"That's the palace up ahead. I can only take you this far."
Aira put Qi Yan down.
"Thank you. If I had walked by myself, it would have taken me several hours to get here."
Aira had walked for half an hour, but for Qi Yan, it would have been at least ten times that, not even counting the time wasted dodging the Giants.
Aira smiled, "You're welcome. I'm happy to talk to a human Mage and learn about the outside world. We'll be going now."
"Goodbye, Big Brother Qi Yan!" Buli waved at Qi Yan.
Qi Yan smiled and waved back. This was a small interlude in Qi Yan's life. Perhaps he would never see these people again, but the experience was a beautiful one.
After seeing the two of them off, Qi Yan turned and walked towards the Giant King's Palace.
"Stop!"
"Who are you?!"
The guards in front of the palace stopped Qi Yan. Humans were relatively rare in the Giant Kingdom, but not unheard of; there were still some human villages there.
"I am a Mage from Fairy Tail. I'm here on a Quest."
"A Quest?"
"Is it that Quest?!"
Their Giant Kingdom could usually solve all its own problems. Recently, it seemed they had only issued one Quest externally.
"Please enter!"
The two Giant guards immediately stepped aside.
"Uh... don't you need to check me?"
It was a palace after all; he had been prepared.
One guard chuckled, "Heh heh... no need. Besides, checking a human's things is somewhat difficult for us."
Qi Yan looked at his backpack, then at the hand that was even larger than himself. Indeed, checking it would be difficult.
The other guard said, "Let's go. I'll take you to see His Majesty, the King."
The guard took large strides towards the palace, and Qi Yan quickly followed. Fortunately, his physical fitness was excellent now, allowing him to easily keep up with the guard.
A short while later, Qi Yan arrived outside the main hall of the palace.
"Your Majesty! The Mage from Fairy Tail has arrived!!"
Soon, a loud voice came from inside: "Oh? The Mage from Fairy Tail has arrived? Please, come in quickly!!"
"Mage-sir, please come in."
"Thank you!"
Qi Yan nodded to the guard, then leaped forcefully, clearing the two-meter-high threshold.
He realized he was like a tiny mouse here; it was truly inconvenient. But he hadn't known until he saw it, the Giant Kingdom was truly amazing.
He had seen Giants in the Fairy Tail anime, but that was just a Giant village. This was a Giant Kingdom.
If scaled down proportionally, this Kingdom was about twice the size of Magnolia.
A country twice the size of Magnolia—what a small country—but undoubtedly, this was absolutely the strongest nation in this world.
These completely different experiences were one of the reasons Qi Yan liked to take S-Class Quests. He now somewhat understood why Gildarts loved to travel so much.
The path to the audience, which wasn't far for a Giant, took Qi Yan several minutes even at an accelerated pace. The main hall of this palace was almost as long as an airport.
Qi Yan also met the King of the Giant Kingdom. Unlike the elderly kings he had seen before, the King of the Giant Kingdom appeared very young, looking around thirty years old.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, the Giant King! I am Qi Yan, a Mage from Fairy Tail. I have come this time to fulfill the Quest Your Majesty issued."
The King smiled as he looked at Qi Yan and said, "Hmm... Is that boy Makarov doing well?"
Qi Yan was startled: "Your Majesty knows our Guild Master?"
"Oh? That boy is the Guild Master now? Hmm, that makes sense. Humans have shorter lifespans, so he should have been Guild Master for a while now."
"Makarov and I are old friends. I met him when I was still the Prince of the Giant Kingdom. He was about your age then. Now, sixty-plus years have passed, and he must be an old man, hahahaha."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yan immediately understood why the old man had been so surprised when he received the Quest. It turned out the old man and the King were friends.
"Those times were truly nostalgic! I bet Makarov never told you that I threw him down dozens of times and kicked his butt. That guy wasn't big, but he was always trying to get Lina's attention. In the end, Lina still married me, hahahaha!!"
Qi Yan's mouth twitched, and he inwardly complained. Being thrown down and kicked in the butt was one thing, but such a short, small old man, not big in stature, but with a huge lustful heart, actually dared to try to get a female Giant's attention. Did he think he was Jabba?
Uh... actually, it might not be impossible. After all, the old man's magic was Giant Magic, so trying to get a female Giant's attention didn't seem like too big of a problem.
But that was a female Giant!
"What's so funny, Your Majesty?!"
At this moment, a gentle-looking female Giant walked out.
The Giant King pointed at Qi Yan and laughed, "Heh heh, Lina, you've come at just the right time. This little fellow is a member of that boy Makarov's guild."
The female Giant named Lina only then noticed the tiny Qi Yan in the great hall.
"Oh?! You're a member of Little Brother Makarov's guild? How is Little Brother Makarov doing now? Is he doing well?" Lina's face immediately showed a joyful expression upon hearing the Giant King's words. She squatted down and looked at Qi Yan, asking.
"The Guild Master is doing very well. He's just getting on in years, and his physical condition has declined a bit, but overall, he's quite good. He eats, drinks, and plays every day; he's very carefree."
"Is that so! He sounds pretty good. That puts my mind at ease."
"Your Majesty, let's talk about the Quest."
"Hmm... yes, let's. So, young man, what do you think of the strength of our Giant Kingdom?"
"Very strong! Extremely strong! Even looking across the entire continent of Ishgar, it is the strongest nation."
Qi Yan said with a serious expression. Any random Giant here, if pulled into the One Piece world, would be comparable to a Marine Vice Admiral. This country has at least tens of thousands of Giant inhabitants.
Even he, if he didn't flee and fought head-on, would be exhausted after defeating dozens or even a hundred Giants.
If a country like this isn't strong, what kind of country is?
"Heh heh! You flatter us. I know the overlords of this continent are still humans, especially the Magic Council's Etherion. One strike could pretty much destroy my country."
Qi Yan shook his head: "That is the Magic Council's ultimate weapon; it won't be easily used."
The Giant King shook his head: "Not easily used doesn't mean it won't be used."
"However, I'm not talking about that. What I'm saying is, actually, next to us, there's another country with similar strength to ours: the Troll Kingdom."