Chapter 346: Chapter 346
Two days later, early in the morning, Lynn stood in his courtyard, gazing at the rising sun.
The eastern horizon had only just begun to turn pale, and the air was bitterly cold. Every breath he took emerged from his nose as a visible cloud of white mist.
Standing on the lawn in a thick traveling cloak, Lynn enjoyed the rare sight of a holiday sunrise while remarking to himself, "This sun is truly sun-like."
Just then, a "missile" with flames shooting from its tail came hurtling toward Lynn’s house from the horizon.
It was moving so fast that one could only glimpse a dark shadow trailing a long tail of fire as it streaked across the eastern sky.
"Beep, beep, beep! Unidentified flying object detected. Defensive systems acti—manually deactivated."
Lynn removed his finger from the remote control inside his pocket.
Edgar had experienced the defensive system firsthand the last time he visited, and his assessment afterward had been, "I never want to experience that again for the rest of my life."
Lynn figured Hagrid probably wouldn’t enjoy the experience either.
The "missile" landed on the lawn in front of him, and Hagrid climbed off the vehicle.
"Good morning, Lynn!"
"Good morning, Hagrid."
Without wasting much time on pleasantries, Lynn eagerly climbed into the motorcycle’s passenger seat.
Thanks to the Extension Charm cast on the motorcycle, there was still plenty of room even after Hagrid’s enormous bag and Lynn’s trunk had been loaded aboard.
There was even enough space for them to buy some local specialties along the way and bring them back—assuming there were any local specialties worth buying.
Hagrid turned his head and looked at Lynn, who had already fastened his seat belt.
"Get ready! I’m starting the engine!" Hagrid’s voice was filled with excitement.
He gripped the handlebars with both hands and pressed a red button with his thumb.
The engine’s roar abruptly intensified, changing from a low hum into a high-pitched growl. At the same time, the flames inside the exhaust pipe burned even brighter.
"Ready!"
Most of Lynn’s voice was drowned out by the engine, but he knew Hagrid had heard him.
Vroom—vroom—vroom—vroom!!!
With the engine roaring, the rear of Hagrid’s Triumph motorcycle spewed another powerful burst of flame. It carried Lynn into the sky and soon disappeared beyond the horizon.
Hearing the commotion, Dodo ran out of the kitchen with a kitchen knife still clutched in his hand. He waved it at the sky several times before sighing and turning back inside.
Hagrid’s flying style was just like his physique—wild, rugged, and unconventional.
He didn’t fly in straight lines; he took curves.
He didn’t fly high; he flew low.
He didn’t avoid obstacles; he flew straight through them.
His motorcycle wove between the clouds, sometimes climbing, sometimes diving, sometimes tilting sideways, and occasionally even rolling through the air.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lynn felt as though he were riding a roller coaster—
No, this was even more thrilling than a roller coaster.
A roller coaster at least had tracks, a fixed route, and certain safety guarantees.
This vehicle had none of those things.
All it had were Hagrid’s hands and a heart filled with the conviction, I believe I won’t die.
The two chatted and laughed as they flew through the air, making the atmosphere indescribably lively.
Just then, Lynn thought of a particularly important question.
"By the way, Hagrid."
Lynn’s voice was somewhat scattered by the rushing wind, but Hagrid still heard him.
"How many giants do we have on our side?"
Hagrid’s smile gradually faded, and his expression became serious.
"They were all on our side initially," he replied.
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"Initially?"
Hagrid fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"But the giants’ Gurg" He paused and turned his head to look at Lynn. "You know that refers to the leader of the giants, don’t you?"
Lynn nodded, indicating that he understood.
"The Gurg we contacted was beheaded on the seventh day by another giant named Karkus."
"’We’?" Lynn asked suspiciously.
Hagrid’s face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Me and Olympe."
"Oh~"
Lynn deliberately drew out the sound.
"So you’ve won the fair lady’s heart."
Hagrid’s ears turned even redder.
"Ahem!"
He cleared his throat and continued, "At first, we thought we had simply run into some rotten luck."
"But then we discovered that the giant named Karkus was connected to the Death Eaters. The sword he used to behead the Gurg was a gift from them."
"The Death Eater’s name is Avery. Like Karkus, he enjoys killing. The two of them are birds of a feather."
Avery.
A Death Eater.
The mastermind influencing the giant tribe.
Lynn committed the name to memory.
"So, does that mean we’ll have to face every giant in the tribe?" Lynn asked calmly, without any discernible emotion in his voice.
"Maybe... probably... possibly... not all of them," Hagrid replied uncertainly.
"In short, something happened along the way, and the giants began fighting among themselves again. At one point, Olympe and I managed to persuade seven or eight of them... If they’re unwilling to submit to Karkus’s rule, there’s a good chance they’ll come over to our side."
"So, how many giants are there in total?" Lynn asked.
"Hmm... Around seventy or eighty."
After hearing Hagrid’s answer, Lynn fell silent.
There were seventy or eighty giants in total, yet Hagrid and Madame Maxime had persuaded only seven or eight.
Exactly one-tenth.
And even that small number remained uncertain.
As Hagrid had said, they would only join if they were unwilling to submit to Karkus’s rule.
To put it nicely, there was plenty of room for improvement.
To put it bluntly, hadn’t their previous journey been almost entirely wasted?
