Chapter 26: Let's Build the Elves' Houses

It was decided that the Elves’ houses would be built in the forest. First, the Elves needed to decide on the location where they wanted to live. But before that, they asked if they could greet the Dwarves, so I guided them to the Dwarf village.

When the Dwarves saw the Elves, their faces broke into smiles.

“Oh, so you all are safe too. That is good.”

“Dwarves, it has been a long time. Somehow we managed to escape from the Sea of Trees. Just as you told us, the lord is a good person, and we were accepted.”

“Ah, the lord here is a wonderful person of character. Escaping the Sea of Trees must have been difficult, but you can feel relieved now.”

The Elves and Dwarves were celebrating their reunion. In the novels I read in my past life, they were often on bad terms, but in this world, they seem to be friendly.

After consulting with Smith, the steward, we selected a few forests around Northernford that had no human residents nearby as candidates. The reason we had so many candidates is because this is the Frontier where the territory is wide and the population density is low. There are certain benefits to being in the countryside.

When I showed them the candidate sites, the Elves chose the forest with many Old-Growth Trees. It seems they feel more secure when there are large trees around.

“What kind of house should we build?”

I was wondering if we should cut down the trees in the middle of the forest to make a clearing, but the Elves chanted a spell, and the trees slid back, creating an open space.

The Elves use their unique Spirit Magic, and among their spells is one that shifts the position of trees. Elves, as Forest Dwellers, also do woodworking, but it seems they want to avoid felling trees as much as possible.

“Then, I will start building the houses.”

When I asked what kind of houses they wanted, they said something similar to the Dwarves’ houses would be fine, but they did not need a fireplace. It seems that Elves in this world still do not like fire.

When I took out the materials I carried using Storage Magic, the Elves gasped.

“You can store this much?”

“That is an amount of Magic Power unbelievable for the Human Race.”

It seems that my Magic Power is considered high even by the Elves.

Just like when I built the Dwarf houses, I concentrated, imagining a Log House, and Magic Power gathered at my fingertips, glowing, and a Magic Circle floated above my palm. I continued concentrating in that state.

“Amazing concentration. Unbelievable for a child.”

Eventually, the warm light enveloping the materials faded, and a Log House stood there.

“Oh! To build a house in an instant like that!”

“What incredible Magic.”

I took a breath and concentrated again to build another house.

Perhaps my Magic Power has increased since I built the houses for the Dwarves, because even after building five houses this time, I still had energy left. The Elves are avoiding staying at inns so as not to draw attention, so they are all living in tents. Since it is Summer, the nights are not cold, but I want to build their houses as quickly as possible.

Since I also asked Theo for help this time, I should push a little harder. Theo can build the same houses that I can, and his Magic Power is considerably higher than an ordinary person’s, so I think he can build several houses in a day.

Just as I was thinking that, Theo arrived.

“Master, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, sorry for calling you on such short notice.”

As Theo and I discussed how to build the houses, Lucelina rushed over.

“Theo, you are safe too!”

“Luna! You are safe too, that’s good!”

“Oh, you two already knew each other.”

It shouldn’t be strange since the Dwarves and Elves have interacted, I thought, but there was more to the situation.

“Yes, Theo and I are both children of the Chieftain.”

“Wait, Theo was the son of the Dwarf Chieftain?”

“Yes. I wanted to train as a lone Dwarf, so I hadn’t mentioned it. My uncle is currently fulfilling the Chieftain‘s role. I apologize for keeping silent until now.”

“I see. Was I too familiar with you before?”

“Not at all. You and your family have been very kind to me. Please, I ask that you treat me the same as before.”

When I asked about it, it turned out Theo‘s uncle, the current Chieftain, knew Theo was worried about his inability to blacksmith, so he agreed to let the former Chieftain‘s son apprentice with a human.

“Luna, what about your parents?”

“They acted as decoys when we fled the Sea of Trees. We told everyone they were separated so as not to worry them.”

“I see. Just like my parents.”

“Your parents too, then?”

“Yes, it was their duty as Chieftain.”

I see, so ‘separated’ meant acting as a decoy. When I asked Father later, he said he had suspected that was the case when he heard Lucelina‘s story. He also suspected the same thing might have happened to Theo‘s parents. I hadn’t noticed. I’m still inexperienced.

After that, I built two more houses and Theo built three, so we were able to build ten houses that day.

“I never imagined the houses could be built this quickly. Thank you so much. Theo, your Production Skill has improved a lot.”

The next day, when Theo and I came to the forest again, an Elf woman spoke to us reservedly.

“Um, if it is possible, there is one request I would like to make.”

“What is your request? I do not know if I can do it, but please tell me without hesitation.”

“Thank you. If the houses could be built on trees, we would be happy to live there as we did in our homeland.”

Oh, a Treehouse. I’ve seen those online.

“I cannot guarantee that it will work, but I will try.”

I asked the Elf who made the request to draw an image on the ground. It looked just like the Treehouses I had seen in my past life. The structure of the house is similar to a regular one, but since it is built on a tree, no foundation is needed. I thought I would build the floor where the large branches fork and then build the house on top of that.

As I concentrated, imagining Elves living in symbiosis with the forest in a Treehouse, my fingertips glowed, and a Magic Circle floated. When the warm light enveloping the materials faded, a Treehouse was completed on a large, nearby tree.

“Ah, thank you! This alleviates the anxiety of leaving my homeland.”

The Elf woman bowed her head repeatedly. Lucelina, who had arrived, also bowed, so I told them, “You have thanked me enough,” and asked them to raise their heads.

There are about seventy Elves, but since their family size is smaller than the Dwarves’, around two or three people per family, we needed thirty houses this time. We decided to build twenty-two regular houses and eight Treehouses. Theo didn’t feel confident making Treehouses yet, so I had him concentrate on the regular houses.

The next day, we came again to build houses, and by evening, we finished the last one.

“My! To have everyone’s houses built this quickly. We can return to a normal life now.”

“Thank you so much. Your Production Skill is magnificent.”

“You are just like a Savior.”

The Elves thanked me one after another. Yep, Production Skill is definitely a good thing. I feel like a concerning word was mixed in there, but I’m sure it was just my imagination.