NOVEL WEB Chapter 113
“Kyuu kyuu!”
“……”
“Kyuuu?”
“……”
Raciel remained silent and gazed at the fluffy creature that had suddenly appeared before him.
“It seems to resemble a banana kick.”
Or perhaps it resembled a fluffy baby seal. The black eyes gazing up at him appeared incredibly innocent.
“Kyuuu! Kyuuu!”
Wiggle Wiggle!
As their eyes locked, the creature appeared delighted and began to crawl toward him. Raciel cautiously backed away.
“It might be a trick.”
What if it gets too close? It might suddenly turn hostile and bite. Demian seemed to share the same concern.
“Should we incapacitate it?”
He reached for his sword. Just then,
“……Kukyuuu?”
The queen larva, which had been crawling enthusiastically towards them, suddenly stopped in its tracks. It looked up, tilting its head, its eyes now filled with sadness. Almost as if it were asking, ‘Are you going to harm me?’
‘Does it understand what I’m saying?’
With that thought,
“Kyuuu……?”
The larva tilted its head the other way, making its eyes even more sorrowful. It turned its body, exposing its side, and then rolled towards them suddenly!
“……Eh?”
Caught off guard, Raciel couldn’t react in time to the creature’s unexpectedly swift(?) movement. In an instant, it rolled over and presented its belly to Raciel’s feet. Then it stopped rolling and looked up.
“Kyuuuu!”
“……”
Still, its eyes remained innocently bright. It didn’t bite, or perhaps it had never intended to. Raciel spoke with a sense of relief.
“Can you understand me?”
“Kyuu?”
“You, can you comprehend what I’m saying?”
“Kyuuu!”
Nod Nod!
The larva vigorously nodded its head. Could it be true? Raciel tested it further.
“Right.”
“Kyuu!”
“Left.”
“Kyuuu!”
“……”
It was indeed true.
Amazed, Raciel stared at the larva with wide eyes. Whenever he said right or left, the creature would look in the correct direction. That reminded him of something from the “Devil Sword Emperor.”
‘Wasn’t it mentioned that Apfros queens and queen larvae can communicate with elves? Are they intelligent? Or do they possess some special empathic ability?’
Raciel scanned his surroundings. It was a cozy, spacious area where the queen would have resided. Now it lay in ruins. The fallen queen’s corpse was even worse.
At that moment,
“Kyuu?”
The larva, rubbing its head against his shin, did something miraculous. Raciel suddenly began to understand what the larva was conveying. It felt as if a real-time translator had been activated in his head. It was akin to conversing with a Phantom Beasts.
‘Is this some kind of advanced empathic ability?’
While contemplating, the larva continued to chirp.
“Kyuu? Kyuu?”
“……Um, so you’re saying your mother has been acting strangely?”
“Kyuu! Kyuu!”
“What? She’s been snoring ever since she fought that guy?”
“Kyuu!”
“……”
The larva pointed in a specific direction with a nod. Raciel followed its gaze and spotted a massive figure lying in the dark corner. It was a Vesparos soldier bee.
‘Impressive.’
The soldier bee was also lifeless, its body riddled with wounds that matched the size of the Apfros queen’s mandibles. Right in the center of its head, there was a hole about 5 cm in diameter, likely inflicted by the queen’s stinger.
“……”
He had a pretty good idea of what had transpired. The Apfros queen had engaged in a one-on-one battle with this monster. They had fought fiercely, inflicting wounds upon each other until their demise. Thanks to the queen’s valiant struggle, the larva had managed to survive.
The larva gazed up with its innocent eyes, unaware of the circumstances.
“Kyuu? Kyuuukyuu!”
“……Um, yes. So you hope your mother wakes up soon?”
“Kyuuukkyuu! Kyuu!”
“Because she won’t wake up, and you’re concerned?”
“Kyuukyuu!”
“……”
“Kukyuu?”
Still, those innocent eyes. Raciel hesitated for a moment, then forced a smile.
“Uh, well, your mother will wake up. Eventually. It’ll take some time.”
“Kyuu?”
“Yes, much later. Your mom had a tough battle with that big bad guy, so she’s very tired. She needs a lot of rest.”
“Kyuukyuuu?”
“Yes, indeed. Really.”
“Kukyuuu!”
“……”
He had to fabricate the truth. Seeing the queen larva’s pure joy at the thought that her mother was simply asleep, he couldn’t bring himself to say, “Your mother is deceased.”
‘Sigh.’
Was it acceptable to tell such a falsehood? For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt. But it was unavoidable.
‘There’s no other choice now. Since the Apfros group has been wiped out, this one will surely perish if left here. Besides, the reality is that I initially came here to capture this larva.’
In any case, the mission had been accomplished.
Although an unexpected event occurred with the Apfros nest being attacked by predators, he was still relieved that at least this larva had survived.
‘I made the right call by not fleeing earlier.’
He was truly relieved that he had defeated the Queen Vesparos. Otherwise, even this larva would have fallen into the clutches of the Vesparos group and become prey.
“So you should be grateful to me.”
“Kukyuuu?”
“Ever heard of a savior?”
“Kyuu?”
“If you haven’t, no worries. So, would you like to play with me?”
“Kyuuu?”
“Your mom is fast asleep. If we make noise here, she’ll wake up.”
“Kyuuuu?”
“So, let’s go play with me. What do you think?”
“Kukyuuuu!”
The larva nodded its head, energetically moving its short, chubby legs as it crawled into Raciel’s lap, snuggling tightly. It was even plumper and more fluffy than expected.
Soft and warm to the touch.
A refreshing alert chimed in Raciel’s ear.
Ding Dong!
