Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 169: Monster Queens

"Thank you all for coming. As I’m sure you’re aware of by now, we have a rather concerning situation on our hands, with the appearances of these mutated Monsters," Remarked Jules, as she looked around at the others with a grimace.

It was the 8th of October, 1919, three days since the joint-squad effort to investigate and deal with the unusual Monster activity.

As it turned out, it wasn’t just Raven and Wein’s groups that encountered the mutated Monsters, several of the other groups did too, which all but confirmed that these mutated Monsters were the cause of the unusual activity.

Each of the teams had submitted reports, along with the corpses of the mutated Monsters, to the Knights headquarters, where a team had analyzed the bodies to find out what was going on.

With the results of their analysis complete, Jules decided to hold a meeting with several of the high-ranked members of the Knight Order, in order to share and discuss the results, and decide on their next course of action in response to the situation.

"I’ll get right to the matter at hand. Our team of analysts finished their assessment of the mutated corpses last night, and after thoroughly inspecting the bodies, they reacted the conclusion that these mutations occurred as a result of exposure to an excessive concentration of Mana in the air. Furthermore, they determined that each of the mutated Monsters were born around the same time, around mid-June, so a little under four months ago," Jules informed them.

"Uh...I was summoned to this world on the 16th of June, could that be connected?" Suggested Akila nervously.

"Hm, come to think of it...I did sense a sudden spike in the concentration of Mana that night. I also felt a slight, unusual element mixed into the Mana, though that faded after a couple of days," Recalled Raven thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah, I remember you mentioning that," Chimed in Celia with a nod.

"Then, there’s a fairly high possibility that the Hero Summoning Ritual was the cause of this, the timing feels too close to be a coincidence," Surmised Raven.

"O-Oh, crap, is this my fault?" Responded Akila, a remorseful look on his face.

"No, of course not. If anyone’s to blame, it’d be the guy who summoned you, Alphonse Plore. Of course, his execution was carried out about two months ago now, so it’s not like we can do anything about it at this point," Shrugged Aster wryly.

"That aside, what’s done is done. Even if you were to blame for this, we won’t accomplish anything by pointing fingers, that isn’t going to change anything," Added Rione prudently.

"So, these mutations are the price to pay for using the Hero Summoning Ritual, huh? It’s a good thing we destroyed it after analyzing it, we’d be in serious trouble if these mutations became a regular occurrence," Frowned Siele warily.

"If all the mutated Monsters were born around the same time as the ritual, does that mean the excess Mana only affected newborn Monsters? In which case, can we assume that more Monsters won’t mutate, and that only those affected during that timeframe mutated?" Suggested Wein uncertainly.

"Logically speaking, that would be a fair conclusion, but we shouldn’t make any assumptions until we’re more certain, we need more information," Reasoned Aster objectively.

"Did the analysis team find anything else that could be useful?" Raven asked Jules.

"Yes, there’s one more thing, I was just about to bring it up. All the corpses that were brought in were female, and closer inspection revealed that all of them had given birth an unusually large number of times with unnatural frequency. In other words, the spike in the numbers of the Monster species each of the teams investigated were directly caused by the mutated Monsters. It seems like they reproduce at a much faster rate than their species normally would."

"I don’t like the sound of that. That means, if any mutated Monsters are left unchecked, the population of their species could absolutely skyrocket," Frowned Tacitus warily.

"Now that you mention it, with the mutated Death Grizzly the team I led fought, the other Death Grizzlies were protecting it. While it’s not uncommon for a lot of Monster species to protect their young, it’s definitely unusual for them to protect fellow adults, especially to such a drastic extent.

Death Grizzlies usually tend to run away if they’re up against a serious threat, but not a single one ran away...every last one of them attacked until only the mutated one was left. Which means, these Monsters must understand how valuable the mutated variants are," Surmised Raven with a grimace.

"Well, that’s a scary thought," Muttered Rione.

"There’s also the concern of how much more powerful the mutated ones were compared to the rest of their species. Each of the teams came across species that were either Low or Mid Level. If there are any mutated Monsters among High and Critical Level species, they might prove too powerful to handle," Chimed in Wein.

"Yes, that has me quite concerned as well. We’ll need to keep any eye out, and if there are any signs of unusual Monster activity that indicates the presence of a mutated Monster, we’ll act immediately, and then locate and eliminate them as quickly as possible. If we neglect this concern, our nation could end up overrun with Monsters in no time," Remarked Jules grimly.

"Hey, we should come up with a name for these mutated Monsters," Suddenly suggested Colt with a grin.

"What? Er, I don’t see how that’s necessary or relevant. Please take this seriously," Sighed Jules in exasperation.

"Come on, it’ll make things more convenient, saying mutated Monsters everytime is kind of a mouthful," He pointed out with a shrug.

"Why not keep it simple and refer to them as Mutants?" Suggested Wein thoughtfully.

"Hey, that’s not bad, but I think something cooler would be better," Replied Colt after mulling it over.

"Oh, in that case, how about Monster Queens? Since they’re female and are clearly highly valued and protected by their offspring, I think that’s a pretty fitting name," Spoke up Akila.

"Yeah, that’s pretty good, nice. Let’s get a few more suggestions and then vote-...," Began Colt.

"No, this is hardly of any importance. I’d prefer not to waste time having a full debate over this, so let’s just go with Monster Queens and be done with it," Jules cut him off dryly.

"Fine, I guess that works," Colt sighed wistfully.

"Anyway, that’s everything I wanted to discuss. Head back to your assigned locations now, form groups to patrol the areas outside of the cities, towns and villages, and report any suspicious Monster activity right away," Instructed Jules, as she concluded the meeting.

"Got it."

"Understood, Commander."

"You can leave it to us."

As the Knights began streaming out of the room to head back to their posts, Jules approached Aster, grabbing hold of his arm.

"If you don’t mind, Captain Aster, I’d like to have a quick word with you before you leave."

"Hm? Yeah, sure, that’s fine," He nodded, before adding once the others were gone, "What did you want to discuss? Is there something else?"

"Not exactly...I just wanted to confide that I’m seriously concerned about this. We need to deal with this situation and get it under control as soon as possible. After the Undead King and that Elf, Leptar, I can help but dread the notion that another impossibly powerful threat will appear," She sighed wearily.

"Wait...did you just want to vent?" Responded Aster in bemusement.

"S-So what if I did, is that so wrong?" She huffed defensively.

"No, not at all, I was just wondering why you chose me to confide to. Why not Rione or Siele, they’re your siblings, after all, I’d imagine you’re a lot closer to them than to me."

"I-I don’t know, I didn’t really put much thought into it...I felt the need to vent, and you just happened to be the first person who popped into my mind, that’s all!"

"Huh, not sure what to say to that, I feel kinda flattered. Or, what, did you just want some alone time with me?" Grinned Aster jokingly.

Jules flinched slightly, before turning around as she felt her face start to heat up.

"N-No, that’s not-...wait, why did I choose him? A-And why do I feel so flustered?" She thought to herself as she took a deep breath to try and compose herself.

"Uh, Commander? You good?"

"Y-Yes, I’m fine! Forget about this, you should head back now too, I’ve got my own duties to return to as well, so...yeah," She responded as she tried to play it cool.

"Yeah, okay. You’re acting kinda weird though, maybe you should let off some steam and unwind. You get stressed out way too easily, it was the same when we went to Sylph-...," Began Aster with a wry smile.

"E-Enough, I don’t need a lecture, I’m not a child!"