Symphony for the Insect Princess

"Why are you so nervous? Why are you using honorifics when addressing me, your husband?"

"I...I'm sorry, I was just startled..."

"...It's okay, you go first."

"Ok."

Luna bowed and left quickly. Saenris glanced at her back coldly and murmured, "Boring woman."

It was not until he looked at Aisia, who was sitting in the depths of the dim room, that a hint of warmth appeared in his eyes.

"It's time for lunch, Elsa."

"...I understand, Father. You don't have to come in person. Just send a servant or Pierscore."

"But I wanted to come see you."

Without any movement or footsteps, Saenris appeared behind Aisia in a flash.

The kindness in his eyes grew stronger, and his hand gently brushed through Asia's dark blue hair, his movements very gentle... too gentle.

Aisia's body trembled slightly, but she simply put down the test tube in her left hand and continued writing with her right hand.

"Are you doing experiments today too, my dear Elsa?"

"Yes... a high-grade adhesive that can be used for forging magical tools. I want to try to improve it."

"You're really interested in alchemy..."

Saenris's hand slid down from her hair, and just as Aisia breathed a sigh of relief, the hand gently rested on her left hand.

Feeling the rough touch through the gloves, Aisia did not show any expression. Her silence was like a signal. Saenris's hand continued to move up along the arm, like a big spider crawling across the royal blue glove.

Just as the hand was about to touch her exposed shoulders, Aisia finally spoke out to stop it.

"Father, please—"

"Ah...ah...yes, I know..."

Saenris gently moved his hand away, revealing a smile that was either kind or sick.

"You're seventeen now, and you still have a year until adulthood...why bother with all that rush, right?"

"Can--"

Aisia frowned and was about to say something, when—

"Greetings, Master Curtis."

A girl's voice interrupted them.

"……who?"

Sarnris turned away impatiently. If he hadn't been completely preoccupied with Aisia, he wouldn't have failed to notice the stranger. Suddenly, a young girl appeared at the door. Judging by her attire, she looked like a new maid. She had a dreamy, translucent face, silver-gray hair, and a flawless figure. She was undoubtedly a rare beauty.

But Saenris had no interest in women other than his daughter. He just stared at the visitor with cold eyes.

"Are you the new maid? What are you doing here?!"

"Woo..."

The girl panicked for a moment, her body shrinking suddenly, but she managed to maintain her composure and said in a very humble tone, "The representatives of the investigation team are waiting for you to dine. They asked me to come-"

"Why did you have to come?"

"I was... just passing by the restaurant..."

"Then how did you know I was here?!"

"I... I just... asked the seniors I met on the road... Some of them saw..."

"……snort!"

The pressure around Saenris increased instantly, and the poor little maid's legs immediately went weak and she fell to the ground, trembling at her suddenly angry master.

"Forget it... I don't want to bother with you for now!"

He gave her one last glare and strode away, leaving behind the still trembling little maid and Aisia who stared at her blankly.

"Um... Nairis, right? Are you okay?"

After a while, Aisia came to her senses and hurried over to help the maid up.

"Thank you, Miss. I'm fine...just..."

"It's okay, that's just how father is. If it were anyone else, they would have probably fainted from fright."

Nairis managed to stand firmly and hurriedly straightened her messy maid outfit with her hands. Her expression was still calm, but it was obvious at a glance that she was pretending to be calm.

"If you have no further instructions, I will take my leave, Miss."

"Wait."

"……Yes."

"How much did you see just now?"

"..."

"...It doesn't matter. Father... is just that kind of person. Even though he hasn't actually done anything yet, it's... never mind. I won't force you to forget it, but you know what? Don't mention it to anyone, or else Father might do anything."

"Yes……"

"Also, it's best for you to stay in your room or stay with me these days. Try not to act alone, so as not to run into Father again. I will tell your foreman."

"Thank you for your concern, Miss..."

"Don't be busy today. Go back and rest. The fighting spirit's pressure is no joke."

"As ordered."

Nairis bowed deeply, a look of amnesty flashing across her face for a moment, and then she hurried away.

Aisia was the only one left in the dim room.

Her slightly lonely gaze swept over the strangely shaped bottles and jars, colorful reagents, old books, minerals, specimens, precision tools, strange instruments, and draft papers filled with formulas.

Finally, I opened the curtains, looked at the sunny sky outside, and sighed.

"Ok?"

There seemed to be a riot down there.

Several people wearing the uniforms of the Knights' Investigation Team rushed into the courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion, saying something anxiously, and their expressions looked as if a disaster was about to happen.

"...What happened outside again?

Chapter 39: Insect Man

In Kasolu City, near the edge of the city——

On the second floor of the not very spacious restaurant, Sedroon, Butcher, Rodrigo and Qiumila are all here.

Just as it seemed that the victory was about to be decided between Sedroon and Butcher, they were interrupted by a sudden intruder.

