"Eh?" Milim had only just finished a glass of juice when she found that El had already prepared everything and was now standing before her.
Milim's lips twitched. "El, you really are something else!"
El was all smiles. "Thank you for the compliment, Big Sis. We should head to Karakuri Island as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected trouble along the way."
"Alright, the Demon King, set sail!" Milim tossed aside her juice, leaped onto the deck of the Demon King, and pointed forward spiritedly. "This mission shall be named: Saving the Big Soldier."
At Milim's command, the Demon King set sail in the direction of Karakuri Island.
After a few days, the Demon King had not reached Karakuri Island. Instead, it had returned to the vicinity of the House of the Lamb because Milim, while on the ship, suddenly remembered a promise she had made to a bald giant uncle.
She had promised to bring him to Totto Land to become the chief blacksmith after its founding. But because Totto Land had been in a period of rapid development, Milim had forgotten all about it.
It wasn't until she was bored on this latest voyage that she suddenly recalled her promise, so she made a special trip back to the House of the Lamb to pick up the bald uncle.
Humming a little tune, Milim happily walked towards the giant uncle's workshop from her memory. El, needing to restock on food, had gone to the Giant Village alone and was not with Milim.
Soon, Milim arrived at a familiar room. With a practiced kick, she sent the door flying and walked inside.
"Hmm?" Milim scanned the room in confusion. The furnace was still lit, which clearly meant someone was around, but the giant uncle was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Milim noticed a movement beneath her feet and quickly jumped off the door.
The bald giant uncle, with a grim expression, pushed the door open from underneath. He was about to yell a few curses, but when he looked up, he saw it was Milim.
The swear words on the tip of his tongue were slowly swallowed back. "Milim, it seems I have to fix my door every time I see you."
The giant uncle shook his head and sighed, then lifted the door back up, set it aside, and returned to his seat, looking at Milim.
"What are you back for this time?"
"Uncle, don't you know Totto Land has already been established?" Milim frowned in confusion.
"So you do remember. When I saw Totto Land was founded, I waited by the sea for a whole week. I didn't see a single soul back then," the giant uncle said, giving Milim a sidelong glance.
"Hahahaha!" Milim let out an awkward laugh. "There was a traffic jam at sea, wasn't there? It's understandable to be a little late, right?"
"Heh! A traffic jam at sea. Only a little girl like you could come up with that." The giant uncle was amused by her words. He wasn't actually blaming Milim; after all these years, he knew her personality very well.
There was only one reason Milim hadn't come to get him right away: the little girl had simply forgotten all about it.
She was only here now because she had suddenly remembered.
"Since you waited for us, Uncle, you must have decided to come with us, right?" Milim patted the giant uncle's calf, overjoyed.
The giant uncle snorted haughtily. "We giants are people of our word. Since Totto Land has been established, I will naturally honor my promise."
"Then let's go!" Milim grabbed the giant uncle's clothes and started pulling him outside.
"Wait a minute!" the giant uncle quickly stopped her. "What's the rush? I haven't packed my tools yet."
"Well, hurry up then. I'm going to the village to find El. We'll meet at the seashore later." Milim waved and turned to run towards the village.
"As energetic as ever, that little girl Milim." He then quickly packed all the things he needed to bring.
He walked out of the room, took one last look at the house he had lived in for half his life, gritted his teeth, and tossed a lit match. The whole house was instantly engulfed in flames.
The giant uncle stood stiffly, watching it all until he finally let out a long sigh. "Looks like I'll be busy from now on."
...
"Totto Land, a country that can accommodate all races? Is that for real?"
"Milim, you guys actually built a country." One tall giant after another surrounded the short, pink-haired girl, talking nonstop.
Milim stood with her hands on her hips, speaking proudly, "Would I lie to you? Lord Milim has established a great nation, and its population is already close to twenty or thirty thousand!"
"That's incredible! I can't believe a little girl like you actually did it, Milim." A giant with an axe on his shoulder reached out a finger to pat Milim's head.
Milim immediately slapped his finger away. "Hey, you jerk, don't touch my head! It'll stunt my growth."
The giant wasn't angry, just chuckled. "Milim, you were never going to grow any taller anyway."
"Jerk!" Milim leaped up and threw several punches at the giant's face until it was black and blue, then she stopped.
"Hahaha! Vino, that's what you get for making Milim angry. How many times have you been beaten up, and you still haven't learned your lesson," another giant nearby mocked, pointing at the bruised giant.
"Geez, Milim still hits so hard." The giant got up from the ground, rubbing his cheeks. The swollen parts of his face quickly returned to normal.
This was a unique technique called Life Return, which allowed for perfect control over all the body's cells to achieve rapid healing.
Just then, a brilliant idea flashed through Milim's clever little head. Her eyes lit up, and she ran to the highest point in the center of the Giant Village, a platform!
She immediately shouted excitedly, "Everyone, do you want to join Totto Land? We can build a grand Giant Royal Palace together!"
As soon as she said this, the noisy giants all fell silent.
One of them, who seemed to be a leader, spoke up, "Milim, stop joking. How could we possibly leave our home?"
"Hey, you're the one who's joking. Is home really something so restrictive?"
"Home is wherever your family is. Instead of living the same day over and over here, why not come with me and build a nation that belongs to us?" Milim's voice was no softer than the giant village leader's.
"We are giants. Our Giant King is Harald. We will not betray him to join another country," the giant leader said, still resolute.
Milim took a deep breath, her voice growing even louder. "That doesn't matter at all! I never asked you to betray your king!"
"I just feel that if you're not in Totto Land, my dream can never be realized. After all, you're already the family I've acknowledged."
Every giant was stunned by these words, their eyes wide with shock.