Konjiki no Moji Tsukai

Chapter 208: Shortcut

Posted onDecember 22, 2014 byYoraikun

Konjiki no Wordmaster Chapter 24: Honey Gathering

And? Why do I have to dress like this?

Hiiro wasnt wearing his usual red robe. He was dressed in thick, white work clothes from head to toe, with a net covering his face. He was even wearing dense leather gloves.

This is that, isnt it? The clothes beekeepers wear in order to collect honey.

Hey, old man. Could the honey here be produced by bees?

Bees? I dont know what youre talking about, but the honey here is made by Honey Bees.

(TL: Hiiro is saying Bee in Japanese. Arnold says it in english)

Those are bees all the same, is what Hiiro wanted to shout out. But there was something he wanted to confirm before that.

Old man, didnt you say the honey was something the Bearntpeople produced?

Ah? Did I say something like that?

You definitely did. To forget what you said yourself, are you going senile, pervert?

Its been a while since you said it you bastard! Whos a pervert!?

Ga ha ha! The thing we make isnt the honey. We make Honey Confectionaries.

Max, dressed in the same garb as Hiiro says this. Hes probably going as well.

Hm? I think there was an MP restoring item called Honey Candy. Is that one of your products?

Yeah, thats an item made by mixing in the flower White Iris. We breed those flowers selectively and control the flow of the product in the world.

I see. And? Why do I have to dress like this?

Of course, because youre going to go gather the honey, right?

Cut the crap, sexual deviant.

Ah, he changed my name again! I really dont like this change!

Anyways, Im not going.

Saying that, Hiiro throws his gloves at the ground.

Dont worry. Right now, the Honey Bees shouldnt be here. Theres no danger. Cmon.

Say that from the start Is what you thought I would say? This Old Man has the resolve to get stung repeatedly in order to retrieve delicious honey for me, his lord.

Gununununu! Why would I get anything for you!? And when did you ever become my lord!?

Twas a joke.

I know, but still Im angry!

Watching the two quarrel, Max goes to Muir.

Are those two always like that?

Hiiro ditches the work clothes, and once again dons his red robe. He seems to have absolutely no intention of going. Seeing him, Arnold begins smiling.

Oy, oy. Are you sure about that, Hiiro?

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Ah?

Of course, I could infiltrate the Honey Bee nest, take the honey and come back to let you eat it. It would probably be plenty tasty.

What are you trying to say?

But do you know when Honey Bee honey, Honey Syrup is tastiest?

Thats right after its taken out of its holding area.

Upon hearing those words, Hiiros index finger twitches for a moment.

Whats more, look at this.

Saying that, he takes out a biscuit from a bag.

This is a biscuit specially made by the Bearnt people. Youre supposed to douse it in Honey Syrup the second you obtain it. Ah~ the taste of it is heavenly.

How unfortunate. It seems youre not going, so youll have to make do with the lesser quality Honey Syrup afterwards. Meanwhile, well be savoring the best quality of goods wait, what?

Hiiro disappeared before his very eyes. Arnold looks everywhere to find him. But what comes into his vision is a full equipped Honey Gathering Expert.

Ive said this time and again, but mention that first. Now then, lets go already Little Girl Kidnapper.

W-whos a kidnapper you damn brat!

Watching the two quarrel, Max goes to Muir.

Are those two always like that?

P-pretty much

I see

These two also follow closely behind Hiiro.

Hiiro, who had lost to his appetite, resolves himself to go through some trouble. His face is warped with the desire to eat the best quality food as he hurries towards the Honey Bee nest.

He was relieved that the place was supposed to be close by, but when he finally arrived, he stared at his destination in dismay.

In front of him was a big very big bee hive. Its size was around that of a house.

Oy, isnt this a little too big?

Hahaha, actually, this is my first time gathering honey as well This is a bit surprising.

Watching the two,Max lets out a hearty laugh.

Isnt this to be expected? Honey Bees are about as big as babies. How would they live without a nest this big?

I think the books said they were around 30 Tails long.

Hiiro searches through his memory and produces this information. By the way, this worlds measurement of Tail is about the equivalent of a centimeter. The only thing different is the name.

Well then, should we go in?

Max says this, and He leads Hiiros group to the other side of the hive. There, they find an area with something that looked like a handle sticking out.

Max places the large bag he had with him on the ground. He firmly grasps the handle, and pulls it with all of his might. As if it were a desk drawer, the section of the hive is slowly pulled out.

