After the rainy season passed, Claude suddenly found himself incredibly busy.
He had to arrange for the camp's supplies, mainly the storage of food and ammunition. He had to verify and sign all the documents needed.
At the same time, he had to start the construction of the camp's defensive facilities and formations. He had to supervise his men to dig trenches and cannons and have them fill the rattan baskets woven by the villagers to form mud walls. He also had to order the soldiers to cut down logs from the forest to fortify the defenses.
Mazik didn't think much of Claude's busyness. He didn't think there was a need for the soldiers to waste their energy on such construction work.
Since the garrison at the fork in the road would most likely be taken over by the garrison, everything Claude was doing might just end up benefiting someone else.
He felt that if Claude had the time to do that, he might as well get the soldiers to build the mountain roads. That way, he might even be able to collect a few more tolls.
Fortunately, Myjack had become a great helper. His cooperation with Gum allowed the soldiers to carry out the missions Claude gave them perfectly.
It wasn't until the middle of April that everything in the camp was on track. Claude had Mazik lead a few defensive drills and put him in charge of the soldiers' daily training. Only then did he have time to start the construction of the hut he promised the magus girl.
After the rainy season ended, the magus left the camp. Even though she didn't want to be separated from Claude due to her relationship with him, it wasn't convenient for her to live there since the camp was filled with soldiers.
So, she had Claude set up a tent in Witch Grove for her as a temporary place to stay.
At the same time, it would also make it convenient for her to cut down the wood she needed to build the hut.
The design of the hut was based on the double-storey wooden hut Claude had in Normanley Wood. The only difference was that the walls were made of logs. Claude felt that logs were sturdier and would give the magus a sense of security when she lived alone.
There was also a balcony in front of the door that protruded six to seven square meters. It was just enough for a recliner and a tea table for the magus to read and enjoy her afternoon tea.
At the end of March, when the magus was still staying in Claude's room, the two of them started designing the hut.
Claude took the lead. He was in charge of drawing the layout of the hut, as well as the exterior design. The magus was in charge of cheering him on.
Considering that the magus would have to live alone in Witch Forest for another five to six years, Claude tried his best to make sure she was comfortable and safe. He didn't want his beloved magus to suffer anymore.
After the design was completed, the living area of the cabin was about seventy to eighty square meters. It was a two-story structure, which was many times larger than the old shack under the oak tree.
The young Mage was very happy and hoped that she could move into her new house as soon as possible.
It was a pity that Claude's official duties would be much busier when April came and he had no choice but to hand the task of harvesting wood to the magus.
With the help of magic, completing this task was very easy.
When he reached Witch Forest, he cast Appraisal Eye to avoid the poisonous smoke traps set up by the magi maidens and entered the forest.
The empty space in the depths of the forest had become a place for piling up logs. Hundreds of logs with a diameter of forty to fifty centimeters were stacked into a small hill.
The magus dove into Claude's embrace like a swallow. The two hadn't seen each other for almost a week. After a passionate kiss, Claude stroked her hair and sighed lovingly. "It's been hard on you all this time. Cutting down so many trees …"
"There's a total of 237. I remember it clearly," the magus replied proudly.
"It wasn't hard at all. With the help of magic, it was easy work. Black Wind can even run back with a log."
Claude looked at the big black wolf that was circling around him. He imagined the look on the big black wolf's face when the magus tied a ten-meter-long log to it for it to drag back.
It wondered if its master was an idiot. How could it pull such a large piece of wood with its small body …?
In fact, with the help of magic, the big black wolf could really run back to Witch Forest with the log.
It was like the time when Claude accompanied the magus to the cave where the books were kept and killed the three black bears that occupied the cave.
Later on, when they were about to return to camp, the problem of how to bring back the 1,800-kilogram black bear carcasses became a huge one.
He didn't want to make another trip in the drizzle the next day. It wasn't easy to travel through the mountainous terrain that would take six to seven hours.
The young mage suddenly had an idea. She cast the Light Body Soaring spell she had just engraved as a basic spell on the black bear's corpses. As a result, she discovered that the black bear's corpses had also become light as a feather. Thus, the corpses of the three black bears were piled up on the back of the horse she had brought.
The two humans and the wolf led the pack horse back.
On the way back that time, the young sorceress kept practicing the Light Body Flying Spell. In less than half an hour, she had to cast the spell on the two of them, the big black wolf, the pack horse, and the three big black bears' corpses.
Along the way, she tested it on the rocks and trees and found that it could effectively reduce the weight of the object, be it inanimate or alive.
That gave Claude an answer to the problem of transporting the materials needed to build a wooden house for the magus.
Only when they neared the mountain behind Squirrel Village did Claude remove the three black bear carcasses from the back of the pack horse and toss them on the ground.
When the effects of the spell wore off, they returned to camp. The magus brought the big black wolf back to her room while Claude gathered a squad of soldiers and brought the three pack horses back to the mountain behind Squirrel Village to carry the three black bear carcasses back to camp.
That time, almost all the villagers and soldiers of Squirrel Village came out to watch the show. The three black bears were killed with a single shot each. It was a heroic feat that greatly boosted Claude's reputation among the soldiers.
This time, he didn't slaughter the three black bears himself. Instead, he left the task to Maziq and instructed him to skin the two bears that had been shot in the chest. He wanted to give one to his superior, 1st Ranger Tribe's Commander, Liedefonk, to thank him for taking care of him.
Claude and the magus went to Witch Forest twice after that. The first time was to decide on the location of the wooden house. The second time was to teach the magus how to cut down trees and find suitable wood in the forest.
