“..Beef stew? Licht, you can cook too?”
“Oh, this is delicious. Helmet!”
A while later, I fed the warrior couple a meal made from the monsters we caught. Gotta eat before we can work, right?
“One more bowl.”
“Such a big eater… here you go.”
Just a huge mix of whatever was around, boiled into a meat stew.
I thought of someone for the first time in a while and gave it a shot; surprisingly, it turned out pretty successful. Must be because of my long experience cooking for myself in reality.
‘The group project ends tonight.’
As I served another ladle of stew to the knight, I planned. Was the Crown Prince really this much of a glutton? Our Saintess eats quite a bit too, but still…
“So, we’re going to hunt a six-star monster? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“If they aren’t dangerous monsters, then it’s fine.”
As soon as the knight got a fresh bowl of stew, I chuckled watching Mardol cover his face with a glass while eating. No one’s going to take his food, so why eat so slowly? Good thing he can’t see me laughing with the helmet on.
At that moment, the blonde warrior raised an eyebrow at me.
“Shadow Wolf is a five-star, right?”
“You can’t judge everything by the number of stars, Kainel.”
Sure, if you didn’t know the information, it wasn’t a weak monster, but…
“..That’s what strategies are for. It’ll be easy.”
That’s right. In the actual game, there were monsters with tough armor that were difficult for knights to face. Some patterns go berserk, and some players would avoid four-star quests because they’re annoying.
“So, what exactly is the monster?”
“Remember the Armored Bees? We’re going to catch their queen.”
A large number and a high star rating. I looked at Mardol and Ariel.
“The queen bee? The Armored Queen Bee?”
“Correct, Lady Ariel.”
With a sorceress of flames and seeing Mardol’s swordsmanship this morning, I thought we could probably pull it off. Nodding, I began explaining to the others.
There wasn’t even anything to poke at its weak points.
“Our first goal is to break the beehive.”
“..Is that all?”
“Is that all? Armored Bees are normally meant to be dealt with using magic, and among them, the queen…”
“Is a pain to deal with.”
Because it carries a beehive made of steel on its back. Wherever the queen is, it’s safe to say that’s the Armored Bees’ habitat. Plus, you need to know how to deal with them to be comfortable.
“As Mardol said, Armored Bees have physical resistance, and the queen has magical resistance.”
“So, if Ariel handles the minions, you and I…”
“Really glad we’re on the same wavelength, Kainel. But it’s slightly different.”
“What’s different?”
In the game, it was tough when we only tried using sword techniques to avoid spoilers. The queen wouldn’t step out of the minion protection line, and the Armored Bees were hard to cut through with swords.
“Mardol and I, along with Kainel and Lady Ariel, will be in one party. If there’s any gap, it could be dangerous, and we need to accumulate teamwork points too.”
“Are you thinking of both magical and physical resistance…? But is Mardol a magician?”
Just in case of any unforeseen circumstances, we had to pair magic and swordsmanship together.
“Actually a magic swordsman.”
“Licht’s right.”
“Honestly, it would be weird if he wasn’t with that armor! Mardol!”
I had seen Mardol’s glass magic before, but the warrior couple hadn’t. It made sense. Kainel looked like he understood.
“Anyway, we’ll lure her with something sweet. Since they produce honey, we can attract them with something other than flowers… huh?”
I rummaged through my pockets but felt nothing.
‘Where did I put those candies?’
Ah, I’m out of candy right now. I had completely forgotten about the ones I handed to Kainel at the cart. I was despaired at the fact that I had forgotten such a simple thing and slapped my palm against the helmet’s forehead.
“Here. Candy.”
“Mardol?”
At that moment, a golden candy was handed to me. Thank you, Crown Prince! You really are a good person. This is totally my fault. I should always carry the portion for the Saintess.
“..Thank you, Mardol.”
Looking at Mardol, who outshone me in this aspect too, I felt a bit envious. Whether he knew it or not, he munched on his remaining candy, making a munch sound while in his heavy armor.
“..My pleasure.”
His pronunciation was off. Mardol. It sounded buzzing as it echoed inside the glass helmet.
“If I melt this…”
The crushed candy placed on the ladle transformed into caramel the moment it hit the fire, turning into thick brown goo. It felt like making sweet toffee.
“Lady Ariel, you can use the skill called ‘Fire Blossom,’ right?”
“Ah, yes! Of course, I can! It’s basic magic, Helmet!”
Look who’s talking; I can’t even do that. Soon, she conjured a flower made of flames. Since it resembled lavender, could it be that it reflected her hometown?
“Lavrance Village comes to mind.”
“Yeah, Ariel. Did you think of our village with this?”
“Hehe.. of course, Kai!”
Seeing the golden-haired knight notice this, I felt slightly relieved. You’ve really gotten sharp. I nodded slightly. The red twin-braided elf smiled at him.
‘At this rate, if I step back, they might end up lovey-dovey in five years at the point of [Night Heart]?’
The tsundere definitely takes time. I think that if you do something nice and she falls in love, it would ruin her character.
“I’ll use this shape as a mold, Mardol. I’ll count on you.”
“Okay, got it. Licht.”
