Free Web NovelChapter 1149: The Negotiation
Not that anyone was going to have the luxury of lingering on those thoughts.
Before anyone could take even a single step toward the tiny Queen Bee or rush over to properly greet the little thing, she suddenly made another move.
The tiny monarch took an enormous breath.
It looked as though the effort involved her entire body. Her fluffy little shoulders rose, her rounded cheeks puffed out until they looked ready to burst, and she held that breath with the utmost seriousness, as though preparing for something incredibly important.
Then...
"TOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"
The people froze.
Well...
Perhaps they really should’ve expected that.
After all, her very first cry had been a quack.
The horn-like blast that followed somehow felt... fitting and surprisingly accurate.
Despite coming from something that barely reached a foot in height, the sound boomed through the medical bay with astonishing force, reverberating through the walls like the triumphant call of some ancient herald announcing the arrival of royalty.
Everyone could only stare.
Then again, there was really no other choice when another tremendous wave of spiritual energy burst outward from the tiny Queen.
A brilliant golden pulse swept across the room, bright enough that Killian, Jax, and even those watching through the projection instinctively shielded their eyes once again.
Curiously, however, even after the light had begun to fade, none of them lowered their arms.
It wasn’t her spiritual pressure that held them there.
It was what answered her call.
The buzzing returned.
Not gradually.
All at once.
As though a dam had burst, countless bees surged toward the medical bay from every direction, their wings beating in perfect unison as they poured through every available opening. The swarm that had been desperately struggling to keep everyone outside despite being repeatedly blown back abandoned their defensive formation without the slightest hesitation, while countless more emerged from every corner of the dungeon-linked space, converging upon the room as though responding to a summons that transcended instinct itself.
It wasn’t panic, nor was it disorder.
If anything, it was astonishingly orderly.
Every single bee knew exactly where it was supposed to be.
And every single one answered their Queen without a moment’s hesitation.
Though the same couldn’t really be said about everyone else, as they clearly hadn’t seen any mention of this in that manual they had read from cover to cover.
"B-brother, is this normal?!" Ollie practically screeched as he instinctively shrank closer to Kyle, who, without a second thought, immediately covered the blonde’s mouth with both hands to stop him from accidentally inhaling one of the many bees flying around in the middle of his panic.
Unfortunately, amid all that commotion, the very person Ollie was asking couldn’t answer.
Even as the Queen Bee’s triumphant tooting continued echoing through the medical bay and countless bees answered her call, Luca remained completely rooted to where he stood because he was almost certain he’d just seen something.
Something else other than this admittedly bizarre situation.
His wide golden eyes stayed fixed on the projection, his mind stubbornly replaying the same scene over and over.
Big brother Killian...
Had just kissed Jax.
Hadn’t he?
The dungeon owner continued staring for another moment, genuinely unsure whether he’d actually witnessed it or whether the dazzling light had somehow muddled his vision. Eventually, deciding he needed a second opinion from the person he trusted most, he slowly raised a finger toward the projection.
"Husband... did you also see—"
"The Queen Bee?" Xavier answered immediately, cutting him off before the sentence could wander somewhere considerably more dangerous. "Yes."
Luca blinked.
"No, the—"
"Ah." Xavier nodded with complete composure. "The changes in the worker bees. Yes."
"Huh?" Luca furrowed his brows. "No, Jax and Ki—"
Before the names could completely leave his mouth, the Imperial Crown Prince calmly lowered his head until they were almost face-to-face.
"Hm." Xavier looked thoughtfully into his little wife’s eyes. "Why don’t we wash away unnecessary sights?"
At that, Luca tilted his head in confusion, only for the Prince to lean down before he could even ask what that was supposed to mean.
The little chipmunk instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
A gentle kiss landed on his left eyelid.
Then another on the right.
"!"
"???"
Oh.
Umm, well... what did he want to ask about again?
As expected, Luca immediately forgot what he’d been trying to say in the face of an extremely handsome face and fluttering kisses.
After all, there was only so much one could do to resist such a sudden boon!
The Imperial Crown Prince, meanwhile, quietly congratulated himself on successfully averting what could’ve become an exceedingly troublesome conversation. One that would’ve undoubtedly demanded answers he didn’t actually have.
Because, frankly, short of giving an impromptu lecture about the birds and the bees, Xavier found it would probably be easier to conquer an entire planet than explain the relationship status of those two polar opposites, much less how this particular version of offspring production was apparently supposed to work.
For all of Xavier Solaris’ hidden accolades and remarkable abilities...
Answering questions like that, apparently, was not one of them.
Unfortunately for him, there happened to be one very significant problem.
Unlike everyone else, whose vision had been limited by inconvenient factors like distance, timing, and Xavier’s haphazard ice wall, one particular system had witnessed absolutely everything in pristine, ultra-high definition and couldn’t possibly remain idle with such important information.
After all, who else could have borne witness to such a momentous event other than the manager of managers, the overseer of the entire dungeon space itself?
And with such precious educational material now available, coupled with a newly updated extensive database regarding the making of babies, D-29 naturally concluded that it should immediately report this fascinating discovery to its beloved Host.
"Host!" the little system enthusiastically announced. "Would you like to re—"
"If," Xavier interrupted through their mental link with astonishing speed, "you let this one go this time around, filing it dutifully instead..."
D-29 immediately stopped.
The Prince continued without giving it even a second to think.
"...I’ll personally see to it that the production company behind your favorite drama commissions five additional special episodes once the main series concludes."
"!!!"
By the shiniest bead on Mariana’s dress!
That...
Was an offer.
The little system completely froze as countless thoughts flashed through its processing core. Five additional special episodes... for free?
From the same flow of consciousness, Sid quietly observed the entire negotiation without saying a word.
Frankly, the result had never really been in doubt.
This might’ve been a small victory for his Master.
But for the Imperial Family...
It had very likely prevented them from accidentally producing a future generation of spiritual guardian beasts as their next successors.
