I left Ed flustered after he was suddenly told about the joint wedding reception. Prim and I, having decided on a general plan, then rode Jade and Fluorite and headed to the forest east of the third pit, just as we had yesterday.
Our purpose was to check if an Abnormal Species, the Murder Bee, had appeared, but it’s said that Murder Bees are rarely found in their nests. They are thought to move around nests, laying eggs for the queen and increasing rare species and higher species. Therefore, it’s possible they are no longer in this forest.
If that’s the case, the investigation could take a considerable amount of time, but I have a feeling we’ll find them quickly.
Abnormal Species, not just Murder Bees, are aggressive. They are particularly ferocious towards humans and will attack immediately. Retysentia’s operatives are no exception, which is why they probably established a base in this forest, which is believed to have a natural barrier, but even that cannot be said to be safe.
“I believe he said there was an open area with a cave beyond this forest, and that’s where the forward base is?”
“Yes, that’s what I heard. It’s sufficient as a base, but there’s no water source, so they get it from a nearby river.”
Right. That river is outside the barrier, so to draw water, we absolutely have to go outside the barrier. Of course, there’s the danger of being attacked by monsters, and if there were Murder Bees nearby, we would definitely be targeted. But without water, humans cannot live, so we have to go draw water, despite the risks.
If we could use water magic, we could produce water, but it’s questionable whether it would be drinkable. Moreover, a considerable amount would be needed, so it likely wouldn’t be enough if only one or two people could use it.
It is said that Retysentia has fewer than 50 High Class individuals, and the Priests’ Guild has also scaled down its operations, so there are almost no people who can use Inn magic. Unique magic refers to attribute magic that one has developed themselves, so it can be used. However, judging by the Hunters who did whatever they pleased in Feel, only a minority of people are likely doing that.
Having few High Class individuals and being unable to use Inn magic means they cannot use Storage, and thus cannot store large amounts of water and food in Storage.
Inn magic is a general term for Supplication magic, created by offering prayers to the gods of Bacion; Bestowed magic, granted as a blessing upon birth; and Guild magic, said to be separated from Supplication or Bestowed magic, or created by the gods to celebrate their establishment. Therefore, it cannot be used by those who do not revere the gods. Most countries revere and worship the gods, so there is no problem. However, in Solemn, which has abolished religion, and Retysentia, which looks down on them, those who can use it are sometimes treated as rebels.
For Amister, this problem could be solved by carrying magical tools imbued with water attribute magic in storage bags or mirror bags and using them. However, Retysentia, a country with a culture of despising Crafters, has a low circulation of magical tools. They may be forcing them to be made, but the performance of such magical tools would not be good, and their quality would be far inferior compared to Amister. Therefore, even if they had prepared them, they are likely already unusable.
Abnormal Species are intelligent and are said to instinctively detest barriers, so it is not uncommon for them to launch persistent attacks until the barrier disappears. Barriers in cities or villages have a central point of origin and are not easily destroyed by Abnormal Species. However, natural barriers form by chance and have multiple points of origin. If even one of these origin points is destroyed, the natural barrier will vanish. Therefore, if Murder Bees are present, it is highly likely that they are targeting the origin points of that barrier.
“Then, as planned, let’s send Jade and Fluorite back.”
“Yes. Honestly, they’re still too much for these two when dealing with Murder Bees.”
The magic for familiars includes Calling, which summons familiars to one’s side, and Rebaiterating, which allows them to be sent back to a designated location. These are long-distance teleportation magics limited to familiars. It seems they were inspired by the long-distance teleportation magic called Traveling. These two magics were the last to be offered up tens of years ago.
These two magics can be used even when the familiars are in a ranch or stable, so they can suddenly disappear and reappear. Therefore, if a ranch or stable where they are kept is not registered and permission from the Order’s Guild is not obtained for their return, a hefty fine will be imposed. Naturally, we, too, have registered the Ragnald Beast Ranch and obtained permission. As proof, there are return permits hanging from the necks of both of them. This return permit also serves as proof of them being familiars, so in Amister, it is mandatory to issue them.
