Author’s words: This chapter will be a super episode of insects. For those who are bad with insects… good luck.
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Miscalculation [Part 1]
A dense colony of Over spread over a vast area.
Seeing it first hand was completely different from just hearing its story.
“You understand now, don’t you? It has already become something humans can’t do anything about,” spoke Fukushima to the Stuart family, who stood still before Over.
“Miraculously, no Over seeds have launched after the first one. We might still make it. Proceed to return now.“
Ever since the seeds flew a few hours ago, Over never launched the next ones. Fukushima had been persuaded to allow them to come this far, but if, at that time, they had just turned back, he could have sent the family back to the Kingdom safely. Now he could only regret his previous naive judgment.
“Fukushima-sama, thank you for guiding us until here.” William bobbed his head.
“Just leave it to us from here on out. Everyone can feel free to return.” George pointed at the road they took to come here.
“What are you talking about? Just how far will you make light of Over…“
Midway through Fukushima’s speech, Emma suddenly passed by him, looking as joyful as she could be. She bounced towards the carriages while humming a tune before knocking on the door of one of the carriages the family brought from the Kingdom. Or specifically, the carriage that kept making a weird rustling sound.
*knock knock*
*rustle rustle rustle*
*knock knock knock*
*rustle rustle rustle rustle*
“I’ll open the door, ‘kay~?“
With a rattling sound, she unlocked the door using the key she had hung around her neck.
“F-Finally… we can see what’s inside…“
“H-Hold on, were the rustles responding to the knocks just now?!“
The samurais, who were previously ordered to stand by and guard the carriages, started paying close attention to Emma’s every move.
“You guys… What are you being so intense about…“
The samurais who had went together with Fukushima all tilted their heads in confusion after seeing the standby group’s behavior.
*click*
The moment Emma opened the door, black matters rushed out at once.
“Eeek!“
“!“
“!“
“!“
“Ah, Nee-sama! It’s too early to release them!“
“Hey, Emma, you have to at least explain it to Fukushima-sama and other samurais…“
The brothers, who had only noticed what Emma was doing after hearing the clicking sound of a door opening, warned her, but it was too late.
“W-What is that?” The samurais had already seen the whole form of the black lumps.
*rustle*
One of the black lumps clambered around Emma’s waist.
“Fufufu. I’m sorry I’ve kept you locked up all this time.“
“Now, now,” Emma stroked that flat body.
The identity of those black lumps were ridiculously large insects.
They were insects with a bizarre form that could make people feel repulsed physiologically, to the point they even wondered whether it was okay for such creatures to exist in the world.
” ” “A-Ah… AARGHHHH!!!” ” “
Despite being samurais who had undergone strict training, those who caught sight of their true form immediately ran away as fast as they could while screaming.
“I wanted to say that it would turn out this way…“
Nobody heard George’s warning which came late, as only the samurais’ screams reverberated around the place.
“A-All of you!!! Calm down! We shall rescue Emma-dono.“
Fukushima rebuked the fleeing samurais loudly and pointed at Emma. Numerous giant insects were swarming towards her.
“Eeep!!! Fukushima-sama, that’s impossible for me!“
A samurai answered with tears in his eyes.
And as if following that samurai, other samurais similarly replied with “Me too!” one after another while beating their trembling legs desperately as they attempted to run away.
“H-How pathetic! Wait there! I will rescue Emma-dono-… disgusting UGHHH!“
Fukushima reached for his sword and locked his eyes on the target… but the feeling of disgust welling up inside him rendered him unable to take action.
A flat body, unnaturally large arms, and overwhelming aggregation…
“Oh, Fukushima-sama. Let me introduce them, okay? These are my cute Tailless Whip Scorpion-chans.“
Sensing that Fukushima was coming closer, Emma turned her head and introduced the insects with a radiant smile.
“What… tailless whip scorpions?“
“Yes, they’re my favorite!“
Surrounded by the wriggling insects alone, Emma stood there with the happiest smile she had ever had since arriving in Imperial Japan.
“Fufufu, they are suu~per cute, don’t you think?“
Emma held one of the crawling tailless whip scorpions’ arms and shook it from left to right as if she was giving Fukushima a wave.
Perhaps already tamed, the tailless whip scorpion completely went along with whatever Emma was doing.
“T-They are not! cute! at all!“
Fukushima put all his heart and soul into that one retort.
“Nee-sama, seriously. Please think everything over from the other perspectives too.“
“Hey, everyoneee. These insects are harmless and gentle, so please rest assureddd.” Cupping his hands around his mouth, George announced to the samurais, who were crawling on the ground with trembling legs as they tried to flee from the place.
