Two days have passed, and a decent-sized group waited near the edge of the North Gaian forest. The guild master, Violet, Annabelle, and the three children, Gona, Ellen, the three other survivors of the giant attack, Lindy, and Gerald, all awaited Melody’s arrival.

“It’s noon, wasn’t she supposed to arrive by now?” One of the survivors asked.

“Don’t worry. She’ll come.” Gona said confidently.

Gerald looked up into the sky to confirm the time, and he noticed a colorful red bird flying high above.

“Ellen, do you know what that is?” He asked her.

The elf looked toward the sky where the bird was circling above them. “Hmm, it looks to be a… Blood Falcon?” She replied questioningly.

“What do you mean, Miss Ellen?” Mina asked.

“Oh, well, it seems a little big to be a Blood Falcon, but it has all the traits. Mmm… The beak also looks different.” Ellen replied to the young girl.

“Is it dangerous?” Lucas asked.

“No. Blood Falcons are just scavengers. They search for corpses to drink their blood. They are not strong, so they won’t attack anything bigger than itself.” Ellen assured the young man.

Violet watched the bird continue to circle them. She then got a mischievous smile on her face.

“Father.” She called to the guild master, getting his attention.

“Want to do a wager?” She asked him.

He smiled. “On what?”

“I wager my whole, premium snack collection that that bird is an evolved form of a Blood Falcon.” She said, pointing up.

He looked up at the circling bird once more.

“And if I lose?” He asked.

“Ten gold coins.”

“Ten gold?! What will you do with that?!” He asked in exasperation.

“I want to get new gear and finally get that short staff I have wanted.” She replied coolly.

He pursed his lips, weighing his options. “Alright, fine. I’ll take on your wager. But if you lose, you will do three months of etiquette training as well.” He added, which she accepted.

Annabelle leaned in, whispering to Violet. “Are you sure? I know how much you hate that training.”

“It is fine. I am very confident that bird is related to Melody.” Annabelle was still confused by her friend’s response, and Ellen called them to attention.

“Everyone! Something is approaching!”

“Is it Melody?!” Lala asked excitedly.

“Multiple, one being a large beast.”

The group tensed up until they heard the beast cry out. “RrroooOOOOOO!”

“What? Was that a Wooly Bison?” Gona asked.

“That was definitely one. I probably know its name.” Violet stepped forward.

“Aroo!” She shouted into the forest, getting a response.

“Roooooooo!”

“A Wooly Bison named Aroo?” The guild master asked.

“Aroo is not just a regular Wooly Bison. She’s a Mammoth Wooly Bison.” Violet commented.

“A Mammoth type? Those are not rare, but they are uncommon.” Gerald added, relaxing his stance.

The guild master then slightly narrowed his eyes, something began nagging the back of his mind, but he was unsure what it was about.

A minute later, a large head of Aroo broke through the forest edge and stepped out into the open field area.

“Rooooo.” Aroo came to a stop.

Atop the head of Aroo sat a winged child.

“Is that a pixie?!” Annabelle asked.

“Hello Maple!” Violet called out.

“Hmph, I am not a pixie. I am a fairy!” She hollered.

“What?! I thought fairies were a myth!” Ellen commented.

The nagging feeling in the guild master’s mind became worse.

It was then that Melody stepped out from the forest, a beautiful wooden bow in her hand and an exquisitely designed, giant green hatchet at her waist. Melody had black fur armor covering much of her body except her joints. Her tan skin could be seen, but her eyes were hidden by the Liger hood.

“Miss Melody, I am-.” The guild master began but was immediately cut off.

“MELODY!” Annabelle and the three children rushed forward. Melody smiled and kneeled down to receive them.

“Melody! I am so sorry! I’m sorry!” Annabelle continued to repeat herself.

“It is alright, Annabelle. I never blamed you for what happened, and I never will. I am happy to see you three are alright, Lucas, Mina, and Lala.” Melody responded kindly.

“You remember all of us!?” They asked.

