Ch.95 Honey-san's Story. Bottle 3

Stepping out of the cave, I find myself in the middle of a forest. The scenery isn't much different from the place I had been searching in earlier.

Looking back, I could see that hazy mist behind me. Surely the fairy town must be here after all.

"...Pi!?"

The moment I turned to face forward with that thought, I felt a small impact on my head. I put both hands to my head and felt something sticky and gooey on my palms, and then I stepped back in a defensive position.

Immediately afterward, something fell with a thud right where I had been standing.

"W-what... what is this?"

What I see, lying in the grass in front of me, is some yellowish viscous water. It doesn't seem as light as water, as it's sticking to a leave's surface.

What's distinctive is its scent. It emitted a sweet smell reminiscent of thick, viscous liquids.

The thing that fell on my head was the same, I think...? To confirm, I tried to move both hands away from my head, and my hair lifted up with them. It only lasted a moment before it came off, but it was exactly as I had imagined.

When I bring both hands in front of me, the sweet scent emanating from my palms is, as expected, a familiar one.

Based on the phenomenon, smell, and feel described earlier, the identity of the sticky substance clinging to the grass and hair can be deduced as follows...

"There's no doubt about it. This is honey."

I tried using phrases like "it was deduced," but it sounds kind of pretentious and cringeworthy... As I look up, I see a large beehive about 5 meters up in a thick tree.

"Wow...it's huge..."

It's so huge I become speechless.

Honey must have been dripping from that beehive. It looks like it's about to drip again...oh, it's dripping.

Wait, are beehives really that big? Do they even get that big?

As I was thinking about that, I heard an eerie sound coming from all around.

"GigIggigigigi."

I turn my head towards the source of the noise, wondering what's going on, and there they are.

"Those bees are huge... I should run away... but wait, it's a bee from fairy mountain, so maybe they're friendly...?"

When you think of beehives and honey, you naturally think of bees. If the beehive is big, then naturally the bees are big too.

Bees, some appearing to be a meter long, emerge from the shadows of trees here and there, their numbers increasing.

"Giggigigigigi."

A sinister, heavy buzzing sound can be heard from them.

If I turn around, there are bees, bees, bees within about a meter's distance. They're positioned in front of the cave I used to get here.

While I was distracted by the bees that appeared in front of me, I had lost my escape route, as if to say, "We won't let you get away."

"H-hey, why are you surrounding me...? Did I do something to you...?"

I'm terrified as I'm being surrounded, even though I hadn't done anything, and I'm shivering uncontrollably.

I tentatively asked them if communication is possible since they are coexisting with the fairies, but the bees continue to buzz, increasing in number and approaching.

"Wait, wait. I have no intention of attacking you or doing anything to you. I just want to go to the fairy town."

It seemed like it wasn't getting through, as they pointed the stinger on their tail towards me and their buzzing grew heavier.

The way they're slowly approaching is a sign of contempt. And it's the very essence of the strength showing confidence to the weak.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Grim Reaper, who is said to appear at the moment of death, suddenly popped out from behind that tree.

The opponent is on the offensive.

Their weapon is their own needle, and I have no weapons.

I had never encountered any monsters or anything like that when I entered Fairy Mountain before, so I figured it would be fine this time too, and I didn't bring any knives or other sharp objects.

I haven't even bought one, so I don't actually own any weapons to begin with.

My usual companion on adventures is a wooden stick. It's just an ordinary branch I find lying around, but right now it's not in my hand.

I dropped it somewhere, so I was trying to find a replacement after leaving the cave, which led to this situation.

This is a forest. A place with lots of trees.

There are lots of wooden sticks lying around, but it's dangerous to look closely to pick them up, and it's also dangerous to stretch out my arms to reach out and pick them up.

Weapons are extremely difficult to obtain at the current moment.

I don't know why they're so angry, but if I don't run, I'll be killed. They're not friendly at all.

I want to escape by going back the way I came and exiting through the cave behind me, but the bees' bodies are blocking the way and there's no gap to get through.

In other words, the only escape route is the forest straight ahead. There are bees here too, but the density is lower than behind.

It's scary. My heart is pounding more violently than usual.

But I won't despair. I'm in the forest, so there are lots of trees, and if I crouch down, the grass will hide me.

It's okay. I can picture how to cover myself properly. I'll just hide somewhere and wait it out.

I trusted myself and stepped forward... Prick.

"Hii?!"

I ran while feeling a small impact on my head.

The pain from the incoming attacks must be much worse than this. I move my legs and reach my head to check. The hair I touch feels sticky and slimy again. This is honey.

"Gigigigigi!"

When I bring my hands forward, there's no red color. I was relieved for a moment that it wasn't bleeding from that attack, but then I heard something even more terrifying from behind.

"Hiiiiiiiii!"

I run desperately to avoid being caught. I run no matter what because I don't want to die. I keep moving my feet forward.

