Ripley was only joking.
As far as she was concerned, how could Magnus possibly still train like them at his age?
Who would have thought that Magnus would actually jump down from her?
"Isn't it just training?"
Magnus gritted his teeth and flashed Ripley and Rocks a smile.
"Since the crew is working out, as the captain, I have to lead by example!"
Thus, Ripley and Rocks watched Magnus strip off his clothes, bare his upper body, and hoist up a boulder several times larger than himself.
Magnus's lean body was covered in scars. His muscles did not look particularly bulky, yet they were surprisingly firm. When tensed, they looked like a sculpture.
Even Magnus himself was a little surprised. When had his body become this good?
He had even had a beer belly a month ago!
Yet now, aside from looking somewhat old, Magnus's physical condition was no worse than that of a young man.
Even Rocks, standing nearby, compared their physiques and discovered that he actually had less muscle than Magnus.
How could he stand for that?
Weight training—I'm doing it too!
Seeing Rocks pick up a boulder from the side as well, Magnus could not help laughing.
"Puhahaha! Kid, know your limits before you start. Carrying a boulder that big, don't end up unable to walk at all."
"Shut up!"
Magnus did not stop Rocks as he flushed red and tried to jog with the boulder on his back.
Those who ignored an elder's advice would suffer for it soon enough.
Carrying their respective loads, the three of them bickered as they slowly yet steadily made their way toward the giants' village.
The giants' village.
"What? That bastard Magnus is here again?!"
An elderly giant whose beard dragged across the ground like a waterfall let out an earth-shaking roar. "This time, I'll definitely slaughter that brat! He actually dared to deceive my great-great-granddaughter!"
"Bokakaka, forget it. You're no match for him now. We need Dorry and Brogy to handle this. After all, we're old."
Another equally aged giant standing beside him laughed.
"Besides, Ripley didn't run away, did she?"
"Hmph! Ripley is going to join our Giant Soldier Pirates. When Dorry and Brogy return, I'll have them take Ripley out on an adventure!"
The Giant race and Magnus's White Wolf Pirates could be said to have become acquainted through a fight. Ten years ago, when the White Wolf Pirates first landed on Elbaf, they fought giants from several villages.
In the end, it was King Harald who stepped in and put a stop to the conflict.
The Giant race was strong.
But not every giant was strong.
At least, with the Giant Soldier Pirates' two strongest warriors, Dorry and Brogy, absent—
the only one in the entire Giant race who could be considered strong was King Harald.
Although King Harald was powerful, he did not like war. Compared to conquest, he preferred peaceful relations with other nations.
Therefore, after learning that the White Wolf Pirates were not an evil pirate crew invading Elbaf, he chose to reconcile with them and received the White Wolf Pirates as guests.
The Giant race happened to revere the strong.
Naturally, they held Magnus, who could fight King Harald to a draw, in high regard.
The Giant Soldier Pirates' two captains, Dorry and Brogy, had been missing for thirty years. To the younger generation of giants, the two captains were legends who existed only in stories.
But Magnus was a living, breathing Great Pirate.
As a result, the White Wolf Pirates became extremely popular with the children.
This enraged quite a few giants who had once served in the Giant Soldier Pirates.
They could not wait for the White Wolf Pirates to get the hell out.
"What is Magnus here for this time? He only left not long ago, right?" asked the old giant with a beard as thick as a blanket.
He had been the one speaking up for Magnus just now.
"Lord Yaruru, it's already been ten years."
A giant beside him explained, "For little people outside, ten years is a very long time. Besides, Captain Magnus is not young anymore. Maybe he plans to retire here in Elbaf. Isn't he acquainted with Sister Carmelo too?"
"Wasn't it only ten years? Right, how long have Dorry and Brogy been gone? Why aren't they back yet?"
The waterfall-bearded giant snorted and spoke with dissatisfaction.
Their king did not enjoy fighting, and with Dorry and Brogy absent, there was no one in Elbaf who could defeat Magnus.
"If I were a hundred years younger!"
The old giant vigorously swung his longsword, only to hear a crack.
"M-my back!"
"Bokakaka! Yoruru, I told you not to make sudden moves at your age. When Ripley gets back, she'll complain again."
Yaruru laughed heartily.
He was not actually worried about Magnus's arrival. Magnus was a strong man they acknowledged, and while the Giant race was isolated, they were not completely ignorant of the outside world. If the White Wolf Pirates were truly a vicious pirate crew, they could never have received such hospitality.
"Everyone, make proper preparations and welcome our old friend!"
"By the way, Ripley went to the Underworld, right?"
Thinking of something, Yaruru asked. The Giant race had a special Den Den Mushi connecting the world of the living and the Underworld. The reason they knew of Magnus's arrival was because Mado had sent word.
"Seems so. Mado said Ripley would return with Captain Magnus and the others."
"What?!"
Yoruru, who was being supported by two giants as he walked back into the house, immediately widened his eyes upon hearing that giant's words.
"Magnus, I'm going to kill that bastard!"
Another round of chaos erupted in the giants' village.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the village—
a house much smaller than the towering buildings around it stood there.
An elderly woman in a black nun's habit smoked a lady's cigarette, feeling her eyelids twitch incessantly.
"Damn it, I have a bad feeling about this!"
The old nun paced back and forth inside the room. Before she could figure it out, she heard a child scream outside.
"Mother, save me!"
A little giant girl was being chased by another equally large little girl, while several children of ordinary human size stood nearby.
"Linlin is going to kill me!"
Hearing the little giant girl's cry, the old nun had no choice but to abandon her thoughts and step outside. "Linlin, stop making trouble. We need to get dinner ready!"
"Dinner?"
At the old nun's words, the chubby little girl in a pink dress behind her lit up and hurriedly ran over.
"What are we having today? Is there cake?"
"No cake today, but your Uncle Kashii went hunting and gave us quite a lot of meat. We can have carrot stew today."
"Yay!"
The children nearby immediately erupted in cheers, and the old nun's face showed a kindly smile as she watched them.
However, just as the old nun was about to prepare dinner for the children—
a voice suddenly rang out from not far away.
"Puhaha! Carmel, you're still the same as ever. But compared to ten years ago, you've gotten older too. You've completely turned into an old lady now, haha!"
That voice?
Though they had not met in a long time, the moment she heard it, Carmel felt her blood pressure shoot through the roof.
"Magnus? Why hasn't the Navy caught you, you bastard, and locked you up in the great prison?"
"Haha, the Navy can't catch me!"
Magnus casually tossed down the boulder on his back. He grinned, his expression half-smiling.
"After all this time, you haven't done anything that would disappoint me, have you?"
"Mother!"
Before you continue