It felt like we traveled for five hours or so through this gloomy environment.
There were issues with vines now and then, but Timothy jumped out and took care of them quickly. I wasn't sure what happened to him, but at least he was motivated.
Not too long after that, Zax caught a glimpse of something different.
"I can see some lights ahead!"
"Lights? Inside of this dark forest?" Timothy asked, and he was not the only one who was surprised by Zax's words.
"We have arrived." Feledenis, as if he was waiting for this moment for a long time, whispered. It looked like he was trying to hide his excitement, but his face betrayed him.
Liu didn't say anything, but she squinted her eyes when she heard Zax.
Even Brodon, who stayed quiet during the whole trip smiled more than he usually did. Honestly, I couldn't read Brodon's face at all. He was a master at concealing his presence, even though he was next to me all of this time.
'Does he have some kind of concealment power?'
When Timothy realized that no one paid attention to his question, he asked another one. "So people are living here? In this forest? How is that possible?"
"Have you not paid attention to Feldenis's explanation? They use a kind of mana stone called 'Sunstone' to generate lights, now shut up!"
Even though Yelena looked like she disliked Timothy, she was always the one who talked to him the most.
'Such a weird relationship.'
To be honest, I was a little bit glad that these guys came with us. I didn't trust them yet, but when I thought about what would have happened if only Liu and I stayed inside this compartment, I couldn't even imagine the awkwardness.
'Well, it might have been an interesting experience too…'
After that, Zax hit the brake and we descended from the car.
"Wooooow! Is this for real? Yelena, do you see that?"
"We are looking at the same thing, don't ask stupid questions." Bonk!
"Such a marvelous sight!" Even Feldenis spoke in amazement. "I never dreamed of seeing this place in my lifetime. I wish mother could have seen this…"
I glanced at Feldenis, and I saw him in a different light. 'This guy… He looked forward to this trip more than I thought.'
At that moment, I realized that maybe Liu's companions were not bad people at all.
"Gugugugu!" Verse who was still in my arms also let out happy noises.
As for me, I almost thought that I was dreaming.
This place gave at the same time a mystical, a serene, and a peaceful vibe. I felt like I was in the heart of mother nature.
There were houses suspended between the trees using some kind of robust yet flexible-looking vines. The designs of these houses were like some kind of cocoons made of golden vines.
And in the middle of this city, there was an almost divine-looking tree. It stood out from all of the others because of its golden leaves.
Moreover, the whole city was illuminated by sunstones, which absorbed a bit of sunlight and turned it into a more dazzling radiance according to Feldenis, so all of the gloominess that was present in the different parts of the forest disappeared altogether.
Furthermore, this city overflowed with life, unlike what I expected. It was a little bit different from Mahanoro's atmosphere, and I felt like I stepped into a real fantasy world for the first time.
"Master, shall we go?"
I turned around and saw Cristal and everyone else looking at me. It seemed like I was the one who was enthralled by this sight and was lost in my imagination.
"Sorry, I was a bit surprised. Let's go."
Feldenis suggested that it might be better to walk on foot and not attract unwanted attention.
After that, Zax concealed the vehicle, using a kind of concealment technology.
'Seriously, is she a genius or what? This vehicle is a monster!'
*****
"Kid, what are we going to do from here?" Yelena asked.
"We need to gather information first. Let's find a place where that we can use as a rendezvous point first, and then we will split up and search for a swordsman. He should be famous around here so there should be someone who knows him around." I explained.
"Humph! Don't give me orders kid." Timothy rebuked.
"Are you okay with that, Miss Liu?" I ignored Timothy and asked Liu's opinion instead.
"Yes, let's do that."
I looked at Timothy and smirked. I knew that he wanted to look good in front of Liu.
'Too bad for you, hahaha...'
Timothy wanted to say something but Yelena glared at him and then followed me who had already walked ahead with Liu and everyone else.
We continued to walk through the city and looked for a suitable place where we could stay in.