Immediately, the air fills with the sweet smell of honey. Enough to make Hiiro and his companions gulp unintentionally. After he pulled out around half of the drawer, Max stopped.

Hey, look.

Where Max was pointing was a series of crevices inside of the hive. The formation looked like a Sudoku board with the walls representing the frame.

And inside of these crevices was a soft spongy substance. Max takes that out and wrings it out over a bottle he produced from his bag.

And viscous liquid slowly flows from it. Steadily, the honey settles into the bottom of the bottle.

You guys should try it as well.

He steps aside and points Hiiros group to the spongy substance. Hiiro takes it in his hand.

(I see, so this is how they gather it)

Hiiro record the knowledge in his head as he begins to wring it out. But he quickly gets tired of it, and puts his hand on Arnolds shoulder, saying he would leave it to him.

Hey! Youll get honey on my shoulder!

Its already on it anyways. Hiiro takes off his gloves, and takes a biscuit out of Arnolds pocket.

Oy, wait!

Its fine, just do your job Old Man.

I dont want to hear that from you!

After Arnolds shouting stops, Max shrugs his shoulders.

Hiiro soaks the borrowed in plenty of honey. The honey itself is orange in color, and quite thick. Its smell is enough to clearly convey its sweetness.

First, Hiiro puts the honey itself in his mouth.

N..ooh

Its an extreme concentrated sweetness. On top of that, it is a bit sour. It may be because it had been fermenting. This honey truly is top class.

Without losing any momentum, Hiiro shoves the biscuit in his mouth.

Yes. Its quite tasty.

Without a doubt, its tasty. This is an item that would definitely be popular with women. But Hiiro was a holder of quite a sweet tooth, so he enjoys it equally. Before he noticed it, the biscuits were gone.

Uooooooi! Did you eat all of them by yourself!?

Yes.

Dont yes me! This is the true surprise! Ive once again confirmed that youre an irreconcilable bastard!

No crying over spilt milk. What a petty man.

How should I shut that mouth of yours?

The force exerted on the sponge in his hand increases.

Ga ha ha! If its biscuits, then I have plenty with me. Dont worry.

I see. Good work.

You still plan on eating more!?

Dont underestimate my power.

Wha!?

My stomach Is still calling out.

Im going to kill yooou!

And after various things happened, they filled all of their jars with honey, and pushed the drawer back in. Finally, they shared a meal together.

Oh! What a delicacy! As expected of Honey Syrup!

Arnold holds his hands together in praise.

Quiet. Dont be so rowdy in the middle of a meal.

Nukku damn brat

Arnold had felt a little embarrassed for his sudden outburst, but hearing this from Hiiro pissed him off.

Ga ha ha! Arnold is quite a spoiled man!

Max laughs happily as he snacks on a biscuit.

NomNomNomNomNomNomNom

Muir is wholeheartedly eating them nibbling on them?

Seeing her, Arnold expression turns warm.

Ha~ Why must she be so cute~?

Youre creepy.

What the hell!

Then let me rephrase that. Youre disgusting.

As the four happily (?) eat, a buzzing sound begins to sound out.

It seems the lord is coming back.

A large group of bees clouds the sky. The size of each individual bee is incomparible to that of a normal one.

Oy, oy. Isnt this nest too small for that amount?

This isnt the only one. There are six hives in total.

I see, then it seems plausible.

A large Honey Bee starts flying straight at them. Hiiro and Arnold immediately take a stance, but

Ah, I left my sword behind

Arnold is the same. Arnold stands in front of Muir, and Hiiro prepares to write a word. But Max slowly stands up and laughs.

Once again, thanks for the splendid honey.

As if in response, the bee bobs up and down in the air.

Well make another hive soon, so have fun until then.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

After that short interaction the bee returns to the flock.

In exchange for the Bearnt building them sturdy hives, the Honey Bees offer a portion of their honey. Thats the agreement between the two parties. It was a contract that existed longer than anyone could remember. The Bee that stopped by earlier was the Queen.

Hey, wait a second. Then why am I wearing this?

As Hiiro says this, the two besides Max nod.

Well its not like theres no meaning to it.

What do you mean?

This area is swarming with many bugs. Especially after we take out honey

Suddenly a swarm of smaller bugs descends on the group.

(T-this feels disgusting)

The various bugs crawl all over their bodies. Muir has an expression hinting at the end of the world before she loses consciousness. Arnold, who is carrying her, and even Hiiro pray to god for the end of this ordeal.

Now then. Since weve been eating for a while, the amount of bugs will be considerable. What should we do?

Run!

I see.

With all their strength, the four leave the area.