Chapter 124

#Chapter 124: The Little Lion and the Land of Dwarves

Adelheid von Lenart was quite a girl.

Not exactly a saint or someone who’d get legendary status, but by normal standards, she was at least a good person—kind at heart.

You could tell this from the fact that even after almost being kidnapped by thieves and receiving the bizarre “training” from the Tin Knight that could ruin any growing teen’s psyche, she still didn’t treat the thieves like something out of a monster manual.

So, here she was, deep in thought.

‘What am I going to do about this situation?’

“Ahhhhh! The giant has been freed!”

“Sound the Giant Alarm!”

“Bring out the catapults!”

Clearly, the fact that Adel had broken free caused quite a stir among the dwarf soldiers encircling her, as they stumbled over each other in panic.

They seemed to think they were quite serious about it, but with their height of about 10-15cm, the bustling sight was, in Adel’s eyes, somewhat adorable.

Relieved that she could understand them, Adel turned her attention to the dwarf soldier she was holding.

Gone was the bravado he had shown earlier; he was now trembling uncontrollably.

Loosening her grip a bit, Adel placed him in her palm and asked,

“Um, could we talk for a moment?”

“T-t-t-t-talk?”

The soldier’s eyes widened in surprise at Adel’s unexpected request.

She nodded.

“I’m really sorry for barging into your country and destroying the king’s garden. It wasn’t done with bad intentions. Could you tell me what happened when I first showed up here?”

The soldier hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Honestly, we don’t really know either. There was suddenly a loud noise from the direction of the palace, and when we checked, you were passed out, having wrecked the garden.”

“I see.”

As Adel gently rubbed the throbbing spot on her head, she noted there weren’t any major wounds, but there was a little bump.

‘…So, while I was battling the West Witch, a huge rock must have fallen on me, and then the Knight hit the ground, and um…’

She realized she didn’t quite remember that last part clearly.

It seemed likely that during the fall, she had bumped her head on the ground or some debris.

It made her think about the absence of other friends around.

That was because of what Dorothea had explained before their emergency escape.

A one-time-use teleportation spell due to material issues. It would scatter them, so they should regroup quickly.

“Do you know where the West Witch’s castle is?”

“The West Witch? Who’s that?”

“Ugh.”

Stunned by the unexpected answer, Adel was momentarily lost for words.

After all, the terms “West Witch” and “East Witch” were merely titles used by the people of the continent based on their perspectives.

The real problem was that Adel didn’t even know the West Witch’s name.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she replied,

“Well, she’s the witch who commands flying golden monkeys.”

“Oh, you must be talking about Elphaba. She’s one of our main diplomatic figures. But getting there won’t be easy—crossing the sea requires a ridiculously long journey. Unless you have a ‘delegation’ sent by Elphaba, it’s practically impossible.”

Diplomacy, the sea, the kingdom of Liliput.

With this string of information, Adel felt a wave of confusion wash over her.

While Scarecrows or Witches might quickly deduce the situation from just a handful of facts, a little lion like her lacked that ability.

And besides, the current situation didn’t allow her the leisure to ponder.

“Fire!!”

Before she knew it, the dwarf army swarmed around her and launched a catapult in her direction.

The rock, though massive for dwarves, was only about the size of a human fist, yet it was still a significant threat for an ordinary person.

“Wait a second, I don’t want to fight!”

However, Adel was an exception, having spent her beginner days being drilled through the hellish training of the Tin Knight.

Though she wore a troubled expression, her movements were surprisingly light.

She hopped nimbly to dodge the incoming projectiles, even having the presence of mind to ensure her soldier didn’t feel overly dizzy while she did so.

Turning to the dwarf soldier, she asked,

“Uh, could you please tell them to stop attacking?”

Clinging desperately to her finger, the soldier replied,

“N-no! Giants who enter the kingdom are immediately sentenced to a year of labor! Anyone who damages the garden must plant five times the seeds of what they destroyed! That’s the law here! Once the law is set, nobody can change it except the king!”

Adel was somewhat impressed by the soldier’s answer.

It made sense, considering that the laws in Eonia Kingdom weren’t nearly as detailed or stringent.

Usually, the laws were set whimsically based on whatever the local lord decided. If the lord said guilty, you were guilty; if innocent, you were free to go.

But aside from personal admiration, it was still a troublesome answer for Adel.

Planting seeds might be manageable if she just moved a little faster, but working for a whole year was another story.

Thinking about her other friends made it clear that staying here for an extended period was out of the question.

She needed to find a way to nullify the punishment and gain cooperation to move to another island. And fast.

Adel questioned her friends in her mind.

‘What should I do?’

The Tin Knight in her head responded.

—[‘The Tin Knight says that the dwarves are like garbage!’]

The Witch in her head answered.

—First, try negotiating. If that doesn’t work, resort to threats, blackmail, or hostage tactics.

The Scarecrow in her head added.

—Perhaps it would be best to create a fictional scenario where things are confusing, making it hard to assess what’s right or wrong.

