novelraw Chapter 208
Chapter 208
Chapter 208
Emotion's group decided to first observe the state of the Smallfolk's nation.
It didn't seem like the underground Smallfolk had noticed them. Perhaps very few of them came to this side to begin with. There should be some transporting timber, but for now, there was no reaction of anyone approaching.
"Are they also weak to strong light?"
"Probably. If they can live normally under this level of light source, then the brightness of the surface is clearly excessive."
"If that's the case, the Smallfolk on the surface must have had a hard time."
"Yes."
It was said they were exiled from the underground. The first hardship they must have faced was dealing with light so bright it could blind them.
Living like nocturnal animals, they wandered in search of a safe place. During that time, how many of their comrades had fallen prey to beasts?
It's easy to imagine that exile to the surface was a punishment equivalent to the death penalty for them. Since Parna-kki and the others were born on the surface, the Smallfolk exiled from underground must have desperately clung to life.
Just what kind of grave sin did the ancestors of Parna-kki and the others commit?
"Maybe we, too—"
"Please stop, Elder. Even if that's true, there's no reason the children born afterward should bear that sin. Parna-kki and Borno-kki haven't done anything wrong, have they?"
"Yes... you're right. Sorry, Adie Ze."
Regardless of the origins of the arboreal Smallfolk, Rutimi De and the others now held the status of Federation citizens from Ramadite. There were also Smallfolk like Adie Ze who were born into the Federation. Their history was one that the arboreal Smallfolk had earned through their own strength.
Even if they were exiled from underground, the Federation would never change how it treated them.
'Someone's approaching.'
"Both of you, stay quiet."
At the same time as Terapolapaneshio reacted, Emotion's sensor also picked up approaching life forms. Not from the residential area. From the outer perimeter near the wall—two life forms moving up and down.
Holding their breath, they waited quietly until the figures came into view. Naturally, Rutimi De and the other Smallfolk had undergone Federation body modification. No matter how physically capable the underground Smallfolk were, they were overwhelmingly superior in every aspect. Including vision, of course.
"Smallfolk... are they riding something?"
"Looks like insects. They resemble ants after all."
"Emotion, Fifth-Rank Citizen (Alto Romia), these ants—are they creatures from Earth? Are they similar to those?"
"The Earth version is much larger in size, though. But yeah, they're pretty similar."
They looked like ants enlarged to about forty centimeters in size. Their faces were quite fierce, and their feet ended in claw-like points—there were many small differences. But if an Earthling saw them, nine out of ten would probably call them ants.
'What do we do? Should we make contact?'
"Right. It wouldn't be wise to suddenly enter their residential area."
"Got it. Then, I'll go say hi real quick."
"Adie Ze, Fifth-Rank Citizen!?"
Without hesitation, Adie Ze walked toward the insects and ants. For a moment, they considered following him, but if Emotion and the others approached, they'd have no excuse.
Reluctantly, they decided to watch while preparing to leave at any moment.
"Hey there, good work."
"Whoa, that's dangerous! Hey, that's not food!"
The underground Smallfolk riding the ant said something unsettling and clearly demonstrated control over the ant. On closer look, something like fabric was wrapped around what appeared to be the ant's eyes. Perhaps a measure to prevent it from recoiling at light.
Seeing Adie Ze show no hostility at all, the other party seemed puzzled but not alarmed.
"Sorry. This is my first time here. I appreciate the help."
"First time... well, of course it is. Walking around here, you'll get eaten by a Kambandi."
"Kambandi?"
"Hey, what are you spacing out for? I'm talking about these guys... wait, you—"
This was bad. The gaze turned this way. Terapolapaneshio would be hard to see since it was translucent, but if Emotion was seen, there'd be no excuse.
Then, Adie Ze lightly leapt into the air.
"Sorry about this."
"You guys... don't tell me—!"
Using the ant's head, called Kambandi, as a springboard, he tackled the underground Smallfolk. As the two of them jumped off the ant, Emotion shone a light at it.
"Gii!"
Turning its face away, the ant scurried back in a U-turn. It moved faster than expected and vanished in an instant.
It wouldn't be strange if others came, sensing the disturbance. They rushed in to restrain the target, but the underground Smallfolk was already pinned down by Adie Ze.
"Alright, alright, I just want to talk. I'd appreciate it if you didn't move."
"Ouch! Damn it, let go!"
He was impressively efficient. When they looked toward Rutimi De, she calmly met Emotion's gaze without any sign of distress.
"Adie Ze has the highest combat ability among us."
Even compared to Earthling-sized individuals, his moves were sharp enough to make that statement believable.
For now, they had secured a source of information. They didn't want to be too rough, but information came first. With Terapolapaneshio here, confirming things wouldn't take long.
***
Kait, who was waiting on the surface, had finally started to bond with the surface Smallfolk.
He had occasionally glanced at Terapolapaneshio, who had become like a statue, with a hint of fear, but once he realized it was harmless, he stopped worrying.
When he asked about the culture of the surface Smallfolk, they taught him recipes using nuts and edible wild plants. Since Emotion liked sweet sauces, he thought he might as well try making one that goes well with Ramadite meat.
Just as he was thinking that, he heard a sound approaching from afar.
"Finally showing up, huh. Borno-kki, could you and the others wait inside my ship with Terapolapaneshio?"
"W-Wait, Captain!?"
Without giving them a chance to object, Worker Bees surrounded them and shoved them into the Queen Bee with Terapolapaneshio. Once it ascended to a certain altitude, there'd be no risk of getting caught up in anything.
What appeared was much smaller than a giant beast. But its form was clearly different from the other creatures they'd seen so far.
"There are bugs that big underground on this planet? I hope Emotion will be okay."
In the sense of not going overboard.
A creature from underground, clearly meant to eliminate anything capable of destroying a giant beast. It looked extremely lethal. Like other creatures on this planet, it had six limbs. The top two were shaped like mantis scythes.
Its head, about the size of an elephant's, had an insect-like shape similar to Earth's bugs. Its mandibles, like those of a wasp, looked sharp enough to rip through flesh in an instant.
Its body was covered in a black, metallic-looking shell. No—it had the texture of actual metal. Perhaps it had metabolized consumed metal into its outer shell, or maybe the Smallfolk had reinforced it with metal.
Either was possible, and there was no need to confirm.
"Um, is there a Smallfolk inside? Hello, hello?"
The giant insect twitched in response. But that was all. Then it suddenly leapt toward them. The scythe came swinging down.
"Faster than an elephant, huh?"
Blocking it with a barrier would be easy, but destroying it now would be a bad idea. If they carelessly deployed a barrier, they might damage parts of it with their own attack.
While checking on Emotion's group's progress, he'd have to deal with it without breaking it for the time being.
Kait dodged the scythe with ease and moved to a position away from Borno-kki's settlement.