Chapter 141. Life in the Golden Sap Town.

Flor knew that the two people would become too fixated on the abnormalities of the World Tree if she let it continue, so she interrupted their thought process. "By the way, have you thought how to mine this place?" 

Terra blinked and looked at Flor. "Well, we need to do a lot more research. Coming up with something on the first visit is not only irresponsible, it is a lack of actual effort. The sturdiness of the walls, the clusters of minerals, how the mine's integrity would respond to loud or strong excavation, and many more things are to be taken into account before we even dare start digging around." 

The Rose Fairy Queen was satisfied with that answer. "Well, I'll accompany you each time you come here. Also, remember to speak with Liu Shu about integrity. I think her roots can do a lot of good as well as a lot of bad if poorly guided."

Terran asked. "Can we talk with Liu Shu whenever we want?"

Flor nodded. "Her ability to multitask is startling. Of course, the more she multitasks, the slower her responses are. But, there is almost no information that goes unnoticed." 

Terra and Terran looked at each other with surprise in her eyes. 

Meanwhile, in the Town Hall, the economist and managers looked around the files that they were allowed to look at. One of them discovered something interesting. "Oh? There was a human caravan that stopped here in the past."

"Huh?" The other four approached and looked at the logs. Some of them frowned at what they exchanged. 

"This… They really got a good deal, didn't they? Tsk, tsk." 

"Right… Look, these few hundred <Delicious Berry> for a few… what's this… Pebbleheart? Yellow Cotton? Wow." 

Someone knocked on the door and entered. Looking over, they saw one of the high-level Rose Fairies entering with a tray of food. "Hello!"

"Oh! Clavel, right?"

Clavel smiled. "Yes." Looking at what they were holding, she asked. "So… What are you doing?"

One middle-aged man commented. "We are seeing what kind of deals your town has made in the past. There are not many, but we've realized that you put a lot of emphasis on books. Why is that?"

Clavel hummed. "I don't know if I can tell you. How about I call Queen Ignatia?"

The five people coughed, and one female commented. "Um, Clavel, can you tell us a bit more about Queen Ignatia?"

Clavel nodded. "She arrived more than a year ago. When she appeared the first time, we didn't know if she would be an ally or an enemy, but we allowed her to make a nest near us." 

The five of them began sweating. 

Clavel smiled widely. "Then, she started coming to our place often! She has fought with us several times as well, and…" Clavel frowned. "She takes great care of Queen Flor."

The female blinked twice, and her eyes flashed with an interested light. "Oh? In what way?"

Clavel confessed, looking puzzled. "Well, she is always around Flor. She likes taking Queen Flor in her arms or making her sit on her shoulder, then…"

The woman's eyes sparkled as she listened while the other four men rolled their eyes at her. "That's fantastic! To think an Ant Queen has fallen in love with a Rose Fairy!" 

Clavel muttered. "Queen…"

The woman realized and apologized. "Right, right. Lady Flor is a Rose Fairy Queen." 

Clavel smiled. "It doesn't matter much. Still, there are some young Rose Fairies that take her title very seriously. Be careful."

The woman smiled. "Noted." Then, she blinked and asked. "So~, can you tell me more of those two?"

Clavel's smile widened. "Hehehe, yes~." 

The other four looked at them and sighed. "Well, let's continue. Any idea what to do with this information?"

Another said. "We can communicate with them and try to reopen the trades. However, this time, we need to do it more fairly." 

"I agree. Has anyone heard of this <Sunflower Caravan>?"

A young man at the side nodded. "I have. They have been there for a while, but lately, they've become quite active and popular. It seems that they got some exclusive merchandise that allowed them to boost their fame." Looking at the reports, he smiled. "Now I know what boosted them so much. If a few berries from the World Tree boost their status so much, we have a really good chance of becoming giants in the industry. What about our merchant names?"

"<Golden Sap Merchants> is too literal, right?"

They were startled enough to make a little jump when Liu Shu's voice reached them. "How about <Lignified Merchants>?"

The four of them looked at each other and called the woman. "Hey, stop chattering and come help." 

"Oh, right!" She looked at Clavel and smiled. "Thanks for the refreshments, Clavel. See you later!" 

Clavel giggled and waved her hand. "Bye-bye, Lorena!" 

Lorena commented. "I think it is good enough. It's unique and quite easy to remember." 

The other four shrugged. "I guess. <Lignified Merchants> it is, then." 

Liu Shu laughed. "Yay! Thank you~."

The five people smiled. "No problem, Liu Shu." 

The two Floriculturists followed Amapola to the farmland in another part of town. Once they arrived, they were surprised to see quite a decent amount of space used for it. Most of it was in the zone between Liu Shu and the defensive flower field. "Amapola, what kind of crops do you plant here? It seems we arrived at harvesting time, right? Other than that flower field over there, the rest is quite barren." 

Amapola hummed. "We use edible fruit seeds, nothing specific. Also, what do you mean by harvesting time? The field is seeded. We will be seeing results in a few days. Then we harvest the food and plant new ones." 

