Chapter 45: Rich Jelly for the Queen (02)

Screech-!

The loud wing noise was resonating from outside.

The hive's walls, softer than the solid stone walls of the center, absorbed sound well, yet the vibrations pierced through and resonated within.

It was a powerful vibration, different from the adorable fluttering of the honeybee girls' wings, shaking as if to rattle the body.

Screech-!!

During the loud vibrations, I was circulating my mana circuits, replenishing my lower body's strength while healing the swelling on my right elbow.

The injury wasn't severe, and concentrating while circulating the mana circuits reduced the swelling and healed it. After making a temporary fix by adjusting the misaligned bones, I grasped the mana saber in my hand.

'What's happening outside...'

Although the beeswax walls of the hive were fluffy enough to be dug through by hand, the wax I had used to block the entrance was only a temporary cover, easily pierced by a finger.

'Ah...!'

Looking outside through the hole I made, a cruel scene unfolded before my eyes.

A huge stinger was embedded in the belly of one of the honeybee girls I could see straight ahead.

Unlike the adorable stingers attached to the tails of other honeybee girls I had grabbed, this one was as big as a human's forearm, and though the honeybee girl thrashed her tail trying to resist, her strength was fading.

Eventually, as the honeybee girl weakened and slumped, several massive Wasps making loud wing noises started to carry her body away.

The body of the honeybee girl... no, the body that used to be a honeybee girl, three bodies in total were identified.

'These were the honeybee girls who were here just a moment ago...'

Thanks to the sticky, white liquid trailing from their mouths, I could recognize that these were the same honeybee girls who had been with me.

Likely, the fate of the honeybee girls, perforated with one or two holes each and captured by the wasps, would be as I had previously anticipated—used as food by the Wasps.

They were destined to be utilized as feed by the Wasps here.

'But why would a Wasp... attack another Wasp?'

Peering outside through a narrow, finger-sized hole limited my view, preventing me from fully understanding the situation.

Especially the owner of the stinger that had penetrated the honeybee girl seemed even more threatening with a hard shell-like tail rather than a fluffy one, appearing nearly twice as big as the honeybee girls.

'The face of the Wasp... a mask...?'

Observing the sharp human-like jawline below what appeared to be a Wasp-shaped face, I realized the creature that had pierced the honeybee girl was the same one that had kidnapped me.

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I couldn't confirm the face under the mask, so I wasn't sure if it was the exact same Wasp or just a similar type.

Screech-!

With the loud noise, the large Wasps departed.

'Wasps fighting each other...'

Giant hornets in solid armor, and compared to them, the honeybee girls who looked weaker and more human-like.

Initially, I thought they were simply combat-type versus caregiving and gathering-type entities, but seeing them kill the honeybee girls so casually made it clear they were entirely different.

'Are those not soldier Wasps but hornets?'

If they were hornets, the situation made sense.

While honeybees live off the honey they collect from nature, hornets attack honeybee hives to steal honey and larvae, even preying on the honeybees themselves.

Some species of Wasps kidnap larvae and honeybees to use as food or lay eggs parasitically.

It seemed that these honeybee girls were under forced cohabitation due to being raided by hornets.

Hum-!

Amidst the earlier deafening blasts, the cute sound of the honeybee girls' wings fluttered as they began to gnaw away the beeswax blocking the entrance to the hive.

Hum...

"Ah..."

Whether from injuries sustained during the hornet attack, blood was trickling down her thigh, not deep but unfortunately nicking a blood vessel, draining the honeybee girl's complexion to pale.

Hum... hum...

Soon, seeing that I was fine and the larva girl next to me was unharmed, the honeybee girl smiled.

Then, as she began to collapse in front of me, her wings tattered and losing strength—

Click!

I reached out and caught her.

'What am I doing...'

It would have been safer to let the honeybee girl fall.

Despite the risk of being detected due to the scent of blood, my arm acted on its own.

"Damn."

Yes, logically, I should let go and leave the bleeding honeybee girl to fend for herself, but my heart wouldn't allow it.

"Grr!"

The honeybee girl was light enough to be lifted with one hand, and I gripped her thigh wound to stop the bleeding and save her life.

'How much blood does a honeybee need to lose before it's too much?'

