It is a strange feeling indeed, especially for someone of her status and caliber.
Nessa is the Queen of the Hive, and as Queen, she should be aware of everything that is happening in the Hive and within the Hive Mind, for everyone under its control are her eyes and ears.
This is the reason to why it is incredibly difficult to sneak into her chamber situated at the heart of the Hive and assassinate her without raising alarms all over the Hive. But incredibly difficult does not mean impossible, and Nessa understands this clearly.
There is a reason that Nessa becomes Queen despite being one of thousands or so spawns of the last Queen, and I do not recall an instance where the Queen of the Hive dies of old age.
Her kind is not immortal, but their lifespan is exceedingly long. So exceedingly long that they might as well be immortal. As such, the only way for a Queen to die is through combat, and the Hive would not have continued to exist for the same reason to why it is incredibly difficult to assassinate the Queen.
That means whoever manages to kill the Queen must have gone through the entire Hive to get to her, and as a result, the Hive would have been destroyed.
"I suppose I am the same in that regards, so what can I do for you, your highness?" I response, referring to the reason that she uses the Calling Card. She might call to say hello, but I highly doubt that. Also, I will be super annoyed if that is the case.
"It is not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you, Merchant," the Queen informs. "A dozen or so of my rather troublesome children has found our agreement unacceptable, and they decided to take the matter into their own hands. They have severed their connection with the Hive Mind, so I am unable to stop them."
"Don't piss in my cup and say it lemonade," I response flatly. "That means there is no need for you to spin a story to why you want me to kill your children, and I accept."
Nessa is surprised. "They are very powerful, Merchant, for they are my direct spawns. More powerful than the general you have faced earlier."
"I appreciate the warning, your highness, but I am more concern to what you would give me in return for disposing your potential usurpers," I point out.
I am not too worry about her children, as they cannot be more powerful than her, and I know exactly how powerful she is as well as all of her abilities due to my future knowledge. But of course, I am not going to fight them heads on simply because it is stupid to do so.
And how would they even find me anyway? They might be able to trace my magic signature, and that is a problem. Not a huge problem, considering that I am a level 9 Merchant. Getting to me is going to be quite a challenge for them thanks to all the Headquarter I have set up all over the place.
"I am willing to release some of your kind of your choosing," Nessa offers, and that is the shittiest kind of rewards ever, considering that they would just be baggage. "You are not pleased?"
"Not quite, your highness," I tell her. "I am pleased to have more of my kind freed from the Hive Mind without bloodshed, but I would prefer materialistic things such as ores and crystals."
I will not say no to more slaves, but I am more interested in things that I do not have at the moment, and I am sure that as a transmigrator herself, she should have things that I might need.