Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Giant Soldier Ceremony
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“Thank you.”
Lander shook his head as he spoke to Million.
“You should thank Mr. Kalligo, not me. He hates troublesome things, but he stepped up personally for this.”
“I already gave my greetings yesterday. I figured he held some position, but I never imagined he was the head of the Special Inspectorate. I was quite surprised.”
“Did Mr. Kalligo say anything else?”
“No. Oh, he said he’d come by with you next time and asked me to prepare a meal then. I promised I would.”
“If you made a promise, then I should drop by next time too.”
“Please do. I’ll be waiting.”
He scanned the bustling staff and noticed Ena was missing.
“Where’s your wife?”
“I stopped her from coming out. She’s been pushing herself too hard this past week.”
“Take good care of her. The shop is important, but family comes first.”
“I will.”
He left those parting words and stepped out of the shop. Million followed after him.
“Are you leaving now?”
“I was planning to, but Mr. Kalligo held me back. Apparently, there’s a Giant Soldier mobilization ceremony today. I figured I’d watch that and head out tomorrow.”
“I see. Please stop by the shop before you go. I’ll prepare some simple food for your journey.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine for me. You must come. If you don’t, I’ll come looking for you. My tracking skills are still decent.”
“I can’t have a big guy like you chasing me down with a food bundle. I’ll swing by before I leave. I need to say goodbye to Ena too.”
Million bobbed his thick neck in a bow and headed back inside.
“We need to grab seats up front!”
“Hurry!”
He saw children running toward the shop, their faces all lit up with excitement.
The rigid atmosphere in Dun had returned to normal since yesterday, thanks to the administration dropping the security level back to peacetime standards.
“Mr. Lander! Hurry up. If you dawdle, all the good spots will be taken.”
Kalligo, waiting in front of the inn, stomped his feet impatiently.
“You could just reveal you’re a First-Class Noble and get ushered to a prime seat.”
“That’s no fun. These festivals are meant to be enjoyed with stamina, not authority.”
Kalligo could barely contain his excitement as he spoke. He dashed into the crowd of running children, with Anthony’s kids right beside him. How had they gotten so chummy?
“Watching him, it seems like his mental age matches the kids’.”
Guchi observed from the side. Lander agreed it was a fair point and followed after Kalligo.
The crowd surged toward the central plaza. People poured out from the roads and alleys radiating from the plaza.
“Falling here wouldn’t just end in a scrape.”
“We’d better be careful. Mr. Kalligo!”
He raised his voice. Before he could tell Kalligo to watch Anthony’s kids, Kalligo had already scooped up Jenny and grabbed Terry’s hand with his free one.
“You called?”
Kalligo turned back and said. Lander signaled it was nothing.
“He’s reckless, but he takes care of what matters.”
“According to Mr. Kalligo, his reputation in the Inspectorate is stellar. His subordinates adore him.”
“Didn’t he say yesterday they hated hanging out with him?”
“Work and fun are separate issues.”
“So he’s a reliable superior, but not a playmate.”
Mid-conversation with Guchi, Lander spotted a kid glued to Terry’s side. The boy holding Terry’s hand looked about Jenny’s age, a couple years younger than Terry.
“That kid must be a neighborhood friend.”
“The one next to Terry? Seems like it. He comes to play at the inn often. He’s so shy, I’ve barely managed a greeting.”
Kalligo had Terry and Jenny well in hand, but the other kid looked precarious.
Terry seemed to be looking out for him, holding his hand, but with the throng of people, it wouldn’t take much to sweep him away.
“It’s a Giant Soldier!”
A thrilled shout rose alongside the high, clear note of a trumpet. All eyes turned toward the sound.
Terry was no exception. For a brief moment, he forgot about his friend he was holding. In that instant—“Ah!”—the kid slipped from Terry’s grasp and vanished into the crowd.
Lander moved. He’d been watching closely, so finding the kid was easy. He pushed through the people and grabbed the boy’s hand. The child looked up at him with wide, startled eyes.
“Terry’s friend?”
He mentioned Terry’s name first to reassure him. The boy gave a small “Yes.” Lander wanted to bring him back to Terry, but in that short time, they’d been separated by quite a distance.
“Guess we’ll have to watch from here.”
The kid seemed to understand despite the chaos and nodded right away. Meanwhile, the Giant Soldier emerged with a heavy thud.
Each step of the Giant Soldier, hoisting the imperial emblem high, drew cheers from the crowd.
Lander lifted the boy onto his lap. The kid let out a startled gasp but quickly steadied himself and observed the Giant Soldier.
“Can you see well?”
“Yes. I can see great.”
“Wooow,” the boy drew out in awe.
“How does something that big even move?”
“Curious?”
“Yeah.”
Lander knew the basics: liquid muscle injected into Talos gained motor functions from automata signals. But that wasn’t an explanation for a kid.
“Magic power, probably?”
“It can’t be that simple. There’s got to be more to it.”
The boy replied with firm conviction. Guchi had called him shy, but talking to him didn’t give that impression.
