Chapter 181. Welcoming The New Guests.

The elegant woman that has been speaking previously commented. "This is an interesting concept. Which tree species have you used to create it?"

The Rose Fairy smiled. "The <Golden Sap Trees> grow large leaves in their canopy when they grow beyond Level 10. These are harvested from there and then processed by us, Rose Fairies, to be used as working writing material. We've even opened a library where we will slowly and gradually store books and other types of literature. Moreover, that library has several auras that can increase productivity and focus."

The twenty people listened attentively as the Rose Fairy slowly explained a few advantages of the city. First, she turned their attention toward their system. "I want you to look at your buff section of the system. There, you should be able to see something new~."

As the twenty people followed Lorea to the Town Hall, they did as asked. They saw two new buffs on them, making their eyebrows rise. The woman who had been speaking commented. "<Summoning Blessing> and <Ternary Bark Rune Field>? These two sound quite powerful. Although… The Rune Field is not really working." 

Lorea explained. "The <Ternary Bark Rune Field> works by taking the aura from the surroundings and sucking it into the buildings, increasing the ternary essence density inside of them. Meanwhile, the <Summoning Blessing> is an aura that everyone that has been accepted by the Life Tree and given trust to has." Lorea smiled deeply. "If all twenty of you have it, that means that all of you have been quite good guests for now, and the Life Tree is happy."

The snarky man who had been complaining through the road looked at his buffs and asked. "And… How do you make the Life Tree happy if it isn't with you?"

Lorea's warm smile cooled down as she looked at the man with an indignant expression. "You just need to be a good resident for a while and have no ill intentions." 

Lorea then turned around and guided them. "When you arrive at the Town Hall's main office, Queen Flor will give you more guidance if you want to know where to be in the city, where to place your shops, and where to gain a residency. I'll help you after Queen Flor explains a few things."

Their group walked down the streets. There weren't many, as there were only around 50 buildings in the town. However, the walk was not less impressive. 

Walking below the trees that had living space inside was a fantastical sensation. 

The Town Hall's tree was even more massive than the rest, looking like a smaller Life Tree. A person in the group asked, surprised. "This is the Town Hall? It is… big."

Lorea laughed. "The thing about these tree-like buildings is that they have enormous trunks to allocate all the people and rooms they need. More than growing upward, they are trees that grow sideways. Of course, their height increases with time, giving us more room inside of them."

A Sylvan commented, surprised. "These trees… they are considered individual entities by the system? I can see they have a Level. Although, I seem to be too low level to see anything further than their Level." 

Lorea nodded. "They are creatures who live with us in a symbiotic relationship. We make sure the trees have enough nutrients and can live comfortably. In return, the trees will listen to us and allow us to live inside of them. It is a give-and-give situation, so I hope none of you abuse your houses in the future."

Everyone took notes and entered through the door of the Town Hall Tree. Inside, the rooms were not uniform like they were in human-built buildings. While the floor was flat and easy to walk, the walls looked like, well, they were inside of a tree. They were made of bark, with rugged and undulating surfaces that arched upward. At the top of the ceiling, rocks that glowed naturally hung from vines, illuminating the surroundings.

The Sylvans in the group marveled. One of them spoke, her voice genuine. "This is gorgeous and revolutionary. Do you think you can create seeds from which these types of tree houses will grow? If you could, we could solve many of our society's remaining industrialization problems.

A human woman spoke. "We are industrializing plants if we use them like this for everything. Sooner or later, this type of tree will be exploited."

Another Sylvan agreed. "The reason they work here is because these trees are under the care of a Life Tree. The seeds can be quickly weaponized if they fall into the Nexus' hands. Not to mention, many humans, beastkin, and some Sylvans will not treat them as living beings but as tools. Their existence would be like that of a World Tree, but worse because of the lack of sacredness. Humans and beastkin have repeatedly shown a lack of empathy toward plant life, and wide-spreading this type of tree house will be very cruel." 

Lorea spoke. "Regardless of whether it is good or bad for society, we are not selling the seeds that make these trees. They are our friends, and they've allowed us to walk toward our dream of becoming one more of the Intelligent Species on this planet." Lorea cut off all offers with cold words. "We are not selling them for profit."

A human man wearing luxurious clothes smiled. "Are you sure? Everything in this world has a price?"

Lorea looked at the human and smiled. "Does it? How much for your life, human?"

The man's lips twitched, and he lifted his arms. "Okay, you got me there." 

Lorea guided them up a staircase and toward Flor's office. Once she was in front of the door, Lorea smiled. "You can go in."

A human woman asked. "We don't need to knock?"

