Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 148

“Bawk bawk!” Bucky said as I stared at her. “Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk!”

“I see, I see.” I nodded slowly, and Sir Wyn peered over my shoulder. “So you’re saying that it wasn’t you who ate all the honey, but the newly-hatched bastion bees?”

“Bawk bawk bawk!” The chicken gestured insistently towards the hive as I took a step back.

And the [Knight]-lieutenant glanced between both Bucky and I, brows furrowing as he asked, “I’m impressed— you understand what the chicken is saying. Do you have some kind of [Animal Language] Skill?”

I turned back to face Wyn as he placed a hand on his chin. I scratched the back of my head, answering honestly.

“Uh, no. I just used basic inference.” I gestured towards the pile of wriggling figures.

The baby bastion bees were scrambling around a single, larger figure. Probably the newborn queen. And they were all covered in the glowing green goo— like they had just bathed in the honey, right before feasting upon it.

I picked up Bucky as I shook my head. “But you still helped yourself to some of the honey, didn’t you?”

I glared at her, and she flinched. Wyn just stared at me, mouth agape for a moment. But he caught himself. He took in a deep breath and straightened as his partner strode forward. Sir Rowland nodded approvingly at me.

“While I would have loved to try some of your bastion curry, I can see now that it is given to a more deserving client,” the [Knight] Captain of the Astral Order said as he smiled.

“Well, I wouldn’t really say the bastion bees are guests…” I murmured under my breath. I looked up at the wriggling baby bees. They could barely even move— which was expected. But that also meant they couldn’t protect themselves.

And the adult bastion bees were fully aware of that. I watched as the head nursing bee floated down next to me, buzzing a warning to Rowland. He blinked as he turned to face her, and I gave her a reassuring nod. She backed away, easing up her aggression just a little bit.

But I could tell that she was still on edge whenever a human who wasn’t me approached the hive. I gestured for both Rowland and Wyn to follow away from the hive as I carried Bucky under my right arm.

“Let’s not crowd around the bastion bees,” I said as I nodded back at the nursing bee. “And I guess I’m going to have to remove the bastion curry from the menu for now.”

“What a shame.” The [Knight] Captain shook his head dejectedly. “I would have loved to have tried out all of your best cuisines before leaving Wolfwater.”

I craned my neck to face him as we walked up to the entrance of the restaurant. “You’re already leaving? Didn’t you guys just get here today?”

Sir Wyn snorted as he spoke simply. “We had only dropped by Wolfwater because we were already passing through this region on the way back to the Capital. Otherwise, we never would have paid a visit to your restaurant. There is a war going on, and we are needed by our country, after all.”

“I see. Well, whenever you guys get back there, be sure to let your friends know about Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant.” I paused as I stood by the doorway. “Oh, also I hope you guys don’t die.”

It was blunt, but I was sincere when I said that. Wyn raised a brow at me, and Rowland guffawed.

“You are an interesting one, Ms Amelia,” the [Knight] Captain stepped foot into the restaurant as I followed behind him. “When I first heard about you, I thought it was all an exaggeration. But you really are as fascinating as they say.”

“I’d really rather not hear what they have to say about me,” I sighed as I strolled forward, hearing the bustling of the crowd gathered inside. My voice was lost in the noise, and Rowland continued.

“Rest assured, Ms Amelia,” he said as he turned to face me. “I will put in a good word to King Jalen himself.”

“Wait, really?” I blinked. That caught me by surprise. Wyn stepped into the room after us, and the door swung close behind my back. I opened my mouth as I stared at the [Knight] Captain.

But Bucky interrupted me. “Bawk bawk bawk!”

I looked back down at the chicken as she struggled to break free from my grasps. I rolled my eyes, holding her up as she tensed.

“I’m not setting you free just yet,” I said, before calling out into the room. “Noele!”

My voice cut through the crowd, reaching the blonde girl sitting at the back of the room. Noele blinked as she got to her feet. She walked up to me as Wyn narrowed his eyes.

“Noele… as in the Noble Spellsword?” he asked as he studied her up and down.

She nodded simply. “You know me?”

“I have heard quite a lot about you,” he said with a quizzical look on his face. “I have heard about your exploits— how you have quickly risen the ranks of the Adventurer’s Guild to become an A-rank. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m just helping out my master,” Noele replied simply, nodding my way.

“Your… master?” Wyn’s brows snapped together as Rowland grinned.

“Oh?” The [Knight] Captain glanced between the blonde girl and I.

I just rolled my eyes. “I told you— don’t call me master. It’s weird.”

