episode_0031

From then on, I just kept walking and walking.

Although I have only been exercising for 20 days, I still felt like I had gained quite a bit of stamina. If it were me a month ago, I would have passed out by now.

How long did you walk?

“Ha… The smell of honey.”

Jules sighs.

“Honey?”

“Sweet poison. If you happen to see a beehive, don’t think anything strange. If you start getting stung by bees, you might die.”

I didn’t think much of it, but it was a threat.

Thanks to you, I became interested again.

‘As long as you don’t get stung by a bee, it’s okay.’

The punishment is that just by feeding it smoke, it becomes docile.

“Surely, hosot collects honey with its bare body?”

“They say that elves and ramrats do things with fire… They also say they wear thick clothes, but I don’t know.”

Bees are also ants, after all.

The two social insects communicate through pheromones.

Pheromones and all, it is ultimately a smell.

All you have to do is fill in the smoke and make it impossible for them to have a conversation.

‘I’ve never actually tried it.’

Plus, there is no wind today, so there is no smoke leaking out.

Of course, I only knew the theory and had never actually tried it, but since Juul liked it, it was worth a try.

“Do you want some honey?”

“Uh huh. Quit it.”

“Can you save me?”

Jules paused and began to think.

He glanced at my face and reluctantly opened his mouth.

“···Is there anything you can do?”

Honey is not particularly delicious.

It’s not because I want to eat like a pig, but there’s nothing to enjoy.

This may be the reason why ancient nobles enjoyed strange luxuries.

That’s why it’s even more desirable.

Would you be able to understand if I explained something about pheromones?

‘You never know.’

The hosot’s sense of smell is quite excellent.

So, we may have a broadly acceptable perspective on smell.

“Bees and ants communicate through smell.”

“Smell?”

Jules squinted.

“Yes. So, all you have to do is paralyze the nose so that you can’t communicate.”

“By what means?”

“It’s okay if you burn fallen leaves and give them smoke.”

Jules shook his head.

“Are you going to start a fire to get honey? What are you going to do if there is a forest fire?”

“It’s okay as long as you remove the vehicle so that the surrounding area doesn’t catch fire. The dirt doesn’t catch fire, right?”

Jules’ expression, standing between desire and morality, is disturbing.

“It’s not that dangerous. If a bee chases you, you can just run away right away, right?”

“···If it’s dangerous, stop right away.”

Jules reluctantly gave permission, but there was an anticipation in his eyes that he couldn’t hide. In the South, honey is an expensive food that comes with a life penalty.

It is also a very good item to use as barter.

There are people who eat caterpillars as a delicacy, but they are not knowledgeable enough to know how to eat them.

“It comes from here.”

I walked for about 5 minutes toward the place where Jules was leading the way.

Although it was a short time, it was a very long time.

It’s amazing that I could smell something from this far away.

How far has it gone?

Buuung──!

I saw bees crawling out between the cracks in the collapsed rocks.

─It is granite.

Fortunately, there are only rocks around, so it is not terrain where fire can spread.

I collected fallen leaves from afar, but there wasn’t enough dried kindling.

As it was a forest, there was plenty of fire pit, but the trees blocked sunlight and the humidity was high so it wasn’t completely dry.

Thanks to this, we failed to start a fire and it took several minutes to rekindle.

It was easy once I somehow got the spark and lit the fire.

In case I got bitten, I unwrapped my sleeves and covered my hands. After that, he wrapped the fire in fallen leaves, blew on it, smoked a little, and then carefully pushed it into the rock.

‘···Do not attack!’

I’m amazed that I did it.

Since I didn’t know exactly how much smoke I needed to give, I just swept up all the fallen leaves around me and threw them into the fire.

Grumbling────!!!

…It got to the point where there was a fire.

“···Is it okay?”

“Of course…?”

“······.”

After waiting for a minute or two for the flames to die down, I roughly cleared away the fallen leaves and checked the inside. There were many bees that died from the heat, but the overwhelming majority of bees were clinging to the rocks in a daze.

This does not paralyze the sense of smell, but rather poisons it with carbon monoxide.

‘How did it work so well?’

yes?

First, I untied my sleeves and wrapped them around my hands.

The honeycomb is too big to open with one hand.

I had no choice but to put both hands in.

Fearing being stung, I quickly and violently tore the hive apart.

There were a few more pieces left, but there was no way to take them and it seemed unlikely that I would eat that many, so I only took one piece.

