After a good night of rest we packed our stuff. The elf Queen Pyria wasn't lying. A Magitech Doll really was heavy. When Gamma stepped on the carriage it visibly dropped the ground clearance. Thank God for elven magic. Although it's rather weird that she weighs so much yet when we had sex and I was holding her I didn't feel that much resistance to it.

Our leave was delayed however, because Gamma had a large amount of knowledge. Honestly I see her as a walking tablet filled with books. So I took the liberty to try and assimilate as much as possible. But as expected, the lolis got bored eventually and wanted for us to hit the road.

And speaking of difficult girls…

"Darling, I really don't approve of you cheating on me like this. Honestly. Since she's technically a machine and you treat her as a toy I'm willing to overlook this. But honestly, I'm too lenient on you. 

I feel like you have been neglecting me lately. The next time we settle down somewhere I want you to take me on a date."

"Fine, fine. Just stop pulling so hard on the reins. You're confusing the bicorns. Ok. I promise I'll take you on a date."

"Yay!!"

Honestly, sometimes Yuki reacts like a kid that wants to go to Disneyland. But a date, huh? I never had a girlfriend back in Japan. Let alone go on a date. Popular people usually hit the arcade, karaoke, Internet cafe or malls. But in this world where those things don't exist…

What do people even do on dates? Walk around and sit on a bench? To be honest it feels pointless. Well, I don't intend to break my promise so I'll roll with it when the time comes.

For now I want to focus on reaching the Giant Clan. According to books, their societies are lead by great warrior chiefs. 

The Giants live for battle and were often hired by humans of different kingdoms to provide them the battles to fight as mercenaries. As a result, however, the Giant Clan's status is currently in danger due to deaths in battle they could find.

The current chief should be against war as he established a settlement and basically kept all the remaining Giants there. Interference with other races is usually prohibited for them.

They are identical to humans with the exception that they are much larger in size. How big are they? The average number recorded is 7 meters. Because of their connection to the Earth, Giants are able to freely manipulate it.

They make excellent builders. Which is quite ironic considering they like smashing stuff.

------

After 2 days, we could finally see it. The town of Giants.

Seven thick, round towers tower above all, they're linked with small bridges and are connected by fortified, narrow walls made of gray stone.

Tall, wide windows are scattered here and there across the walls in a seemingly random pattern, along with symmetric holes.

A moderate gate with enormous metal doors, a drawbridge and a moat guards the only passage into the castle build behind a mountain top and it's the only way in, at least without taking down the castle walls.

Trees grow close to the castle gates and provide it with valuable wood for all sorts of purposes. This castle has clearly stood the test of time, the rocks of the walls are aged and vines and plants grow inside the cracks. The castle walls give the impression that it's hugging the small buildings, houses and other structures populating the ground.

And let's not forget the importance of mining, which is the main resource provided by this small fortress. If I were to make an estimate this place has around 500 to 1000 villagers. But the important thing is… everything is upscaled. Literally. It’s huge, even the door makes a normal person like me feel small.

I kept shouting for quite some time now. “Oi!”, “let us in”, “is somebody home”. All of them were unanswered.

“Darling, it’s hard to believe that nobody is guarding this large door. Then again… because it’s so big, maybe there’s no need to? It doesn’t look like anyone other than a giant can open it. And it has a thick coat of anti-magic.”

“Well, we came all this way, so we’re not stopping. If there’s no guard, it’s the same thing as saying ‘you’re welcome to come in’, right?”

“But… how are we supposed to get in?”

“Did you forget who you’re dealing with? Haven’t you gotten used to me already?”

I calmly step forward and place my hands on the gate. Using my strength I push and with a heavy, grating noise the gate opens. Although I will admit that I bent it a little. I actually used more strength than what was needed.

"How can you open such a stupidly large door?” (Gamma)

“I trained every day.”

“In what dimension would training allow you to do this?” (Gamma)

Ignoring Gamma’s remarks we made our way inside. Lined up at the entrance were stone statues of giants. Previous rulers maybe? But that thought vanished from my head. The deeper we went, the more statues we saw. Most of them not in what's considered a 'normal' pose. 

