Kousuke, having decided to build a house on the 72nd Floor, immediately took Nana and Wanri to the location to survey the area.
By the way, Sura was clinging to Kousuke’s back as usual.
Nanas and Wanri being there, unlike Sura, was not planned from the start; it was purely a coincidence.
Just as Kousuke was about to go to the 72nd Floor, he happened to run into Nana and Wanri, who were arriving via a Teleport Gate.
When Wanri asked him where he was going and he answered, Nana and Wanri insisted on coming along.
And so, Kousuke, having no reason to refuse, gave them permission, leading to the current situation.
Emerging from the Teleport Gate, Kousuke immediately looked around.
“Now, where should it be?”
Kousuke’s ideal location was in a dense forest, as close to the Teleport Gate as possible.
Fortunately, of the two Teleport Gates on the 72nd Floor, the one leading to the 61st Floor was built near a forest.
Kousuke had confirmed this beforehand, so he had intentionally exited at that particular Teleport Gate.
Since he planned to build his house in the forest, Kousuke’s gaze was directed towards it.
As Kousuke stood with his arms crossed, surveying his surroundings, Wanri, uncharacteristically, eagerly jumped towards him.
“It’s no use staying out of the forest, so let’s go in!”
“Gah!?”
Pulled along by Wanri, Kousuke, while surprised, stepped into the forest, guided by her.
The first place Kousuke and the others arrived at was a small lake about an hour’s walk from the Teleport Gate.
“Older Brother, how about here?”
Kousuke replied to Wanri, who looked at him with anticipation, with a wry smile.
“Hmm. It’s certainly a scenic spot, but…”
“No good?”
“It’s a watering hole close to the Teleport Gate. It’s likely that quite a few adventurers heading to the 61st Floor will set up bases here, right?”
As they were talking, Kousuke’s group noticed a group of people setting up tents in their field of vision.
Judging from that, it was almost certain that this lake was being utilized as a base for adventurers.
While that was fine in itself, if a barrier with mysterious effects were to be established long-term in such a close proximity to a place frequently visited by many adventurers, it would undoubtedly attract attention.
Adventurers who could reach this floor were often those with sharp senses, so Kousuke wasn’t considering the possibility of not being discovered.
Kousuke’s ideal building spot was a place that adventurers rarely visited, yet where rare creatures might appear.
At first glance, it might seem like an unreasonable request, but Kousuke had actually checked the monster distribution using the control panel before coming to this floor.
Therefore, he had narrowed down several candidates.
The reason Wanri was brought along was partly due to her persistence, but also because she was approaching a conveniently suitable point that he had scouted beforehand.
Patting Wanri on the back, who had slumped her shoulders, Kousuke started walking towards one of the points he had in mind.
That location was about thirty minutes further into the forest from the lake.
“……Here?”
Kousuke smiled and nodded at Wanri, who looked around with a puzzled expression.
“That’s right. It seems that this place, perhaps because it’s being targeted by that watering hole, attracts some rather unusual flora and fauna.”
As Kousuke spoke, he pointed towards a spring.
Wanri turned her gaze in that direction and saw Nana drinking water there, offering a wry smile.
“Indeed, it looks like a good spot for hydration.”
“Exactly. If rare monsters come here, then there will be adventurers who will extend their journey this far.”
Adventurers aiming for even higher floors would not bother coming this far.
Adventurers who were targeting materials on this floor from the beginning might come, however.
Kousuke had chosen this spot considering that the number of adventurers would be just about right for building the house he envisioned.
He had selected several such locations, but the reason he chose this one was because Wanri had initially shown him the direction.
Kousuke nodded with satisfaction after entering the forest a little further from the watering hole and took out a certain magic tool.
“Nana, Wanri, come over here. Of course, Kouhi and Mitsuki too.”
Following Kousuke’s instructions, those called approached him.
Once confirmed, Kousuke activated the magic tool, theatrically muttering “Click!”
“Older Brother, what is that?”
“This magic tool creates a barrier that makes the designated area undetectable to others. You can think of it as a smaller version of the World Tree’s barrier.”
Strictly speaking, the method of creating the barrier was different, but for an explanation in this situation, that was sufficient.
In response to Kousuke’s explanation, Wanri nodded with admiration, and Nana looked up at the sky and then at the ground, sniffing the air repeatedly.
Kousuke now understood that this was Nana’s way of detecting not just smells, but also magical properties.
Kousuke looked around after activating the magic tool and nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes. It seems to be working properly.”
Although he couldn’t see the boundary of the barrier with his own eyes, Kousuke felt that the magic tool had functioned correctly.
This was a strange sensation he hadn’t experienced before, but Kousuke believed it to be another result of his Divine Power’s growth.
He said this while stroking Nana’s head, who was still sniffing around, and Wanri looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Is a spirit moving?”
“Oh, as expected, your senses are sharp in that regard. Correct. We’re borrowing the power of spirits to maintain the barrier.”
The barrier magic tool being used this time was somewhat inspired by Yutta’s, who maintains the barrier of the Elf Village.
While nature itself did not form the barrier, Kousuke considered the possibility of utilizing the power of spirits.
Kousuke, having secured a proper place to set up the barrier magic tool, immediately began another task.
However, this time, Kousuke himself did not move.
“Kouhi, Mitsuki. Please, could you cut down the trees in an area of about one hundred tsubo around this tool?”
Following Kousuke’s instructions, Kouhi and Mitsuki unceremoniously felled the surrounding trees.
Kousuke found it strange when he realized that the term “tsubo” was understood for the first time, but now, his original world’s knowledge was implanted, so he didn’t think too deeply about it.
Besides, it didn’t need to be exactly one hundred tsubo; any area of a certain size would suffice.
The two of them, as they continued their work, putting the cut trees into their Item Boxes, secured the necessary area in about fifteen minutes.
Next, they had to remove the remaining stumps and properly level the ground.
Kousuke could have borrowed Kouhi and Mitsuki’s help for this, but he deliberately asked the fairies.
He summoned Noel, who was invaluable in clearing away obstacles and leveling the ground.
However, since there was only one of them, it couldn’t be finished instantly without taking time, and it took about an hour.
The delay was due to the ground leveling work after the obstacles were removed.
Even so, cleaning up an area of this size so quickly was extraordinary.
Kousuke, having accomplished something that would have astonished any witnesses, continued his work.
We spent time (moving) choosing the location, and the ground leveling work was finished quickly.
All thanks to Noel!
