The Hive's Hidden Queens
We stepped into the beehive within the Aerial Fortress. With every step through the massive hive, a sticky, honey-like sensation clung to our feet, and the bees immediately swarmed us the moment they noticed our presence. Rona once again carved through the monsters with her sword while I recorded her fight.
"Fighting? Me?"
The moment I read that single chat message, a massive witch hunt erupted against that one viewer.
Countless insults flooded in, all aimed at that single person. I had a bad feeling that if I left it alone, things would spiral out of control.
"Alright everyone, calm down, calm down. She's not dead, so it's fine."
But the viewers' rage showed no signs of cooling. I had no choice but to use my last resort.
"…If you all don't calm down, I'm taking tomorrow off."
As expected, taking a day off was the ultimate weapon against disobedient viewers.
'Anyway, what now?'
Standing around was boring, so while Rona fought, I dipped my finger into the honey coating the walls and tasted it.
"Oh, this honey is actually good!"
It had a deep, rich flavor and sweetness I'd never experienced before. Mrs. Kim would probably love it if I brought some back.
A sudden donation popped up.
"Face reveal? You already know what I look like."
"Llama Karma is literally my face."
The mage Karma had used the camera function to create an avatar that looked exactly like me. I didn't see the point of doing a separate reveal.
"It really is though…"
I was genuinely frustrated. Why didn't anyone believe me?
Meanwhile, while Seong-a bantered with the viewers, Rona had already taken down nearly half the monsters.
"Shit, there's so many…!"
Only ten minutes had passed, yet the number of fallen monsters had already surpassed five digits. I couldn't believe this many creatures lived inside a hive smaller than an island.
'Should I just use my breath?'
After closing my eyes for a moment to think, I immediately shook my head. Even if I used my breath, it probably wouldn't kill all the monsters here, and it might catch my sister in the crossfire too.
'It'll work out somehow…!'
Once again, Rona swung her sword toward the densest cluster of monsters, her face twisting into a grimace. It wasn't because she failed to kill them. It was because the slash left not even a scratch on the hive wall.
'I can cut through diamonds with this…!'
How the hell was a beehive stronger than diamond?! As an S-rank, her pride was wounded.
Rona continued cutting down monsters as she pushed deeper inside. One step. Another step. She advanced slowly, carefully. And deeper within, even stronger monsters than the ones outside swarmed.
'The data said they were all 4th-class or lower…!'
Judging by their strength, these bugs felt more like 3rd-class. 'Did those American bastards not investigate properly?!'
They must have only surveyed the island and ignored the inside of the hive. Rona launched an annoyed slash toward the monsters, killing two thousand of them in one go. I'd have to charge extra for this request later.
Step by step, she pressed forward. The number of monsters she'd cut down with her sword had already exceeded thirty thousand.
'Should I ask for help…?'
When she glanced back to ask for assistance, Seong-a was completely ignoring her, still chatting with the viewers.
'Forget it. I'll give up…'
Knowing her sister's personality, she wouldn't help unless Rona was in real danger. Besides, even if others couldn't handle them, 3rd and 4th-class monsters were all the same to Rona.
She kept biting, slashing, and slashing again with her teeth. After about thirty minutes, she finally reached the center of the hive and came face to face with the final boss—the Queen Bee.
Tzztzzt
The Queen Bee was the size of an apartment building, its massive stinger aimed directly at her.
"2nd-class, huh…"
Normally, three A-rank hunters were needed to deal with a 2nd-class monster, but as an S-rank, Rona could handle it alone. The Queen Bee fired its stinger, but Rona casually caught the projectile moving faster than a jet.
"Just die already."
She hurled the captured stinger back at the Queen Bee. As the monster's attention shifted to dodge, Rona charged in and drove the stinger straight into its face.
[Kieeeek!!!]
With an incomprehensible shriek, she descended to the ground and cleaved the Queen Bee in half.
Thud!
The Queen Bee split cleanly as it crashed to the floor, and not a single monster remained in the vicinity.
"That was easier than expected."
Just as she turned to head back to Seong-a—
Tzztzzt!
"……!"
The sound of buzzing wings made her whirl around in shock. Dozens of Queen Bees now stood before her.
'There was more than one Queen Bee?!'
There was no time to be surprised. Her sword swung toward the new queens.
'…Stay calm. Nothing's changed.'