“Kwaa…”
“Grr…”
At our words of sending them back, Jade and Fluorite let out sad chirps. No, I understand, but it’s just too dangerous. Didn’t I explain that thoroughly?
“I’ll summon you right back when we’re done, so please bear with it. Breeze is at the ranch, and you have other friends you’ve gotten along with, right?”
“Kwaa!”
Jade answers with a bright chirp. Jade is lively and mischievous, but she quickly gets along with other familiars. So she doesn’t get lonely at the ranch much, but Fluorite seems to be timid and doesn’t seem to want to leave Jade’s side. Given the incidents with the Evil Drake and the Mad Viper, she’s probably traumatized. I’ve asked Fiat about it, but they said they don’t know what will happen yet.
“Fluorite, it’s okay. None of the other animals at the ranch bullied you, right?”
“Kwaa…”
“I’ll call you back soon, okay?”
Prim managed to persuade them, and we somehow managed to send them back to the ranch. It was quite a task. But Murder Bees are dangerous, so we absolutely cannot bring them along this time. After all, the Murder Bee’s venomous stinger is apparently effective even against A-rank Monsters.
“We need to do something about their equipment soon too.”
“Yeah. Let’s go then.”
“Right.”
Jade and Fluorite’s equipment is on hold due to compatibility with beast gear. Ideally, I’d want to use Lapis Laz, but due to current Adamantine Steel stock issues, we can’t prepare enough quantity. And since Laberna, the Crafter’s Master, is the one making the beast gear, we’ll likely end up using Jade Silver. If we announce it, it wouldn’t be strange for Laberna to use Jade Silver.
We walked for an hour, following the reaction on my Sonar Wave, until we passed through the forest and came upon a small stream. Three people, two women and one man, were drawing water from that stream.
It’s them. They’re still alive, huh.
“Hey, do you think it will come again?”
“Probably. We managed to drive it away somehow and could come to draw water, but it’s targeting the barrier’s origin point, so there’s no way it won’t come back.”
“Everyone got killed, and only the seven of us remain. And with that thing here, we can’t even contact our homeland. Why are we going through this…”
“If Amister had casually handed over Mylight, none of this would have happened.”
“Exactly. The plan was to create an Abnormal Species using a prototype Demon Crystal provided by Abaricia, and then have Abnormal Species from the outside and Hunters from the inside destroy Feel. We never expected G-rank Hunters, of all people, two of them, to show up at this time. It’s beyond calculation.”
“Even the Catastrophe Species that were born were defeated by them, weren’t they?”
“From what I heard. The corpses were brought to the Hunter’s Guild, and rumors say even Lord Saches’s Evil Drake was defeated.”
“They’re meddling where they shouldn’t. We Retysentia are trying to handle things peacefully, so why are they interfering?”
“I don’t know. They’re probably just after immediate profit, aren’t they?”
That was the content of the conversation that Prim overheard. Beastfolk have sharp senses, especially Foxy and Rabbitry with their keen hearing. But since they were talking normally, I could hear them, albeit intermittently.
Wait a minute, all of this is their doing? And they used something provided by Abaricia… this is clearly an invasion. And now they’re being attacked by the Murder Bees they created themselves, it’s nothing short of self-inflicted. But how can they act like this, completely disregarding what they’re doing?
“Including them, there seem to be only seven people left. And now they’re trying to destroy the origin point of the natural barrier they’ve made their base out of, by the Murder Bees they created themselves. It’s their own fault. What should we do?”
Prim shares the same opinion, but there’s not a trace of sympathy in her voice. Of course, neither do I.
“First, let’s find their base. We might encounter Murder Bees on the way, but if we do, we’ll take them down swiftly. The problem is what to do with them…”
“They won’t go into Storage unless they’re dead. And even if we report to the Order’s Guild, given the time, the dispatch would be tomorrow. It’s fine if they die while we leave the Murder Bees unattended, but if that happens, it will be harder to find those Murder Bees, right?”