We attracted more than just a few stares, but it was to be expected, because unlike I expected, there weren't many humans here.
*****
"We don't receive human visitors often, what can I do for you?"
A woman who had golden hair, pointy ears, and apparent body curves greeted us when we entered the most crowded place that we could find.
She wore a very unique looking dress and her hair was adorned with golden vines.
'Every woman here looks like this? After all, this is supposed to be a pub, right? So why does she look like the Queen of the elves?'
I looked at Feledenis and he was certainly handsome, but it looked like his clothes masked his aura.
"Do you loan rooms?" I asked.
"Let me see… Mmmm, we have two VIP rooms left."
"Do they include separate beds?"
"Yes, two small beds and one large bed. You need to pay in advance though, and meals are not included. You will have to pay for every meal."
"That's fine."
I didn't expect to see a kind of pub in this city, but when I looked around, I understood that the main customers here were not humans.
The interior was not different from one of those pubs illustrated in those fantasy mangas, but if I had to say what looked different, then it was the presence of obvious modern devices. For example, liquor distributors, robots cleaners, etc…
When I thought about it, it will be difficult for humans to travel through that forest and come here often, so these things must have been brought here by the different races who lived on this planet but I was not aware.
I booked the room, for the time being, then we went to sit around a table on the upper floor of the pub. The atmosphere on this floor was more relaxed, and we could see that this was more or less reserved for VIPs.
"We will stay in this place, for now, or at least until we find a better place."
I didn't hesitate to start the conversation.
Some of Liu's companions looked at me with weird eyes, but when they saw that Liu listen to me, they kept their disapproval to themselves.
"You can rest for today and start to help me look for this swordsman if you want. Or you can just explore the area… Here are the keys of the rooms, and the women will stay in this one, and men in this one."
I handed the key to Yelena and Brodon.
"As for me, I will immediately start to gather information with Cristal."
"Humph, it's your business and not ours after all," Timothy said.
"Cut it out, Timothy. This is not the time for such petty talk."
"Petty? I-" Bonk!
I ignored these two and looked at the others. Feldenis was a little restless, it was obvious that he was itching to go look around.
Brondon showed interest in the food and Zax was looking at the robot cleaners.
Verte was eating something and Liu took care of her as her face was covered with bits. Liu didn't look like she wanted to look around for today.
After that, I ate something and then left with Cristal.
*****
:::[Third person POV]:::
"Miss Liu, are we going to follow that kid's order?"
"Timothy, do you take miss Liu as a fool? She understands that Adam takes this whole thing seriously and so she let him take care of it by himself to test him."
"Even so…"
After Adam left, Timothy voiced his doubt concerning the fact that everyone more or less listened to Adam's instructions. It was as if he was their leader.
Timothy glanced at Liu and felt a bit frustrated.
"Adam doesn't hide his intention at all. At least he is honest and has guts… I like that kid." Brandon who was quiet the whole time spoke for the first time, and his words surprised everyone, even Liu.
"I agree with you, Brodon. For him to know about this place and wanted to go here alone, he must be confident in his skills and knowledge." Feldenenis added.
Feldenis didn't say it out loud, but he was a bit grateful to Adam. He traveled with Liu around the universe for a while, but he couldn't ask her to come here for his sake. He knew that Liu was already going through a lot of adversity.
"What do you think, Zax?"
After realizing that two members of the group were on Adam's side, Timothy wanted the others on his side.
"He is interested in my gadgets."
"What? What kind of answer is that?"
It seemed like Zax knew that Adam was looking at her gadgets and showed interest in them.
When he saw that Zax wasn't interested in talking to him any longer, Timothy finally looked at Liu, but she looked like she wasn't paying attention to their conversation.
Timothy felt frustration welling up inside of him. 'I thought that this Adam brat was just a kid but it seems like I misjudged him…'
*****
[If you liked the story so far, please also check: Monarch of Chaos: The Strongest Human. And. The Last Man: Survival in a World of Women.]