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 Hiiro’s 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 Arnold’s shoulder, saying he would leave it to him.
“Hey! You’ll get honey on my shoulder!”
It’s already on it anyways. Hiiro takes off his gloves, and takes a biscuit out of Arnold’s pocket.
“Oy, wait!”
“It’s fine, just do your job Old Man.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you!”
After Arnold’s shouting stops, Max shrugs his shoulders.
Hiiro soaks the borrowed in plenty of honey. The honey itself is orange in color, and quite thick. It’s smell is enough to clearly convey its sweetness.
First, Hiiro puts the honey itself in his mouth.
“N……..ooh”
It’s 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. It’s quite tasty.”
Without a doubt, it’s 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.”
“Don’t yes me! This is the true surprise! I’ve once again confirmed that you’re 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 it’s biscuits, then I have plenty with me. Don’t worry.”
“I see. Good work.”
“You still plan on eating more!?”
“Don’t underestimate my power.”
“Wha!?”
“My stomach… Is still calling out.”
“I’m 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. Don’t be so rowdy in the middle of a meal.”
“Nu…kku… 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~?”
“You’re creepy.”
“What the hell!”
“Then let me rephrase that. You’re disgusting.”
“Don’t those mean the same?”
“Ga ha ha.”
“NomNomNom”
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. Isn’t this nest too small for that amount?”
“This isn’t 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.
“We’ll 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. That’s 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 it’s not like there’s 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 we’ve 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.