Chapter 51: Making Effective Use of a Justification

"Oh, a clearly strong-looking Bee has appeared."

"...Ah, that is the Queen's Royal Guard, the Empire Bee Knights, desu wa."

"Are there Generals and Ministers too?"

"...Are we really doing this, desu wa?"

She looks openly disgusted... Well, anyone would hate being told to charge into the scene unfolding before us... Though, I have a few acquaintances who would probably dive in with high spirits, so it's not exactly strange. Yeah.

"I have three plans. Which one we choose depends on the outcome."

First, if the Empire Bees defeat the Kabuto-Kuwagata (Beetle-Stag), we go with Plan 1: Operation Great Hyena. We loot the drop items as fast as possible and bolt. It's unlikely they'll chase me while their nest has already taken significant damage that can't be ignored.

Second, if the Kabuto-Kuwagata defeats the Empire Bees, we go with Plan 2: Operation Great Fisherman's Profit. Depending on the Beetle-Stag's wear and tear, if it's near death, I'll finish it off. If that looks impossible, I'll just grab whatever random bee drops I can and bolt. At the very least, it shouldn't have a reason to prioritize me over the massive nectar storage that is the Empire Bee nest.

And finally, third. If they take each other out, we go with Plan 3: Operation Last Stand. We leisurely loot everything. That is all.

"So, personally, I'd like the Empire Bees to try hard enough to get wiped out."

"Y-You are a demon, desu wa...!"

Come to think of it, "Gods" seem to exist in this game, but I wonder if there are angels and demons?

"Alright, go, go! Do it! Oi, oi, hang in there a little longer, Insect King!"

For the Kabuto-Kuwagata to convert its massive weight fully into attack power, flying is a prerequisite. To do that, it has to open its sturdy carapace and expose its defenseless wings and torso. Once the Kabuto-Kuwagata commits to a charge, bees are shattered by the dozen. However, the Empire Bees, unwilling to lose, fire their stingers like missiles. While most deflect off the Beetle-Stag's high-speed wings, some successfully pierce its torso. The battle between the gigantic, powerful individual and the diminutive but elite swarm resembles players challenging a Raid Battle. The bees, bathed in the polygon blizzard of their shattered comrades, corner the Kabuto-Kuwagata without flinching in the slightest.

But the Kabuto-Kuwagata is not prey to be simply hunted. Its body is designed as that of the strong; even after taking countless stingers, it remains unsinkable. It is like a raging storm, a roaring thunderbolt. Its jaws and horns—where every single move is a fatal blow capable of killing the weak—finally crush the bees' commander... the Minister, who had been issuing orders to the swarm from a tactical perspective.

"Oh, look, Emul. The Queen has finally come out in person."

"Hawaa...!"

The Empire Bees, whose chain of command was on the verge of collapse, regain their discipline and remember their loyalty. The half-destroyed Knights re-form their ranks to protect her. The Hunters, Guarders, and Workers surround the Kabuto-Kuwagata like elites. The Kabuto-Kuwagata also clacks its mandibles, locking eyes on the leader of the weaklings defying it. Is that light faintly covering its body... magic?

"Now then, on which side will the Goddess of Victory smile? Commentator Emul-san, what do you think?"

"C-Commentator!? I'm not that knowledgeable, desu wa!"

You're just supposed to say something vague like, "Well, it's beyond our ability to predict at this point." ...I guess that was a bit of a tall order. The confrontation between the Empire Bee Queen and the Kabuto-Kuwagata makes me want to provide play-by-play commentary... and then, they clash.

The conclusion.

Cracked and shattered carapace. The left mandible snapped halfway, and a giant stinger embedded in its right eye. However... the Kabuto-Kuwagata roughly shakes its head to dislodge the Empire Bee Queen, who had been pierced through by its horn and killed. The bees, having lost their apex, scatter in all directions, making it abundantly clear who the victor is.

"If I had to list the reasons for your defeat(・・), there would be three."

The Empire Bee Queen's body converts into polygons. The Queen, larger than the other bees, scatters polygons with an explosion befitting her bulk.

"One: You didn't take safety measures. Two: You didn't compromise and settled the fight with the bees to the end..."

Even as the shadow slowly approaches through the falling, fading polygons, the Kabuto-Kuwagata still seethes with fighting spirit. That is likely its arrogance, and its pride. But it seems that pride caused it to overlook some important data about this Mob.

