After a chaotic first impression, everyone gathered in the town hall and discussed things together. Liu Shu started the conversation. With a pleasant tone, Liu Shu spoke. "Welcome to the Golden Forest Town~. There are not enough houses for everyone yet, but I will be building a few more as soon as I get the materials! I promise!"

A human in the group of 20 asked, surprised. "You can build houses?"

Liu Shu asked, clearly confused. "Huh? Why shouldn't I be able to? It's just manipulating wood and trees, no?"

The same human, a human man with a slim build and brown hair, laughed. "Well, I do know a bit about architecture, how to build houses and other things. What about it? Do you want us to work together?"

Liu Shu asked, excited. "Really!? What level do you have the skill at? Is it C Rank? Perhaps B Rank?"

Everyone in the room had their facial muscles twitching. 'B Rank? That's something only the most distinguished crafters in the world have…'

The man laughed awkwardly. "Not at all. I have an E Rank Skill."

"Oh." The clearly disappointed tone of the World Tree made a few of them unable to contain their laughter.

One of the more mature-looking women asked. "What about you, Lady Liu Shu? Do you mind sharing your skill rank for crafting?"

Liu Shu's crafting skill was , which not only gave her perfect mastery over her town but also allowed her to craft anything from wood. It was a combination of several skills, woodcrafting being one of them. "D- Rank."

Someone taking a sip of the nectar drink choked on the drink. Liu Shu didn't mind sharing her skill level because while the skill's name was still a secret, saying the rank was not a problem.

Flor spoke, curious. "I can see that each of you seems a bit different from the others I've seen coming to this forest. How to say it… Less brutish?"

The 20 explorers laughed awkwardly, and one of them answered. "Well, we are not just combatants. Lady Verdantia hired us not because of our levels, which are not low, but because of our skills." The tall man who spoke and had dark hair and eyes explained. "I, for example, am a blacksmith. I know how to work metal and transform it into different weapons, similar to a Woodcrafter but for metals."

Flor blinked. "I see! I heard of it before. Well, strangely, most humans use metal armor and weapons instead of wooden ones. Why is that?"

The blacksmith shrugged. "Preference? Wooden armors feel more cumbersome because humans don't have that natural affinity with nature. Metals properties are nice as well; the click clack they do give a sense of… power? Hahaha. But, yeah. It is mostly preference."

After that, they all presented themselves. The 20-person group had six pure fighters, all Level 15. Then, there were three people who had studied management, two who had studied economics, two Potion Makers, two Floriculturists, two Mining Experts, one Blacksmith, one Architect, one Array Master, and one Rune Crafter.

Flor felt excited about this. However, the problem was that all of them were human or beastkin. While she had nothing to say about them, it was true that she preferred Sylvans over other races. Sylvans had a natural affinity toward her, making trust much easier. Still, she also understood that Sylvans were the minority in terms of population.

Ignatia spoke, her eyes looking around. "That's interesting. How about this? The potion makers will work with the Myconids; their natural disposition might allow those creatures to learn the trade. Next, those two floriculturist experts will help the Rose Fairies in the farmland we have; there are two places to work, so it is just right. Also… you there seem to be the leader of the explorers focused on fighting, right?"

The man Ignatia looked at nodded, still uncomfortable speaking with the Ant Queen. "If any of you have formal military knowledge, take a look at our numbers and try to discipline them. Wars will be happening quite often."

The man nodded and crossed his arms. "I will do so. I have some experience training people."

Ignatia smiled. "Good. For the rest… for now, gather in one of the houses, while you five who know management and economics stay in the town hall, guiding Flor." Ignatia looked at Mariane and asked. "You will take care of the Rune Crafter and Array Master, right?"

Mariane shrugged. "I can do so. But I have requests. I've come here not to work for free, after all."

Ignatia tilted her head and looked at the rest. "Do you need payment as well?"

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The 20 people looked at each other, and the oldest-looking management expert asked. "Does this town have any money or source of money?"

Ignatia rubbed her chin and looked at Flor. "What do you think?"

Flor blinked twice, looking at the Ant Queen. "Huh?"

Ignatia laughed and poked her nose tenderly. "I am asking if we speak about our income source or not."

Flor realized. 'Right, the mine we have below…' She pondered for a few moments and nodded. "We can but…" Flor looked at them and commented. "Once you hear this, allowing you to go out of the town freely will be almost impossible."

The twenty people laughed. Mariane smiled, amused. "I mean, what can be worse than knowing the existence of Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu's voice spread in the place, sounding shocked and sad. "Huh? Is knowing me that bad?"

Everyone in the room felt a surge of protective feelings rising, and the women quickly answered.

"Oh dear, not at all. Knowing you is a joy!"

"Right, right! Lady Mariane was just speaking in terms of importance!"

"Don't worry, Liu Shu, umm. Lady Mariane! Say something!"

