Chapter 56 – Proof

"T-Tila… W-what is this? What are they?"

I focused back on Suuru's face, now filled with incomprehension.

"Welcome to Geola, the closest city to dome 82. And it's not "what", but "who". Everyone here is an intelligent being. They're not that different from humans."

"I can't believe this…"

"Isn't it wonderful? I was also shocked when I saw this place for the first time so I can understand where you're coming from."

"Huh, but, aren't they, um, dangerous? They look so aggressive…"

"Not at all. I mean, maybe some are but just like any other person. Just treat them like you would anybody else."

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"I've visited this place a few times already. I'm not completely used to it either, though."

"What about us? We're humans. Won't they attack us?"

"Of course not. We're just another species from their point of view."

"Species?"

"Everyone here looks very different, right? That's because most of the folks here are from different species. Speaking of which, I've been careful too. Humans have been isolating themselves in their domes, haven't they? Since I didn't know what happened in the past, I haven't been introducing myself as a human. We look like a monkey species, so I've been telling people I'm a mutant monkey. You should do the same."

"Mutant monkey? Okay…"

She was getting better as we talked and her trembling was mostly gone too. The people coming and going around us didn't pay much attention to our duo and she understood my words were true. Once she was stable on her legs again, I changed the topic.

"All right, should we explore a bit? Isn't it fascinating that the outer world is filled with cities and amazing people?"

"Outer world?"

"That's what I've been calling the land outside the domes. For the inside of the domes, I've been using the term "inner world". Makes it easier to organize my thoughts."

She stared at the colored city around us, including the floating buildings, and nodded.

"It's strangely fitting."

"Isn't it? Let's go now. Relax, nothing's going to happen to you."

She hummed a little and I took her hand, ready to show her the city. I was pretty much a stranger too but there was one path I knew well: how to get to the market. On the way, we came across many other interesting buildings, species, and sceneries. Since the city was called "sleepless", there were lights made of enchanted orbs, illuminating the main streets. These were probably made of expensive materials that retained sel easily. But even then, they wouldn't last longer than the duration of the night before they would need to be recharged again. This was another area where selnic items could provide a great enhancement to.

Suuru kept close to me, watching everything around her with wonder and interest. She sometimes asked me about what we came across, which I had a hard time answering most of the time. There were still too many things I didn't know myself.

Eventually, we reached the night market where I sold my fans an hour ago or so.

"Did you eat dinner yet, Suuru?"

She shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Perfect. Look at all the food they have there. You can pick whatever you want."

"Do you have money?"

"More than enough. I've been doing a bit of business here too."

"You've been hiding so many things from me..."

"Yep."

I completely ignored her upset appearance. She frowned even further but soon sighed, giving up on the topic. She redirected her attention to the many stalls around, especially the ones from where appetizing smells were coming from.

The night market had a lot of merchants that sold raw ingredients, like the one I bought the meat from, but many offered prepared dishes. Soups, bread filled with vegetables or meat, skewers, stews… The choice was wide. We weren't the only ones interested either. Workers leaving their shifts, people who didn't feel like preparing their food, or just tourists like us, many people were buying the cooked meals available in the market. It was by far the most popular item at this time of the day.

Suuru looked quite fascinated at the many exotic choices in front of her. She was going from stall to stall, examining what each of them offered.

"That's meat, right? Wouldn't it be extremely expensive?"

"Not really. Remember, people living in the outer world aren't limited in space. You couldn't see it well because it was dark but there are fields all around the city, extending as far as the eye can see. I'm sure there are many animal farms too. Food is generally inexpensive here. This is where I bought the meat from last time too."

She seemed enlightened by my words.

"Ah… It makes sense now. Then, can I get anything I want?"

"Of course. We can even buy enough for a few days. We can fill our bellies without worries from now on."

"Did you earn that much money?"

"If converting to lods, I have more than 2 thousand. More than enough to try everything they have in this market. No need to hold back, you can get anything you want."

"How did you manage to earn that much so quickly?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's focus on the food for now."

She nodded and I noticed she was looking forward to it. In the end, we bought a bit of everything available, mostly because we were curious about how it all tasted. I put it all into my storage and we left the market behind us.

"Do you want to explore some more?"

She paused for a second before shaking her head.

"No. Can you take us back? I need time to think."

"No problem."

I teleported back to the house and she barely felt any nausea this time. It was great she was already used to it. I placed all the food we bought on the living room table and we began a late but enjoyable dinner. However, right before digging into it, Suuru asked me another question.

"I understand about the… outer world, now. But, still, I can't believe you're coming from another planet altogether. That's a bit too much to accept. If you came from outside the domes, why didn't you just say so?"

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