[Kael: Are you heading back now?]

[Naia: Hmn. I bought a lot of things. We’re not going hungry for sure.]

Kael smiled. [Kael: We won’t.]

...

Naia arrived back in Amber City after a few hours of travel. She decided to go drive back to Tuzi Village, getting Glen to drive and Gal to navigate.

Since they already accepted employment, she’d definitely maximize them.

They chose a scenic route this time. Naia wanted to sightsee, to see more of their beautiful country before it got destroyed. She was also targeting a place.

The place was called Nispedana’s Honey Farm. She had encountered it by chance after buying a bottle in the grocery store. She loved it so much and found out it was only two hours away from Amber City, she just hadn’t had the time to go there yet.

According to the information, it sat just beyond the last cultivated fields, where wildflowers had reclaimed the land in uneven bursts of color.

When she arrived there, she realized the description was quite apt.

Speaking of which, this area was zoned as an agricultural area, so she went through a lot of farms, orchards, and even vineyards. They took a mental note to ’pass through’ these areas later, grabbing a few hectares of plants by the way. To ease her conscience, she’d probably leave them a few sacks of rice or other supplies in their place.

She also wanted to buy a lot of fruits from the orchards. They were definitely cheaper even compared to wholesale markets because it was direct from the farms.

Sadly, they might just rot in her space. She would probably buy a few boxes at most and ask grandma to help her make jams out of them.

Soon, they arrived at the Nispedana Honey Farm and went past the gate (which had a large wooden gate with the ostentatious signboard on top). There was a building there next to a small parking lot for guests.

It was basically the office of the owner, though the house should also be the same building.

"I’m here to buy some honey...and bees," she said as she stood at the counter with an old man. "I want to raise bees."

She needed to learn a lot this time. First, though she had a beehive, she didn’t know how to properly and sustainably harvest them. True honey would never expire, was tasty, and had so many uses. Naturally, she would not miss out on it.

Another, having more bees could be useful for her as she could control them. Who knew what use they could have in the future? For this, she needed a lot of them.

"If you teach the three of us the basics of beekeeping and processing of honey, I can pay you generously as a bonus."

The old man, who had been half asleep, suddenly woke up and lifted his head to look at them. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw it was just a bunch of youngins. "This isn’t a mere hobby."

She nodded. "We are based further South, planning to start a honey farm in that region," she said. "I hope you’ll help us. We’re willing to donate a lot of money in the name of your farm."

Technology, as well as the painstaking years of breeding the perfect bees, could not be given away for free. Anyway, she had money. She could also use this chance to distribute some essentials to a lot of people right before the Fall.

The old man’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Naia, wondering how sincere she was. In the end, his expression loosened. He didn’t have much to lose even if it were a scam anyway, just a bit of time. As for the technology and the bees, they’d be paid for as a legitimate transaction separate from the promised donation.

The old man guided them to the staff area where they’d be equipped with the proper protection tools, as well as introduced to the staff members assisting them.

They had to walk a bit, passing through flower fields, and they soon saw rows of wooden hives across the clearing, painted differently so the bees could recognize their homes.

The air hummed constantly as the bees surrounded them. Naia smiled, feeling the bees were adorable.

There was a sweetness that clung to the air, making people look forward to the honey being created in this type of scenery.

There were also plenty of different flowers all around, some curated, mostly wild. No wonder bees loved the place. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"I agreed because I liked that determined look in your eyes. I’m not sure how much I can teach you for the next few hours," the beekeeper said after a while. "But I hope you can keep your eyes and ears open the whole time."

...

"Well, color me impressed," Bee master said with a smile, the previous challenging look now filled with goodwill.

They only had a few hours, and Bee Lord really did compress what she needed to learn in the short amount of time. As for the other two, they were average at best, but it was fine because Naia could just teach them what they had missed.

According to him, if they retained even 20% of the lesson, it would have been fine. Anyway, the internet was already so advanced and there would be no problem to polish knowledge later.

However, there was still something special and lasting about mastering these things and their subtleties yourself.

The Bee Master wanted to test her because he treated his bees as his children. Naturally, he had to make sure the people who ’adopt’ some of them could properly care for them.

He did not expect Naia to remember everything, however. Even the other two together did not remember as much as she did.

Naia remembered why the hives were spaced the way they were, the effects of wind direction, sun exposure, which flowers bloomed each season, how bees communicated, how to differentiate the angry buzzing to the defensive and calm buzzing, when not to open hives, the parts of a hive, and so on.

Also, it seemed like she had an affinity. Not once did the bees get defensive.

She smiled. Honey and Bee independence, incoming!