Panic

"Hahaha. That's impossible, Pipi. If Jotuns are kind, why are they kidnapping my citizens for? Don't be easily fooled by the monster, Pipi. I'm sure he has another intention behind this," Gilda explained.

"Pipi, I don't know that rodents like you like fresh fish to eat. Don't you just like nuts?" asked Gilda to Pipi, who was eating.

"Since there is no food that I can find around here, I am forced to just eat this fish, Princess. After all, the taste of fresh fish is not too bad for me. It's just that maybe if it is baked like yours, it will be more delicious. From the fragrance alone, Princess's grilled fish is already very appetizing. "

"You want to try my grilled fish? This, try it... after all, it's not baked, it's just a normal grill. The fire I made was not too big. You know it was my mother who taught me to make a fire in the midst of an emergency situation like this," Gilda said as she thrust out one fish.

"Ah, no Princess. I'm already full of my portion just now, Princess. At the very least, I'm interested in tasting it just a little bit, is it ok?"

"Of course."

Meanwhile, Arthur, who was also in a satire, was enjoying the view above the cave. He does not know where he is now. While escaping from the Dark Forest, he ran far away without paying attention to the surroundings. All he had in mind was running as far as he could from pursuing his family was about to look for him.

"I don't know how long I've been going on like this. a big creature like me wouldn't possibly be able to hide for too long," Arthur muttered, pouring out his heart.

He saw a beautiful scene around him from the top of the cave. Although he felt unfamiliar with these forests and caves, he was comfortable alone enough to calm his mind. In addition to the problems, he's stressed about Gilda's presence. However, that was his decision to bring the girl along with him. On the other hand, he also thought that if only he had left Gilda in the forest yesterday, it could have been that girl was in danger.

"If Gilda had left and taken by my family to Howa's cave, it could have been that the girl would have told my whereabouts to Dad. Plus, this is a good opportunity for me to take revenge on the pretentious girl," Arthur said with a monologue.

When enjoying the beautiful natural scenery, Arthur suddenly smelled something fragrant. But, as fragrant as it thrust past his big nose, it made him, who was full, become hungry again. So he also sniffed slowly, looking for the source of the fragrance. Finally, he followed his new direction and realized that the scent came from inside the cave.

"What exactly did that girl do?" asked Arthur, curious.

Arthur settled slowly into the cave to ascertain the state of affairs. He had already seen Gilda eating the fish she gave to someone from a distance.

"Who does it talk to?" hissed Arthur in the monologue. He also sharpened his gaze and realized that someone with Gilda was Pipi, the rabbit. The two of them looked cool talking to each other. So cool, they were utterly unaware of Arthur's presence approaching them. A chuckle could be seen from Gilda's lips that Arthur had never seen before. During the action, Arthur only saw Gilda's ambition without a smile on her face at this time.

"Wow, it seems... you guys are enjoying the fish from me, huh?"

Arthur's echoing voice surprised both Gilda and Pipi. So shocked, Pipi couldn't escape by silently sculpting, looking straight at Arthur with his eyes open.

"P-Princess..." she said tremblingly.

"Relax, Pipi. You have nothing to fear, I'm here. He just wants to scare us," Gilda whispered to Pipi.

Gilda stood firm and walked up to Arthur slowly. She tried to take the courage to face the monster without fear. But instead, he put on a sharp gaze without the slightest smile.

"You brought me here, and you are the one who should be responsible for our needs. Including food. So, is it natural that I eat what is rightfully me?" concluded Gilda firmly.

"You're right. It is indeed my responsibility. But, please say thank you, or don't reject what I had for you. That's right. Hey, you! You're the rabbit who ran away yesterday when you saw me, right? Take it easy, I won't eat you. From the beginning, I knew you were following me, you don't have to hide anymore. Please accompany her," Arthur said to Gilda, then continued to talk to Pipi.

"Y-yes, Mr. Jotun," Pipi replied with a still trembling body.

Spontaneously, Gilda turns to Pipi when she hears animals using the call 'Master' on Arthur. Seeing Gilda's dislike, Arthur squealed unconcerned. He approached Gilda again with some purpose.

"I smelled the scent of grilled fish that seemed to be very delicious. Was that you who made it?" asked Arthur Gilda.

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you make it for me?" asked Ivar.

Although she was amazed by Arthur's unexpected request, Gilda insisted on rejecting Arthur's request.

"Who do you think you are?!" Gilda replied with a wry smile.

"No, I'm nobody. I'm just asking for help. Is that wrong? All I know is that you're a good leader in your village. Your people say you're a good woman who always helps others."

Arthur deliberately said this so that Gilda would help him. Unfortunately, his tactics this time were enough to get Gilda stuck with the situation and make her go awry. Her spirit of sincerity is increasingly rebelling because she wants to help. However, on the other hand, she was also distraught with Arthur's seemingly arbitrary attitude towards him.

"How about it?" asked Arthur confirming again. Gilda racked her brains to be no less intelligent than the Jotun monster. But then, she thought about how she could seize this good opportunity.

"I can make as much grilled fish as I want. But, all of that is not free, aka there are conditions," said Gilda.

