Chapter 148: Chapter 148

Tyghak was hunched over and retching once more as the last stink bug fell. It was weird. He had been exposed to more of the stink clouds than he cared to count and yet, each one still smelled as bad as the first. His nose absolutely refused to get used to it even a little.

But as he was hunched over and gagging, he caught sight of something. Once he had gathered himself enough to move again, he walked over and crouched down, trying to ignore the smell of the rot cap all around him.

There was a small patch of black flowers with the faintest hint of purple at the edge of their petals, barely illuminated by the light crystal tied to the front of his clothes. They were short, shorter than the rot caps around them, which made them especially hard to spot as they blended with the shadows around them. If he hadn’t been hunched over, he never would have caught it.

He didn’t remember exactly what they were, but he did remember Juosiutik mentioning them, so he figured they were valuable. He nodded to himself and crouched down. He had hoped to hunt something a bit more substantial to offer to the Sacred Den Master, but stink bugs weren’t great for…well, anything. Besides, bees liked flowers, so maybe the Sacred Den Master would prefer this?

Tyghak gathered a bunch of the flowers, wrapped them up and stowed them, and then returned to the group. Metsaitti, with his face wrapped in a cloth doused in some sort of liquid, crossed his arms. His other companions were already there, the spearwoman nodding to Metsaitti.

“That’s the last of them…at least, it better be.”

“There’s never a last stink bug.”

They all groaned at that. Metsaitti turned to Noiggakuq.

Tyghak nodded as quickly as he could.

“Yes, I won’t even think of that anymore!”

The bee paused, and then danced slowly.

Tyghak froze and began to sweat.

“That’s…I mean…I won’t think of doing something like that ever!”

And honestly, he wouldn’t. He hadn’t been aware of how intelligent they were beforehand. Not that it would have made it right if they were just normal bees, but at the very least he knew now that they could understand his apology.

And then, to his surprise, the Sacred Den Master began to chuckle.

“That’s enough, I think he got the message, Niobee.”

The bee, Niobee, apparently, buzzed her wings but slowly fell back. The Sacred Den Master then turned to him.

“Um, apology…accepted? As long as you don’t hurt the bees. And, um, thanks for the flowers.”

Tyghak exhaled a sigh of relief and then nodded.

“Of course, Sacred Den Master. I’ll try to find something bigger on the next hunt.”

The Sacred Den Master smiled and shook his head.

With that, Tyghak took his leave. But just as he was about to step out of the Tower, the Shrine of Bees began to glow. Tyghak gasped as yellow light surrounded him and he was filled mana. It wasn’t a full blessing, but it did expand his reserves and strengthen his body slightly. He turned to the Shrine of Bees and bowed.

“Thank you. I’ll bring him back something good next time.”

The Shrine’s glow flashed bright and then vanished.

Belissar crossed his arms and hummed. He…didn’t really know what to think. No one had ever apologized to him before!

“I’m sorry, Belissar…”

He pushed aside the memories of his parents and Mrs. Imkomos on their death beds. That was…a different situation altogether.

Come to think of it, Juosiutik also apologized to him after the flame radish incident, but that had been an accident. This was the first time someone had apologized to him for something they had done intentionally.

Which…was strange. In Belissar’s experience, no one who had ever treated him poorly had ever apologized for said behavior. So, Belissar had no idea how to react. Nor did he know if he should believe the karnuq. He had never considered a person like that changing their behaviour.

But then he glanced down at the flowers in his hand and back up at Niobee. He took a deep breath. The karnuq had apologized to the bees, and Niobee was going to keep him in line. And he had done something nice for both Belissar and the bees. So…maybe he wasn’t all bad?

Only time would tell.

In the meantime, though, Belissar was not going to refuse the free flowers.

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Sufficient samples gathered. Underworld Phlox now available

Current Applications: Flower Meadow* (*=Near compatible features only)