27. Ugly Duckling
[Lorenne Outpost]
“Curtis, what are you staring at so blankly?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
Sara followed Curtis's gaze.
“What? You fallen for the baroness too?”
“No, she's a widow, so I just feel bad for her.”
“Sure, whatever. Men are all the same—they see a pretty woman and...”
Sara clicked her tongue and shook her head.
It wasn't just Curtis. Young ones like Loren and Yann would sneak peeks at Alicia gazing out toward the Great Forest from atop the walls whenever they had the chance.
“You don't worry about the squad leader?”
“Young Lord Wayne?”
“Yeah, you know how dangerous the Great Forest is.”
“After seeing him slice up that wild boar monster like it was nothing? You think a 3rd-class Gigant pilot could pull off moves like that?”
Sara pondered for a moment.
“With practice, maybe?”
“You ever see Young Lord Wayne practicing?”
Come to think of it, the Wayne that Sara had seen only focused on Odd training—he'd never once mounted a Gigant for sword drills.
“In my eyes, Young Lord Wayne's a genius! A real one, the kind the empire's never seen before. He's on a whole different level from us.”
“If even you, who was called a genius, admits it that much, then yeah, he's impressive. But I'm still worried. We've come all this way trusting his word, and what if we end up with nothing to show for it?”
“Same here. But look back at our last five years—it's better than having no hope at all, right?”
“Hope, huh... Yeah, I guess.”
Curtis and Sara both let out wry chuckles.
They'd only just clawed their way out of despair to find a sliver of hope, but it was a hundred times better than a hopeless life.
“The real issue right now is her, though...”
Curtis pointed toward Nancy Oliver in the training yard.
Nancy was wandering aimlessly around her Gigant, all alone.
As a former Gigant academy instructor, Curtis knew her well.
“The fate of this outpost in the hands of that timid little thing...”
“Her Odd reserves are plenty. Battle sense is good too. It's her mentality that's the problem—no confidence, no killer instinct.”
“The slave days still have her chained up, probably.”
“The slave story's real? I overheard Loren and Yann talking about it...”
“It's in her papers, that's how I know. Details? No clue. Never heard it straight from her.”
Sara's face filled with pity.
Slave... What kind of life did she live? That girl...
The monsters attacking the outpost yesterday were small fry, low-grade stuff, so Alicia and the outpost soldiers had handled them. But everyone was exhausted, and the attacks were ramping up in frequency and numbers. Now it was Nancy's turn to step up.
Amid everyone's worries, Nancy steeled herself alone.
Then, dust clouds rose on the western side of the Lorenne Outpost.
“Monsters! Monsters incoming!”
The watchtower sentry's shout rang out, and Nancy was the first to climb into her Gigant.
The hatch sealed shut, and she took a deep breath.
“Hoo! Hoo!”
The tension of her first real deployment was indescribable. And the enemies were genuine Great Forest monsters.
Nancy closed her eyes, reflecting on the past.
She'd been born a slave.
In the back alleys of a frontier city, in a shanty that saw no light, her mother had died giving birth to her.
Her mother had been a slave selling her body, so Nancy became one the moment she drew breath.
In this world, slaves weren't human.
The innocent little girl had been thrown to pigs consumed by filthy lust.
All her rights trampled, her very humanity stolen.
When she cursed her defiled life and awaited only death—
Count Boltain!
He'd saved her, clothed her, given her the new name Nancy Oliver.
She couldn't betray his expectations—she threw herself into everything with all her might.
But she fell short.
He'd granted her freedom, but she'd only received it, failing to seize what she had to do herself.
Just as she couldn't reject the slave life from birth, she was still trapped in the prison she'd built, living as a slave.
Helplessness grew with time, and in the swamp of incompetence she couldn't escape, she nearly abandoned her new life too.
Then came another savior.
He'd taken her hand to help her stand on her own, awakening the dormant power in her body.
Maybe she'd always wanted someone to pull her up?
And as he left for the Great Forest, he'd asked:
“Nancy Oliver, can you pilot a Gigant and fight monsters?”
“......”
She'd given no answer, like a fool.
Helplessness shook her body again.
But no more.
She had to change. Repay their faith.
Greeee! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The 5-meter Gigant roared to life and charged toward the monsters swarming the outpost, spears at the ready in both hands.
Can a former slave like me do this? Can I live up to his expectations? Can I protect everyone here?
She had no answers to the questions flooding her mind.
Unable to contain her anxiety and the frustration boiling in her chest, she finally screamed.
“Raaahhh!”
What charged at her now wasn't a monster.
It was her former slave self. The powerless her.
I'll kill you with this strike!
Eyes wide, she thrust her spear with all her might.
“Die!”
Crack!
“Kweeeek!”
The spear tip pierced skin, bone, chest—and burst out the back.
The monster collapsed, spraying blood everywhere.
Shing! Clang! Clang!
She extended both hands, and silver blades shot out.
He'd told her: Don't hold back your rage! Unleash all your power! How can you gain freedom without fighting?
Yes.
She was no longer a slave!
The razor-sharp blade cleaved into the chest of an oncoming monkey monster.
She kicked it away, yanked the arm of another blocking her path, and rammed her sword into its side.
“Kwek!”
Rage exploded in her chest, and eerie blue light poured mercilessly from Nancy's Gigant.
She stabbed her flashing blade into another charging monster's chest.
Each thrust shook the earth, each met with the monster's screams.
Now she was free!
