Chapter 167: Chapter 154

 

The laying commenced without greater issues.
It seems Princess Chera keeps at least the traditional numbers of nurses around her place.
I feel that a great deal of the laid eggs should still be assault beetles since the emergency still was present until I got saved by Chera's troops.
Yet since there was at least a sense of safety afterward, some regular units should be mixed in between.
Foremost hunters, I’d guess, as I thought about sniffing around here.
As we all know, the priority of drone production changes according to my intentions.

Unfortunately, this endeavor drained all the remaining energy I had in me.
I was already close to collapsing once I arrived in this hive but deemed getting some nourishment to be more important than breaking down.
After all, sleeping on an empty stomach is the best way to build up long-term exhaustion.
Surprisingly, I encountered so many weird things here that make me want to investigate, but now I think I'll follow through with my initial plan and get some sleep.
They even have an alcove here.
Never thought I would appreciate this as a luxury one day.
All to say, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I took a well-needed rest before going about any of my plans.

Naturally, Kyska is with me when I wake up again and insists on a morning cleaning she gratefully had foregone before for the sake of my rest.
Before she's completely finished, I somewhat surprisingly get again invited by Chera to dine with her.
Conveniently, her place is just around the corner.

So I go there.
Yet not before spending a short moment with my beetles.

When I arrive she seems cheerful, having forgotten about any problematic things yesterday.

 

<Ah, hello, Erys. I heard your laying session proceeded as it should. This is good to hear. Stress can do so many nasty things to a princess.> (C)

<Uh, did everything work out with the eggs?> (E)

<I was able to designate a sufficient partition of the nursery for your layings. Yet only if you leave in due time, or the additional brood of another princess may strain our current capacities.> (C)

 

 

Maybe I'm interpreting too much into this, but it feels like she wants to get rid of me.

 

<This is good to hear. I wasn't sure if there would be issues since there'll be more of my beetles coming before I switch back to normal, and those will hatch early> (E)

<Ah, your guard. I'm curious. I never saw such a pattern before, yet it somehow felt familiar. Would you mind telling me how you developed them?> (C)

<That's... a weird story. When I was captive I had in my panic a rather strange episode. It was as if there was someone in my head talking to me. I have no idea how it works, but somehow I ended up with them. The voice called the pattern 'assault beetle'. Apparently, they hatch and grow very quickly, but live rather short lives. The latter troubles me quite a bit.> (E)

<I see. So they pose as an emergency measure. Coming from your elaboration, I'd say that you linked to your hereditary consciousness.> (C)

<My what?> (E)

<It's a phenomenon that occurs in troubled times to provide a solution. Something that not many princesses experience. For obvious reasons, a princess shouldn't be troubled to begin with. Basically, it's similar to how the royal guard is developed, yet different in the way that it makes use of predeveloped forms or aspects. All the things any princess or queen coming before you ever thought of are accessible for you to find the unit that would serve the purpose best. In your case, something that you could benefit from soon with the limited resources you have at hand.> (C)

 

For real?
I didn't think of something like that.
Is it like a conscious instinct?
That's kinda scary to think about.

 

<How do you know about this? Were you in a similar situation?> (E)

<Naturally not. I gathered my knowledge from a pod in the chamber of knowledge. Don't you frequent it regularly as well?> (C)

 

I'm apparently lazy.
No way around admitting this.

 

<Ehk, sorry. I'm quite young and my early time in the swarm was especially difficult with all the changes occurring.> (E)

<I understand. I suggest that you take your time to recover after the recent experience.> (C)

 

I still think she's quite nice.
At least for a Formicea princess, she's very understanding.

 

<Speaking of which, were you able to inform anyone about the situation?> (E)

<I already sent out a messenger during the last activity interval, after you were secured. They'll in due time spread the news to the main hive.> (C)

<What about Valera?> (E)

 

Tarsona's capital with all our troops should be closer than any Formicean bases if I'm right.

 

<Valera?> (C)

 

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Well, that kinda answers it.

