Chapter 80: Chapter 80

An embarrassed Juosiutik returned a bit later, shuffling into the Tower as she realized she had left Belissar and all of her gear behind without a word. But she also returned with a small clay pot with a bunch of fire radishes.

“Um, hi. S-Sorry about that, I, um, got a bit excited. I-I got permission from the chief, though! I can trade this for some of the honey!”

Belissar smiled and was about to agree when he had a thought and tilted his head.

“Wait, I thought Chief Rohsuak said you didn’t have anything worth trading for my stuff?”

“She mentioned that and, well, she’s right. Fire radishes are useful for starting fires and a bit of potion making, but that’s pretty much it. You, um, definitely can’t eat them and now that we have access to firewood we won’t need them as much. Mana flowers are way more useful and can do all sorts of things in the right hands. And mana honey...well I’ve never dealt with it before but if you can eat it safely that alone would make it incredible. It’s practically a potion on its own, and who knows what we might be able to do with it. But, um, if you’re ok with it and really want the fire radishes, maybe it’s ok? If you want, you could count it as part of the payment for the teaching?”

Belissar blinked, and then started to rub his chin. This was...weird. He’d always had people telling him how crappy his stuff was and how it was barely worth what they were giving him in exchange. He still wasn't used to people telling him his stuff was too valuable, so he didn’t really know how to address the situation. Eventually he shrugged.

Well, they weren’t going to deceive him by telling him his stuff was too valuable, right? Besides, he already knew the fire radishes would be useful and he had mana honey trays galore thanks to the Apiary, so as far as he was concerned it was a valuable trade. Heck, he still had another room slot so he could always add a second Apiary if he felt he needed more.

So, he nodded his head.

But apparently it did. He guessed the rest of the flame radish must grow above ground and make flowers? He shrugged again.

“Guess we’ll find out!”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Not only were the fire roots useful in and of themselves, but if they had flowers too...then that meant his bees could gather from them as well! All in all, he didn’t really know what Chief Rohsuak was talking about. In his opinion, this was an excellent trade!

But first, he figured he should carefully store the pot with the remaining two fire radishes somewhere nice, safe, non-flammable, and far away from any mana honey...

Belissar ended up putting the pot in the Apiary campfire pit. It was surrounded by dirt and far from any hives, so it was the safest place for something that could combust. He figured, as well, that he wouldn’t need to start fires there specifically, both due to having flame radishes now as well as the fact that the Apiary was now far away from where the fires would be needed.

And just in time, as the cooldown on the minor purification was just coming to an end. Belissar had informed the bees of the fast cooldown yesterday and the soldier bee army was already getting ready. Belissar considered using the flame radishes now. He grabbed his knife and took out one the remaining radishes, cutting off a small piece. He then walked to the nearest fire pit that was set up with honey and kindling and tossed the piece inside...and ran away the moment he did.

But, contrary to his expectations, there was not a gigantic spout of flame from the pit, just a bit of smoke that gradually increased. He started creeping towards it before remembering his Tower sight and took a look from a safe distance.

The flame radish piece had caught fire and was lighting the rest of the pit’s fuel, but not as dramatically as Juosiutik’s pot. Belissar rubbed his chin at that.

Maybe it was because the honey in the potion had come directly from his mana? Or maybe it was the age of the mana honey, this pit had been set up a while ago. Did mana honey lose its mana overtime? That...was actually something he should figure out.

In any case, he had confirmed the flame radish would light the pits about as well as a torch, though not as dramatically as he had expected. He considered trying it out sometime...but he wasn’t sure if it was safest for the bees to carry. It seemed safe enough for him to handle, but maybe he should make some sort of bag for them to carry it instead? That would take time though. He shrugged and figured he would use the regular method today, and experiment when he had more time.

There had already been one accidental fire today, after all, and he had recently become aware of just how flammable his Tower might be...

The First of the Second lined up her forces, utilizing the same formation as the Firstborn had the day before. She was swaying in the air, moving this way and that. One part of the reserve formation seemed a little low, so she ordered them to gain altitude. Another part was too far forward, so she pulled them back. But then they flew too far back and she had to send them forward again. She spent the next half hour making constant minor adjustments to the formation.

She couldn’t help it. This was her first time facing a foe directly and she had not been confident in taking command in the first place. And now, there was no more time to prepare.

The enemy had arrived.

She trembled in the air. The enemy appeared far larger and more vicious than she remembered. But she gave the command. She knew that her army and the armies of her fellow queens had dealt with such foes before, and with ease. It was only she who was unprepared for this.

Despite her misgivings, her soldiers immediately leapt into action, executing her plan. A squad of her bees dove down and stung the shade, catching its attention, and then slowly flew away from it. It chased after them and then fell right into the first pit trap.

She had kept things simple and proceeded with one of the older plans. She did not feel ready to command the battle directly as the Firstborn had. Her hive, and all the hives of the Flower Meadow, had taken casualties recently. They had recovered, but it had taken a notable expenditure of their honey reserves to do so, and the First of the Second had thought they were supposed to be stockpiling for a new generation of queens. As such, she felt that casualties today would be unacceptable, and so she would not risk them on experimental commands unless she was fully confident in success. And, due to her own unpreparedness, she was not.

Fortunately, though, the plans of the King were proven and effective. The shade was trapped in the pit. She gave the command to the soldier bees from the Apiary that were carrying one of the King’s fire sticks and they made the run. Their aim was true and the pit went up in flames, taking the shade with it.

The queen nearly fell from the sky in relief as she realized the battle was one, and her day of command was finally over.