“Of course I do. Why would I forget my friends?” The four teared up and began to cry into her large lap.

Once they calmed down enough, the guild master cleared his throat and stepped forward to speak, only being cut off by Gona and the other survivors.

“Miss Melody!” The guild master slouched his shoulders in frustration. Gerald placed a sympathetic but amused hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Oh, you are the dwarf.” Melody commented.

“Ah, ye remember me huh? Name’s Gona. Thanks to you, we five survived.” He said, but it caused Melody’s expression to sadden.

“I wish that whole situation never came to be. It was wrong.” She lamented.

“Lass, it was not your fault! Obviously, it was obvious that it was the big one who gave the orders! You didn’t even harm a single human.” He responded.

“I killed a horse, though… I still feel bad about that.” She said, trying to hold onto her guilt.

“Ye did what ye needed to, to survive. It was obvious how abusive the male giants were! Don’t blame yerself for any of that. I owe ya a life debt, Melody. If you ever need help, ye can always call on me.” Gona finished, pounding his chest resolutely.

“You can count on all of us here, Melody. We all owe you.” Ellen added.

The three other survivors chimed in that they would do anything to help her.

“Thank you,” Melody replied with a wry smile.

Before the guild master could speak, Violet stepped forward.

“Miss Melody, thank you for coming. We all truly appreciate it.”

“No, thank you, Miss Violet. I am glad I came.”

“I don’t see Pappy or the cute gnome with the blue cap,” Violet commented.

“Oh, they stayed back at home. It is just the four of us.” She replied.

“Four? I only see three.” Ellen commented.

Gnomes?! The guild master thought. The nagging feeling became a clearing picture as he realized what Violet was getting at.

“The fourth is up there.” She pointed up at the red bird in the sky.

“You didn’t get to meet him the other day. That is Fenny.” Melody looked up toward the bird briefly.

The bird then circled once more before coming down and landing atop Aroo. The bird was as Ellen had described. It was nearly double the size of a Blood Falcon. Its beak was not straight and needle-like, as it was now shorter and curved. Most of its feathers were blood red, but the tips of its wings, tail feathers, and the long, plume-like feathers from its head had various blue, bright red, or orange colors.

“Wow, he’s beautiful!” Lala and Mina commented.

“Melody, what type of bird is this?” Ellen asked.

“Fenny is an evolved form of a Blood Falcon, known as a Blood Phoenix.” The guild master’s heart sank at Melody’s words, knowing his daughter had played him a fool.

I guess I should have expected her to be clever like her mother…

“I think you should be good now, Arthur,” Gerald commented.

“Right.” The guild master stepped forward, Melody looking down at him intently.

“Miss Melody. My name is Arthur Cambel. I am the guild master of the Hallfen Adventurer’s guild. I first want to thank you for four years ago, when you saved the children and the others.” He bowed his head deeply to Melody.

“Please, don’t bow your head. I only did what I believed was right.” Melody replied, waving her hands before her.

“Either way, Miss Melody, we owe you a great debt. Hehe, if I had not limited the number of people to those directly affected by you, you might have had the whole guild here thanking you.” He smiled at her, causing her face to turn a bit red.

“The second thing I would like to thank you for is saving my daughter, Violet.” He turned, looking at his daughter with kind eyes.

“I see a bit of the resemblance.” Melody commented.

“Miss Melody, would you be interested in coming to the city?” He asked.

The question seemed to cause her large frame to tense up.

“I... I am not sure at this time.” She replied sullenly.

“Melody, the bad man who did it is gone!”

“Yeah! He’s been driven into hiding in his home! I think for the sixth time?” Lucas and Lala commented.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about him. I heard that he had a mysterious accident yesterday that broke his arm and leg.” Violet said, eyeing her father and the adventurers present.

All but Ellen, Annabelle, and the children averted their eyes to Violet’s all-knowing glare. Melody understood Violet’s meaning but was unsure how to react, so she kept quiet.

