"Glug, glug..."
By the shoreline, a five-ton chubby girl sat down comfortably, pulling delicious pastries out of her backpack and sharing them with El, whom she had just met.
With both hands grabbing the pastries, she stuffed them into her mouth, devouring them in a ravenous and unrefined manner.
"Mmm, so sweet and delicious…" After swallowing a sugary treat, the innocent Charlotte Linlin smiled happily, her eyes squinting with delight.
"You should enjoy the pastries slowly, Linlin. Eating too fast takes away the flavor!" El remarked, tossing a piece of pastry—small compared to his giant-sized body—into his mouth, savoring the sweetness. Watching Linlin devour the treats, El chuckled, "If you eat them all at once, there won't be any left!"
At just five years old, Linlin was still a child, her mind not yet fully developed. She was at an age where she loved to eat and play, but she couldn't control her monstrous strength, which explained why her parents couldn't manage her. Perhaps only someone like El, another natural-born monster, could handle her.
"Papa and Mama always say the same thing, but I can never stop myself from gobbling everything up, hehe…" Linlin giggled, biting her finger.
Looking at the now-empty backpack and the mess she'd made on the ground, Linlin scratched her head sheepishly. "Oops, I think I ate too much and finished all the pastries. Sorry!"
"No worries. I haven't had such delicious pastries in a long time," El said with a smile, patting Linlin's head as usual. "Thanks for sharing them with me, Linlin."
"Hehe, my family has lots of yummy treats! El oniisan, will you come visit me at my house and play with me?" Linlin asked, blinking her large eyes expectantly. "The other kids around there are too scared to play with me!"
For some reason, Linlin felt a sense of warmth and closeness with El, whom she had just met. She liked being with this gentle and handsome big brother who was as big as she was. He didn't fear her, which made her very happy.
"Sure! I live around here, so if you have nowhere to go, you can always come to my place and play," El replied, smiling warmly. He didn't tell her the harsh truth—that her parents had abandoned her. At five years old, Linlin wouldn't be able to accept such a reality.
Telling her now would likely lead to disbelief or even trauma. It was better to let time gradually soften the truth. When she was older, she would naturally come to understand and eventually accept it.
"Wow…" Linlin marveled at the waves. Giant fish, larger than the merchant ship that had just left, occasionally leapt out of the sea, leaving her wide-eyed in amazement. "The fish here are so big!"
"This is Elbaf, the land of giants. So naturally, the plants and animals here are much larger than usual," El explained with a gentle smile, patting her head. "By the way, since you shared your pastries with me, how about I treat you to some grilled fish?"
After all, he hadn't had breakfast yet, and the small amount of snacks Linlin had offered wasn't nearly enough to satisfy his enormous appetite. Both of them, as natural-born monsters, had extraordinary digestive systems. They could even eat stones or steel without feeling uncomfortable—their powerful stomach acids would break down anything and expel it easily.
"Grilled fish?" Linlin's eyes lit up with excitement, and she stared at El with drooling anticipation. "Really?"
"Of course! Wait here, Linlin," El nodded with a smile and spread his wings, preparing to take off.
"El oniisan, your wings are so beautiful! And you can fly—I wish I had wings too!" Linlin exclaimed as she watched El's black wings unfurl. Her childish curiosity got the better of her, and she reached out to grab his wings, pulling them in fascination. "Why do you also have flames behind your head?"
"Flap!"
El's black wings shook violently, slipping free from Linlin's hands. Slightly exasperated, El tapped her forehead lightly. "You're too rough! In the future, when you're curious about something, don't just grab it. And definitely don't use so much strength—it's rude!"
Linlin had no idea just how powerful her unintentional strength was. Even adult giants would have trouble enduring her force. Thankfully, El was also a natural-born monster, with wings as tough as steel, impervious to weapons, and capable of withstanding her grip. Otherwise, if it had been another Lunarian, their wings would likely have been broken.
"Ouch, that hurt…" Linlin rubbed her reddened forehead, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at El in confusion. "How is it that your strength is so strong, El oniisan, that it actually hurt me?"
At home, no matter how much trouble she caused or how angry her parents got, no amount of punishment ever hurt her. They could hit her with sticks, but it never fazed her. Yet El had managed to cause her pain with just a flick to her forehead.
"That's because I, like you, have natural strength!" El chuckled, gently pinching Linlin's chubby cheeks, and explained seriously, "Linlin, you need to understand that we are special. Our bodies are different from others. We're born with incredible strength, and our skin is as tough as steel…"
"So, even if it feels like you're using no strength at all, you might still hurt the people around you. You could even put their lives at risk without meaning to."
"Really?" Linlin blinked her large eyes in surprise, biting her finger as she recalled how, back at home, she often hurt people without intending to. She'd always tried to be gentle, but everyone around her seemed so fragile, like paper. If she pulled someone's arm lightly, they would cry out in pain, and their arm would break. If she gave them a little pat, they would go flying, coughing up blood.
Because of this, the other children had become afraid of her and refused to play with her anymore.
"Yes, your strength is too great. It's like trying to pick up an ant to play with, but accidentally crushing it," El explained, having seen firsthand how Linlin, despite trying to be gentle with the pastries earlier, still crushed them in her grip before stuffing them into her mouth without a second thought.
He could only imagine that Linlin's parents hardly dared to hug her, let alone let her hug them. Otherwise, they'd risk being suffocated or squeezed to death. In the worst case, a careless hug could leave them with shattered bones and serious injuries.
"I guess that's true!" Linlin scratched her head and laughed sheepishly. The kids around her back home really were like fragile little ants, always getting hurt by her accidentally.
~~~
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