Chapter 7: News about Holy Mother

"Whoosh..."

A cold wind howled as snowflakes began to fall from the sky. It had been three days since Charlotte Linlin had arrived.

During this time, El mostly stayed by the shore, occasionally returning to the village to consult the two elders, Jarul and Jorul, for training advice. He maintained a consistent routine, spending time training, helping Linlin with strength control exercises, and sometimes just playing with her. Time passed quickly.

Additionally, Gerd, a giant girl who was close to El, would occasionally visit. When El was busy training, she would play with Linlin. Meanwhile, the "Holy Mother" Carmel had been keeping a close eye on El, fascinated by his identity as a Lunarian survivor. She had also become keenly interested in Linlin and made several attempts to lure her to the "Sheep's House." However, El had firmly refused each time.

"Hmm… it's snowing. Are you cold, Linlin?" El asked with a smile, noticing Linlin was only wearing a floral dress. Of course, neither of them could actually feel the cold—they were, after all, monsters with superhuman constitutions. This was why Linlin's parents hadn't bothered dressing her in winter clothing after they arrived in this snowy region.

"Hehe, not at all…" Linlin, who was having a great time playing with El, was especially happy. Finally, she had found someone who wasn't afraid of her strength and could play without getting hurt. Plus, there was an endless supply of grilled fish and sea king meat, making her feel completely satisfied. Her chubby face beamed with joy.

However, as Linlin gazed out at the rolling waves of the sea, she bit her finger in confusion. "But why haven't Papa and Mama come back yet?"

"Maybe they got held up by something," El replied with a smile, brushing snowflakes off Linlin's shoulders. He patted her head gently and said, "I'm going to prepare lunch. I'll go hunt a few beasts… be a good girl and wait for me here. We'll have roasted meat later!"

"Huh? Roasted meat?" Linlin's eyes lit up at the mention of food, and she began drooling. She nodded excitedly, "Okay—!"

"El, Linlin… I'm here!"

At that moment, a cheerful voice echoed in the distance. Gerd came running over with a giant basket in her hands. "I brought some food for you! It's the best—Semla!"

For the past three days, Gerd had often come to the shore looking for El, so she had naturally become acquainted with Linlin. At first, the giant girl had been shocked to see Linlin. Despite her chubby, harmless appearance, Linlin had strength far exceeding Gerd's, even as a giant. She was undeniably a natural-born monster, just like El.

But with El's guidance, the two girls quickly became friends. After several days of training, Linlin had also started to gain better control of her strength. And since Gerd was a giant, unlike other children from different races, and with El keeping an eye on them, they were able to play together without too much risk of injury.

"Really? Thank you so much, Gerd!" Linlin's eyes gleamed, and she drooled at the thought of more delicious food. The little glutton was overjoyed.

"Gerd, aren't you supposed to be training with Hajrudin and the others?" El asked with a raised eyebrow.

Considering the fact that the famous giant pirate leaders "Blue Ogre" Dorry and "Red Ogre" Brogy were still alive and respected, El had never intended to compete for the position of the next leader of the Giant Pirates. Instead, his plan was to establish his own kingdom, Totto Land, a powerful and unprecedented nation gathering all the races of the world. From there, he would build a foundation, expand his territory, and accumulate strength to challenge the World Government's dominance, which had ruled the seas for centuries.

Of course, he couldn't overlook the giants' powerful combat capabilities. With his strong ties to Elbaf, recruiting giants as part of his forces in the future wouldn't be difficult. Not to mention that Gerd liked to stick close to him, and even Hajrudin, the promising young giant being mentored by the elders, had long since submitted to El and considered him a leader.

"I snuck out!" Gerd said with a grin, winking playfully at El as she handed him the basket. "Here!"

"Wow!" Linlin eagerly took the basket from Gerd. Her eyes sparkled as she looked inside at the delicious, fragrant Semla, an Elbaf specialty. She began drooling again.

"This is the best food in Elbaf—Semla, Linlin!" Gerd said proudly, hands on her hips.

Linlin, delighted, couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you so much, Gerd!"

"Let's eat together!" El said with a smile. He didn't give much thought to Gerd's fondness for him. Giants had long lifespans, often living over 300 years. Though Gerd appeared young, like the five-year-old Charlotte Linlin, she was actually three to four years older than El and already twelve years old. While she wasn't old enough to experience romantic feelings yet, constantly being around rough and wild kids like Hajrudin naturally made her gravitate toward El.

"Gulp…"

"This is so delicious!" the three of them feasted on the Semla, quickly finishing off everything in the basket. Even so, Linlin still looked a bit unsatisfied.

"If you like it, I'll bring more next time!" Gerd said cheerfully.

Linlin was overjoyed. "Hehe, thank you! You're the best, Gerd!"

"By the way, El…" Gerd said, turning to him. "I heard from Oimo that Sister Carmel left early this morning with about a dozen children. Apparently, some wealthy and reputable families contacted her, saying they wanted to adopt a few of them."

"Oh?" El raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been back to the village for a few days. So, that old woman had finally made her move?

"Yes, she took Longarm Tribe's Tain, Longleg Tribe's Rock, Mink Tribe's Moss, Fish-men Tribe's Jien, and the others!" Gerd continued.

Hearing this, El stood up, looking out toward the sea with a light smile. "You two wait here—I'll go check things out."

For Carmel to take so many children from special races at once, it was clear she planned to sell them to the World Government. El wasn't about to let her succeed. And with Linlin now under his care, there was no reason to keep that troublesome old woman around any longer.

"El, you're not planning to do something bad, are you?" Gerd asked, tilting her head and blinking her big eyes. "My parents say it's a good thing if someone's willing to adopt those kids!"

"It is a good thing—I'm just going to check on them," El smiled reassuringly.

Without wasting any time, he asked Gerd to look after Linlin and quickly headed back to the village. Under the surprised gazes of the giants, he collected a large bag of assorted fruits and then spread his wings, flying off into the distance…