#58. Can You Eat That?

#58. Can You Eat That?

Boom—! Kraaang—!

"You call this worthless garbage a tribute?!"

A roar that seemed capable of making the earth cave in rang out from outside the hut.

The violent footsteps of the ash-gray giants shook the earth of the floating island for a long while before gradually fading into the distance.

Only after confirming that the evil giants had completely disappeared to the opposite side of the island did the group cautiously emerge from behind the jars.

"Whew…… I nearly died of fright."

Galad gripped his spear tightly and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Even as a Mithril-rank adventurer, confronting dozens of ash-gray giants head-on would have been tantamount to suicide.

"Is everyone all right?"

When Eleanor asked with a worried expression, the group nodded.

Kylan gazed impassively at the shattered door of the hut and the wrecked center of the giant village.

"They certainly have foul tempers. Who exactly were those fellows, Chief?"

At Kylan's question, Grang swept aside the fragments of the collapsed dining table and let out a deep sigh.

The force of that sigh sent the group's hair fluttering.

[……We showed you an embarrassing sight, little friends. The leader of that group from earlier is…… my younger brother, Gorga.]

"Your younger brother?"

Lumiela asked back, her eyes widening.

The gentle, good-natured Chief Grang and the black giant who had just run amok, reeking of blood, were brothers?

The two did not seem to match at all.

[It may be hard to believe, but it's true. Gorga wasn't always so cruel.]

Chief Grang's enormous eyes turned toward empty space.

Deep sorrow colored his voice.

[We were very close in the old days. I carried a spear and he carried a club, and we used to hunt deer together. He was such an affectionate and kind younger brother that whenever I was injured, he would chew herbs and rub them on my wounds all night……]

In Grang's eyes, memories seemed to flicker of the brothers running across the floating island's green plains and laughing heartily together.

[Everything changed after Gorga went hunting one day at the northern tip of the floating island, an unknown region shrouded in deep darkness, and returned.]

"The northern tip……"

[That's right. When he returned after several days, his skin had turned ash-gray and his eyes were bloodshot.]

It was exactly as Kylan and the others had seen him.

[At first, I thought he had merely been bitten by a poisonous insect. But his temperament grew more ferocious with every passing day. He began beating his fellow giants and trying to subjugate them through sheer strength. Eventually, even the group that followed him became vicious, their skin turning black just like his…… They became villains who threatened us and extorted our food.]

Grang's massive fist trembled.

It was the sorrow of an old village chief who could not bring himself to strike his younger brother and had no choice but to offer humiliating tribute every month for the sake of the village's peace.

While everyone grew solemn over the tragic story, only Kylan's eyes gleamed.

'……Demonic-energy corruption.'

Orc Grand Chieftain Tarkan, who had come down from the depths of the Northern mountain range.

He, too, had been corrupted by the Demon King's remnants, causing enormous horns to sprout and his skin to turn black.

The chief's younger brother, Gorga, displayed exactly the same symptoms.

'Heh. It's a sad story, but this works out perfectly for me.'

A sinister smile spread across Kylan's lips.

The Kylan of the original story had been too busy slaughtering every giant without caring about their names, but did he really have to follow the same path?

What if the Winterwald expedition solved their troublesome Gorga problem for them?

What if, instead of merely subjugating the giants, they returned their beloved younger brother to his brother's embrace?

'Not only could we secure an exclusive supply of floatstone, we could also turn the giants into staunch allies of Winterwald.'

Having finished his calculations, Kylan stepped forward and spoke confidently.

"Chief, when must you deliver this tribute?"

[……They told us to bring it to the square before sunrise tomorrow. But this month's harvest was poor, and we couldn't even fill half the amount he demanded. The village may be turned into a sea of flames tomorrow…….]

"Don't worry. We'll make up the missing tribute. No, we'll even completely cure your brother's rotten temper."

At those words, the eyes of Chief Grang, Gogon, Rina, and the other giants widened.

[Y-you will? Are you saying you'll defeat my brother's army with those tiny bodies?!]

"We're not going to defeat them."

Kylan gently placed an arm around Eleanor's shoulder.

"We're going to feed them."

[Feed them……?]

The giants tilted their heads in confusion.

But Eleanor immediately understood Kylan's intentions and smiled with confidence.

"Chief, please trust us. We'll return your beloved younger brother to the kind person he used to be."

They would cleanse the evil within him with food infused with solar mana.

It was the exact same method they had used to purify the orcs.

