Alicia sat regally on a structure which resembled her previous throne, awaiting the arrival of the next set of test subjects.
Recently she had pulled a lever which changed the layout of the tunnels which led to her. Previously, they were set out such that the third tunnel would lead to the room she was in. Now, she was in a different room- one which the fifth tunnel led to. However, the actual path to the room had been cut off until she pulled this lever, to prevent the people from making it here before she took care of the third group.
However, right now the test was not what occupied her mind.
Rather, she could only find herself thinking about what would happen when these tests were over.
'What is Coran going to do once we've finished with these attackers? Does he have a plan? Are we.... are we going to just stay in this little mineshaft, taking care of these children? I mean... I wouldn't mind that.... that would actually be kinda nice.... we could get comfy and take care of our children together.... hehe... our children.... hm? Why does that make me feel strange? My heart.... it's like it's caving in on itself....'
Alicia found herself lost in thought, trying desperately to comprehend the feelings which overcame her when she thought of Coran.
'Is this really.... is this love? Me? The... the former queen? Becoming a slave to another, and falling in love with him? That's....'
Alicia squirmed with embarrassment when she thought about how low she had dropped, but she could not erase the happiness she felt right now.
Despite falling from a queen to a slave, she was happier right now than she had ever been in her life. Living in this cave, enslaved by Coran, playing house with 30 human children who weren't even related to her.
It was at this moment that Alicia heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway.
'Oh? I have to get myself together! I can't present myself like this to our visitors! I have to do this for the sake of Coran and the children! And for his masters, and whatever their plans are!'
Alicia focused her attention and resumed her regal pose as a queen, laying with her fist to her chin as she looked down upon the entrance.
'I may be a slave now, but I was once a queen. I won't let these humans think that they're above me.'
----
Walking down the fifth corridor of Coran's lair were four men and a single woman.
A blonde beauty with a simple yet practical set of armor and a crossbow on her back- a weapon which was not common among the people of the Empire- strode casually down the aisle next to four men who seemed to be sniveling over her.
She of course, ignored these men. Not a day in her life had gone by in which she hadn't had to endure the lecherous glares of those who wanted to make her their own. The current situation was no different.
Her name was Niri.
Next to her stood three men who were typical thugs, who seemed to be almost drooling over her.
As a matter of fact, it was quite disturbing just how much they seemed to be glaring at her. Given that they were in a dark corridor and making their way to kill a monster and save some orphans, it was a wonder as to why these men had even joined this expedition in the first place.
The other man- one who seemed to have a slight bit more self control than the others- still seemed to be glaring at her, but in a less obvious and more crafty way- one which would not typically appear to have ill intent behind it.
Yet, Niri knew better than this after her years of experience as a mercenary.
Every single one of these men were just barely holding back their own desires- including the better looking one which seemed to be the leader of this pack of wolves that surrounded her.
The reason which the lower thugs had not yet attacked her and taken the better looking man out was because they were his subordinates. She did not know this for certain, as she had been grouped up with these men in a seemingly random way, but she could tell by the tension in the air.
They were restraining themselves because they didn't want to displease their boss.
As they walked through the seemingly endless halls, Niri wondered if this mission would ever come to an end.
The good looking man seemed to be growing impatient.
Niri could tell why.
Niri had joined this mission because she had free time, and as a passing mercenary she decided to lend a hand to the people in this town as they took on a supposed monster.
Whether there actually was a monster, Niri was unsure of.
Everyone in the town seemed to believe the woman who spoke out against it, so perhaps there was some truth behind it.
To be frank, Niri had been curious.
As a mercenary, she had only gone on one single expedition into the monster realm, and it was a quick expedition.
She was only able to witness a single group of monsters at that time. She did not attack, because there were too many of them gathered in one place. Rather, she stayed hidden and left quietly, reporting back what she had seen at the time.
Even after reporting back what she had seen, the Captain of the military which she reported to thanked her for her scouting efforts, but then spoke to her with a sad look in his eyes.
"Thank you for your hard work, Niri. I'm sure this information will be very useful to us.... but, I'll be frank. There's no way we could ever risk trying to take something like that on, unless we sent an entire legion out. But, at least now that we know the location, we can avoid that place..."
What Niri had seen before on that expedition was an enormous nest of wasps.
Hundreds of them flew around this nest. Perhaps thousands were inside the terror inducing hive.
She had only come back alive from such an expedition because she had fled. Should she have attacked, or should a single wasp have noticed her at the time, she would have died almost immediately.
However, this experience left her with further curiosity.
Could humans actually ever beat back the monsters, even when the numbers overwhelmed them and the monster's individual strength was far higher?
