Volume 1 Chapter 3: When the World Says NO to You
According to secular opinion, Dragonfly Girl is usually regarded as a provocation to the civilized world.
Before explaining this point, it is necessary to discuss the history of dragonflies. According to modern biologists, dragonflies are not "one kind" of highly intelligent social insects, but a complex community composed of "many kinds" of insects, with different abilities and numbers. Each Insect Fortress is controlled by one or several "Mother Queens", while the Royal Guard, the scientific name of "Nassim Black Hornworm", is the elite of the society, with the total population only accounting for about 3% of the whole Insect Fortress.
The most impressive human-shaped flying insect, dragonfly, whose scientific name is Nassim Locust, is actually the most mentally retarded species. Although they have an overwhelming scale, they would be a group of headless flies without the management of the royal guards.
In recorded history, dragonflies spent most of their time in the unknown world on the west side of the Cloud Wall. Due to the fact that the civilized world has not grasped the mystery of the floating stone for thousands of years, they are the only creatures that can cross the Cloud Wall in batches. Every large-scale invasion of dragonflies is regarded as the beginning of the doomsday - although at most they only occupy several islands and build an Insect Fortress, and they have no intention of "destroying the world" - although they seem to have such ability.
Until the arrival of the industrial age, the strength contrast between the civilized world and dragonflies began to reverse. In order to resist invasion, powerful countries began to increase garrisons on the Cloud Wall and build forts. And the Cloud Wall, an ancient wonder that has existed since the age of myth and a great creation that divides the world in two, is increasingly becoming the first line of defense against the invader of dragonflies.
However, what is puzzling is that it was during this period that dragonflies began to invade frequently. They flew over the "Cloud Wall" from the west side in batches, came to the civilized world, and even crossed the Sea of Giant Monsters, and established Insect Fortresses on the Violet Islands, which were close to the native land of the old empire. The huge ship cannons, which should have been able to crush dragonflies into powder, did not have the deterrent effect as imagined. On the contrary, people were horrified to find that dragonflies were also "making progress". They gradually learned to produce more sophisticated bows and spears, and even knew how to use floating stones to build a large carrier called "Nest Ship".
And the peak of this kind of panic is the appearance of "Dragonfly Girls".
Unlike other species in the dragonfly population, these human speaking insects have no biological scientific names. In the Insect Fortresses, they are usually called "princess" directly, while in the civilized world, they continue this kind of beloved pride and call themselves "Dragonfly Girl" - yes, this word was invented by themselves.
The reason why there is no scientific name is that scholars can't classify them. They are a kind of "product" made from "human", which can neither be born nor get pregnant. Therefore, in a sense, whether Dragonfly girl should be classified as "biological" is a question.
To "transform" a beautiful girl into a cruel monster by totally unimaginable means is a great deterrent and threat to the civilized world against it. Although many political scientists believe that the purpose of making Dragonfly girl is to enable the Insect Fortress to establish diplomatic channels with the civilized world, you see, dragonflies don't necessarily need to "speak the human language", they can write, draw, move, music, or… other ways to have a higher level of contact with human beings.
Even if we take a step back, why do they have to find girls? Why has there never been a "Dragonfly uncle" or "Dragonfly brother" in 50 years? No matter from the perspective of biology or economics, it is obvious that there is an ulterior motive to produce a Dragonfly girl that is obviously not as strong as the male.
It is precise because of their attractive appearance and soft voice that every Dragonfly girl has become a terrible weapon of deception - which is probably the purpose of their manufacture.
However, the emergence of Su'er has turned this mainstream view into a "hypothesis".
In her confession, Dragonfly Girl is a product of the "arms race". Just like countries in the civilized world, which measure the size of their fists according to the number of steamships, each Dragonfly clan must make as many Dragonfly girls as possible in order to maintain its own status.
As for what kind of "competition" to use them? Tournament? Beauty contest? Or poetry reading?
No one knows - even Su'er can't make it clear. To be exact, none of the dragonflies told her about this.
After she was convinced by the black-haired Dragonfly girl and voluntarily accepted the transformation, she lost consciousness. The next scene in her memory was curling up in the gentle arms of Mother Queen Timo. There were only vague thoughts in the brain, and the only instinct was to eat, sleep and eat. Without a mirror or other reference, she had no idea what she looked like and how she was - fortunately, she didn't know it.
There were three Dragonfly girls, and two of them soon left the nymph stage and began to live independently.
And Su'er… maybe it's because of long-term malnutrition - she'd been lying in the Mother Queen's arms for two years.
Unable to secrete digestive juice, she only ate "honey" from the Mother Queen for two years, which is an expensive medicinal material called "Insect Element", which is almost equivalent to gold on the black market. It is said that after eating it, people can prolong their lives and treat various complicated diseases, including infertility… but usually, the solidified "Insect Element" will be made into crafts and ornaments, and put in the Duke's home as a "show off" props.