Then, a glass mold shaped like the lavender was created. Immediately, I poured the melted candy in to shape it like a flower.
“Thank you. I think this finishes our preparations.”
“I see, so what’s the plan?”
I seemed to have succeeded in combining items. Since it was a candy flower made of earth and fire attributes, other monsters wouldn’t accidentally touch it while approaching.
“..We’ll steal the royal jelly.”
Even if it’s six-star, these guys are easy enough to hunt repeatedly if you know the strategy. I felt the sensation of playing a game after a long time.
“Oh, the bees are here. Helmet!”
Our party was waiting from a distance for the monsters to fall into the trap, unlike yesterday. How long has it been since?
Whirring.
“They’re coming right away.”
“Sugar is sweeter than the nectar of natural plants, after all, Kainel.”
Bees armored like Mardol were gathering around the sugar flower. Each one was small but clad in steel armor—Armored Bees.
“..But where’s the queen?”
“She should come out if we follow those bees. Mardol.”
Thinking back, when would I get armor? The items I used before were really comfortable, but unlike the knight, I was just a black knight claiming to wear a helmet, and it felt sad.
“..Ah, I’ll just slice them apart.”
“Let’s follow them stealthily. They have a bit of an aggressive nature.”
I slowly tracked the worker bees flying in a line toward one spot.
What came out was a giant bee carrying a steel hive on its back. Unlike the worker bees, its boss-like presence felt massive and fierce.
“Armored Queen Bee.”
“..It’s bigger than I expected. Is that a beehive on its back?”
Kainel pointed at something. That place was called ‘Iron Hive.’ A lengthy narrative in strategies and settings.
Destroying that part had the highest likelihood of obtaining precious items like royal jelly.
“To get the royal jelly, we need to target the beehive. We should aim for that tougher part before taking down the boss.”
Among players, this was commonly referred to as a coveted item. If we grab this, we’d surely score high.
“The queen might sting or charge at us. We have no antidote right now, so let’s be careful.”
Unlike Armored Bees, it was noted that Queen Bees sometimes feed on meat to maintain their size. We had to avoid getting poisoned for sure.
“Then… how will the first attack be? Helmet?”
“..Of course, you two should use a combination move.”
“Ah, right…”
The moment I said that, Kainel nodded toward the magician as if he agreed. Ariel’s cheeks were flushed quite a bit.
Hic. Hic.
She started hiccupping a little, unable to contain herself. Is back-hugging that embarrassing? Ah, thinking about my own Saintess makes me feel a bit shy too.
Now that it’s been brought up, I totally get it.
“Please hold on for a little. Once you clear the way, I and Mardol will rush in using Wolf Fang.”
“Together, combination move.”
This isn’t a combination move, Rufus. I shook my head at the knight who had fallen into his fantasies. A combination move requires combining both their affinities.
“..What do we call the combination move..? Ariel?”
Hic, I don’t know… how about ‘Shine Fireworks,’ Kai…
“What? You’re mixing it with me being the Light Hero or something?!”
“..Yeah.”
The warrior couple got ready to use their combination move while Mardol and I discussed our sword techniques to figure out how to deliver effective hits on the queen bee.
“I’ll inflict maximum damage on the beehive with Void Slash. We need to keep the formation disrupted as much as possible with Granxia-style swordsmanship.”
“What should I use?”
“About level two ‘Howling Wind’ would be good. It should be able to knock out worker bees.”
“..How do you know, Licht?”
It seems I aroused some suspicion with my knowledge again, making the conversation linger. I could see golden wolf eyes shrouded in the helmet. Speechlessly, it felt like anything I said could backfire.
“For a knight, knowing the empire’s sword techniques is essential.”
I had fallen into their trap, so I just decided to be honest. When I casually gave my answer, he nodded as if to dismiss his doubts.
“I see.”
I felt like I might have planted a flag, but surely I won’t get stuck underground in some royal dungeon becoming a future knowledge dispenser or anything, right? With old man Nex around, I’m sure it’s fine.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
Forcefully ignoring my uneasy feelings, I embarked on the strategy to take down the Armored Queen Bee.
*
‘Why on earth does that guy always wear a helmet…?’
Pina Grancia was organizing her thoughts inside her glass armor. At first, she thought he wore it to hide his identity, or to guard against anyone who was cautious of him.
‘Licht is strong but clumsy…’
Her sharp eyes began to make sense of his demeanor, and she realized she had more than one question.
Just a moment ago, he had fallen into another trap while trying to beat around the bush, and looking back, he hadn’t shown his face while eating stew either.
‘He was looking rough yesterday, but he sure is strong.’
Her white wolf ears twitched with curiosity. She hated losing and had few people who could beat her.
Because of that, this change felt remarkably fresh.
‘But why does he look so lively today…?’
The sight of Licht using Void Slash to literally grind the monsters to dust evoked admiration in her.
‘Unique and strong.’
Her golden eyes regained a bit of spark as she watched the man in the black knight helmet.
‘..He shouldn’t be a problem if I fought him.’
With an exhilarating expectation that she could strengthen herself further in the upcoming class exams, her tail swayed and fluttered inside her armor.