Arthur laughed. He sighed deeply and gave Gilda a faint smile.

"What is it? Chances are, I know what you want. But, let's hear what you want first," Arthur said with confidence.

"First, show me the way out of here, and I don't think we've ever met. I wouldn't tell my father or the villagers if I met you. Second, let me bring Ramy. Third, please stay away from our village. I promise I'll give a lot of grilled fish to you and the other Jotuns nicely. Just so, we don't interfere with each other anymore," Gilda said. All his wishes seemed to be neatly summarized.

"You're kidding me? Did I hear it wrong?" asked Arthur, raising his eyebrows incredulous at what Gilda had just said.

"You heard it all," Gilda replied in a flat tone.

Arthur walked around the cave as he spread his gaze around. While strolling, he sighed slowly as if he wanted to express something.

"What do you think I am? I ask for grilled fish, and you ask for everything that has nothing to do with my request. I'm not a kid you can trick with grilled fish, you understand?!" concluded Arthur. Arthur stuck his sentences with great emphasis.

"Why do you have to protest? You have robbed us of the happiness of our village, and now you're asking for something else? Don't you know shame?" quipped Gilda, exasperated.

Seeing the debate, Pipi slowly walked back, unwilling to interfere. As time passed, the conversation between the two felt more heated. Pipi is still on guard to keep Gilda from something like Arthur's rampage.

"Gilda, listen to my remarks carefully. I tell you, I can already guess what your requests are. I could have done everything, but it wasn't as easy as you think. First, I'll be honest if you ask to be shown a way out. Do you think I feel at home in this kind of cold cave? Plus, there are a lot of forest bugs around here. I have been asking you out of here just now if I know. Second, who do you mean, Ramy? I didn't know him. Third, it's the hardest thing we can do because it's our family tradition," Arthur explained.

"Tsk! I've guessed you won't be able to fulfill my requirements. You, cunning monster!"

"Let's put it this way, how about we find a way out together? Who knows, you know this area of the forest. When I was chased by. When I escaped from the Dark forest, I ran perfunctorily no matter the direction of the destination. Until soon I found this cave on a cliff, I climbed up carrying your heavy body. Supposedly, you thanked me for saving you!"

Gilda sighed heavily. She didn't seem to find a solution to the problems she was currently experiencing. She resisted crying at the despair she felt again as hard as she could.

"Well, it seems that all this is useless. In that case, take me up there so I can look around," Gilda said. She was tired enough of all this, but now, it was not Ramy who was her motivation to go home. Still, her father, Emmett. Thought about how her father was doing in the village without her presence. Moreover, the illness her father suffered more and more made Gilda even more worried. So, Gilda tries to keep her ego until she finds her way home.

"Ok!" invited Arthur as he thrust his hand. Gilda just silently looked confused at Arthur.

"I can walk alone," Gilda said again.

"Then, how about you fall into the abyss? I must climb up because the cave's terrain is quite extreme, how about you? If you can walk alone, that's fine."

Gilda also walked first, looking at the cliff's end at the cave's mouth. As we know, she already knew about the situation in the cave, but she tried to make sure once again and hoped that she could still walk on her own without Arthur's help.

"How about it, you can? If you can, please come forward first. I'll catch up," Arthur ordered. The jotun also knew that Gilda could not climb the cliff.

"No need to say much. Help me up!" asked Gilda without looking at Arthur's face out of prestige.

Again the stubborn girl's behavior made Arthur giggle. So Arthur now has a new nickname for Gilda, the determined girl.

"What about you, Pipi? You're going to come along?"

"Yes, sir. I don't want to be alone here." Pipi said as she walked up to Arthur. The rodent jumped softly onto Arthur's shoulder despite being timid.

"Hmm... Pipi, you remind me of someone. He is a good friend of mine."

Gilda seems even more annoyed to see Pipi and Arthur getting close. She still doesn't understand why Pipi is so friendly to Arthur, a friend of someone who kidnapped her mother. However, she can only keep that annoyance to herself because Pipi is also a magnificent animal to him. After all, only Pipi accompanied him to this point.

"Can we go now? Don't waste time chatting with unimportant things!" interrupted Gilda.

Before long, Arthur bowed his body for Gilda to climb onto Arthur's back. Then, he ordered Gilda to hold Arthur's body tightly so she would not lose her balance. Although it looks pretty awkward, Gilda is forced to do so because the cliff to be climbed later is high enough with a deep abyss below it to be the size of a human.

"Gilda, Pipi, hold on tight. Because I will climb the cliffs of this cave quickly," Arthur ordered.

"Ok, sir. I'm ready," Pipi replied excitedly.

"What about you? Are you ready?" asked Arthur to make sure.

"Yes. I told you, don't talk much more."

"Alright if that's what you want."

Feeling challenged by Gilda's words, Arthur climbed the cliff on the side of the cave quickly and without hesitation. He exerted all his energy to get to the top of the shelter quickly. So soon as Arthur climbed up, there was a panic in Gilda. The alarm mounted as she looked down the chasm that might have left her dead if only she had fallen into it.

"Aaaarghh!" Gilda screamed in panic.