Turn left at the tree diagonally ahead on my left, go straight, turn right at the tree on your right, turn left at the tree on my left, go straight, turn right at the tree diagonally ahead on my right, turn left at the tree on my left, go straight, go straight...

I changed course, ran between the trees, and once I had a certain distance, I turned left and slid into the grass with a diving motion.

Luckily, the bees seem to have lost sight of me, as the buzzing sounds I can hear arw coming from a distance and are moving further away.

Once the sounds completely disappeared, I crawl to a nearby tree and leaned against it.

Then, I take a breather and rest, thinking about why the bees suddenly appeared and went on the offensive, and why their anger intensified midway through.

All I can remember is what happened just before: honey falling on my head, and me touching it to see what it was.

Both of them started with honey.

"...Haa...haa...Does... Does thar mean... They thought it was stolen...?"

That's the answer I came up with.

Did the bees see the moment the honey fell onto my head? Did they see the moment I put my hand to my head to check? Or did they see the moment the honey got on my hand?

If that were the case, perhaps those bees mistakenly thought that their hard-earned honey had been stolen.

That's why they're chasing after me in anger and attacking me. That's what I thought.

"I don't want to be killed by mistake. I need to get out of here quickly, or get into the fairy town... Hmm?"

"Huh?" "Oh?"

Just as I had caught my breath and gathered my thoughts, I made eye contact with a creature that popped out from behind a tree.

Two tiny beings, about 15 cm long, with translucent wings, purple hair, and eyes.

"A thief!"

"Intruder!"

"Hey, be quiet! ...Whoa, they're here!?"

"Gigigigigigi!"

The bees, reacting to the scream, are heading towards us.

"No, no! Please explain to them, that I'm not intruders... Where did the fairies go?!"

I quickly stand up to get away, and while looking at the bee, I tried to get the fairy to explain, but there was no reply.

That's right, it's pointless unless I explain it to the fairies too, so I turn in that direction, but the being that had been there just moments before is nowhere to be seen.

"Why do I have to go through this?!"

I almost fell, but I kept running.

"Gigigigigigi!"

"Ahhh! Don't come any closer! Nooooo!"

A short break helped me recover a little energy, but my legs are still tired. I'm about to reach my limit.

"I didn't steal any honey!!"

Wait, did I steal it? I just picked up some honey that had dripped onto my head, but I guess to the bees, touching it meant I was out of luck?

It happened unexpectedly and was unavoidable, but is that still unacceptable?

"The judgment of whether it was stolen or not is way too strict!! I don't care anymore!"

"Gigigigi! Gigigigigi!!"

"All I did was stealing some honey! You damn bastard!"

One fool confesses to stealing something she didn't steal.

Yes, it's me.

I don't care anymore. They won't listen to me even when I say I didn't steal anything.

It's also possible that they can actually hear it but are ignoring it.

But their attitude is such that they're ready to kill me, as if to say there's no point in making excuses. No matter how much the other person tries to explain themselves, it doesn't matter to them.

It seemed as though they accepted only what they saw with their own eyes, and acted accordingly.

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〘Title: Weeder〙

This title can be earned by spending one hour each day for a total of ten days continuously pulling up weeds growing around an area.

When acquired, it will provide more information when appraising items in the grass category.

(Example) In the case of medicinal herbs, factors such as the diameter and weight of the leaves, or which part of the herb is used, tend to increase the rarity of the potion.

The effect activates even if it is not set.

〘Job: Beginner Weeder〙

Primary job. People who weed or pull weeds in gardens, fields, etc.

The act of cutting or pulling grass will receive a bonus, and if you are using your bare hands or holding a grass-removing tool, their attack power increases.

All that's needed is some grass to be removed, so if you pull up some grass and put it in the opponent's mouth, they'll consider it something to be cut or plucked.

Weeds are not the only thing that you can pluck.

When set as the main job, it provides a slight bonus to STR, VIT, and DEX.

Employment requirements:

① Must have acquired the title "Weeder".

② Must have the title "Weeder" set at least once.

〘Job: Apprentice Idler〙

Primary job. A job you can get by spending a week doing nothing but sleeping, eating, and bathing, just relaxing and lounging around.

A person who simply lives aimlessly, gazing at the sky, stretching out their arms and legs to bask in the sun, or doing nothing at all.

Reading, watching TV, or talking to someone are all off-limits. Since you're not just spacing out, it's considered that you've done something, and your job acquisition count for idler would resets to zero.

When set as the main job, it provides a slight bonus to HP, MP, and LUK.

Employment requirements: Spend one week doing nothing but sleeping, eating, and bathing.

〘Skill: Apathy〙

A job skill for Idler.

Select one target and activate by pointing your finger at them.

The target of the skill will be inflicted with lethargic for 30 minutes.

This refers to a state where motivation and interest decline, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm for anything and an inability to find the energy to do anything.

Cooldown: 24 hours

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