Regaining my composure, I handed Muggle a folding knife worth about a thousand yen.
「It is cheap, so you can use it roughly and do not worry if it breaks. By the way, have you ever used a blade before, Muggle?」
Gorg said giant knives were expensive.
「Only stone blades.」
Stone blades? Like obsidian knives. I figured that meant he had almost no experience.
「This.」
Romy pulled a flat stone from her skirt pocket and showed it.
「What can cut with something like that?」
Well, anything a giant can use becomes a fearsome weapon in their hands.
「It is for cutting small things and shaving vegetable skins.」
Can giants really shave vegetable skins? For humans it would be like peeling a peanut. Just imagining it makes my head hurt.
「I think it must be hard for giants to cook.」
There probably are no giant-sized vegetables. That means they cook human-sized produce. The amount needed to fill their bellies must be enormous.
「We get help from humans. Because giants live here, monsters that come are mostly goblins. No really dangerous monsters come near, so people can grow a lot of crops. Enough that we do not go hungry.」
I see. They coexist, then. Giants and humans have built a good relationship here.
「Humans do the prep work, and we repay them with heavy work and farm labor.」
「So, a stone blade is enough.」
「Well, yes. But if we had knives and such, there are other things we could do too.」
Any tool a giant can hold costs a fortune. A housewife could not buy one.
「If Gorg becomes a contractor, he will be able to buy them.」
「That is true. My husband has to work hard.」
He was a husband ruled by his wife’s hand. Still, a good marriage. I wouldn’t know, being single.
「Muggle, for now try whittling a branch.」
「Okay.」
At six years old he should manage that. Yet Muggle handled the knife far better than I expected. A prodigy?
「As expected from Gorg’s son.」
「He learned by watching his father.」
With this he could probably make the base for a slingshot.
I found a Y-shaped branch and showed him how. He shaved it down smoothly and finished quickly.
「Not that difficult, but his dexterity at six is unreal. He might do well as a craftsman.」
「I’m proud of my son, he is skilled.」
「I want to become an adventurer.」
Right, that was his dream. Becoming what you want to be is Muggle’s happiness.
There is no rubber in this world yet, so I bought some via tablet. Fastened it with cable ties and the slingshot was complete.
「This is a slingshot. You use this stretchy rubber to launch small stones. If a giant uses it, it should kill a goblin.」
It might even turn one to mince.
First, I demonstrated.
The target was a 500 milliliter PET bottle. Distance about ten meters. The projectile was a small stone. I aimed and released.
At an invisible speed the stone flew and punched a hole in the bottle.
Yes! After twenty years, my arm is not that rusty. I could probably hit it from twenty meters.
「Takato is amazing!」
It looks like Muggle’s boyish spirit was lit.
「Instead of a stone you can shape clay into a ball and bake it, or use iron shot. Change the projectile depending on the prey.」
Well, slingshot ammo is cheap enough to buy, but first I’ll teach him the wisdom of sourcing it locally.
「Oh, you’re at it. How’s Muggle doing?」
Gorg and the others returned for the ten o’clock break.
「Yeah. Your son has talent. He’s skilled with a knife and quite good with a slingshot too.」
「Slingshot?」
I showed them Muggle’s and demonstrated myself.
「Whoa, that’s amazing! So fun!」
The older boys’ spirits were ignited as well, and they got carried away with the slingshot, ignoring the break.
「Really, they’ll always be kids.」
Don’t say that, Romy-san. It’s proof of boyhood.
「The frame is easy to make, but what’s this stretchy part? Some animal’s intestine?」
「It’s made by mixing sulfur into the sap of a tree from the tropics. I prepared it.」
That’s about the extent of my knowledge. Sorry.
「So, I could buy some too?」
「Ah. I think killing one goblin would earn enough for twenty.」
If it’s just the rubber, that’s quite a lot (length-wise, probably).
「I’ll use some after work.」
But first, take a proper break and dig the traps. Everything comes after goblin hunting.
Romy helped too, and I kicked the boys’ butts into gear.
「Muggle. Practice nonstop until lunch.」
「Okay, got it!」
I couldn’t let a beginner outdo me, so I practiced the slingshot as well, regaining my old feel for it.
「It’s almost noon.」
Oh, already noon. I’d gotten too absorbed in childish focus.
「Alright, Muggle. After lunch, gather stones and make targets. I’ll go check on Gorg and the others.」
「Okay, got it!」
Good to see that enthusiasm.
With that, I parted from Muggle and the others and returned to the house, heading back to the Sefuti Home.
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