episode_0753

Every time the cats take a big step, a faint vibration resonates through the ground.

Slitted eyes staring at prey. Sharp claws scraping the dirt. A body ready to pounce at any moment.

Surrounded by a pack of about a dozen cats, the giant swallowed his saliva as if his life was in danger.

Cats are inherently fierce hunters. This can be seen just by thinking about the reasons why cats were chosen as pets.

They are preferred now because they are small and cute, but this wasn’t the case in the past.

The reason why people in ancient times kept cats as pets was because they wanted them to hunt small, fast animals that were difficult to hunt, such as mice.

So, what this means is that the giant is now facing a life-threatening threat from about a dozen hunters, each chosen by humans.

The giant, who had never looked up to anyone, hesitated and drew his sword as he looked at the group of monsters looking down on him.

The black giant’s pride and joy was that he could easily cut down even the branches of an old tree, but the sword that had shrunk along with him was just shabby.

Should we consider him as virtually dead?

Fuck. Fine. If you’re going to kill me, do whatever you want.

Instead, I will take you guys with me and die.

The moment the giant raised his sword with resignation for his life, there was a loud thud and the earth shook.

What the giant’s eyes, frozen in surprise, contained was a cat lying on the ground and a girl who was pushing back all the hunters with just her presence.

“Get out when I say nice things to you, you fucking bitches.”

“But, great one! That man is our enemy!”

“That’s what you guys think.”

The girl, who would have been the size of a finger if she had been the size of a giant, stood tall even among a group of cats several times her size.

…Now that I think about it, before I got smaller, I saw a bunch of bugs flying around. Something shiny and strangely resembled that kid.

Does that mean that kid hit my head? Or did he get hit by something like hail?

If they have that much power, it’s understandable why cats would be in trouble.

“If you say so.”

“Pfft. You want to attack me? Go ahead and try. But those who stick their claws into me will lose their peanuts that day.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll neuter you. Those scumbags who attack such a cute girl aren’t even worth continuing the line.”

The girl kicked a pebble upward with her foot and grabbed it, crushing it with just her strength and laughing sinisterly.

“What do you want to do?”

While the elder cat is mumbling, the cats surrounding the girl begin to lower their tails one by one.

The elder cat, seeing that everyone else had given in, trembled and lowered his head.

“Do as you wish.”

“Pheh. Keuheh. Hahaha! You’re scared, but you’re pretending to be okay!”

The girl, who had been laughing for a long time, finally stopped laughing when the elder cat’s face and body movements all became wrinkled.

“But since I’m an elder, I’ll take care of you. Ah~ I really think I’m too kind.”

The sight of him wiping away tears with his fingers and smirking was so annoying that even the giant who had received help from the girl thought of the word annoyance.

“Giant.”

But strangely, the giant, who was staring at the girl he couldn’t take his eyes off of, frowned as he saw a woman slowly emerge from the shadows.

“I am the daughter of the Duke of Partran. My name is Joy Partran.”

“Partran. I remember. It was the name of the group that unilaterally forced me to make a proposal. ”

“I know you feel bad. But.”

“If you didn’t hear, I’ll say it again. I have no intention of talking to you who have lost your innocence. The Giant’s Garden is a place where only those who are as pure as flowers can come.”

The giant who said that folded his arms and kept his mouth shut.

The giant thought this was his way of paying back the debt. He would not have even listened if it had been according to the rules, but he had a normal conversation with him.

“Hey. You country bumpkin.”

Naturally, this was just a delusion of the giant alone.

How can it be considered considerate to tell someone who saved your life that you don’t even want to talk to them?

The girl, who had come forward with one eyebrow raised as if she was furious at the thought of her friend being ignored, clicked her tongue at the giant who was standing there blankly.

“Haa. Seriously. You’re such a dirty idiot, you have no clue.”

Although her personality can hardly be described as pure, strangely enough, this girl does not give off any of that peculiar unpleasantness.

“You’re not answering? You. You. What. You don’t want to talk to me either?”

“That’s not it. You’re different from that woman.”

“…different?”

“Yes.”

I’m not sure why this difference exists, but it’s not against the rules to talk to this girl.

The girl’s expression became even more frowny as the giant spoke only the truth.

