Chapter 20

Neferpitou took her young royal guard with her to enter the tunnel where Bizeff once occupied before the palace raid. They walked for quite a while until Jagren asked her "Your majesty, what was this place used for?" Jagren asked in an innocent manner.

Pitou thought about it but couldn't figure out what exactly the facility was used for besides housing the secretary. She has an inquiring mind and under normal circumstances would have investigated the secretary's deeds further. However there was something that always bothered her about the secretary that prompted her to make an effort to avoid him at all costs. She wasn't allowed to kill him because the king ordered the royal guard to spare him so he can continue his work.

"I'm not really sure." Said Pitou "All I know is that something was off about that man, and it bothered me for some reason. Y'know I probably would have killed him if the hadn't ordered us to leave him be." Pitou gave off an annoyed smirk, displaying a how much that man's existence irked her.

The two of them continued talking about various topics while walking down the this hollowed hallway. However Pitou's mind was mostly on other things. She was questioning herself constantly. Why is she going out of her way to look for one of her own Royal guard? Pitou's confirmed that she was worried about losing something important. She wanted to equate the importance of the life of one of her royal guard members who weren't actually 'royal' to begin with, with her own. Her responses to Jagren were mostly half hearted as she was mostly focused on searching for Hippotsu. She had a bad feeling that someone

Jagren suddenly recalled the place he was in "I remember now! I was told to never patrol in this area. I don't know why though." Jagren claimed.

Pitou turned her head back at Jagren and asked "What do you mean? Didn't you say you weren't allowed here?"

"Yes your majesty, of course! But I didn't remember right away. I'm sorry." With his hand behind his head, smiling, he apologized.

After a while, They found themselves standing in front of another gigantic gate.

Pitou tried to enter the same sequence of numbers she used for the first gate, however her senses started to bother her before she could press the last number to complete the input.

"Hm? What's wrong your majesty?" Jagren asked, tilting his head.

Pitou scowled. She remembered overhearing one of the squadron leaders occupying the palace during Meruem's reign talking about a failsafe security method. "SLEEPING GAS". Those words stood out to her. If the input was incorrect a certain number of times than that there the threat would be neutralized with sleeping gas. Mechanisms to release it were all over this particular hallway. Pitou stepped back and decided that there is a way to get through without potentially being affected by something so inconvenient.

"Jagren. I don't think those humans would be stupid enough to use the same code twice." She said.

Jagren looked at her with disappointed eyes and said "Seriously? I'm sure she's only kidding. Humans make mistakes like that all the time. They aren't smart at all." Jagren thought to himself.

"I'd be the fool for underestimating their intelligence." Pitou said that as she pointed at her head in a silly manner.

"Th-that's not true my queen! You're like, way smarter than humans! They just like to put up a front and-" before he could finish, Pitou interrupted him.

"Jagren. What was your life like before all of this?" Pitou asked him bluntly.

Jagren responded in confusion "Wh-what do you mean, your majesty?"

"I wanted to ask you for a while nyow. What was your human life like? I'm sure you remember who you were before all of this started." She leaned down at him with her hands on her knees, wagging her tail excitedly.

Jagren froze. He forgot about the fact that he came from the very same race that he kept insulting. A majority of Chimera ants often forget that they are a victim of "phagogenesis". "Um...I'm sorry my queen, I-..." He couldn't finish his response to her question.

"Listen...you shouldn't denounce where you came from. Cherish those memories Jagren, okay? Pitou smiled at him pointed poked his head. "Some of us wish we could remember who we used to be..." Pitou lamented in her head. Another change she sensed in herself...she actually longed to remember her own days among humanity.

Jagren nodded.

"So, how about we open this gate, eh?" Pitou smirked.

"W-wait. So you know the password your majesty?" Jagren asked.

Pitou responded with a blunt "Nope."

Jagren waved his arms up and down in worry "Th-then how are we going to get through?!"

Pitou turned around and faced the gate, staring at it intensely. In a quick motion she lunged up at the gate and with her fist in front of her, punching a massive hole in it's center. After the path was formed she looked back at Jagren and said "~The fun way~!"

Jagren was amazed at his queen's strength. Even now, he felt his heart melt combining brawn and beauty together was an amazing feat. This is when he realized that even without nen abilities, Neferpitou can always rely on her physical strength.

The two of them advanced inside to a large storage area filled with model houses and other strange things. Jagren recognized this area based on what he was told about.

"Houses? OH! This is it after all!" Jagren exclaimed

"This is what?" Pitou asked

"Your majesty, this place is where the soldier ants found the remains of the king and his mistress. Don't you remember your majesty?" Jagren attempted to remind his queen.

"...all too well. Hippotsu told me exactly how they found them." Neferpitou recalled. "But Jagren, how did you know that?" She questioned.

"Well, occasionally when I did patrols I would often lose control of my speed and injure myself. Hippotsu always patched me up though, and every time he helped me out he would let me in on what everyone was doing. I never actually been here but I can tell that it' may be an unsettling area to die i-" he cut himself off before he could finish his sentence.

Pitou noticed this but decided to ignore it for now.

The two searched for Hippotsu for a few minutes. Calling out his name and hoping he'd respond was met with failure. However Jagren spotted a figure in one of the houses. Hippotsu was sitting there tied to a chair. He alerted Pitou causing the two of them to rush into the model house. Reuniting them with Hippotsu.

"Hey Hippotsu. What have you gotten yourself into nyow?" She said teasingly but before he could respond- an invisible figure tried to stab Pitou from behind. Pitou's hearing allowed her to react in time and grab the invisible adversary by the neck, slamming them against a wall. This resulting in a few cracks in the foundation of the model home.

"Damn it! How the hell?! Did you sense me? They told me you couldn't sense nen anymore!" The invisible figure said that while still in their invisible state.

"'They who?" Pitou asked

End of chapter