Insect Tamer's Ascension Chapter 531: 531. What is that one thing Insects lack?

The man leaned back in his chair and looked at Theo with a gaze that felt a lot more direct now that the other students were no longer in the room.

"You don't need to tense up like that," he spoke in a voice that was calm but carried the habit of being obeyed. "I am not here to talk with you about all the mishaps of the past. What matters is that you are in the academy now."

Theo did not know what the man wanted from him.

A duke was a very influential individual, one that did not give his time to someone if it was not worth it.

And usually, it was not worth it to converse with a child from the academy just because they performed well.

The fact that he was speaking to him seriously while Theo was still in the body of a child only meant one thing.

He was either interested in supporting him or deeply curious about something.

"I need you to answer my question, Theo Merrick," the old man spoke again, making Theo look at him.

Theo looked at the man and sighed inwardly.

It was finally time to do what he had dreamed of.

"Sir, before I tell you about my beast and my situation, can I ask you a question instead?" Theo asked.

The old man did not look impressed, but he hummed and nodded lightly, allowing Theo to continue while the duke and the lady quietly observed.

"Why do you think no one tames insect beasts, sir?" Theo asked, making the old man answer immediately.

"Because they are weak. There have been some cases where insect beasts are used for agricultural production. Honey is one example, Theo Merrick," he spoke and leaned forward a little.

"But they are too weak to even compare against the weakest beasts out there. No one wants weak beasts."

Theo was just about to respond but halted for a moment, not because he was in a dilemma but because the old man had said something peculiar.

"Honey, you say?" he asked out loud with surprise visible on his face.

"Yes?" The old man tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"Sir, if you don't mind me moving away from the main topic of the conversation for a moment... have you seen any insect beast that produces honey in our kingdom?"

'I have never seen honey in this world and there was nothing in the books when I tried to find information about bees. And this old man just talks about honey so casually?' Theo thought.

"I am struggling to handle this conversation, Theo Merrick. You are all over the place," the old man spoke with a click of his tongue.

Theo was just about to switch back into noble mode when the old man continued.

"There is no insect like that in our kingdom. There never has been," he said.

"All the honey comes from our neighboring kingdom."

But then the old man realized something too and a faint smile formed on his face.

"And if I don't tell you the name of that kingdom, it will take you years to find out where they are, Theo Merrick."

The duke looked fully amused at this point while the lady silently observed the conversation.

Everyone in the room understood that Theo was trying to extract information from the old man and that the old man was intentionally making things difficult for him.

"Of course, sir. I know information is not free in this world," Theo spoke.

"Good. Then if you satisfy my curiosity by the end of this conversation, I will give you the name of the kingdom. I may even write it down for you."

The old man now had a competitive gleam in his eyes that Theo didn't want to openly react to.

"Thank you, sir," Theo gave a slight bow before finally speaking about the real topic.

"As you have said, insects are weak and are only used by some people who understand the worth of the materials they produce. You are correct."

"But what everyone decided to ignore about insects is that throughout these thousand years of history, all beasts evolved and grew stronger at some point. And I want to make one thing clear. Insects evolved too. They also became stronger and unique."

When he was sure everyone was listening intently, Theo continued.

"I will start with an example. There is a beetle in my possession that I found in a forest to the west of our kingdom. That beetle can handle more than one thousand kilograms of weight on its tiny body and withstand it. You can't believe that, right?" Theo asked, making the old man slowly shake his head.

"The beast I possess, my first tame, was originally a simple Iron Mantis. The full exterior body of an Iron Mantis, what you may call its skin, is made of iron strong enough to withstand cuts and sometimes even weight beyond what most people could endure. It could cut through rats that were twice its size. So you can imagine what it can do right now."

Theo looked around the room and saw the serious expressions on everyone's faces.

Even though a child stood before them, none of them dared interrupt him.

The duke could feel the passion pouring out of Theo's tone.

Everyone in that room could.

"With such fascinating abilities, what exactly do insect beasts lack?" Theo asked, but he didn't actually want anyone to answer.

Yet the headmaster still spoke.

"Their size."

Theo nodded with a smile.

"The insects are too small to fully utilize their fascinating abilities. That is what has happened for the past thousand years."

"But someone has finally decided that the reign of insects may only be another decade away. That if these insects became larger, they could integrate into our beast-taming society just like any other beast and flourish."

There was a brief pause before Theo spoke again.

"And that person is me."

Theo's eyes sharpened.

"I will make the world realize the true potential hidden within one of the most overlooked creations in our world... especially against the Outer Devils."

The whole speech had kept them on the edge of their seats, but the last line finally revealed their true reactions.

A little spice was necessary to truly capture their attention.