kscans

Chapter 14 - The Bees and the Kobito-san

"Is it not heavy?"

"I'm fine."

On the shoulder of the Kobito-san, who was walking alongside Dolphen, was a single honeybee. It was the smallest of Merda's children, about the size of a newborn, and it clung tightly to Chihiro, its wings occasionally buzzing, bu bu bu.

Feeling that the humans were unreliable after the recent incident, Merda had stationed her children all over the castle and had wrestled permission for it from His Majesty the King. She had insisted on assigning a guard bee to Chihiro as well, and respecting her wish that a large one would be a problem, she had assigned the smallest one.

Though its form was large, it was a honeybee. With its big eyes and fluffy torso. It goes without saying that the Kobito-san was overwhelmed by its adorable appearance.

"It seems like things were pretty intense back then. Not that I would know."

"...They were intense. I would rather not recall it."

With a distant look in his eyes, Dolphen watched a honeybee circling overhead.

Apparently, on that day, Queen Merda had flown to the royal palace with about a hundred of her children in tow.

An innumerable swarm of honeybees taking flight from the forest.

As they headed straight for the royal palace, the castle town was thrown into a major panic. There was not a single citizen who did not know of their terrifying legend. Wondering if the royal palace had done something to incur their wrath, the town was in an uproar. Furthermore, the honeybees that arrived flew all over the royal palace in search of the Kobito-san, causing people to scream and run, knights to stand frozen, unable to do anything, and ladies to faint and lose consciousness. And so on, their rampage had unleashed a storm of wailing and shrieking.

Just imagining it brought a lukewarm smile to Chihiro's face.

Ah. I kind of expected that, which is why I refused Merda's offer to deliver the honey. I guess it was pointless.

As a result, there were now many honeybees around the Kobito-san.

What she had feared had become a reality, but it all worked out in the end. Chihiro had received permission to leave the castle grounds as long as Dolphen and the guard bee were with her. It was a windfall.

"In a way, they are the strongest guards. We cannot say no. It is a thousand times better than having you sneak out on your own."

Romel's face was a mask of utter bitterness, a forced smile plastered on his lips.

Aah, I'm so sorry.

Sensing his hardship, the Kobito-san apologized only in her heart, as saying it out loud would likely earn her an unnecessary lecture. A wise decision.

And so, the Dwarf-san brand honey delivery service now came from time to time.

It began to be supplied to the royal palace as well, and with the Kobito-san releasing the recipe, the matter with the first consort was settled. All she wanted was to be able to eat sweet confections freely, and as long as she could get them, she didn't seem to care about the details.

The queen, too, had been told of the Kobito-san's circumstances after the incident, and a gift arrived with a card, saying how sorry she was. The fact that the contents were high-quality silk and a large amount of embroidery thread made Chihiro give a wry smile, but that too was a charming detail.

And so, normalcy returned to the royal palace, but the real story began here.

The Dwarf-san brand honey delivery service.

It began to be delivered directly to the orphanage as well, and this set in motion those with ill intentions.

"I am telling you to donate the honey. It is too fine a thing for an orphanage."

"I refuse. This was entrusted to us by the baron's daughter. It is not something that should be handled without her say."

The two men glared at each other across a crude wooden table.

One was the well-known orphanage director, Balbes. He stared at his opponent with a grim expression. The other was a man clad in the robes of a priest. He was a disagreeable-looking man, ostentatiously dressed in high-quality garments and lavish ornaments.

The man's name was Scalpis. He was a bishop who served as the director of the church's orphanage. He took a sip of the tea that was served and grimaced slightly.

"Why don't you pay a little more attention to your tea leaves? You have the money, do you not?"

"An ordinary life is sufficient. Excessive luxury warps the children."

The Dwarf-san brand sweets had brought great prosperity to the orphanage. The building had been rebuilt with sturdy stone and brick, and they had been able to hire teachers to educate the children. The orphanage itself had been improved, but Balbes's own life had not changed much. He was still using the same furniture and fixtures as before.

However, the children's lives had changed dramatically.

The poverty that had forced them to pinch every penny was gone, and they were now given sufficient food. Their clothes, while still remade from donated second-hand garments, were now made with better thread and fabric, so they could be tailored more beautifully than before. They even had fine outfits for special occasions, tailored for each age group.