Perhaps because the fire was heated once, the honey has melted at room temperature and is pooling on the clothes covering the sleeves.

The honey pooled on the floor seems difficult to eat because it is covered in ash.

Damn it!

A few bees were sitting on my hand and moving their antennae.

‘I thought I’d get stung or two!’

When I think about getting stung, my entire body’s nerves focus on my hands.

The bee that landed on my hand didn’t sting my hand or anything.

I just licked the honey.

I was also afraid that the bee would sting my hand, so I couldn’t even swat it away.

I took the entire honeycomb and presented it to Jules.

A bright smile spread across Jules’ face, who was looking at me with half concern and half anticipation.

“Once this job is over, I’ll have to go tear down a beehive with you.”

Jules took the honeycomb with a big smile and shoved it into his mouth.

······I heard a caterpillar inside?

“Mi, are you crazy? Pick out the larvae and eat them! You didn’t even shake off the bees!”

“Is it because it was cooked over a fire? It has a nutty smell. And bee larvae are also delicious.”

Of course you can eat it. You can eat it, but…

“It’s a bug.”

“It’s a caterpillar that has lived its entire life eating only honey. What’s the problem?”

I fell silent at the strangely persuasive words.

Anyway, it’s fascinating.

How can you eat half of that sweet stuff in one bite?

Just looking at it makes me feel full.

The bee on my hand licked up some honey and then flew towards Juul, who was holding the honeycomb.

I licked the honey that had accumulated on my sleeve.

“~!”

The rich sweetness was exquisite.

I wondered if it would taste better if I scooped up honey like Juul, so I scraped up the honey in my sleeve and put it in my mouth.

‘···greasy.’

It’s so sweet I feel like throwing up.

The only thing in the world that makes you feel like there is too much sweetness and too little is too much is probably honey.

‘How long has it been since I last felt such an intense sweetness?’

I was happy with just that.

Jules also looked happy and shook his hands.

* * * * * *

After eating all the honey, what happened next was terrible.

There was no stream to wash hands or clothes.

Thanks to this, I had to speed up and run away from the mosquitoes that attacked me after smelling the honey.

Jules was smiling, wondering what was good about it.

“Jul···.”

“Is it because of your hands?”

“Yes.”

“There is a stream in front. Let’s wash it off there.”

Soon, as Juul said, we came to a small stream.

“How did you know there was a stream?”

“It stinks. This is a place I visit often.”

I put down my pack and relaxed my shoulders.

“Ugh…!”

I can finally live now.

Jules also washed his hands and rinsed his mouth with several gulps of water.

It was sweet. Perhaps because the water was cold, the honey on my sleeve didn’t dissolve well and didn’t come off, but it did come off.

This is the only clothes that Felic gave me.

I got up only after thoroughly wiping off the honey and ash.

‘···Where is my backpack? ah!’

Before I knew it, Jules had grabbed my backpack and was carrying it.

“I carry my luggage──”

I tried to tell him to hand it over, but I swallowed my words.

It was because Jules was concentrating on something.

Eyes are directed towards the sky.

There is something huge flying in the sky!

“What is that? Giant eagle?!”

“It is a siren.”

Siren?

Why are there things in this world named after mythical monsters?

What connection does it have with the Earth?

It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, but it feels strange when I listen to it.

I thought there might be a way to get back home, so without realizing it, I ended up hoping for it.

“Don’t sirens live in the sea?”

“Sea? Sirens are demigods who live in the South and Horus.”

‘A siren is a mermaid who charms people with her song, right?’

Curiosity made me look at the East Sea sky.

During the inquiry with the priest, I only learned a superficial level about Sirens.

In fact, I’ve never heard anything about their appearance or habits.

The siren I knew was a mermaid, but the siren here is—a bird?

It’s high in the sky, and the sun’s light dazzles the eyes, making it difficult to predict the distance. But what you can tell is that it is really, really big.

Better than any bird I’ve ever seen.

“Is that a siren?”

“That’s right. I think they found us.”

Sirens began to land on the ground.

Clothes flutter due to strong wind pressure, and soon dust is blown in all directions.

Boom!!!

“Augh─?!”

Dirt got in my eye!

What kind of wind is this strong?!

I turned away from the dust and washed my eyes by the stream.

I frantically washed my eyes and turned my head.

The winged angel was standing in front of Jules with a grim expression on his face.

It was a siren.

“Why are you bringing a human into our territory?”

“······!”

─The sound of jade beads rolling.

It was a voice so beautiful that these old-fashioned adjectives came to mind.