Although I wasn't sure, I pressed on the thigh to stop the bleeding and waited.

The cut was merely a scratch, unlucky enough to hit a vessel, but it was manageable with her natural healing, provided the wound closed up.

"Phew..."

The honeybee girl's blood was a bit darker than human's, and thankfully, the bleeding stopped quickly, allowing me to carry the exhausted honeybee girl deeper into the cave and cradle her.

The cave was too narrow for us to be apart, so I maximized the space as much as possible.

'Considering there's no honey inside the hive, these honeybee girls must have been kidnapped by those hornets.'

That's why there were so few honeybee girls.

Perhaps the larva girl was kidnapped along with the honeybee girls who cared for her, hiding her from the hornets' eyes and passing her food.

'Well, it turns out... we're in the same boat after all.'

Both of us captured by hornets.

* * *

Uuuuung...

Waking up to the vibrations in my arms, I saw a tiny Bee girl looking up at me with big, curious eyes.

She seemed puzzled about why she was still alive, tilting her head as she looked at me, but as I gradually came to my senses, the Bee girl turned her small body around and started to head out of the cave.

'Going to gather honey?'

As expected, the Bee was diligent and busy.

Fortunately, the bleeding in her thigh had stopped, and although there were some scars left, it didn't seem to hinder her movement.

'After all, even Princess Arachne... her two legs were broken, but they healed quickly after I helped her escape, so maybe insect girls have good regenerative abilities.'

The Bee girl's stinger, which looked so intimidating yesterday, now seemed cute compared to the hornets' stingers.

'Besides, if that side is hard and grossly patterned, this side is fluffy and squishy.'

Peeking out to check for hornets, the Bee girl confirmed that most were resting and then cautiously unfolded her crumpled wings and flew up.

Eeeeeeeng...

Along with the cute fluttering sound of her wings, the Bee girl left to collect honey at dawn, and I turned my body in the newly freed space to look outside again.

'It's high.'

The hive was huge.

Measuring the height of a single hive hole big enough for a person to enter and the depth down to the floor, even if only 10% of the Wasps were inside...

It was clear that at least hundreds, realistically thousands of Wasps resided in this large hive.

'Can I escape?'

Even if I ran away, the hornets would fly after me and quickly catch up.

If my peers came to support, I wouldn't worry, but it was crucial whether they could find the traces of my abduction while flying.

'I activated the tracker in the mana saver as soon as I regained consciousness...'

Watching the dawn break and the morning sun rise, I ducked back into the cave to avoid encountering the hornets.

The Honeybee girls had a purpose in keeping me alive and just harvesting, but the hornets would definitely have killed the Honeybee girls and taken them away to eat them as a piece of meat.

Eeeeeeeng...

About four hours later, I checked outside again when I heard faint wing flutters, and saw the Honeybee girl with the thigh wound with a swollen belly flying towards here.

'How much did she eat?'

She had swallowed almost a bucket's worth, making her too heavy to fly properly, stumbling as she flew. Initially, I thought she would feed the larvae, but strangely, she flew to me first.

Eeeeeeeng...

As the Honeybee girl staggered in, I reached out my hand to help her land comfortably, and she immediately began to push the honey she had filled her mouth with into mine through a kiss.

Gulp. Gulp.

Having not eaten properly for a while, the sugar from the honey was revitalizing, and the viscosity was just right for easy swallowing since it was mixed with the sticky saliva of the Honeybee girl, who was also helping the honey not solidify with her tongue, making it easier for me to eat.

"Hoo..."

As the Honeybee girl detached her lips, her face seemed flush for some reason.

'Well... probably not?'

Such behavior was merely a feeding habit for the Honeybee girls, not something that would cause arousal as it might in humans.

Of course, I was aroused.

Not being impotent, any normal man would get aroused if a naked girl clung to him, mixing kisses and tongues.

Eeeeeeeng...

The Honeybee girl changed her posture, lifting her behind, and began to offer me the honey flowing from her lower half.

'Storing both above and below?'

Looking at the glistening privates covered in pollen and honey, I wondered if I should consume it differently, but since her belly was slightly swollen with honey, I decided to help release it by placing my mouth there.

'Indeed, this side tastes better.'