Adel chuckled softly.

Strangely enough, she couldn’t find a single useful human perspective. It was probably expected since two-thirds of her internal council weren’t even human.

In fact, if she had the resolve to counterattack, she could do it right now, but the fear of losing cooperation kept holding her back.

So, how long did she stew in indecision?

Suddenly, she noticed the rocks that had been flying toward her had stopped.

Curious, she looked around.

The dwarf soldiers were no longer firing the catapults.

At first, she thought a rock had just fallen, but they weren’t even attempting to replace the ones they had used.

Seeing the soldiers looking deflated, she raised an eyebrow when the soldier she held said,

“Um, could you put me down? I’ll tell them you don’t want to fight.”

If it were a witch here, she would have been met with a retort like, “What do you have to believe in?” But Adel, without a second thought, let go of the soldier.

He rushed over to his comrades to begin talking.

“Captain! Are you alright? I thought for sure you were done for…!”

“I’m fine. More importantly, everyone, stand down!”

“But Captain…”

“You all know as well as I do that if that giant really decided to fight seriously, we’d have no way to resist at all.”

At the captain’s words, the other soldiers hung their heads.

Adel, bobbing and weaving effortlessly through the barrage of stones, was clearly untouched and in control.

Imagining how she might trample them with that agile frame was enough to make their bodies curl inwards from instinctive fear.

Perhaps because their will had already been broken, the captain was able to easily persuade the other soldiers.

Though they assumed they could speak freely, Adel, with her keen ears, overheard every word of their conversation.

Feeling a tinge of guilt over the impression of using brute force to intimidate, Adel agreed to the captain’s proposal to explain her situation to the king of this land.

Given the palace was nearby, it didn’t take long for a response to come.

“The king wishes to see you. He wants to have a chat.”

***

Before heading into the capital, the soldiers cautiously asked Adel if it was alright to bind her hands and feet.

They explained that giants visiting the kingdom were usually tightly bound and transported in special wagons.

“The king wished to come and see you personally, but that would be against protocol. However, if you were to enter the capital unrestrained, it would throw the citizens into a tremendous uproar.”

The embarrassed face of the captain, explaining the situation, gave off a vibe of someone who was starting to take on a sincere tone.

It almost looked like a government worker thinking, “Well, I’m doing this because I have to, but is it even the right thing to do?”

“It’s fine.”

Adel extended her hands without hesitation.

Though it might seem like a casual response with no sense of danger, she genuinely had no reason to feel wary.

After all,

‘If I just put in a little effort, I can escape at any moment.’

Restraints only held significance when they couldn’t be undone. Constraints that can be removed with a simple wish are just mere decorations.

As about a dozen soldiers tightly bound her wrists and ankles (actually over her boots) with ropes, a minor commotion broke out while wrapping her wrists.

“What’s this giant gold thread? It seems like it’s moving on its own.”

“Is it going to suddenly attack or something?”

Adel only realized the golden thread bracelet wrapped around her wrist as she listened to the soldiers’ chatter.

A few threads from the bracelet had come loose and were pointing in different directions.

‘Oh, this was done by Franka!’

With a hint of hope about the hint given for their reunion, Adel felt a sense of relief.

After this, they began the process of loading her onto a special cart.

What was originally supposed to be a time-consuming task requiring tons of pulleys, ropes, and manpower found a shortcut when Adel simply plopped down onto the cart herself.

As about a hundred soldiers gripped the ropes tied to the cart and pulled, Adel’s body began to move forward slowly.

‘Is there something like a cart or ox around here?’

Adel felt a mix of curiosity and guilt.

The former came from the surprise that these tiny friends were managing to haul her, and the latter was due to how difficult the task looked for them.

If it were up to her, she would have preferred to walk herself to ease their burden, but recalling the captain’s desperate pleading, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

So she dedicated herself to observing her surroundings.

The architecture of the dwarves was of course small but downright charming.

Adel was reminded of the model ships her older brother used to make for fun.

What would just be a decorative piece for ordinary people could be a fantastic practical item for these little ones.

The dwarves murmured various things while glancing at Adel, their outfits not being too different from those outside.

Even the sizes of the trees and rivers around her were all small, making her question whether it was they who were small or if she had grown giant-like.

After some time moved forward,

Adel finally met the dwarf kingdom’s king, adorned with a golden crown and a bushy beard.

Given the awkwardness of Adel entering the royal castle, the audience took place in front of a massive square.

“Oh, so you’re the giant who smashed my garden. You’re quite strong, huh?”

The king gazed at Adel with a look of utter fascination.

Adel momentarily pondered how to bow appropriately before a king, then just awkwardly nodded her head.

“I understand the situation. It’s clear this incident wasn’t intentional and that you have a request for me. We’ll discuss the details later—”

Before she could finish, the king suddenly drew his sword.

An intense magical power radiated from his small frame.

“—But first, let’s have a bout. Show me something impressive, and I might actually consider your request.”

---