The corner of Lynn’s mouth twitched.
"Hagrid, do you think it would work if we replaced the giants’ leader?"
Hagrid thought for a moment.
"Perhaps it could work," he replied. "Giants hate wizards. If you use magic to kill one of them, I guarantee they’ll immediately turn against us."
"Even when the Death Eaters wanted to recruit them, they merely provided Karkus with weapons."
Hagrid continued, "They didn’t personally kill any giants. They simply gave Karkus a sword and allowed him to do the killing."
Lynn scratched his head.
He could probably defeat Karkus with a weapon, but he had no desire to become the leader of some giant tribe or whatever they called it.
He sighed.
"Let’s take things one step at a time."
Hagrid nodded in agreement.
"That’s all we can do for now."
...
Eastern Europe, in a remote mountainous region east of the Minsk Mountains in Belarus.
This was a place rarely visited by humans, surrounded by an endless succession of mountain peaks layered one behind another.
The mountaintops were covered in snow that never melted, reflecting a blinding white light beneath the sun. Dark coniferous forests blanketed the lower slopes, while dry riverbeds stretched across the foothills.
Lynn and Hagrid stood at the summit of one of those mountains.
Just as they parked the motorcycle, a faint crackling sound came from beside them.
Lynn turned his head and saw Madame Maxime appear next to Hagrid.
"Good afternoon, Hagrid."
After greeting Hagrid, she turned toward Lynn.
"And good afternoon to you, Mr. Lynn."
"Good afternoon, Madame Maxime."
Lynn bowed slightly.
"Olympe, you’ve worked hard during this time," Hagrid said, his voice filled with embarrassment.
His face began turning red again, starting at the base of his neck and climbing upward—past his chin, across his cheeks, and all the way to the tips of his ears.
Madame Maxime rolled her eyes at Hagrid before beginning to explain the current situation within the giant tribe.
"Their Gurg, Karkus, has completely sided with the Death Eaters," she said calmly. "Recently, he has been leading the tribe in a migration. Judging by the direction they’re traveling, their destination is Britain."
Lynn frowned slightly.
"Did they only just begin moving? Then what happened with the giants who attacked Diagon Alley?"
Madame Maxime thought for a moment.
"Perhaps it had something to do with the Death Eaters," she replied. "Yesterday, a black-robed wizard entered Karkus’s cave. Today, the tribe began its migration."
A black-robed wizard.
A Death Eater.
Most likely the Avery whom Hagrid had mentioned.
"A village has already been destroyed," Madame Maxime continued. "I had only just evacuated the Muggles living there when dozens of giants trampled it."
Upon hearing this, the group decided not to waste any more time and immediately prepared to set out.
Hagrid parked his motorcycle behind a giant boulder and covered it with snow.
"Follow me. It isn’t far..." Madame Maxime said.
After walking for a short while, the group reached the opposite side of the mountain peak.
The terrain there was more open than before, providing them with a much wider field of view.
"They’re over there."
Madame Maxime pointed toward a valley not far away.
"Because several Death Eaters are accompanying them, I didn’t dare get too close. But we can observe them just as well from here."
Lynn looked in the direction she was pointing.
Just as Madame Maxime had said, they could clearly observe the giants’ movements without approaching them.
There was no helping it—the giants were simply too enormous.
Dozens of giants moving together could be seen clearly even from such a great distance.
One after another, they emerged from the depths of the valley like the carriages of a moving train.
From Lynn’s position, their heads appeared no larger than mung beans, but he knew that was only because of the enormous distance between them.
If he stood directly in front of one, he would probably barely reach its shin.
Their skin was gray, resembling stones that had been weathered by wind and sand for countless years. Their hair was black and tangled, like piles of weeds scattered by a violent gale.
Their clothes were made from animal hides that hung across their bodies in ragged patches, covering what needed to be covered while exposing what should not have been exposed.
Lynn carefully observed the giants below for a while.
His gaze moved among their enormous figures, traveling from the front of the procession to the rear and then back again.
Suddenly, Lynn raised his hand and pointed toward a group of relatively smaller giants walking along the outer edge of the procession.
Those giants remained at the very edge of the group, keeping their distance from the others as though they had either been ostracized or had deliberately chosen to separate themselves.
"They don’t appear very willing to follow the others."
"That’s correct." Madame Maxime nodded. "About half of the giants are dissatisfied with Karkus’s rule. They don’t want to fight against wizards, but they’re smaller in stature and have no ability to resist him."
Lynn’s eyes shifted thoughtfully, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
"Is that so...?"
He pondered the situation for a moment.
"Then does that mean we only need to quietly eliminate Karkus? Afterward, the rest of the giants could return to their original home and elect a new Gurg."
He paused and looked at Madame Maxime.
"As long as the new Gurg refuses to cooperate with the Death Eaters, wouldn’t this giant crisis be easily resolved?"
Madame Maxime remained silent for a while.
"That won’t be easy. The giants always move together, and we have no way to separate Karkus from the others. If we want to kill him quietly, we’ll have to deal with all the giants surrounding him."
Her gaze shifted away from the valley and settled on Lynn’s face.
"We have to try," Lynn said.
Madame Maxime glanced at Hagrid. Seeing that he was also tempted by the plan, she decided they might as well attempt it.
"Let’s go," she said. "We’ll head down the mountain first."
---
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