“It seems our Riko is a genius.”
I mused while savoring the honey with a taste of divine proportions.
Even an ordinary monster, much less a drake, a subspecies of dragon, couldn’t do what our Riko has accomplished.
Creating a heart with roots to express her feelings and even making gestures offering honey – amazing.
“At first, I thought it was just a simple coincidence, but this is clearly a sign of intelligence.”
Among the countless monsters I’ve seen over thousands of years, none have been as extraordinary as her.
Could she be a hidden offspring of the World Tree?
Once again, I was reassured that my choice was the right one.
Seeing Frost Lunaris approaching gracefully, flapping her wings from afar brought a smile to my face.
Her wings, carved like blue crystals, sparkled like an aurora whenever they caught the light, and her silver antennae subtly trembled as they detected the honey’s scent in the air.
To be so fearlessly flying this way while I am here.
Does she want this honey that much?
“Well, if you’re a butterfly, once you taste Riko’s honey, you’ll be unable to escape.”
“Riko! It seems that one wants to taste the honey too!”
I saw Riko lifting a black root.
When I tried to have more honey, she pushed my hand away, though she was the one to offer it first.
Is she trying to prevent the butterfly from reaching the honey this time?
A small commotion in the serene snowy mountain brought a smile to my face.
I soon felt Riko observing my expression and slowly lowering the root.
Her slightly resigned gesture was evident, as if there was no way to refuse.
“Indeed, it seems she’s a genius.”
All signs of stopping the butterfly were gone, and now she’s opening her petals wide as if saying, ‘Welcome, enjoy!’
Her loyalty and obedience towards me were nothing short of perfect.
As the butterfly savored the honey with apparent delight, Riko brought her root tip close to the honey, seemingly wanting to enjoy it herself.
“Aww…”
Watching this side of Riko made my heart feel warm.
I wanted to boast about this adorable being to Nis right away.
However, to both Nis and me, she’s still just a cute creature.
To proudly call her my subordinate, she would need formidable combat power.
“I need to get more blood.”
There were hardly any high-ranking monsters left in the Shia Kalt Great Dungeon, leaving few sources of quality blood.
I pondered about wiping out a nearby human city but discarded the idea when I remembered Riko’s connection to Mikel.
“Hmm…”
The butterfly, having finished its honey, flew off towards the sun.
The sun.
“Ah, right… Blaise Gargan’s blood would certainly help her grow greatly.”
I thought about hunting a lion monster known as the ‘Calamity of the Sun,’ possessing the highest danger level among S Rank monsters.
There aren’t many strong monsters in this snowy mountain, and Riko seems much stronger than when I first brought her here; a short trip should be fine.
“Riko… wait for a moment. I’ll be back with something incredibly delicious.”
“Ah… thankfully.”
The stimulation from the butterfly’s thin, long proboscis sucking the honey was incomparably weaker than Master’s touch.
I could endure this easily.
It even tickled slightly.
The butterfly flapped its translucent light-blue wings happily while drinking the honey, and each flutter released a luminous, blue powder dancing in the cold wind like fairy dust sprinkled by a magical sprite.
“Is it really that tasty? Does she enjoy it this much?”
Curiosity arose suddenly.
It was strange that I, who created the honey, didn’t know its taste.
I carefully raised a pitch-black root to draw in the honey.
“…Huh? It tastes of nothing?”
I was disappointed.
I couldn’t taste anything at all.
Perhaps because I am a plant… it’s a bit upsetting that Master and the butterfly love it so much when I cannot taste it.
Just then,
The honey-satisfied butterfly lifted its behind as it sat upon my petal.
“Uh!? Wait, don’t tell me…!?”
This suspicious posture made me highly uneasy!
“Is it pooping on my head!?”
Startled, I tried flailing my roots to scare it off, but just then, a shimmering blue egg dropped from the butterfly’s behind.
“☆? Egg LV1”
“Wha?”
It was tiny but round like a sapphire, perfectly transparent, and seemed to hold a tiny spark of life within it.
Having laid the egg, the butterfly flew off elegantly into the snowy mountain sky, leaving behind what felt like a precious present.
“This is… a cliché from those isekai stories!”
My heart began to race.
In isekai stories, the protagonist gets a dragon or divine beast egg, raises the creature, and it becomes a ridiculously powerful companion.
The butterfly that just laid the egg was previously a five-star monster with a level of 102.
The fact that its star rating is a question mark means it might be a six-star or even a seven-star like Master.
If the mother was of five stars, it’s at least going to be five stars too!
Surely whatever comes out of this egg will also be an extraordinary being.
