Chapter 153-154

Chapter 153 – A hidden power?

"That bee…something is wrong with it."

I said as I squinted.

Tentacles were writhing in the bee's stomach as they emitted a black miasma. It was very repulsive and the bee looked to be in pain.

Perhaps that was why it was looking at us with such a vicious expression.

Erevan pleaded with me immediately.

"Chief! That thing is dangerous! We must attack it at once! …Huh!? Hey, it's dangerous!"

Heath had suddenly moved towards the giant bee.

Judging by how worried she looked, they must have been acquainted after all.

However, it was clear that the giant bee was in an abnormal state.

I doubted that Heath could just persuade it to stop.

If anything, she was likely to get hurt.

And so I cast Shield around her.

But just as I expected, the giant bee rammed into her, blowing her away.

Heath was thrown down to the reclaimed ground, but was unhurt, thanks to the Shield.

"Heath!"

She managed to pull herself off of the ground, but looked terribly confused.

After knocking Heath out of the air, the giant bee began to shake.

"Heath…so you do know this bee… Is there something wrong with it?"

Heath nodded.

"Chief! What should we do!? We can shoot any time now!'

Erevan asked.

We couldn't welcome something like this into the island. Who knew what would happen?

That being said, I didn't want to attack someone who was friends with Heath…

Maybe if I block all its attacks with Shield, it will eventually give up and leave?

However, there was also a possibility that it would return to normal if I got rid of those black tentacles.

"I'm going to try and cast Healing magic on it. It might help. But keep your guard up."

"Understood."

And so I went down to the wharf and then directed my Healing magic at the giant bee.

When the unleashed light hit the bee's stomach…

"It's struggling!?"

I couldn't help but shout.

I had cast it, thinking that it would help, but the giant bee began to thrash around as if in agony.

It was flying in a circle with maddening speed. Then it saw me and charged.

I would have to block it with Shield…

And so I immediately cast Shield as the giant bee rushed towards me.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly, what looked like a fishing net fell from the sky above the bee.

Once the giant bee was caught in the net and unable to move, it fell straight down into the sea.

When I looked up, I saw someone flying in the air.

"Is that…Baris?"

It wasn't just him. The Wyverns…were carrying the Cave Spiders. About twenty of them. As Taran was especially large, she required two Wyverns to carry her.

They quickly descended to where I was standing.

It was then that Taran and the Cave Spiders began to pull their webs. They were going to drag the giant bee out of the water.

Baris also came down to me. Aries was around his neck.

"Baris. Aries. So you captured the bee for us."

"Yes. It was Aries's idea."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for acting without your approval."

Aries said hesitantly.

"No, you did well. I didn't have any good ideas, and was just hoping it would give up. So thank you."

"Tha-that is absurd!"

"Hohoho. Didn't I tell you, Aries? Heal does not rebuke people unless they do something particularly dangerous."

Baris was right. I had no intention of interfering as long as it wasn't dangerous.

If anything, I was impressed with how they dealt with it. Baris and Aries really were the smart ones here.

"So, this bee is an acquaintance of Heath?"

Baris muttered as he saw how worried Heath looked while the giant bee was being dragged out.

"Yes. I'm sure of it."

"I see. Well, it looks like those black tentacles are causing mischief."

"Indeed. And they…did you feel it too, Baris? The magic energy?"

"Yes, immense magic… We must be careful even now."

"Yes…"

I cast Shield on the Cave Spiders and waited for them to finish pulling the giant bee onto the shore.

After a while, splashes of water broke the surface of the sea.

The giant bee was thrashing around wildly again.

And even when it was pulled onto dry land, it continued to jump around and try to escape.

However, no matter how hard it tried, it was not able to escape the net that Taran and the others had made.

The Cave Spiders looked very relieved when they saw this.

But then the black tentacles in its stomach began to lash out at them violently like whips.

Of course, they could not get through Shield.

It was like the tentacles were hitting very thick glass, and so we could get a good look at them.

The tentacles looked like mist…like they had no physical shape.

Some of them even dispersed after hitting the glass.

"Di-disgusting…"

Erevan said with a grimace.

