Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 184 (Part 1):

“Hey, Helmut! Did you see that? My victory!”

Asuka, fresh off the stage, waved enthusiastically. Even up close, his disguise as a woman was flawless.

He had chosen a long-necked dress to hide his Adam’s apple, but his transformation was remarkable. The sheer innocence of his face said it all.

“Who did you vote for?”

“You.”

“Right? I knew you’d vote for me!”

Asuka beamed. Helmut didn’t mention that he had voted for Asuka because 3,000 marks were at stake for him.

‘Too bad. Just one more vote would have done it.’

3,000 marks had turned into 1,500. Or was it the other way around? If Sian had received one more vote, 1,500 marks could have been zero. Thinking positively, it was a good outcome.

Helmut commented as if to praise him,

“It paid off, all the hard work you put in.”

“Well, of course it did for me!”

A win was a win, regardless of the contest. Asuka seemed pleased just by that.

This seemed to ensure that the host, whom Asuka had irritated during the contest, would be safe from his wrath.

A second-year from the swordsmanship department chimed in.

“Hey, Helmut, how it’s going with your girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?”

“That, I don’t know why she’s your girlfriend, but the girl you came with.”

Asuka’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? This guy came with a girl? Really?”

“Yeah! I heard it too, that you were with some girl all day today!”

Sian appeared suddenly, whip in hand. He had already enthusiastically whipped a few participants, although his whip wasn’t meant for combat and his arm strength was so poor it would only sting a bit. Oddly enough, the volunteers seemed to enjoy it.

Watching this, the excitement of his victory faded. Sian added tersely,

“Tough dealing with these weirdos.”

Helmut responded briefly,

“She’s not here anymore. She left.”

While everyone was focused on the stage, that ‘girlfriend’ had said she had a good time today and then disappeared.

Asuka narrowed his eyes, his expression resembling a nagging girlfriend in his female disguise.

“She left? So you were with a girl! What’s the relationship?”

“A girlfriend? I didn’t know about that at all! When did you start dating? You hardly ever go out on your own.”

Sian joined in, casting a suspicious glance.

“A girlfriend for real? I had no idea! Introduced by Instructor Ethan? Or did you know her before entering the academy?”

Helmut lightly denied,

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what? Why were you with her?”

“Met by chance…? I was bored.”

“Since when do you pick up someone to hang out with because you’re bored?”

That was a sharp observation for Asuka. Sian raised a finger as if he had figured it out.

“She must be pretty enough to get you to move.”

That was true. Helmut nodded.

“She is pretty.”

“What? Did you get her contact? Which academy is she from!”

“How pretty must she be for you to say she’s pretty? Who is this girl?”

Asuka and Sian bombarded him with questions. Surrounded by the spitting duo, Helmut didn’t say more.

His silence was heavy. He wasn’t someone who could be forced to speak. Eventually, Asuka exploded.

“Ah, forget it! Who is she that you’re keeping your mouth shut? Did you meet a princess or something?”

“Let’s go change clothes. My feet hurt because of these shoes.”

Sian grumbled,

“And you get rid of that whip! Thinking of winning with that.”

“As if you didn’t panic and show off your apple slicing because you thought you could easily beat me!”

“As if you didn’t risk your life wanting to win! Let’s see next time.”

“Fine, let’s think of something for a rematch.”

After exchanging fierce glances, they told Helmut to wait and disappeared into the dressing room.

The three-day festival was nearing its grand finale. A fireworks display, the highlight of the event, was about to start.

Helmut glanced at the spot where he had been sitting, his expression unreadable.

*

At that time, Alea stopped in an empty building on the academy grounds after confirming she was not being followed.

She touched the bracelet and inspected Heike’s magic, which had noticeably loosened.

It hadn’t been 24 hours yet, but the gap had appeared not because the magic was hastily done—there is no such thing in the magic of a grand mage.

‘A date with a boy.’

Heike must have had a reason for sending that message. It was a hint in itself.

Alea had fulfilled the condition, weakening the magic enough to break it. Annoyingly, it had gone exactly as Heike intended.

‘From now on, any gift from Heike, whatever it is, I won’t even look at it but burn it.’

Resolute, Alea channeled magic into the bracelet. After a meticulous adjustment process, Heike’s newly overlaid magic was erased. The bracelet regained its original function.

Now, a beautiful boy with silver hair stood in his place.

Considering whether to discard the cumbersome mask and wand, Alea ended up keeping them.

‘Time to go back to the dorm.’

She had some magic research to finish.

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