No matter how many 2nd-class monsters there were, they were still just trash mobs. She could do this. But the moment she took a fighting stance, her body suddenly felt heavy for some reason.
She quickly realized why.
Crack!
"Damn pheromones…!"
She couldn't see them, but she could feel them on her skin and through her sense of smell. The entire hive was saturated with all kinds of pheromones.
'…It's fine. I can do this.'
There was never any path of retreat to begin with. Rona fought on against the Queen Bees in the unfavorable environment.
While Rona ventured deep into the hive, I wandered around exploring.
"Hmm, I think I've seen everything now."
Inside the hive were things I'd never seen before—honey storage, larva storage, egg storage, and more. Checking the time, thirty minutes had already passed.
"She better not be late…"
"I have a curfew, remember."
Everyone seemed surprised by the mention of a curfew. Was this their first time seeing a house with one?
"Yeah, I am a middle school dropout."
Hmm, I wasn't sure how to explain this. I couldn't exactly say I was a Returnee.
"Just know that I had my reasons for dropping out. Oh, and for the record, I'm not a slut."
Sometimes after streams, I casually checked the cafe out of boredom, and weird posts kept popping up.
At first, I found it absurd, but I figured people were just messing around and didn't do anything about it. Then posts started claiming I must have some school violence controversy because I was a middle school dropout, and I couldn't take it anymore.
When I eventually decide on a fandom name, I'll make sure it's something they'll regret.
"I was a total loser and outcast in middle school. The delinquents used to put padlocks on my glasses, and now there's even school violence posts about me…"
Still, what kind of female streamer turns "slut" and "school violence" into memes? Seeing the viewers' reactions only strengthened my resolve to at least take the qualification exam.
'Hmm, I wonder what everyone thinks about university…'
Of course, I had no intention of going, but I was curious about their reactions.
"Everyone, what do you think about me going to university?"
"My mom asked if I should try going, so I figured I should hear your opinions too."
If I went to university, maybe I could finally escape this whole "slut" treatment.
"Probably, yeah?"
Balancing university assignments, club activities, and streaming would be physically impossible.
The mention of reduced stream time made them freak out. They really didn't want me going to university. One chat stood out among the rest.
"S University?"
Everyone seemed to agree that S University was the only acceptable option. If I got into S University, would the slut misunderstanding finally disappear?
'I'll think about that later…'
It was already 8:40 PM. Curfew was approaching fast.
'Did something go wrong?'
Didn't they say there were only 4th-class monsters? She'd been gone this long without returning, and I was starting to worry.
"…Everyone, I'm ending the stream for a bit."
Their permission didn't matter. I ended the stream and headed deep into the hive. The deeper I went, the more monster corpses there were, and the larger they became.
'Just how far does this go?'
"Haa… haa…!"
Deep inside, I spotted a familiar back and heard ragged breathing.
'Rona?'
The floor was piled with the corpses of Queen Bees—creatures that should have been unique. Rona's condition looked bad too. She seemed far more exhausted than usual. The reason was obvious.
'Is it the pheromones…?'
I couldn't see or feel them, but I knew. Bees were famous for using pheromones. Besides, there was no way Rona, who could transform into a dragon, would be this tired from fighting just a few Queen Bees.
'Hmm, should I help?'
She looked like she could manage without me if she pushed a little more. I debated whether to check her fortune.
"……"
No. Helping her now would only hinder her growth. I'll watch for now, and step in only if it looks like she'll die.
"Haa…!"
Her breathing grew rougher with each passing moment. The number of queens she'd slain had already exceeded three digits.
"Damn it…!"
Rona spat out a curse and drove her sword into the ground. The cursed pheromones were draining her stamina, making her body heavier. She wanted to use her breath, but the pheromones prevented it. Her transformation was gradually unraveling, and she no longer had the strength to fight.
'Body, please move…!'
But contrary to her will, her body refused to budge. The Queen Bees fired their stingers simultaneously. With her body frozen, she couldn't dodge.
'I didn't want to die like this…!'
She closed her eyes and waited for death.
"……?"
Something was wrong. Several seconds passed, yet she felt no pain. Confused, Rona cracked one eye open.
"……!"
When she opened her eye, countless talismans had formed a barrier around her, protecting her from the outside. A familiar figure stood with her back turned.
"Sis…?"
Rona, who understood nothing, was bewildered. How was she here?
"Sigh…"
Seong-a sighed as she looked at Rona.
"Let's finish this quickly and rest. I have a curfew."