The guild master cleared his throat, “Um, Miss Melody, I did not mean right now. I am still working on getting the local lord on board with it. Ah, don’t misunderstand! He is not against it, but he is unsure how to approach the matter. Giants tend to have a very negative stigma with the people. I have an idea of how to proceed.”

“And that is?” Melody asked.

“First, I will get his lordship, the Duke, to want to meet with you. Once that is ready, we will invite you to the city to meet him and discuss things further.” Melody shifted away from him, showing that she was uncomfortable with the plan.

“Melody, what would you feel comfortable with? Father will take ideas.” Violet added, seeing that Melody was apprehensive about going to the city.

He looked at her confused, wondering why they seemed to think it was a bad idea. He thought it was good enough.

“I think, if I was to meet this, Duke, it would be best to be just outside the city. That way, he can feel safe with his soldiers nearby. I would feel safe because I would have a way to escape if it was a repeat of last time. The other major factor is the people. If the people had no idea about me, they would be terrified that their lord allowed a giant into the city. If what you say about the adventurers is true, that is a good starting point. But just trying to ram acceptance of me down the throats of every city person would be bad and breed malice.” Melody explained, putting her lessons with Gaia on governance to use.

“Truly good points, lass. We didn’t think of such things….” Gona said, slipping into thought.

“You… sigh. You are right, Miss Melody. I realize now I was just trying to force the issue. Seems I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me.” The guild master lamented his haste.

“It is alright.” Melody commented.

“Melody, is there any way for us to contact you?” Violet asked.

“I am typically keeping an eye on the forest. If you call out my name along with your own. The forest will tell me. If I don’t appear after a couple of hours, I may be too far or unavailable.”

“You can communicate through the forest?” Ellen asked.

“Yes. Can you Miss Ellen?” Melody asked in turn.

“Only a bit. More of feeling through the forest. It is something natural to elves like myself.” Melody and Ellen closed their eyes and seemed to test if they could speak with one another. Ellen opened her eyes, tears forming. “So, beautiful… Melody, your voice is so beautiful. You must be loved by nature.” Ellen brought a hand to mouth, overcome by emotion.

Melody reached down, picked up, and hugged the elven woman to her chest. Some men looked on a bit envious, something that Violet’s keen eyes did not miss.

Another mischievous smile came to her face.

“Oh, Melody, I was wondering why you were wearing that hood still.” She brought it up.

“Oh, this? This was a recommendation by my mother, not really sure why though, and she didn’t really explain.” Melody pulled back her hood, revealing her tanned face, sparkling blue eyes, and somewhat wild crimson hair.

The men tensed up looking upon her beauty, and the women were in awe.

Now how to get her to smile… Violet thought.

“Melody, could you tell Pappy that I loved his food and hope to come to have it again soon. Human food can’t even compare to that.” Violet acted out.

A small smile came to her face. “I will tell him.”

Dang it, I need more…

“Also, what was the name of that adorable gnome? The one with the blue cap?”

Melody’s smile got slightly more prominent. “That is Bell. I named her after Bellflowers.”

Just a little more… Violet smiled brightly. “You certainly have a talent for naming. The name fits her perfectly!”

“Thank you!” Melody smiled brightly in turn to Violet’s.

Lucas fainted, Gona froze up with his head-turning red, the guild master’s brain seemed to shut down, and the other men looked away. Their faces beat red, clutching their chests, trying to calm their hearts.

On the other hand, the girls mostly blushed, their thoughts plain on their faces.

“Melody, this is what Gaia was worried about.” Maple commented.

Melody stopped smiling and turned to her friend quizzically.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Your smile. Ever since you evolved last time, your Charisma stat increased so much your smile is almost a deadly weapon in itself. With the hood on, you can limit the damage. Males can’t, and women can barely handle your smile.” Maple explained.

“But everyone at home seems fine.” Melody countered.

“That’s because we are used to it now. Don’t you remember Pappy was ‘bedridden’ for a few days? He was keeping his distance until he could get used to it. He is mostly immune now, but it still makes his heart race.”

