After rolling through the inner gate to the palace and into the courtyard, where the general populace is ultimately banned from entering, our coach comes slowly to a stop.
Not only is this place expansive, but there are also all kinds of decorative plants around us, while the palace rises impressively high up in front of us.
The main building alone might have six to seven floors, not even considering the towers.
And everything seems to be made of stone.

Aaron comes to our coach, still a bit vigilant of Miru, who doesn't trust him either.
He opens the door and makes an ostentatious gesture to lead us out.

 

"Your highnesses, would you allow me the honor of guiding you?" (A)

"As you wish. But direct contact isn't necessary since we have our own subjects to attend us." (H)

 

She gives mum a glance, who catches on and moves first out of the coach to give her a hand while descending the small stairway to the ground.
After this, Kyska does the same for me.

I should mention, while the general populace isn't present anymore, aside from the guards who accompanied us, there are now all kinds of people assembled in the courtyard.
Personally, I have no idea who usually would be called to welcome a foreign delegation and like this can't really tell them apart.
Some might be servants, nobles, or state officials, but I have no idea who is who since they all are wearing fine uniforms.
At least I can distinguish the additional palace guards.

It's not like I'm a distrustful person by nature, but the idea that they're currently outnumbering us makes me slightly nervous.
I guess now it depends on their intentions.
Even if it's disturbing me a bit to be dependent.
Though, I'm sure my royal guard could stand their ground against them.

Aaron walks in front of us, guiding us to the great, at least two stories high, gate leading into the main palace.
Just before we reach it, Honiu stops in her tracks.

 

"Ahem, I would like to bring you inside. We prepared a formal welcome in the main hall." (A)

"No." (H)

 

I don't have the slightest idea what's going on.
Aaron twitches with his eye for a moment but then returns to his professional demeanor.

 

"May I ask what the issue is?" (A)

"I won't step in there without you making some concessions. Our safety has to be guaranteed." (H)

 

I know I had the same worries, but what does she want them to do about this?

 

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. I promise you're not at risk. How can I make you comfortable?" (A)

"I'm aware this is your territory, so I held back, but I wish to open a passage at this place. Without an established tunnel to our realm, I can't allow that we move any further into yours and expose us any more than this." (H)

 

The way she says this, it's clear that she is serious.
Well, Formicea are always serious, but humans don't know this and it's more about the way she voiced it.

 

"You want to open a tunnel? Here?" (A)

"You may point to a suitable location where it won't disturb your working processes, yet it has to commence. Not only to assure our safety but also to attend to our needs." (H)

"I, I'm sorry, but I can't make such a decision on the fly." (A)

"What has flying to do with this?" (H)

"Hee means only his superior can decide." (F)

"Then that one shall do so! I won't move before this happens." (H)

 

I'm actually certain this incident will bring up sentiments along the lines of "stubborn as an insect".
Honiu certainly won't compromise here.

 

"How long do you intend to keep standing here? I mean do you really want to wait out in the open till your subjects finished building a whole tunnel?" (A)

 

"You don't seem to understand. We already have a sufficiently expansive system below this settlement. It won't take long to create such a passage. This is a mere courtesy from my side. I only wait for you to tell me where you want to have the exit." (H)

 

And now we're continuing with going on about annihilation scenarios.
This first official contact couldn't go worse.

 

"I, I understand. Please wait here, I have to relay this." (A)

"I intended to do so." (H)

 

Sigh, the murmur among the surrounding people isn't a promising start for our diplomatic mission.
And I have no idea how to bear myself.
Should I wave at them and talk casually to decrease the tension?
Or remain expressionless to maintain some dignity as an ambassador?
Anyway, I doubt my current nervous tripping from one foot to the other is a good idea, but I just can't decide on a course of action.

Fortunately, Aaron apparently really hurried the moment he was out of sight.
I perceive a bit of glistening sweat on his forehead, while he approaches us as composed as it's possible after a sprint.

 

"Ahem, my liege allows it. You can open a passage. We would appreciate it if it's as remote as possible, but not in a way that it disrupts the stability of the walls." (A)

"The walls will not be damaged. Show me a suitable location." (H)

 

We walk some steps to the corner of a wall.
It's not far away from the road that led us up here, but also not in plain sight.

 

"Here. So, how is this going to happen? Do you have to call some of your subjects?" (A)

"In fact, this is exactly the case. Yet they aren't exactly close, so it warrants a strong signal." (H)

 

Honiu moves to the pointed area and stays there.
Then she raises one of her claws.

 

<Scraah!/Here!> (H)

 

While the sound was just the usual kind of screech, those who can receive pheromones understand that this is equivalent to a very intense shout.
And now she... spits into her claw.
So much for manners at an official event.
The sullied claw she presses firmly onto the ground.
And then she moves some steps away.
At first, nothing happens, but after a minute or so I perceive a rumbling as I witnessed them sometimes during a quake.

Oh, god that was always their doing, wasn't it?!
The rumbling becomes more intense and abruptly the ground explodes like back when I first met the Formicea.
The impression they made at that time on me should tell enough about how appropriate I find that to be for our mission.

A worker emerges from the hole, then another, and soon several of them press earth out of that hole.
I hear how some of the people around me gasp.
With this, the passage to the underworld is established.
The king's envoy, although he saw such holes before during our trip through the villages seems to need to gather his thoughts.

 

"Ahem, now that you got what you wished for, can we continue with the reception?" (A)

"I don't think so." (H)

 

What!?

 

"What!?" (A)

 

What is going on?
Is she actually trying to sabotage this venture?