 

<The human uh, main hive on the surface. My captors told me that Princess Honiu took over there with the queen's units after my abduction. They should pose a relevant force in the closer vicinity.> (E)

<Honiu... To be honest, I never held her in high regard. She tends to ignore her duties and has a concerning mindset towards our hive.> (C)

<Well, I'll certainly be the last one to defend her. She's quite the lunatic. However, I need to admit that I was quite surprised that she held back and didn't turn the capital into a giant slaughterhouse.> (E)

<Yes, it shows unusual foresight from her side that she thought about taking hostages to have threat potential.> (C)

 

Well, I didn't think about it like this or rather didn't want to see it this way.
Yet considering what I know about Honiu, Chera might be right that this was the intention.

Shortly after this, the food is brought.
And... it's the same meat as last time, coming along with a tiny cup of nectar and a really shallow amount of mushrooms.
I know better than to speak about this, yet my mind is made up now.

I finish this kinda odd meat breakfast, that still at least serves to make me full.
And excuse myself from Chera.
As mentioned before, she's understanding of the fact that I need some time for myself after what I went through.
However, my intention for today is something else.

I walk to the central junction in front of the princess' quarters and wait.
It doesn't take too long before I hear the familiar surring of little wings.
My beetles.

 

<Did you find the place?> (E)

 

Sadly, they aren't smart enough to communicate aside from the most simple replies, but the pheromones I receive indicate the affirmative.
So I let them lead me to my destination.

 

<My princess, what are you intending to do?> (K)

<I want to see Chera's food storages and the mycelium. If I'm right, she has a food shortage. In that case, I could maybe arrange for the hive to send her some as compensation for saving me.> (E)

<But you don't know. What if you're putting yourself at risk?> (K)

<If there's a more grave issue then it's all the more reason to investigate. I'm done with being at the mercy of someone else's conspiracy.> (E)

 

Just to say so, I'm not going to do anything reckless or forbidden here.
I only asked them to search for where the food is gathered and stored and show it to me.
There are certainly no bad intentions involved; although, I am curious about the fact that something appears to be going decisively wrong in this hive.
Chera provides barely any nectar or mushrooms, and I want to know why that is.
I mean, she's part of a giant insect empire but seems to starve herself for whatever reason.
And if I get questioned regarding what I'm doing, I can simply answer that I was interested in the food she offered me.
As there was no prohibiting of my movements, it's not like I'm doing anything forbidden.

Ultimately, Kyska gives in, following quietly behind.
She seems to think that making a fuss would have worse consequences than just going along with it.

I walk for a while behind my little beetles.
As for the passage, it seems like it's leading to the north, opposite from the direction I entered from.

First, it goes a bit uphill, but then the tunnel's direction drops.
Once again, I wonder what kind of concept Princess Chera has for her hive.

The further we go the more frequently I have to ignore the signs of irritation I receive from the passing workers.
Which is fine, as they're rather showing confusion at my presence than any semblance of hostility.
The same goes for the abundance of guardians that seem to be quite favored by Chera.
Speaking of it, hunters I find to be extremely rare in Chera's hive in general.
Though, maybe it's just personal preference.
I could understand her on that.

Finally, we apparently reach the storage area where they gather the flesh.
I exit the tunnel through one of several exits that lead into a greater cave, which ends in a small hole where dozens of guardians linger around.
The ground is slick, and bits and pieces of white flesh and other unrecognizable stuff lie scattered around.

 

Anyways, I can see how most of the movement concentrates on a shallow entrance.
There's a decent fishy smell all around, yet apparently they consume the meat fresh enough before the stench becomes unbearable.
Which raises the question how they're maintaining a steady supply.

Naturally, I'm directly drawn to the hole on the other side.
Yet before I reach it, there enters a large number of workers.
They're carrying harvested mycelium, but something is wrong.
When I look closer I realize what it is.
Some of them are staggering in their gait, and the reason is that they're injured.
The last of the group enter, all holding the mycelium harvest.
But the last seem to be the worst of this group.
Just what happened in there?

I walk up to one of the workers to ask.

 

<What happened? Is the mycelium over there? Did something go wrong?> (E)

 

Abruptly, there's new movement at the hole.

 

"Shkraaaaaahhhhh"

 

What the fuck is this!?!

 

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