It’s not like I want to be a singer or anything like that.

It’s nice to hear even though it’s spoken plainly.

If a person like that became a telemarketer, he would definitely make several thousand a month.

“You are my slave.”

The Siren turned her wide eyes, which had been directed at Jool, towards me.

“I wonder what you would do if I visited your village with a Rectalian slave.”

How could a creature that looks like that exist?

─He is human.

It has a human appearance, but has wings on its back.

If you spread one wing, it would be roughly 3 to 4 meters long.

Just one side!

“He is a child who is not even an adult. This kid didn’t do anything.”

Plus, she was as pretty as a ranch girl.

The siren glared at me with eyes full of contempt.

“You look like I want to dig out my eyeballs.”

Strangely, I don’t feel scared because he swears in a creepy voice.

Even when he swears, his pleasant voice makes me feel good because it feels like he’s playing a joke.

Anyway, how───

“How can I fly?”

Just because humans have wings doesn’t mean they can fly.

There are so many things birds give up to fly in the sky that it is difficult to explain them one by one.

“This is a question worthy of an inferior wingless bastard.”

“Do I fly with magic?”

“Do you see wings as decoration in your eyes?”

Wasn’t it magic?

“No.”

The body shown through the silhouette of the clothes is no different from that of a human being.

If so, it makes even less sense.

The bird’s large chest muscles are not a form of foam.

I knew it was rude, but curiosity took precedence.

That person wants to fly in the sky, something every human being has wanted at least once. Because it looked like a reenactment of that desire.

I walked around Siren from a distance and looked at her side and back.

Pop!

“Wow!”

The wings suddenly flutter.

But Jules was giggling and jabbing at me.

“Look. He’s just a kid.”

The siren’s harsh gaze also faded just a little.

The reason why it could fly could be seen from its profile and back.

Looking from the side, the chest is thick.

To be exact, the back.

The decisive reason was in the back.

‘Wow, the muscles are crazy.’

The back muscles were not shaped like human muscles.

Siren’s back muscles were well bulged as if she had been exercising for several years.

But it is not apparent on the outside.

Because of its wings, it is wearing clothes with a cut in the back, so it is easily visible thanks to its nakedness.

Since it had wings, its skeleton also showed a different appearance.

The shoulder blades are large and developed.

I could faintly see another clavicle behind my back.

It is said that sirens’ backs have developed, but still humans are born?

But right away I saw it flying right in front of my eyes.

I felt the wind pressure like a typhoon.

‘Am I thinking too humanly? ‘

Humans evolved to perform complex and detailed actions and sacrifice muscle strength for endurance. However, animals have evolved to have strong muscles and are unable to perform detailed actions.

‘Isn’t the density of those back muscles at the level of a gorilla’s, or the level of jaw muscles?’

Otherwise, there is no way that would be possible.

···In that case, the moment you get hit by that wing, you are in the nether world.

I quickly stepped back.

Because without even knowing it, I was within the Siren’s killing radius.

“Humans always make me feel bad.”

Even though she is being criticized, her happy beauty makes me feel dazed.

The Siren’s eyes were full of disgust.

It’s like looking at a monkey inside a cage.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

The siren’s wings resemble those of an eagle.

It had tanned skin and brown wings, with only the wing tip feathers being white.

The terminal feathers are unusually long.

Like the breeding feathers of a male bird.

“I hope you get out of here with that monkey-like bastard.”

“You have to pass through your territory to go help the Ramrats and Elves who are in conflict with the humans. Didn’t an eagle stop by your village?”

“Of course I stopped by.”

The siren’s eyes turned to me.

“I checked about you, but not this person.”

‘It’s my fault.’

…But isn’t this too strict?

“Isn’t that what this kid is doing?”

“Of course. But isn’t it right that we should refrain from actions that are hateful to each race?”

“This is an expanded interpretation. This kid is an interpreter.”

The Siren’s expression showed annoyance.

“Just go and kill humans! Why are you taking an interpreter with you? There’s no need to listen to what humans say, right?”

“······.”

─I forgot.

That’s how an ordinary Southerner views humans.

As I spent a long time living comfortably in the village like a native, forgotten memories bloomed again.

You said you would follow me too complacently.

But Jules’ expression did not change.

“We need to find out the circumstances before and after.”

Siren laughed.

“Ha. Hosott always does that. Would you be able to say something like that if your family or friends suffered like we did?”

At that moment, Jules’ expression suddenly changed.

“···Watch your mouth.”