Arcadia (6): The Tamed Killer Hornets

Is this what those legendary giant hornets I've only heard rumors about feel like? Every flap of their wings pierced my ears with that ominous buuuuzz.

I was tempted to just torch the whole swarm, but out of respect for King Makairodus's face, I'd hold back a little. From what I'd heard, beekeeping with these things was like their secret weapon. If I burned them up just because I didn't like them, wouldn't that be a huge nuisance?

"These are what others call Killer Hornets. Their tail stingers are coated in venom, and those scythe-like front legs can slice through skin like butter."

Killer Hornet. Murder hornet. A monster true to its name.

"They're sensitive to smells, so they get super aggressive if an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unfamiliar person approaches... but if they get used to your scent first, they won't attack right away. I'll go ahead."

With that, King Makairodus crouched low and approached the tent. Uh, wait. Does the king personally handle this dangerous stuff? No one else he could send instead?

I glanced around, and the guarding soldiers were letting out heavy sighs. Hmm... looks like this is routine for him.

"His movements look awfully practiced. He's boldly advancing even with those giant hornets buzzing threateningly around," the Hero noted.

Sure enough, King Makairodus strode toward the tent like it was no big deal—like he'd done this a hundred times. The hornets responded by extending their scythe-like front legs and tail stingers, entering full alert mode. Ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

That tension eased only after he stood near the tent for a bit and came back. The furious buzzing of their wings calmed down a notch.

"That's playing with fire. Even if he had nine lives, it'd be too few."

"Of course it is. We're dealing with inherently dangerous monsters here. It has to be risky."

A normal bee sting hurts a bit and that's it, but something that size... those mantis-like front legs would shred muscle to ribbons.

In that sense, this king was boldly reckless, like he had multiple lives to spare.

"Anyway, now that they've gotten my scent, they won't attack others first if they approach."

"Uh, do we really have to see them up close?"

This was plenty of sightseeing already.

"They look fierce, but they're actually pretty docile once you get to know them. They even migrate with us nomads."

"Bees doing nomadic life?"

Bees that build hives in one spot, going nomadic? Not abandoning their homes and fleeing, but actually migrating?

Based on what I knew, this sounded downright impossible.

"Well then, shall we go see Killer Queen?"

"The queen of the Killer Hornets, so Killer Queen, huh."

For a split second, my mind flashed to that mustachioed singer belting out hits and his pink cat-like freak, but whatever. Trivial stuff.

Ahem. Anyway.

"This way."

The king went to the tent entrance first, slowly lifting the flap and stepping inside. Then the Hero, then me, one by one.

And inside...

"Whoa..."

A massive wooden box, with Killer Hornets constantly flying in and out. Wait, no—look closer, there are wheels on the bottom.

What the—?

"So you don't haul it on a cart or anything."

"How would you load something this huge onto a cart? Just slap wheels on the house from the start."

Hm. Fair point. Without cranes or hoists, good luck getting that onto a wagon. Though a giant might manage it. If they didn't mind the swarming bees inside!

"Anyway, our hive kept growing and growing, so after much, we just added wheels to the house itself."

The dawn of the camper van, leaping across eras.

"Oh, right—this isn't the time."

The king approached the giant wooden box and tapped one corner with his finger. Tok tok.

"Trying to rile them up?"

"Not provoking—just calling the friend inside."

And as he said...

"Kiii..."

With a small chirp, a hornet twice the size of the others emerged. This must be Killer Queen. Hmm... but why no wings?

"Is that because she's the queen and wingless?"

"Huh? No, queens have normal wings. Just this one is like that."

The king examined the queen as she waved her antennae, sniffing him eagerly, then smiled.

"Good. She's looking healthy. Here."

He pulled something from the pouch at his waist and offered it to Killer Queen.

"What's that?"

"A cookie made from honey and flour. She loves these."

True to his word, Killer Queen was devouring the honey cookie like mad.

Hm... cookies made from the honey you steal from their hives. Sweet irony. Still, a symbiotic mutual aid society, I guess.

"So how the heck did you end up buddy-buddy with monsters like these?"

"Buddy-buddy, huh..."

I heard a short sigh from the Hero behind me, but ignored it. Ignore.

What I wanted to know was how he tamed monsters!

"Well... we got lucky."

"Lucky?"

I shot him a skeptical look.

"No, really—even if you look at me like that, it was pure luck."

By now, he'd gotten Killer Queen to perch on his hand. Hmm. Even if they're close, it's still a monster... is this really okay?

"It's been years now. We were grazing our livestock's fodder to the nub and preparing to move on, like always... that's when we met her."

King Makairodus's gaze turned nostalgic. Whoa, hold up—flashback scene denied! That's only for protagonists!

"Keep it brief. Super brief."

No dragging stories out. Time to cut and move on. Hm...? Cut what? I tilted my head slightly but couldn't figure it out. Whatever. Trivial.

"Briefly... hm. We found a Killer Queen with torn wings by chance, too weak to resist, so we took her home, locked her up, fed her tons of that white liquid stuff, and tamed her. Of course, before she was fully tamed, she was feisty—bit right through my finger."

He showed me the scar on his middle finger. Hey, don't just stick out your middle finger! Looks like you're flipping me off! Even if it doesn't mean that here!

"Anyway, after that, we helped her—wingless, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't properly build a nest—and in the end, we tamed her."

Uh... did he really tame a monster? How? Weren't most monsters feral because of darkness fragments? Was I wrong? Or is this a special case?

"Well, she's probably a special case... but weirdly, that temperament passed to her offspring too."

"Her offspring?"

"Yeah. Don't let her size fool you—she's spawned several new queens."

King Makairodus grinned like it was his own achievement.

"The new Killer Queens take after her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lot—they won't attack first unless provoked."

"Whoa..."

Isn't that successful selective breeding? Less aggressive bee-monsters.

"Still, their front legs and stingers are lethal. Especially the venom—if not properly antidoted, it's fatal within a day."

The king said it casually, but... that's insanely dangerous poison... Is this okay? For the king? Befriending venomous monsters?? Is it really fine???

The couple could fill their meals with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the underground fruit the dog had dug up. Steamed, it was delicious; roasted with butter, even better. An underground fruit with no issues as long as you avoided the poison in the sprouts.

The couple decided to call it a potato.

"Woof!"

"Thanks, good boy."

After that, the dog kept bringing things whenever it had the chance—sometimes tasty fruits, sometimes chunks of solid salt rock.

One day, the dog came back with something else in its mouth.

"Oh my, what's this now?"

"Kiiing..."

The dog had brought a giant hornet. It was a dangerous, venomous one, beaten to a pulp by people.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

The dog seemed to say it wanted to help this hornet.

"Puppy, this is a dangerous hornet. You still want to help it?"

"Woof!"

And so, the couple ended up helping the truly dangerous hornet.