"Shuffle to the right a bit, Hikari."
Hikari stood overlooking a grass patch.
She wore a huge cloth decorated with the RazenHeir heraldry over her shoulders.
Her full armour. Freshly polished black wyvern skin.
Hikari looked around.
The old trading town. It had been repopulated since the cult of Eon attacked.
The town's buildings were largely intact from the attack.
Only the people had changed.
Ria was running around, making sure everything was in place to receive the delegations to discuss a raid on Carla.
"Ok! That's perfect."
Ria clapped her hands together. She was in her fine business attire. A black outcoat with white collars on her neck and wrist. A long skirt covering down to her kneecaps. The RazenHeir crest on her chest. A blood ruby belt around her waist to complement her red hair.
"Now the three of you, stand to the right of her."
She instructed the three normal sized RazenHeir knights.
They stood beside the giantess's boot shoulder to shoulder.
The RazenHeir knights are taller and stronger than the average man to be selected for the role.
They were barely the height of her knee boots.
"Perfect. Now, our guests will arrive in a bit. I just need you to be statues for a bit. I know you are going to feel stiff pretty quickly so I'll try not to drag it out."
"Yes, my lady."
The tallest knight next to Hikari slams his fist on his chest so hard that It startled Ria.
The captain of the RazenHeir knights.
Second to only the Lord RazenHeir and the champion herself in martial progress.
"I will not fail you again, my lady."
He said in a solemn tone.
"Eh? Um ok sure."
Ria returns a confused look.
"My lady, the table is set."
The waiters had finished plating the table.
Ria walked around the long table and inspected the plates.
She runs her delicate fingers along the table cloth.
Not a sign of folding. The waiters had pulled it more than once.
She touches the empty plates and tableware.
They were in good condition.
The fine dining establishment had been closed since the cult of Eon attacked the town and throughout the Carla campaign. Ria had received frequently received guests and held business lunches before that.
Even with the Carla problem, the escorts of the well off could handle a few ghouls well enough for them to reopen for business.
"My lady, if I may, the chef wishes to invite you for a private meal. Our establishment can only stand thanks to your efforts."
"Oh you flatter me. Some other time then, we have important business today. Just make sure nothing is out of place."
"Yes, of course, right away."
The sound of horses on the pavement.
Groups of nobles in their fine clothes arrived.
"Ria RazenHeir is it? Hrmp. I hear you would be enrolling in the same semester as my daughter."
A woman approached Ria. Her wrinkled face. Tiny Strands of grey hair atop her head. The elaborate embroidery of the pure vain house.
"Lady pure vain."
Ria bent her knee slightly and lifted the sides of her thick dress.
The woman walked past her before she could finish.
She looked across the dining table at Hikari and scanned her from head to toe.
"Hrmp. So this is the giantess knight the RazenHeir house is planning to enroll in the academy. She caused quite the commotion at the ball."
"Yes, lady pure vain."
"She certainly has an impressive physique. I heard she had been hauling entire delivery convoys all by herself. She must have the strength of at least a dozen horses. But then again so do swamp trolls."
"Well on that point, I should add that she has a very favourable record against swamp trolls."
The lady pure vain ignores her and takes her seat.
Ria shrugs and continues welcoming the guests.
A merchant in his flashy blue outfit holding a walking stick approached Ria. His moustache had a perfect curve gelled firmly in place.
"Hello there, young lady Ria. How fares the estate. I'm sorry for the recent hardships that had befallen it. But I am glad to see you are doing well."
"You too Mr Holkinstein. The business climate has not been kind to you. But here you are."
"Ha! Well said. Now if you don't mind indulging me, did you happen to think over my son's proposal? I know he made some inexcusable comments about the capacity of your womanhood compared to your giantess knight. I have given him a good caning."
Ria maintains her well practiced smile.
"Umm well, that's not really necessary."
"Oh it certainly is. Young men nowadays. The academy keeps their gigantic ladies separate from the young boys for a reason. But, I still stand by him as a father. On account of my belief that our houses share a vast range of common interests, would you still grant him the privilege of a … dinner?"
Ria blinks twice at him in quick succession.
"Oh! Well not right now. There's quite the mess both I and him have to deal with. And we have to prepare for the academy as well."
"Ha! I didn't hear a no. I'll be sure to return to the topic at a later time."
Ria laughed along with him uncomfortably.
More guests arrived. Representatives of the various houses meet to address the Carla problem.
An old man in white robes approached Ria.
"Greetings. You must be Ria RazenHeir. Many thanks for hosting the conference. It must be hard on a frontier territory which has been at war for so long."