“You did? But why did you reply so late? Did you really think I wouldn’t talk to you? Well, that’s understandable. He looks like that and acts like a loner, so no girl would ever talk to him. It’s obvious even without looking. He’s a pervert who follows girls around and…”

“Okay. Lucy, step back. You can’t have a conversation like that.”

The woman smiled awkwardly and quietly covered the girl’s mouth.

The girl, whose mouth was suddenly gagged, struggled to escape from the woman’s grasp, but was unable to get out.

Judging from the fact that they don’t use force, I guess they are close.

“I understand the constraints you have, but please give me a little more time.”

“Why should I do that?”

“Because if you disappear, there will be no one to take care of the garden.”

The giant, looking into the woman’s sharp yet eerie gaze, only then realized that his own shadow was reaching out to her neck.

…I almost died. This woman didn’t even use much force.

“If you join us in conversation, I will not only save your life, but also return your body to its original state.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. Because I made you small.”

“…Then I guess I’ll have to give in.”

*

‘Joy. Isn’t he getting too violent?’

As I watched Joy negotiating with the giant, I broke out in a cold sweat from a step behind.

If I were a giant, I wouldn’t be able to even raise my head.

Joey, who was looking down and laughing like a snake eating a frog, was really scary.

‘I also frequented social circles often.’

That’s right. When I was in the social circle, the only time I had a proper conversation was when I talked to Rene.

Come to think of it, next time it’ll be Arthur or Renee.

Because Pavie said she’d do it last.

I don’t know what you’re planning to do, why you even gave me advance notice, but I hope it’s not just about praising me.

“Lucy.”

While I was spending time alone with my own thoughts, Joy, who had finished talking, brought her lips to my ear.

“Something seems a bit off.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The giant said that he had never disturbed the harmony of the garden. Not only that, he said that it was the cats who had disturbed the harmony, and that he had only locked them in a cage to prevent their interference.”

“…what?”

No, their stories should be slightly different. What the elder cat said and what the giant said were completely opposite!

This means that one of the two is joking.

“It’s annoying, should I just beat them all up and make them cry?”

“That would be fine, but it wouldn’t be all lies.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whether the giant harmed the cat or not. If the giant captured the cat and locked it in his living space, it wouldn’t be strange for the cats to think that it was dead.”

From the cats’ perspective, giants are monsters. It is common to be pessimistic about what would happen to a companion who was taken by a monster.

“And the same goes for gardens. Cats are like spirits, so they value the harmony of all plants, but gardeners have to be concerned about appearance.”

The harmony that allows one to pursue beauty at a level where perfect harmony and gardens do not collapse was different, and Joy nodded her head at that.

If you think about it this way, both of them might be right.

No. No. But I definitely felt murderous intent from the giant.

I could definitely feel the sharp emotion in the sight of that guy running towards me with a knife in his hand!

“Hey! You stupid country bumpkin! Be honest with me! What have you done to the cats!”

As soon as he shouted at the giant, the giant looked puzzled and answered.

“They do use some force when tying them up, but other than that, they really don’t do anything. They know they’re doing it for the flowers, so why would they bother to harm them?”

“Then why did you pull out the knife!”

“Of course, if their number increases, it will be difficult for me. I have to do the bare minimum.”

“…processing?”

“That’s what you were talking about. Neutering.”

The moment I heard the indifferent giant’s words, I felt goosebumps running down my spine.

Ah. So. The fear I felt was just a natural fear for a man.

Having reached a point of vain despair, I collapsed on the floor with a hollow laugh.

“Joy. Just take care of the rest yourself. Can you do it?”

Anyway, this matter is related to Patran’s social circle. I’ll make a place for you, so you figure out the rest.

“I’ll try.”

Joey nodded with an awkward smile.

*

Renee, who was preparing to go out on social occasions for the first time in a long time, looked at herself in the mirror and changed her hairstyle several times.

I used to think that as long as there were no major flaws, it was fine, but now I’m worried about all the little things.

Okay. Let’s stop here. If we keep doing this, we won’t be able to go outside.

Rene, who came out of the room somewhat satisfied, encountered Arthur who looked very nervous and tried to raise the corners of his mouth.

Arthur also tried to smile at Rene, but their eyes were not smiling at all.