Chapter 101: Glasia’s Tears

Glasia, who had been plastered against the wall, slowly turned around.

Shiver, shiver!

‘What kind of reaction is this?’

‘Is she afraid of being scolded by me?’

That’s what I thought at first, but upon closer inspection, the emotion in Glasia’s eyes wasn’t fear.

Her clear pupils were filled with indignation.

The sorrow of an unfulfilled dream.

The shock of being betrayed by Cecilia, whom she had trusted.

The sadness that everything was now over.

I could feel a complex tangle of these emotions.

‘No!’

‘How dare you play the victim!’

“Y-You! You attempted s*x offender!”

The anger in my chest burned even hotter.

I summoned my roots to bind Glasia.

The black roots shot out like whips and wrapped tightly around Glasia’s body.

But Glasia didn’t resist and was caught meekly.

Then she looked at me with an expression of complete resignation.

‘Wh-why does this scene remind me of an independence fighter captured by the Japanese army!’

Seeing her like this made me feel like I was the one doing something wrong.

Ugh… could I be misunderstanding something major?

‘No, that can’t be!’

‘Cecilia definitely said it.’

‘She said Glasia would eat the Great Labyrinth’s core, become stronger than me, and eat my honey every day!’

I clenched my right hand into a tight fist.

Glasia’s level has gone up a lot, so it should be fine to land a serious punch, right?

“Hah! Serious Punch!”

Swoosh!

My fist flew towards Glasia’s forehead.

All the while, Glasia didn’t even blink, just stared straight at my fist.

Bonk!!

“Ouch!”

‘Why is her head so hard!’

My hand throbbed painfully.

The back of my hand, which had thrown the punch, instantly swelled up red.

The pain spread from my fingertips to my elbow.

It felt like my bones had cracked against the hornet’s hard carapace.

In contrast, Glasia just blinked once and had a normal expression.

A reaction like a mosquito bite…?

She didn’t even seem to be in much pain, just slightly averted her gaze.

“Heheng! Eomma’s serious punch!”

Cecilia jumped up and down, flapping her cloak, delighted.

Her victory pose with both arms raised high was so cute.

Her innocent face was full of admiration, as if her mother was the coolest person in the world.

‘Well… it’s a relief that I look cool to Cecilia, but in reality, my punch had almost no effect.’

‘I guess since she’s a hornet, her carapace is just too hard.’

This wouldn’t be enough punishment.

I shook my aching hand gently and looked Glasia straight in the eye.

And I delivered my ultimatum.

“You are now under Cecilia! You will obey Cecilia’s words too! Otherwise, there will be no honey forever!”

At that moment, real anger flared in Glasia’s eyes.

Roar!

As if to say, ‘how dare you say such nonsense,’ Glasia charged at me.

She came at me with incredible speed, her giant tongue lolling out as if to taste honey for the last time.

Eek!?

“Listen to Eomma!”

Cecilia’s young voice echoed through the cavern.

Then she threw a small punch.

The air vibrated for a moment, and then Glasia was sent flying like a cannonball into the opposite wall.
Kwaang!!

With a tremendous sound, Glasia was literally embedded in the wall.

“Hup!”

A gasp escaped my lips involuntarily.

It looked like Cecilia just threw a light punch…

Is this the attack power of a level 800…

The surrounding air shimmered with a flame-like pattern from the shockwave that originated from Cecilia’s fist.

The entire cavern vibrated, and spiderweb-like cracks spread around Glasia, who was stuck in, or more accurately, dug into the wall.

The shock was transmitted directly to my body as well.

The earth-shattering vibration that resonated to my bones made me take a step back without realizing it.

The space where Cecilia had been innocently hopping around with childlike movements just moments ago had instantly transformed into a battlefield.

While I was unable to close my mouth in surprise, I felt a violent movement around me.

Lotte, startled by the power of Cecilia’s punch, shook violently up and down in the air.

Her superconductive body trembled intensely as if an earthquake had occurred.

Miel took a more drastic action.

She flew quickly towards Leivi and plucked a strand of her hair.

“Ack! My hair!”

Leivi, who had been staring at Glasia flying away with her mouth wide open, cried out.

Miel quickly flew up into the air and began writing with Leivi’s hair.

[A fitting end for a traitor! Justice triumphs!]

As soon as she finished writing, Miel scattered a brilliant blue powder and flapped her wings even more flamboyantly.

It was as if she was performing a victory dance.

‘This little one!’

‘Switching sides just like that!’

Just a moment ago, she was acting like Glasia’s spokesperson, but as soon as Cecilia landed a blow, she immediately branded her a traitor.

In the meantime, Glasia was slowly pulling herself out of the wall.

As she brushed off the dirt and dust from her body, it felt as if she was also brushing off her last shred of pride.

Then, with sad eyes, she prostrated herself on the floor.

‘Showing the crown of her head in submission…?’

“Gresia unni! Give me a ride!”

Cecilia, flapping her cloak, trotted over to Glasia.

The cloak, long for her small body, dragged on the floor, creating a small cloud of dust.

Her cute face held a mixture of the victor’s confidence and childlike innocence.

