Chapter 248: Where Do You Want This Tree?

Tera stood at the edge of the wolf territory’s small clearing.

Her pack had arrived just last night, and after a refreshing night, Tera slept on her own to avoid any awkwardness between her mates. But they had apparently started talking to each other while she was asleep, and had wrapped her in bundles of fur to make her comfortable.

So now she was refreshed and looking at the projected blueprint against the terrain.

There was just one small problem.

The trees were in the way.

The small space was not enough for the shelters she needed to build. And the scanty canopies of the silly trees that had looked weak before now interlocked overhead like they had formed a pact to remain exactly where they were.

Behind her, half of the Dow Clan stood in a loose group, some of them leaning against each other, some already eyeing the piles of pink bamboo stalks that had been arranged in neat triangular bundles off to the side. She’d portalled those over first thing in the morning—dozens of thick, coarse-textured stalks stacked in rows, their surfaces faintly shimmering where the light caught the unusual pink hue.

The wolves had also gathered too and were staring curiously as if Tera was about to perform a miracle.

One wolf, a younger male whose name Tera kept forgetting, was circling the nearest bamboo pile with the cautious intensity of someone inspecting a trap.

"Is this the shelter?" he asked.

Tera didn’t look away from the trees. "No."

"Are we meant to sleep inside those?"

Tera whipped her head in his direction, an incredulous look on her face.

’How the fuck are you even going to fit inside those tiny holes?!’

["( – ? – )]

[How did he even come to that conclusion?]

{BeastWorldAddict bursts into laughter}

{PervyGoddess says she likes her males stupid}

[?( •? ? •? )?]

[This beast world has plenty of idiots to offer, dear sponsor!]

[Very delicious-looking ones!]

Tera side-eyed the system in shock.

’Since when did you become a pimp?!’

[??? ? ???]

[This system is only speaking the truth!]

Tera chuckled, then her head snapped up when she saw the same wolf that had asked her the foolish question still standing near the bamboo pile.

"They’re not shelters, but building materials."

"They’re pink."

"Yes."

He circled the pile again. "They’re very pink."

’What????? Has he not seen that colour before?’

Tera immediately turned her attention to the matter at hand.

It was such a strange feeling. Back home, she would have been able to order the deforestation of a whole site without batting an eye.

Now she could not even bear to do that, even if a lot of the trees looked like shrivelled-up poltergeists.

She groaned. ’Urgh. Damn it!’

[What does Host require help with?]

[Is it the trees?]

’Yes.’ She then stiffened as an idea came to mind.

’Hold on. I could just move them!’

A tree was just a very large plant sitting in a very large hole.

If she opened the portal wide enough and pushed it down through the root system, she could transplant them.

[(°〇°)]

[If Host is considering relocating the obstructing trees]

[This system has completed a diagnostic scan of every tree in the surrounding area]

[Seven trees in the immediate vicinity are showing signs of advanced internal rot]

[Nineteen others are predicted to succumb within the next twelve to eighteen months based on current moisture damage and fungal spread patterns.]

[This system would suggest removing those entirely]

[Their structural integrity is already compromised]

[They would be unsuitable for transplantation, BUT their wood could still be stripped and repurposed before full deterioration sets in]

[Like beams, fuel for fire, or support braces for the pen reinforcement]

[This system is sure Host can come up with multiple other uses for those trees]

Tera stared at the screen.

[(⊙_⊙)]

[Is there a problem, Host?]

’My, my. You are being super helpful today.’

[(○?○)??]

[This system has always tried its best to be helpful to Host!]

[(? ????????? )]

"Uh huh."

[╥﹏╥]

Tera bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning. "Which ones are the dead and dying ones? Mark them so I can get to work."

{BeastWorldAddict giggles in excitement for what lies ahead}

{PervyGoddess leans over in interest}

The system pointed out the problematic trees, and Tera smiled.

’Awww... System, you beautiful, petty little rectangle.’

[(ノ′ヮ`)ノ*:???]

[This system does not understand what Host means]

[But this system accepts the compliment and chooses to ignore the ’little’ part]

Tera laughed and turned to the assembled beasts.

Wolves and clan members alike stared back at her with the particular expression she’d come to recognise as "we trust you, but we have no idea what you’re about to do."

"Alright," Tera said, clapping her hands together once. "I need you all to move to one side and make way so I can get rid of the bad trees."

Silence.

A wolf scratched behind his ear. "Bad trees?"

They turned, and when they saw the nearly barren branches, a look of understanding fell upon their faces, especially when they remembered how fresh and bountiful the trees in the Dow clan territory looked.

"We will cut them down?" one of the older wolves offered, already flexing his claws.

’The fuck is that puny little thing going to do?!’

"No. I’m going to move them."

More silence.

"...Move them," the wolf repeated.

"Yes, like I moved these things!" She pointed at the bamboo stalks.

"The pink sticks," another wolf said carefully, nodding toward the bamboo piles. "Are they... for the trees?"

"What? No! They’re for construction."

"Construction of what?"

Tera’s clan members looked at Tera in sympathy, while the self-aware ones looked away and shifted in discomfort. They saw themselves in the clueless wolves as they had been in that exact predicament months ago until Tera bestowed knowledge upon them.

"Your shelters."

"Out of pink sticks?"

{PervyGoddess finds this exchange hilarious}

[Yes! Yes!]

[????? ? ?.?]

[Stupid beasts in abundance!]

’Can you give it a rest already?!’

One of Tera’s clan members leaned toward the confused wolf and said with the weary patience of someone who’d had this conversation before. "Just wait. It will make sense after."

"After what?"

"After she does the impossible thing and then explains why it was obvious."