Chapter 19: A Kind Bee

The leaves on the trees swayed gently, touched by a light breeze. Yet, for Ren and Mizuki, every single rustle was a war drum.

Motionless, hidden behind a tree with twisted roots, they watched with bated breath as the giant bee —as big as a horse— buzzed menacingly above them, as if searching for something.... or someone.

“Mizuki,” he whispered, as a drop of sweat ran down his temple, “do you have any idea how we can... kill that thing?”

The girl swallowed hard, pressing herself a little closer to the rough trunk. “Kill it, no... but... in theory, honey can be used to calm it down. It should attract and distract it.”

“Honey? And where are we going to find that in the middle of a forest infested with monsters?”

“Well... if this is its territory, there must be a beehive nearby.”

The boy slowly looked up. The tree above them was bare. No nests, no hives. Just twisted branches and trembling leaves. “We're on the only tree without honey, huh? What luck.”

“Look over there!” Mizuki whispered, pointing to the tree next to them. “There's a beehive! And it looks... full!”

He followed the direction of her finger. A large beehive hung like a golden lantern among the branches. An amber substance dripped from the edge, sparkling in the sunlight.

“I'll take care of it,” he said decisively. “You stay here with the sword. If that thing comes near... strike it down!”

The girl paled. “W-what?! But I don't—”

But he had already left. With quick, precise movements, he climbed up the rough trunk. The branches creaked under his weight, but he didn't stop. Every inch brought him closer to the heart of the hive.

Finally, he reached the top. The intense scent of honey enveloped him, sweet and sticky. Golden drops clung to the waxy walls of the hive, as if they were alive.

“There's enough to attract ten giant bees...” he muttered.

Then he froze. “Wait... how am I going to get it? I don't have anything to collect it with...”

From below, Mizuki's irritated voice hit him like a whip. “You climbed up there without even thinking?!”

“Yeah... heh heh...” he laughed nervously. “Don't you have anything to throw down to me?”

“No! So deal with it yourself!”

He sighed, tearing a few large leaves from the nearby branches. He crumpled them in his hands, trying to shape them into a sort of improvised spoon. He dipped the leaves in the honey, careful not to attract the attention of the real bees — but that's when it happened.

A huge shadow blocked out the sunlight. The buzzing became deafening. He turned slowly... and saw it.

The giant bee. Right behind him. Its transparent wings vibrated so quickly that they seemed almost motionless. Its compound eyes, shiny and black, stared at him as if he had just dared to desecrate a sacred treasure.

“M-Mizuki...” he murmured, trying not to move. “Help...?”

She was down there, her eyes wide and her mouth open, but she couldn't speak. Finally, she snapped out of it and waved her sword at him. “H-hey! There's honey here! If you want it, come and get it!”

The bee seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then its buzzing became even more powerful, threatening. The tension in the air was palpable. This was no longer just an annoyed creature. It was furious.

The boy held his breath. A confrontation was inevitable. And this time... honey wouldn't be enough.

He was suspended between heaven and earth, clinging with both hands to the branch of that massive tree. The leaves swayed gently in the wind, but there was nothing reassuring about that movement for him. His breathing had become heavy, and his heartbeat pounded like war drums in his ears.

In front of him, a few steps away, that giant bee continued to buzz menacingly. The sound of its wings was piercing, deafening, almost hypnotic. Every vibration seemed to reverberate along the branches like an omen of death.

“Mizuki! Help me down!” he shouted, his voice cracked with fear and effort. “I can't stay here!”

But once again, there was no answer. Only that buzzing. Louder, closer. He tried to smile, in an instinctive and futile gesture. He raised the honey-soaked leaf toward the insect, as if that alone could appease its wrath.

“Look... Here's the honey. It's all yours. Sweet and golden... Isn't that what you want?”

But the bee didn't move. Or rather, it moved all right. Its pitch-black eyes stared at him with increasing intensity, and the sound of its wings became unbearable, causing the branch beneath him to shake.

“Enough, you're making me dizzy...” he muttered to himself as his arms began to give way. The bark scratched his palms and every muscle protested with sharp, stabbing pains.

Then, a voice. “B-b-bee! C-come on!” That hesitant but present voice was Mizuki's.

She was down there, pressed against the trunk, her legs trembling, but her eyes determined. She had finally broken the silence, trying to distract the creature. But the bee didn't even look at her. It remained fixed on Ren, as if it could only see him.

“E-hey... Mizuki... Why is it still mad at me?!”

“I-I think it's because... you took honey from its hive...”

