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Life is tough… Yeah, she's right.

I guess on Earth we are made too soft sometimes.

For people that still live mostly as hunters, gatherers, and have to survive in the wild filled with monsters, I suppose being direct with stuff like this is for the best.

Doing roundabouts… won't work, you have to tell people the truth and quickly, so they can grieve it, accept it and… move on.

Most of the kids were crying, although the red-haired one was the loudest, a lot of boys were containing their years, while tightly gripping their fists, their lips were trembling, and their eyebrows furrowing… many were sorrowful, frustrated, angered, and confused.

I can't imagine the pain of losing your parents at such a young age as I didn't experience this in my previous life… But I can tell that it is something that leaves a mark on you…

Sigh…

"I guess you're right… Ah, she's here…"

The kids suddenly stopped crying as they glanced at the sky with their eyes wide open, my giant ice fortress slowly began to descend from the skies, making them all baffled.

"A-A flying castle!" cried the red-haired girl, her eyes shining with amusement.

"Is this real life?"

"I can't believe it…"

"It is like that tale that mama used… sniff… to tell me…"

"Yeah… the floating castle of the Ice Queen…! Sniff…"

Tale? Ice Queen?

There might be more to know from these people than I thought…

"Amazing… You're really not a normal dragon, aren't you? I really thought we were going to reconstruct the town or something with your help protecting us, but… this is way ahead of my expectations!" said the grandma, even she was surprised.

"Heh, see? I am not a mere winged lizard! And my name is Drake, call me by my name!" I said.

"Okay, okay…" sighed the grandma, as she got inside Fuyu alongside all the kids.

"Wait! You were supposed to… Ugh, never mind," I sighed.

"That's a lot of people… Well, thankfully, there should be space for everyone… But still…" sighed Fuyu.

"I know… I will upgrade you in the upcoming days to give you more rooms and stuff," I said.

"Well said! Now get in so we can get out of this place," said Fuyu.

I quickly entered Fuyu as it began to float in midair once more, slowly reaching higher and higher.

When I entered, I found the grandma protecting the kids with her long arms from Frost and the wolves, who were merely sitting on the floor while glaring at them…

"Don't get scared, they have tamed wolves, not dangerous," I said.

"Oh! Is that so?" asked the grandma, calming herself as she gasped for air.

"The biggest one here is named Frost, he's a gentle giant, so make sure to treat him well, he's the pack leader here… he will protect you whenever I am not around," I said, as Frost released a loud bark and waved his tail.

"I-I see…" said the grandma, as some of the kids nodded, although most still were scared, as Frost size was very tall, even for the ice giant kids. After all most things in here were also "giant" and that included wolves of three meters.

"Grandma… What about mama and papa? Can't they get in?" asked one of the ice giants, a young girl with short black hair, she seemed around 6 years of age.

"My dear… That's not possible, they are gone," sighed the grandma.

"Sniff… R-Really? Sniff…"

"Yes…" sighed the grandma, hugging the girl as she broke into tears.

"Don't worry. I saw your parent's souls. Your families, siblings, neighbors, and more. I buried them in front of their houses deep into the soil, and their souls seemed to be grateful. All of them went away now… They seemed to be in peace," I said.

The kids seemed to feel a bit better after hearing this, but they were still very sad that their family had left them behind… But even then, I believe that they're better off alive than dead.

"You… you can see souls?" asked the grandma.

"Yeah, more or less. Is it strange?" I asked.

"Yes, of course, it is! Only those that are adept to Death Magic can see souls like that! This is… amazing… You're such a strange creature, Drake…" said the grandma.

"Well, I know I am…. But let's leave this topic for another time, all of these kids should go take a bath, there is warm water too, here, I will guide you…" I said.

I guided the kids to the large bathroom, mostly used by Benladann or Yuki (yes, she likes to take warm baths like those Japanese hot spring monkeys), it was made entirely out of crystal-like ice, so everything was shiny.

"Uwah… a bathroom…"

"Big…"

"Sniff…"

"A bath…? I don't want a bath… I want to see mama and big brother!" cried the red-haired girl, she was very stubborn.

"Flayr, stop already!" said the grandma, reprimanding the girl.

"Your family is gone, and their souls had gone away in peace, respect their deaths and stop calling them! You have to be strong, girl! I am sure they would want you to keep going on!" said the grandma.

"Sniff… Sniff… Buaaaaahhh!"

The red-haired giant girl, named Flayr, started to cry again…

However, the other girl with short black hair hugged her.

"Flayr, you're not alone, we have to be… strong together… okay?" she asked.

"Noirenn…"

Flayr seemed to be a friend of this dark-haired girl, which she called Noirenn.

I quickly let them have a bath, after boiling the hot water, the grandma helped me getting them all well cleansed, after that, we used the leather we had to make some improved clothes for the moment, it was better than the tattered clothes they had. The clothes indie the houses were all burnt, sadly.

After taking a warm bath as they had never done before, all the kids felt a bit better. Although deep down I am sure that they must feel a lot of anguish…

After that we moved to eat, I prepared some grilled meat for everyone, mostly crows and rabbits we had stockpiled, and I also gave them a lot of fruits, wolf milk, herbal tea, and jelly as dessert.

I guess I did good work… After that, every single one of them went to sleep.

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