Parthenogenetic Mother Queens rely on the "Insect Element" to control other kinds of insects, and even the royal guards are completely subject to this chemical control. Therefore, for the Mother Queen and her offspring, "Insect Element" is an extremely valuable strategic wealth. Its number determines how large an Insect Fortress she can control.
So, holding a dragonfly girl that can't grow up and filling her seemingly endless appetite for two years. It's incredible that this selfless dedication and unrequited behavior happened to a Mother Queen. Many scholars who support the imprisonment of Su'er in Temple Island prison accuse her of telling a lie to prove that she "has never eaten anyone".
In any case, after being kept as a pet for two years, Su'er was able to walk with her own legs. At this time, her sisters not only could fly in the sky, but also mastered the common "Gracious archaism" of dragonflies, that is, the strange sound made by resonators, which ordinary people could not say a syllable in their lifetime.
By the time Su'er started her own flying lessons, it was new year's day in New Style 248 - even the "Iron and Steel Jihad" was coming to an end.
In the face of the Attorney General of Temple Island, Su'er always insisted that she had "ever" flown, and that she was faster than the fastest Royal Guard in the Timo Insect Fortress - judging by the size of her wings, at least in this case, Su'er was boasting too much. Of course, she also argued that she had "broken her wings" in the battle to escape from the Insect Fortress.
But the whole civilized world knows that Dragonfly Girl has extraordinary resilience that can almost overturn the laws of physics. Let alone wings, even if half of her body is lost, she can return to her original state in a few days or even hours.
However, when she mentioned this experience, people tended to pay more attention to "fleeing the Insect Fortress", and ignore the detail of "broken wings".
Obviously, Su'er is not the first Dragonfly girl who can speak the human language. 50 years ago, Nana, the first Dragonfly girl, appeared as a diplomat. The attacks on the Insect Fortresses also enable the civilized world to occasionally capture some Dragonfly girls who had not completed their training. Some of them were held in special prisons on Temple Island, while others who were willing to serve the civilized world were often entrusted with important tasks to help countries study ways to fight Dragonfly invasion and recover lost territory.
But Su'er is very special. She is the only "active defector" so far. The Timo Insect Fortress, where she lived, is still a serious problem in the civilized world. The plans to recover the Timo region have never stopped in the past 20 years, but none of the plans has been put into practice.
If Su'er didn't lie, the civilized world might have missed the best chance.
In the summer of New Style 248, a sister of Mother Queen Timo launched a coup. The loyal dragonflies and royal guards were almost wiped out. The remaining neutrals were also required to take the new master's "Insect Element".
Originally, it doesn't matter who feeds her as a pet, but unfortunately, she can't extract pheromones from the new owner's "Insect Fortress" because she has been eating Mother Queen Timo's Insect Element for a long time. That is to say, no matter how docile and obedient Su'er seems, the new Mother Queen knows that this Dragonfly Girl is not loyal to herself.
Because of the death of Mother Queen Timo, Su'er was completely free for the first time in her life. So, one day in New Style 248, when the whole Insect Fortress held a winter ceremony, Su'er decided to flee alone.
Ten days later, when the militia patrol in the border highlands found her, Su'er was so ragged and starving that she could hardly speak.
According to convention, every captured Dragonfly girl will be tried on Temple Island to determine whether she is guilty of crimes against humanity. The trial of Su'er took place in New Style 249 - early last year. The trial process was absolutely confidential, but the verdict was happy: Su'er was acquitted, and the rulers of the Temple Island also got what they wanted: such as the knowledge of dragonflies, such as the writing method of "Gracious archaism", such as the structural map of Timo Insect Fortress…
After leaving the special prison, Su'er's first wish was to go back to her hometown and have a look.
The place formerly known as the tragedy village, became a battlefield twice during the "Iron and Steel Jihad" -- the first time, four Demer fierce armored soldiers trampled the village into a mud pit, and all the villagers who had no time to escape hid in the village's Yalanna church, including all Su'er's family members; the second time, a day later, the old empire's counterattack completely flattened the village. There's not even a wall left.
Because of complicated political reasons, historians are still arguing about the name of this disappeared village and its ownership. Generally speaking, this kind of dispute will last for decades. For the sake of memory, we'd better continue to call it "tragedy village".
As a result, Su'er lost the last line that connected her with the world. Her parents, brother, childhood sweetheart, the kind Mother Queen Timo, and the royal guards who showed their respect to her - no matter on the human side or on the dragonfly's side, she was completely alone.
"Well, it's already such a life anyway…"
Fortunately, Su'er's brain was stung by dragonflies and has a logic that ordinary people can't understand. After seeing the ruins of the tragedy village, she just smiled, humming nursery rhymes as she came, and turned away.
As for why she appeared on the same train with Marmalan and Kukur, and why she chose to help the prince escape… Well, that's the story we're going to tell, isn't it?