Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire-Chapter 285: Plucking her out like a stray hair

"A few days ago… Perhaps three days ago. Or more?" Undecided finally said. "I saw someone and thought it was strange. She looked and smelled very similar to someone else. I have a perfect memory, so I thought it was weird for someone to be *so* identical, down to the last small scar."

"Do you know this bee's name?"

Undecided shook her head.

"She was just a Forager. Although she looked a bit lost, I didn't think twice about her back then. Afterward, she flew away, and I never thought she was important. And you say it was an infiltrator, Father? What should we do?"

I pulled a strand of my hair.

"First of all, we must find out who the real Ambrosia is! And second, we must deal with the infiltrator. But the latter thing must be done extremely carefully. If she realizes we are onto her, she will easily hide among the people of Hive Supremo, or even escape the hive—"

I was interrupted by a telepathic message from the same person we spoke about. Well, her original, at least.

'Necty, your bath is waiting for you, and it will cool down if you don't come quickly. Are you feeling better now? I heard you went to the Oracles… everything is alright?'

I let out a breath.

So far, the infiltrator didn't hurt Ambrosia (or anyone I knew about), but if Amby let the infiltrator know she was under scrutiny, this might change.

I also assumed that right now, I was talking with the real Ambrosia. I doubted the infiltrator had the telepathic abilities at all. If she did, it would first imply that she was as smart as a human, since the telepathy gene had a high intelligence requirement… But this was possible.

If I was talking to the infiltrator, it was even more important to not let her know that anything was wrong.

'Yes, Amby,' I said. 'I think it's just the weather pushing down on me. You know, when atmospheric pressure changes, some sensitive people might have headaches. Maybe all that heavy thinking made my head sensitive… Ahem. Anyway, I'm going to get to my bath soon! But I will bathe on my own, alright?'

Ambrosia—oh, how I hoped she was the real thing!—still sounded a bit concerned when she replied.

'Atmosphere… I don't know what it is, but I will leave you at peace and quiet if you want. The Attendants won't disturb you, either. Have your rest, Necty.'

I smiled softly at Amby's care, but this smile waned when I remembered…

My eyes turned to nervously waiting Undecided.

"It looks like the hypnosis is proximity-based," I said. "At least, from yours and my experiences. If my guesses are right, it should be easy to determine who's the real Ambrosia. I also know who shouldn't be affected by hypnosis right now…"

Perhaps I could try apprehending the infiltrator on my own, but who knew what its capabilities were?

A crude sort of plan appeared in my head, and to execute it, Undecided had to carry a few messages.

"Listen quickly to what you must do, Undecided..."

I relayed her the instructions for the plan I just made up, then flew to have my hot bath with only my anxious thoughts for company. The real Ambrosia and the infiltrator, both appearing and acting identically from the side-glance, stayed a couple rooms away.

When I exited the bath, clean from head to toe, I went right to where my Queen and her double were in the living room, while also sending a message to Destroyer.

As soon as I entered the living room, both Ambrosias turned to greet me again—but then one of them paused.

"Oh. I'm told there's an urgent issue in the brood comb," Ambrosia said, raising her hand to her temple with a frown. "Nectus, Ambrosia, do you want to look, too? I don't think it's anything serious, but at least the Nurses will deserve a scolding if they call me for an insignificant reason."

I frowned. This was a ploy to separate the original from the infiltrator—Amby wasn't supposed to be calling the infiltrator with her!

And the infiltrator… I tried to glean her thoughts, and was surprised when it worked.

'If this is something serious after all, I should know firsthand, too…'

"Oh, if we all barge in together, everybody will get in so much panic that you won't be able to get anything done!" I said quickly. "It's not like the comb is far. Call us if you need anything. And I *know* that if this was really serious, we'd get a prediction beforehand."

To my relief, Amby nodded, looking less worried and more unhappy. The infiltrator-Ambrosia nodded as well.

"If the Chief Nurses again can't decide which cells get the first helpings of food, I will demote them and find someone who can get along better," she declared, turning to leave.

As soon as the door closed behind her, the atmosphere in the room became much more tense. At least for me, because the supposed infiltrator went back to the sitting pillows and began eating skewered meat from a small bucket.

All in complete nonchalance.

I frowned.

'Was she ever doing anything *except* eating? Is this it? Is she just some sort of parasite?' I wondered. 'Well, this doesn't matter. It's time to uncover the truth! *If*… *If* it gets uncovered…'

Despite my conviction that I was about to apprehend the infiltrator, I couldn't help but worry.

What if, what if, what if?

And where was my special action team, anyway?

Just as I thought about them, I heard a buzzing approaching from outside the Royal Chambers. A few seconds later, the door opened and one after another, eleven Beemarines led by Destroyer stepped inside.

Each was dressed in full combat gear with their spears, hammers and knives at the ready.

"Father! We've come to execute your order… and capture… the spy," Destroyer's initially steady speech slowed as she saw the infiltrator. "Mother-Queen…"