Chapter 60
#60. I'm Sorry, but Could You At Least Give Us Some Food?
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The fields and orchards in the southern village of the floating island had been bustling since morning.
[Should I move this over there?]
[That's right! Thank you, friend!]
Amazingly, some of those carrying the vegetables had been bad giants who had come to raid the village only a short while ago.
The purifying effect of Eleanor's special meat soup, generously infused with solar mana, was truly tremendous.
Once the demonic energy had been washed away, they volunteered to work in the southern village, tears of guilt streaming down their faces.
With such enormous giants even standing guard, the villagers who had trembled at the northern giants could now live in peace.
[Everyone! Make way! The meat has arrived!!]
Several giant warriors appeared from the forest, carrying wild boars on their shoulders.
In keeping with the giants' scale, a single wild boar was as large as Winterwald's castle gate.
[Ha-ha-ha! We caught some big game for the first time in a while! Before it spoils. Sprinkle salt!]
[What should we do? We don't have any salt right now…….]
Chief Grang and the hunters scratched their heads awkwardly as they stood before the enormous chunks of meat.
It was then.
"Move aside."
Kylan strode over and stood before them.
He had already been itching for something to do.
He drew Frost Fang from his waist and wrapped it in aura.
[Human boss? What are you going to do with that…….]
Slash─!
Kylan lightly swept his sword through the air.
Kraaash!
As a blue flash swept past, three absurdly enormous wild boars froze solid in their entirety.
[…….]
"At this rate, they won't spoil until spring comes."
Kylan calmly sheathed his sword, and the giants' mouths fell open.
[O-ohhhhh!]
[The boss's magic! Amazing!]
The giants circled around their catch, cheering loudly.
[Wow, Boss Mister! That's amazing!]
[Me too! I want to see! Show us one more time!]
Giant boys climbing the trees shouted at Kylan.
They were children who had come to help their parents pick apples.
"Don't climb up there. It's dangerous."
Kylan gripped his sword hilt once more.
Whoosh!
The sword aura that flew with the sound of wind struck only the apple stems with perfect precision.
Thud-thud! Thud!
[Wooooow!!]
[It's raining apples!]
The apples fell cleanly without a single bruise, dropping neatly into the baskets held by the giants.
It was a feat only the Monster Grand Duke of the continent could perform.
“Everyone!! Have some refreshments before you get back to work!!"
Hearing Eleanor's voice, Kylan raised his head.
Auntie Melon was approaching from beyond the fields, pulling a huge cart.
The cart was loaded with steaming garlic meat soup.
[Meat soup! Meat soup!]
[Sob! It's so delicious!]
The giants who had been weeding the fields and those who had returned from hunting all grabbed spoons and rushed over.
It was such a warm and friendly mealtime that it was difficult to tell the northern giants from the southern giants anymore.
Fwoooooosh!
Just then, a large wyvern landed from the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It was Kasim the Clairvoyant, who had been carrying out a scouting mission overhead.
He hopped down from the wyvern and approached Kylan.
"Your Highness! I have a report."
Kasim told Kylan, who had stopped eating and approached him.
"There are signs of change! Besides the ones who defected to the southern village, even Gorga's main force remaining in the north has changed overall."
"Oh? How so?"
"The ones who used to rampage around the barracks have calmed down, and above all, the murky demonic energy covering the entire camp has noticeably weakened."
Tears welled up in Chief Grang's enormous eyes as he listened to the report beside them.
[Truly…… truly, my younger brother Gorga might be able to return to his old self after all!]
When Grang sank to the ground, overcome with emotion, Giant War Chief Karg and the villagers all bowed deeply toward Kylan and Eleanor.
[Little friends…… no, our benefactors! I don't know how we could ever repay this kindness! We giants will never forget your generosity for generations to come!!]
[That's right! Grand Duke! Just give the word, and I, Karg, will come running to help you anytime!]
The expedition members smiled warmly at the giants' heartfelt thanks.
Of course, Kylan smiled along with them.