Flor's voice came from the inside. "No need to. I've been watching all of you for a while already. Come in."

Lorea gestured to them to walk forward. 

As they passed her, the woman who had been speaking lots since the beginning said. "I am Marta. Nice to meet you, Lorea. I like this place." 

Lorea giggled. "I am glad I could do my job well."

Marta laughed, giving the snarky man a side glance. "You did it more than excellently."

Then, Marta led everyone inside. Once inside, they all froze as their hearts tensed. Inside the room, a Rose Fairy, much bigger than usual, was sitting on a large table with her legs resting sideways. Her figure was perfect, with attractive but slim curves and large and beautiful wings behind her. Her aura was several times stronger than Clavel's, who they confused as the Rose Fairy Queen.

However, while Flor gave them pressure, what scared them much more was the giant creature the Rose Fairy Queen was resting her body on. Behind the table of the place, an enormous Fire Ant with a terrifying aura of power made all of them feel their intestines twist. 

Flor smiled and said. "Well, don't be there, dazed. I am Flor, the Rose Fairy Queen. The one behind me is Solaria, the Ant Queen of the ant colony that's running around. I thought that, since you twenty are basically the most important guests that we'll have today, I'll let you know about the Mother of the ants that have escorted you."

Flor looked at the <Ant Princess> and caressed her head. "It is impressive, isn't it? A single creature is able to create so much life by itself. It goes entirely against what the rest of us are as a living being. Solaria can probably give birth to hundreds of thousands, millions if given enough time. Meanwhile, a Sylvan, Human, or Beastkin is considered highly fertile if they give to ten or more children."

Marta coughed. "Queen Flor, having… Solaria nearby is slightly unsettling. Aren't you afraid that we will not want to speak with you if she is around?"

Flor stood up on the table, looking like a beautiful and elegant doll. "Well, if the people I am going to discuss with don't have the nerves to do so in front of what many consider a natural predator, then I will know that I am wasting my time."

Marta smiled a bit coldly. "That's a bit harsh, Queen Flor. We were honest when Lord Wert told us to come here."

"Wrong." Flor spoke. "You were promised riches and a prosperous future. You've come here hoping to make a profit, perhaps opening a shop, and in your best-case scenario, you probably manage to take control of this city or something stupid like that."

Those who were thinking that tried not to show anything, but all of Liu Shu's senses were focused on the room. They couldn't escape. She quickly identified the ones who flinched and used vines to point at them.

Flor looked at those that Liu Shu pointed at and smiled. "I see." Then, she looked at Marta and smiled. "You look like the leader of this group. Or, at least, you are someone important enough that the rest of the people here give you respect and leadership. I am the Rose Fairy Queen Flor. I will be the Town's leader, with Wert being my subordinate inside this place and not the other way around." 

A human woman smirked and asked. "I wonder if you dare to say that to his face?"

Flor raised her eyebrows and looked at Lorea, who was waiting at the back. "Care to call Wert here?" 

The human woman who spoke froze, and Marta gave her a cold look. Then, she turned toward Flor and smiled. "There is no need to, Queen Flor. I am Marta Azurebell, an envoy from the <Azurebell Heather Sect>. I came here because some of my disciples have been roaming around this place, praising it. So, I wanted to make sure that our sect's disciples would have a place to rest when they came to explore this area." 

Flor hummed and rhetorically asked. "So, the <Azurebell Heather Sect> wants to form a superficial alliance for now and see how we develop to deepen it."

Marta's eyes flashed. 'She is much more intelligent than I anticipated.' Marta quickly smiled. "Don't worry about that, Queen Flor. It is our usual way of proceeding. We did something similar when we opened a recruiting institution in Fortuna City. Who knows, we might even accept Rose Fairies as our disciples in the near future."

Flor smiled. "That's something I would honestly love." Then, she looked at the rest and spoke. "I don't like human politics. I don't like Beastkin's aggressiveness. I don't like Sylvan's cautiousness. So, I'll speak directly. If you want to stay in our place, you have to agree on a few things. First, you will release or escort here all Rose Fairies you have captured. Second, when you are here, you are expected to take care of your residency. It will never be without a reason if the residencies attack you. They don't move unless provoked one way or another." 

Flor pointed to the side, where a stack of large leaves with words written on them was, and she said. "Please, each of you, take one and see a more detailed page of our city."

Marta blinked and smiled. "The one that Lorea gave us was incomplete. This one is the real deal."

Flor laughed. "Correct. I will give this one only to those I feel like approving. I hope that all of you keep it to yourselves. Believe me when I say that I will know if any of you share it without permission."