Chapter 38: One Surprise After Another [Bonus Chapter]

You guys are amazing, seriously. And, as promised, here is today's bonus chapter~

....

Just as Ria and the other elves had warned, there were some troublesome monsters near the mountain. However, as soon as he released his aura, all the monsters fled desperately, as if there were no tomorrow.

The birds around also panicked, flying in all directions while chirping loudly.

Minutes later, everything fell into absolute silence.

"Alright, now I can collect the clay in peace," Zaydas murmured softly to himself.

Descending, he stood before the part of the mountain where there was plenty of red clay. Since there were some trees and herbs nearby, he used the replication option on the herbs to identify what was useful from what was not and stored the useful ones.

It was a quick and efficient way to gather a good harvest while also clearing the area. He cut down the trees, stored them, and then began creating clay tiles right there, storing them in his storage space.

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"Ria, do you think he'll return safely?" Rize asked.

Turning the rabbit over the fire, Ria didn't turn around as she answered, "I don't know, but I hope so."

"Well, he seemed strong. So, he should be fine. After all, he can always choose to fly," Risu reminded.

"Yes, flying is a great advantage for escaping," Rikoto agreed.

When the meat was ready, they began to eat.

"By the way, these are from that rabbit species, right?" After chewing, Riri said, "I can't believe he gave us so many as if it was nothing."

"...Maybe we were worrying for nothing?" Rita said with a strange smile.

Their concern stemmed from the fact that it was getting darker. And this was the time when some monsters became more active—usually the most dangerous ones.

At this moment, the two moons in the sky became increasingly visible, and the stars shone brightly in the cloudless night.

When they were almost done eating and preparing to take turns sleeping... something came from the sky.

At first, Ria was on alert, and so was the rest of the group.

"It's him! He's back!" Rize exclaimed.

"Speak quietly, Rize," Ria warned.

"Ahh..." Rize felt embarrassed.

But Ria didn't focus on her; instead, she focused on Zaydas, who was flying toward them.

Landing on the ground, he said, "Sorry, I took longer than I planned. It's already night, but that's no problem. We can simply teleport there."

"Teleport?" Ria and the girls said in unison.

"Yes, basically moving instantly to the place I mentioned before," Zaydas explained. "It's one of my abilities. I just need you to form a circle and hold hands."

No one moved. Obviously, it was too much information to process.

Such an advanced ability—they had heard of it before, but only certain magical creatures or divine beings could use it.

'Exactly, who is Zaydas? What is he?' Ria wondered. 'Is he really human?'

Although everything seemed to indicate that he was a human with great magical power, it was possible that this was just a superficial analysis, unable to see through his transformation. Perhaps he was a divine being who had taken on a human form.

After discussing for a bit, they still chose to trust him.

Ria said, "Very well, we will accept your proposal. We will be counting on you, Lord Zaydas."

"Just call me Zaydas," he replied. "And for this to work better, let's form a circle holding hands."

"Okay," they agreed easily, gathering all the luggage they had.

As soon as the circle was formed, Zaydas began murmuring words they couldn't decipher, illuminating the dark night.

"Ahh, the fire!" Rize remembered.

"Don't worry," she heard Zaydas say and saw him simply stomp on the ground. The earth began covering the fire, putting it out.

It was a simple action, but it impressed Ria and the girls.

Such great control while casting an advanced spell… It wasn't something just anyone could do. At least, Ria didn't know anyone like that in all her 400 years of life.

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Hiraku got up to take a piss. And, as he was about to return home, a magic circle formed very close to him.

Stepping back, Hiraku became fully alert.

When something started to materialize—more precisely, transitioning from being semi-transparent until fully visible—he was a bit surprised to see who it was.

"Zaydas!?"

"Hiraku, I'm back," he said with a smile, stepping away from what seemed to be a group of elves and approaching him.

Meanwhile, the girls were looking around with curious eyes.

'Where did he get these elves from?' Hiraku wondered. 'And why did he bring all of them here?'

"You see, these elves have a rather sad past, and I made a deal with them to find a place for them to live. I hope you don't mind having them stay here," Zaydas said.

Seeing the elves' gazes fixed on him and after hearing a bit about their past, Hiraku was moved.

"Well, I don't mind, but…"

"But?" The one who seemed to be the leader of the elves looked anxious.

Hiraku continued, "Unfortunately, there's no place for you to sleep. Where will you stay?"

"Oh, that's not a problem. We can set up a tent. By the way, I'm Ria," Ria said.