'Heh heh heh. Excellent.'
Giant friends who lived on an island overflowing with floatstone.
Could there be better debtors in the world?
They would never forget this kindness for the rest of their lives?
They would come running to help anytime?
Kylan smiled wickedly inside while wearing an endlessly benevolent and kindly smile on the outside.
"Ha-ha. Chief, you don't need to kneel. It puts us in an awkward position."
Kylan patted one of Grang's enormous fingers as he spoke.
"You can take your time with the thanks after everything has been resolved."
'Let's take our time discussing how Winterwald and the floating island will continue to interact…… Heh heh heh.'
The simple-hearted giants, unable to know Kylan's true intentions, merely sobbed, believing he was being considerate of them.
[Grand Duke! Th-thank you!]
After the adult giants, the little ones came running over in a swarm and bowed their heads.
[Our dad came back from the north!]
[Hehe. It's all thanks to Boss Mister.]
[Idiot! You have to call him Your Highness!]
The excited children approached Kylan and the others, carrying bundles of gifts.
[Thank you!]
[Here, here! These are presents! Take them, big brother and big sisters!]
The children held out their tiny hands and presented their gifts.
There were enormous flowers, acorns, and even bugs.
The adult giants watched them with awkward smiles.
They looked as though they had never expected the children to know how to offer such things as gifts.
[This is the bug I treasure most!]
"Huh?"
When a giant child held out a stag beetle, Galad nearly jumped out of his skin.
Zephar, who had been resting beside Galad, also widened his eyes.
[Here! It's super cute, right?!]
The giant boy smiled innocently and thrust the enormous stag beetle right against Zephar's snout.
Screeeech-!
The stag beetle opened its enormous pincers and clamped down hard on Zephar's nose.
- Eeeeeeeek!
Galad's partner, once known as the ruler of the southern skies, toppled backward with a scream like a young girl's.
"Zephaaaaaar!!"
Galad ran over in a panic and blocked the giant child.
"Hey! Get that thing away from him! What are you doing to our boy when he's already terrified?!"
When Galad yelled at him, the giant boy who had been smiling innocently pouted his lips, then burst into tears.
[Waaaaaah! Mister is scaaary!]
The giant child's wailing reverberated across the earth.
As Galad stood there flustered and unsure what to do, a huge shadow approached from behind.
It was the boy's father, a raider who had been notorious in the northern village until only a few days ago.
Galad swallowed hard and cautiously stepped backward.
'Damn it…… Is he going to swing that club because I made his son cry?!'
But instead of glaring at Galad, the giant warrior lightly thumped his sobbing son's head with his knuckle.
[Son!!]
"……?"
[You bullied a creature that didn't want it first! If you did something wrong, you should apologize fair and square instead of crying! That's what a true giant does!]
It was an excessively moral and proper lesson to hear from a raider who, until recently, had extorted the chief and trampled the village.
Even his foolish way of speaking had changed!
The boy sniffled, wiped away his tears, then bowed deeply toward Zephar and Galad.
[Sniff…… Birdie, Mister…… I'm sowwy……. ]
"Well…… it's fine as long as you understand now."
Galad, who had unexpectedly witnessed a heartwarming moment of family education, cleared his throat and awkwardly turned away.
Truly, the effect of the meat soup was shocking.
***
That night.
In the peaceful southern village, unusually heavy footsteps began to sound again.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ging, Gorga's henchman.
He had infiltrated the southern village with dozens of subordinates in tow.
"……."
Kylan, who noticed the presence first, opened his eyes wide.
Chief Grang, Karg, and the expedition members also quietly took up their weapons and went outside.
But the group led by Ging that emerged beneath the moonlight was quite different from before.
They still held clubs, but their skin had become almost apricot-colored, and they looked restless somehow.
[You lot…… The deadline is still a long way off, so what brings you here already?!]
War Chief Karg stepped forward and shouted boldly.
Ging slammed his club onto the ground and barked at him.
