WARNING! References to possible self termination. If this bothers you, please skip to the third paragraph.
“Um. Is it okay to leave Alfie alone?”
As I left the clinic and headed home with Theo, I looked back, feeling a little concerned.
Alfie’s mind has been affected by being cured of his mushroom disease, and he is currently holed up in his hospital room with a blanket over his head. I understand how he feels.
When he woke up, he was half-naked, and for some reason he remembered thinking he was a mushroom, and a young woman was looking at him… If I were him, I would definitely want to die. I’m worried that he might try to commit suicide.
“Alfie is the type who can figure things out after a day’s sleep, so it’s okay. Let’s leave him alone for now. That’s kindness.”
“Yeah. Well. We’ll just have to leave it alone.”
All because he was sick.
Even if it’s okay, it’s serious for him. …I’m glad his hair didn’t turn into a mushroom haircut. I’m scared that the moment he sees his reflection in the water, he will act impulsively and commit suicide.
“Oh, my house is here.”
After rambling small talk, we quickly arrived at my home, the material shop run by my father. The distance to the clinic is not that far.
“Dad, I’m home. I brought Theo.”
“Welcome home. Theo is also welcome. It’s nice of you to come.”
“No. Thank you for going out of your way to share the honey and beeswax with me.”
After saying that, Theo bowed his head politely.
“You don’t need to worry about it. Thank you for yesterday as well. I’m glad I got some poison. I have honey and beeswax over here, so come on over.”
My father put down the book he was reading, stood up, and headed toward his work space, and we followed behind him.
There was something large in the corner of the workspace, covered with a cloth. Well, because of yesterday, that something is the only thing I can think of.
“Maybe…”
Theo noticed the presence that seemed to be begging to be noticed, and pointed it out.
“Ah. It’s the beehive that Amelia froze yesterday. But unfortunately there’s almost no honey. Even if it becomes a monster, the behavior of the original animal doesn’t change, so this time the killer bee is a long-legged bee. They also eat honey, but they don’t store it. So what’s stuck there are so-called bee babies. There were larvae and pupae. Adults are dangerous, so we’ve already dismantled them all.”
The words bee babies send a shiver down my spine.
I shook my head as I pictured that nest full of them. Don’t imagine it.
“Are the bee babies dead?”
“No. They’re living in a state of suspended animation. Amelia maintains the frozen state with a magic tool, so there’s no particular problem. Amelia, if you want to investigate demonization, just let me know. If it’s a bee baby, then I’ll give it to you. It’s not dangerous, and it’s a valuable sample of a monster born from a monster.”
I also know that it is very valuable. I understand, but…
My self, who believes I should try my best, and the self, who believes it’s not good to push myself too hard, are competing with each other.
“Well, there’s no need to decide right away. In the worst case scenario, we can collect something and investigate it.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
It’s a precious sample, and I don’t have any objections to the necessary dissection, but I wonder why I can’t help but feel a sense of denial just by calling it a bug.
“And the only honey is in this bottle. The beeswax is here.”
The bottle my father took out was large enough that it had to be held it with both hands, but it wasn’t a huge amount. There was a fair amount of beeswax, probably about the size of a baby.
“Honey has been tested to be non-toxic, so it’s safe to eat. The same goes for the beeswax.”
“Thank you. Is it okay if I buy everything? I have gold coins for payment.”
“It’s fine. The quantity was too small to sell, and the price has risen too high, so it’s going to be a hassle, so I’ll just leave it without selling it. However, as I think Amelia also told you, I don’t want to worry about it. I don’t have any hobbies of getting involved in trouble. Don’t mention my name or that you bought it from me. And tell them to think you just got lucky and won’t get another one.”
You don’t know when or where a monster beehive will form, and even if you find one, you can’t just reduce it too much. My father only exterminated them when they were found near the village.
Killer bees, which are originally bees, won’t attack unless you do something, but they often spread monster damage to villages by pollen from monsterized plants on their bodies.
“I will be careful not to mention beekeeping.”
“Eh?”
