#650 Otherworldly Apiculture Project

“M-Maple syrup?!”

A bottle filled to the brim with a rich amber liquid sits on the table, shocking and confusing the queen bee monster.

“I-Isn’t this...honey?! The color and thick texture make it seem just like honey!”

“Well, why don’t you try it and find out?”

“What’s with that smug response of yours? Fine, I’ll test it out myself... mlem. It’s honey!”

Except it’s not.

Maple syrup can easily be mistaken for honey due to its taste and texture, but it’s an entirely different substance made by boiling down the sap of maple trees.

It’s not the same as honey which is gathered by bees from various flowers.

One might assume that maple syrup is a plant-based product while honey is animal-based, but honey ultimately comes from bees collecting nectar from flowers, so it could also be considered plant-based.

You’d be tempted to think that honey and maple syrup are really the same things.

“So, doesn’t that mean we don’t need to do beekeeping if we can rely on our farm’s stable supply of maple syrup...?”

While I ponder this question, Bearmon chugs down the bottle of maple syrup, seemingly pleased with the taste.

“My Lord, Bearmon requests a refill.”

“Don’t let maple syrup control you like alcohol!!!”

What should we do with this queen bee?

Leaving her alone might cause trouble for the nearby residents, so should we take care of her quickly?

“Wait, wait, wait! Hasty decisions aren’t good!!!”

The queen bee clings onto me, sensing the danger to her life.

“Just because there’s something similar doesn’t mean we have to dispose of it right away, right?! Let’s set a trial period here and examine the differences between the two again!”

“Hm, but you see...”

I heard something about the biggest difference between honey and maple syrup—you’re not supposed to give honey to infants!

“Honey contains some kind of bacteria that is harmful to babies, or so I heard.”

Especially since we have a baby at the age when this danger is most prevalent, I don’t want any hazardous substances around. 

I want to substitute everything with maple syrup.

“Is maple syrup safe?”

“I heard it’s naturally sterilized during the production process. Its shelf life is shorter than honey, though.”

Killing all the bacteria means that new ones, like mold, can easily invade afterward. 

Junior is already two years old, so he should be okay, but Norito, his younger brother, is at a critical age now, so I don’t want honey anywhere near him.

“...So, that means it’s still a no from me!”

“Wait, waiiiit! Please give me a little more time to appeal to youuuuuuu!” says the queen bee, clinging to me.

Don’t worry, I’ll make good use of your remains by making something like “Queen Bee Equipment” with your carcass or wings.

“Well, um, my purpose is not just honey! ...Yes, pollination! I can help with pollination!”

Pollination?

You mean the whole process of pollen sticking to the pistil and becoming seeds?

“The flowers attract us bees to collect nectar, and in the process, we inadvertently transfer pollen from one flower to another, right?! If I settle down on this farm, I’ll make sure my worker bees efficiently transport the pollen!”

If I recall, real farmers deliberately place beehives in the corner of their fields or orchards to ensure optimal crop growth.

Indeed, in that sense, farmers and bees coexist and prosper together, living as symbiotic beings.

Our farm is somewhat unique in that we have never had any contact with such bees.

“You can still employ us bees to help your fields prosper!!!”

This is becoming more and more like sales talk.

“But even if you say that... we had our reasons why we didn’t have bees on our farm until now!”

After all, the crops we grow aren’t naturally grown from seeds but rather through a cheat called the Hand of Supremacy that sprouts them. 

Simply touching the ground with this hand can make the desired crop grow out of the soil. 

Therefore, there is no need to collect new seeds and pass them on to the next generation.

After all, I can just touch the soil whenever we want to plant new seeds.

But relying solely on this method is not ideal, so recently, I’ve been conducting research to leave seeds for the next generation.

“And that’s why we don’t urgently need bees for pollination. But if there is an opportunity in the future, we can consider it.”

“Are you saying that I might be given that opportunity?!”

No. When the time comes, I’ll probably just ask a bee flying around for help.

As an individual, you may not have the opportunity...

“Ahhhh, I get it! I’ll come up with another selling point of mine! Give me a moment, okay?” she pleads desperately.

I decided to think a little more while she brainstormed her ‘selling point.’

So, regarding bee-assisted pollination...

On our farm, many people besides me are devoted to agriculture, so I ask if any of them need bees to help with pollination. But when I did...

“I don’t need them.”

They flatly refused.

“I manually crossbreed seeds to improve the bean variety. I personally take the pollen from the desired male flower and rub it onto the chosen female flower.”

“That’s because if you left it up to insects to do as they please, randomness would interfere, and you wouldn’t be able to collect precise data for your breeding program, right, Letasreit?”

Even her partner, Horkosfon, agrees with her...!

They are thorough in eliminating randomness, and this bean field for collecting crossbreeding data is set up in a facility that looks like a greenhouse, with glass panels covering the entire surface.

Not even a single insect can sneak in here.

I shudder at this princess’ thoroughness, but now I know that she won’t need bees, so I look elsewhere.

Ah, what about Dungeon Orchard?

Since fruit trees usually produce flowers, I thought bees would be welcome to carry pollen from those flowers. But...

“WE DON’T NEED BEEEEEEEEEEES!!!”

I was rejected with incredible force.

It was the voice of the tree spirits who were entrusted with the management of the dungeon orchard.

“We are offended, Lord Saint! Do you think we cannot manage the orchard ourselves?”

“The passive receipt of pollen from each petal is strictly managed under our supervision! That is what makes us tree spirits!”

Is that so? 

The tree spirits that possess the trees can do more than I thought.

“And if you desire honey, there is no need to rely on bees! The flowers secrete nectar! The bees simply collect it by rubbing against them!”

“If Lord Saint so desires, we can make the flowers directly spray nectar without the need for such insects! Look, like this! PSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Don’t spray it everywhere. 

Surprisingly, it turned out that if I wanted honey, I could just ask the tree spirits directly, which lowered the need for beekeeping even more.

Thus, I returned to the queen bee, who was muttering to herself. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t find a section where you are needed.”

“I figured it out! My ultimate selling point!!!”

Huh?

“Do you know? The material produced by bees is not just honey! Take a look at this!” she says as she hands me something.

What is this?

It’s solid...

“This is...beeswax!”

“Beeswax?”

“It’s what makes beehives! The liquid we secrete hardens over time! Isn’t it rock hard?!”

Hmm, that’s true.

“Since I’m a bee monster, the beeswax I secrete is several times harder than normal, and when heated, it easily melts and returns to a liquid state, just like wax! It can be used in various ways! What do you think?”

Indeed, this is a material our farm has never had.

I suppose I can explore beeswax’s various uses and do some research.

Especially with winter fast approaching, I’ll have the time to do it too.

“In that case, I’ll allow you to live on the farm as the beeswax manager.”

“Yay!”

Meanwhile, Bearmon is busy guzzling maple syrup straight from the barrel. 

In the end, he doesn’t seem to have any particular attachment to either honey or maple syrup, as long as it’s sweet.