Chapter 37

"Alright, perfect!"

I struck a victory pose, looking at the newly built inn, or rather, my new hideout. The reproduction of the building was perfect. From any angle, it looked exactly like the inn where we had stayed in town.

I went inside. Passing through the entrance and heading behind the reception counter, I found a not-so-large dining area, and beyond that, a kitchen and living space. I returned to the entrance and climbed the stairs. The stairs were solidly built, and it was unlikely that the building would suddenly collapse. The walls of my old hideout, which I had built before, were abnormally thick, considering the risk of collapse. I was worried that if I, a layman in construction, built it, it might be vulnerable to earthquakes. I thought this new building, originally built by professionals in this world, would be far better than anything I could make.

"But it's a bit barren..."

However, the newly completed building was slightly different from what I had imagined. I had aimed to recreate the inn. In terms of construction, I had achieved that. However, as a living space, it was incomplete. This was because there were no doors. The entrance was left open, and there were no doors between the rooms. The dining area and kitchen lacked tables and shelves. In short, while I had recreated the building from the ground up, it lacked any of the furnishings that belonged in it. Well, I couldn't help it. I had used magic in this way, and I couldn't expect luxury. It was something I hadn't thought possible before, to create a building of this scale with a single spell. I would consider this a sign of my growth.

"There are other things I need besides doors."

There were other points of concern. The fact that I had copied another building was evident. The inn in town, being within a walled city, was built close to other buildings. In other words, the walls of the real inn were plain and unadorned because there were other buildings next to it. In the city, the side walls wouldn't be visible due to the presence of other buildings, so it wouldn't be noticeable. However, the land I had developed was vast, and there were no other buildings nearby. If viewed from the side, it might be criticized by the part-timer as looking uncool.

"Maybe I should add some more buildings."

With that thought, I cast a new spell. I built brick walls to match the height of the building, surrounding it on the side. I planned to use this area as a sleeping space for the Valkyries, who would likely increase in number. I then built the same walls on the opposite side, surrounding it. I would use this area as a storage space for harvested goods.

However, while I managed to build the walls, the roof had to be constructed manually. It seemed I couldn't create the entire building at once with just my mental image. I spent time stacking bricks.

***

"Hey, Ars, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"What is it, Dad?"

"The loggers are upset. They're angry."

This happened when I returned home after completing the new construction. My father approached me and said this. By the way, I plan to eventually move my base to the new land, but for now, I still return home to eat my mother's cooking because I don't have any furniture or tools.

While I was looking forward to dinner as usual, my father brought up a troublesome matter. It seemed that the loggers in the village were accumulating grievances.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, they're complaining about you cutting down trees in the forest."

I see. As I listened, I began to understand the loggers' perspective. Originally, the village was surrounded by a wooden fence, and beyond that was a forest. There were people who specialized in cutting trees. However, the situation in the forest had recently changed, and I was the cause.

Normally, cutting trees is a very difficult job. The act of chopping down trees with an axe is hard enough, but moving the cut trees is also heavy labor. I remember seeing on TV that in some places, they would drop cut trees into a river and collect them downstream. However, this area is mostly flat, so the trees had to be dragged.

I, on the other hand, was using magic and servitor beasts to push through this heavy labor. This was probably unacceptable to the loggers. More than anything, it affected their livelihoods, and it was understandable that they would want to complain.

What should I do... If I were to argue theoretically, I could say that since I had cleared the land by cutting trees, the land was mine, and I had the right to do what I wanted with the trees on my land. However, this would likely lead to conflict. I found myself immediately grappling with land issues.

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