Hikari ran through the forest path.
Her morning routine during downtime.
Deep shoe prints on the dirt track
The area around the estate was beautiful.
Lush forests teeming with wildlife.
Her booming steps scared a flock of birds away.
She reached the cave where she lived.
Wooden fencing around her yard to keep the bears out.
She wiped her sweat.
A good workout to get her blood pumping for the day.
Her tops were soaked.
Brown stains on her socks from all of the dust she kicked up as she ran.
She would still wear them again for tomorrow's run.
The cool wind brushed her hair as she looked into the distance.
The RazenHeir estate was a few hops from here.
The main mansion was up atop a hill.
Its pristine white walls.
The drill hall.
A road led towards the zeppelin port of Moradale in the distance.
Wagons and merchant convoys moved past the estate.
Since the cultists attacked, the road had become busier, even congested
Hikari picks up a tank of water and drinks.
She checks the rain collector.
It was full after a rain.
She telekinetically lifts the water into water tanks, filtering the dirt in the process.
She notices a tear in the fencing.
Tracks led from the broken segment of the fence into her cave.
"Ivory berries."
She cursed.
She grabbed the dagger and entered her cave.
It had been her home for years.
Her bed was the size of a stable.
Bedding thick enough that would weigh down a horse.
Her short sword and a handful of throwing daggers strapped to the wall.
A bow improvised from a wall-mounted ballista.
The rest of her weaponry was at the estate where they are more secure.
Grain bags, the staple of her diet.
Wheatgrass, fodder for giant draft animals.
Imported from the kingdom of Herdial to the west.
It contains a special substance that helps giants from collapsing under their own weight.
Her precious meat stores hung from the ceiling.
A rare commodity for her, given her size.
A few small pieces make her meals less bland.
A grizzly bear stood on its hind legs and clawed away in the air.
She hung them high enough that even she had to use her telekinesis to retrieve them.
The bear turned and growled at her.
Hikari looks down at it.
Her stomach rumbled.
The bear let out a whimpering cry and charged past her.
Hikari's stomach rumbled again.
The bear ran as fast as it could.
A ballista bolt whirled through the air and skewered it through its back.
Thud.
She landed beside it.
The giantess picked it up and slung it over her shoulder.
She drools.
Her dagger plunged into the bear, cutting it down the middle.
She cut the meat.
Washing her hands, she put her cauldron on the stove and filled it up with water.
A burst of fire from her hand lit the coal below.
The cauldron boiled.
Her clothes were soaked through from her morning run.
She channeled her mana;
The weaving runes hummed.
Her clothes broke into small square sheets and floated around her.
If she grows, she will just add more sheets.
She laid them out neatly to dry in the sun.
She'll still be wearing them for tomorrow's run.
She took a water tank and poured its contents over her head.
The refreshing cool water flowed down her body.
As it splashed on the bottom, the air around her swirled.
The water at her feet whirled up her body, scrubbing away sweat and grime.
She pulled a water tank towards her.
This one contained soap.
Cheap, mass-produced soap that the peasants used.
She rubbed it over her muscular body.
The water whirled around her again, rinsing her.
She bundled her silver hair and squeezed out the water.
The cauldron bubbled.
She took a few slices of bear meat and threw them in.
Grain, wheatgrass, and root vegetables.
She mixes the stew with her ladle.
Her breakfast cooks.
She flips open a crate.
It was full of fresh cloth pieces.
A fresh change of clothes every alternate day.
A clean outfit never fails to lift her mood.
Fresh white shirt.
Short sleeves revealing her huge biceps.
Her belly button exposed, her steel-hard abdominal muscles on either side.
A short skirt.
The muscles on her lower thigh above her kneecaps.
Thick knee socks that cover her leg up to her kneecaps.
The contours of her calves visible from behind.
The knee socks bear the brunt of her workout sweat.
The cauldron bubbles.
She pressed on the stew with the back of her ladle.
The ingredients had been cooked soft.
She shook her salt tank and found that it was empty.
Trade routes to Herdial were disrupted by the cultists.
Her stomach rumbled.
She would have to bear the bland stew.
She pushed her ladle into the cauldron and placed the spoonful in her mouth.
Bland. But the taste of fresh bear meat made up for it.
The wheatgrass was especially chewy.
It takes the jaw strength of a giantess to grind them into paste.
She ate and ate.
She was still recovering from the battle.
Scraping sounds on the bottom of the barrel.
Hikari began her meditation.
Her mana races through her body.
Controlling her mana flow was the most basic step in casting spells.
Her telekinesis. Her innate mana form. Her RazenHeir flames.
After a good hour of morning practice to maintain her mana form, she was ready to head to the estate.
The scout master might have a mission for her.
Perhaps a bounty on a troll terrorizing villages.
Perhaps dire Ents deciding to wander out of their forest again.
Or perhaps another cultist encampment that needs dealing with.
If there's nothing, she'll go to the drill hall.
She grabs her harvest sack.
A bag made of durable wyvern skin, which she brings out on campaigns.
She cleans the bear skin and meat and rolls them up in her harvest sack.
She'll bring the meat to the butcher and the skin to the tanner.
The alchemist will be happy to have the organs.
The butcher turns it into salted meat.
She packs up her dirty laundry for the washing bay.
Hope the maids won't complain too much about the smell.
Just as she was about to set off, she heard horses approaching.
A troop of RazenHeir knights rode towards her.
Her lady Ria rode in the middle.
"Morning, my Lady."