An ordinary life, finally within reach.

The man before him probably did not know the reality of the orphanage before this. What Scalpis saw as crude tea leaves were, to Balbes, several ranks higher than what they used to have.

"In any case, I cannot give you the honey on my own authority."

Scalpis glared at the resolute Balbes with a resentful look.

Cutting the conversation short, Scalpis was shown out. As he left, he glanced at the sales area next to the orphanage. There, an array of sweets was lined up, and cheerful children were acting as vendors. The children, their faces beaming with smiles as they moved about briskly, only irritated him further, and he directed a look of hatred at the sales area.

He had insisted to Balbes that the church should be running that as well, but he had been flatly rejected. Balbes, saying it was no secret, had given Scalpis the recipe for the sweets. However, the key to that recipe was a large amount of honey. Knowing the recipe was useless if he couldn't make the same thing.

He had also gone directly to the baron's residence to make a request, but he had been turned away at the gate there as well. He was scornfully told that the church, with its abundant contributions and donations, had no need for it.

On display in the sales area was a sign indicating it was by appointment to the royal family.

A status symbol of the privileged class, a divine plaque rarely seen even in the high-end shops near the noble district.

It was unthinkable for a poor orphanage to possess such a thing.

It was a matter of the church's prestige. In fact, donations to the church's orphanage had been visibly decreasing.

...I must do something.

A dark light dwelled in Scalpis's eyes.

"Uwaaah!"

"H-help!"

"Hieeee!"

In the middle of the night, screams suddenly echoed through the orphanage.

Balbes, drawn by the sound of several deep screams, looked up at the heavens at the disastrous scene before him. Near the kitchen entrance of the orphanage, three men were rolling on the ground, screaming.

Swarming over them were giant honeybees.

With their sharp stingers, they cut, they stabbed, they bit. The men, who had apparently snuck in, were covered in blood and in tatters.

Though taken aback, the image of the disagreeable bishop who had visited yesterday floated in Balbes's mind.

I thought he might pull something... but to resort to such direct action, is he a fool?

The honeybees hovered, their wings buzzing sharply in a threatening manner.

Before them, the blood-soaked men huddled together, frozen with terror.

It was a chaotic situation just to look at.

Staring at the scene with a dry smile, the director told Zack to go and fetch the soldiers. Then he glared down at the men with contempt.

The young lady must have anticipated this.

He had been truly surprised when the Kobito-san had arrived with these honeybees a while ago. But now he understood. The honeybees were calm and gentle, and they quickly became friends with the children. Watching the children play innocently, the Kobito-san had prefaced her words by saying she hoped it wouldn't happen, and then explained a situation just like this.

"There are good-for-nothing people in the world, you know. It's better to be careful. And the bees seem to be having fun, too."

The honeybees, happily frolicking with the children.

They had been stationed to guard the orphanage, and they had done their job perfectly. Perhaps even too well.

The pitiful thieves were handed over to the soldiers, and the orphanage returned to sleep. Above the eaves of each entrance, a fluffy nightmare slumbered.

It was sometime after the incident that he heard that the thieves, interrogated by the soldiers, had confessed everything out of terror, and that the culprit, Scalpis, had been kicked out of the capital's church and sent to a strict monastery in a remote region.

It is a side story that a while later, the Kobito-san, having learned of this, was seen being carried to the orphanage by the honeybees, wrapped in something like a stork's bundle. And beneath them, Dolphen's horse was said to be galloping at full speed, its rider's face a mask of desperation.

Chihiro had wanted the bees to carry a swing for her, like in a certain spirit anime, but it hadn't worked out well, so as a last resort, she had them carry a giant drawstring bag she had made.

"It's the center of gravity, you know. With my toddler body, my head is heavy, so if I'm not careful, I'll flip over."

"Let's not do this, it's scary."

"I'll give you a ride too, Zack."

"No, thank you!!"

A giant drawstring bag flying around the royal palace.

For now, everyone who saw it screamed, but it would not be long before this became a part of daily life.

Dolphen and the people of the royal palace could not keep up with the jet-setting Kobito-san.

She succeeds in guarding the orphanage, fails at making a swing, and every day brings something new, but...

The Kobito-san is doing great today.