Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 183

The bastion bees were livid. I could tell that they were angry, even before they swarmed out of their hive. There could have been a plethora of reasons as to why they were upset. For example, they could have been mad that I left them again.

I was supposed to be the protector of their new hive. That was why they had come with me— so they could expand safely, under my watchful eye. However, I had been absent quite a bit. More often than I would have liked. And that could have been one of the reasons why they were buzzing their wings in a cacophonous clamor when I approached them.

Another reason could have simply been the fact that they were enraged over being locked away in their hive for over a day. They might have had enough oxygen to survive, but it must have been terrifying for them, knowing that they couldn’t escape even if they tried. Now, they were just directing their anger to their closest target.

After all, these were baby bastion bees. They weren’t that intelligent— or at least, I assumed that they weren’t born fully cognizant of their actions. I was presuming that they were acting purely on instinct, rather than any logic or reason.

Now, the reason they were angry didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I had somehow managed to incur their wrath. And they were sacred monsters. There were over a hundred of them. They charged at me all at once, a black and gold swarm that buzzed thunderously and consumed me like a hurricane.

It was a terrifying sight. Like a tempest of rage was bearing down on me. One that would swallow anything in its path, leaving it bare and dead.

And I just stood there, staring at the baby bastion bees as they attacked me. I remained unmoving for a long moment, before scratching the back of my head.

“Uh, are you guys done?” I asked simply.

But the baby bastion bees continued their onslaught of attacks. Their tiny little stingers struck my skin— and bounced off harmlessly as I didn’t even budge. I looked past them, eyeing the nursing bee I knew that was waiting in the distance.

“You knew they were going to attack me, right?”

She didn’t respond. Her head was hung low, and her wings buzzed softly behind her. The other eleven adult bastion bees stayed back too, letting only the baby bastion bees unleash their onslaught on me.

“You should’ve told them it wasn’t going to work,” I sighed, shaking my head. “They’re going to hurt themselves, if anything.”

I gestured at the baby bastion bees as they repeatedly slammed their stingers against my skin to no avail. The nursing bastion bee bobbed back and forth in the air like she was making a shrugging motion— as if she was telling me that she already tried to advise her new queen against this.

But I guess as a relatively new newborn, the baby bastion bee queen refused to listen to reason. I sighed as I stood there, continuously attacked by the swarm.

“What do I do now?” I asked, looking at the adult bastion bees for help. They offered me nothing. I turned back towards Noele and Bucky. The two of them were just looking on in shock. I raised a brow at them. “What about you two? Got any ideas?”

“Uh, nope,” Noele said as she took a step back. “Other than to just stand there far away from us? I have no other ideas for you, Amelia.”

“Bawk bawk bawk!” Bucky clucked in agreement.

I rolled my eyes, before looking back towards the swarm of baby bastion bees. They were still angry. They were still stinging me— well, trying to sting me and failing. But I wasn’t going to fight back. I didn’t want to hurt them by accident.

So I just sighed and sat down. “I guess I’ll wait for you guys to tire out.”

And the swarm of baby bastion bees continued to assail me. Bucky and Noele exchanged a glance, before they both shrugged. They left me alone with the bastion bees as I just waited. But unfortunately for me, it seemed that the baby bastion bees had a lot more energy than I thought. So I continued waiting even as the sun began to set, until the next day arrived.

—--

“Ugh, that was a terrible dream…” Edlyn murmured as she rubbed at her eyes.

The sun shone brightly, its golden rays leaking in through the slits of the window blinds. In the distance, a rooster crowed. Crickets chirped in the distance, and all sorts of little critters and insects crawled out of their sleep. Slowly, the world came alive.

And Edlyn sat up in her bed. She was a relatively young woman— in her mid 20s, with short black hair that fell to her neck. While she’d rather have longer hair, it often got in the way when she was cooking. As a [Chef], she had to make sacrifices to be as efficient as she could be so that she could become a [Royal Chef] in the Astra Palace.

She yawned, before massaging her shoulders. “It seemed so real too. But at least it’s over now.”

Edlyn did her morning stretches before groggily making her way out of her room. For some reason, its layout looked a little bit different than she remembered, but she was still half-asleep so she brushed it off. She pushed the door open as she rubbed her temples.

“Mama,” she called out as she strode out of her room. A voice hummed down the hallway to the kitchen. “I had the weirdest dream. I became the head [Royal Chef] of the Astra Palace, then this weird woman showed—”

“Oh, you’re finally awake!” the voice exclaimed, and a head popped out from the end of the corridor.

Edlyn blinked a few times, staring at the blonde lady standing there with an apron. It took a moment for the [Chef] to gather her wits.

“Who the fuck are you? Where’s my Mama?” Edlyn asked, taking a step back. She paused when she finally took in her unfamiliar surroundings. “And where the fuck am I?”

“I’m Nicole,” the blonde lady said as she strode out of the kitchen, untying her apron. She laughed and proffered a hand to the [Chef]. “And you’re in my husband’s farm in Wolfwater.”

“Wolfwater? That’s—” Edlyn’s eyes snapped wide open.

