Not that the Arachnea was weak enough to depend on any gods, of course. The only one the Swarm worshipped was their queen. For their queen, they would offer up their lives or kill virtually any target. The Arachnea’s Swarm didn’t need the forgiveness of some god. Their queen’s forgiveness was all they required, and their actions were always dictated by her will through the collective consciousness.
For the time being, it didn’t seem like I’d have to worry about the possibility of the Swarm revolting against me.
“All right, time for the next stop on our shopping trip. And this is important,” I said, which prompted the man under my control to drive the carriage to our next destination.
And that destination was...
“Meat! Cheap, fresh meat! Get the highest quality meat here!”
Yes, we had come to the butcher.
You see, my plan B was as follows: I’d sell clothes made by my Worker Swarms and use it to buy meat. It was the most peaceful and most boring expansion plan in the history of expansion plans. The Swarm seemed to approve of it, though, as there was no conflict in the collective consciousness.
Knowing that they were fine with my idea was a huge relief. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if they had started indiscriminately attacking random people. This was one obstacle out of the way for my peaceful expansion policy.
There were other potential obstacles, however. For example, the slavers’ leader could be arrested by the town’s law enforcement for his social status, or we could be barred from entering Leen. Another was the possibility of not being able to sell the clothes, or only being able to sell them off for cheap.
Lastly, the Swarm could deny my passive approach and rebel, then haphazardly attack the surrounding region. Looking back on it, I probably shouldn’t have worried about that, though.
The queen was the core of the colony, and the colony couldn’t oppose the queen’s will. The Swarm would remain endlessly loyal to the queen... that is, to me. I could say that with confidence now, but that didn’t mean I was going to throw caution to the wind. I still feared I might end up somehow earning their ire.
But it would do for the time being. They’re loyal to me for now, at least.
Now then.
“Give... meat,” said the slaver, hopping down from the carriage.
“Aye, friend. What are you looking for?”
“As much meat as this can buy. All of it.” He plopped the sack of 30,000 floria he’d received earlier on the counter.
The butcher looked puzzled.
“Are you holding a feast or somethin’, mister?”
“Does it... matter? Give me... meat.”
It certainly was a feast in a manner of speaking, as the meat would be positively gobbled up. But mentioning our true motives here was probably a bad idea.
“Erm, I’m not so sure I can give you your money’s worth...”
“Unprocessed meat will do too.”
What we were doing was effectively the same as walking up to the neighborhood butcher and dropping fat stacks of cash on his counter, demanding everything he had. It was a pretty looney idea, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the plan blew up in my face right then and there.
“Even with the unprocessed meat thrown in, it’s only fifteen thousand floria,” the butcher said, still baffled. “If you need that much meat, you’ll have to hit up other stores too.”
I kind of felt bad for the guy.
“I will buy it all for fifteen thousand, then.”
“All right. I’ll get it ready, so just gimme a few.”
It was another compromise, but I didn’t really have any other options. I’d spend 15,000 here, and the other 15,000 elsewhere.
“Here you go, fifteen thousand floria worth of meat.” The butcher loaded a crate full of meat onto the counter. “You didn’t specify what kind of meat you wanted, so I put in all kinds.”
It was a lot of meat. And I was a veritable carnivore. Hamburg steaks, grilled meat, beef stew, you name it—meat was my soul food, but eating this much would definitely make me get fat.
Also, there was no way of keeping it fresh all the way back to base. Left with no choice, I bid my dreams of steaks and burgers a tearful farewell. The burgers Mom made really were the best, though.
“Fifteen thousand floria.” The slaver handed the money over to the butcher.
“Thank you for your patronage. You enjoy your feast, mister.”
Oh, we will. It’s going to be a lovely banquet.
We went on to a few other butchers, spending our remaining 15,000 floria on more meat as well as some bedding and furniture to make my living space a touch more hospitable.
The Worker Swarms could produce sheets that were softer than silk, but making a comfortable bed was beyond their abilities. All they could manage was to furnish my simple bed with straw. But starting today, I would finally be able to sleep in a comfy bed again.
“Phew...”
After traveling through an unfamiliar town and haggling prices, I was left feeling a little tired.
“That’s enough for today. Buying too much would make us look suspicious... though it might be too late for that.”
With that, we turned our carriage back toward the Arachnea’s base. That was the end of that day. At least, it should have been.
♱
I relaxed in the wagon, letting the slavers’ leader handle the reins. Burying my face in my newly bought bedding, I deeply inhaled its pleasant scent. Soothed by the fresh smell, and reassured by the presence of the Ripper Swarm watching over me, I began to doze off.
Still, I was unsure about what to do next. I’d bought a great deal of meat from the town’s butchers, which would allow me to greatly increase the number of Swarms, but what was I going to use them for?
The Swarm believed I would guide them to victory. But victory over what? Did they wish to conquer the whole world? Or was there some other kind of triumph they desired? Just what sort of objective did they want me to achieve?