 

"I need to take care of my needs. So I'll require some time. At the moment I'm in no state to meet someone. When our preparations are finished, then we can continue with whatever you have prepared here." (H)

 

Aaron clearly has not the slightest idea how to respond to this.
The way Honiu stated her demands as facts was more than adamant.
Just why did I have to come here with the most undiplomatic insect princess ever?!
And now she steps to me.

 

<What are you doing? We can't just leave like this!> (E)

<We can and will. And you will naturally accompany me.> (H)

<Are you serious?> (E)

 

She really intends for both of us to leave while all the dignitaries are standing here!?

On one side, I could stay and try to save the situation somehow.
On the other, doing so would show that we're at odds with each other, which is certainly no impression I'm willing to make on them.

 

<I'm well aware of how painstakingly you avoided this topic, but your next session should be imminent and you cannot afford to delay it.> (H)

 

Urgh, sadly she is right.
Actually, my next laying is already overdue.
My waist is already cramping up.
Doing this in the castle would be terribly embarrassing.
It must have something to do with the fact that we stopped moving.
My body knows it's over and now the eggs can be pushed out.

But while I know that it has to commence I doubt that I can just ignore all these people and leave.
There's certainly not a single good diplomat who spoke about his sanitation and other bodily stuff.

Damn.
Urgh, and my waist gets worse by the minute.
Suddenly, Honiu grabs my hand and drags me to the hole.
And from behind, I feel Kyska pushing.
I guess she won't compromise on this as well.
Sigh, stubborn like an insect.

Aaron throws a questioning and beseeching look in my direction in the meantime.
And I still don't know how to handle myself in this situation.

 

"Ehk! Sorry, we'll be back." (E)

 

And with this, I step into the hole to press out some eggs, while leaving all the humans up here behind.

God, this mission is such a disaster!

 

             

 

- Aaron -

 

"And they just abandoned you there?" (Kiran)

 

It's certainly not easy to confess to my king that the guests who might decide the fate of our country just left and stood him up on the grand welcome that was specially prepared for them.

 

"Y-yes, milord. I'm deeply sorry. This one insect princess which accompanied the girl is quite the character." (A)

"Oh, that much I'm sure about. If your reports hold the slightest bit of truth I'm assured that it will be a meeting to remember." (K)

"Please, my liege. The situation is already dire. Some of the nobles claim that it was an insult directed at you. They say you have to do something or you might lose face." (A)

 

If things proceed like this the council might force him to do something drastic to preserve the country's honor.
But this might spell our doom for all I know about the insects.

 

"Nonsense. As if anyone expects them to be capable of keeping up with local customs. We're talking about insects, good riddance. When was the last time you felt offended by a grasshopper landing on your head?" (K)

"I'm certain one can't just see them as simple insects." (A)

"This might be, but we also can't afford to waste this chance. They traveled all the way here, so I'll attest them a certain degree of goodwill. And this is something one can take advantage of." (K)

 

Don't let them hear this.
This Erys shows some goodwill, but she's also a young woman and in my experience, those change their minds like the weather.
Also, she is only one instance in their faction.

 

"Knock, knock"

 

I'm confused.
At this time nobody should be allowed to enter while I report to our king.

 

"Enter!" (K)

 

The man who enters is close to bulky, but not quite there yet.
Big, but just lean enough that you notice that all the flesh on his ribs is muscles.
A small trimmed beard adorns his face while his short dark-brown hair runs in small sideburns to the sides.
His build might indicate that in a duel he would overpower one with sheer strength, but that's just the trick.
In truth, he's willing to use every trick to secure victory and is able to apply them as he's one of the most skilled fighters in the kingdom.

I'd recognize him everywhere.
Lord Gioras of house Zion, the secret leader of the king's party in the council of nobles.
While he seldom speaks up in a way that draws attention to himself, it's an open secret that he pulls the strings in the background.
But who would dare to speak aloud in the face of the master of secret intelligence?
It's thanks to this man that our smaller army can still keep the Koresos at bay. His sabotages, assassinations, and ambushes are what make it so difficult to start a full-blown invasion.
They'd have to fear that their troops would be cut off if they go any deeper and would slowly get decimated.
That and the countless counter-raids he starts to keep them occupied.

And it's this very man who proposed to provoke the attack on the princesses.
Though, if he "proposes" something you can't simply decline.

 

"My liege, I was told you wanted to see me.

"Ah, Gioras. How is the war going?" (K)

"It's dragging. After they took the border settlement, the enemy settled on sending one batch of slaves after the other. One might believe they simply don't want to feed them. Though, they whittle down our defenses. Desperate men are truly dangerous. Those new collars from Rakis are a problem. Though, for now, we could achieve a stalemate. They cannot move past our strongest fortresses, which should be a given, as we've bled them quite a bit by now. This is good, as it grants us more time to react and adjust to their strategies. But I'm sure this isn't why you called me." (G)

"Right. We were discussing how to handle those illustrious guests of ours." (K)

"Ah, yes. I've heard they decided to leave the moment they arrived. Truly a peculiar behavior." (G)

 

I'm sure that he was among the first to hear about it.

 

"We need to handle them carefully. The 'incident' with the enemy ambush left them quite irritated." (A)

"Certainly. We cannot allow them to leave before we could reap any benefits from their visit." (G)

 

This man is really difficult to handle.
It's hard to tell what he's up to.
And he's always up to something.

 

"On this matter, I already have an idea which will allow us to maintain our dignity and at the same time receive them with all honor." (K)

 

I honestly have no idea how he could be able to just come up with the perfect solution.

 

"I'm sure it will be a wise decision, your majesty." (G)

 

At this, he grins at us.

 

"We'll throw a ball." (K)

 

Oh please, let him be talking about the round plaything for kids.