“Kiiek! Shift change!”
“Hey, let’s change.”
“Oh, is it already?”
Heron waived at Jon who had arrived for his shift. After changing out, Heron left his position and was greeted by his captain.
“Heron! Done for today?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go to the kitchen, today’s menu is Duran meat soup.”
“Oh, that’s nice!”
When Heron reached the kitchen, many soldiers were already joining in on the dinner. Heron smiled. This was his new family. He had lost his entire family to the monsters back at Khalodian, but now he had a new family.
‘It’s time to move on.’
“Sergeant Heron!”
“Huh?”
Heron was shocked when a woman called out to him with a smile.
“M-miss Hana? How did you…”
A blonde woman with freckles came over to him as Heron became confused. Hana pointed to the kitchen.
“I work there now. Are you surprised?”
“A-at the kitchen? Here? Why? Was something wrong?”
Heron asked while in shock and Hana shook her head.
“No, no. I was asked if I had anywhere I wanted to go, and I chose this place. I was told I would be fed well and that it’s safe. And I am allowed to take any leftovers home for my brothers and sisters. Hehe. I’ll be seeing you around often.”
“Oh, I see! Uh, yeah. Uh… we’ll see each other often then…”
“Oh, and here. You’re here for the food right?”
“Huh? I-I’m not in line yet.”
Heron glanced around awkwardly but Hana smiled.
“Hehe, it’s okay. It’s my thanks for saving my life. Everyone’s okay, right? Sergeant Heron saved me and my siblings from a group of lions. This is my gratitude for saving my life.”
“Oh!”
“Then, he definitely deserves it!”
“Whoa, Heron, way to go!”
“And while you are at it, take responsibility and look after her to the end!”
“Yeah! Right!”
The soldiers all nodded and shouted teasingly. Heron immediately became red and Hana blushed before running back into the kitchen.
‘Family… huh?’
Heron smiled as he sat down and began to eat.
“Iron!”
“Whoa, like mines, but above ground!”
“This is heaven! Heaven!”
Large-bodied Magnos men gathered and mumbled. They all held iron ores in their hands, which was the most valued resource in recent days. And there was iron ore littered everywhere.
“This is crazy.”
“I heard the earthquake turned the ground upside down.”
“Wow.”
“The problem is those.”
The problem was that weird monsters were nesting around the area. They were named ostriches because of the similarities, but they were much larger as they were around seven meters tall and had beaks large enough to swallow a human whole.
“Those things are scary.”
“But these ores… these are top quality. If we get through those damn birds, we won’t ever have to worry about iron ores.”
That’s when the ground shook and the forest trembled.
“Oh, it’s coming!”
“KONG!”
A large Kong jumped out from the woods. The ostriches began to shriek and when the Kong charged in, the ostriches hid their heads in their wings.
“Huh? Do they think they are hiding?”
Then, cars with special force soldiers drove out from behind the Kong and tied those ostriches down.
“When you’re done tying them up, cover their heads with the rags.”
The large ostriches tried to move again, but it was too late as they were all tied up. And when their heads were covered, they stopped moving.
“It’s working!”
With their heads covered, they wouldn’t move anymore.
“Colonel Allen! Move those eggs carefully to the incubators!”
The soldiers quickly began moving the eggs and the middle-aged man waved at the young girl, signaling that he had heard her.
“Are those eggs controlled by tamers too?”
“Probably so. Ostriches can be good livestock. That girl is the famous tamer, Misun.”
“Oh! The friend of Kongs? I see. That’s why a Kong came.”
“Are all those kids…”
“Yeah. They are all tamers.”
“Then, will we be able to ride those birds?”
“Haha, yes. There are places we can’t go with cars, so they will be a good method of transportation.”
The miners were surprised. The soldiers who came to explain then returned to their positions.
End of Chapter
