Resonance

XXVI. Country Bumpkin

Just a few steps from the Winding River stood the Giant Tree, a place where most of the animals and beasts within the Naturo Forest live. There, multiple creatures from plants, to fish, to birds, and to animals live.

Despite its technological advancements, the Naturo class are considered Country Bumpkins for their lack of the modern world and its ideas. They love their own culture and tradition that they would like to remain that way, only accepting trades from the outside world that would fit into their homely environment.

"Truly an amazing place.." announced Korudo, "I really love it when I go here to trade."

"Is it because of the people and their culture?" asked Yuma.

"Even better," replied Korudo, smiling at Yuma, "Cat girls."

"Woah!" exclaimed Yuma in joy, "Seriously? Cat girls are real?"

"Of course they are! I have a few friends of mine here in the Giant Tree that are cat girls. Total hotties!"

Yuma and Korudo pranced around the entrance of the Giant Tree, gushing at the possibilities that could happen. Zander and Chroma stared at them like they were high.

"The Giant Tree is a bigger place than Jigoku and the Empire's marketplace," mentioned Chroma as he walked past the two, "We should get going and find out the location of where to leave this package. We have to also find a hotel to stay here so that we can leave fully rested by tomorrow."

Zander walked past the two as well, "Let's get going. Questo è noioso."

As the group passed through the paths of the Giant Tree, they noticed the diversity of the inhabitants living within the tree. Unlike the Empire or the Underworld, who housed up to two races, the Giant Tree had multiple different races within it.

There were bird creatures that flew in the sky. They had the heads and wings of birds, with the body of a human. They usually delivered stuff from home to home. There were even little plants that waddled on the floor. Despite having the appearances of a carrot or a mushroom, they were very much humanoid and conversed with the other inhabitants in the Giant Tree like they weren't at the bottom of the food chain. The Giant Tree truly is a peaceful place where all races could live in harmony.

However, the most amazing part of the citizens within the Giant Tree were the beasts, or animals. As such, there were different animals ranging from deer to frogs to tigers to giraffes. However, they had different appearances based on their family. For example, some animals like tigers would look more like a tiger than they would a human, snout and all. Some animals like cats would only have cat ears and a tail protruding from their behinds, looking almost like a cosplaying human.

There was also the scarcity of aquatic life, yet Yuma had found one walking through the crowds of people. His skin had scales and his face resembled that of a fish with gills.

"Hey, Chroma," asked Yuma, "Why is there so few of those aquatic people?"

"The aquatic don't necessarily live in the Giant Tree," answered Chroma as he walked through he crowds, "Sure, the aquatic could live in here, but they prefer to live in the Underwater Region.

The Underwater Region is located directly under the Naturo Forest, with multiple pillars upholding the forest and supporting it. In there, many statues and buildings are made for the aquatic to live in. Of course, most of the aquatic people would reside there."

"The Underwater Region.. How come I don't see how to get there in the map?"

"Like I said, Yuma, the Underwater Region is directly under the Naturo Forest. Just like the Underworld is directly under the Mass Graveyard. It wouldn't show on the map.

In order to get into the aquatic region, you would have to dive into the river that surrounds the empire, and swim into one of the tunnels that are located on the sides of the Naturo Forest. The tunnels would then take you to the Underwater Region, granted that you can breathe underwater long enough to get there. It's a long swim, I've been told."

"Hey, Chroma," complained Zander, "How long is it until we get to the bar?"

"Should be a few minutes from now. This place is known for being so large that one can get lost without a map."

Yuma noticed that the vendors in the Giant Tree mainly sold jewelry and soil, as well as large amounts of water.

"What.. do these people eat?" asked Yuma curiously, "They can't eat themselves, can they? If there are living plants and living animals, is it considered morally unethical or even cannibalistic if they eat each other?"

"The people inside the Giant Tree have found ways to get around that problem," explained Korudo, eyeing at the things that he could buy from the vendors, especially the jewelry, "For the plants, they use the soil and the water to make their own food. For the herbivores, they eat the leaves off of the non-living plants, such as the leaves of trees or special types of vegetables. These special types of vegetables aren't considered citizens since they were never 'alive' or humanoid to begin with.

For the meat eaters, they eat the eggs of the chickens. The chickens, in turn, get a lot of profit from selling their eggs. Also, some animals eat specially engineered meat that comes from those special vegetables I mentioned earlier. They give the same amount or more protein than the regular meat they would usually eat, surprisingly."

"It sounds like some sort of perfect harmonic ecosystem," commented Zander.

"That's because it is," smiled Korudo, "The Naturo Forest is the symbol of peace within the nation of Desmoni. If you're a friend of the Naturo, you're a friend of everybody. That's why most people wouldn't want to get into a war with the Naturo, mainly because of the alliances that they had formed."

"Alright," announced Chroma, staring at the bar's entrance, called 'Koneko's Maid Cafe,' "We're here."