Monster Girl Ranching in Another World

I still had no idea if they could use magic or what this crystal energy was. I decided that I would see if I could get any information about them.

Worst thing that would happen would be just getting flat out denied, and I was really interested in it. Depending how they got it, I might want to use this power for the boat, or other things.

“Where do you get these crystals?” I asked as we were led back out.

“There is a place where they grow. They have to use special suites to harvest the Aqua Gem, so that cave is restricted to everyone that doesn\'t work there,” James explained as we were led back down the hall, but we turned a corner, and I started to hear the sounds of people, water and birds.

“Can you hear that? Where are we going?” Mati asked with excitement, almost tripping over her own feet.

"This is the real hidden beauty of Fishbar! Welcome to the City in the Heart of the Island!" James cheered as we were led out into an amazing world of waterfalls, walkways, and golden buildings. I was absolutely speechless as I looked around in wonder.

This place was like something out of a dream, and it was hard to believe that it was real. The air here was thick with moisture, and the sound of the waterfalls was deafening.

"This is incredible," I said, finally finding my voice. "I had no idea this place existed."

"Yes, we like to keep it hidden from the outside world," James said with a wink. "It\'s our little secret."

I nodded in agreement as I continued to look around. This place was definitely worth hiding, and I could see why they were so careful about who knew about it. It would be easy for someone to misuse the power here if they weren\'t careful.

*Zooom!*

A flying golden bike zipped by, and both girls grabbed onto me as I watched it cut behind a waterfall.

“Did you see that?” Mati asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" I asked, equally as confused.

"That was one of our Guardians," James said with a proud smile. "They are our first line of defense against any outside threats."

"They\'re amazing," I said, still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen. "I had no idea that such a thing existed."

"Yes, we are very proud of our Guardians," James said as he led us away from the City in the Heart of the Island and back towards the main part of Fishbar. "They are some of the best fighters in the world, and they have saved this island on more than one occasion."

I nodded in agreement as I looked back over my shoulder at the City in the Heart of the Island. This place was definitely more than meets the eye, and I was eager to learn more about it. There was definitely much more to Fishbar than I had originally thought, but I still have a strange foreboding feeling about this place.

That crystal mine was a place that I was curious about. As far as I know, crystals don\'t grow fast enough normally to harvest in a week or two. Especially not without some kind of magical intervention. I was not sure of what would have to be done to do it, but it must not be easy.

This might be worth getting Lillia to look into it, but I needed to get a better feel of this place first before I sent her off. Whether she was capable or not, I didn\'t know what these people were capable of.

"King James!" A fish woman called, coming over with a handful of papers.

"Ah! Gloria! just the person that I was looking for!" James laughed, and I nodded to the girl.

She was in a blue dress that went nicely with her teal skin; it also opened up at the chest rather nicely. She also wore pentagon-shaped glasses, making her quite the cute little nerd.

"I also was looking for you," Gloria said as she handed the King the papers that she was holding.

"What is it?" He asked as he took the papers from her.

"These are the papers that you wanted on the condition of the barrier," Gloria said, and I perked up a little at that.

This was something that I wanted to look into as well; how does this place keep out unwanted people? It was probably some kind of magical barrier like on the island I was on before, but different. That was something that I wouldn\'t mind learning about for the Underwear Boat.

"Ah, yes! Thank you, Gloria, you\'re a lifesaver." James said as he looked over the papers. "I\'ll just need to go over this with the council, and then we can discuss it in more detail."

"I understand," Gloria said with a nod before she turned to leave.

As she did, I couldn\'t help but wonder what her story was. From the looks of it, she was some kind of secretary or assistant, but I doubted that was all that she was. There was definitely more to her than meets the eye, and I intended to find out what that was.

"Wait!" James called out, and Gloria turned back around. "We don\'t get guests often, so how about you show them around? This is a pretty good-looking creature, is it not? Show him all our city has to offer! We shall have a grand party this evening, so I hope that you will join us, Zack?"

The King seemed pretty excited about having a party, and I wasn\'t one to turn down a good time. It would be a good opportunity to gather more information about this place and maybe even find out more about Gloria.

"I would love to," I said with a smile. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Of course! Now enjoy your day!" James said as he turned and walked away.

"Follow me," Gloria said as she started to walk away, and I followed after her with Mati and Lillia in tow.