The second time was also when the magus returned to Witch Forest to set up her tent.
The rainy season was over and the sky was clear. The magus felt a little embarrassed to stay in Claude's room. At the same time, she wanted to go to the library in the mountain to continue the study her mother had arranged for her.
Using spells to cut down trees was really simple. Only now did Claude realize how useful the two runic spells, Spell's Hands and Fine Control, were.
A tree that was more than ten meters tall and 40 to 50 centimeters in diameter could be cut down in less than ten minutes with Spell's Hands. Then, Spell's Hands would turn into a sharp axe and quickly chop off the branches.
The young mage then cast a Light Flying Spell on the smooth log, so that she could easily drag the log back to the Witch's Forest with one hand.
All Claude had to do was stand still and not sweat. As long as he could maintain the two spells with enough mana, he could easily watch the tree turn into a log that fit his requirements.
So, before he returned to camp, he handed the task of cutting down trees to the magus. He didn't think that she would be able to cut down so much wood in a week.
"That's too much, isn't it? I don't think we'll need that much wood to build a wooden house.
Maybe we can expand the cabin a little more. That way, I can use the remaining logs to build a fence for you, so that the cabin will have an extra yard. In the future, even if wild beasts can enter the Witch's Forest, they won't be able to get close to your cabin easily. "
Claude brought the magus to the tent. He first had to return the books he borrowed from her mother's library.
Half of the books Sheerah's mother collected in the library were about magic studies, magical mysteries, alchemical experiments, and historical records. That delighted Claude greatly.
Those books couldn't be found in bookstores normally, so they filled in the gaps in his knowledge of the ancient magic era and allowed him to understand the true situation of the magi of that era.
The magus said that those books were copied and stored in the library by her mother. Claude did a quick count and found that there were more than 280 books on the ancient magic era on the left. One could only imagine how much effort the magus' mother put in to copy those books.
The books on the right were bought by the magus' mother when she went out. Most of them were books about geography, navigation, herbalism, biology, and medicine.
The two lower shelves contained books about folklore and popular culture, as well as a few children's books such as fairy tales.
Claude even saw a full set of elementary and middle school textbooks issued by Aueras and Nasri. He finally understood what the magus' mother left for her before she left.
However, the magus was too playful back then and didn't go to the library for half a year. By the time she remembered to study, she realized that the cave had been taken over by the bear.
So, now that the cave was back, the magus decided to continue studying according to her mother's plan.
Alright, the magus admitted sheepishly that she only managed to learn up to the first year of middle school. She planned to self-study the middle school textbooks from Aueras and Nasri.
Her mother had arranged for her to study mainly liberal arts, grammar, arithmetic, geography, nature, and theology. As for history, there was no need for it. The history of the two kingdoms was mostly the same, and there was nothing more to boast about …
Claude had borrowed a few tomes on the history of the magic civilization and they were all written in ancient Hertz. So, it didn't matter if he brought them back to camp. Not a single soldier would be able to read them in ancient Hertz.
Even though the Hebraic language used in the eastern part of the continent was derived from ancient Hez, without a dictionary to compare it with, most people wouldn't be able to read it.
"I'll go back tomorrow night. I'll stay here tonight," Claude told the magus.
"That way, I'll be able to get to work early in the morning. I'll process the wood into the shape I need and wait for it to dry in the shade. That way, I'll be able to build the house faster next time."
Even though the two of them were already used to kissing and cuddling and Claude had even groped her before, the magus still maintained her last line of defense and didn't let him break through.
Seeing how nervous and shy she was, Claude smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll sleep on the floor tonight. I won't do anything to you.
Claude pointed at the single bed in the tent. "This bed is too small. It won't be able to withstand our efforts. Also, if I want you, I won't be able to get up tomorrow morning. I won't have the strength to work either."
Claude kept his word and didn't do anything to the magus that night. Even when she slept on the floor with him and snuggled in his arms, he didn't have any ill intentions towards her.
Claude wasn't willing to take her body in such a crude environment. He felt that it would be disrespectful to her and she wasn't ready yet.
The next day, the two of them woke up early. After a simple breakfast, Claude started building the wooden hut with the magus as his assistant.
Logs that were around 11 to 12 meters long were inserted into the marked ground using Magus' Hands and sunk deep into the ground, leaving only a height of around eight meters.
The magus then used Mud to Rock to turn the soil where the logs were inserted into into rock. That way, the foundation of the wooden hut would be very sturdy.
What Claude had to do that day was to use the logs to build the wooden hut's frame. The 16 main supporting logs were erected vertically on the ground and he used mortise and tenon joints to insert beams into the logs.
Using Magus' Hands, Claude controlled the transformations of the spells and transformed them into chisels, saws, hammers and other woodworking tools.
As long as the positions were measured properly, he could easily make mortises and tenons on the logs and connect the beams and pillars together.
That was why Claude insisted on building the hut with the magus alone. With the help of magic, he alone could rival ten experienced builders.
Not to mention, he wasn't an amateur in carpentry and construction. At most, he would just have to experiment a few times with magic.
Around four in the afternoon, Claude finished his work for the day. The next time he came, he would be working on the outer walls, the floor and the siding of the rooms inside.
As he prepared dinner, he gave the magus a new homework assignment. In the next three days, she would have to cut some logs into pieces for the floor and siding.
When he came back three days later, he would be able to start working on it.
After dinner, he spent some time with the magus before kissing her goodbye and heading home.
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