I was the daughter of the Queen Bee.
I was a being destined from birth to rule.
Because of that, I had lived a life of leisure until now. Since I would eventually have to toil as the queen of a new colony, I felt I deserved at least this much.
The Soldier Bees cast cold glances my way, but their disapproval didn't bother me in the slightest.
Oops, Mother. It wasn't time to leave the nest yet. Instinct told me I had at least another month.
Until then, I planned to spend my days here in cozy comfort. Not "cozy" but "corpulent"? Hahaha. What a clever joke, Mother.
However, my figure was absolute perfection. What was that? You asked if I could fly? Please, don't mock me. A bee that can't fly is nothing more than a caterpillar, right?
If I could fly, I would get another month of freedom; if I couldn't, I had to leave the nest immediately? I should have been the one to decide the timing of my departure, but fine. I would let Mother save face. I took the bet!
If I could fly, I would be allowed to lead a life of total self-indulgence for the next month!
...And then I was forcibly evicted. There weren't even any Soldier Bee escorts, who normally would have accompanied a departing queen.
This was my punishment for being unable to fly. Did this mean I had been abandoned?
No, that couldn't be right. Mother, I still believed in you. The soldiers were just guarding me from the shadows, weren't they?
The silence was deafening.
This was bad. This was seriously bad. W-w-what was I supposed to do?
Dropping by another nest was out of the question. Once you were out on your own, you were treated as a rival Queen. No one was foolish enough to welcome another Queen into their home. In the first place, I didn't even know where any other nests were.
Then what? Build a new nest of my own? My instincts told me how to do it, but that sounded like so much work!
I just wanted to live a life of luxury! Of course, I could only say things like that when I was in Mother's hive with guaranteed meals and a bed. Out here, those were just famous last words.
It couldn't be helped. I suppose I would just have to build a nest.
...I couldn't even move to a suitable location. Was this the end? Was it really over? Was I going to die? No, no, no. I didn't want to die yet.
Just as I began to flail in despair, a helping hand reached out. Oh, God hadn't abandoned me after all. Thank you, God! Although, the helping "hand" in question belonged to a spider.
H-hello. I’m not very tasty, you know.
Wait. Oh, well now. Weren't you the spider who often visited Mother's nest? Are you going to help me? You are, right? Please say you are.
Wait, why are you binding me? Eh? Eh? Eeeehhh!
I was thrust before a very important individual called the Village Head.
"It's certainly rare to see one gotten this fat," he remarked. "A mutant, perhaps? I wonder what the evolutionary benefit of being unable to fly is."
His words cut deep. I was sorry, okay? This was just the result of a very lazy lifestyle. I understood—I'd already given up on everything, so he could do whatever he wanted with me. Boil me, roast me, whatever. Just please don't eat me whole. Ideally, I’d prefer it to be painless.
He ended up building a Beehive Box just for me. It was far too large to be called a mere box, so the Village Head referred to it as a "nest hut."
It was incredibly cozy. Here, I didn't even have to build a nest myself.
However, I had no food. Bee food consisted of things like Flower Nectar and pollen, but I couldn't collect them on my own. You were saying I had to find a drone while building a nest, then endure until the Worker Bee eggs I laid finally hatched? I felt dizzy just thinking about it. In the first place, I didn't think I could even attract a drone in my current state.
Oh, the spider was bringing me a small bottle... c-could it be? Honey!
Ooooh! I'd hit the jackpot! With this much, I could live a life of leisure for a whole month.
And... wait, a d-drone? My heart skipped a beat! He was gorgeous!
Wait, Mr. Gorgeous, why did the light leave your eyes the moment you saw me? This place was supposed to be overflowing with hope! Oh, Mr. Spider, please don't untie his silk just yet. I had a bad feeling about this.
Thus, I became a fine Queen Bee.
Laying eggs every day was a chore, but otherwise, it was the ideal life of eating and sleeping. Hehehe.
I did have one complaint, though. My new home was only ten meters away from Mother's nest. Because of that, her constant nagging still reached me. I understood she was worried, but I was an independent queen now. I wished she would treat me like one.
Look, another reproach arrived today. If only I didn't have to deal with this, life would be perfect.
Yeah, yeah, I know. "If you're too lazy, the Soldier Bees and Worker Bees will revolt." As if! There was no way the children I went through the pain of laying would ever betray me. Right, guys?
...Wait. Why did you all look away at once? Could it be...? Was this... bad?
I understood. I’ll go on a diet starting tomorrow, so please, no coups... Sorry, I’ll start working hard on my diet today.