She remembered her dream. She recalled everything that happened. From leaving her family behind to pursue her goals in Astra, to becoming the head [Chef] of the Astra Palace, to being kidnapped by a strange brown-haired woman… Edlyn realized that it hadn’t all been a dream.

It hadn’t been a nightmare. It was actually reality. It really did happen.

The [Royal Chef] dropped to her knees and closed her eyes. “Angel’s breath, I am actually stuck here, aren’t I?”

For a moment, she knelt there, processing her predicament. She had been left with no other choice. It was either remain in the Astra Palace as a [Royal Chef] and let the Astrad Kingdom be defeated by the Kingdom of Kal, or go befriend Amelia and convince her to put an end to the war.

While the latter outcome seemed unreasonable, the only other outcome was even more unreasonable. Edlyn had little reason to believe that she could convince Amelia to even leave Wolfwater, let alone partake in the war. But the [Royal Chef] believed she had to try. For the sake of her country. For the sake of her friends. And for the sake of her family.

But now… she was starting to regret her decision.

“I made a terrible choice…” she murmured as she faced the ground, hearing a soft set of footfalls approach her.

“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re stuck here,” Nicole said as she walked up to the [Royal Chef] with a warm smile. “You’re our guest here— and you were out for a while. So come, just relax.”

Edlyn furrowed her brows as she was helped up and led out to the living room. “I’m your guest?”

And she paused when she caught sight of a bowl of steaming stew laid out next to a platter of bread on the table. Nicole nodded with a soft chuckle.

“That’s right. You must be starving after sleeping for that long. Help yourself.”

The sweet scent of the food reached Edlyn, and her stomach growled. Certainly, she was incredibly hungry. But she was still confused as to what was going on. Even as she took a seat and reached for a toasted loaf of bread.

“Why are you doing this for me? Are you friends with… Amelia?” Edlyn asked hesitantly— as if uttering that name was enough to summon that monster.

Nicole nodded simply, taking a seat across from the [Royal Chef]. “I am friends with Amelia, indeed. But if I met anyone who was ever in need or trouble, I would help them regardless if a friend of mine knew who they were.”

“I… see.” The [Royal Chef] pursed her lips.

She looked down at the hot stew, before staring at the warm piece of bread. She felt like something was off about this situation. She felt like Nicole was too nice. Was this some kind of a test by Amelia? Was this a trap? Was Edlyn supposed to be able to critique the food she was given?

She didn’t know. And she didn’t want to fail whatever this was, so she just stared at her loaf of bread for a minute.

“Are you alright?” Nicole asked, tilting her head. “You haven’t touched your food.”

“I’m…” Edlyn trailed off. She didn’t know what to say.

And Nicole clapped her hands together and smiled. “Oh, of course. You must be thirsty. Let me get you a glass of water.”

She quickly hurried off and brought back some water for the [Royal Chef]. Edlyn bit her lower lip, before accepting the cup. If this was a test, then the only way to pass was by eating what was given to her.

So Edlyn swallowed away her apprehension and dipped the loaf of bread in the stew before taking a bite out of it.

I can do this— she started internally. And then she paused. Her eyes went wide as she chewed on the bread. “This is…”

It wasn’t the best cooking in the world. It was certainly not prepared by a high-leveled [Chef]. In fact, it probably wasn’t even prepared by a [Chef] at all. It was a home-cooked meal. Incomparable to what could be found in restaurants. And yet… and yet…

Edlyn teared up as she slowly lowered the loaf of bread.

“It tastes just like Mama’s cooking…”

“Did you say something?” Nicole asked, leaning forward.

And Edlyn caught herself. “O-oh… I was just saying it’s delicious!”

“That’s good to hear. Truth be told, I haven’t really sat down and cooked anything in a while. So I was quite afraid you’d dislike it and all, considering that you’re such a high-leveled [Chef].”

“No— absolutely not! I love it!” Edlyn protested, waving her hands in the air. “It’s… delicious.”

How long had it been? She’d left her parents’ home over ten years ago to make a better life for them in the city of Astra. And the [Royal Chef] had been so focused on achieving her goals, everything had become so complicated. She hadn’t once stepped back to just enjoy herself— to take in the simpler things in her life.

“Thank you,” she said as she looked towards Nicole. “For cooking this for me.”

The blonde lady just smiled back. “Well, you are most welcome. And I do hope that you’ll enjoy the rest of your stay in Wolfwater as much as you enjoyed my cooking.”

“That’s…” Edlyn swept her gaze over her surroundings. She stared at the cozy living room— she heard a kettle boiling from the kitchen. A golden glow came from the window, the ambience created by the morning sun.

And outside, birds were chirping. Insects were buzzing. A large field of grass and crops swayed with the blowing wind, and a few golden-brown leaves fell from the nearby trees. A handful of [Farmers] worked the faraway fields, and a soft susurration of voices came from the nearby town. It was quiet. But not too quiet.

It was relaxing. It was calming. It was unlike the chaos of the streets of Astral. It was unlike the bustle of the Astra Palace.

It was familiar.

Edlyn closed her eyes as she turned back to Nicole. “I feel… I feel like maybe I didn’t make the worst choice of my life, after all.”

And the blonde lady just blinked. “What?”

“It's nothing. I was just talking to myself, that's all."

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