Chapter 129: Chapter 120

 

The most important thing now is for me to get a hang of the situation.

 

<To make sure I understood you correctly, you got several children?> (E)

<Thirty-six.> (F)

<Thirty-s... THIRTY-SIX!?! Where the hell did you get thirty-six children?> (E)

<I traded for them.> (H)

<You traded for them. You traded for them!?!> (E)

<You're continuing to repeat yourself.> (H)

<Sorry, but I just can't wrap my head around this. It's just not possible!> (E)

<Why wouldn't it be? The humans were very open about my offer.> (H)

<Because you can't trade people! That would be slavery, and slavery is abolished in Tarsona! You simply can't buy children!> (E)

 

This is maybe the one good point of this country I can be really proud of.
Maybe because of its wealth there happened some terrible stuff in the past but nowadays everyone who lives here agrees that it's a bad thing to own another person like a thing and treat them like shit.
And this certainly includes children.

 

<I didn't buy them.> (H)

 

Okay, is this princess irritating me on purpose?

 

<You just said that you traded! This means you gave them something in return.> (E)

<Not something. We agreed on six guardians and twenty workers.> (H)

<You, you, you, you what?> (E)

<Now eight guardians and twenty workers. Apparently, some younglings didn't attend when I was there. I exchanged them as well.> (H)

<It seems they were keen on closing the site.> (F)

<And you let her, mum?!> (E)

 

Don't think I forgot about you only because you're staying in the background.

 

<You're overestimating the kind of influence I have over Honiu. What I did was make her promise not to mistreat a single one of them.> (F)

<With little success I need to say. What you did to that girl...> (E)

<The specimen is still healthy, it recuperated, and I am mostly positive that it will integrate into my brood.> (H)

<Don't call her 'it'! She's a girl and her name is Alea! Don't go taking her identity.> (F)

<If you say so. I will integrate 'her' into my brood.> (H)

<Seriously, this is so messed up. You didn't just have that girl use the pheromone receival applicant but also had her ingest the throat agent?> (E)

<No.> (H)

 

Now I am sure.
She is irritating me on purpose.

 

<What do you mean by 'no'?> (E)

<It was necessary to enable them all to receive pheromones. I had to make sure they would be able to understand my message to them. Also, it makes it easier for the nurses to handle them.> (H)

 

Do you mean because they can now mind control the children?
I'm still missing the part where the kids weren't mistreated.

 

<We used the mild version for this matter.> (F)

<Which doesn't matter since what she drank was not the throat agent.> (H)

<You're kidding me. She's talking fluent Formicea now.> (E)

<I chose to simplify the process, so what she received was simply a general metamorphosis inductor> (H)

 

She didn't just say this, right?

 

<You gave her what?> (E)

<She received an inductor with the concentrated information of our kind.> (H)

 

This is bad.
This is really bad.
She pumped a small girl full of Formicea genomes.
I don't even have an idea where I know this word from, but the fact that it means her body is influenced on the most basic level remains.

 

<What will now happen to her?> (E)

<I don't have the slightest idea. It will mix with her current body. It wasn't much, but she is young and still growing. The effects might be interesting.> (H)

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<You didn't mention this!> (F)

<Early adaptation will prove to be beneficial for them.> (H)

 

This, this, this is just wrong!

 

<You can't experiment on children!> (E)

<It's a balanced concoction. The concrete mutations should smoothly integrate into her system. I can't fathom what exactly will happen, but I took advantage of the fact that this body is still growing. The metamorphosis will develop slowly and not commence in a forceful sudden way.> (H)

 

Oh great!
We wouldn't want that your child experiments to turn humans into insects would be unpleasant for them, right?!

 

<Still, you can't! Doing this to children is plain wrong!> (E)

<You're repeating yourself while not adding any new reasons. As of now, I'm not inclined to stop. This way they can exist within the swarm and become truly a part of it.> (H)

 

Okay, I'm at my wit's end.
Seems like there's just one solution for this.

 

<Goddamn, then I'll take care of them! I have enough space and free resources. And since I'm the only one here with a human background I'm the logical solution. I'll provide for them.> (E)

"Oh mye, Erys!" (F)

 

Mum seems to be elated that I'm willing to take responsibility for them.
Honiu on the other hand stares at me.

