Chapter 226. Three Days. Ignatia’s Tale.

When Liu Shu started her Level Up, the Golden Sap Town population started to speak about this war with excitement. On almost every corner, you could see a group commenting and sharing things they knew. 

"Did you hear that the enemy army, made of around 1,000 people, had over 50 <Second Energy Cycle> people!?"

A person walking almost tripped when he heard and looked over. "Hey, what in the branches above are you saying? They had FIVE of them, not fifty!"

The young person snorted. "How would you know, old man? Didn't you see that giant fireball that struck Lady Liu Shu? That's a sign that there were that many!"

The man's eyebrow trembled. "How about I confirm it by saying that I was part of the defending group? I was there, and the number was five of them. Don't get deceived by people, young one."

The young one, feeling somewhat ashamed, answered emotionally. "Ha! You are probably faking it! You are just trying to embarrass me!"

The Explorer looked at the young one and shook his head. "Being wrong is not something shameful. Not accepting that you are wrong when someone corrects you with reliable information will always be twenty times more shameful than clinging to an imaginary truth." Then, he left, leaving a group of thoughtful younglings. 

Then again, while exaggerations were not lacking, the number of people who believed them was small. Flor knew about these, but she didn't correct it. It was not necessary to give her enemies the exact information and scale of the enemy army. 

The surrounding powers didn't think similarly, though. Around three days after Liu Shu began Leveling Up, Flor received a message.

One of her human secretaries entered and spoke urgently. "Queen Flor! We've received news that surrounding villages, towns, and powers allied with Fortuna City are spreading the news that a small army of 1000 people almost broke through our defenses."

Flor blinked and pondered. "So, they knew that this army was coming our way. Did Eila know about it? If so, why would she not accompany them and take advantage of the situation to crush us?"

Ignatia, sitting by Flor's side, commented. "Well, it's pretty normal for Eila to not dare to attack us the first time an army came our way. Liu Shu was able to push Fortuna back in a fight between them, and she should know that. Therefore, she used these people to gauge our strength, paying the price of slightly empowering us."

The human woman looked at Ignatia curiously; she knew that this person was called Ignatia, but she didn't know much about her. 'She does have insectoid body parts… I wonder, is she from a wasp-related family?'

After listening to Ignatia, Flor found it reasonable. Before she could answer, though, the doors opened, and Wert entered. Flor froze for a second. 'I-Ignatia is here! Liu Shu is Leveling Up as well… UGH, WHAT DO I DO!?'

While Flor's mind ran at one thousand miles per hour, Ignatia smiled calmly and waved her hand. "Hello, Wert~."

Wert's eyebrows trembled while looking at Ignatia. "You… What are you doing here?"

Ignatia chuckled. "I am accompanying and helping my dear little fairy~. What, am I not welcomed?"

Wert sighed and threw a short glance at the woman standing by their desk, before looking at the Ant Queen once more. "What if you are discovered?"

Ignatia waved her hand dismissively. "I am from a…" Ignatia looked at the woman and asked. "What race do you think I am?"

"Eh?" The woman answered, confused. "Um… Wasp?"

Ignatia clapped. "Great, you are really good!"

Wert deadpanned, but he sighed and walked forward, ignoring the Ant Queen.

Flor's mind was the one that froze this time around. 'Huh? What is happening? Where am I? Who am I?'

Looking at Flor's stupid face, Ignatia realized that she hadn't informed her and smiled. "Oh, by the way, I met with Wert the day after the War! He came down to look around the nest, and I decided to guide him. It was an exciting development! Do you want to hear about it later?"

Flor looked at Ignatia with a baffled face. "Hear later? Later…" Her face crumpled, and she smacked the table with a loud bang that forced the human woman to jump. "YOU DARE TO INFORM ME LATER!? TELL ME NOW!"

Wert looked at Ignatia with a face full of schadenfreude. Ignatia giggled and looked at the human woman. "Leave the documents on the table for now. Thank you for carrying them, dear."

The woman nodded twice and left them in a hurry, basically fleeing the room and closing the door behind her. Flor didn't even give her a look, as her furious gaze was locked on Ignatia's face. "Now, tell me everything! I want every detail!" 

She glared at Wert, who was sitting down comfortably and pointed at him as well. "You don't get too comfortable! Why wasn't I informed of this!?"

Wert blinked and pointed at himself. "I'll get scolded as well?"

Flor's lips arched coldly. "Any problems with that?"

Wert coughed and sat down formally. "No, ma'am."

"Pfft." Ignatia puffed a laugh. 

The Rose Fairy Queen's hand flew with lightning-like speed, snatching the Ant Queen's cheek. "You dare laugh!?"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My cheek! You are going to pull my cheek ouuutt!!!"

Flor released her and sighed, sitting down on the table and looking at both of them. "Now, I want the tale as to why, how, and when, and why and, and everything else!"

Ignatia smiled. "Okay then, it all started in the morning of the day after the war…"

Two days ago, Wert was walking down the streets of the town and decided to go near the ant nest's entrance. When he arrived, he saw a bunch of ants carrying a lot of armor and weapons with their mandibles. 'Hm? Aren't those the equipment pieces of the people we just fought?'

