Chapter 130: Hive

"What should I do?" Ethan asked.

"If you find it too difficult, leave her to me, I will take good care of the World Tree."

"If evil creatures really do appear and want to hurt Liora, can you help, meow?" Pearl wasn’t afraid of a fight, but she worried those creatures would destroy the farm Ethan had worked so hard to build.

The dragon nodded without hesitation. "Of course, this is my territory as well, furthermore..." She smiled meaningfully and handed her empty cup back to Ethan.

"In order to continue eating such delicious things in the future, I naturally must do my best to help, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, is there?"

The dragon enjoyed another serving of affogato, then took her leave.

Her answers had eased Ethan’s worries, at least for now, the World Tree would draw creatures to it — some friendly, some not — but with the dragon watching over their territory and Walter and Zharok close at hand, they could handle whatever came.

That didn’t mean his work was done.

A farmer’s life was always busy, especially for someone juggling as many projects as Ethan — managing the greenhouse, tending the fields, maintaining the cabin, preparing the paddy fields, and building pens for the livestock he planned to raise in the future, Pearl and Liora helped where they could, but most of the planning still fell on Ethan’s shoulders.

Just like that, another day passed.

...

Early the next morning, Ethan and the others returned to Flame Canyon.

"How is it? Was it a success?"

"It’s only been a day, and the bees have already built their hive?" Zharok asked.

"Fire Bees are special, meow, as long as they find a spot they like, they can build a hive in a single day." This was Zharok’s first time seeing the beekeeping process up close, and his face was bright with anticipation.

"Can we get close, meow? I’m worried about getting stung."

"Don’t worry, I have the Bee Queen’s Bracelet."

They arrived at the spot where Ethan had placed the bee box the day before, perhaps because the Phoenix had wiped out all the nearby monsters, the box sat completely undisturbed.

"Let me see..." Ethan lifted the lid of the bee box and carefully pulled out one of the wooden frames, moving slowly so as not to agitate the bees.

"Oh, it worked." A neat little honeycomb had already taken shape on the frame, bees buzzed in and out of it, Liora reached out a finger, wanting to touch them.

"Careful, meow~"

The Fire Bees sensed a threat and swarmed up, circling Liora in an agitated cloud, Ethan activated the Bee Queen’s Bracelet and channeled mana into it, the bees calmed at once and landed obediently on Liora’s finger.

"Liora, don’t hurt them."

She nodded and studied the tiny glowing bees on her finger with quiet fascination before placing them back into the box.

"Not bad." Ethan inspected the frame, then poured prepared sugar water into the box.

"What are you doing, meow?"

"This sugar water replenishes the Fire Bees’ energy and helps them reproduce faster." He closed the lid, surveyed the canyon, and smiled.

"Now then — let’s start beekeeping."

The Bee Queen’s Bracelet seemed to sharpen his instincts, Ethan quickly found another wild hive near the edge of the canyon and gathered materials on the spot, using timber and the Hammer of Gaia to craft a new box.

[Well-Crafted Bee Box]

[A finely crafted bee box, more comfortable than a standard bee box, making it highly suitable for bees to inhabit.]

[Well-Crafted Effect: Honey production increased.]

[Hammer of Gaia Effect: Bee reproduction speed accelerated.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★]

"Oh, this one turned out pretty good." He hadn’t used the Crafting skill this time, relying on the Hammer of Gaia instead, and the result earned a Well-Crafted rating.

Zharok lifted the finished box with one hand and carried it over to the first. "Just put it here?"

"Yeah, bring me some more wood, please."

"Got it."

Zharok handled the tree-felling while Ethan built the boxes, Pearl and Liora scoured the canyon for wild hives.

"Meow, there’s another one over there~"

"Good job."

"Liora found it, meow~"

"Liora is amazing."

They worked through the entire day, by the end, Ethan had built a total of ten bee boxes, now they just had to wait for the Fire Bees to reproduce, soon enough, they would be harvesting sweet, fragrant honey.

"Aren’t you going to place a few near the fields, meow?"

"One is enough." The wheat fields and other crops relied on insects and wind for pollination, a single box nearby would boost the results without overdoing it.

Just as Ethan was about to stand, Pearl’s ears shot up.

"Ah, it’s a Tiger Hornet,"

"A Tiger Hornet?!" Ethan’s scalp went numb, hornets preyed on bees, they were a beekeeper’s worst enemy.

He didn’t know how this world’s Tiger Hornets differed from Earth’s, but the name alone was enough reason to stay alert.

"Do Tiger Hornets prey on Fire Bees?"

"They do, meow~" Pearl’s voice was tense.

A massive Tiger Hornet buzzed over toward one of the bee boxes, it stared at the hive entrance with greedy compound eyes, mandibles opening wide.

Smack!

A small hand came down on its head, Liora had caught the Tiger Hornet with her bare hands, she calmly flipped the giant wasp over and looked up at Ethan.

"Good job."

Hearing the praise, Liora made a V-sign — expressionless as always, she handed the Tiger Hornet to Pearl.

Zharok couldn’t help but marvel. "This child is definitely going to be extraordinary."

"She is the World Tree, after all..." Ethan’s smile faded.

"But speaking of which, are we safe? Pearl, if a Tiger Hornet appeared here, there must be a nest nearby."

If the nest wasn’t completely destroyed, Ethan would never be at ease.

Zharok, Pearl, and Liora searched the surrounding area, but they couldn’t find any trace of a nest.

"Yo~! What are you guys doing here?"

The Minotaur Draugor appeared, giant axe resting on his shoulder.

"Huh? Who is this little girl?!"

"Let me introduce you, this is Liora — she’s the World Tree."

"Ohohoho? the World Tree? a pleasure to meet you, I am Draugor, I’m a friend of Ethan and Pearl."

Draugor snorted excitedly, extending a massive, fan-like hand toward Liora, it was easily the size of her entire torso.

Liora wasn’t frightened in the slightest, she reached out her small hand and placed it in his palm, one huge, one tiny, the two hands clasped together and gently shook, the Minotaur’s face split into a broad, toothy grin.

Draugor set his giant axe aside and squatted down so he was closer to Liora’s eye level. "What are you all doing here anyway? Besides the flower field, there doesn’t seem to be anything special around."

Ethan explained the situation — beekeeping nearby, a Tiger Hornet sighting, and the search for its nest.

Draugor said, "I think I saw one on my way over."

"Really? Where? Take us there."

"Follow me."

Ethan and the others followed Draugor deeper into the forest, they arrived in front of a towering tree, but there were no hornets in sight.