I was thinking of canceling the bee extermination if it rained, but today was also a beautiful sunny day.
When Theo told him he wanted to help, his father lightly agreed. He was so natural that I thought I was stupid for worrying about whether he would be okay with it. Maybe they wanted to work together from the beginning?
“I look forward to working with you today.”
After successfully taking his fifth dose of medicine, Theo greets my father with a cheerful face. Mushrooms are growing on his head, but if there is no change in his condition today, the treatment for his demonization will be over. In other words, it’s time to say goodbye to that extremely dangerous drug. That will make you feel refreshed.
What’s more, you can gather materials together with the rumored magician Clark. You may be feeling a lot of different emotions.
…With my father and Theo present, I wondered if I really needed to be here, but since I’m the one who has to help, I don’t have the right to veto anything.
“I heard about you from Amelia. It was a disaster. But I’m glad you were able to finish taking the demonization drug safely. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I believe that the reason I’m alive now is all thanks to Amelia.”
Theo looks at me and smiles shyly.
Wouldn’t it make your heart flutter if you were unexpectedly praised? My behavior suddenly became suspicious.
“Yeah. That’s right. Thanks to Amelia for making the right decision.”
“Eh? No. Well, that’s okay, let’s go to the bees quickly. You’re going because it’ll be a disaster if there’s damage, right? I’d also like you to spare me from the undead-infested mountain.”
It’s better than insect-type monsters, but undead-type monsters tend to make you hesitate to exterminate them if you think they’re former humans, even if they’re dead. I don’t like the idea of bones moving, but there are zombies whose bodies are rotting, and ghouls who seek human flesh, which makes me hesitant, but there aren’t really any bad ones.
“I’m not good with them either. If you don’t burn them, they’ll come back to life again and again.”
The things that undead don’t like are sunlight and fire. After that, the saint’s purification. Without these, the undead will never be defeated.
“Well, that’s true. Fire attacks in areas with a lot of trees can cause forest fires. In such cases, it’s best to infect them with pale mushrooms.”
“Huh. That’s right.”
“Eh?”
Theo rolled his eyes next to me as I nodded, thinking it would be a learning experience.
I think it’s too late even though he’s growing mushrooms on his head to prevent himself from turning into a monster.
“Does it have to be something that glows pale and white?”
“I haven’t tried other glowing mushrooms yet, so I don’t know how they will turn out, but the pale mushrooms definitely give commands to the undead. Maybe the light is weak, so it won’t kill them, but it will hinder their movement. I think it will prioritize the commands specific to the mushroom disease. In the first place, I think that the undead are parasites that have turned into monsters and are moving corpses. Although, there is no proof yet.”
“Huh. Parasite.”
Just thinking about it makes me itch.
But I was certainly curious as to why it was still moving even though it was dead.
“Isn’t it because humans became monsters?”
“No. Humans also become monsters, right? Vampires, demons, goblins, and so on. This is what humans become. I wonder if birdmen like harpies are also former humans. Research on monsters has not progressed. That’s right. There are many things that don’t have names. However, it’s easy to confuse them, but undead are dead creatures. It’s better to think of them as slightly different types.”
“But there are some who inherit their professional abilities, right?”
Undead types that inherit occupational abilities are extremely troublesome. But wouldn’t it be weird that occupational abilities would be taken over if the parasites were moving the body?
“It is said that human memory is located in the brain. However, this is not actually the case, and it is thought that it may be stored in places other than the brain. A parasite that was in one of the storage places. If so, it is said that it is possible to move a dead body and create movements that match its memories, but these are still in the research stage, and there are almost no people who are researching them. It’s still a long way off.”
I’m curious about why undead are born, but I think everyone would be more interested in knowing how to avoid becoming undead. But as of now, there are no experts who know anything about monsters.
“Well, this is off topic, but if you have trouble with undead, infect them with glowing mushrooms. And once the undead’s consciousness is definitely taken over by the mushrooms and they start planting mushrooms, tie them up with rope and put them in the sun. If you leave it alone, you can definitely defeat it.”
“…Mushrooms are versatile.”
“Since my father discovered this, he has tried many things over the years. Remembering it will help you in case something happens. Now, let’s go.”
At my father’s voice, we enter the mountain.
I took the lead and led them to the place where Theo and the others were attacked.
“Amelia, wait.”
As I continued forward, being cautious of my surroundings, Theo stopped me.
“It’s far away, but I can hear the bees flying.”
I nod at Theo’s words. Perhaps he is strengthening his hearing to confirm it.
“Can you confirm how many there are?”
“There seem to be quite a lot of them, so it’s difficult to confirm. They’re flying even farther away.”
“It’s scouting away. I think it’s best to freeze the nest, so can I leave this to Amelia?”
“I got it.”
I nod at my father’s words.
“Then I’ll take care of the scouts.”
“Then let’s go to the location where the nearest scout is.”
Theo takes the lead and I follow behind him.
Even though he was definitely faster than me in terms of stride, I was able to keep up with him easily because he was able to adjust accordingly. Theo is used to working in a team and is very reliable.
