37: Kelayby

"Hmm? What's going on here?"

"Sat. Since only you can see what you're seeing, please explain the situation."

"..."

My main body has reached the location where the distress signal is being transmitted, and I'm currently observing the scene from above, as if looking down from the sky.

That part is fine—but the scene itself is utterly incomprehensible.

"Um, well, the distress signal is coming from multiple people lying down at the farm. Around those people, there are vehicles and personnel from the emergency response team and the security maintenance unit gathered."

"Hmm, I see."

"Still, the atmosphere feels unusually tense... It seems like the direction of alertness isn't toward the people in need, but rather aimed directly at them."

"That does seem quite peculiar."

Vilijanira tilts her head at my words.

Mekokushi seems to be preparing something like a monitor.

"Which side should I take in this?"

"I don't understand the situation, so let's observe as-is. If the Public Security Unit arrives, we can learn what's going on from them later."

"Understood."

For now, we'll hold back.

Meanwhile, as I watched, the people sending distress signals were being carried one after another into the vehicles and transported toward the city on the nearby planet.

For now, I'll relay the city's location to Virijanira.

"Master Sata. Are you familiar with the terms 'honeybee' and 'insect-pollinated flowers'?"

"?"

"I see. Then, allowing for some speculation, I'll explain step by step."

And then, Mekokushi operated the monitor and brought up several images.

Vilijanira, having judged that she was connected to what I had witnessed, turned toward the monitor.

"On the surface of Planet Grogrobeta 1, creatures called Keraabi have been released to assist agriculture. These creatures were created based on honeybees, using mod technology and various other technologies."

The insect displayed on the monitor is tiny, measuring less than ten centimeters in length.

Its body color is primarily yellow and black, but it has a bright red circle on its head.

Other notable features... its abdomen is well-developed, and a sharp stinger is visible.

"Keraby typically moves from flower to flower on crops, collecting nectar while transferring pollen, thereby promoting pollination and fruit set in crops. This trait is inherited from its original honeybee ancestor, and flowers pollinated by this method are called entomophilous flowers."

"Hmm, so it's like a bird of the Dicruridae family?"

It seems that the creature known as a honeybee possesses characteristics similar to those of the bee family in the Hiratara Tsugumi stellar system.

Incidentally, birds belonging to the bee family are about 10 centimeters in length and behave in a similar manner.

"By the way, the nectar collected by bees such as the Kelaaby is called honey, and when fermented, it is known as mead."

"Ah. So these are the bees that produce honey. It finally clicks—my knowledge is starting to make sense."

The monitor displayed a honeycomb-like nest, seemingly constructed within an underground facility.

Alongside grubs shaped like caterpillars, the nest was filled with an abundant amount of honey.

I see now—this place is different from the Mitsu-dori.

The Mitsu-dori doesn't store honey in their nests—they just consume it. Any honey they store is only temporarily held in their bodies to feed their young.

"Now, regarding this Keerabii, as previously mentioned, it's a result of selective breeding incorporating mod technology. Therefore, it possesses unique abilities."

The monitor switches.

This is... a document belonging to the governing body of the Grogrobeta system—something that shouldn't be exposed to the outside world, yes.

Truly impressive, whether you call them intelligence operatives or whatever...

Anyway, I'll keep quiet about that point.

What matters more is this.

An aggression-inducing mod for humans without identification tags, a numbing mod that steals the consciousness of those attacked, and a rescue signal mod that triggers a distress signal using the attacker's stamina? So what Satā found was...

"I see, that's how it is."

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Keraaby attacks only those who do not possess the mod used for identification—mandatory for all inhabitants of the planet and temporarily issued to all human visitors—specifically targeting humans and human-like beings who lack it.

Kelaaby's attack involves a variant of a full-body anesthesia mod that steals an opponent's consciousness upon being pricked, rendering them immobile—effectively a type of control-oriented weapon, depending on perspective.

Even a rescue signal mod, modified in an unprecedented way to steal the energy required for activation from the sender, could be considered a signal to summon both restraint units and Keraabi allies.

And Keraabi themselves are limited organisms, created by the governing mechanism of the Glogrobeta system, unable to survive outside the Glogrobeta system.

With all these elements in place, I can now figure out who sent the distress signal.

"So they were humans who illegally descended onto Planet Glogrobeta One."

"And were captured and restrained by the Keraabi living throughout the planet."

"Yes. That is a reasonable assumption."

In other words, while their actions were illegal, it was the ones sending the distress signal who actually broke the law.

Of course, the security and rescue personnel's vigilance would naturally be directed toward the ones transmitting the distress signal.

"Still, if that's the case, that's an incredible creature... Keraaby. I can't believe they managed to produce something like this."

"Yes indeed. Normally working nonstop in agricultural labor, and capable of restraining illegal immigrants on sight..."

"By the way, most of the honey and beeswax produced in the Glogrobeta system is created by the Keraaby. Also, it seems that Keraaby larvae and pupae are occasionally enjoyed as delicacies."

"What an incredible creature."

"What an amazing creature indeed."

They're being utilized to the very end.

For now, I'll wait until I find a suitable opportunity and a place to try eating the larvae and pupae.

If it's considered a delicacy, it must taste good—I'm really looking forward to it.