[Your internal organs feel comforted by the warm touch.]
[Heart: Ah… so fluffy…]
[Lungs: Heh… hee…]
[Large Intestine: Guys, isn’t this the first time we’ve felt this cozy in a while? What should we name this fluffy one, Kuku?]
[Liver: Kuku sounds good. This larva is adorable, just look at its black eyes. This is pure bliss.]
The larva, Kuku(?), rested in his arms as they departed from the nest. He gently covered its eyes the entire way to shield it from the sight of its fallen kin and the devastated, once-cherished nest. Kuku murmured softly in his arms throughout the journey.
“Kukyuu? Kyuuu?”
“What? Remove my hand?”
“Kukyuuu!”
“No.”
“Kyuuu?”
“This is also part of the game.”
“Kyuu-yuuu?”
“I’ll keep your eyes covered, and you guess where we’re headed. How does that sound?”
“Kukyuu!”
“Let’s begin then?”
“Kyuuu!”
He left the nest quickly, still shielding Kuku’s eyes, and rejoined his companions outside. They hastened their steps, continued walking, and didn’t stop until the nest was entirely out of sight. They exited the forest.
Kuku fell asleep in his arms during the journey. He continued to shield its eyes.
Thus, it remained unaware that, after leaving the forest, a tribe had discovered the site of a forest fire and was genuinely outraged.
“How dare they set the forest on fire… It wasn’t like this in my time. Our peers couldn’t even fathom doing such a thing. These young humans these days…”
The Elf Ranger, who had lived for centuries, stamped the ground and began to passionately follow the trail left by Raciel and his companions.
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
The return trip to the camp of wounded soldiers proceeded smoothly. A day had passed since they left the forest, and they safely arrived at the camp.
“…Your Higgg-!”
“Shh.”
“…”
As soon as Gardin heard news of their return, he rushed out barefoot but froze when he noticed the stern gaze and realized his impending blunder.
“Ahem! Ah, have you returned, my lord?”
“Yes. Everything was fine at the camp, right?”
“Yes.”
“How are the wounded soldiers?”
“They’re resting. But, um…”
“What about this one?”
Gardin cast a glance at the larva in Raciel’s arms. He smiled at him and gently awakened Kuku.
“Kukyuuu?”
“……”
“…Kukyuuu?”
“We’ve arrived. This is the camp for wounded soldiers I mentioned.”
“Kukyuuu!”
Kuku lifted its head with enthusiasm, emerging from its slumber. Its eyes locked squarely with Gardin.
“…Kkyuu?”
“Huh?”
“Kkyuuu?”
“…”
“Kkukyuu!”
Kuku beamed from ear to ear, utterly delighted. Raciel spoke to the bewildered Gardin,
“Its name is Kuku. It’s a larva of Queen Apfros.”
“A Queen’s larva… you say?”
“Yes. It will be responsible for preventing and treating infections in wounded soldiers from now on. But the surprising thing is, that’s not all.”
“Really? What else…?”
“Is it heavy, Kozumi? You can put it down now.”
“Heh heh… Kkoooo!”
Raciel addressed the group from the rear. Just then,
Thump!
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground reverberated through the earth. Thanks to that, Gardin belatedly made a discovery.
“Huh?”
A colossal wasp lay sprawled out. A wasp the size of an elephant!
“That, that is…”
“It’s Queen Vesparos.”
“A Queen… wasp… you say?”
“Yes, I found it on our way here.”
“Found it? What do you plan to do with it…?”
“To make liquor.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Why waste such a thing.”
“…”
“Anyway, that’s not important right now.”
Raciel gave orders for Queen Vesparos’s carcass to be moved to the warehouse. Time was of the essence. The patients couldn’t wait, especially those injured on the battlefields.
Now was the time to put Kuku to work.
“So Kuku?”
“Kkyuu?”
“Don’t you feel uncomfortable?”
“Kkyuuu?”
“Aha, what I mean is, I heard that the substance you excrete can heal people.”
“Kkukyuuu?”
“Indeed.”
“Kkukkukyuuu?”
“Yes, truly.”
“…Kkyuuuku?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Just a bit of your excretion would be ideal.”
It worked.
He convinced him!
Raciel felt a surge of hope. However, he had to pause at Kkuku’s response.
“Kkukyuuu? Kku? Kyuuuu?”
“…What? You’re uncertain if I can use your excretion effectively?”
“Kyuuu! Kkukyuu!”
“Because that substance won’t work if used haphazardly? Plus, you can only produce it once a month, so it’s too valuable to be used carelessly?”
“Kkukyuuu!”
“Um, so you want to hear my plan for using your excretion first?”
“Kkukyuuu!”
“…”
Raciel gazed at Kuku. This creature wasn’t as straightforward as it appeared. Despite its cheerful demeanor, it seemed to have quite specific preferences.
‘Well, there’s nothing I can do about that.’
Raciel unveiled his plan.
“First, I’ll blend your excretion with traditional medicinal ingredients.”
“Kkuu?”
“In Oriental medicine, there’s an ointment called Zi Yun Gao (紫雲膏). It’s effective for burns and skin recovery. It also has some anti-inflammatory properties.”
“Kkyuuu?”
“I plan to mix your excretion into that to create a more potent ointment tailored for wound care. I intend to heal people with it.”
“Kkukkukyuuu?”
“The name of the ointment? Have I decided?”
“Kkukyuuu!”
“Of course, I’ve decided. Do you want to know?”
“Kkyuu!”
“Since Raciel created it, let’s keep it simple…”
“Kkyuuu?”
Kuku tilted its head.
Raciel smiled and said,
“Radekasol.”
(To be Continued)
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