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Near the eastern edge of the Ku-Lukal Mountains, about midway up on the northern side of the mountain range.

There, a place where the flow of water had carved deep valleys into the mountains.

Rocks jutted out wildly towards the river, and evil settlers stood on one of these rocky outcroppings.

To reach this place from the foot of the mountain, one would have to traverse an unmarked path and climb three cliffs. There were plans to develop a road for pedestrians to reach this place in the future, but the transportation of goods was expected to rely on flying creatures and magic, so construction was kept to a minimum.

It was nearly impossible to attack this location.

"Maybe this template is okay..."

Everis compared several pieces of parchment she pulled from a fourth-dimensional bag and eventually selected one.

"All right, let's do it. «Create Fortress»."

Everis placed the parchment with the magic circle on the ground and poked it with the stone tip of her staff.

The magic circle emitted light, and then, the ground beneath the parchment cracked with a sound.

"I-It's collapsing!?"

"It's okay, it's okay."

Tracy panicked, but the rocky ledge did not collapse.

With a faint sound, the magic spread towards the cliff.

A moment of silence, and then...

A strong wind, mixed with sand, blew through.

"Whoa!?"

René, who was about to be blown away, grabbed onto Mialanze (who was in a state of ecstasy), while Tracy skillfully maintained his balance and held down his skirt.

The cliff had ejected its contents.

When the wind subsided, a stone castle was carved into the wall of the cliff.

The ledge where René and the others were standing became the entrance. Stone decorative columns flanked the gate, several windows lined the walls, and there were even stone balconies protruding from the upper floors.

They had carved rooms into the rocky mountain and turned it into a small castle. Of course, the windows and doors were just openings, without fittings.

Somehow, René was reminded of the sculptures of Mount Rushmore.

"Well, for now, this will do. A rustic castle is enough."

"I don't mind. Right now, as long as it's usable, it's sufficient."

René didn't particularly fancy extravagance. She dressed elaborately, but that was only to display the authority of the "Rose Princess of Hellrage”. Perhaps due to her commoner upbringing, she didn't feel comfortable with excessive luxury.

As she looked up at the castle carved from stone, René remembered the last scene she saw when leaving the capital.

Escaping to a distant land, hiding among the rocks like a beast. That's because René had lost.

But the next victory would start from here. That was what had to be done.

＊ ＊ ＊

Perhaps it could be called a privilege of the creator.

Although it was a relatively small base, Everis had managed to secure a spacious workshop for herself.

It had been less than three days since they moved in, but the room was cluttered as if someone had lived there for thirty years.

The sun had already set, but magical crystal lights, resembling hanging stars, illuminated the workshop, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a mining site.

"Indeed, it's tough to lose your base multiple times."

As René roamed the castle, contemplating the future layout of the rooms and facilities, Everis, chewing on some unidentifiable jerky, was tinkering with a mysterious machine.

In response to René's abrupt comment, Everis nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's true. Moving is a hassle, and it's hard to accumulate wealth and power if you keep running away. So, we need to do everything we can to prevent it from happening again."

"Everis, about that, I have a proposal."

René's somewhat pretentious tone made Everis's amethyst-colored eyes glisten with anticipation.

This escape plan had largely been orchestrated by Everis, but it wasn't as if René had left everything to her.

She had been thinking all along about what to do in the future. After all, with her body, which could think endlessly even while the living members of the group rested, she was constantly coming up with plans.

"I've come up with a plan to enhance the stability of our base while also increasing its defensive and offensive capabilities. Can you estimate the feasibility, necessary materials, and labor for it?"

"Oh, really…?"

The two leaned in close, creating a conspiratorial atmosphere despite there being no one to eavesdrop.

＊ ＊ ＊

"Um, Princess? Earlier, Everis-sama ran through the corridor with her clothes flying off, eventually ending up completely n*ked and running off somewhere..."

"Oh... I see. It seems she got a little carried away with excitement after discussing the new project... She'll probably put on clothes once she calms down."

After Everis stormed out of the workshop like a hurricane, Mialanze entered in her place.

She had been wearing thick protective clothing during the journey, but now she had settled down a bit. It was already nighttime, and she was dressed in a lightweight maid outfit.

"Anyway, Mialanze, do you need something? Did you encounter any problems with food procurement, perhaps?"

The situation inside the castle was still in the process of unpacking and setting up, but Mialanze had already started working at the foot of the mountain.

Since she had living subjects under her command, ensuring a food supply was an absolute necessity. Mialanze herself was more of a supervisor, giving orders to the monsters.

Without her presence, the beastly and insect-like monsters would start acting chaotically, so "being there" played a vital role.

Currently, they had designated nighttime as a resting period, and Mialanze had apparently flown in from the foothills during that time.

"…No, the procurement itself is going well. The food for the monsters we brought here should be sufficient for the time being, thanks to hunting in the dense forest."

Mialanze's answer seemed to carry a hint of pride.

René and the others had created a path through the mountains and had made their way to the eastern edge of the Ku-Lukal Mountains by traveling through the dense northern forest. Along the way, they had encountered the monsters that inhabited the forest, and those who had pledged their allegiance were left in their current location.

The reason for this was simple: they couldn't sustainably support all the monsters by gathering them in one place. There was also the fear that if they created a monster-free zone, the Imperial Army might take it over.

The monsters they had moved to clear the way for the Imperial Army had to be sustained, but apart from that, the rest of the monsters were expected to be self-sufficient as they had been.

Having a limited number of soldiers at hand made René somewhat uneasy, but it seemed that, for now, there were no problems with food procurement.

--What we needed to watch out for is whether this would deplete the hunting grounds in the long term. Our consumption has suddenly increased, so we need to keep an eye on the carrying capacity of the hunting grounds in the medium to long term.

A bountiful ecosystem was a blessing for both humans and monsters.

As long as they didn't disrupt the ecosystem of the dense forest, it should serve as a source of food and production for both their troops and their supplies.

"I came here to deliver plant samples I found during the hunt to Everis-sama and request an appraisal for them. And... there seems to be a strange occurrence in the experimental farming using undead. Well, not a problem per se, but rather a peculiar happening... I've come to report it."

"A peculiar happening?"

René tilted her head, Mialanze’s fluffy ears taking the place of a nod.

“As per your orders, we have already started cultivating land on a trial basis. However, while I was not paying attention, the field that was being cultivated was being destroyed. Far from being fruitful, there are fields where nothing has been planted yet..."

"...What could have caused that?"

It was a strange but trivial incident.

At least for now.

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