“The saint who wants honey and beeswax this time is someone who is a little out of touch with common sense. This time, she didn’t say anything directly, but she said it as casual conversation, and Alfie was asked to run all over the place.”
Stop.
Where and who is going to do the monster beekeeping?
I shudder just thinking about it. It’s true that the bee monster is docile, but it’s still a monster.
“She must be a very careless saint to bring up such a topic even in a casual conversation.”
“…Yes. If you’ve been a Saint for many years, you probably understand the impact of what you say, but it’s only been a year since she became a Saint.”
“Huh? By any chance, is the person who said that quite young?”
She is not a candidate for a saint, but is confirmed as a saint at the age of five. A year later, she will be six years old. …If that’s the case, it’s the fault of those around her who haven’t taught this properly. Of course, she might even ask for honey in a casual conversation. It’s a shame for the person who got caught up in this, but you can’t believe that the six-year-old is at fault.
“No. She’s not young. The person who said that was the saint I’m guarding.”
“If Theo is the bodyguard, does that mean she is engaged to a prince?”
“Yes. To be exact, she is the saint who is engaged to His Highness the Crown Prince, but it seems that she came from another world.”
Isekai?
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar word. Moreover, since this is just a story here, does this mean that it is a country with which we do not have much exchange?
“What country is Isekai located around?”
“It’s not about the country…Ah, I can’t explain it well either.”
“Isekai is a word that refers to a world that is completely different from the one we live in. It’s a place that you can’t move to and from on your own. There are legends that such cases have happened in the past. It’s said that when maga becomes active and spreads over a wide area, they are summoned by the gods.”
“A completely different world?”
I can’t imagine it at all, but I wonder if it’s okay to think of it as a place more distant than a foreign country.
“Hmm. Simply put, there is a world like a fairy tale, and she came from there. That’s why common sense and everything else is different.”
I don’t understand why people have different common sense, but is it similar to having different customs than people from other countries? If you say you can’t go back and forth of your own will, there’s a good chance that the customs are even different than in a foreign country.
“Maybe they keep monster bees in the place called Isekai?”
What is that? Scary. Is it the land of warriors?
I shuddered as I thought of an orchard with buzzing baby-sized bees making honey. I never want to go into that world and don’t want to do that job.
“No, I don’t think so. Apparently they do beekeeping, but I heard that it’s a world without monsters to begin with. That’s why she doesn’t really understand it, and she asks people if something like this exists based on the common sense of another world. And… I think the priest heard this and told her that the monster’s honey was supposed to be more effective, and then she wanted it. Then, Alfie, who had nothing to do with it, was ordered by a priest who was from the aristocracy. I decided to come and collect it this time.”
Wow. What a nuisance.
But the part about the world without monsters stuck with me. Maybe she doesn’t know how scary monsters are, and even worse, she might not understand the gravity of the saint’s words in the slightest.
Since he said that common sense is different, there seems to be that much of a difference. It’s causing people a lot of trouble, but I feel like it’s because the priests around her aren’t communicating this properly.
“Maybe Theo followed Alfie out of a sense of responsibility?”
“That’s right. I should have been able to stop her properly, but since I am a bodyguard, I am not allowed to make any statements other than from my point of view as a saint’s bodyguard. It is the rule that the people of the temple are responsible for educating the saint. However, I feel a sense of responsibility. Not only that, but I came with Alfie because I was friends with him. I thought it would be difficult for Alfie to collect it since he had never climbed a mountain before. I wish he would have given up before it was decided, but Alfie… He’s the type of priest who would say, unreasonably, if the priest who received the order wasn’t available, he would go get it.”
I remembered Alfie’s upper body, which didn’t seem to have been trained, and agreed with Theo’s argument.
And if there isn’t one, I think the priest who was told to do it should be the one to do it, but I’m sure Alfie’s position as an orphan is quite weak.
“I see. Well, as long as it doesn’t cause any trouble for us, I don’t care how the saint from another world uses the honey and beeswax I gave you.”
My father just said he didn’t want to get involved and stopped talking about the saint.
Isekai is the Japanese word meaning another world.
I need there to be a bad guy, but no one is purposely causing problems for others! where do I aim this frustration?!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
