[Amelia] The Level Zero Hero Chapter 228 (Patreon)

And like lightning, followed by a resounding clap of thunder, the [Hero King]’s re-entry into the battlefield reverberated throughout the entirety of the Astrad Kingdom. 

When King Jalen heard the news, he sank to his knees in his room. He knew that all hope would be lost. Because the only reason why the war had come to a stand-still so far was because Kallistus Kal had abstained from fighting after the initial phases of the war.

But even back then, when the [Hero King] took the battlefield, it was only victory after victory for the Kingdom of Kal. And now, as Jalen stared at the sprawl of parchments lying before him, he knew it was going to happen again. This time, it was even faster.

Already, the Kingdom of Kal had penetrated deep into the Astrad Kingdom, heading straight for the capital city of Astral. Soon, the war would be over. In perhaps a month at most. 

Many dwarven states have decided to join the war, no longer remaining neutral, opting to side with the Astrad Kingdom. Even the magical city state of Scholus had chosen to side against the Kingdom of Kal.

But they were too late. They wouldn’t be able to intervene in time. And even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to stop the [Hero King].

Jalen didn’t know what happened. But something had changed. Kallistus Kal was different now. He was stronger.

And the Astrad Kingdom would fall.

…unless—

Jalen took in a deep breath as he raised his head. He didn’t hold out hope for the Archmage King of Scholus, nor did he think the dwarven nations in Alius could make a difference,

Instead, he remembered a strange girl who came to his palace. A brown-haired woman who was stronger than any of his [Knights of the Astral Order]. Someone who was thought to be as strong as an Elder Dragon.

She was Jalen’s only hope. But he didn’t know if she would even come to save him. All Jalen could do was hope that Edlyn— his [Royal Chef] which he sent to follow Amelia— would be able to do her part and convince Amelia to partake in the war.

Otherwise, with the [Hero King] conquering Laxo, he would set his sights on Alius next, then it would be the end of the world as anyone knew it.

—--

I was finally back in Wolfwater after dealing with Edlyn— convincing her that I was actually a good person, even if I was incredibly strong beyond her comprehension. That took a lot more effort than I thought it would. But after bringing her to see her family, and having a long talk with her, she finally understood that I was just trying to run a business and keep her happy.

Because she was my best employee. She was the reason why Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant could sustain the growth it did. And I was grateful to her.

That was why I was offering her a free trip to see her parents every weekend to placate her. She was happy about it. Even if the trip itself almost killed her. 

And my other employees were quite happy about this arrangement— especially Arthur and Jax. With the time off they got, they would train with each other, sparring and destroying the landscape nearby the restaurant.

I reprimanded them for this after the second time they did it, and sent them to train somewhere else. I didn’t want them to scare off any potential customers I could have. 

Two weeks passed as this routine continued. More and more customers showed up, wanting to enjoy the experience of Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant. They came from all around the Astrad Kingdom, and they stayed at the newly-constructed inn that was just next door.

I wondered if I could have collaborated with the [Innkeeper]— offer some kind of catering service to his inn, in exchange for using some of his employees from time to time.

But I put off that idea for later. For now, I was just glad that things were progressing swimmingly without any interruptions. And I thought things would continue going this way for a bit.

However, as I returned back to Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant after another weekend at Edlyn’s hometown, I found… something alarming.

“That’s…?” I whispered, seeing the swarm of buzzing figures surrounding my restaurant.

My lips drew into a thin line when I recognized what they were. Fortunately for me, while Edlyn was with me, she was also still unconscious from the tfjo. So she couldn’t panic at the sight.

“I guess I’ll just have to resolve this before she wakes up,” I muttered under my breath as I descended from the sky.

Sure enough, when I landed, I heard the cacophonous buzzing. I saw the swarm of giant insects gathering around the wooden building. I set Edlyn down against a tree, a few hundred feet away from the scene.

And then I moved to approach the baby bastion bees.

They hadn’t caused an incident in a while. And I thought there wasn’t going to be any more problems with them. But as it turned out, I was too optimistic, and that wasn’t going to be the case…

“So… what’s up?” I asked as I approached them hesitantly.

Immediately, their gazes snapped my way, and I pressed my lips thinly together. I was expecting them to be upset— to be mad for whatever reason.

Well, I could think of a few reasons as to why they weren’t happy. They thought of me as their protector, even if I wasn’t. After all, that whole scheme had been a ploy devised by me to convince them to gain my trust.

And after Grat-ra’zun showed up, I hadn’t really returned to ‘protect’ them. Because of that, they must have been angry at me for not upholding my promise.

They buzzed their wings as I approached them apprehensively.

“It’s been a while, huh? I, uh, have been a little busy as of late. I hope you guys aren’t mad…” I spoke sheepishly.

And I watched as a figure flew forward. The queen baby bastion bee. I still hadn’t come up with a name for her. But now wasn’t the time for that. Because she darted straight at me, and I braced myself for an attack.

Surprisingly, when she reached me, I wasn’t attacked. Instead, she landed on my face, clinging tightly onto my cheeks. Like she was hugging me. Blinking a few times, I removed her from my face, and stared at her as she fluttered her wings on the palm of my hand.

She stared at me with round eyes as I raised a brow hesitantly.

“You’re not mad at me?” I asked..

And the baby queen bastion bee tilted her head. She didn’t look upset. I swept my gaze around as the swarm of baby bastion bees gathered around me. They all looked at me curiously.

No— not curiously. There was an expectant look to them. Like they wanted something from me. I just didn’t know what. I narrowed my eyes as they buzzed their wings expectantly. I hoped it wasn’t loud enough to wake up Edlyn.

“What’s going on?” I asked the baby bastion bees.

They swarmed around me, continuing to buzz their wings expectantly. I pressed my lips into a thin line. I couldn’t understand them. But it was clear they wanted something from me. So I thought about finding Dorien.

He was the [Druid] who got me into taking these bastion bees under my care in the first place. And he could even understand both animals and monsters. However, I didn’t think he was currently in Wolfwater, so I had to seek him out in the Vox Forest. 

If he was even there.

I’d have to ask Nolan or Nicole about where I could find Dorien. After all, they were close friends with the [Druid]. So they probably had an idea as to where I could find him.

But before I could even begin to seek anyone out, I watched as a familiar figure emerged from between the mass of baby bastion bees. My eyes grew wide as I saw the winged creature— I saw her feathers.

And I stared at the chicken as she clucked at me, standing amongst the bastion bees.

“Bucky?”

Now I really was confused.

“Just what is going on?”

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

[Amelia] The Level Zero Hero Chapter 229 | Patreon