"Sizzle..."

  By the shore, fierce fmes bzed, geing intense heat that distorted the air a shivers down one’s spine. Giant vines held several rge fish, grilling them to a golden perfe and releasing aig aroma.

  For Linlin’s sake, El took his time with breakfast today, unlike his usual rushed meals. After casually catg a few fish, rger than most ships, and quickly preparing them, he returo his cave to grab some seasonings. He then trolled the fmes precisely to roast the fish, making them perfectly fvorful.

  The st of grilled fish filled the air, making Charlotte Linlin drool with anticipation. However, El’s stock of seasonings was now pletely depleted.

  “’t wait, huh? It’s ready. Dig in!” El smiled, cutting off a piece rant grilled fish and handing it to Linlin. “It’s still hot, but for people like us, that won’t be a problem!”

  “Is this magic?” Linlin, sitting by the fire and drooling, blinked her rge eyes, filled with curiosity about the strange vines and the ability to trol fmes. But before El could respond, Linlin fot all about her question as a rge piece of delicious grilled fish ced right in front of her.

  “Hehe, thanks... I’m starting now!”

  With her eyes gleaming, Linlin eagerly grabbed the steaming piece of grilled fish. She bit into it with gusto, dev it without a sed thought. The saying, “Haste makes waste,” might apply to most people, but not to them. The freshly grilled fish was hot enough to burn an ordinary person, but for them, it was nothing.

  “Mmm... Mmm... So tasty, it’s amazing!”

  Though Linlin usually preferred sweets, she loved any delicious food. She quickly devoured the fish, oil dripping from her mouth, and even chewed up the bones, swallowing them whole without fear of choking. Once she finished, she looked at the remaining fish with hungry eyes. “El oniisan, I want more!”

  “Take it slow, there’s plenty,” El chuckled, watg her. He too began dev his share of the grilled fish.

  In no time, the two of them had easily finished off several massive grilled fish. All that remained were a few fish scales on the ground—no bones or scraps in sight.

  “Burp~ That was amazing...” Linlin, satisfied, patted her round belly, letting out a burp of te. With a bright smile, she said, “This is the first time I’ve eaten so much. Thank you, El oniisan!”

  “As long as I’m here, you eat as much as you want, anytime,” El replied with a smile.

  “Really? That’s wonderful!” Linlin excimed with delight, her innoce shining through. “El oniisan, when Papa and Mama e back, you should e home with us!”

  “Sure, if your parents agree, I’ll e visit your home,” El replied, smiling.

  “Papa and Mama are really hey’ll definitely agree, hehe...” Linlin giggled, full of imism.

  El smiled softly but didn’t shatter her i hopes.

  “By the way, Linli me show you a magic trick...” An idea popped into El’s mind, aended his right hand, curling his fioward the ground.

  In a short moment, under Linlin’s astonished gaze, a small green sprout grew from the earth, quickly developing into a full pnt. It blossomed with colorful flowers, stunningly beautiful.

  “Wow!” Linlin’s eyes sparkled as she watched the magical se unfold. “It’s so pretty!”

  Pointing to the flowers blooming o, El smiled and said, “These flowers are delicate. I want you to try pig a petal gently, without crushing it. This will help you learn to trol your strength.”

  El wasn’t just trying to eain her; he was giving Linlin a valuable lesson. He wanted her to better manage her overwhelming strength to avoid actally hurting others or causiru.

  “Huh? That sounds hard...” Linlin blinked her rge eyes and stared at the delicate flowers. Eae was about the size of a fingernail. She grabbed one and tried to pull off a petal gently, but because of her rge size and immerength, she actally crushed several flowers in the process.

  After several failed attempts, she looked up at El with teary eyes, feeling frustrated. “El oniisan, I’ve been really careful, but I still ’t do it. I keep crushing the flowers!”

  “To trol your strength and avoid hurting those around you, this is something you have to learn,” El shrugged, a bit helpless. “Your strength is too great. Just earlier, if it had been anyone else, you would’ve torn off their wings!”

  “I didn’t mean to...” Linlin mumbled, pouting as she lowered her head in shame. She had only been curious and wao touch his wings.

  “I know, Linlin. You’re a good kid,” El reassured her, patting her head gently. “But both you and I are special. We’re different from ordinary people, so we o be extra careful.”

  “Linlin, you wouldn’t want to actally hurt your Papa and Mama when hugging them, right?”

  As he spoke, El stomped his foot on the ground. “For example, look…”

  “Boom!”

  The earth trembled as the ground cracked open, creating a massive fissure that stretched toward the sea. Seawater surged in, filling the crack, a sight that would make anyone break into a cold sweat.

  “Wow! That’s amazing...” Linlin’s eyes lit up in wonder. She stood up and tried stomping the ground herself.

  “Boom!”

  The ground shook, and a rge crater appeared, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading out from it. Rocks flew in all dires, though her impact wasn’t as extreme as El’s.

  “Huh?” Linlin tilted her head, looking down at the crater she created. Then she pared it to the massive fissure El had made, scratg her head in fusion. “Hehe, I ’t do that, I?”

  “Linlin, you’re already amazing... Look, with just a bit of force, we crack the ground wide open!” El said as he patted her head. In this short time together, he had e to uand that this future “Emperor of the Sea” was still an i child, filled with curiosity. She wasn’t any different from other mischievous kids—she had a good heart.

  It was just that her terrifying strength made her a dao those around her, a walking disaster without the right guidance.

  Unlike El, who had the self-discipline of a natural-born warrior, Linlin also suffered from a strange “eating disorder” that made her untrolble when she was hungry. A rampaging Linlin was a fearsome sight, beyond what most people could handle.

  But El was fident he could trol her—after all, she was still a child.

  Looking at the i Linlin in front of him, El patiently guided her. “Until you fully trol your strength, you shouldn’t touch others so casually. Uand?”

  For natural-born monsters like them, mastering their strength wasn’t easy. Sometimes, just a moment of excitement or an unsovement could result in unintended force. While it might seem like nothing to them, it could be disastrous for others.

  For example, El could casually give someoap without even using a fra of his strength, but for an ordinary person—or even a battle-hardened giant warrior—it could mean broken bones or worse.

  During his time on the deserted isnd in the Calm Belt, El had trained hard to gradually adjust to his rapidly growing strength.

  “Mm-hmm, I’ll try my best...” Linlin nodded enthusiastically. She had never inteo hurt anyone, and her parents hadn’t hugged her in a long time, likely out of fear of her strength.

  Thinking of this, Charlotte Linlin became more determihao trol her strength and carefully began practig by pig the flower petals in front of her.