His vocabulary stood out too. He’d clearly had some education.
The Giant Soldier crossed the central plaza and knelt on one knee. Its head lifted, chest plate opened, and a Giant Soldier Knight emerged. Dressed in splendid uniform, the knight climbed onto the Giant Soldier’s shoulder and waved both hands to the citizens.
“Do you want to be a Giant Soldier Knight like that?”
Lander looked up at the boy and asked. The boy answered without hesitation.
“I’m more curious about how that Giant Soldier is made and who makes it than becoming a knight. If I could, I’d rather be a technician who builds Giant Soldiers.”
“That’s incredibly tough.”
“How tough?”
“I don’t know the details, but I hear only a handful of people can craft its core components.”
“They must all be geniuses.”
“Definitely not ordinary folk.”
“Sadly, I’m no genius. But I love Giant Soldiers. Even if it’s just menial work, as long as I can see them up close and touch them, I’d be truly happy.”
“I hope that dream comes true for you.”
The knight reentered the Giant Soldier. It seemed the ceremony was wrapping up. The waiting military band lined up beside it.
The Giant Soldier stepped off to the trumpet’s long note, drums beating in sync with its strides. The standard bearer, holding the empire’s flag high, swung it left and right to the rhythm.
The flawless march drove the crowd wild. It was a resounding success. The military called Giant Soldiers “Money-Eating Monsters,” but nothing boosted morale like these silver giants.
As soon as the Giant Soldier vanished down the boulevard, the people dispersed.
Lander approached Kalligo with the boy still on his lap.
“You’ve got a hidden kid, huh? Should’ve mentioned it earlier.”
Kalligo cracked a lame joke. Lander set the boy down. Terry and Jenny rushed over and stood by him. The three huddled together, chattering excitedly about the Giant Soldier they’d just seen.
“Everyone loves Giant Soldiers. Especially far from the battlefields—they go nuts for these money pits. The nation knows it, so they put on shows like this. Of course, today wasn’t really for the citizens.”
Lander followed Kalligo’s gaze to a group dressed slightly differently from Dun’s locals.
Probably from the Allied Kingdoms. He’d heard a massive merchant caravan had arrived—likely connected.
“With the spear-and-sword wars over, it’s time for the next kind. Trade routes are open, and the ports will be ready soon. Things are about to get busy.”
“You’ll have more work too, Mr. Kalligo.”
“My plate’s overflowing. Deep down, I’d love to ditch my post, forfeit my First-Class Noble status, and live free. But I know what’d happen to my kids if I stepped off the front lines. Gotta play breakwater till my teeth fall out.”
“Hard work for the empire.”
“It’s a break for now, so that’s something. Speaking of, why not make a comeback, boss? The war hero back from the dramatic brink of death. The empire’s theaters would buzz.”
“Too stuffy. No fun.”
“Just tossing it out there. Enjoy life, Mr. Lander. Live it to the hilt, then tell me all about it later—who you met, what happened, what you felt. I’d love hearing anything about you.”
“I’ll drop by if I think of it.”
Kalligo burst into laughter.
“That’s code for ‘never,’ huh? Whatever, I’ll make time to visit you. Like it or not, you stand out. Follow the rumors, and you’ll find Lander at the end.”
“I plan to live quietly.”
“Does crouching make a giant any smaller? Even among crows, a stork stands out.”
“Then I’ll become a crow.”
“Doubt it. The tide doesn’t let heroes go easy. I guarantee it.”
The three kids gathered around Kalligo. With his exceptional affinity, he’d already become their leader.
He told them to follow for something good. Terry and Jenny stuck to his side. The remaining boy headed toward Kalligo but veered off.
The kid stopped in front of Lander.
“Mister. Here.”
What the boy held out in both hands was a street snack.
“Thanks for looking after me earlier.”
“Yeah. I’ll enjoy this.”
The boy bowed politely and turned away. Seeing such maturity in a child was purely endearing.
For a moment, Lander wondered what his own child might have been like. Probably as cheerfully reckless as his wife. Or as dull as him.
Best to mix it half-and-half. He knew it was fleeting fancy, but it was fun to imagine.
“What’s your name?”
He asked the name of a kid he’d likely never see again. The boy shouted back as he ran toward Kalligo. ‘Gaharan.’
“Didn’t even tell me his name.”
Guchi reappeared with food in hand after a while, handing him a skewer.
“The kids?”
“Mr. Kalligo took them.”
“More suited to babysitting than the Inspectorate.”
“Maybe he picked the wrong career.”
Guchi bit into his skewer and asked.
“Now that the guy who wanted our time has vanished, what do we do?”
“Heading out tomorrow, so shall we prepare? I saw a jeweler on the way.”
“Gotta check arrowheads too. Kalligo won’t mind if we bail, right?”
“He’s probably already forgotten we were tagging along. Leave the rest to the kids.”
Lander glanced at the receding Kalligo and turned away.
(To be continued next time.)