As I was filled with anticipation, Master spoke with a mysterious smile.
“Riko… □□□ □□□. □□ □□ □□□ □ □□□□.”
Then began walking gracefully toward the snowy mountain summit.
“Huh… What’s this?”
“Surely she’s not releasing it into the wild…?”
As I worriedly looked at Master’s receding figure, various insect-monsters began gathering, likely due to the absence of dragon’s overwhelming pressure.
“☆☆ Crystal Beetle LV28” “☆ Crystal Beetle LV23” “☆☆ Crystal Beetle LV26” “☆☆ Frost Mose LV31” “☆☆ Frost Mose LV32” “☆☆ Blizzard Hornet LV30” “☆☆☆ Blizzard Hornet LV35” “☆☆ Hyperborean Ant LV25” “☆☆ Hyperborean Ant LV27” “☆ Hyperborean Ant LV24” “☆☆ Icefly LV29” “☆☆ Icefly LV33” …
“Ugh… So gross… What should I do…? Should I kill them?”
Most were around level 30.
They would be easy to handle, but the experience points wouldn’t be worth much.
The Crystal Beetles’ transparent exoskeleton gleamed under the moonlight, the Frost Mosess’ wings carried beautiful frost patterns, the Blizzard Hornets carried sharp blue-ice stingers, and the Hyperborean Ants moved as a white-snow like mass.
Iceflies, though beautiful butterflies, had a slightly awkward appearance, reminding me of Frost Lunaris’ pre-evolution form.
Although too numerous to be appealing, they each looked fairly pretty on their own.
“These fellows don’t seem to be thinking of attacking me…”
They were attracted by the honey’s scent, perhaps I could seize this as an opportunity.
“That’s it! Let’s try making them my minions.”
Deciding on that, I spread my petals, offering honey, to which the insects hungrily rushed.
Even Frost Lunaris couldn’t get past this!
As I felt some regret for acting on impulse, I looked at the egg on my petals, resolved to raise it well.
…
Time passed, and now dozens of bug-monsters surrounded me completely.
Crystal beetles rested comfortably on my petals, Frost Mosess and Iceflies perched on my stems, gently flapping their wings.
The Blizzard Hornets patrolled the perimeter marking their territory and the Hyperborean Ants stood in neat formations around my roots.
“Ah… this isn’t too bad?”
“Hungry.”
Through the throng of monsters drawn by the sweet honey smell, one Blizzard Hornet gazed at a red flower.
“Honey. I want to eat.”
But the flower was already surrounded by monsters who had staked their claim.
Crystal Beetle’s unyielding carapace,
The massed Hyperborean Ants,
The frosty wing beats of Frost Mose and Iceflies.
All were more powerful.
Even the sharp sting of Blizzard Hornets, already present, spared no mercy to its own kind.
“Will hurt. I don’t want.”
Trying to push a little way in resulted in immediate expulsion.A simple thought arose: This will not work.
“Hunt. Get stronger then come back.”
The Blizzard Hornet gazed at the icy mountain then spread its wings, determined to return stronger and savor that sweet honey.
*
“Ugh… I didn’t expect so many…”
Insects drawn by honey surrounded me completely, extending far off into the distance.The honey I offered in small quantities before now flowed naturally.
Could I have gotten used to making honey?The skill Honey of Flowers had already risen to level 8 without me realizing.
Though the number exceeded several hundred, causing a little concern, this was the first time I’d ever experienced so much attention.Even during my previous life, I hadn’t received so much interest from others.It was insect attention, but after watching them for a while, I began to feel attached.
Then I saw a wasp trying to come near but giving up and retreating.
“☆☆☆☆ Blizzard Hornet LV12”
“Despite being a four-star monster…”
It had four stars of potential but its low level meant it couldn’t push through the crowd of other monsters. Watching it give up and turn its body away pitied me, but I didn’t have time to care for the moment.
“What should I do about these guys?”
The bugs covering my petals, stems, and roots. Letting them be seemed too much, pushing them away seemed a waste. And when Master returns, I should have something to show…
“Let’s assess their power?”
Let’s try the pollen temptation I used when gathering monsters in the lower layers again.I’ll trust Verlez with nurturing the gathered monsters and test new skills on approaching strong ones while handling them.
“Hey, could you all move aside a bit?”
I shook my purple stigma powerfully, releasing pollen.
“Tempt! Tempt! Tempt!”
“MP: 817/1,344”
Perfect!Though I used a massive amount of mana, nothing could scare me as I stood against this horde of bugs while being at level 140.
