Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 178 (Part 2):

He knew Alea had secrets to keep. Likely, those secrets were more significant than Helmut could guess.

Attending the academy disguised as a man when women are allowed must have a substantial reason, leading to her isolating herself.

But Helmut, too, harbored significant secrets. Although he lacked the heart to sympathize, something about this bothered him.

Helmut suddenly harbored a suspicion.

‘Surely she isn’t into cross-dressing by taste.’

Despite her gentle appearance, Alea, with her unusual personality, had never been suspected of being a woman, fitting well into her male disguise.

Helmut, moved by a sudden impulse, approached Alea’s door and knocked. Knock, knock.

But no sound came from inside. No sign of presence.

‘Not in her room?’

She might be at the magic department building for research. Without realizing, Helmut left the dormitory and slowly headed there.

There was plenty of time until the cross-dressing contest. With nothing else to do, he thought, ‘Is this the place?’

The second-year building of the magic department, which he had visited a few times following Sian, was quiet.

On a day without classes, only a few devoted to magic research remained in the magic department.

Just as he was about to enter the building, a murmuring sound reached him from afar. It seemed like a large group of people moving, the air vibrating slightly.

Helmut frowned, feeling a sharp pain.

‘This is…’

He quickly realized why his heart ached.

‘The High Priest. He’s chosen today to visit Greta Academy.’

In the distance, something white caught his eye. A man dressed in white stood out even from afar, surrounded by paladins whose armor reflected the sunlight, drawing attention and whispers.

The High Priest was conversing with a few magic department professors, likely questioning them about any students meddling with forbidden magic or showing undue curiosity.

As expected, the seed of darkness was sensitively reacting to the High Priest’s presence.

The closer he got, the more intense the pain became, as if warning of danger approaching, advising to flee.

Being dominated by the seed of darkness was an unbearably unpleasant feeling.

But following it was the right choice. One must avoid drawing the High Priest’s attention.

‘I guess he’s inspecting the magic department building. Better avoid him.’

Helmut clutched his chest and hastened his steps.

Just as he passed the building and was about to turn a corner, someone suddenly emerged. There was almost no presence detected.

Helmut instinctively reached for his waist, but he had no sword. It was against school rules.

The person, noticing Helmut, tried to step back to avoid a collision but tripped and fell.

The individual was a girl in a deep hood. A girl…? By her build, undoubtedly.

Helmut squinted.

‘How can her presence be so faint?’

It was as if she was using high-level magic to conceal her presence. Yet, there was something familiar about it.

Helmut frowned, looking at her. The hood concealed her face.

The girl lifted her head, and Helmut’s eyes met her violet pupils.

Beneath the hood, her hair flowed down in a brilliant shade of lavender.

Recognizing her face, Helmut froze momentarily, and so did she.

‘Damn her.’

The girl with lavender hair, Alea, inwardly cursed Heike.

What was she thinking? Understanding her would forever be impossible for Alea.

So, this was the situation.

Needing a textbook for research, Alea went to the magic department building.

Just as she was about to leave, she sensed the high priest approaching.

Alea hadn’t forgotten that the high priest could visit Greta Academy at any time.

She quickly moved to an empty room in the building. With few people around, it was easy to hide unnoticed.

‘It’s time to use Heike’s bracelet.’

After checking for curses or anything unusual, she found the bracelet to be normal.

Nonchalantly, Alea slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. It was a magic activated by combining two bracelets. As they lit up, Heike’s magic unfolded.

Immediately after, Alea could not help but be furious at the change she underwent.

“This… Is she out of her mind?”

Where a silver-haired boy stood moments ago, now a beautiful girl with striking lavender hair appeared.

It was Alea’s true form, with only her hair color altered.

Frozen, Alea quickly removed the bracelet as Heike’s cheerful voice rang out, a message transmitted after activating the artifact.

[Hello, Alea? Did you receive my gift? Enjoy the festival as a girl for once. It would be even better to have a wonderful date with a handsome male student. The artifact’s effect slightly alters your appearance and kills your presence. 24 hours! If you try to dispel the magic before then, the first bracelet’s magic might be damaged, so please enjoy the magic’s effect quietly for 24 hours.]

The second bracelet crumbled pitifully in Alea’s grip, its effect exhausted.

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