"And finally: You got distracted by the nectar in front of you and overlooked me."

If this were a 1-on-1 arena duel, the Kabuto-Kuwagata's choice would have been praised as honorable. But this is Survival (The Law of the Jungle). Victory doesn't mean defeating the enemy; it means coming back alive. Choosing to fight while covered in wounds was the worst possible move. The 'Run' command isn't shameful; playing hardcore 'never-retreat' style when you've messed up your HP management is just waiting for a respawn.

"Plan 2 it is. Hold onto your pride and become my food (EXP)."

The Queen did a good job. Thanks to her, I've grasped this guy's motion patterns, including its special behaviors when low on health. Now then... I'll take everything.

• Quad Beetle's Brave Horn The ferocious horn of a Quad Beetle that knows no retreat. Extremely robust, it is highly valued for weapons and armor. Born belligerent, their lives are short; therefore, individuals that have lived long are strong.
• Quad Beetle's Dread Jaw The terrifying mandibles of a Quad Beetle that crush any difficulty standing in its way. With sharpness born of tremendous brute strength, it is impossible for a human to wield them fully. Individuals that have lived long—that is, kept winning for a long time—hate running more than death itself.
• Quad Beetle's Heavy Carapace The heavy shell that makes the Quad Beetle a powerhouse. Heavy and hard, it was not designed to be handled by anything other than a Quad Beetle. Arms and armor made from Quad Beetle materials have been symbols of an army that knows no retreat since ancient times.
• Quad Beetle's Scaled Fan-Wings Tough wings that allow the Quad Beetle's body to fly. The secret lies in the multiple "wing membranes" layered like scales to form a single wing. They simply fight, simply move forward; their place of death is nowhere but the battlefield.

"Man, what a haul, what a haul!"

"Mumumu... I feel like this is somehow cheating, desu wa..."

"That's wrong, Emul. That Kabuto... no, that Quad Beetle could have run away. Actually, I didn't intend to chase it down if it fled... but it didn't run. That is the answer to everything."

"Then what about the Empire Bees?"

I quietly averted my eyes and whistled. Collateral damage. It was collateral damage.

"Well, you know. In a world of survival of the fittest, the one who survives is justice."

"Umumu, when you put it like that, I can't argue back, desu wa..."

My pockets have gotten quite heavy. Even though I made the Second Inventory... cough, I mean Emul, carry a fair amount, my inventory is still heavy, clearly showing how much I raked in from the devastated Empire Bees and the Quad Beetle. The experience points were mostly from the Quad Beetle, and since it was near death, I didn't get that much, but I'm still close to leveling up. I want to raise my level somewhere before challenging the Area Boss.

"Come to think of it, the boss of this area is a spider, right?"

"That's right, desu wa! The Clown Spider uses its threads to do all sorts of things! Like Pahn! and Bobohn!"

Hoh, a spider... Types that use threads for acrobatics, types that use baby spiders, types that simply attack... Spider-type monsters are pretty cliché, but I won't let my guard down anymore. I'll clear it perfectly with No Damage, No Continue! So, what exactly are Pahn! and Bobohn!...?

Well, despite getting all fired up, we are currently hiding in a tree looking down, just a short distance from the boss area.

"Well, it's not strange at all for there to be players here... but this took the wind out of my sails."

"Swordsman, Swordsman, Swordsman... how should I put it? That's unbalanced, desu wa."

"It's probably better than a squad entirely made of Medics."

Speaking of a certain FPS, due to a balancing error where you could move your body for a few seconds even after dying, Medics who turned virtually immortal like zombies by reviving themselves engaged in a muddy turf war... truly, "barren" was the perfect word for that conflict zone. Besides, an all-vanguard party isn't necessarily a bad move. If you're going to push through with firepower, it's often faster to consolidate into one role rather than poorly splitting between vanguard and rearguard. An all-mage party for a super-high-firepower short-term battle is a common sight, even in non-Trash Games. Anyway, the reason we're hiding is that there were prior customers challenging the boss of this area. They formed a three-person party. While the all-swordsman composition is biased, at least they aren't nearly naked like me, and judging by their lack of damage, their levels seem reasonably high.

"...Sometimes I feel helplessly envious of guys who can just wear clothes normally."

"Normally, that isn't something to be envious of, desu wa..."

Are you indirectly saying I'm not normal...? Well, I'm not. Yeah. At least the average rookie player doesn't have their equipment slots crushed.