He jumped forward, landing near the nest. All the ants paused and looked at him at once, evaluating if there was danger. Wert smiled and waved his hand. "Hey, little ones. Don't worry about me."

The ants tilted their heads and then continued with their work. Wert hummed and smiled. "Once you get used to them, they are quite nice, aren't they? Now, where do these armor and weapons come from?" 

Curious about it, Wert entered the nest. A soldier ant guarding the entrance approached and extended her antennae, tapping around Wert's body. After a few seconds, the ant moved sideways, and Wert nodded. "Thank you." 

After he walked inside, he traveled the tunnels by memory, approaching Solaria's room. Solaria was the Ant Princess that Ignatia used as a substitute Ant Queen. 

When he arrived near the room, he suddenly saw a massive Soldier Ant moving through the tunnels. "Whoa… Quite a big girl, what Level are you?"

So, out of pure curiosity, he checked, and the result stunned him. "Huh? Level 22? Wasn't Solaria around Level 19 or so?"

While Ant Colonies had their extraordinary members, due to all the tasks being very organized, there usually would not be a case of an ant surpassing the Ant Queen's Level. If the Ant Queen's level was getting behind, the entirety of the Ant Colony would help the Queen Level Up. After all, the Ant Queen was the lifeblood of the entire colony. Without a powerful Ant Queen, the colony would eventually collapse.

Wert rubbed his chin and entered the room where Solaria was. Of course, he was always careful and stopped whenever an ant approached to test him. 'Hm… Do I have a particular scent or something that they can identify? It is quite fascinating.'

After managing to enter the room following seven or eight checkups, Wert looked toward the center and spotted the massive Ant in the middle. "Solaria, sorry for this."

Solaria lifted her giant head, looking at Wert with confusion, and then felt a strange sensation for a few seconds. Solaria was quite intelligent as an <Ant Princess>, so she knew that Wert analyzed her. She was confused and looked at Wert, expecting an answer.

Wert hummed. "So, you are Level 21…"

He placed his hands in his pockets and sighed. 'It seems that my guess was not wrong, eh? Let's see…'

"Ant Queen, come out. I know Solaria is not the main Ant Queen of this colony."

After Wert spoke aloud, he approached Solaria. He had no bad intentions, so the Ant Princess just looked at Wert and lowered her head to pat his body with her antennae. Wert laughed softly. "Sorry, dear, I am still not proficient in your language, so I have no idea what you are trying to say." He extended his hand and patted her giant head. "Don't worry, though. I really don't have malicious intent."

"I wonder if that's the truth."

An alluring female voice reached him, making Wert pause and turn around to look over. On the other side of the room, the previous Level 22 Soldier was standing there, surrounded by several other Level 20 and above soldiers. Wert whistled. "This colony's strength is way beyond what I expected. As expected of ants, the race that can compete with almost all other races in the world."

"That's a bit too exaggerated. Only lucky ones are able to do so. Wouldn't most races be the same if they had an exceptional member?"

Wert crossed his arms and snorted. "You have too much confidence in us, Ant Queen. If an exceptional human appears, some World Leaders will rush to kill him or her in order to keep a tight grip on the power they are so addicted to."

"Well, I can't really deny that. I… Well, more than myself, my predecessors have seen similar situations." The Ant Queen sighed. "Brilliant stars snuffed out before they could illuminate more than a small spot in the night sky." 

Wert smiled. "Well, how about you come out and show yourself to me, Ant Queen?"

"Hahaha~, should I? I am scared of you, mister <Second Energy Cycle>~."

Wert squinted. "As long as you are not a threat, I won't do anything."

"That's the problem." The Ant Queen commented. "Being a threat to you is a very subjective thing. However, if you give me a chance, mister, I can prove my innocence. How about it? Do you want to give this woman one chance to prove myself?"

Wert pondered and touched the edge of the battle ax he had slung across his back. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Okay, I'll give you a chance. I promise."

"Trusting a human's promise is… such a novel thing for me! Well, Liu Shu has spoken nicely about you, so I'll trust my darling's trust in you."

Then, the soldier ants parted, and Ignatia walked forward with a smile. Wert's pupils shrunk, and his body flinched, almost reacting by pure instinct and rushing to kill Ignatia. 

The Ant Queen felt the momentary flash of killing intent, but instead of getting scared, she smiled wider. "Afraid~? Is my figure so terrifying? I think I look quite nice, though."

Wert's lips arched wryly. "You don't know how scary you currently look for someone with knowledge, like a nightmare that has taken shape into the real world."

Ignatia laughed, looking at Wert with a large grin. "Let's talk~."

In the present time, Flor listened to the description of the situation attentively, feeling her body tense, and suddenly Ignatia cut the tale. "How about we take a break for lunch? I am hungry."

Flor looked at the Ant Queen with wide-open eyes. "You dare leave me hanging at the most interesting part!?"

Igantia grinned. "Sorry, love~."