Liu Shu moved Lakeborn to a nearby water source. Back in Ceperet, she used her own roots to hold the land that Lakeborn stopped controlling, asking other water World Trees to take over the space as they pleased.
Some citizens noticed that the buffs Lakeborn had given had disappeared, puzzling them. This pushed some to create reports, asking the government what was going on. It eventually moved up the ranks, and in just two days, the reports reached Flor's table.
Flor was reviewing some documents when she read that one. "Hm? What is this? Lady Lakeborn has mysteriously disappeared, and the citizens are worried about the lack of benefits…"
The report went on to explain many details at length, but Flor just skimmed them. Confused, she spoke aloud. "Liu Shu, what's up with this?"
She didn't have the ability to find a "lost" World Tree, and these kinds of indescribable events were usually tied to her baby. So, she didn't hesitate. It didn't take long for Liu Shu to notice Flor's voice. "What's wrong, Mom?"
Hearing Liu Shu's beautiful and gentle voice, Flor pointed at the document. "It says something about Lakeborn disappearing. Any idea why?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Liu Shu exclaimed, and Flor prepared her heart. As she expected, her big baby proceeded to blurt out a ridiculous statement.
"I've created an in-between-world portal and moved Lakeborn in her entirety over to Nualis. It took a whole day to create the portal, but it worked! Lakeborn is now in Nualis, so do not bother about those reports."
Flor elegantly raised the cup, took a generous sip, and then placed it down with a loud clank. After not seeing any system messages, her strung-up heart fully relaxed, and she proceeded to scold Liu Shu. "Can you at least give me a heads-up when moving one of our main World Trees OFF THE PLANET!?"
Liu Shu jumped a bit and quickly apologized. "Uuu… Sorry, Mom."
Flor sighed and slapped Liu Shu's root a few times. "You silly girl, what about the citizens under Lakeborn? They were accustomed to living with Lakeborn's buffs, and now they have none. This will affect the economy and local culture, among many other things! You can't just… I don't know, change World Trees as if you are changing a dress!"
"I-I see… But Lakeborn will be able to spread much better in Nualis! Moreover, she is the strongest World Tree in that world, right after me. It won't be long before she cleanses her surroundings and gains enough Experience Points to reach Level 100!"
Flor slapped Liu Shu's roots a few more times. "Do you think I don't understand that you won't do things without thinking!? I understand that there must be a reason behind what you do, but the least you can do before moving a WORLD TREE is give the citizens a heads-up so they can prepare! You are the highest authority, so they won't protest if you give them a warning. But if you do things without any consideration, they might get the wrong idea that you don't care about your people!"
Liu Shu was startled. "Will it really escalate…"
Flor snorted. "Take a look over there. I bet you'll find something, even if I don't know if there is something myself."
Doing as told, Liu Shu didn't take long to find a group trying to gather people to protest for Lakeborn's disappearance. "... Oh."
That single word told Flor she was right, and she sighed again. She naturally knew that Liu Shu never meant any harm, but her actions were now so large-scale that they would cause countless repercussions each time.
Flor, as Liu Shu's mother, will naturally support her with everything. Nevertheless, she wanted a bit of warning to prepare countermeasures.
Still, there was something that didn't click in Flor's mind. 'Hm… Something feels off. What might it be?'
"Sorry, Mom. I will tell you next time… as long as I don't forget."
She was not a machine, so making mistakes was natural. She was just so focused on what she wanted to do that she utterly forgot about telling others.
It was then that it clicked in Flor's mind. "Ah! Right! How did you do such a large movement without alerting anyone to your energy fluctuations? I think they should've been felt all around the world, right?"
"Oh! You noticed! Hehehe!"
Hearing Liu Shu's proud tone, Flor instinctively reached out toward her teacup.
"You see, I can't really expect the Golden Sap City people to leave peacefully if my body constantly creates ternary essence waves with each movement I do, right? I think it would affect the mood of people to be pressured by my existence all the time."
"Mhm." Flor nodded, not denying it, but her grip on the cup tightened. She even took out a container from the drawer with pre-prepared and warm tea.
"Moreover, since I am trying to develop interplanetary spatial travel that will later evolve to interstellar travel, there is a need for something that blocks off the surroundings, right?"
Flor didn't follow the strange thought process, but she didn't interrupt. So, she just nodded.
"Therefore, I first wanted to use my Space Aether control to create something like a barrier that would cushion or block such things. Sadly, it didn't really work. The clashes would still create shockwaves in space that weren't any better than my usual pressure."
"Aha." Flor was still lost, but she continued nodding.
"Eventually, I realized. Why don't I just use my ability to touch and subtly manipulate sub-dimensions?"
Flor blinked. "You can what now? Have I heard this before, or is it another new absurd ability that you've unlocked lately?"