That’s right. Also, the information from them is valuable, so it would be best to capture at least one alive. However, since we don’t have a beast carriage to transport them, we’ll have to put them on Jade or Fluorite. Well, it’s not like there are no other methods, but depending on the number of people we capture alive, we’ll have to think of something.
Retysentia’s base was a five-minute walk from the stream. In fact, by the time we arrived, the Murder Bee was already attacking the three people who had gone to fetch water. The large rock, which was likely the origin point, had been shattered into pieces. It seems the three individuals returned at that exact moment. And with the origin point destroyed, we can assume the barrier has vanished.
The Murder Bee, about 2 meters long with a bright red body, easily took the lives of two people with its large abdominal stinger, and the remaining man was decapitated by its wings. I had heard about it, but this thing is truly a walking weapon. Its name, Murder Bee, is not in vain.
“This is troublesome again. In that case, since that woman seems to be of the highest rank, we have no choice but to capture her alive.”
Of course, the people inside the barrier noticed the attack by the Murder Bee. Among them was a woman wearing a more luxurious Battle Dress than Prim’s. Two of the remaining three were women wearing the same armor as the knight we defeated the other day. The remaining one was a man, but he was wearing leather armor, so I assume he’s a Hunter. In that case, the target for capture is decided.
“That’s the only way. I’ll keep the Murder Bee occupied, so Yamato, you deal with them.”
“Understood.”
We immediately decided on our roles and charged forward. Prim, clad in Extreme Flame Wing, lunged at the Murder Bee with tremendous speed. I also activated the wind-attribute D-class support binding spell, Bind String, to draw the Murder Bee’s attention. The Murder Bee, its flapping wings hindered by the wind, paused for a moment. However, being an Abnormal Species, it soon broke through my Bind String and seemed to have targeted me. But Prim wouldn’t miss such an opening, and her Extreme Flame strike, leaving a trail, pierced the Murder Bee. The Murder Bee was bisected by the strike and struggled to move for a moment before succumbing to its wounds.
Without even witnessing the Murder Bee’s final moments, I stood before the Retysentia operatives within the barrier.
“Who… who are you!?”
“No way, a dog of Amister!?”
Even considering that they couldn’t leave this place due to the Murder Bee, their panicked reaction is strange. Given all that they’ve done, it wouldn’t be strange for the Order’s Guild to be dispatched from Feel. Perhaps they hadn’t even considered that possibility? Well, I’ll find out once I capture them.
“You’re the dogs. And don’t worry, I’m not killing you.”
“Impudent cur! Do you know who I am!?”
Judging by what she says, she must have a considerable status. Just as planned, she’s definitively a live capture. I need to be careful not to crush her by mistake.
“I don’t care. Don’t bark, thief.”
“Insolent fool! Kill this man!”
The two knights and the hunter, who stood protectively around the woman, drew their swords and attacked me. However, as usual, I activated Cold Prison, freezing them all. Then, with Icicle Lance, I shattered the three, excluding the woman who appeared to be the commander, into pieces.
“It was anticlimactic, but that’s the end of it.”
“Yes. Thanks to Yamato creating an opening, the Murder Bee couldn’t react to me, and we captured the commander alive, so we should be able to get information.”
“Indeed. Now, let’s confiscate all the magical tools they brought and then report. Before that, shall we check her Library?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
The woman who appeared to be the commander was not frozen but was merely unconscious when released from Cold Prison. However, when Library is used on someone unconscious, all their titles are revealed, so even if they were hiding their identity, it would all be exposed. Given that she’s here, her status must be considerable, so it’s probably worth investigating beforehand.
“Library… What? Seriously.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You’ll see when you look.”
However, this woman’s true identity was unexpected, even for me. Prim, after looking at her Library, was also surprised by this unexpected existence.
Naturally, it would be. After all, this woman’s Library read:
Marianne Retysentia
25 years old
Lv. 46
Human Race, High Human
First Princess of the Retysentia Empire, First in Succession Rights
