You and Me Under The World Tree

Although it was the first time to cooperate, and it was only a little more than an hour since the first meeting, there was no barrier between Hoder and the Gothic prince. Although it could not be said that there was a tacit understanding of cooperation, there was nothing abrupt or awkward. A sense of dissonance.

One party is responsible for using weapons to intimidate, while the other party uses words to ridicule. The giant's emotions rise and fall in anger and fear, and such questioning... No, the torture method is not only torturing the person involved, as a bystander Siegfried could not help but feel frightened.
He had never seen Uncle Hoder with such vicious words. In fact, this was the first time he had seen him speak so much.
In his impression, his uncle has always been a kind person. He may not have many ordinary conversations, but his overall personality has always been gentle. No matter how naughty he was when he was a child, he will be tolerant, even when facing At his request, he would take the trouble to tell some stories over and over again.
 Vicious, cruel...
When he saw Hoder casually hitting the giant's leg bones with the war hammer in his hand like a craftsman's hammer, Siegfried couldn't help but have this idea in his mind, although he actually knew what Uncle Hoder had done. We know that during the time he was taming Grani, he set fire to massacre the city in the kingdom of Hunding.
But hearing about it is one thing, and actually seeing it is another thing. The warehouse is so gloomy, and the darkness inside is in sharp contrast with the sun outside. Even at this moment, Siegfried felt that he could imagine His cruel behavior in the palace.
However, he will not be estranged from his uncle because of this. This is not only because of Midgard's custom of 'blood revenge', but more importantly, the impression of Siegfried has not changed, no matter what As cruel as he is to his enemies, he is always so gentle to those around him.
 "Be patient, kid, and I will teach you step by step."
In the early morning, he told himself this, and now, he also allowed himself to observe his behavior, and the so-called 'observation' is completely different from simply 'seeing', 'seeing' is just simply looking at , but observation requires the use of the brain.
Hoder once gave Siegfried many books. These books actually had nothing to do with the political strategies needed as a king. They were just about the similar but different customs and small stories among the various countries in Midgard.
These short stories are basically about wandering around, and even once went to the kingdom of dwarves (Wat'al Alheim), the kingdom of giants (Jotunheim) or even the kingdom of elves (Alfheim). These poets used gorgeous rhetoric after returning from their travels . The story written with humorous sentences has always been the best enlightenment book for Midgard children.
However, it is worth mentioning that these short stories actually contain a large number of poems and stories praising Asgard, but these were all picked out and torn up by Hoder...
But these are not important things. What is important is that Siegfried has learned some necessary stories from these stories since he was a child, such as giants. Now, there is only one question lingering in Siegfried's mind:
 Why did the uncle and the Goth prince use such violent methods?
Siegfried didn't know much about the Gothic prince. Although he had always heard of his bravery on the battlefield, he didn't understand his character, but he definitely understood his uncle.
Although he is now cruel and vicious, and he has set fire to and massacred the palace before, he actually prefers to communicate through words rather than violence.
This can also be seen from Regin's description in a few words. He does not like war. He prefers to solve the problem through diplomacy and dialogue rather than using force. But now, why would he resort to violent means of torture?
 "Don't... don't kill me."
Just as Siegfried was thinking, the giant's weak plea for mercy was like a key that opened the door to his thoughts.
"Poets have said that giants should be brave, they dare to challenge the gods..." Finally, he stepped into the door called the answer, "That's right..."
Hoder didn't know what Siegfried was thinking now. He just heard the voice of the giant in front of him begging for mercy.
 "Then, tell me your specific number of people and strongholds."
Hearing the unhurried voice of the human, the giant's mind was also running wildly.
 "We live in the mountains near here..."
 "Jura Mountains?"
"Yes, we have built a house between the mountains. It is very troublesome to get in..." the giant said slowly, "If you want, I can take you with me!!"
 'Bang'
 'Zila'
At this moment, before the giant finished speaking, a burst of collision and burning sounds came again. The heartbreaking pain made the giant lose his words, and the painful howl resounded throughout the warehouse.
Fortunately, the time now is mid-afternoon, and the sun is shining brightly outside. If it were night, this kind of howling would be enough to frighten the children into crying.
Then, the giant's big eyes looked desperately at the man who had broken his calf. There was clearly sunlight shining through the gap between the window and the roof, but the sunlight falling on his body felt inexplicably cold.
 "I clearly said..."
 "At this point, you're not even willing to tell the truth, are you?"
"Since you don't want to say it, let me tell you. It's true that you live in the Jura Mountains, but there are no houses in the mountains. You live underground. The entire mountain range is empty underground. Yes, am I right?"
The giant did not answer, but he was not very good at hiding his emotions, because the facts he learned were beyond his imagination. His mouth opened and closed as if he was talking silently to himself.
The giant's head was very big, and the way his mouth opened and closed could be seen clearly, and Hoder could easily see what he was asking.
 Why...
 That's what he asked
However, he had no chance to know, because in the next moment, his head flew out directly, and a sharp sword cut off his neck.
 Along with the spurting of blood, his struggling body stopped moving...
 "It seems that not every giant is proficient in magic."
Of course it wasn't Hoder who took action. He actually had other questions to ask, but the Gothic prince took action so quickly that he didn't even have time to stop him.
"Don't you need to ask anything else?" Finally, he could only ask helplessly.
"No need." The prince is a prince after all, and he is slightly different from people like Hoder. His education does not include any sloppiness, and he actually made his decision when Hoder pointed out the giant's lie. , "If you lie once , there will be a second time, so there is no need to continue asking."
"Well, I originally wanted to ask about the conditions inside the mountain range."
To put it bluntly, Hoder's words were just a complaint. After all, it was still uncomfortable that the initiative of the words was not in his hands, but he did not expect that His Highness the Prince seemed to be more serious in this regard.
 "Then will you believe it?"
This sentence is simply a question of the soul. When asking this question, the prince's eyes have been focused on Hoder without any intention of moving. Moreover, the answer is obvious.
 "No, it won't..."
 [Mission: A journey that is not long]
[Mission Objective: Escort Siegfried and Regin to leave the Netherlands (1/1)]