[I-it's Lord Gorga's order! If you don't want the village turned into a wasteland…… hand over that…… meat soup right now! I-I'd be happy with even a little… if you'd give us some…]
[……?]
The giant warriors, who had been braced for a fight, let out bewildered noises.
Ging's eyes darted around, and he was even sweating profusely.
[……You'd go back if we gave you a little meat soup?]
[Y-yeah! Hand it over, quick! Before this spiked club starts crying!]
The hand gripping the club was completely limp.
Chief Grang glanced back at Kylan and Eleanor.
She smiled brightly and nodded.
And so another astonishing scene unfolded.
The southern villagers, the expedition members, and even the giants who had defected all joined forces to hold a midnight cooking class.
The sun rose in the night sky, and vegetables sprouted in the fields.
The hearth was lit, and meat and vegetables were chopped.
Meanwhile, Ging and his subordinates had set down their clubs and were crouching quietly in a corner, worried that they might get in the way of the work.
[Um…… Auntie Melon? It looks heavy. Should we carry it for you?]
[No! You just sit there!]
[Ah, okay……. ]
The ones who had come to raid the village were now crouching there, nervously reading the room.
Some time later, four enormous cauldrons' worth of meat soup was ready.
When the rippling meat soup was loaded onto the cart, relief spread across Ging's face.
He gripped the cart handle and was about to turn away, but then hesitated for a moment and bowed toward Chief Grang.
[Um…… Grang. No, Chief.]
[What is it?]
Ging avoided his gaze and lightly kicked at the dirt with his toe.
[I…… about before…… when I broke that cart. I…… I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Yeah.]
The village giants stared blankly at his apology.
At that moment, Hans, unable to hold back any longer, interjected sarcastically from behind.
"Hey! I don't think you can say that while you're taking our food!"
Flinch!
Ging's enormous shoulders visibly hunched.
[L-little human…… Tch! A-anyway, we'll enjoy the food!]
Ging and his subordinates dragged the cart away as though fleeing, disappearing into the darkness.
"They've completely turned into a bunch of village idiots."
Kylan grinned as he watched Ging's retreating back.
'We're almost there. I might be able to annex the entire northern group without shedding a drop of blood.'
***
The northern giants' barracks.
Gorga was inhaling meat soup while seated on his throne.
Gulp! Gulp!
He swallowed not only the broth but even the meat without chewing.
[Hwaaaah—!]
After emptying an entire enormous cauldron, Gorga roughly wiped his mouth.
His eyes were still bloodshot, and his skin remained dark ash gray.
[What are you doing? Aren't you eating?]
At Gorga's brusque question, Ging and the subordinate giants surrounding him flinched and picked up their spoons.
[W-we'll eat……. ]
Under normal circumstances, those subordinates would have fought bloody battles just to eat one more piece of meat.
But now they were watching Gorga's mood and sipping the broth little by little.
'We…… are taking food away from our kind-hearted fellow giants…….'
The conscience that had taken root in everyone's heart tormented them.
Bang!
Just then, Gorga threw the empty cauldron onto the floor and leaped to his feet.
[This isn't enough to satisfy me. Ging!]
[Y-yes! Lord Gorga!]
Ging answered, turning pale.
He was afraid that Gorga would beat the southern giants to death if he complained that there was not enough food.
[Going all the way there to take it every time is a pain! I'll drag them here and make them cook instead!]
[Y-yes…… what?!]
Gorga looked down at Ging with a fierce glare.
[Capture the giant who made this dish. I'll make him my personal chef. Go kidnap him tomorrow!]
[……!!]
The color drained from Ging's face.
Cold sweat poured down him.
Perhaps the secret to the delicious food was not Auntie Melon, but the tiny human woman who possessed terrifying magical power.
Moreover, beside that woman was a man cloaked in such overwhelming aura that even daring to look at him was frightening.
'Y-you want me to kidnap that human……?!'
Ging felt his vision go dark.
Gorga and the human man.
Both were powerful individuals he could never oppose.