Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

Floating island in the clouds, inside the giant's castle, in the miniature garden, before the tomb of Jesus.

Though I am a giant, I have been thinking and remembering for a long time. As my bestiality, wildness, and murderous intent gradually faded with time, I began to yearn to become human.

The colossus in the clouds emitted a thunderous voice.

At this time, the Giant King's voice no longer possessed that lofty divinity, resembling instead a human sage who had lived for a very long time.

My brethren, not one of them possesses even a tenth of my intelligence. Although I can rule them, their ignorance will not diminish through my control and instruction…

I envy you humans. Each of you has countless equals to communicate with.

Lately, I often think that perhaps I am more like humans.

"Is this the reason you became friends with Jesus…?"

Leike looked at the shadow in the clouds. This only giant in the world with intelligence had wisdom far greater than most people suspected.

"No, my relationship with that old friend stems from…"

The Giant King paused, his enormous head turning to the surrounding plants, as if recalling something, "…from this garden."

Then, the Giant King raised a finger and pointed it at Leike's waist. Even now, Leike's hand had not left the Star-Slaying Sword at his waist.

"What is it?"

Leike asked warily.

"Don't be afraid. I know that the sword at your waist is the Star-Slaying Sword, right? I saw it in that dream during our first meeting.

The last time I saw it in reality, it pointed at me, forcing me onto the clouds—a distant memory."

"So, you hate the Star-Slaying Sword? After all, its master forced you here and killed your giant subjects."

Leike held his breath and asked a question.

But then, the Giant King responded with the same calm attitude as before:

"Hatred? Perhaps it was like that at first, but now, I am grateful for all of this."

As the Giant King spoke, he raised a hand, and the surrounding clouds swirled around him like white silk, easily manipulated by him. The clouds around the entire castle seemed like a curtain, easily controlled by the Giant King.

"Here, I possess all of this: the talent to be close to the clouds, what you humans call magic, and this garden in the clouds."

The Giant King looked at Leike and Polo, as if chuckling softly, and then continued:

"Would you like to hear me tell the story of this garden's past?"

"We are all ears."

Leike and Polo did not refuse. They could not completely let go of their hostility towards the Giant King, and they could more easily see some of the truth about the Giant King from his words.

"In the beginning, I was driven to the clouds. My magic allowed my empty castle to ascend to the cloud top as well, without falling.

I used newborn magic to knead clouds into soil. At that time, the sky island I was on was very small, only a few dozen meters in size. I couldn't even lie down on it…

I planted a mortal seed on the clouds—

Found from the cracks in my castle.

At first, they grew well, but under the influence of my magic, they became very large, but for some unknown reason, they would wither quickly after blooming.

I didn't know how to care for them and could only watch as my flower field turned into a pile of dead branches and leaves.

Until one day, a vine seed infused with my magic fell to the ground.

It brought me something I had never imagined…"

…

Heavy footsteps trembled in the cloud garden.

The withered branches of the surrounding plants looked extremely haggard and desolate under the cover of the clouds.

A tall shadow stopped in the corner of the garden, its star-like pupils looking at the ground. It saw something that the Giant King had never expected.

A small patch, about a few dozen meters in size.

Among the dead plants that should have withered long ago, a new green color revived as if from the dead, and colorful magic flower discs trembled and grew.

"Has it finally succeeded? Can my plants finally survive? But—why? My magic hasn't made any changes!"

The Giant King muttered to himself, but just then.

The clouds under his feet sent a strange scent into the Giant King's perception.

"No, there's something else? Is it a beast? An animal?"

The Giant King stared closely at his feet. The newly grown flower trembled suddenly.

There's something below!

"Who!? Who dares to touch my flowers!?"

The Giant King lowered his body, suppressing his anger and flipping over the flower disc. Below, a child curled up into a ball, looking at him and shivering.

"A…human child?!"

The Giant King's star-like eyes looked around. Under the cover of other plants, he successively discovered many children, without adults.

They were all terrified, scattering and fleeing from him, hiding among the growing plants.

"But my garden is in the clouds, why are there children here?!"

The Giant King's gaze followed the perception of the clouds, looking further away. Next to the floating island, a green vine pierced through the clouds from a thousand meters deep, reaching the Giant's Garden!

And at the top of the green vine, there was a nearly fragmented house.

Emitting the scent of children.

It was the magic vine that had drifted to the ground, bringing this house with many children to the sky.

…

"That was an orphanage, and that day, the orphanage's manager happened to be away, and there were only these twelve children above,"

The Giant King told Leike and Polo.

"Those children? What…happened to them?"

Leike couldn't help but ask.

"At that time, I wanted to kill those children, just like I had always done to humans, but for some reason, I didn't do that…

Is it loneliness? Or something else that made me a little different? I don't know."

The Giant King reached his huge hand through the clouds, stroking a patch of flowers on the ground that was not even the size of his fingernail, "But it was that difference in thought that saved my garden."

…

"Giant, won't you kill us?"

A slightly older child walked tremblingly to the Giant King. When they were young, they had also heard stories of brutal giants.

"Heh, if you dare to touch my plants again, I will eat you—one by one!"

The Giant King said fiercely.

The children walked in terror to an open space, but after that, the Giant King discovered that the newly bloomed flowers were withering one by one!

"No, no, no, my flowers—my flowers, why…"

The Giant King looked at the children, the clouds swirling above the dead flowers, but it was only in vain, unable to retain even a trace of green!

But just then, the corner of his eye saw a new green color—

Under the feet of the children who were leaving in fear.

In the withered branches and leaves, some tender buds were growing…

"Wait a minute, you…children."

The Giant King keenly sensed something, about the life of the garden, some guesses.

The clouds gently wrapped around the feet of the children who wanted to leave:

"Okay, I've changed my mind, you can be glad—I allow you to stay here, and stay with my plants.

You can live in my garden, and I won't eat you because of it."