And so, when she heard that a lone monster had made it's way into the human realm, she found it almost as her duty to take care of it.
What she really wanted to know was- can we win?
If it's only against a single enemy, can we win?
Or can we not even defeat a single one?
She had seen the pictures produced based on the description of the spider, and it was far different from any monster she had ever seen before, but it didn't look any stronger than a typical mercenary.
What was strange was that it held tools, weapons, and wore clothing like a person.
Looking around, it seemed like the five had been walking around this maze for quite a while now.
Were they ever going to get anywhere?
A few minutes later of walking, and this question was answered.
There was a trembling as if a small earthquake was happening.
"Hm? What's going on?", One of the men asked.
"Don't ask me.", another replied.
The group continued walking forward, but the men didn't seem to be too concerned about the mission itself.
Niri was beginning to suspect something.
She was beginning to suspect that these men around her were not here to take on the monster at all.
Rather, that they had merely followed her here to try and catch her alone in the dark.
She recalled back to when the mercenary woman split the groups into teams.
They had all been around her area, and so they were assigned to the same team.
And that man- the one who was better looking than the rest did not seem to be irritated like many of the others at the suggestion of splitting up.
Rather, he looked delighted.
As if he had won something.
'I might have to deal with these four on my own', Niri thought. 'Whether it's before or after we fight the monster.'
The group continued to walk, and Niri continued to ignore the horrible stares which the thugs were giving her.
It seemed like the pathways had changed.
'Oh? It seems like we might actually be getting somewhere now. We're no longer going in circles.'
It was then that the good looking man made a bold statement.
"I think we've come far enough."
----
Gregory couldn't help but feel strange about the woman who claimed to be a mercenary, who took over the group and led everyone.
He felt like he knew her.
He just couldn't put his finger on it.
Gregory was an orphan who was originally from the town of Porta, but was sent over to Lornew after a certain incident when he was young.
He had punched a girl after she deliberately provoked him to do so.
He never forgot the mocking face of that girl after she had been punched.
She didn't look like someone who had just been slugged in the face.
Rather, she looked like someone who was smugly basking in her victory as if he had played right to her tune.
After being sent to a juvenile orphanage in the neighboring town, Gregory was able to easily become the top dog.
He discovered that using force was only how to overpower thugs, but using other means would allow him to overpower the more sophisticated people.
Just as that weak girl had overpowered him in that matter.
Gregory soon became the leader of what was equivalent to a gang.
He led a group of thugs as the good looking, intelligent leader who knew what he was doing.
They stuck to their territory in the small towns where military presence was low, and so nothing was ever done about them.
Gregory was able to obtain anything he wanted merely by ordering his subordinates around and threatening the people around him.
"We wouldn't want any.... unfortunate accidents to happen, right? Don't you think that you need to pay for some.... insurance? To ensure that such an accident wouldn't occur?"
And one day, when he was walking through the town of Porta on his own, he came across a meeting of people.
According to the woman who was speaking, a monster had invaded, and a civilian force was going to be formed to take it down.
But that was not what concerned him.
Present at this meeting was a jaw dropping beauty.
Gregory decided to follow this beauty, only to discover that she too was going to attend the invasion to take down the monster.
Of course, this was a perfect chance.
He immediately gathered a group of his men to go with him and they stuck close to the woman.
And how lucky he was.
The groups were then split up into units of 5, so he made sure that he was placed in the group with this woman and his lackeys.
It was as if heaven itself was thrusting him forward, positioning him perfectly to be able to charm this woman.
But how should he do it?
Should he force her here and now to do as he pleased, or try to show off- killing the monster and then seducing her later?
It was a difficult choice, one which Gregory was thinking about the entire time as him and his thugs walked through the alleyway, alongside the woman.
However, after the long walk through the seemingly endless corridor, he came to a realization.
What if the monster that was at the end of these tunnels was strong enough to kill him?
If it were strong enough to kill him, his thugs and this woman would die without question.
So, what should he do?
There was only one legitimate option.
To force the woman to do as he wanted and run away.
'I'll try to seduce her here and now.'
It was then that they heard a rumbling, and continued walking through the path- which seemed to have changed.
'Hm? It seems that were actually getting somewhere now? I had better finish this up quick.'
"I think we've come far enough."
"Hm? Why is that?", the woman asked suspiciously.
"Well, I mean think about it logically. I don't want to sound like a coward or anything, but we only have one life. Are you sure we should be risking our lives like this without even having any real information on how strong this thing is? If we continue on, we might end up dead."
"So you're saying we should turn back?", she asked.