“Right. Sorry.” Noele scratched her cheek, before shaking her head. “Anyway, what did you need of me?”

“I need you to put Bucky in her time-out corner for me,” I said as I handed the struggling chicken over to the blonde girl. “We have… an issue at the hive because of her.”

While Bucky was only partially at fault for the bastion bee honey running out, she did contribute to the problem. And unlike the bastion bees who could have done whatever they wanted with their honey, the chicken hadn’t been given explicit permission to do any such thing.

“Oh, alright. I’ll lock her up until the restaurant closes.” Noele nodded as she took Bucky from me. “Come on— stop struggling!”

The blonde girl wrestled to keep the chicken from breaking free. I watched as the two of them headed to a crate at the back of the room— reinforced and enchanted so Bucky couldn’t just escape.

I purchased it from Nicole— Noele’s mother— but I didn’t really know how to work the enchantments. I felt like an old person who barely understood how any of these new-fangled electronic gadgets worked back on Earth. Except I wasn’t back on Earth, and these weren’t electronics but magical artifacts. So I had to rely on my apprentice to handle it for me.

I turned away from the blonde girl to face a disbelieving stare from Wyn. I frowned.

“What is it?” I asked simply.

“You’re Noele the Noble Spellsword’s master,” he repeated. “She’s an A-rank adventurer, and she’s your apprentice.”

“Yeah, and?” I tilted my head back at the [Knight]-lieutenant.

“And you’re making her run around and chicken-sit for you,” Wyn observed.

“I am,” I said flatly. “Where are you going with this?”

He sighed, rubbing his temples as he settled back into his seat. “So instead of letting an A-rank adventurer handle… say, security for your establishment, you’re having her look after a chicken.”

“I’ll have you know that Bucky is a lot of trouble to deal with.” I waved a hand dismissively before gesturing towards an approaching figure. “And if anyone here is qualified to be security, it’s Jax anyways.”

“Jax?” Wyn’s eyes flickered. He rose back to his feet as he saw the elf walking up next to me. “You don’t mean—”

“Yeah, Jax the Annoying Asshole,” I said as I glanced back at my temporary employee. “Or the Forsaken Archer or whatever.”

“He’s one of the highest-leveled S-rank adventurers out there…” The [Knight]-lieutenant whispered. “But how…? Why…?”

Sir Rowland just crossed his arms, impressed as he eyed the pointed ears of the elf. I turned to Jax and placed a hand on his shoulder as he stood there with his suit and tie.

“So, yeah. If anyone shows up to cause trouble, Jax will be the one to deal with it—” I started.

But the Forsaken Archer riposted in an instant, “I will not do anything of the like.”

I blinked. “Uh, what?”

Jax stepped away from me, brushing off my arm as Wyn and Rowland narrowed their eyes. The two [Knights] exchanged a glance, and the Forsaken Archer turned to face me. He ripped off his tie, before tossing aside his expensive coat to the floor.

The bustling of the crowd came to a sudden halt. Heads turned our way, and Harlan froze where he stood. Arthur lowered a drink from the bar as even Noele glanced back to see what was going on. The room grew dead silent, until Jax spoke.

“I shall no longer endure this humiliation.” There was a flash of light, and a bow appeared on his right hand. He pointed the weapon at me as I crossed my arms. “We made a deal, and I carried out my part dutifully as was promised. But you have not.”

Rowland eyed me suspiciously as he asked, “What is Jax talking about, Ms Amelia?”

My eyes darted back to the [Knight] Captain, but I didn’t answer his question. I just stood there as Jax towered over me.

“I shall not wait any longer for you to uphold your end of the deal,” he said as he pointed at the ground. “Duel me now, or I shall destroy this restaurant and everything you’ve worked so hard to build.”

“Duel him? What is he talking about?” Wyn asked as he glanced between the elf and I.

I just swept my gaze over the room, seeing the commotion the Forsaken Archer had caused. The crowd of onlookers were clearly confused. Even Harlan and Arthur didn’t know what was going on. The [Knights] looked uncertain about whether intervening was a good idea— especially when an S-ranked adventurer was involved.

Noele let Bucky out of her crate.

I lowered my head as I considered what to do. So many things had happened today— it had already been such a busy day, and now it was only going to be more troublesome than before. I would have preferred to duel Jax in private, however there was nothing that could be done now. I had no other choice. I made my decision as I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Fine,” I said as I drew my blade. “Let’s get this over with— but let’s do it outside.”

In response, Jax grinned. “Finally.”