Glasia looked at Cecilia with a face that truly looked like she was about to cry.

And while her body trembled with unbearable humiliation, she eventually allowed Cecilia to climb onto her back.

“Yahoo! Let’s go to the sky!”

Cecilia climbed onto Glasia’s back and raised her two small fists to the sky.

She looked so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.

Now that I looked, Cecilia was really small compared to Glasia.

Cecilia, who was the size of an adult’s fist, sitting on top of Glasia, who was half the size of an adult man, looked like a doll riding a toy car.

Given Cecilia’s size, it seemed Glasia could definitely fly.

Glasia slowly began to spread her wings.

The airflow created by her flapping wings kicked up dust, and she gradually picked up speed and ascended into the air.

She began to fly in circles inside the cavern.

Cecilia let out happy laughs and held onto Glasia’s two antennae like handlebars.

Is it even okay to hold those…?

Just then, something shiny fell from Glasia’s eyes.

A single teardrop fell from Glasia’s eye.

A clear, slightly bluish liquid.

It was definitely a tear.

‘Do insects even cry…?’

My heart strangely sank.

I just punished an obvious villain, an attempted s*x offender, but why do I suddenly feel like the bully?

The sight of Glasia’s transparent tear glittering as it slowly fell through the air created an illusion as if it were snowing.

Tears from a hornet.

The sight of the always-confident Glasia now turned into Cecilia’s toy was somehow…
heart-wrenching.

I felt a slight sense of pity.

…Of course, it was a very brief sense of pity, lasting less than a second.

‘That’s right! It’s only right for her to suffer as a punishment!’

“Fufufu… I never knew insects had so many emotions.”

Nis said with an elegant laugh.

Her red eyes were full of mischief.

In truth, Nis didn’t particularly like the Velez, but she seemed to find this story quite interesting.

The Master watched silently, but a smile graced her white eyes.

It seemed the commotion with Cecilia and the Velez was providing her with some small amusement as well.

“I didn’t realize Cecilia’s power was this great.”

Ryandel whispered to Leivi.

His voice was quiet, but it was clearly audible thanks to the cavern’s echo.

“I know, right… The power hidden behind that cute appearance…”

Leivi’s words trailed off as she nodded.

She was still glaring at Miel, who had plucked her hair.

Cecilia and Glasia continued to fly through the air.

They started by circling slowly, but then began to pick up speed.

When Cecilia shouted, “Faster!”, Glasia stoically increased her speed.

The airflow they created stirred the air in the cavern, creating a cool breeze.

“Heheng! Eomma! I wike it!”

Cecilia waved at me and smiled.

‘Ah, so cute!’

“Licorice.”

Just then, the Master spoke to me gently.

“What are you thinking of doing with this Great Labyrinth?”

Huh?

Shouldn’t she be asking Cecilia that?

Ah, I see, Cecilia will just follow my words anyway.

‘Well then…’

‘Wouldn’t it be fine to just leave it as it is?’

‘Cecilia would rather follow me around than stay here.’

‘I can just come by occasionally to check if it’s still okay.’

“I think it would be fine to just leave it as it is and go. Cecilia would also prefer to follow me and the Master around rather than stay here.”

“Dat’s wight! I’m gonna follow Eomma!”

‘Heehee!’

‘Such a lovely little one!’

“Then let’s go now!”

I stood up abruptly and clapped my hands.

Glasia, with Cecilia still on her back, slowly descended and stayed by my side.

Cecilia was still tightly gripping the antennae with her small hands from on top of Glasia’s back.

A strange expression, a mixture of resignation and acceptance, was etched on Glasia’s face.

Ryandel and Leivi also got up from their spots and dusted themselves off.

Lotte was still hiding in a corner, but she seemed to be slowly mustering the courage to come out.

As we headed for the exit of the Great Labyrinth, my mind was completely filled with the new lair built in the Genaith Kingdom.

‘It must be finished by now, right?’

‘Over two months have passed, so of course it’s completed.’

‘A magnificent palace made of shining crystal…’

‘Spires decorated with silver…’

‘A luxurious interior tailored to the Master’s taste…’

And!

Rustle, rustle!

‘Perfect!’

“Are you returning to the kingdom?”

Ryandel asked cautiously.

“Of course…! I have to show the Master the new lair…!”

I glanced at the Master and answered in a small whisper.

“Um… are Leivi and I coming along too?”

Ryandel asked with a look of disbelief.

‘Hmm…’

‘It’s not like I need them.’

‘But the Master said she would give them a reward.’

“I’m going to show them the new lair and then return to the Sia Kalt. You’ll receive your reward from the Master then. So you’ll have to follow, won’t you?”

I whispered again.

‘Well.’

‘It’s understandable to feel burdened living with the strongest beings in the world like the Master and Nis.’

‘But the lair will be huge, so I can just tell them to use a room in a corner, right?’

“Yes… I understand.”

We began to slowly ascend the spiral path from the depths of the Great Labyrinth.

Glasia, carrying Cecilia, flew ahead in the air, leading the way, and Miel followed, flapping her wings excitedly.

Lotte was following us slowly, maintaining a safe distance.