Giant Subjugation Quest #12
Giant Subjugation Quest #12
"...An elderly giant, you say? The sleeping bags make it clear there are more giants. But how can you be so certain it's an old one?"
The subjugation leader asked Old Man Nickel carefully.
"Can't you smell it? That musty odor the old carry."
"I'm not picking up anything."
"If you doubt me, check the sleeping bags yourself."
The subjugation leader, along with several other adventurers, approached the sleeping bags near the campfire. He stuck his nose right up to each bag and sniffed, but he clearly wasn't getting it. Soon, however, the subjugation leader's expression shifted to shock, and he spoke up.
"Y-You're right! It's an elderly giant!"
"How the hell can you tell?"
"Did the barbarian get it right?"
Amid murmuring adventurers, the subjugation leader raised his hand triumphantly. In his gauntleted grip was a thick, long strand of pure white hair. It was a gray hair from an old man.
"It's definitely different from the hair of the young giants we just fought! How in the world did you...?"
"My nose is quite good."
I found Old Man Nickel's flaring nostrils fascinating. The man I had talked to while on watch had just been a grumbling old-timer, but now he had transformed back into a true barbarian. Just like when he split that giant's head open. How could a person flip the switch so completely?
"How should we deal with an elderly giant? The giants that normally raid villages are young ones, so I've never faced one myself. Most adventurers here are in the same boat."
The subjugation leader glanced around with a troubled look. Gauging the mood, it seemed the other adventurers had no experience with elderly giants either. Not a single one of this large group stepped forward confidently.
Rookies! The entire subjugation team was full of first-timers when it came to hunting elderly giants. In the palpable tension, Old Man Nickel spoke up in a detached tone. Surprisingly, his voice was quite calm.
"There's no special way to deal with them, but I can tell you this. An elderly giant is weaker than the young ones."
"Huh?"
"Because it's old! Naturally its vigor has faded. Its back is bent, and it lacks the fighting spirit of the young. One-on-one, an elderly giant is easier to beat down. Ah, by a subjugation team's standard, of course."
"So there's nothing to worry about? We just aim for the knees like with regular giants?"
"There is something to be wary of. It's weaker, but hunting an elderly giant can actually be more difficult."
Old Man Nickel tapped his head with his finger.
"Brains! An elderly giant knows how to use its head! It holds wisdom incomparable to young giants. I got captured by one in my youth and nearly died. That was the first time I felt a real crisis hunting giants."
"You nearly died, old timer?"
The subjugation leader asked, his face full of disbelief. In that instant, Old Man Nickel looked genuinely offended.
"Am I immortal? You can get clubbed and die, you know. A barbarian is still a person."
"Ah, of course."
As the subjugation leader bowed his head in apology, Old Man Nickel smiled and continued.
"...There's no need to worry about facing an elderly giant for the first time. The moment the bastard shows up, I'll go all out and split its skull. I mean to send it off in a single blow before it can pull any tricks."
"Oooh. As expected of a barbarian."
So that meant he hadn't gone all out in the fight just a moment ago? The thought crossed my mind, but Old Man Nickel showed no signs of fatigue. There was blood on him, of course, but all of it had splattered from the giants. Bluff or not, there was no doubt Old Man Nickel could keep fighting.
"But do we still get a bounty for taking down an elderly giant?"
"Yes. In a Giant Subjugation Quest, it's guild standard practice to pay out extra bounties for newly emerged giants that are hunted."
"Good! I've been wanting to buy some clothes for my cute granddaughter. Well, that's all I had to say. Let's move out and chase those giants. And keep in mind, that old one might appear from somewhere in these caves."
"Yes, Elder!"
The subjugation leader reignited his will to pursue the fleeing giants. However, not every adventurer had the same resolve left. The previous battle had left quite a few adventurers injured. Some were badly hurt from falling stalactites, so a few had no choice but to stay behind.
"That makes eight injured. Sister Kate, please remain here with them and provide treatment. We'll need a few others to guard the wounded. The giants might break through the pursuit squad's encirclement and attack this location."
The subjugation leader organized a separate guard detail for the wounded. Abandoning the injured was simply unthinkable. There was also a chance spiders might attack instead of giants. I nodded in agreement with the leader's judgment. But when he read out the names for the guard detail, mine was inexplicably included. The subjugation leader called my name suddenly.
"Sir Luke! Please remain here and protect the wounded."
"Me? No way... it's not because it's my first time, is it?"
"I don't mean it like that. I'm asking because you, a mage, are a reliable asset. I saw how your Water Whip lashed the giant's knees earlier! Well done. It seems your Water Whip can project strong force even at a distance. Your power will be necessary to restrain fleeing giants."
The subjugation leader apparently had a high opinion of me. Leaving only the real losers behind in the guard unit might lead to disaster. So he was placing his hopes on me, a mage.
'The bounty is tempting, but Old Man Nickel will probably sweep it all up anyway. His eyes had that dangerous glint when he brought up his granddaughter...'
After thinking it over for a moment, I realized this was a sweet deal. Wouldn't Old Man Nickel be the one hoarding the bounty from killing giants regardless? He was the only one who could land a truly effective hit. No matter how you tried to angle for it, those giants weren't the kind you could easily snipe the last hit on.
Ahead was a long, straight, narrow passage. The only corridor stretched out far. The odds of the giants breaking through the encirclement seemed low. Guarding the wounded here was an opportunity to freeload the whole quest. Just killing time on this spot meant 8 Silver.
"Understood. As you command, I'll remain here."
"We'll place Lady Rebecca here too, as she's part of your fixed party."
Since I was staying in the guard unit, Rebecca ended up staying with me. She wore a slightly disappointed look.
"What a waste of 40 Silver! That means the bonus bounty is totally off the table for us, isn't it?"