A male Floriculturist asked. "Oh? You don't let the farmland rest?" 

Amapola shook her head. "No. Is that a problem?"

The same man muttered. "Not a big problem, but it certainly leaves a lot of room for improvement." 

Amapola blinked and nodded. "That's a good thing. Also, that's a place I would ask you two not to approach. That's taken care of by us, Rose Fairies. No one else is allowed even to come close. "

They both looked toward the rose flower garden and nodded. "We'll take it into account." 

With a smile, Amapola said. "Well, we know how to take care of plants and such, but to efficiently grow food like humans and other races do, we struggle quite a lot. So, I hope you can help us with that. The other person will help in the other farmland we have. It is north of our town. Which one of you is knowledgeable about growing plants required for Woodworking?"

The other person who didn't speak, a woman with a peculiar appearance similar to that of a bipedal deer, spoke. "Amapola, both of us have a very similar set of skills. While he is better at growing crops, I am better at taking care of grown flora. So, I recommend that we take care of both places together. What do you think?"

Amapola nodded. "Sure. Also, since the other farmland is outside our walls, I recommend that you go to Queen Ignatia to get a few ants as guards when you move around. You are strong, but the ants are quite a good way to protect yourselves. Of course, try not to sacrifice them without a reason; they are Ignatia's children, and she gets quite sad when some of them die."

The two of them nodded. The woman looked at the human male and asked. "Do we go visit it now, Damian? It is getting a bit late." 

The man shook his head. "Let's wait for tomorrow. Walking in the forest at night is a bit dangerous, as Amapola said."

Amapola blinked. "Hm? I meant that we should be careful about Explorers. Creatures here are all under the influence of Liu Shu. As long as we don't provoke them, they won't attack us. Even if they do, Liu Shu can always help us. So, nighttime is particularly safe for residents of this town because Explorers don't like moving at night. As long as we evade them, we are safe." 

"Oh."

Both of them smiled awkwardly, and Damian commented. "Well, even then, I would prefer to wait for the morning. I can see better as well."

Amapola realized. "That's true! Go to the inn over there to rest this night. I hope you have a restful sleep~." 

Then, she flew away.

Damian sighed. "This still feels strange…"

The deer beastkin was about to agree when Liu Shu interrupted. "What feels strange~?"

Damian's heart jumped while the deer beastkin actually jumped with a cute sound. "Haiah!?"

Liu Shu giggled. "Did I scare you~? Sorry, hehe." 

Damian patted his partner's back and chuckled. "Well, it feels strange to interact with creatures I previously thought as brainless. Did you know that there are even a few theories that say monsters imitate human speech to gain empathy and have an easier time hunting?"

Liu Shu blinked. "Huh? How would that help hunting?" 

Damian walked toward the inn and smiled. "Well, if something sounds like you, you might earn sympathy toward them and, therefore, have a harder time killing them."

Liu Shu didn't know about that feeling since her World Tree race was born to compete against other World Trees, so she asked. "Huh? If she sounds like you, isn't it easier to kill them?"

Both Floriculturists laughed awkwardly. "Right, you are a World Tree." While Damian pondered, the beastkin answered. "Most intelligent races have empathy toward others of our own species because we spread our race with the help of others from our same race. Unlike you, who can reproduce and repopulate through seeds and other means that you yourself produce, we need two people to create a new life."

The World Tree was confused. "But… Ignatia and Flor also don't need anyone to reproduce."

Damian frowned and asked. "Doesn't Queen Ignatia need a male to fertilize her eggs?"

The World Tree answered lightly. "Nop! She does everything herself~."

Both Floriculturists felt their facial muscles twitch. 'No wonder Ant Queens are on a kill-on-sight list. Quite a scary thing, isn't it?'

Once they arrived at the Inn, they saw others there, sitting at tables while eating the available food. Meat was a bit lacking, but it didn't mean that they didn't have any. The only problem was that it was monster meat.

Stll, once they took a bite, their eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh? This is better than expected. Who cooked it?"

One of the Level 15 Explorers smiled. "I did. I've learned to cook during the years of exploration, so I know a bit about how to do things. Monster meat is usually not very good, but with a few tricks, it can be delicious. The higher the level, the harder it is to prepare, but once done well, it becomes increasingly delicious."

"That I can corroborate." Said the mothkin, excited. "I once ate meat from a Level 31 Elpahngan! It is, to this day, the most delicious dish I've ever tasted!"

Then, Mariane looked at the man who cooked and said. "From now on, forget about the guard duties. You are to become a cook!... Em…"

The man smiled awkwardly. "Roman."

Mariane smiled. "Roman! Good luck!"

Roman laughed awkwardly. "Sure, sure. It's not like my skills are low-level either way… I can train them."

The other five fighters by his side laughed. "Well, that's quite nice."

"Right. I should've learned cooking in the past and not confide everything to Roman."

"Tsk, tsk. What a shame that I only know how to swing a sword." 

The place became lively, and soon, everyone finished eating and went to sleep.