Confirming they entered the hollow(・・) of a giant tree, I jump down. Munching on a medicinal herb to heal the millimeter of fall damage, I walk toward the hollow they entered. No, while other players (a party) are challenging it, unrelated players cannot enter, but we can peek inside. It's partly for information gathering, but simply put, I want to see how other players fight. Without resisting the temptation—what you might call the "peeking at someone else's screen" phenomenon—I place Emul on my head and peer into the hollow, looking into the Area Boss field.

"Oh, it's just as you said, Emul."

It has a gaudily patterned... Ah, I see. Not a Crown, but a Clown Spider. Inside the cylindrical area that looks like it was hollowed out vertically, the Clown Spider is flying around, sometimes using threads as ropes, sometimes walking on threads stretched overhead like a tightrope walker. Ah, it moved to a position I can't see from here. Sadly for the three players, they seem to be facing the harsh reality of lacking ranged attacks. Only one player seems able to use magic and is chipping away with fireballs, but from what I can see, it's far from an effective hit.

"Don't waste shots there, just wait for it to come down...!"

"Aah, look out, desu wa...!"

Whatever... I kind of want popcorn and cola. And a chair. Ignoring me and Emul, who have gone completely into spectator mode, the three swordsmen finally seemed to think of waiting in ambush. But in that moment, what fell from above wasn't the Clown Spider, but a giant ball of thread the size of a balance ball people ride on. The thread ball scored a direct hit on the one magic user among the three. Despite its appearance, it was surprisingly soft and sticky, sealing the Magic Swordsman's movements like birdlime.

"Wow, that's nasty. It drops things from above..."

The two players trying to help the immobilized Magic Swordsman suddenly looked up in panic and started running away. I wondered what was happening, and in the next moment, the Magic Swordsman was crushed by a log falling from above... Ah, he died.

From there, it was hopeless. The two swordsmen, having lost their ranged attack means, were slowly cornered. In the end, unable to move properly, they were wrapped in thread by the Clown Spider, kicked repeatedly by its legs, and finally vanished into polygons. Partway through, the last remaining player noticed me, but all I could do was put my hands together in prayer for them, as they demonstrated the boss mechanics with their bodies... Namu namu.

"Now then, thanks to their noble sacrifice, I've mostly grasped it."

"You switch gears too fast, desu wa!?"

They've surely respawned in Thirdrema anyway; I'm grateful, but I'm not going to hold a memorial service. Thanks to them, I understand most of the boss's traits. As declared, let's go for that No Damage, No Continue run.

Oops, before that, leveling, leveling.

Author's Notes & Lore:

I knew it would happen, but seeing my stock [of chapters] pile up so slowly is making me anxious...

Internal Hierarchy of Empire Bees:

• • Queen: Top of the Empire Bees. Uses global buffs and is strong individually.
  • Minister (Saishou): Practically Number Two. As long as the Minister is alive, all bees can move with coordinated command.
  • General (Shogun): Excluding the Queen, the strongest individual among the subordinate bees. Uses powerful buffs on groups of about a dozen, making them extremely troublesome when paired with the Knights.
  • Knights (Shin'eitai): The swarm that protects the nest and, by extension, the Queen. Elites who prioritize the Queen above all else. Quite troublesome.
  • Guarders (Banpei): Defensive bees that protect the nest. They have high durability but their attack power is inferior to Hunters.
  • Hunters (Karyudo): Working class. Their role is to hunt monsters for food rather than nectar, so they do not use poison to avoid contaminating the prey.
  • Workers (Roudousha): Working class. Their role is to collect nectar and pollen, but they are often targeted by higher tiers of the ecological pyramid. They possess a distress signal.

Extremely rarely, an Empire Bee Princess may appear. There may or may not be weapons and armor that cannot be crafted without items dropped by the Princess.

Translator's Remarks:

• "Reasons for your defeat" (敗因): This phrasing mimics a common anime/manga trope (often associated with Bleach or Hitman Reborn) where a character coolly lists numbered reasons why their opponent lost.
• Operation Great Fisherman's Profit: The original Japanese is Gyofu no Ri (The Fisherman's Profit), a proverb referring to a third party profiting while two others fight (like a fisherman catching a bird that is trying to eat a clam).
• Namu Namu: A casual onomatopoeia for a Buddhist prayer (Namu Amida Butsu). Sunraku is jokingly saying "Rest in Peace" or "Amen."