They cleared a large stretch of open ground by the edge of a great lake, then, with the Academy's help, built a village.
They then reclaimed small plots of farmland with their own hands, diverted lake water into the village, and dug a small pond for raising fish.
Since Monster Village did not have many residents, it covered very little land overall. At a glance, it was only a cluster of brick-and-stone houses lined up together, painted in a riot of bright colors.
Those colors were definitely not the Academy's work. The monsters had most likely done it themselves. In any case, the style was highly distinctive.
As the Pumpkin Carriage entered the village, the residents, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately came forward to greet them under the leadership of the "Golden Mermaid," Aishalia Patus. Dark had met these monster villagers before, but few had left much of an impression on him.
He stepped out of the carriage first, intending to help Ergane down afterward.
But the moment he got out, he suddenly saw several centaurs standing on the far side of the lake.
The two centaurs immediately turned and ran into the dense forest after realizing they had been spotted.
Dark withdrew his gaze and planted his feet on the ground, only to suddenly feel that the soil beneath them was unusually soft. Then, something like tree roots began to churn beneath the earth.
He frowned and inconspicuously shifted a step to the side.
An extremely thick root immediately burst out from where he had been standing, then grasped Dark's hand with its tip.
Then, the ground slightly farther to the side suddenly bulged over a wide area, and the "Man-Eating Flower Giant Beast" burrowed up from underground.
It violently spun around, flinging the dirt