A remorseful look came to Melody’s face, and she quickly pulled her hood back up.

“I-I’m sorry!”

Everyone returned to normal with blushing cheeks, though Lala had to shake Lucas awake.

“So, uh, well, um, we will work on getting approval Miss Melody.” The guild master struggled to speak, images of her smile consuming his thoughts.

“A goddess…” One of the survivor males whispered.

Violet grinned widely at the success of her prank. The guild master and the three survivors began their trek back to the city to get to work while the others stayed behind to brainstorm a bit with Melody.

“Is there anything that can be done? Maybe starting some good rumors about her?” Ellen offered.

“That won’t work that well, Ellen. Not unless we have something to back it up.” Gona countered, stealing glances at Melody.

“It is also not good to lie,” Annabelle added.

“Then we don’t lie. Melody, could we ask you to patrol the main road? It is not often, but large monsters do appear and attack caravans from the south forest.” Violet asked Melody.

“I can. I have been mostly taking care of monsters in the north forest since it is where I live. I don’t go south very often.” Melody replied.

“So that is why we haven’t had an attack from the north forest in so long? That would be a good rumor to start with. We can add that we asked if she could also patrol the main road to help. Then, when caravans spot her, they won’t try to immediately fight her.” Ellen added.

“Good idea Ellen!” Violet complimented.

“I am so happy, Melody! I hope to bring you to the city soon! There is lots of good food there.”

Annabelle said.

“Honestly, Anna, if you tried the food she gets to eat every day, you would be disappointed in the food of the city….” Violet said, a hollow look in her eyes.

“I could ask Pappy to share his recipes if you want, Violet.” Melody offered, which Violet thanked her with tears of joy in her eyes.

“So, what should we call this plan?” Violet asked.

“Project Melody’s a friendly giant, so we should all be friends!” “Anna, that is too long….” “Project Giant Killer?” “Nope.” “Project Goddess?” “What?!” They attempted multiple ideas before the youngest of them, Mina, spoke up.

“Why not just Project Happy Melody?” They all looked at the young girl and smiled.

“Yeah, I like that one.” “Good job, lass.” “Excellent idea.” “Well done, Mina!” The group showered the young girl with praise, causing her to blush and shift bashfully.

“Thank you all.” Melody stood up. “I will get started now on patrolling the road. Maple, are you up for it?” Melody asked her little friend.

“Of course I am! You’re my bestie! I go where you go!”

Violet and Annabelle looked to Maple in curious confusion at the fairy’s words but stayed quiet.

“Goodbye everyone, I hope to see you all soon.” Fenny took to the air, and Melody mounted Aroo.

“RoooOOOOO!” With an energetic moo, Aroo charged off toward the road.

Once Melody was out of sight, the group returned to the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Night had fallen inside Violet’s bedroom. She was silently contemplating something when a knock came on her door.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Young mistress, you have a visitor. Miss Annabelle.”

“Come in.”

Violet’s room was spacious, clean, and nicely, but not gaudily, decorated. The priestess entered the room and closed the door behind her.

“Sorry to drop by so late, Violet.”

“It is alright. I am guessing you are bothered by the same thing I am.” She replied to Annabelle.

“Yes.” Annabelle sat down at the table Violet was at.

“Just to be sure, it is about the term Maple used, right?” Violet asked.

“Yes. I don’t know if it could be a coincidence, but coupling it with how unique Melody is, it could be possible we finally found her.” Annabelle began tearing up.

“Yeah, the term ‘Bestie,’ as far as I know, doesn’t exist in this world. I am really hoping, but I don’t know yet. We never got the necessary information.”

“I know, but could it be?” Annabelle asked.

“Hmm, maybe we should continue to observe her? They said that revealing where we are originally from would bring us trouble.” Violet reminded her friend, which only brought a sad smile to her face.

“I have a feeling that it is her, though,” Annabelle replied.

“Me too.” Violet hugged her friend and invited her to stay the night as it was late at night.