Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 172 (Part 1):

Helmut felt, for a moment, as if he were facing a stranger.

“Asuka?”

That rare blue hair. The mole under his eye. It was unmistakably Asuka.

But his height was different. Not enough to be considered tall among the famously bulky students of the Swordsmanship Department, but he seemed to have grown as much as the length of a finger. It was an astonishing rate of growth.

His skill seemed to have grown as well, his aura heavier than before.

However, as Helmut initially thought, the gap had not narrowed over the vacation. Helmut had encountered and fought a formidable opponent, the commander of the Palma Knights.

“Hey, Helmut. What kind of labor did you do to get so tanned?”

He grinned and waved his hand. Helmut asked with suspicion.

“Did you take a growth potion?”

“What are you talking about? Oh, the height? People in my family tend to have growth spurts. I might grow even more. Everyone says I’m tall. Maybe even taller than you?”

Asuka, looking more manly with less baby fat, seemed a bit proud as he spoke. Sian sighed deeply.

“The cuteness is gone. That was the only thing covering up your personality.”

“What did you say?”

Asuka frowned, but then he chuckled.

“Well, in a year, you’ll be a complete shorty. Same with Alea.”

“Shorty!”

Sian grumbled, seemingly self-conscious as he touched his hair.

“I’ll grow too. My family isn’t known for being short!”

“Who’s worrying? No need to be so insecure.”

Sian glared at Asuka as he bragged. Watching them bicker, Helmut felt it anew.

‘We’re back.’

The incidents in Basor and the desert felt like distant dreams.

It felt strange, as if returning to peace after being in the midst of war.

Anyway, it was a rare chance to train. Although there was plenty of time to hold a sword on the slow journey back to Baden, the training grounds of Greta Academy offered a far better environment.

“I’m off.”

Helmut, attempting to shake off Asuka and Sian, suddenly stopped at Sian’s words.

“Helmut, by the way, which elective did you choose? The deadline is today.”

He felt a chill down his spine. He had completely forgotten. He wanted no part in the headache of additional private lessons.

“You didn’t register? Right, you came to Baden recently. Was it yesterday?”

“Today.”

“You came on the very last day! Hurry and register. As the top of the Swordsmanship Department, you’ll have first pick. Don’t end up suffering by choosing something like Understanding Magic.”

“Don’t mention that.”

While listening to Asuka’s grumbling, Helmut immediately changed his plans.

*

Fortunately, it was ten minutes before the deadline. Helmut, as the top student of the Swordsmanship Department, secured the easiest elective to score in.

At Greta Academy, everything followed a merit system. Good grades naturally brought all benefits.

‘Did I even read a book over the vacation?’

Helmut tried to remember. The last thing resembling reading was going through the documents about the Palma Knights that Michael had passed on.

He had spent a vacation focused on almost everything except studying.

If it were someone like Alea, he would have sought out a library even in a country like Basor.

But Helmut naturally excluded anything book-related from his thoughts.

‘I had time, but it’s just not my thing.’

Though not to his liking, the academy education aimed to instill even those dispositions that were not.

Therefore, the academy was an unparalleled place of learning for commoners who couldn’t afford private tutors. The same was true for Helmut.

As Helmut, more inclined to train than study, left the registration office, someone greeted him.

“Hello, senior.”

It was Charlotte. She seemed slightly surprised to bump into him.

Helmut was reminded of his original plans for the vacation.

‘I had intended to follow Charlotte.’

The new schedule in Basor had postponed that plan.

Charlotte, who had almost been tracked, widened her eyes in surprise.

“You got quite tanned.”

“Ah, yes.”

Did he get that tanned? Just a bit sunburned, but everyone made a comment because of his usually pale complexion.

“Did you visit a hot country? Someone from our family went to the Basor martial arts tournament, so maybe you—”

Helmut denied it as calmly as possible.

“No.”

She was sharper than expected. Charlotte took his word for it without suspicion and asked.

“By the way, senior, I have a question about what you asked me before the vacation. Why did you ask me that?”

‘If it’s that question… Margret Irene.’

Otaku_Tensei

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