"The 'Mountain Witch'?"

  In Elbaf vilge, Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard took the dots El handed over and carefully read through them. Their expressions shifted, darkening with disbelief.

  "Carmel… she’s that notorious child trafficker from the underworld?"

  Ihe name "Mountain Witch" was infamous in the dark world. For decades, she had specialized in traffig children, usiion and kidnapping to capture tless youngsters. Her as had earned her the hatred of many. Evewo elder giants, who had long resided in Elbaf, had heard of her notorious reputation.

  "These dots..."

  "They’re real—transa records with the Wover!"

  Before long, the giant warriors summohe children from the Sheep's House. They pried open Sister Carmel’s bedroom door, which she always kept locked to prevent the mischievous children from entering. As they searched uhe bed, they found a hidden partment taining a locked iron box.

  The giants broke the lock, revealing records of Carmel's dealings with the Wover and information about the children she had sold. It was clear she had kept these records as leverage in case the Wover ever turned on her.

  "Damn it!"

  "Were we deceived?"

  "No doubt about it. I remember all these children!"

  "I ’t believe she sold them to the Wover. Unbelievable!"

  "But wasn’t Sister Carmel the 'Holy Mother'? Why would she do this?"

  "She risked her life to save us from being executed by the Navy back then!"

  "No… I ’t believe it..."

  Faced with the evidence, some of the giant warriors began to ge their stance, realizing they had been deceived by Carmel. Their fury grew, yet those who had been saved from execution by her still couldn’t accept the truth, clutg their heads in disbelief.

  "Darsi, Erle me clear up your doubts," El said calmly, the giant warriors who had always respected and been grateful to Carmel. Without anger, he crossed his arms and tinued, "Before I killed Carmel, I discovered a shog truth."

  "Back then, wheopped the Navy from publicly exeg members of the Giant Warrior Pirates, it art of a scheme crafted by the Wover and her. It was a staged act to gain the favor of the giants aually exploit their strength."

  "What!?"

  "Is that true?"

  "That event… was a spiracy by the Wover?"

  Hearing this revetion, all the giants, including Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard, were left stuheir disbelief alpable.

  "You two elders were once renowned figures on the seas," El said, looking at Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard. "I’m sure you’ve dealt with the Wover and the Navy before. You know how devious and ing they are. Some things just don’t add up. Given their usual arrogance, would the Wover really release captured pirates based on the words of a mere nun? Doing so would make them look weak in front of the world."

  "Not long after that i, the first giant Navy Vice Admiral, John Giant, emerged… and guess who pyed a key role in making that happen? It was Carmel, the so-called ‘Holy Mother,’ who was used by the Wovero help recruit giants into their ranks."

  "Afterward, more and miant warriors began to join the Navy."

  "Boom—"

  El's words nded like a bombshell. The revetiohe giant warriors reeling. Even Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard were visibly shaken, their fists g in rage as veins bulged, fury boiling ihem.

  "Damn the Wover, damn Carmel!!"

  "So we’ve been pyed by those bastards all along?"

  "This is unfivable—"

  Meanwhile, at the edge of the forest he coast...

  "Don’t run too far, Linlin!"

  "Gerd, look what I found!"

  Linlin came running back, excitedly showing her giant friend Gerd what she had found. In her hands was a strange fruit, about the size of a thumb, which she presented proudly.

  "Huh?" Gerd’s eyes widened as she looked at the fruit in Linlin’s hands. It had a peculiar, swirling pattern on its surfad looked unlike any fruit she had seen before. "I’ve never seen a fruit like that before!"

  Had El been there, he would have been shocked. The strange fruit that Linlin had found looked exactly like the Soul-Soul Fruit from Carmel’s memories. Despite El’s earlier attempt to retrieve it, the fruit had apparently regeed here and was now in Linlin’s hands.

  "This fruit looks so pretty! It must be delicious!" Linlin said, her eyes shining. She smiled happily and added, "Let’s eat it together, Gerd!"

  "Um..." Gerd hesitated, remembering how the elders had always warhem not to eat unfamiliar fruits. But as she stared at the strange fruit, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to it, as though it had some mysterious power calling out to her.

  Beferd could fully decide, Linlin had already split the fruit in half and stuffed one pieto her mouth. "Hee hee… don’t hesitate, let’s share it!"

  Despite her usual gluttony, Linlin was always generous when it came to sharing with her friends.

  "Wha—" Gerd's eyes widened as Linlin handed her the other half. Not wanting to disappoint her friend, she took a bite as well.

  "Ptooey, ptooey… it tastes awful!!"

  "Hahaha…"

  The two girls, faces sched in disgust, looked at each other before bursting into carefree ughter.