Liu Shu was confused. "I think I've told you before… Perhaps I didn't? I am not really sure…"
Flor's lips twitched. "A-Anyway, what conclusion did you arrive at?"
"Right!" Liu Shu said proudly, like she was showing off her work to her parents. "While I can only use it for ethereal energy fluctuations, I came up with a way to not block, but absorb the pressure waves and let them loose in a sub-dimension that would collapse through the universal spatial correction."
Flor stared blankly at Liu Shu's root. "...I don't understand."
Liu Shu muttered. "Really? I explained it quite simply… In short, the shockwaves of my energy get absorbed by a crack in space into a sub-dimension, which prevents them from bothering everyone."
After hearing that, it clicked for Flor. She asked, trying to clarify her thoughts. "So… You are basically creating a hole in space to toss your energy fluctuations?"
Liu Shu mulled over that sentence for a bit, eventually nodding. "That's a bit of an oversimplification, but yeah! That's the gist of it."
"I see."
Flor raised her cup and slurped its contents. The reason was that she knew Liu Shu was not done. This kind of tech would definitely not be used just to hide energy fluctuations.
"And so…"
Hearing those two words, Flor smiled wryly. 'I knew it.'
"...using that same principle, I managed to lay down the basics for spatial travel! I am unsure as to how others do it. But if I manage to create Runic Fields that support those spatial shields, I will be able to protect the bodies of even Level 0s during spatial travel, blocking both the effects of time and space that would strain their bodies!"
"I… see?" Flor understood the words, but she didn't know what consequences Liu Shu was cautious of. "So, we should expect to have the ability to travel to Nualis soon?"
"No."
"Oh."
An awkward silence spread between both sides, and Liu Shu coughed to break the stillness. "That… The Runic Fields are usually better suited to smaller-scale projects than Arrays. So, they would help with the shield but not the travel per se. And while I am very proficient in Rune Crafting, my Array knowledge is average at best. Therefore, I need to ask the top Array Masters in Ceperet to help me develop it."
Flor understood, and she chuckled. "So, it will depend not on you, but on how long our Array Masters will take to create the tunnels, right?"
"Yeah." Liu Shu agreed. "Therefore, I am unsure as to how long it will take. My individual-level
"Hm. Right, that mothkin has become some sort of Rune Guild Master or something other than being the Library's Guardian, right?"
"Yeah!" Liu Shu giggled. "The mothkin are incredibly proficient crafters… At first, I thought the reason was that they had four arms instead of two. However, I've seen some beastkin with the same number of arms practicing, and they were not as proficient."
Flor was also clueless about why the mothkin were so proficient. "Well, they are a playful but gentle race, so it is good that they hold the highest crafting proficiency in all industries except blacksmithing and woodcrafting. For those two, we have humans and Sylvans as the leading races."
The miracles that humans could do with blacksmithing were truly interesting. Flor had even seen some kind of carriage thing that didn't need a beast to pull it! Although it was slow in comparison, she could see that with more development, the potential could be explosive.
Some crazy humans managed to use the same principles and some of Liu Shu's new sciences to create carriages that could glide for a while… Flor shook her head. 'Humans are terrifyingly innovative. No wonder they are one of the most influential races with their relatively short lifespan and average strength among all races.'
What surprised Flor the most was that only one human needed to make a breakthrough for all the others to quickly absorb, learn, and modify that knowledge for new purposes. Honestly, she was always wondering if they had some powered-down version of her baby's ability to "eat" knowledge.
"Now that you've said all of this, I guess you are going to give me some sort of task to complete, right?"
Liu Shu hugged Flor with her roots and giggled. "Mom knows me so well!"
The Flower Fairy snorted, but there was a smile on her lips. "Alright, spit it out. What do I need to do?"
"I'll create a task list for you. I want you to tell Mariane to help me gather top-notch crafters to develop this technology as quickly as possible. Also, start preparing a few groups to go to Nualis. The people there are amphibious races, and they think they are naturally superior, so we'll need to teach them otherwise. In the meantime, I'll continue to spread and put some order in Nualis with Lakeborn's help… And a few others, hehe."
Flor raised one of her eyebrows. "You are going to kidnap other World Trees…? Wait, the people there think what?"
"...I will also take a few Life Trees. Hehe."
The Flower Fairy sighed when her second question was ignored. "Alright, I get it. Just make sure that those you choose are agreeable and that you tell me beforehand, alright?"
"Alriiiight! Thank you, Mom! I love you!"
Flor smiled and kissed the root by her side. "I love you too." Feeling Liu Shu's presence thinning, she began digesting and planning how to use the information she had received. 'Should I spread the news of Liu Shu having arrived in another world? There doesn't seem to be any drawbacks other than momentary chaos and an increase in fanaticism. Moreover, I will be able to justify the disappearances of future Life Trees and World Trees.'