An Adventurer Mom, Who Awakened [Housewife] Skill Through a Login Bonus, Is Making the Most of Her Adventurer Life With the Weekly Flyers She Gets! - Chapter 17

The Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant, like its Moe-Moe Iron Ant minions, is a monster that is difficult to damage with physical attacks. But Ann hadn’t given up. In a calm voice, she gave orders to Org and Rick, “First, strip off the exoskeleton. If you hit the core, you can break anything. The Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant shoots ice orbs from its mouth, so be careful not to get hit! Don’t stay in one place. Keep moving, don’t group up!”

Meanwhile, Kachua and Laura were trying to escape to the shrine located directly behind the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant.

The Queen was so focused on fighting Ann’s group that it didn’t notice Kachua and Laura. However, the Moe-Moe Iron Ants summoned by the Queen had spotted them and were starting to attack.

Using scrolls of ice-elemental magic, Kachua and Laura managed to fend off the Moe-Moe Iron Ants as they ran toward the shrine.

“Ah…”

But just as they were about to reach it, they ran out of scrolls.

“Uh, uh… is there something else? Ah! I know! The monster-flavored candy!”

Although she had only ever given it to humans, every day when she opened her pouch, there was a piece of candy inside, and it was flavored for monsters. According to the status board’s description, it had the effect of calming monsters.

In a fluster, Kachua managed to pull out some candy from her pouch and threw it at the Moe-Moe Iron Ants.

“Kachua-san?”

Laura was dumbfounded by Kachua’s sudden strange behavior, but what surprised her even more came right after.

Apparently, the candy was indeed to the monsters’ liking. The Moe-Moe Iron Ants scrambled over each other to get to the candy Kachua had tossed.

“Phew, we did it! Laura, here, have some candy.”

“Candy!?”

Kachua grabbed a fistful of candy from the pouch, which was now stuffed full, and handed it to Laura. “This candy seems to work. Let’s use this chance to get moving!”

Kachua tried to close her pouch, but it was too full of candy to shut properly. Normally, she’d give the extra candy to Barbara or the neighborhood kids, so there had never been so much in her pouch before.

As she struggled to close it, the Monster Points card inside the pouch began to glow, and a status board appeared.

—Congratulations! You’ve reached 20 monster points! To celebrate, here’s a gift of candy equal to the number of hearts (810). This candy will calm any monster! Try it out! *Note: Individual results may vary.—

It was a lot to read, and definitely not something you’d want to do while drunk. It seemed that using so many scrolls had also earned Kachua a total of 30 monster points.

“What… is this!?”

Kachua couldn’t help but groan when she saw the message on the mysterious transparent board.

—Congratulations! You’ve reached 30 monster points! As a reward, your ladle has been upgraded! With the Upgrade (Flame), you’ll become a better cook! *Note: The ladle will now emit flames. Do not aim it at people.—

Why does the ladle shoot fire? Am I supposed to cook with this?

There were a lot of things she wanted to question, but what mattered most was—

“Fire!”

Kachua looked back.

Ann, Org, and Rick were struggling to deal a fatal blow, their attacks unable to penetrate the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant’s tough exoskeleton. Meanwhile, the Queen continued to summon hordes of Moe-Moe Iron Ants that swarmed the battlefield. The fight was getting tougher for Ann and the others.

Physical attacks didn’t work well against the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant. But even this monster had a weakness: fire-elemental magic.

Kachua gripped her ladle. “Alright! Laura, help me!”

***

“Rick!”

That voice—

Rick turned, an ominous feeling rising in him, to see Kachua and Laura, who should have been hiding safely in the shrine.

“Kachua, why are you here…? Please, stay hidden in the shrine!”

“Listen, Rick! I might know how to defeat the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“It’s me.”

“What do you mean it’s you?”

“Yes, I can do it with this candy and this ladle.” Kachua held up her pouch and ladle.

…Can someone explain what’s going on? Rick glanced at Laura for clarification.

“Here! Here!”

Laura was throwing round objects far away, and the Moe-Moe Iron Ants were eagerly chasing after them. The monsters that ate the rolling objects stopped their attacks and became docile.

“What is that?”

“Candy! When monsters eat it, they calm down. Rick, listen carefully. I’ve accumulated enough monster points to upgrade the ladle, and now it can shoot flames.”

“Huh?”

Kachua was acting strange. But with a serious expression, she continued, “I’m not very athletic, so I’m not confident I can hit the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant if it starts moving. Rick, can you somehow stop its movements?”

“Kachua, are you serious? Can you really defeat it?”

“Yes, I can. But I need you to feed the Queen this candy.”

The message on Kachua’s status board had more to say.

—With the ladle upgrade, the skill [Housewife] and the subskill [Cooking] have been unlocked.—

Looking at the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant, another small status board appeared in front of Kachua, giving her additional information.

—Subskill [Cooking] activated: Material Appraisal.

Give the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant 20 pieces of monster-flavored candy to trigger a slow effect.

Feed her 20 pieces of candy, and the Queen will calm down.—

***

Rick approached the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant, but instead of attacking, he threw Kachua’s candy into its mouth. The ant’s jaws were its greatest weapon, but when preparing to strike, it had to open them wide. Rick took advantage of that moment.

But it was a dangerous move.

“Rick, stop! It’s too risky!” Ann shouted.

“Ann, I need your support. Kachua is about to launch a fire-elemental attack, but first, I need to slow down the Queen’s movements with this candy. Give me a chance to attack!”

“Kachua?” And candy?

It was all beyond understanding, but it was clear something had to change. Trusting Kachua’s plan was the only option.

Ann readied her spear. “Alright. Org and I will keep it distracted. Be careful, Rick—the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant is fast!”

While Rick tossed candy into the Queen’s mouth, Kachua was recalling the message she’d seen earlier.

“…”

She had already reached 40 monster points during the battle with the Moe-Moe Iron Ants.

—Congratulations! You’ve reached 40 Monster Points! Here’s a new feature to make your adventures easier…—

But it wasn’t combat-related, so Kachua had cut off the explanation mid-way. Right now, landing a successful fire attack was more important. She remembered the last part of the status board’s message.

—Your ladle has been upgraded. Press the red switch to activate the [Flame] function. You can adjust the fire strength by calling out. The smallest flame is ‘Low,’ then ‘Medium,’… and the highest is…—

“Twenty! Kachua!” Rick, having successfully thrown all twenty pieces of candy into the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant’s mouth, gave her the signal.

At that moment, Kachua stepped forward in front of the Queen Hie-Hie Iron Ant. Her body trembled.

“Yikes!”

Though the candy had slowed the Queen, it was still an ant the size of an elephant. Of course, she was scared. 

But she had to get close enough for her ladle to reach.

With shaky legs, Kachua stepped forward, pressed the button on the ladle, and shouted, “Maximum heat!”