Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I’m Going to Sleep

Chapter 118: Arcadia (6)

Have you ever wondered what the giant hornets you've only heard about would feel like?

Every time they flap their wings, a booming pierces your ears. I'd be tempted to set them on fire, but seeing the face of the Makai King, I'll try to endure it a little.

From what I've heard, using these bees for beekeeping seems to be a trump card of sorts.

If I burn them down right now because I dislike them, wouldn't that be a nuisance to others?

"These creatures are called 'killer hornets' by others. The needle at the end of their tails is coated in venom, and their sickle-shaped forelegs can easily split open skin."

Killer hornets. Murder wasps. Monsters true to their name.

"They're sensitive to scents, so if an unfamiliar person approaches, they'll be on high alert... But if you let them smell you first, they won't attack aggressively. So I'll go first."

Saying that, the Makai King lowered his body and approached the tent.

Huh? The king himself is doing this dangerous task? Couldn't he have someone else do it instead?

Glancing sideways, I see the guarding soldiers heaving a big sigh. Hmm... It seems the king doing this is not a rare occurrence.

"The king's movements seem to be very familiar to me. The giant bees are flying around and threatening, but he's boldly approaching."

Just as the hero said, the Makai King approaches the tent where the bees are, as if he's done this many times before.

The bees then extend their sickle-shaped forelegs and the needles at the end of their tails, entering a defensive stance.

As if they're ready to attack immediately if even the slightest problem arises.

This defensive stance ended with the Makai King standing near the tent for a moment before returning.

The buzzing sound of the bees' wings, which had been so fierce, gradually subsided a little.

"How reckless. Risking his life like that."

"Well, of course. It's a method that uses dangerous monsters from the start. It's bound to be risky."

If they were just regular bees, even if stung, it would only hurt a little. But these giant bees... Their sickle-like forelegs could easily tear through muscle.

In that sense, this king seems to live with the mentality of having multiple lives to spare.

"Anyway, since I've let them smell my scent, other people can approach without being attacked first."

"Uh, do we really have to go see it?"

I feel like I've seen enough already.

"They may look fierce, but they're actually quite docile, they even live a nomadic life with us."

"Bees living a nomadic life?"

Bees that build a home in one place living a nomadic life? Not running away and abandoning their home?

With my current knowledge, this sounds like a story that doesn't make sense.

"Alright, then let's go see the Killer Queen."

"So the queen of the killer hornets is called the Killer Queen, huh."

For a moment, an image of a mustachioed singer who sings incredibly well and a pink cat-like villain flashed through my mind, but it was just a trivial story.

Ahem. Anyway.

"This way."

The king approached the entrance of the tent, slowly lifting the flap, and went in first.

Then it was the hero, and finally me, who followed in turn.

"Whoa..."

In a large wooden box, killer hornets were constantly coming and going.

No, wait, looking closer, there are wheels attached to the bottom of the wooden box. What is this?

“It wasn’t like being driven around in a carriage or something.”

"How could you put something this big on a cart? You might as well just attach wheels to it from the start."

Hmm, that's true. Without a crane or hoist, how would you get this huge thing onto a cart?

Ah, maybe a giant could do it. As long as they don't realize the box is crawling with bees!

"Anyway, as the home kept getting bigger, we debated and debated, and decided to just put wheels on the house."

It was the appearance of a camping trailer that transcended the times.

"This is no time for that."

The king approached the large wooden box and tapped a corner with his finger.

"Are you trying to provoke the bees?"

"Not particularly. I'm just calling my friend inside."

Just as he said.

"Kkiiii"

A bee much larger than the others appeared, making a small sound.

Is this the Killer Queen? Hmm... But why doesn't it have wings?

"Does the queen bee not have wings?"

"No, it normally does. This one is just like that."

The king looked at the queen bee, which was continuously moving its antennae as if trying to smell, and smiled.

"Un. Fortunately, it seems healthy. Alright."

The king took something out of his waist pocket and handed it to the Killer Queen.

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"What's that?"

"It's a kind of snack made by mixing honey and flour. This one really likes this."

Just as the king said, the Killer Queen was eagerly eating the honey snack. Hmm... The taste of honey from their beehive! How sweet!

Well, this too could be a kind of symbiotic relationship, couldn't it?

"But how on earth did you end up in such a relationship with that monster?"

"Such a relationship, you say..."

I heard a short sigh from the hero standing behind me, but I ignored it.

What I'm curious about now is the method of taming the monster!

"Well, I was lucky."

"Lucky?"

I gave the Makai king a distrustful look.

"No, even if you make that face, it really was just luck."

The king had already placed the Killer Queen on his hand.

Hmm. However friendly it may be, it's still a monster... Is this really okay?

"It was a few years ago. As usual, when the livestock had eaten all the grass and we were about to move to another place... That's when I encountered this one."

The Makai king's gaze became wistful, as if reminiscing. Hey, stop the reminiscing scene!

That's something only the protagonist is allowed to do!!

"Explain it briefly. Briefly."

The story shouldn't get too long. It's time to cut it off and move on.

Hmm...? What am I supposed to cut off and move on from?

I tilted my head slightly, but in the end, I didn't understand. Hmm... Did some strange signal come from another world? Well It's a trivial matter. Trivial.

"Briefly... Hmm. I happened to pick up the Killer Queen with a torn wing, and since it was weak and couldn't resist properly, I took it home, confined it, and fed it a lot of the white liquid I made, and tamed it. Of course, before it was properly tamed, it had a rather irritable personality, so it even bit my finger."

The king showed the scar on his middle finger.

No, don't just show the middle finger. It sounds like you're cursing! Not that there's any particular meaning of cursing here, but still!

"Anyway, after that, since it couldn't properly build a nest because of the lack of wings, I diligently helped it, and as a result, I was able to tame this one."

Eh, um... Did you really tame a monster?

How? Aren't monsters usually made ferocious by the influence of dark fragments?

Was my thinking wrong? Or is this a special case?

"Well, this one might be a special case, but... Interestingly, that tendency was also passed on to its offspring."

"Its offspring?"

"Yes. This one, despite its appearance, is a veteran who has split off several queen bees."

The Makai king smiled as if he had done it himself.

"The new Killer Queens that were born also seem to resemble this one a lot, and they don't attack first unless provoked."

"Wow..."

Isn't that a success in breeding? Monsters in the form of bees with reduced aggression.

"Well, the forelegs and stingers of its offspring are still deadly, though. Especially the venom in the stinger, if not properly treated, can be fatal within a day."

The Makai king was speaking calmly, but... That's an incredibly dangerous venom, isn't it?

Is this really okay? The king? Socializing with a monster with venom?

Is this really alright???

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The couple could have their meals with the tubers dug up by the dog.

The tubers, whether boiled and eaten or baked with butter, were delicious. As long as they were careful about the toxins in the sprouts, there were no problems with the underground tubers.

The couple decided to call these tubers "potatoes".

"Woof!"

"Yes, thank you."

The dog continued to go out and bring back something from time to time. Sometimes it was delicious fruits, and sometimes hard salt stones.

One day, the dog brought something back again.

"Oh my, what is this?"

"Woof..."

What the dog had brought was a large bee.

It had a dangerous stinger, and it was in a mess after being hit by people.

"Woof! Woof!"

The dog seemed to want to help the bee.

"Dog, this bee is dangerous. But do you still want to help it?"

"Woof!"

And so the couple ended up helping the truly dangerous bee.

- Classic fairy tale, The Grateful Dog.