His voice was soft and gentle.
But his robes soon drew the attention of the other guests. Whispers soon followed.
Ria herself was startled. The insignia he wore on his robes was something she had never seen in textbooks.
Though she had been informed ahead of time that such a guest was to arrive, it did not diminish her astonishment.
"No problem. Please. Your seat has been prepared. Excuse my reaction. It's just that someone like you doesn't typically appear for such a mundane event."
The old man smiled.
"You put me to shame. I merely do the work of the goddess Silora no matter how mundane others perceive it to be. It's just that the world is too vast for me to visit every place where her work still needs to be done."
"I apologize if I offended you. If my knowledge serves, if you are here, I believe there needs to be special accommodations for-."
"(Excuse me.)"
Ria felt the air around her change.
A soothing voice surrounds her. She feels the mana piercing her skin much like the feeling when she spends time in Hikari's chambers.
Whispers and gasps from the crowd as they turned their attention to a gigantic figure standing at the gate across town.
A nun outfit. Full black with clean white sleeves and hood. A golden cross hanging on her chest.
She towers over the gatehouse. Her hips are too wide to fit through.
"Oh dear, looks like the gate is not wide enough for her."
The old man turns.
Ria got on her horse and rode to the gate. The guards stood there at a loss as to what to do about the situation.
"Oh, I forgot. The town built a gatehouse after the cult of Eon attacked. Hikari never had issues getting into town before. Speaking of which."
She turned and gave Hikari a confused look from across the town. Her ruby eyes turned very slightly to meet hers.
"Hikari! could you come here for a moment."
She shouted at the top of her voice.
The town was clear for the conference so Hikari had a clear path to walk.
As she approached the gate house, she got a good view of the anointed one.
Only little more than a head shorter than her, she towers over the common folk. Ria was no taller than the height of her knee.
Her wider lower body matches hers.
Despite the plain appearance, Hikari could tell that her outfit was specifically created to contain her power.
"Yes my lady?"
"How did you get in here? I didn't realise that a gatehouse had been built."
"I jumped?"
"Eh? You jumped? Ah I see. I was busy managing the logistics."
"You can't expect her grace to jump. That would be inappropriate. Not least because it is very difficult to do in her robes."
The Silora priest objected.
"Is there another gate we could use?"
"I'm afraid not. All of the gates had been fortified with gate houses."
The guard shakes his head.
Ria paced around on her horse thinking of a solution.
"My lady."
"Yes, any ideas?"
Hikari scratches her cheek.
"I can carry her."
Ria's eyes widened.
She glanced back to the humongous figure standing outside the gatehouse and glanced back again at Hikari.
The immensity of both their sizes made it difficult for her to judge their masses even on horseback.
"Carry her? Are- you sure?"
Hikari glances at her again.
"She's lighter than me."
Ria turns her head between Hikari and the giant nun. She was indeed noticeably less massive than Hikari at her current size.
"Ok, then. I'll leave that to you."
"Hold on-, I just realized, can she even jump over the gate house herself?"
The Silora priest said in disbelief.
"Of course, just watch."
Hikari positioned herself before the gatehouse.
It was up to just above her waist.
"Step back."
The giantess nun made some room for her to land on the other side.
The normal folk cleared the area.
Hikari bent her knees, lunged herself into the air, tucked her legs in and landed on the other side.
There was a loud thud where she landed. Her onlookers were briefly stunned by the display.
But it was otherwise without incident.
The nun was rather unperturbed.
Hikari turned around towards the gatehouse, got on one knee and leaned forward.
"Get on."
"(Thank you, brave soul)"
The nun shuffled forward towards Hikari. Her footsteps were quite brisk but gentle despite her size.
Hikari grabbed the underside of her legs as she leaned onto her back. The nun wrapped her hands around her neck.
With a heave, she stood up. The load on her back actually felt heavy.
The nun's mass was comparable to hers.
She had not had a weight to lift since she got back from the wyvern peaks.
Hikari widened her legs to give herself more stability.
"Be careful Hikari! Don't trip over the gate house!"
Ria shouted from behind the gatehouse as she and the rest of the crowd made room for them.
"She's not that heavy. I can do this."
Hikari bent her knees all the way. She was going to need all the spring she needs.
With a thrust from both legs, she launched herself into the air.
The pavement beneath her boots buckled but did not crack.
She was airborne.
When she reached the high point of her trajectory, her eyes glanced downwards.
The gatehouse was right below her.
She felt herself beginning her descent.
Her forward momentum was not as much as she thought.
The gatehouse got closer and closer.
She braced herself.
"Ivory berries and beans… "