The operation was code-named Sun-Filled Tribute.

***

An enormous amount of specially prepared food was needed to purify the giants' corrupted demonic energy.

A massive field on the outskirts of the village.

In front of the barren field, already stripped of its harvest, the two women from Winterwald rolled up their sleeves.

They looked ready to start harvesting whatever they could find.

"All right, let's begin! Lady Aria!"

"Leave it to me, Your Highness, the Grand Duchess!"

First, Eleanor raised both hands toward the sky.

Fwooooooosh!!

In an instant, five artificial suns tore through the darkness of the night sky and rose above the clearing.

Everything around them grew as dazzlingly bright as broad daylight.

A pleasant warmth spread across the earth.

[The sun…… It's the sun!]

[There are five suns in the sky!]

Rina jumped up and down in delight.

Even Chief Grang was left speechless.

Some of the giants even prostrated themselves and worshiped the suns.

That was how sacred and symbolic the sun was to the giants.

Following Eleanor, Aria, the Green Tower Master, raised the Heart of Verdancy.

"Secret Art! Earth Germination!"

The hundreds of seeds Aria scattered across the field began to grow luxuriantly as they absorbed the photosynthetic energy pouring from the five suns.

Rustle! Craaaack!

House-sized pumpkins, radishes, green onions, and garlic shot up from the field.

In less than ten minutes, the desolate field was overflowing with golden-hued vegetables.

"Wahahaha! Now that's a harvest worth reaping!"

Hans excitedly gathered his aura and began harvesting the vegetables, while giant workers dispatched by the chief brought carts and hauled the ingredients away.

Eleanor lined up dozens of enormous cauldrons and directed the giants like the conductor of an orchestra.

"Mr. Gogon! Stoke the fire under Cauldron Three! Auntie Melon, make sure to drain all the blood from the meat! Cauldron Five is boiling! Skim off the foam!!"

The giants brewed soup while sweating profusely under the tiny, adorable human woman's sharp commands. Winterwald's famous garlic meat soup was being mass-produced on a giant scale.

While everyone was frantically busy preparing the food,

a giant grumbled from a corner some distance away.

[Hmph. What do these little brats know, acting so high and mighty?]

He was 'Karg,' Chief Grang's son and the war chief who led the warriors of the giant village.

With his arms crossed, Karg looked down sourly at Galad and Hans, who were grunting as they harvested vegetables.

Karg was as proud as he was large, and he was deeply displeased that his father, the chief, had bowed his head to mere humans.

[We giants recognize only true warriors. You think some soup made by short little brats like you can defeat Uncle Gorga? What a joke.]

Galad bristled at Karg's provocation and stepped forward.

"Hey, you big guy! You seem to be looking down on us because we look small, but I happen to be the man who rules the skies of the South……!"

[Anyone can talk. Prove it!]

When Karg snapped his fingers, one of his men brought out an enormous stone bowl.

Hundreds of bright-red ants missing their limbs writhed and tangled together inside the large bowl.

They were a swarm of red venom ants that spewed deadly poison from their jaws.

[This is a rite performed by our giant warriors during their coming-of-age ceremony. You must put both hands into this bowl and endure being bitten by the red venom ants for one minute without uttering a single scream. Only then will you be recognized as a 'true warrior.']

Karg grinned and held the bowl out in front of Galad.

[Let's see that impressive nerve of yours.]

"……Madman."

Galad's face turned deathly pale.

Inside the bowl, the venom ants that had fought Galad to a standstill one-on-one glared at him with their eyes wide open.

Put his hands in there and last a minute?

After just ten seconds, his flesh would melt away, leaving nothing but bones.

'Th-those beasts! They can endure it because their hides are so thick, but how could a human possibly do that?!'

Galad swallowed hard as cold sweat poured down his face.

This was no time to invoke the pride of a Mithril-rank adventurer.

One wrong move and he could genuinely lose his life.

Just as he was about to make up an excuse and retreat.

"Oh."

Hans, who had been blankly watching from behind, walked forward.

He stared down at the swarm of deadly venom ants teeming inside the stone bowl.

"This…… is it okay to eat?"

[……What?]

"Whaaaat?!"

Karg and Galad simultaneously made utterly dumbfounded noises.

Before he even received an answer, Hans lifted the edge of the enormous bowl with ease.

Then, as though drinking makgeolli from a bowl, he opened his mouth wide and tilted the entire stone bowl.