Working Vehicles
“Wow!”
Returning from the mountains, Everis exclaimed in awe as she looked at the gathered creatures.
The area around the ogre village had seen extensive deforestation in the past few days, resulting in a wide-open space where the creatures had gathered.
Groups of Winged Tigers lounged in the shade, grooming their fur, while the rogue peacocks, Malachite Birds, had its vibrant feathers on display. Stone Apes with white and brown fur patterns were engrossed in target practice, surrounded by creatures of various sizes from the insect category like the petrifying Medusa Wasps and the Plague Flies.
However, amidst this zoo-like gathering of magical creatures, one creature stood out – a giant alloy-clad beast known as the “Magnificent Molten Steel Beast”, Forge.
“This is the one, the Named.”
“Yes, we had to wrestle with it for eight hours to earn its trust.”
The droopy-eared, large creature glanced at Everis and Tracy, its nose wrinkling in a disorderly manner.
“Is it safe for me to pet it?”
“Baou!”
“Eek!”
As Tracy cautiously approached, Forge immediately let out a growl. It was a surprisingly unimpressive roar for its massive frame, but Forge was clearly trying to intimidate Tracy.
“Haha, don’t approach so casually. It seems like it won’t easily trust humans.”
“Woah, that’s terrible.”
Even though Everis was laughing out loud, she held her staff ready to defend herself at any time.
René approached Forge this time, and naturally, Forge didn’t growl.
René kicked the shoulder armor and hopped onto Forge’s head, and Forge let out a satisfied noise.
“Woof!”
“If it’s the Princess, Forge is happy to have you on board. Humans can never ride something like this. The general’s mount has to be special, after all.”
The consultant, who enjoyed elaborate presentations, looked satisfied as she observed René’s new mode of transportation.
Magical creatures trained to carry humans were called “Mounts”, but there were very few creatures that could be trained to the extent of allowing humans to ride on their backs. Even though they were created as pawns by the Evil God to destroy the world, only a rare few could be considered “exceptions” who could build trust with humans to the point of carrying them. Even creatures known to be friendly with humans, like Hippogriffs, often had half of their individuals deemed unsuitable due to their strong hostility towards humans during the training process.
However, these constraints didn’t apply to René, who was an undead.
“We named it Forge.”
“Oh, really?”
“The full name is Forge Washington.”
“”Why?””
By the way, Forge Lucas could have worked as well.
“How about your harvest?”
“Oh, that’s right…”
Everis looked up at the sky, and René followed suit.
High in the sky, the sharp cry of a bird of prey resonated.
A massive eagle, blocking the sun, crossed the sky with a magnificent flap of its wings, and from its back, Mialanze, dressed in a jet-black maid outfit, descended.
Mialanze was covered from head to toe, with no skin exposed, and her face concealed by a jet-black veil. Deploying her wings in such a high position would risk being scorched by the sun, but she had no issues without them.
After several somersaults in the air, she landed gracefully with feline agility.
Mialanze’s physical abilities were almost human, but her transformation into a vampire had brought out her latent abilities as a cat-like Ketsee. It allowed her to perform such maneuvers.
Jumping from that height would be risky for most people, but she was an exception.
“Princess, Mialanze has returned.”
She said, gently absorbing the impact on her knees before kneeling in front of René.
The massive eagle continued to circle in the sky, emitting sharp cries, and Everis observed it with her magic binoculars.
“That’s Hraesvelgr, the Named-class Wind Emperor Eagle, which Mialanze was riding. It lived in a remote area and went unnoticed, so it never received a nickname.”
“Did you fight and tame it?”
“No, it is a male.”
“……Ah.”
Tracy nodded in understanding.
Mialanze’s eyes, which were originally amber, had turned crimson since she had become a vampire. Her gaze had the power to captivate and enchant any man or male creature. It was the special ability of a vampire known as the “Charming Evil Eye”.
“Well, if the enchantment ever happens to wear off unexpectedly, he might go on a rampage, so it’s just a temporary measure. We need to move it quickly. Once things settle down, we can train it properly.”
Although the word “training” from Everis, who was dressed provocatively with a voluptuous figure and s*ductive clothing, might be easily misunderstood, it was indeed a serious discussion.
By the way, the reason René didn’t use the “Charming Evil Eye” to recruit Forge was that, when René transformed into a different form, the enchantment would wear off.
As for other species, bringing only males wouldn’t serve any purpose.
“Especially noteworthy is the pack of Highland Wolves. They’re robust and strong, so they’ll be useful. If we breed and train them, they could serve as military dogs or… no, they’re far more reliable than that. We did get acquainted with the Bigfoots, but due to this environment, we can’t bring them down from the mountains. So, they’ll have to move along the mountainside. Snow Elementals, Ice Bats, and other ‘Not Good in Warm Places’ creatures we found in the mountains are leading the way as well.”
“Anyway, they won’t be combat-ready for a while. Snow and ice creatures go into summer hibernation in the mountain caves.”
“With this climate, I think even winter would be tough for them down here.”
As she gazed toward the mountains, René couldn’t help but think of her subordinates who were likely making their way there.
Many creatures couldn’t operate outside of extreme climates because they had adapted to them.
While they might be useful someday, for now, they were just…not.
“What about her?”
“She said she would follow me.”
Mialanze replied, her shoulder bearing the burden of a snowflake-shaped white girl, the Fallen Elemental, who had wilted due to the heat.
“I forgot to mention, but the work is done without any issues.”
“The witch is too harsh with subordinates!”
“I can’t help it, we’re short on manpower. Anyway, with this, we’re all set for creating the ‘Path’. All the creatures on the ‘Path’ are now yours, Princess. If I were to nitpick, I’d say I wished we could have made the other side of the mountain a bit neater, but the other side is less of a magical wasteland and closer to human settlements, so it should work out.”
Everis had a mischievous smile that didn’t quite match her appearance.
She enjoyed a good scheme. If she were to organize a haunted house at a cultural festival, she would submit a perfect proposal and gladly take on the role of a ghost.
Or perhaps, in her current state, she seemed lively and fulfilled as she was involved in a major undertaking.
“How’s the preparation for the move going?”
“I’m fully operational and hunting. I’m sweeping the surface with Ogres and Winged Tigers, while Lizardmen are engaging in prohibited river net fishing to catch fish for preservation. We’re currently in the midst of making preserved food. Everything is being smoked. The wood around here has a nice aroma. For more detailed progress, you should ask Alastair.”
“It seems to be going smoothly. Over here, we have quite a few creatures we picked up in the mountains that seem like they’ll make good meat. Alright then, I’ll let the Witch-san focus on finishing the magic circle.”
Fluttering her hand, Everis returned to the base camp.
Left behind were Tracy, who was nervously observing the menagerie of creatures, and Mialanze, who was still kneeling.
Before they knew it, Mialanze, still kneeling, and Forge, carrying René, seemed to be sizing each other up like wrestlers before a match. Forge didn’t show any overt hostility toward Mialanze, despite her being a Vampire. However, there was a tension in the air, as if they were about to engage in a standoff.
Mialanze’s gaze emitted not a magic-laden enchantment, but rather an intense heat that left no room for complacency.
“If we’re talking about comfort, I’d be more comfortable if you turned into a wolf…!”
“Woof!”
René decided not to ask anything.
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