If his civilization had access to a durable tree that could be used for building, Alex was sure his world would also resemble this one.
He observed many individuals moving through the air on devices that appeared to function as hoverboards to Alex's eyes.
These devices also emitted a transparent barrier shaped like a sphere, protecting the user from the wind and likely from collisions with any foreign objects.
The boards were crafted from wood with a crystal socket in the middle.
They also varied in size, with the largest Alex saw looking like a floating wooden platform adorned with decorations and a chair on top, similar to a flying chariot.
'How can they sustain themselves with such a population?' Alex wondered.
He then shifted his focus to the surrounding area.
In front of the grove exit, numerous soldiers clad in combat armor, wielding weapons similar to guns, stood guard. The guns resembled WWII rifles, while the armor looked like Kevlar combat suits.
The green armor concealed their faces, but Alex could tell they were the same species as Lily and the others, despite the absence of visible tails, as the helmets were designed to accommodate feline ears.
All of them then raised their hands, forming a fist, and placed it above their chests. "Praise the Shadow. Princess, you have emerged."
Lily mirrored their gesture, Putting her fist over her chest.
'It seems this is their way of greeting each other, but shadow? Is that their religion or something? Hmm, maybe it's related to the shadow glyph.'
"I've told you not to call me princess when I'm on a mission. Forget it; inform the king we have a guest from the outside."
Her command caused all the soldiers to freeze, their gazes shifting toward the man standing behind their guardian. They hadn't noticed his presence until now because their attention was solely on Lily.
This was the first time in history they had ever encountered someone from the outside. Their surprise was akin to humans seeing an alien arrive on their planet for the first time.
Seeing Alex's appearance, the soldier quickly turned alert. They moved into a formation, then pointed their gun at Alex, "What are you human doing here?"
Lily frowned at their action. "What do you think you are doing, Captain? Put down your weapon. He is our guest."
"But Guardian, he is a human."
"And then? Are you questioning my decision?
Even though it's true humans were the ones that invaded us, it doesn't mean we can discriminate against each individual.
You are talking as if our own race never had a war."
Her words made the Captain silent; he still could not accept the situation, but it was not like he had any choice.
Without even considering Lily's status as their princess, her position as the leader of the Guardians already gave her many leeways.
Even the royal family doesn't have any authority over them since the Guardians only answer to the Sentinel, a legendary figure that all of them respect.
The Captain then raised his hand, gesturing for the others to drop their weapons.
Lily didn't waste any more time there; she started walking past them while the Captain looked at Alex with a sharp gaze.
[Targets were feeling wary and worried.]
'Not fear but only worry, weird.' Alex thought to himself while walking past them.
Usually, the cause of people's worry would be fear, but the Captain didn't seem to feel any fear toward him; this made Alex wonder why he was worried about.
'Does he like Lily? Or does my appearance here make trouble for him?' But the thought only lasted for a moment since Alex didn't plan to stay here for long. Whatever the situation was, it was not his problem.
As Alex walked, he could see more of the architectural buildings. The place was adorned with plants and flowers, and many streams of water were passing through the area.
Since the building was also made of wood, the place felt natural, as if the building were a living part of the forest.
"I don't see anything that looks like a lamp here. Can you guys see it in the dark?" Alex asked.
"Oh, that; some of us can see in the dark, but not everyone. As for the lamp, it's easier for you to see it with your own eyes," Lily said as she walked toward the chariot.
There were multiple chariots; one chariot could be seated by four people. However, as the leader, Lily has her own exclusive chariot.
She then gestured for Alex to sit.
Her chariot was colored black and adorned with golden lines and an insignia. It was a big lush tree and bow, colored metallic green.
The seats seemed to be made of leather. In front of each seat, there was a small desk.
Lily then took out a crystal from her pocket and put it in the socket. Just like a car getting ignited, Alex could hear the humming of energy.
A transparent barrier then started appearing around the chariot while it started floating in the air.
A holographic screen then appeared in front of Lily. She started interacting with it. After a few taps, the chariot then started moving toward the destination.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, which became a blur, Alex could tell they were moving at high speed.
"Why would you use a bow when you have a gun?"
"The weapon that the guard uses."
"Ah, we call that a lightning rod. If you think that is stronger than our bow, then you are completely underestimating us, Alex.
We just don't use our abilities since we are afraid of hurting the trees. And we were also curious about who you are, so no one wanted to kill you."
"So you are saying you have special arrows, or does the bow have special abilities?"
Alex concluded it had something to do with their weapon since the insignia showed a mark of a bow, which meant it was their specialty.