be okay with such drastic changes happening so suddenly?
Crow and the two young ones who came to the lake with me don't seem surprised or scared at all.
It seems I'm the only one freaking out. I guess it's fine.
Sigh.
I slump down by the lakeshore.
For a while, I just stare at the lake.
Though the thing floating above it is impossible to keep out of my sight.
Another world is scary.
Staring at it or being scared won't change anything, so I decide to start with what I can do.
The floating island that suddenly appeared is a little unsettling, but not checking it out would only make me more anxious.
I have Crow take me to the floating island so I can land on it.
...I turned right around.
I'd spotted countless tiny amoebas.
Could this be an amoeba nest, too...?
Come to think of it, the amoebas in the cave's lake had magic similar to that of water amoebas.
The amoebas on the floating island... judging by their magic, they seem similar to wind amoebas.
A giant wind amoeba flies over from the floating island to me.
It circles around me, apparently playing.
Somehow, it's a reassuring sight.
One or two little ones are cute, but seeing so many reminds me of... something?
Hm? What does seeing so many amoebas remind me of?
I remember seeing something that appeared in huge numbers a long time ago... Oh, maybe it was the countless jellyfish I saw at the beach when I went there for fun?
But I'd been really excited by that sight, since it was my first time seeing anything like it, and I had a great time.
Hm?
For a moment, I felt my body suddenly grow lighter.
I look around, but there's nothing there. Maybe I imagined it?
I look at the floating island... Unlike before, it fills me with excitement. It's a floating island, after all!
I don't care how it works or anything like that. It's a floating island!
Not getting excited about this would be strange.
...I was the one acting strange just now.
I felt anxious when I saw the floating island, but given my personality, that makes no sense.
I guess I wasn't calm.
Is something happening to me?
...
I have Crow run through the air above the forest.
Come to think of it, I was surprised at first by how Crow could run through the sky without wings.
Now, when Crow carries me, I think wings would just get in the way, so I'm glad there aren't any...
Yeah, I'm the type who doesn't worry about things much.
When I see something new, I get excited even as I'm surprised, and a little fear just gets me more fired up...
I was a little unsettled when I first came to this world, but I've calmed down now.
So why was I overthinking everything?
I return to the lakeshore and think about the changes in the forest.
The forest's changes will resolve themselves with time, and eventually they'll come to an end.
Besides, my companions are acting as usual, so why should I feel anxious? It's a waste of time.
This is another world where magic exists, so it's strange to judge things by the common sense I learned in Japan.
...Yeah, now I'm thinking like my usual self.
I feel like I've been freed from the strange feeling I've had over the past few days.
At last, I seem to have really calmed down. What a relief.
But when I look at the forest, I feel something like anxiety, or maybe disgust... a vague unease.
I'm frustrated that I don't know what it is, but I don't feel anxious enough to lose control right now.
Besides, I'm the type who really hates wasting time thinking about things I can't figure out.
For me to get so tangled up in my thoughts... No way.
It was as if something had been forcing my thoughts in a certain direction... Could something do that?
To be honest, I don't understand magic.
Even so, I've used magic to do many things I've needed to do.
Magic can probably do anything if you can picture it clearly enough.
Maybe it's possible to guide someone's thoughts, too.
It's unpleasant to have someone's thoughts changed without their consent.
I stop thinking and look at the forest... Sure enough, I feel anxiety and disgust well up at the same time.
But the muddled feeling I had earlier doesn't come back.
...?
Has something inside me changed?
I still don't understand magic, but if it means I won't be swept up in it anymore, that's a good thing.
But is the cause somewhere in the forest?
The 【Magan】 thing should have been resolved.
That's what God said.
Then does that mean there's something else, too?
This forest is full of problems. Well, that's hardly surprising, considering who made it.