“But... you told me to do it!”

“Y-yes... but it was the only way...”

Ren swallowed. He felt like a fish trapped out of water. Every second up there was torture. But before they could say anything else, a new sound broke the air.

An even more powerful buzzing. Two, three, then four wings beating in unison. Two more bees, just as gigantic, had joined the first. Mizuki's face paled.

Above the tree, the boy gritted his teeth. His hands were slipping, his fingertips bleeding slightly. The wood seemed to have become red-hot. The thought of falling was beginning to feel more real than the buzzing sound surrounding him.

“Is this how it will end... Really... in this stupid way...?”

A small tremor ran through his body. But it wasn't fear. It was frustration. A dull, bittersweet anger, like the honey he still held in his hand. Clutching the leaf with a thread of remaining strength, he looked at Mizuki and whispered:

“If... something happens to me... run. Get away from here. Don't look back.”

She shook her head. Tears moistened her eyes. “N-no... I don't want to leave you! Not now!”

The sky between the branches had darkened slightly. And with it, hope seemed to hang by a thread as thin as the air between those flapping wings.

And there, amid the trembling rustle of leaves and the continuous flapping of wings that buzzed like a drum in Ren's head, something unimaginable happened.

A voice. Clear, calm... and surprisingly feminine. “Boy... don't be afraid.”

He widened his eyes, his fingers still clenched around the tree branch, his breath caught in his throat as if time itself had stopped. Mizuki, below him, also stopped trembling.

“At first I really wanted to attack you, I admit,” the voice continued in a soft but firm tone, “but then I realized you were just scared. You haven't done anything wrong.”

From above the tree, he searched for the source of that sound, and what he saw left him breathless. The bee—the giant creature that had seemed about to pounce on him just moments before—was watching him with calm eyes, large and shiny like golden gems. Its wings, which had been vibrating furiously before, were now moving slowly, as if to caress the air.

“Y-you... talk?” he asked, his voice cracked with amazement.

“Huh? Of course!” laughed the bee. “I'm a talking bee, can't you see?”

“A-a talking bee...” Mizuki took a step back, clutching his dress in his hands. “I-I didn't think they existed...”

“Come on, get down from that tree before you hurt yourself, kid. You've already taken enough risks.”

Still stiff and with his heart racing, he obeyed. Each branch creaked under his feet as if in protest, but he finally reached the ground, where the girl greeted him with an expression that was more confused than relieved.

“I was worried,” explained the bee, lowering her massive body slightly to get closer to them. “You touched my hive, and I was alarmed. But when I got closer and heard you talking... I realized you were just two lost young people looking for a way to save yourselves.”

“W-we thought the honey might distract you... It was the only way we could think of.”

“And it worked,” chuckled the bee. Then he turned to the other two bees floating nearby, now silent. “By the way, they are my partner and my son. I called them just to reassure them and to prevent them from attacking you.”

“W-what?!” Mizuki exclaimed, her eyes wide. “You... you have a family?!”

“Of course! My son is all grown up now. See how proud he is?”

“I-incredible...” Ren turned to Mizuki with a lost look, then turned back to the creature. “Thank you for sparing us.”

The bee nodded slowly. “Don't worry. We've been under a lot of attack lately. We defend ourselves when we can, but... it's difficult. You, however, are not enemies. And I can feel that.”

The words came out sweetly, almost maternally. An unexpected warmth seemed to emanate from that imposing figure, and even the pungent smell of honey now seemed familiar, reassuring.

“Actually, you should hide for a while. The knights accompanying us are here to train... and they would not distinguish between you and an aggressive beast.”

The bee nodded. “I understand. Thank you for warning us. We will tell the others.”

“In that case, allow us to give you some honey. As a thank you for understanding us.”

“W-wait, there's no need!” protested Ren, embarrassed.

“But I want it!” whispered Mizuki, clinging to his sleeve.

“Come on, accept it. A sincere gift deserves to be accepted.”

Gently, the bee handed them a rolled-up leaf drenched in golden, fragrant honey that dripped like liquid amber.

“T-thank you so much...”

“No need to thank me. Just know that not all beings different from you are enemies. Sometimes, all you need to do is listen.”

“We'll remember that...”

And so, with a slight bow of their bodies, the three bees flapped their wings and took flight, disappearing elegantly among the trees.

Ren and Mizuki stood there, motionless, as the light filtered through the branches, caressing them with golden reflections. Honey in their hands, and in their hearts... a strange feeling of wonder and gratitude.

A lesson they would not easily forget.