Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 109 (Part 2):

In the Forest of Roots, Helmut lived flat on the ground for a very long time. Within the powerful creatures, he was nothing more than a prey.

While learning the sword from Darien, he gradually became stronger and ascended somewhat in the lowest layer. However, he still couldn’t lift his head proudly on the surface.

Even if he became stronger, if Elaga flicked him with her tail, he would fly and crash into the ground.

He has never won against Darien, whose life was almost over and his energy is fading. That was Helmut’s position. The bottom.

But in the human world, it was different. He was strong enough to save members of the Pace Mercenary Corps and defeat two Rank 2 mercenaries sent by the Black Hawk.

Helmut was above ground, and beneath him were countless people.

Having lived in a world of survival of the fittest, Helmut liked the change in his circumstances and his changed position.

Although he still had to hide what was inside his chest, he was now among the strong.

The Academy’s system explicitly differentiates between students based on their grades. It is through grades that they measure their worth.

In that case, he wanted to excel academically to stand above the rest. For Helmut, it was a natural, but more intense desire than others.

Asuka stuck out his tongue.

“It’s a dangerous thing for a commoner to do. If a guy like you becomes a knight, I’ll have to worry about rebellion.”

“I have no intention of becoming a knight.”

Helmut said flatly. While escorting Xenia of Zahringen’s House, he observed what the knights were doing.

The basics were similar to mercenaries, but he didn’t like acting centered around her, pleasing the master’s taste. It felt like a much more restrained job than a mercenary tied to a request for a while.

“Well, it’s too early to talk about career paths, but when you graduate from the academy, a commoner becomes a knight or a mercenary. Mostly they become knights. Anyway, the skills of the graduates of the Greta Academy Swordsmanship Department are recognized. Helmut, I heard you’re a former mercenary, don’t you even think about the knight side?”

It was a serious question, unlike Asuka.

“For now, no.”

“High-ranking mercenaries make a lot of money, but knights come with honor as well as wealth. Even the noble bastards who look down on commoners, if they become knights, they become quasi-nobles, so they can’t act arbitrarily.”

“When I was a mercenary, I never met a noble who acts arbitrarily.”

Xenia had little interest in Helmut. The butler Gilton was fairly kind, and the knights didn’t ignore him just because they were knights. But that was before he came to Baden.

‘Baden seems to be the problem.’

“You must have been lucky. It’s common to act like the noble guys here. I heard that many noble clients who cherish their knights use mercenaries as shields.”

“Maybe.”

He couldn’t say much since he had taken requests only twice or, well, three times, including what he took after coming to Baden.

“With your skills, after becoming a knight, you can even look up to nobility. A skilled swordsman is a rare existence.”

It seemed a bit like flattery, so Helmut looked at him strangely.

“So, do you want me to become a knight?”

“No, it’s up to you, of course, but I don’t think you should think about becoming a knight too early. From my perspective, mercenaries and knights have clear advantages and disadvantages. Depending on which country and family the knight belongs to, it can differ, but knights and mercenaries have distinct pros and cons. I mean, it’s good to become a knight.”

Helmut listened carefully to what he said. It was somewhat doubtful whether Asuka was making a valid point, but it would be better to keep the options open.

After pondering for a moment, Asuka spoke.

“No, you don’t seem like someone who would serve someone else, so maybe being a monster hunter or something like that would suit you.”

That was indeed a profession Helmut should avoid, especially after graduating from the academy.

‘After graduating from the academy.’

It was a distant story set in the future. Helmut’s vision of the future was not graduating from the academy. Neither finding his mother nor seeking revenge for Darien.

Helmut realized this about himself and was somewhat surprised. The latter was understandable, but the former was strangely vague.

He wanted to find his mother. Clearly, he wanted to discover his roots. However, it wasn’t as urgent as it should have been.

In reality, Helmut had slowly started adapting to the human world. Leaving the Forest of Roots and returning to the human world fulfilled a significant part of his desire to come back.

The rest would be a gradual process. That was not the ultimate goal.

‘My goal, what I want… is to become stronger. More than anyone in this world.’

So that no one can push him back into the Forest of Roots again. So that no one can stand above him. Like Darien, no, even more than that. To have the power that everyone fears.

Reaching the pinnacle as a swordsman, dominating even the seed of darkness squirming within. Becoming the sole master of his own life so that no one could force him.

That was what Helmut wanted. It was his aspiration.

It was a story that no one else could tell. The only ones who could tell his true feelings were either dead or in the Forest of Roots.

As long as he was born with the original sin of the seed of darkness, Helmut had to keep this deep and dark secret alone. He will have to endure solitude for a long time.

Until the future, which may not exist, where someone who understands and accepts him appears.

Fortunately, one thing is that Helmut is strong enough to endure solitude.

After a while, he asked.

“Then, what will you do after graduating from the academy?”

If his goal was like that, what about Asuka, a seemingly ordinary human with his goals?

“Me? Well…”

Asuka blinked as if puzzled.

“I haven’t thought about it. What should I do? I’ve never considered it.”

It was a strange statement, considering how he lectured extensively about being a mercenary or a knight.

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