Chapter 6

As soon as Hipporius became my servant, he took about half of my magic power.

I felt dizzy and almost fell, but I managed to hold myself steady.

The more powerful the monster I make a servant, the more magic power is taken.

I can't use attack magic or healing magic, but in fact, I have a considerable amount of magic power.

In terms of magic power alone, I have more than the mage in the hero party, who is called a sage.

For Hipporius to take half of that large amount of magic power is on par with a high-level dragon.

Incidentally, the supply of magic power to a servant monster is paid when you request something.

Moreover, if you supply magic power once, it will work for about a week.

It can be said to be quite efficient.

"Kyukyu! Theodore's magic is delicious."

By becoming a servant, Hipporius's speech became more fluent.

"That's good."

"Should I move the boat?"

"Please. Do you know the direction of the continent over there?"

"Yes."

"Then, it's quick. We want to go to that continent."

"Got it~. I'll take you there."

Hipporius moved to the stern of the boat.

I also moved to the stern, and Hipporius started pushing the boat. It was quite fast.

Faster than when the wind was favorable.

Victor and the adventurers were overjoyed.

Then, the beast scholar Kelly leaned out from the stern to observe Hipporius.

"Amazing, Hipporius. It's incredibly fast."

Even when Kelly spoke to him, Hipporius remained unresponsive.

However, Kelly didn't seem to mind. She continued to talk one-sidedly and sketch.

"... Kelly, don't fall into the sea."

"Ah, I know."

Kelly answered absentmindedly.

To prevent her from falling, I told her to put on a safety rope.

"Mr. Theo, may I have a word with you?"

"What's up?"

I was called by Victor and moved from the stern.

Then, the boat stopped.

I wonder what happened. I went back to the stern.

"Hipporius, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Theo. Hipporius is watching the place."

"... I understand."

Then Hipporius started pushing the boat happily again.

While pushing, he kept glancing at me.

He looked like a small child, which was quite cute.

"Hipporius, you're amazing! You're doing a great job!"

"Kyukyu!"

From then on, Hipporius pushed the boat until around evening.

During that time, I kept watching Hipporius from the stern.

When Victor wanted to talk to me, I decided to have him come to the stern.

If I'm not watching, Hipporius will stop pushing, so there's no other choice.

When night came, it was time for Hipporius to eat.

"Theo, I'm going to eat, so wait for me."

"Sure, go ahead."

Hipporius sank deep into the sea.

"His diving ability is high. Does he breathe through gills? No, I didn't see any gills..."

I lay down at the stern, ignoring the serious observations of Kelly.

Then Victor came over.

"Mr. Theo, good work. Would you like to rest over here?"

"No, I'm fine here. Hipporius will be sad if I'm not here when he comes back."

"I see..."

Victor thought for a moment and started giving instructions.

He seemed to be making arrangements so that I could be comfortable at the stern.

"Thank you."

"Not at all, you and Hipporius saved us from a dire situation, so it's only natural."

It seemed he intended to build a small shelter at the stern to protect against rain and wind.

"Ah, I have a crafting skill, so I'll do it."

"You used the taming skill just now, aren't you tired?"

"I'm fine. I still have plenty of magic power left."

The taming of Hipporius only used half of my magic power.

Moreover, my magic power recovers much faster than average. I had recovered quite a bit in the few hours since the taming.

Besides, the crafting skill doesn't use much magic power if I'm making small, simple things.

I have more than enough with the magic power I have now.

"Then, let's get started."

I arranged the wood that Victor had brought on the deck.

Before using the crafting skill, I first used the appraisal skill.

Even without using the skill, I knew the type of wood.

However, I used the appraisal skill to grasp the unique characteristics.

Each piece of wood has its own personality based on the environment and region it grew in, the direction of the grain, and so on.

By understanding these, the effect of the crafting skill is enhanced.

After the appraisal, it was time to use the crafting skill.

First, I visualized the windbreak in my mind.

Not just the length, height, and thickness, but also the texture and feel.

This is surprisingly difficult.

However, the accuracy and clarity of the image determine the quality of the crafted item.

Once the image was solidified, I gathered magic power in my hands and held it over the wood.

Then, I activated the crafting skill all at once.

The larger pieces of wood transformed and slowly assembled according to my mental image.

The crafting skill is not all-powerful, but it can ignore physical laws.

It took about three minutes to create a windbreak that I could fit into while standing.

"I know a lot of people with crafting skills, but I've never seen anyone use it this well."

Victor praised me.

"Amazing. It was done in a flash with a bright light."

"If someone I know with a crafting skill were to make something like this, it would take a few hours."

"This is the skill of the jack-of-all-trades Theo..."

"The backbone of the hero party isn't for nothing."

The adventurers were impressed.

As I was blushing, Hipporius returned.