 

<You want to take the 'children' from me?> (H)

<You didn't hear me? Yes, I will! This is for the best. I'll make sure that they're safe and sound!> (E)

 

She continues to stare.

 

<No.> (H)

 

Did I just mishear?

 

<What did you just say?> (E)

<No, I won't yield these children to you! They are my brood and I won't give up on them! They're mine and I decide!> (H)

 

I... didn't consider such an answer.
The issue is, I can't do a damn thing about it.
As long as it won't endanger the swarm a princess can fare with her brood however she sees fit.
And Honiu more or less declared that this applies to the children.
I'm pretty sure the queen won't find any faults with that logic.
So it comes down to the point that those children now belong to Honiu and are under her control, out of my reach, as long as I can't get the queen to make some royal decree.
And attacking her is no option as we know all too well.

Maybe I can try a different angle.
At least prevent her from going any further with this.

 

<Do you even have the slightest idea what you did there? I'm not only talking about your more than wretched definition of child care. You gave them your drones! If the Koresoans see our troops as part of their regular army they'll think we have an alliance!> (E)

<Would that be so bad? You obviously favor those humans over the others. So if they win it would align with your goals. And if it doesn't work out we will simply collapse all the tunnels to the surface.> (H)

 

I might be a bit biased.
Which makes sense after they tried to sell me as a sex slave and do unspeakable things to me.
However, joining a war is something completely different.
Naturally, I thought about how I could influence the war from my new position.
It's certainly not impossible to somehow send around ten-thousand soldiers.
This many might already be enough to decide the outcome of this conflict.
But it's not only that I care about the Formicea.
I would be lying if I'd say that I want my, urgh, children to die in a foreign conflict.
They don't deserve that.

The other point is that war doesn’t, at least not at first, affect those who are responsible.
No, war kills the weak, poor, and helpless.
The slaves Koreso uses the peasants who are in the way of the armies, or the forcefully conscripted.
All of the dead would be on me.

The Formicea would rip them apart, but not those in charge.
Well, maybe them too if ordered to do so, but that wouldn't change the general problem.
But just like this, Honiu gave them enough troops that it'll be more than possible to make it appear as if we'd fight at their side.
And Koreso wasn't directly a nation that would just overlook such a thing.

While before with apparently two annihilated troops, and yes Kyska told me all too detailed what happened during my picnic, we were hard-pressed to explain ourselves even though we were in the right, now the evidence that we're positioned on Tarsona's side is overwhelming.
It might not be possible to stay neutral anymore.
I hope that was worth it for Honiu.

 

<What do you even hope to get out of this?> (E)

<I am diversifying my brood. Humans prove to be complex creatures with many different aspects to them. I wouldn't say they're superior, especially not after recent clashes, but the sole fact that they were able to become such a strong influence in this overworld indicates that there must be some advantageous traits that enabled them. So it's recommended, not only to research them but to make them our own.> (H)

<And for this you're even giving up on your own brood? You sent them away where they're most likely to die.> (E)

<I sent them old ones which would have lived on for one to two cycles at most. They'll be able to fight one last time which I am sure will be their purpose. And only because I feel that this is on your mind, no I don't feel remorse. My brood knows what this is about and they're more than eager to fulfill a final task, to serve me one last time for my benefit. Should I deny them this chance? And in return, I receive young brood full of potential. I think I benefit enough from this arrangement.> (H)

 

Did I mention that I think it's a terrible idea to let Honiu care for children?

 

<Can we at least agree that you stop buying children?> (E)

<I didn't buy them. I exchanged them.> (H)

<This is entirely the same! You're treating them as something you can acquire, not as independent beings!> (E)

<Not a single being in this world is 'independent' as you put it. Prey is influenced by their predators as those are influenced by their prey. It's the natural state of things to be dependent on outer influences. The simple existence of one being makes it significant for a part of another's. And especially such young creatures, unable to care for themselves are not self-sufficient. So no, I won't stop. At most I will change my methods.> (H)

 

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