“We’ll set up camp here.”
“…Here?”
Aqual descended from the airboard, surveyed the landscape, and shot me a doubtful look. I could understand her hesitation; we were at the base of the Sorel Mountains, far away from any towns or villages. In front of us stretched a bleak, rocky mountainside; to the right was a dense forest, and to the left, jagged, rocky badlands.
Wyverns could swoop down from the mountains at any moment, and monsters could crawl out of the forest or the badlands. Plus, the trees and giant rocks made visibility terrible. If we got ambushed, we’d be lucky to react in time. Not exactly ideal for setting up camp.
“Hang on a sec,” I said, using a shortcut to pull out my mithril pickaxe and equip it. Without wasting time, I started smashing the surrounding rocks.
Ha ha ha. Rocks bigger than people? You don’t stand a chance in the face of my mighty mithril pickaxe! You’re like beans to me!
“…Really?”
“You know, I’d heard stories, but seeing it in person is something else.”
“It’s been ages since I last saw him work… He’s gotten even wilder.”
Aqual and Riviera stood side by side, watching in disbelief as I cleared the area in no time at all.
“Same old, same old.”
“Yup.”
“We’re already used to it.”
“Especially since as his bodyguards, we always tag along when he gathers stuff,” Shemel said, shrugging.
Unlike the newcomers, Grande and the ogre girls looked completely unbothered. They’d watched me prep construction sites and build stuff countless times. Grande even started helping, using earth magic to level the areas I’d cleared without me needing to ask. We were perfectly in sync at this point.
“Thanks, Grande.”
“Heh, helping your partner is the same whether you’re a dragon or a human, after all,” she said, nudging her head against my shoulder adorably.
I reached up and gently patted her head. She wagged her tail happily, slapping the ground so hard that the newly flattened soil cracked again. Oh well, it wasn’t really a big deal.
“You cleared out quite the area,” Riviera said, looking around. “Are you putting up a tent here?”
“Definitely not. There’s no way we’d be able to sleep in peace. I’m going to build a simple base.”
“A simple base?” Aqual repeated, frowning. She had no idea what I meant, but that was fair since it was her first time and all.
It was essentially a raised structure, like an elevated base built on stilts. I could have built something on the ground, but then I’d have needed to throw up defensive walls too, which would’ve been a pain. I’d build the floor high above the ground with our living quarters on top, that way the monsters wouldn’t be able to reach us so easily. It’d be safer, faster, and easier to defend. Fortunately, my skill let me set blocks directly in the air, so even if the supports got destroyed, the whole thing wouldn’t collapse.
“I’ll turn all the rocks I just mined into building materials and—pop!”
I activated the blueprint function to build the basic structure all at once. It consisted of a high-floored base on our freshly flattened area. A broad stone platform, about ten meters tall, rose into existence, supported by thick pillars at each corner and one in the center.
“Wha—?!” Aqual’s eyes widened in shock as the giant stone base materialized before her eyes. I figured this was probably the first of many times she’d be shocked like this.
“I’ve got ladders on each corner,” I explained. “Use those to get up and down. Once you’re on top, there’s a hatch, so make sure to close it behind you.”
The hatch was solid steel and reinforced to withstand most monster attacks. That said, Melty could probably still break through it with her bare hands. If I wanted to stop her from getting inside, I’d have to make the entire building and hatch out of pure mithril. And if I only reinforced the hatch, she’d probably just punch through the walls.
“Hm? What’s with that face?” Aqual asked. “Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”
“Ah, I was just thinking that even if steel can keep monsters out, it wouldn’t stop Melty. She’d probably tear through this place like paper.”
“…Well, she is an overlord.”
Okay, thinking about how to Melty-proof this place was unproductive. I focused back on the task at hand.
I quickly added rooms for lodgings, a cafeteria, and a bathhouse on top of the platform. I’d already designed the layout and had an optimal blueprint, so the whole thing was done in a flash.
“All right, done,” I announced, dusting off my hands. “If you have any requests, I can make it happen, so let me know.”
“I appreciate the bath,” Aqual said. “But why only one?”
“I’m the only guy here. Making two would be a waste. As long as we bathe at different times, we won’t have any awkward encounters, so work out the schedule among yourselves.”
If there had been more men, I would’ve made a second bath, but as things stood, we’d just rotate. The ogre girls would probably want to bathe together. The harpies and Grande would almost certainly want to join me. We could split into two groups; one before dinner, and one after, with me. Simple. We could avoid any unfortunate encounters.
“Once I’ve got defenses in place, we’ll be all set.”
“What kinds are ya thinkin’?” Tozume asked.
“Well,” I said, grinning, “I’ve been holding back until now, but since I’ve started using golem soldiers already, there’s no point anymore.”
Golem cores gave vessels advanced decision-making abilities. Combine that with the weapons I built, and we’d have ourselves a proper perimeter defense. Land and air, both covered.