I was concerned that those three Trasifs might still be affected by my rejection or something but by the time morning came, it seems like they were back to normal.

Although… I did notice that all of them seemed to be looking in my direction with what I can only describe as forlorn glances for some reason…

I'm guessing those three told the others that I rejected them or something and the others might have also shared the same sentiments of wanting to bed me and realised that I most likely will also reject their advances as well.

Is it really something to be upset over? By what I saw last night, all of you seemed to be attached to each other anyway so do you really need me?

It's not like I'm completely against just having a casual night with some attractive strangers but… Sorry, no guys.

Well, I wasn't going to ask them that so I just pretended not to notice.

Besides… We should be reaching the town tonight so we should be going our separate ways after I help them report about the dragon being dealt with so I shouldn't need to worry about them anymore.

The Trasif party continued to be our guide to lead us to the town and we followed behind them closely.

I was concerned that we might meet another monster like that Earth Dragon but it seems like coming across that monster was an anomaly in the first place which was why there was a Request to hunt it as its nest was too close to the town.

Still… Seeing that this group of Mercenaries was prepared to fight the dragon themselves, they should at least be capable to some degree so even if there was a monster, I think we should be fine.

My concerns were proven to be unfounded as we managed to reach the town without any other incidents.

First thing I noticed was that I didn't even realise we'd reached the town until the Trasif leading us turned to announce that we were already in view of the town before continuing onwards.

And no, the reason why I didn't realise that wasn't because it was night and the place was dark.

The reason was because there were no buildings to even indicate it was a town to begin with.

It seems like for the Trasifs in particular, they don't cut down trees to build their homes. Instead, they basically carve their homes into the trees themselves.

I wondered how they were able to prevent monsters from attacking their homes though, seeing that there weren't any visible defenses that would prevent something like that from happening.

Was the fact that they built their homes into the trees enough to stop monsters from attacking them?

Once again, as if reading my mind, Katsuki answered my unasked question.

"These lands are blessed by God Drebann, Mistress. As long as the Trasifs worship God Drebann, he will hide their sanctuaries from anyone who would seek them harm. That includes monsters as well."

"Huh… Then why don't the other Gods bless the other cities or something and prevent them from being attacked by monsters?"

"It was an arrangement that the ancient Trasifs made with God Drebann when they had been abandoned the first time, Mistress."

Lisa huffed beside me, "Actually… Do you know about the Tree of Life, Aster?"

I nodded, "I saw it on the map before. What about it?"

"That was what God Drebann blessed. The Trasifs have to take care of the tree and the tree is what keeps them hidden from outside threats. If they do not take care of the tree and allow it to die, then the blessing is gone as well."

I paused, "Wait… What about the Tree of Death?"

"That's completely unrelated."

Right… Interesting to know then.

"So how does the Tree of Life protect the cities? Is it just like… It envelops an entire area or something?" I asked.

"It does protect an area but it's not to that big of an extent. It protects the capital and the Trasifs will need to take a branch from the tree itself to plant it in the other towns and cities they wish to live in to protect them."

"Huh… Then what's stopping them from just taking a whole bunch of branches and planting them all over the forest?"

Lisa shrugged, "That's a question that no one knows aside from the caretakers of the Tree of Life themselves. They claim that there is a reason but refuse to elaborate on it."

Hmm… Maybe there's a limit of how many they can plant before it becomes ineffective?

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the Trasifs leading us stopped and turned to face us.

Dara gestured towards the trees where we could now see windows and doors that had been carved out of them, "Welcome to Ertpytgya town, Miss Aster and party. I assume that you don't have lodgings arra--"

"We do. Don't worry about it," Emilia interrupted.

Wait, we do?

I turned to Emilia in surprise and she just nodded her head subtly.

I was about to question her when I realised that she most likely had another inn built here or something.

Really? All the way out here? And this wasn't even one of the major cities too? Is setting up an inn here even profitable, Emilia?

Dara nodded, "I see. In that case, the Guild is this way, Miss Aster. Could I just trouble you to accompany us there for just a while more?"

I turned back to my girls, "Do you girls want to head to the inn first?"

All of them shook their heads at the same time.

Guess they want to stick with me.

I turned back to Dara, "Lead the way then."

We followed their group into the town and while the buildings the Trasifs were living and doing business in were the trees around us, they seem to have also built additional amenities around the clearing as well.

Unlike the Nekinumi Kingdom where they cleared out space to accommodate their buildings, the Trasifs built their buildings to accommodate the space between the trees instead.

It really has a different aesthetic feel to it.

There were quite a number of other Trasifs that were just going about their day and unlike the Nekinumi Kingdom where there were still quite a number of different races aside from just the Nekomatas and Inugamis, this place seemed to have a Trasif majority.

It was to the point that a number of them actually stopped and stared at us in surprise when they realise that there were a bunch of non Trasifs walking through their streets.

I guess they don't get other races visiting this town often?

Now I'm really wondering whether Emilia's inn here was profitable…

That was my thoughts up until we reached the tree that housed the Guild building and we stepped past the doorway that had been carved out of the tree.

I realised my mistake as the interior of the Guild was filled up with different people of various races and there were actually quite a number of them too.

So this town does have others coming through… But why do I not see any other people aside from Trasifs outside on the streets?

That question was on my mind as we approached the Guild counter that was staffed by another Trasif woman who greeted us with a smile as soon as we locked eyes.

The only reason why I was sure this was a woman was because of the large bosoms jutting out which I'm pretty sure were at least the size of soccer balls.

"Welcome to the Ertpytgya town's Guild branch. How may we-- Ah! Dara! Welcome back! You already defeated the Earth Dragon? That was fast! This must be a new record! Are these your new party members?"

Dara shook his head, "I'm afraid that's not the case. I'm here to report that the Request I had taken was completed by someone else who was unaware that the monster was a subjugation target the Guild had marked. So I'm formally requesting that the Request rewards be granted to them instead."

The Guild staff blinked in surprise before turning her gaze to me and letting out a gasp, "Your party managed to beat the Earth Dragon?!"

She unwittingly raised her voice and that caught the attention of several people in the Guild who turned to look in our direction.

Realising her mistake, the Guild staff quickly lowered her voice, "So… Sorry… Umm… So… Are you the ones who beat the Earth Dragon? May I know what your party rank is?"

I scratched my cheek, "Umm… We're currently C ranked right now. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Wha… What? A C ranked party? But… The Earth Dragon subjugation Request is supposed to be an A ranked Request! Awawawa what do I do?!"

Err… Is that a problem? I mean… It's not like we're after the reward from the start so it's fine if you can't award us with it you know?

Wait… It looks like everyone in the Guild is staring at us now… Even Dara was staring at me in wide eyed shock.

Did we do something bad?

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