The mothkin blinked and coughed. "That's right, Liu Shu. When I say that I am fortunate to know you, I am not lying. I meant it like, knowing of your existence is already a veeeery big secret, right? So, what can be a bigger secret?"

The World Tree asked, confused. "Hm? So knowing me is more important than knowing I have an endless mine of Lir below me that I can assimilate in the future?"

Flor and Ignatia rubbed their foreheads while everyone in this room stood there, not knowing how to answer.

Mariane looked at the two monsters in the room and blurted. "What in the branches above is she talking about?"

Flor sighed. "Well, she is not lying. Our income is just very small because we don't know how to mine it; we've been collecting the ones that naturally fall out of the walls…" Her gaze moved toward the two mining experts and commented. "Well, that should end now. How about they use a few of your children to mine, Ignatia?"

One of the mining experts, a beastkin woman from a mole family, blurted incredulously. "Will I be able to become the lead mining expert of an entire mine?"

'Is saying something like that good with the competition right by your side…?' Flor looked at the other person, who looked like a young man from a similar race.

He said, excited. "Big sister Terra! We need to work hard!"

"We really do, Terran."

Flor's eyelids twitched. 'Terra and Terran? Their parents made it quite easy to remember, eh.'

Ignatia commented. "Terra, Terran. I'll lend you a few of my worker ants. However, they are not truly intelligent, so other than not eating you, I can't really order them to do anything else. You will need to teach them from zero."

Terra blinked a few times, her forehead being filled with sweat. "Um. I don't mean to offend you, Lady Ignatia, but… are these ants capable of learning?"

Ignatia laughed. "Don't worry, they are a high enough tier for that. Not to mention, if you manage to guide them properly, eventually I might give birth to a Princess Ant that lays miner worker ants or something."

Her words made the party of humans and beastkins feel goosebumps on their bodies. 'She can evolve in that way? Scary…'

Liu Shu hummed. "So… Now that everything is spoken about… How can I get the materials to build my buildings?"

One of the managers, a sharp-looking man, asked. "Do you have a list, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu commented. "The materials I need are Vine Timber (E- Rank), Leafwood (E Rank), Grove Oak (E+ Rank), Rock Crust (E- Rank), Rock Spike (E Rank), Rock Core (E+ Rank), Cotton Fur (E- Rank), Cotton Stripe (E Rank), and Cotton Sheet (E+ Rank)."

Mariane was surprised. "Oho~ quite high-ranked. What are you planning to build with those materials, Liu Shu?"

Liu Shu giggled. "Hehe, well, many things! Houses, an inn, a big water reservoir! Then, then… upgrade the farmlands, build a beast stable, livestock farm, and new defensive buildings, and finally, build a Temple of Summoning! Now, though, I might need to start with the houses to give you all a place to live. Also, creating a Runecrafting workshop and ones for the other professions would be nice as well."

Mariane smiled. "How about creating it in your trunk? You are quite thick already~."

Bam!

Flor shot a wind bullet and hit her forehead, making her head whip backward.

Mariane rubbed her forehead. "What was that for?"

Flor snorted. "Don't give her strange ideas. Also, no, Liu Shu, you shouldn't do that."

The people in the room blinked and heard a dispirited "aww" right after, making them chuckle.

Mariane commented. "Being serious, that level of woodworking materials are available in Fortuna. Of course, large amounts like the ones Liu Shu will need are probably not available. D rank is considered peak-quality luxury goods around here, so E Rank materials are not that common."

One of the economists commented. "E Rank materials cost a few Tyn Coins as well. Oh, in case you don't know, the coins are separated into Lir, Tyn, Bren, Syl, and Arbor, with an exchange rate of 500 for each of them. Well, Arbors are a bit special in that regard. The value of that one varies depending on the amount that is in circulation. The rest, though, have fixed values."

Continuing with his explanation, he clarified. "I don't know how high your income is, but if you want to hire us with normal rates, you would need to pay around 24 Tyr or so yearly. One Tyr yearly is what Level 10 to 19 make on average. Of course, we are not asking for that much. Living here is different from living in other advanced cities. The food and accommodation will probably be free for a long time, so introducing a proper economic system can be done slowly."

Another of the economists sighed. "Moreover, greed will appear once the economy becomes too integrated in the town. People who want more and more will appear and try to move everything with that."

"Speaking of growth…" Said one of the managers. "When are you going to make this town public? Keeping this place hidden will become increasingly difficult."

Flor nodded. "Speaking of that, we planned to camouflage Liu Shu as a Life Tree instead of a World Tree. For that, we need a powerful Runecrafter or Array Master to surround her aura-."

Mariane's four arms slammed on the table as she stood up. Her wings were extended as she exclaimed. "I WILL DO IT."

The rest stood there, stupefied. Flor coughed. "Okay. Also, there are other ways to pay you that are more valuable than money. It will also probably become our main income source."

The people around paid attention, and Flor proceeded to explain the berry production and the farmland's incredible fertility.