"Even after fighting giants directly, you're still thinking about the bounty? Just a graze from one of them and your bones are powder."
"S-Still, you never know. A lucky thrust might just reach the heart..."
"You're scared of spiders, but not giants? Strange lass."
"Spiders are gross."
Still, Rebecca wasn't giving off any vibe of refusing to stay. Even for this fearless woman, life was precious. The other adventurers whose names were called for the guard unit also seemed secretly pleased. The guard unit totaled eight. Including Sister Kate, that matched the number of wounded left behind in the giants' camp with its burning campfire. The intention was probably that each could carry one wounded and flee if things went south.
"Let us pursue the giants."
The pursuit squad moved out behind the subjugation leader, heading towards the narrow passage. It didn't take long for them to disappear from sight.
*
"You mustn't move. The healing spell's effects will weaken."
"Ugh. Yes, Sister."
After the pursuit squad had left to chase the giants, my guard unit—myself included—was resting near the campfire. We watched Kate bustling about among the wounded. But not everyone was resting. The adventurers in the unit were taking turns keeping a perimeter watch, just in case any giants showed up.
"It's really quiet here. Not a single monster lurking around."
"Maybe the monsters are afraid of giants too? They said the spiders are cowardly creatures."
Quite some time passed, but there was no sign of monsters near the giant camp. Not even a small animal could be found, as if they treated this place as a no-go zone. Thanks to that, the guard unit adventurers could rest without incident. In short, the inside of the cave was eerily silent.
So silent it was actually unnerving. Was I being too jumpy?
"Ahem."
Feeling tense for no reason, I kept talking to Rebecca. Chatting could ease the anxiety at least a little.
"Think the pursuit squad's doing okay? They didn't get wrecked by the giants, right?"
"Why worry for nothing? The barbarian grandpa is with them, so he'll clean house and then some. From what I saw, that old man's been holding back a ton of his power."
"He was holding back?"
"Didn't you see him whip up a windstorm with his axe back there? That kind of force takes at least a first-rate martial artist. That barbarian grandpa might even be able to wield Sword Aura."
The crazy feat of deflecting flying rocks with wind pressure alone was impossible unless you were superhuman. Though I'd never seen a martial artist of high attainment, it was certain there was something special about Old Man Nickel.
"Aren't you overrating him, though? If he could use Sword Aura, he would have done it. He just tanked that giant's club with his bare body earlier."
"Sword Aura burns insane amounts of mana. It's not a move you can just spam. Anyway, watching that barbarian grandpa fight... it reminded me of my master back home. I keep thinking about her and it's driving me crazy."
I had heard about Rebecca's master before. The strongest swordswoman in the Zakarta Kingdom. She was a martial artist so powerful she could take down an army unit all alone. The pinnacle of martial warriors, a Sword Master — that was Rebecca's master.
"Wait, so are you saying that grandpa could take on an army all by himself? You compared him to your master."
"I said their atmosphere was similar. The way they never lose their cool, no matter what. In terms of actual martial skill, my master's obviously way stronger."
"Is your master a muscle-bound old guy too?"
"No, she's an incredibly beautiful woman. Her chest is way bigger than mine too."
Bigger than Rebecca's? I gulped, picturing Rebecca's master in my mind. Just how big would they be if they were larger than Rebecca's melon-sized tits? Were they Wendy-level?
"Amazing. Your master's tits."
"You perverted bastard."
"I'd love to visit your homeland."
Rebecca stared at me with a displeased look, then seemed to think of something and offered a small smile.
"Yeah. I'd like that too! If I ever get a chance to show you my homeland, I'd be so happy."
"We can't go anyway, remember? They said nobody can enter because of the sandstorm."
"That's true, but what if... if you ever came to my homeland, there's something I'd want to show you first."
"What's that?"
"My house! I'd want to introduce you to my parents, and let you meet my siblings. I think my family would be overjoyed if I brought you. You're a mage who can control water, right? Water is precious in our kingdom..."
"Uh. Is... is that so?"
"Yeah!"
She wants to introduce me to her parents?
'Oh, fuck. Just imagining it is a disaster!'
This was dangerous. A daughter leaves the kingdom and comes home dragging some blonde, tanned guy with her. If I were her parent, I'd weep blood. And why would she want to introduce someone she wasn't even dating to her parents? Weird and awkward for all involved.
"......"
Our conversation faded to a halt. As soon as we both fell silent, a stillness settled over the giant camp. The other adventurers were resting with their eyes closed. Even Kate, having apparently finished her treatments, sat near the campfire looking fatigued.
"A big yawn—."
My tension had finally eased, and I was just in the middle of a long, lazy yawn when it happened.
CRRACK! The sound of splitting stone echoed from somewhere.
Could a stalactite be breaking off the ceiling? I snapped my head up to check, but nothing there was shaking. The sound was coming from the wall, not the ceiling. From the cave wall surrounding the camp.
CRRACKLE! The stone-splitting sound boomed again. This time, it came with a large fissure spreading across the cave wall.
"What the—?"
I stared at the fracturing wall, baffled. The other adventurers were now wide awake, also staring at the wall. In that moment—
"...The hell!"
The cave wall collapsed with a thunderous roar! Splintered stone fragments crashed to the floor, and beyond the ruined wall, a dark, deep passage revealed itself. Simultaneously, a massive figure stepped out of the darkness in the tunnel. A white beard reaching down to its navel. Hair bleached grayish-white. A giant, house-sized old man had appeared.
"Well met, people of the continent."
The elder spoke with a hearty laugh. In stark contrast to that easygoing laugh, his hands were gripping a club so tight it seemed about to splinter.
"—Would you care to test your strength against this old Jotun?"