"The 'Mountain Witch'?"
In Elbaf village, Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard took the documents El handed over and carefully read through them. Their expressions shifted, darkening with disbelief.
"Carmel… she's that notorious child trafficker from the underworld?"
Indeed, the name "Mountain Witch" was infamous in the dark world. For decades, she had specialized in trafficking children, using deception and kidnapping to capture countless youngsters. Her actions had earned her the hatred of many. Even these two elder giants, who had long resided in Elbaf, had heard of her notorious reputation.
"These documents..."
"They're real—transaction records with the World Government!"
Before long, the giant warriors summoned the 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 under the bed, they found a hidden compartment containing a locked iron box.
The giants broke the lock, revealing records of Carmel's dealings with the World Government and information about the children she had sold. It was clear she had kept these records as leverage in case the World Government ever turned on her.
"Damn it!"
"Were we deceived?"
"No doubt about it. I remember all these children!"
"I can't believe she sold them to the World Government. 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 can't believe it..."
Faced with the evidence, some of the giant warriors began to change 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, clutching their heads in disbelief.
"Darsi, Erlen… let me clear up your doubts," El said calmly, observing the giant warriors who had always respected and been grateful to Carmel. Without anger, he crossed his arms and continued, "Before I killed Carmel, I discovered a shocking truth."
"Back then, when she stopped the Navy from publicly executing members of the Giant Warrior Pirates, it was all part of a scheme crafted by the World Government and her. It was a staged act to gain the favor of the giants and eventually exploit their strength."
"What!?"
"Is that true?"
"That event… was a conspiracy by the World Government?"
Hearing this revelation, all the giants, including Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard, were left stunned. Their disbelief was palpable.
"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 World Government and the Navy before. You know how devious and cunning they are. Some things just don't add up. Given their usual arrogance, would the World Government 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 incident, the first giant Navy Vice Admiral, John Giant, emerged… and guess who played a key role in making that happen? It was Carmel, the so-called 'Holy Mother,' who was used by the World Government to help recruit giants into their ranks."
"Afterward, more and more giant warriors began to join the Navy."
"Boom—"
El's words landed like a bombshell. The revelation left the giant warriors reeling. Even Mountain Beard and Waterfall Beard were visibly shaken, their fists clenching in rage as veins bulged, fury boiling inside them.
"Damn the World Government, damn Carmel!!"
"So we've been played by those bastards all along?"
"This is unforgivable—"
Meanwhile, at the edge of the forest near the 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 surface and 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 regenerated 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 warned them 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.
Before Gerd could fully decide, Linlin had already split the fruit in half and stuffed one piece into 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 scrunched in disgust, looked at each other before bursting into carefree laughter.