Ch.5555. Next Destination?

How many days had passed since the ‘incident’ at Count Lyon’s territory?

Having safely returned to the hideout, I began completing the mobile ‘Nature’s Hut’ together with Sophia, who had gathered the necessary materials and resources for the cabin.

With all the previously missing materials now secured, and with two intermediate druids and their animal friends available, the manpower issue was also smoothly resolved.

Thanks to that, about three weeks had passed since we two began constructing this mobile Nature’s Hut.

As we approached completion, with no particular rush, we prepared a lavish dinner as a way to take a break.

For the carnivorous or nearly carnivorous Corin and Robo, we prepared dozens of various roasted dishes.

For the herbivorous Astra, we specially provided salads made primarily with vegetables that he liked.

For the little mice who had worked hard in many ways this time, we simply cut up foods they enjoyed and served them in large quantities, while for Minerva, we prepared various dishes starting with pasta made with olives.

For Hydra, the creature I hadn’t yet given a proper name to, I served about 20 roasted alligators caught from the swamp.

The creature, who had recently begun to prefer meat cooked with fire, seemed quite pleased.

And for the two of us, the druids’ portion of the meal was nothing short of magnificent.

From brick oven pizza made with tomato-like fruits, to bouillabaisse using fish caught from the river flowing from the great lake.

The duck confit made from duck purchased from a nearby farm boasted a flavor considered superior to sous vide, aside from being slightly rich.

“…!!”

My cooking skills, honed by literally grinding through ingredients to my heart’s content, weren’t for nothing—Sophia’s reaction of wide-eyed delight as she devoured my cooking was extremely gratifying as a chef.

Anyway, how much time had passed since we started eating?

“The Prophet is, as always, amazed by her compatriot’s cooking skills…”

*Gulp*

As we exchanged small talk while eating bite-sized mini fruit tarts for dessert, we soon began an in-depth discussion on one important topic.

“The Prophet recommends naming it after a famous turtle.”

“That… does sound good, but personally, I think a name meaning ‘forest’ would be better.”

What should we name the mobile ‘Nature’s Hut’—at first glance, one might wonder why we were discussing this so seriously… but there was actually a good reason for this debate.

From a mystical perspective, a name represents the existence of an object or living being, not only allowing an entity to exist as an independent being but also influencing its destiny if it’s a living creature.

In reality, the name of a specific entity, or more precisely, its ‘true name,’ holds magical and mystical power.

If you know the true name of a target, it grants a slight but definite ‘guaranteed hit’ effect to spells cast upon it.

The power of true names is especially effective against beings from other dimensions with strong ‘magical’ aspects, such as fairies or demons.

Knowing their true name makes it possible to completely banish such beings back to their original dimension, or to safely command them without fear of betrayal.

Additionally, it enables one to strike and destroy the essence of their soul.

Therefore, giving a name to this ‘moving house’ would complete the mystical nature of this dwelling, which incorporates numerous magical concepts.

If we followed Sophia’s suggestion and gave it a turtle-inspired name, the moving house would become closer to a living entity, while following my opinion and naming it after a forest would emphasize its function as a dwelling and residence.

Since both sides presented opinions with their own reasoning, the discussion seemed to make little progress, but as we persistently debated, our views eventually converged to some extent.

Nature’s Hut, this small moving shelter, could have two names.

While trying to preserve the advantages of both approaches might sometimes result in something mediocre, in this case, it would be fine to maintain both characteristics.

In short, we could separately name the moving turtle part and the forest and nature placed on top, preserving the advantages of both.

“The Prophet has decided on ‘Little Aleinos Forest’ as the name.”

First, the upper part would be named ‘Little Aleinos Forest.’ This wasn’t just a name—we had actually planted seeds brought from the Aleinos Forest, allowing the upper part to be treated as a quasi-Aleinos Forest.

Of course, my nature magic skill might still be too undeveloped to fully utilize this characteristic, but as my proficiency increases, it might become possible to connect this small forest with the real Aleinos Forest.

“Then I’ll go with… Tarasque.”

Meanwhile, the name I decided to give to the creature was Tarasque—the name of a dragon with a turtle shell from legends passed down near our homeland.

It’s a perfect name for a turtle-shaped dragon, and it would actually guarantee some enhancement through the naming.

“It was a good discussion, Sophia.”

“The Prophet agrees.”

And so, our dwelling acquired the name ‘Tarasque of the Little Aleinos Forest’—or simply Tarasque for short.

※ ※ ※

The next day, afternoon. In the workshop beneath our temporary residence.

“Finally… it’s complete!!!”

“…!!!”

After pouring in slightly more than a month’s worth of time, we finally completed the mobile Nature’s Hut—officially named ‘Tarasque of the Little Aleinos Forest.’

‘Tarasque of the Little Aleinos Forest,’ or simply Tarasque, roughly the size of two city buses placed side by side, presented a highly original appearance.

To describe it, imagine a section of the earth’s crust lifted up with a forest on top, while dragon-like head and limbs protrude from the gaps in the bedrock below…

“Ooh, ooooh…!! As expected of Tarasque! Amazing!”

“The Prophet… thinks so too!”

From our perspective as druids who could fully appreciate its true value, this large and beautiful mobile Nature’s Hut was nothing short of a moving fortress or castle.

Tarasque’s defensive capabilities were comparable to being covered with dragon scales and hide, and purely in terms of quality, it was not only sturdy but also much faster and more agile than expected.

Perhaps because it incorporated the body of a Swamp Dragon, which was originally amphibious, Tarasque could even swim by floating on water or submerge for short periods.

Meanwhile, thanks to the dimensional expansion barrier, the interior space was roughly equivalent to the entire area of my high school from my previous life.

Of course, given the need to maintain the ‘forest’ characteristic, we couldn’t utilize the entire area, but we could still make use of a substantial portion.

As a result, we were able to prepare comfortable dwellings for our animal friends on Tarasque’s back.

A forest hideaway for Astra, who preferred the forest environment. For Hydra, originally a wetland creature, we provided an entire small lake.

For the mice, we secured a separate space where they could dig burrows underground.

For some reason, Corin and Robo, who were more accustomed to indoor living, seemed to prefer living in the separately built Nature’s Hut.

While there were areas for animals, humans also needed appropriate spaces.

The Nature’s Hut built in the middle of the forest and the spacious underground facility beneath the cabin were prime examples.

If the Nature’s Hut was the living space, the underground facility was the workspace.

In the basement, where the Swamp Dragon’s heart that powered Tarasque was located, there were various facilities created as needed.

These included facilities like auxiliary energy supply rooms and seed storage for emergencies, personal workshops for each of us, and facilities to support the three types of druid magic.

There was an astronomical observation room with a planetarium created through a simple barrier to display the celestial bodies at Tarasque’s current location, along with a celestial telescope using ice lenses created through magic.

A special facility, the information control room, twisted the dragon’s sensing abilities to collect data on the surrounding natural environment and then adapted Tarasque’s natural environment based on this data.

And finally, a pilot room that allowed us to directly inhabit Tarasque and engage in combat, created by applying the wild magic animal transformation spell.

In the room created as a conference room at the core of this moving fortress—essentially a complete small world—Sophia and I entered and vigorously exchanged opinions.

The topic was singular.

“…Let’s begin.”

“Yes, my compatriot. The Prophet is ready too.”

We were deciding where our next destination would be.