Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire - Chapter 327

Chapter 328: A small date
It took me four days to get home again, and what a bliss it was to be there!

I called a day off, let the Advisers run things for just a bit longer, and just went on a date with Ambrosia.

I realized I had never invited her to something like this before. At least, not as a “date” thing, because the concepts of romance were still a relatively recent thing.

Of course, dating was a strange custom for her.

“We already spend a lot of time together, and do a lot of things alongside each other, in public and in private, doing work or resting. Including time you call ‘romantic’,” she countered after I explained to her the idea of spending romantic time together. “What could this ‘date’ have that we don’t already?”

When put this way, I couldn’t even find good words to reply to her immediately.

“Uh… Look…” I waved my hand in the air. “It’s more romantic if you call it a day. And there’s often something to make the atmosphere special… Like a small, very private celebration. Just for us. Come on, it will be fun! You need to relax, too. I know you’ve been working hard keeping the hive running smoothly and spirits high…”

Amby let out a tired sigh. Her face, framed by shiny brown hair, was beautiful as always, and her eyes bright, but there really were shadows under them.

She smoothed the folds of her long dress, as if giving herself time to think. We were close enough that I could hear echoes of her thoughts, but I didn’t listen to them.

Instead, I just leaned closer and felt her sweet scent fill my world. I put a hand on my cheek and smiled with all the gentleness this woman gave me and inspired to give back.

“Pretty please, Amby?”

She leaned into my hand and smiled back.

“Very well. If you are a ‘please’ then you are pretty, Necty, and I will come with you. Our daughters can manage themselves for a few hours.”

And that was how we ended up having a picnic near a lake while thirty bees guarded from a distance because you never knew when a dragon swooped in and struck. Or some evolved creature, or one of the many enemies of bees.

For all the efforts we took to cleanse our lands from enemies, the Bee Empire was still just a *relatively* safe place.

But from where we sat, we could see not just the clear water of the lake, but the smoke and steam coming from a train driving in the distance.

Above us and to the sides of us, bees were in the air, moving in groups and doing their work. Trees were cut down and harvested, and in their places fields appeared, growing more of them.

I leaned on Ambrosia’s shoulder and smiled, pulling her closer to me by the waist.

Our biggest child—the Bee Empire—was ever-growing.

***

Ten days later, Advisers Researchina and Workharder proudly reported that the first steam-powered loom was working as intended.

Alongside it, many other minor improvements were made over the empire, mainly about the steam engines. They, after being installed on more and more trains, moved to smaller places. Coal became such a necessary resource that we had to build more mines besides one in Hive Rich!

Luckily, the land had more coal to give us. We even found some iron ore to make our own iron instead of trading with humans, but it was hard to excavate—the area was at the edge of the Empire and the underground was currently full of evolved earth-diggers.

Even earthworms could be deadly when they are your size and burrow into your mines.

In the meantime, our culture and espionage improved by miles and miles within the last month. Agents did a lot of work, and not just with the former.

Apparently, spreading my “religion” over humans gave me culture points! Of course, the system didn’t provide me with this information and I had to guess it myself.

The culture war was real, and so far, we were winning.

Coincidentally, on the same day I got this report, I was told that the dodos my people could save, all 25 of them, were gathered and cared for.

20 of them were en route to where they are needed the most—Farini’s encampment—while 5 were already waiting for me in the Krisha Village.

I ordered them to be brought there for future studying, taming, and making some vaccines for my own subjects. Krisha village, whose people were loyal and experienced with keeping animals, was perfect for keeping the dodos at.

Somewhat remote, but with the new speed of Beemarines and others—not too much.

Oh, and Tamsha was there, too. Together with his entire family and two carts of things!

“He demanded the village elder to speak with you, or your representative,” in front of the Empire Council, Attendant Helping-Hands read aloud the report written from a telepathic chain message. “Two hours ago, but the message was given low priority. What should I send back, Father?”

Ambrosia turned her head to me.

“Are you still serious about your idea, Nectus? To invite a human to live and work near our daughters?”

Other Advisers looked varying degrees of uneasy.

“It will be impossible to forget that a human is around when they are so huge, yes-yes,” Things-Things muttered, wringing all four of her hands at once.

“And he demands! If you want a human near, there are those who at least know their place. The last one who was here—he treated us with the respect we deserve,” Workharder said.

“It will make a lot of people unhappy.” Worriesgone bit her lip and shrugged. “But if it will make *you* happy, Father…”

“It will lead to chaos,” Undecided raised her voice from the Oracles’ corner. “But… Hm… Chaos can be different. A lot of things are done in chaos. Or broken. The dreams are divided again. But you are near an idea of something… Incredible.”

She fell silent. I blinked.

“An idea? You don’t know anything more, Undecided?”