"Well, it is likely the reason that the bee is in pain…but would Healing magic really help?"

It might just cause it more pain like it did earlier.

If it was effective, then the bee would just have to bear the pain for a short while. But I didn't want to do it if I wasn't sure.

"This is a difficult decision…huh?"

I suddenly noticed that the white bird, Mel, was right next to me.

Mel then turn into a human and said,

"Father…I don't know why…but I think that I might be able to help that bee."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes…just wait a minute."

Mel closed her eyes and put her hands together.

At the same time, the energy around us started to gather towards Mel. And then it bounced off in a burst of light.

A warm light then illuminated the area, and the black tentacles began to disappear as if they were melting.

Then the pain too seemed to fade away, as the giant bee became very calm after that.

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Chapter 154 – Captured!?

The black tentacles that were nesting in the giant bee's stomach were hit by the light that Mel unleashed, and then they vanished as if melting.

I turned to Mel.

"Me-Mel… What was that? Did you learn some new magic from the library?"

"Uh-uh… It was just like how I could fly all of a sudden…I can just do it now."

"In other words, it was a power that you already possessed."

I thought back on Elto's words.

She had said that Mel was filled with magical ability. Even now, I could sense the shifting energy. Her potential with magic felt incredibly high.

As the egg had been mixed with fossils, and she was the only survivor, I had assumed there was something extraordinary about her, yet…

According to Baris, she did not have a crest. But it was still clear that she possessed some kind of hidden power.

Heath moved over to the giant bee and began to poke it in the stomach with her stinger as if to see if it was okay.

The giant bee then shuddered before turning its head to face Heath.

It didn't seem like it was going to attack. However, it did seem very confused about what was happening. Heath was the only one it recognized, and it looked at her with flushed cheeks.

I suppose the black tentacles had made it lose its mind.

Heath smacked the giant bee's face with her stinger and then came back to Mel and me and bowed her head.

It seemed like both a thank you and an apology.

"No, Heath. I'm just glad that he's better now. But what about you? Were you hurt at all?"

Heath shook her head.

"I see. Well, that giant bee seems like he's sorry too. So don't worry about it."

After the giant bee was let out of the net, he came up to me and bowed his head as well.

"Still, what is going on here? Is he your boyfriend, Heath?"

Erevan asked. Heath's face turned red again and she shook her head furiously.

"We-well, you aren't the best at telling lies… Still, that was a strange creature. Ominous and disgusting… Ah! It's still alive."

Erevan said with a look of horror.

A piece of the tentacles was hopping around on the ground.

Mappa started poking at it with a tree branch.

"Hey, Mappa! Get away! That thing is dangerous!"

Mappa looked at me and then nodded as if he understood.

However, something that looked like a mouth suddenly opened up as the tentacle attacked Mappa.

"MAAPPPPAAAAA!? Oh."

Mappa took out a glass vial from his waistcloth at a speed that the eye could barely follow. And then he trapped the tentacle inside of it.

The tentacle thrashed violently against the glass.

However, it was apparently made of Leviathan scales, and the tentacle could not make a scratch.

Erevan sighed with relief.

"Don't scare me like that…"

"Still, what a catch. We might be able to learn about what it is now."

And so I praised Mappa for a job well done.

Mappa looked like a child who was proud about the bug that he caught. And he went around and showed it to the other residents.

Well, he was, in fact, a child…

In any case, it was clear that this creature was dangerous. And so we would have to guard it carefully.

"We'll have to inspect it for some time, and… Oh, I should talk to the giant bee."

I said. And Baris said,

"Leave the creature to Aries and me. As for the giant bee…we will talk to him through Heath and make a report to you later."

The giant bee might know something about the tentacles.

I had never seen a monster like that before… At the very least, it was not a monster that was native to the continent.

"That will be a big help. In that case, I'll…make a house for the giant bee in the World Tree. I have a feeling that they will want to be together."

The giant bee had been giving Heath a smoldering look for some time now.

Heath hadn't looked at him again, but I was sure that they wouldn't want to be apart.

I could tame him and build a house in the World Tree. Of course, it will be separate from Heath's house…

And so I tamed the giant bee, calling him Garuda, and then I built him a nest.