Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 194 (Part 2):

“Don’t worry. The High Priest doesn’t persecute mages.”

Yet the worry was that both he and Alea could very well be exceptions to this rule.

“As you can see, my companion is asleep, so that might be difficult.”

It seemed they only needed to avoid the High Priest, but that wouldn’t be easy.

“If he’s asleep, wake him up. What nonsensical talk is this?”

“He’s passed out from exhaustion, won’t wake up for another two days.”

Helmut gave a rough estimate of when Alea might awaken. The knight scoffed.

“Two days? Don’t talk nonsense. We need to leave soon anyway.”

“Hurry up and carry your client.”

The commanding tone implied they would force them if he refused. A chilly voice slipped from Helmut.

“Why don’t you carry him?”

“What did you say? How dare you!”

“I don’t want to touch my client. He said to not disturb him because he put up a defensive spell before sleeping.”

Helmut shrugged lightly.

Fortunately, the way Alea was lying looked quite natural, thanks to Helmut’s careful arrangement.

Helmut’s scant consideration. Not being treated as a mere object was a privilege Alea held.

“If you’re a knight, you can block magic. You carry him.”

Helmut bluffed with a mercenary’s bravado.

Of course, if they really tried to carry Alea, he planned to do it himself. He couldn’t let her fall into their hands.

But Helmut was feeling disheartened.

‘Is it meaningful to delay like this?’

He resisted being dragged along to the High Priest, but if it came to a fight, wouldn’t it be better to just…

“It’s absurd.”

The knights snickered. One of the lower-ranked ones stepped forward boldly.

“Fine, I’ll carry him.”

As he reached out towards Alea, Helmut sensed someone else approaching. It felt like a large mass of bright, holy power moving towards them.

A sense of threat tightened around his neck. The seed of darkness within his heart tensed, feeling the presence of these two powers inside and out.

‘Whoever it is, they’re stronger than that one.’

Dolos, the High Priest Helmut had met before, was definitely at the lower end of combat ability among the High Priests.

He had become a High Priest through his research achievements and knowledge, not because of his prowess in force or holy power.

That meant other High Priests were significantly stronger.

And with knights around, a High Priest’s combat capability doubled. The priests’ style of fighting was similar to that of mages, and with the knights to support him…

The odds were unfavorable, more so than fighting the entire Palma Knight Order.

The knights, sensing someone approaching, halted their movements. Soon, the figure revealed himself.

A middle-aged man with intense eyes, dressed in white with ornate golden patterns, exuded authority from his relaxed stance overlooking them.

“Why are you taking so much time?”

His stern voice echoed. The knights turned and saluted him in unison.

“High Priest Pascal.”

Helmut was the only one who kept his head defiantly raised as he faced the High Priest. He suddenly realized something.

‘Pascal, one of the names Dolos mentioned to me.’

Darien’s nemesis, an enemy he had to kill someday. To meet him so soon…

It was hardly an opportunity, given the number of knights supporting him, and a few priests trailed behind him too.

If they weren’t far from Baden, it made sense for the High Priest’s entourage to stumble upon them here.

It was more of a bad connection than a coincidence. He had always known a day would come to face the temple, but the timing was too soon.

An unprepared confrontation. All he could hope for was that this storm would pass by.

“My apologies for causing such a nobleman to make the trip.”

“It’s because this one wouldn’t cooperate,” a knight pointed at Helmut. Pascal’s gaze shifted to Helmut, curious and intrigued.

He took in Helmut and Alea, a flicker of an unsettling emotion crossing his eyes. Helmut felt a grim premonition.

“In such a place, young boys, what brings you here? I felt a magic surge and ordered the forest searched.”

It seemed that when the entrance from Lampione’s dungeon opened, magic had spread into the area.

Pascal, passing nearby, had sensitively detected the magic and cast a scouting spell.

“This young man behind is a mage, the client of this dark-haired boy. They were passing through on their journey.”

“Why is the mage unconscious?”

“He’s asleep, but he has a condition where he doesn’t wake up easily.”

“Oh, really? Perhaps I should have a look.”

“We’ve been warned he’s surrounded by a defensive spell.”

“A mere mage’s defensive spell, what could it possibly do to me?”

Pascal, confident despite the knight’s caution, approached. No one stopped him.

Pascal stopped close to Alea and overtly admired her face. Helmut twitched, worried Pascal might recognize Alea.

But Pascal’s reaction was an unabashed compliment.

“Such extraordinary beauty.”

“He’s a man.”

“Yes, he appears so to my eyes as well.”

While Alea had suffered from Heike’s mischiefs, the bracelet’s magic had become more perfect.

Not as powerful as when it was temporarily strengthened, but less conspicuous than before the festival.

So Pascal, even from a distance, couldn’t see through it.

“That pleases me as well. Such pure silver hair. He’s the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen.”

Desire flickered in the High Priest’s eyes. As he slowly stroked his clean-shaven chin, facing her, Helmut felt an ominous premonition.

It was an unsettling feeling, like being caught in a sticky trap.

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