The once meek lamb Nancy tore through the monsters like a beast unleashed.
She'd gained the confidence she needed most.
“Hah! She's insane!”
“Is that really the Nancy we know? She's merciless!”
“Just like Young Lord Wayne said—he spotted her talent at a glance. Another genius is born.”
Atop the walls, Curtis and Sara brimmed with shock and hope that they too might one day recover their Odd and pilot Gigants again.
Thanks to Nancy, Baroness Alicia Taylor and the soldiers arriving late handled monster cleanup instead of fighting.
“Nancy, what the hell? You were hiding that skill?”
Loren was the first to greet Nancy as she climbed down from her blood- and flesh-caked Gigant. He'd nearly pissed himself from first-deployment nerves.
But luckily, Nancy had smashed them solo, so he watched with joy—and envy.
“Phew! Once I got into it, it wasn't so bad. I just fought hard 'cause if I didn't kill 'em, they'd kill me.”
It was like saying “Studying was the easiest part.”
Loren eyed her enviously, while in the corner, Yann fed Eleven and shot jealous glances their way.
You guys have it good. You get to pilot Gigants...
Yann couldn't fathom why he, still a Gigant cadet, was stuck feeding dogs.
“Don't miss a single weed!”
“Set it on fire!”
They uprooted plants around and beyond the outpost, doused big ones in oil, and torched them.
A daily chore like eating, but crucial.
Slacken off, and Odd pollen would turn the outpost into Great Forest before they knew it, blinding them to approaching monsters.
Greee! Thud!
“Gah!”
A startled soldier looked up from the vibrations and collapsed.
A massive Gigant loomed before him.
“Huh? It's the hunting team!”
“Knight Commander Bowga's back!”
Soldiers swarmed.
“Woooah! The hunting team's returned!”
Their cheers echoed across the outpost.
The Gigants and soldiers entered.
There were sacrifices among the hunting force, but only two Gigants lost, and Knight Commander Bowga safe—it was a success.
And not just that: byproducts from one A-rank monster and dozens of C-ranks—a massive haul.
Squad members rushed to Wayne descending from Artemis.
“Great work, Squad Leader Wayne!”
“Venturing into the Great Forest was impressive enough, but bringing back so many alive? Incredible.”
Wayne shrugged at Curtis and Sara's words.
“Eh, wasn't that hard. Next Great Forest hunt, we'll all go together.”
“...?”
They blinked, speechless.
The Great Forest wasn't some nearby woods for deer hunting. With their current forces, defending the outpost was their limit.
“Huh? Where's Nancy?”
“Sleeping over there.”
Nancy slumbered obliviously in her Gigant's shadow.
Curtis briefly explained her exploits.
After days of monster-smashing and an all-nighter on watch last night, she'd only crashed that morning—loud as it was, she slept on.
“Yell 'monsters!' and she'd bolt up. Wake her?”
“Nah, let her rest.”
Wayne approached quietly, smiling as he gently stroked her hair without a word.
If I'd married young in my past life, I'd have had a daughter like this.
'Good job.'
It felt oddly like a father praising his girl.
How a 16-year-old boy pulled off that expression baffled Curtis and Sara.
Alicia and Knight Commander Bowga approached Wayne and bowed.
“Squad Leader Wayne! Thank you...”
“Shh!”
Wayne pressed a finger to his lips, silencing them.
He didn't want to wake sleeping Nancy.
“We've got plenty to talk about, so let's head inside first.”
With a far gentler expression, Wayne entered Alicia's office.
“I, Bowga Taylor, will never forget the grace you showed in saving us.”
The current lord's uncle and knight commander bowed deeply.
“Don't forget—pay it back proper.”
“Of course. I'll repay you to the best of my ability.”
Alicia bowed again too.
“You didn't just save our hunting team—you saved Lorenne territory too. Truly grateful.”
Her tone was far more deferential now.
“I just spoke with your knight commander and Gigant pilots. All the monster byproducts you brought back go to you, Squad Leader Wayne.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. And everything from monsters we took down defending the outpost too. Without your squad, the losses would've been catastrophic.”
Wayne nodded with a satisfied grin.
“Fair enough, but we all fought together, and you took heavy hits too—you need to recover, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Everyone worked hard, so we'll split all profits fifty-fifty.”
“Half!?”
Alicia looked stunned.
Wayne struck her as sharp on money— she'd expected him to haggle for more, not give away a share.
“Remember our deal?”
Alicia flinched.
Honestly, staying here had never crossed her mind.
Getting even 20% of the hunting team back would've been a miracle; she'd planned to abandon survivors and the outpost for the territory.
But 85% returned safe. She was dumbfounded.
They could withdraw now, but she'd promised Wayne: hunt together here.
“First, we'll rebuild Patton Outpost with everything we've got. And hunt monsters side by side.”
“Good. Our two outposts cooperating on monster hunts will rake in the gold. Every beast in the area will swarm here now. We'll hit the Great Forest when we can spare the manpower.”
“Uh, that's a bit...”
Wayne had saved them for a partner to hold the line—not for pocket change.
Rejection meant hiring tons for outpost ops and cleanup. Who'd come to this death trap?
But if they stayed: 1,700 hands, work Gigants, byproduct processing and sales.
Bowga said selling this haul alone would net 500,000 gold easy.
Plus outpost kills: at least 300,000 gold in his pocket.
That matched a small territory's six months' income.
Make bank, buy a small territory?
Wayne eyed that possibility.