"Well.... I don't want to abandon those orphans, but think about it! It's been hours- no, actually it's been almost an entire day since they were first captured. How many do you still think are alive? Probably none."
"But the monster is still alive, no?"
"But.... do we really have to kill that thing? Why don't you hear me out. If that thing is strong enough to kill us, then it would be better to turn back, right? We should let someone stronger take it on. I don't mean to call myself weak or anything, but I'm sure there are some professionals out there who are much stronger than I am. Shouldn't we be leaving this to the professionals, like that girl who took charge? Let's say we are strong enough to kill that thing. Then there really isn't much of a problem in the first place, right? Anyone here could kill it, and even if we run away- then it won't be like we're abandoning anyone. We're just making the best decision. I'm just saying that we shouldn't take the risk of fighting something that we don't know about."
The woman was looking at Gregory with a glare of suspicion and perhaps a slight bit of disgust, but she turned around, facing forward.
"If you want to leave, go ahead. I'll take care of it on my own then."
Her crossbow seemed to be clacking as she walked forward, but Gregory couldn't let this catch get away.
"Ah, just wait a minute!! Hold on! It's dangerous to go alone! Why don't you just come back with us! We can get to know each other better, and maybe have a drink or two! I'll even pay!"
The woman looked back at him, but this time with a look of complete disgust.
"I said I'll take care of it. I'm not going to repeat myself."
Gregory had not once in his life seen a woman give him such an arrogant look- not since that girl in the orphanage when he was young.
At seeing that look, he was triggered.
"Boys."
"Yes, boss?"
"Get her on the wall. I'll show this tramp not to look at me that way."
"Of course, boss!"
The three branded their weapons, and ran at the woman with their grubby paws and drooling mouths.
However, before they reached the woman, Gregory heard a set of sounds.
Pop. Squish. Click. Pop. Squish. Click. Pop. Squish. Click.
The sound of a bolt being fired off, landing in the head of one of the thugs, and the reloading of a new bolt.
This process was repeated until each of the men had a bolt in their head.
And now, the bow was aimed at him.
"To be honest, I just wanted to take a look at this monster before I made a real decision. You must think that you're real smooth with women. But you can't even read the subtleties of when one doesn't want to go with you, so you rely on force? I'm not about to deal with you."
"W-wait!! I.... hold on just a moment!! We.... we were just trying to have some fun!! I didn't plan on...."
"You didn't plan on what? Just now, you said 'Get her on the wall. I'll show this tramp not to look at me that way.' Is there any hidden meaning there? I don't think so. I said it before, I'll say it once more. I'm going to take care of this myself, whether you let me or not."
"WAIT!!!!"
Just as Niri was about to fire off her final bolt, she heard the sound of ticking, in a pattern that resembled clapping.
"Twice in one day, eh? This is quite the coincidence.", a beautiful yet somehow insect-like voice stated.
"Go ahead. Fire. I won't stop you from finishing off that scumbag. More importantly, I'm interested in you- just as much as you might be interested in us."
Niri, who was once determined to kill, froze in fear at hearing this voice.
She kept her crossbow aimed at Gregory, but slowly turned her head to look forward into the dark corridor.
"What's wrong? Weren't you going to finish him off? If you don't want to, then I will for you."
A wasp which took the form of a human, wearing what looked like clothing made from chitin appeared from the darkness. She looked beautiful even from a human perspective, and walked in the manner of a monarch.
She spoke with a dark chill in her voice which made even Niri freeze.
"I suppose If you're just going to stand there, then I should go ahead and take care of him myself."
Alicia walked over to Niri.
Gregory right now, was in a panic.
His muscles wouldn't move.
The monster in front of him was coldly terrifying, but it was a terrifying beauty.
To be frank, he had never imagined in his life that he would be able to witness such beauty.
And yet, that beauty was present not in a human, but in a monster.
However, Alicia walked over to Niri, and placed her humanoid hand over the hands of Niri, who was holding the crossbow.
"Steady. Like this. There we go. And now...."
And she pulled the trigger.
Too infatuated with the beauty of the wasp queen, Gregory did not find it in himself to even try to dodge the crossbow bolt, which flew into his head.
He fell to the floor, his last thoughts being nothing more than an excessive form of lechery.
Alicia then let go of the crossbow, and turned to Niri.
"So? You seem like a decent person, so I think I might be able to talk with you for a bit."
Niri shook herself out of the trance, and turned to face Alicia, holding up her crossbow while trembling.
It was then that a voice was heard down the hallway.
There was no sound of footsteps. It was as if the person who approached was completely silent, aside from their voice shouting out.
It was a raspy and insectoid voice as well.
"Alicia!? Are you alright!?!? I miscalculated!!!"