After a while, I could hear the unique buzzing sound made by bees hovering in the air.
“It seems like they haven’t noticed us since they haven’t put out a warning sound yet. How do you plan on defeating the, Theo?”
Stopping at his father’s words, Theo bent down and picked up a pebble. He throws it up a few times with his right hand and catches it.
“Throwing stones. It’s coming.”
“Eh?”
I can still hear sounds, but I can’t see anything. But without hesitation, Theo turned and threw a pebble.
The stone flew without stopping, making a sound as it grazed the tree, and finally hit something and made a thud. At the same time, the sound of wings disappeared.
“Wow……”
“It’s good control. It doesn’t burn the prey or hurt it too much, and it’s very efficient.”
I am stunned by this simple yet impossibly difficult technique. Even my father seems impressed.
“I’m good at aiming from a distance. On the other hand, I’m a little weak at close combat, and when Amelia rescued me this time, I was too anxious to get honey and got too close. It’s embarrassing.”
No. Are you good at it or are you at that level?
My ex-boyfriend is not the best, but his performance is not that bad. But there’s no way he could do something like Theo. In the first place, there are few people who can strengthen their eyesight and hearing while strengthening their bodies.
“Is Mr. Theo a person who is quite strong and in a great position?”
“I’m a humble escort knight who is used by the Saint, so I’m not in such a great position. Well, I’m confident that I can fight reasonably well, so I want Amelia to rest assured.”
“Uh, yeah. I feel extremely safe. Yeah.”
He is very reassuring as an ally. I knew that well the day before yesterday. However, with this strength, I started to wonder if the bodyguard of the saint who was the prince’s fiancée was someone I was never supposed to get to know.
However, if Theo returns to the capital, I will never see him again. So let’s not worry about him too much now and just think of him as just Theo.
We quietly approach the bee that Theo killed.
I shudder as I hear the buzzing of bees, but since Theo doesn’t stop, I think it’s okay, so I scold my legs, which are about to shake, and follow.
When I arrived, I found a baby-sized bee lying on the ground with its stomach area crushed. He is still alive as he is convulsing, but my father approaches him and quickly cuts off his neck and torso, and then dismantles the poison bag and stinger. As expected of my father, he was quick to collect the necessary parts without hesitation and without damaging the necessary parts.
“Amelia, burn the rest.”
“I understand. Salamander, spirit of fire. Give me the power to mourn for the person in front of me. Give me the flame of requiem that sends that person to the supreme god. Cremation.”
If the monster’s corpse is not damaged enough, it may later become undead. However, if you burn it down, it will never come back to life. Since cremation only burns specific objects, there is no need to worry about causing a forest fire, and it is often used against defeated monsters.
While I’m using magic, my father puts dangerous poison into poison-resistant bags and handles it so that the stinger doesn’t accidentally sting him. Bee venom is dangerous, such as being a neurotoxin, but at the same time, it can also cause Theo to become like a monster.
Being stung doesn’t necessarily turn you into a monster, so not all individuals have the poison that turns you into a monster, but touching the body of a monster is risky.
Theo was staring at my father’s work, but suddenly looked up.
“There’s another one coming towards us. It hasn’t made any warning noises yet, but it might have sensed us.”
“Can we just throw that one away with a stone?”
“Understood.”
Theo picked up the stone again and threw it.
I hear the sound of something hitting something, but I can’t see what’s going on.
“I defeated it, but if we get that close, I think they’ll probably notice us because the nest is nearby.”
“In that case, let’s freeze the entire nest at once. Keep approaching, Theo and I will protect Amelia from the attacking bees, and once Amelia is within range to freeze the nest, use magic.”
“I understand.”
We run after Theo.
The sound of buzzing mixed with the warning sound of clicking made my heart pound uncomfortably. Definitely noticed.
I can’t help but feel scared, but as Theo throws rocks and my father chants in the background, chopping up the bees with the ice-laced wind, I hold back the urge to whine. When I stepped out from behind the tree in front of me, I saw a large nest in the distance.
“Sylph, the spirit of wind. Salamander, the spirit of fire. Give me the power to stop the movement of evil things. Here is the wind that freezes everything. Cold Hell.”
Once the spell is cast, the entire tree and nest will turn white. The ones that had already left the nest escaped and started flocking towards us, but Theo kept knocking them down, and my father cut them into pieces with the ice-laced wind, so they never got to me.
After a while, the bee attacks ended, and the whole area became quite gray. …Even though I’m wearing poison-resistant boots, I don’t want to step inside.
“Oh. Theo is amazing. There’s no waste. If it’s so easy to gather materials, I might as well practice throwing stones.”
“No. I thought that Magician Clarke’s skills were as good as the rumors said.”
“But there are some materials that are no longer usable. It’s difficult to cut them one-by-one. But if you cut them one-by-one, you can cut them just fine.”
My father chopped up more bees than Theo. The cut surfaces are frozen and no body fluids spill out, but the condition is not good, as some have torn poisonous sacs and broken stingers.
When Theo saw the countless bees that had been neatly severed, he praised my father, but his face fell.
Amelia’s dad seems so laid back and calm.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
