The forest stretching northeast of the port city of Reblos was vast, spanning all the way to the neighboring commercial nation. Since Teleport's MP consumption increased exponentially with distance, we had only jumped to the forest’s entrance and continued on foot from there.

“Hey, isn’t this far enough?”

As the four of us and one beast walked along, Ivan’s voice came from behind, urging us to stop. Turning around, I saw Phonia breathing heavily, struggling to keep up.

“Ah, sorry. I guess this was a bit too much for Phonia.”

“Sorry, Phonia-chan.”

“N-No… I’m… fine…”

She placed her hands on her knees, looking up at us determinedly. Seeing her like that filled me with guilt. We had walked without considering her pace at all. There were no signs of other people around, so maybe this spot would work.

“Let’s take a break.”

I pulled chairs and a table out of my spatial storage and started preparing some tea.

“…At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.”

Ivan gazed off into the distance. He should really start getting used to this by now.

“Phonia-chan, come sit here.”

Rio took out a small wooden box, placed a cushion on it, and had Phonia sit down. We didn’t have a proper child’s chair, so this would have to do for now. Maybe I should start gathering supplies for kids.

“Here you go.”

I poured some tea into a cup and added ice using magic before handing it to Phonia.

“Thank you!”

She took the cup with both hands and drank it down in eager gulps.

“It’s cold and delicious!”

“This is good too.”

Rio handed Phonia a baked treat. After placing the remaining snacks on the table, she sat down on a chair. Unfortunately, Phonia was too short, and only the top of her head was barely visible above the table.

“So sweet!”

Her legs kicked excitedly as she happily munched on her snack, her large ears twitching nonstop.

“Ahh, I’m alive again.”

Ivan, now fully relaxed, leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea.

“Still… it’s surprisingly comfortable here, even in the middle of the forest.”

He reached for a treat on the table as he spoke.

Looking around, there wasn’t even a proper animal trail, and the terrain was getting rough. The thick foliage overhead made it dim despite it still being midday.

“If I have the means to make things comfortable, I won’t settle for less.”

“Hah…”

I gave him a thumbs-up, and he responded with a wry smile. Phonia, amused, mimicked me with a bright grin.

“Alright, I’m going to scout the area a bit.”

Since we were resting, I figured I might as well look for a good spot for a campsite. While we still had plenty of stamina, Phonia did not.

After finishing my tea, I put away my cup and stood up.

“Take care.”

The three of them saw me off as I left.

“Oh, this is a great spot. This might work.”

After a few minutes of running, I reached a place with an excellent view. It seemed I had arrived at a cliff. Beyond it, I could see the landscape stretching far into the distance. However, since I could still see the tops of trees just below, it didn’t feel as steep as a typical cliff. Looking left and right, the cliff seemed to continue on indefinitely, with no clear path leading downward.

Returning to the others, I led them to the cliff. I carried Ivan in a slow descent using magic, but at this point, he didn’t even question it.

“From above, this spot is completely hidden by the trees.”

“Yeah. And being in the forest means we can gather food nearby.”

Oh, right—food. Since I had an abundant supply in my spatial storage, I hadn’t thought about it, but most people needed to gather food daily.

“I saw some edible-looking berries on the way here, so we should be fine.”

It seemed Rio had already been keeping an eye out. While we could provide some food, it was good to have local sources as well.

“Alright, let’s clear a bit of space and build a house.”

It had been a while since I last built an outdoor shelter. Time to put in some effort.

“I’ll prepare lunch.”

“I’ll help.”

“Me too!”

Ivan rolled up his sleeves, and Phonia raised a hand excitedly.

“Then, you two help Rio.”

“Huh?”

Ivan looked surprised, but when I explained that I was going to build the entire house with magic, his expression turned blank.

“Ahaha!”

Phonia’s laughter rang behind me as I made my way to the cliff’s base.

Though the canopy above was thick, the ground below was spacious. The cliff itself was about five to six meters tall. If I built a two-story house, the rooftop would align perfectly with the cliff top.

The forest floor was uneven due to tree roots, so I decided to go with a raised-floor structure. Using earth magic, I created a foundation about fifty centimeters high. I set aside a wide dirt floor for the entrance, then partitioned off the living areas. Since trees grew densely just beyond the cliff’s edge, I made the house long and narrow, following the cliff’s contour. A proper bathroom and washroom were included as I constructed the walls.

Alright, this was getting fun.

“What the hell is this?!”

Immersed in my work, I was just about to connect the second-floor rooftop to the cliff top when I heard a shout. Looking down, I saw Ivan, who had come to call me for lunch.

If I was going to build something hidden, I wasn’t going to do it halfway.