"Ria, right?" Hiraku said. "Since Zaydas brought you here and you have nowhere else to go, if you'd like, you can stay."

"Yay~" The girls cheered.

After that, one by one, they introduced themselves to Hiraku.

"By the way, you don't need to set up a tent," Zaydas said mysteriously. "I'm going to do something cool, and if you want, you can come watch. You too, Hiraku."

"Me? Okay," he accepted easily.

Then, Zaydas led them to where his small house was located.

Next, he opened a red magic circle in the air, and from within the circle, several trees began to fall.

"Wow!"

It wasn't just a few trees—there were around 100 of them.

Then, a giant red magic circle appeared on the ground, and from the circle, roof tiles appeared—yes, red clay tiles.

"Zaydas, this is…"

"Yes, it's what you're thinking. And I made plenty—if you want some later, I'll share with you," Zaydas said with a friendly smile.

"Seriously, you're a real friend," Hiraku was touched.

"Okay, the interesting part starts now," Zaydas said before beginning to float.

Honestly, Hiraku envied his ability to fly…

In the air, Zaydas created several magic circles in the shape of a dome.

…

Ria swore she would never forget this scene for the rest of her life. And she knew she wouldn't be the only one to think that.

From those multiple magic circles, an incredibly powerful magic she didn't recognize began to emerge.

This seemed to alert the hell wolves, who appeared and looked at them. When they saw the hell wolves, both Ria and the girls swallowed hard. Since they already knew about them beforehand, they weren't surprised, but instinctively, they wanted to flee.

When the hell wolves' focus shifted from them to Zaydas in the sky, Ria sighed in relief.

She even saw her sisters placing a hand on their chests as they sighed dramatically. Well, it was no wonder—one hell wolf was already difficult to deal with, let alone several of them…

Back to Zaydas, Ria saw the small house from before starting to be dismantled, with even the furniture and bed being stored. Then, the trees were magically shaped, turning into planks and boards.

Each piece began to fit together as a very strong and well-constructed foundation took shape, sized to be a mansion.

The sounds of wood colliding as they were joined echoed while a mysterious white light appeared in the sky in the form of a sun, illuminating the entire area.

Little by little, what was just a foundation began to rise into walls. Before the roof frame was even started, she saw the interior structure being built—stairs, simple furniture like chairs and a table, a counter and sink, cabinets, and more.

'His ability is enviable...' Inevitably, Ria couldn't help but think this way.

Her and her sisters' strong point was construction, yet even with several of them working together, they couldn't compete with this speed and detail.

She watched as the first floor was furnished, the staircase to a second floor was formed, and the flooring for the second level was laid out.

Bit by bit, the second floor went through the same process as the first. However, this floor was dedicated to bedrooms—one of which even included something that appeared to be a bathroom. The floor was reinforced to support the weight, and what seemed to be porcelain tiles were created.

'How did he do this?' She wanted to know.

However, she thought it would be impolite to ask.

As if reading her thoughts, Zaydas said, "If you're interested in anything you saw, feel free to ask me later."

His words made Ria's and the others' eyes shine.

Even Hiraku, whom she had just met, seemed excited.

After the second floor was completed with a total of nine bedrooms, the four-sided hip roof began to take shape. Then, she saw the red clay tiles—seemingly glowing slightly under the white light in the sky—being cleverly placed. Then, screws floated into place, securing the tiles perfectly.

"Done."

Descending from the sky, Zaydas landed near them.

Looking at the roof, Ria pointed and said, "It was to make those tiles that you wanted the red clay, right?"

"Exactly," he replied cheerfully. "Thanks to you all, I was able to find it. Thank you. And for now, if you need a place to sleep tonight, you can choose one of the rooms—I made plenty, and..."

Another magic circle appeared in the air, and several futons floated out, along with pillows.

"Although there are no beds, this should be better than sleeping on the floor," Zaydas said.

Ria was speechless.

She took one of the futons that floated toward her and, feeling its softness—especially the pillow—she thought, 'For him, something like this is simple? Then what would an ideal bed for him be like?'

The other elves had simpler reactions, openly expressing their happiness as they snuggled their faces into the futons.

"So soft~"

"I love this~"

"Am I in heaven?" Rize said dramatically, wrapping herself in the futon.

"Girls, don't forget to say thank you," Ria reminded them before bowing toward him herself. "Thank you for everything, Zaydas!"

"Thank you!" x6.

He snapped his fingers, making the light in the sky disappear, then smiled at them. "Haha, it's all good. Anyway, it's late—let's head inside and sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."