Although it has an upright body structure with two arms and two legs, it is obviously not human.

Its head is shaped like a locust, with two moth-like antennae on the top of its head, eight eyes exactly like a spider, and two pincers similar to an ant's mouthparts; its body is very lean and slender, appearing extremely agile, and all parts except the joints are covered with a carapace, which looks like a beetle and a shrimp, strong but not bulky; the muscles in the exposed parts are arranged in a very strange way, like the muscles of a rhinoceros beetle or a stag beetle; the general structure of its hands and feet is similar to that of primates, but the fingers are all hooked claws with barbs, and are covered with tiny hard hairs and scales; there is a long tail on its back, which looks like a scorpion's tail, with a sharp spike at the end.

This thing... is simply a giant insect in human form.

And it looked like the average of the most representative and deadly organs of all insects in the world added together.

"Insect Man"

This is probably the most appropriate name for it.

"Warcraft? Ran into the city?"

Sedraon murmured, but she immediately dismissed the possibility.

The city of Kasol is heavily guarded and has always responded quickly to harassment from monsters. Moreover, the city of Kasol is now overcrowded, and it is impossible that such a conspicuous creature has not been discovered until now.

Then it is——

“…Familiar!”

Sedroon and Butcher came to this conclusion at the same time, and then turned their attention to Rodrigo, who had not yet left.

Obviously, Butcher had already noticed that there was a magician here.

The War Spirit's intuition told them that this insect man was a very high-level magical beast. If they wanted to use it as a familiar, Rodrigo, the magician, would be the most likely suspect.

Sensing the hostility of the two, Rodrigo quickly waved his hands and shouted, "Don't misunderstand me, you two! I specialize in wood elemental magic and have no idea how to use a bug-like familiar like this!"

As he spoke, he released his magic power, which was filled with extremely pure wood and earth elements. It seemed that what he said was true.

So who exactly is this insect man?

"..."

It has been standing there since it appeared, motionless.

He stood very straight, with his arms hanging naturally, his legs spread shoulder-width apart, and his eight eyes staring straight ahead.

A simple posture, but with an impeccable aura.

“…………Hey, you bastard!”

Sedraon called out to it, but there was no response.

"I'm calling you, do you hear me? Are you deaf? Or do you not have ears at all?"

"..."

Still no response.

"……never mind."

Sedroon shrugged and turned to leave.

At this moment——

earn!!!!!!

The air is sliced.

Too fast, so fast that it leaves a vacuum in the air.

The claws swung out at a speed far exceeding the speed of sound.

Sedroon was naturally prepared. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly from the moment she turned around. Even so, she almost failed to block the insect man's attack!

(So ​​fast! And—so powerful!?)

With his feet firmly planted on the ground, one hand gripping the hilt, the other holding the blade. Despite adopting a standard greatsword blocking stance, Sedraon was still nearly sent flying! The insect man's sharp claws and the greatsword collided, sparks flying at the point of contact. The claws were no less hard than the greatsword!

"Tsk...you...ya..."

Even though the magic power flowing throughout his body provided him with strength, Sedroon was still pushed back slowly, and his leather boots left white marks on the floor. The insect man's strength was simply unbelievable!

"Don't get carried away!!!"

The greatsword's blade opened again, two magic circles forming within it. Flames and lightning simultaneously enveloped the blade! The concentrated magic power instantly exploded, and the second floor of the restaurant was reduced to rubble amidst a roar! The screams of the people rang out, but Sedraon ignored them all. Her attention was now completely focused on Cheng Yaojin!

but--

"Where... where are you hiding? Damn bug..."

The moment the explosion occurred, the insect man hid his tracks in the flames and dust. Sedraon searched for it intently but to no avail. Even the mana fluctuations had completely disappeared! Not only was there no mana fluctuation, but even vital signs like breathing were undetectable. It was as if it was dead!

(Where on earth did it go…)

"Watch your back!!!"

Qimila suddenly yelled, and Sedroon's instincts hadn't yet caught up! She spun around as fast as she could and swung her sword down, only to find it struck something incredibly hard. With a clang, the sword nearly flew out of her hand!

“███!!!”

The thing let out a strange, hoarse cry, and the space before its eyes suddenly fluctuated, revealing a faint human figure! But this figure quickly disappeared, like the surface of disturbed water returning to calm.

(He can even become invisible!?)

Monsters capable of various forms of invisibility are not uncommon, but invisibility is a means of escape or surprise attack. Monsters with this ability are either physically weak or possess explosive power but lack stamina, forcing them to resort to this desperate measure. However, the Zergman's physical form is undoubtedly extremely formidable, and invisibility is a perfect complement to it!

(If this thing is really a familiar... its owner must be a perfectionist, or extremely cautious...)

Sedroon pondered, yet remained vigilant. Where would the Zerg attack from next? Should he attack proactively? Destroy them all with a wide-area destructive skill?