"Darling… this place is creeping me out."

"Agreed. There's nobody around? It's like a ghost town." (Sasha)

"Umu. It's so quiet you can hear crickets." (Stella)

"Searching in the database… no records point that this place is abandoned. It isn't normal for this town to be abandoned." (Gamma)

I agree. Something doesn't add up. Eventually when we reached a large fountain in what seemed to be the central plaza of this town, we got off the carriage.

"Something happened here. Ugh. This sucks.”

 And here I thought I was going to enjoy extra large food portions. No matter where I look, even with the Mystic Eyes I acquired, I can't detect anything abnormal. Yet I have a hunch. There are simply too many statues lying around for no reason.

Did… something like Medusa from Greek mythology stroll around here and turned everyone to stone? It sure gives off that feeling.

"So, you have finally arrived. I was waiting for you." (???)

The moment my fox ears caught that sound I turned towards the direction of the voice. On the very top of the fountain, stood a woman. That's weird. Where the hell did she come from? I scanned this place but couldn't get any readings. Wait. Her aura… it's similar to the one the tentacle freak Goddess has.

"I am very pleased to finally get to meet you, Edelweiss. Do you know who I am?" (???)

"Someone really good at giving handjobs?"

The moment I say that she lost her balance and with a girly 'kya' fell from the top straight into the fountain. A few seconds later she emerged from it, all wet of course.

"Such an insolent reply… are you a pervert?"

"I don't like being called a pervert by another pervert. Given the lewd way you dress and the amount of skin exposure you display… adding in the fact that you have 6 arms… what were you expecting me to say?"

"I can't believe it. I've done my research on you, but I wasn't expecting you to actually be this troublesome." (???)

"Well, you might know me, but I don't know you."

"Then I shall properly introduce myself. I am Anri. Goddess of War! You, Edelweiss, have been chosen by the Gods to cooperate with us in the salvation of the world. Now, both of us shall duel to see if you're worthy of passing this test!"

She unleashed her divine aura. Although she looks weird she's definitely what she says. A Goddess. Her compelling aura almost made all my girls bow before her. However, I extended my own aura to shield them. Sorry to burst your bubble but party tricks like that won't work on me.

"Should I take it you're the one responsible for all these statues? I thought Gods weren't allowed to interfere in mortal realms."

"Indeed. They refused to cooperate so I turned them to stone.

But have no fear I received this Amulet of time reversal from the Goddess of Time herself. Their condition and any damage caused during our battle, will be reverted. As well as any injuries you might suffer. Now come! Don't keep a Goddess waiting. Draw your sword and face me!"

.

.

.

I really don't know how to react to that. Firstly I don't understand her intentions at all. Secondly her tongue is absurdly long and she keeps licking her lips in a lustful manner. I can only come to one conclusion. She's a battle maniac.

"I have no reason to fight you."

"I already told you it's a test."

"If you're testing me that means you aren't 100% sure I'm the right person for the job. And I never said I want to cooperate with you Gods in whatever plan you have. I refuse. Go find someone else to play with."

"What!? That's not fair!

Do you not realize I am a Goddess?"

"Yeah. So? You want a medal? You guys gave us free will. That means I have the right to refuse you."

"Don't you want to hear about the crisis, at least? The fate of Berseria is at stake."

"It's got nothing to do with me. I just want a carefree life. So, bye."

"Hey wait!!"

Just ignore her. Ignore.

"I told you to wait!"

"Sasha, Stella, Gamma, maybe we can still find some food around here."

"Stop ignoring me already!"

"Huh? I think the wind is trying to play tricks on me. Almost felt like a voice."

"MMM!! GRRR!! Aaaaa!! Pay attention to me!! Honestly how does sis put up with you? You should show me some respect. It's not fair. Not fair!!"

She started wriggling on the floor and flapping all her arms. Is she really a Goddess or just a kid throwing a tantrum?