Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 257 (Part 2): From the Bottom

Elaga was never a considerate or understanding creature to begin with, and why Helmut was acting like this wasn’t an important issue to it.

It was only important that in Elaga’s eyes, Helmut appeared to be lazy, and that was unpleasant to see.

Before long, Elaga, whose patience had reached its limit, shouted.

[How long are you going to live on what I bring you to eat! You useless creature!]

But Helmut didn’t respond. Amidst the pouring scolding, Helmut lay still as if he had blocked his ears.

Finally, Elaga frowned and asked.

[What exactly happened outside? Did your mother abandon you again, saying she doesn’t need a cursed child?]

Helmut’s body twitched slightly at that question.

Only then did Elaga realize.

[So that’s what happened. I thought something was off about your state.]

I sent you off to the human world, only for you to return betrayed. After a moment, Elaga bluntly said.

[Stupid fool.]

Those words were purely criticism, not at all meant as comfort. To Elaga, the one who gets beaten is at fault. Of course, it wasn’t like that when it was the one getting beaten.

[So how long are you going to live uselessly like this? Are you trying to die?]

With a flick of its tail, Helmut muttered dryly.

“Leave me alone.”

For the first time, some emotion showed on his face. It was irritation. But that irritation was soon covered again by emptiness.

He reacted to stimuli, but the reaction was quickly buried.

Elaga persisted and asked.

[If I leave you alone, how long will you stay like this?]

“…”

Instead of giving an open-ended answer, Helmut chose silence, and ironically, Elaga read hope in his silence.

The fact that Helmut hadn’t completely given up on everything.

‘His will to live isn’t completely extinguished.’

Desire makes humans live on. What Helmut needs now is to want something again.

‘He’s strong for a human, so he’ll get back up someday.’

Elaga could guarantee that much.

Isn’t Helmut the first non-human to survive in this Forest of Roots and reach the outside world?

But until that ‘someday’ arrived, Elaga couldn’t just leave him alone.

Elaga was a demonic beast lacking in empathy, and even if Helmut had been abandoned by his parents yesterday, he would still mistreat him today and have plenty left over. For someone like that, it had been very patient.

‘I guess I have to help him.’

It would have been more like Elaga to beat him into submission.

But even Elaga had a soft spot for Helmut.

Elaga decided to help Helmut in a more moderate way.

Beasts live busy lives eating, drinking, and hunting. Helmut should rightfully live such a life too.

Especially since Elaga was a diligent beast. Wasn’t it taking care of new things now that Helmut had left and it had become free?

‘She might be of help.’

As soon as that thought occurred to it, Elaga went to find her.

[Susan.]

When it called from outside the house, a woman showed her face by opening the window.

“Yes, Elaga!”

The woman who answered briskly had neatly tied brown hair and a pretty face.

An attractive human woman in her late 20s. To look that way even in the Forest of Roots where there’s no need to dress up or groom oneself, she must have been considered quite a beauty in the outside world.

Susan was a noble. As nobles often do, she got caught up in a power struggle and was thrown into the Forest of Roots with her young daughter after losing her husband.

She was lucky. It’s a far-fetched thing for a human woman with no power, be it sword or magic, to survive in the Forest of Roots, but she met Erugo and survived.

And the luckier part is that Erugo died not long after she fell into his hands. Along with the owner of the human farm where she was.

There were dangerous moments. As soon as Naho died, the monsters lurking near his territory bared their teeth greedily towards the fragile humans. It was on a whole different level than the previous offensives.

The injured Erugo could do nothing.

Thinking that beasts would no longer run wild now that Naho had awakened, he stepped out of the lab and was immediately caught alive by sharp teeth.

Other humans followed a similar course. Without Naho and Erugo, they were powerless, and the attacking beasts were strong enough to break down the walls of the houses where the humans were hiding.

When Elaga absorbed Naho’s core and immediately found the human farm, everything was almost over.

All those humans were completely devoured by the greedy beasts without leaving even corpses.

Susan was holding her daughter tightly and holding her breath in Erugo’s lab.

Luckily escaping to Erugo’s lab whose door was open, she managed to survive there for days with only a small amount of water and food.

Erugo’s lab, the most solid hiding place, was the only one that didn’t collapse under the beasts’ offensive.

They were the only survivors. The reason Susan and Sarah survived was that while she was escaping with her daughter, others became sacrifices.

Elaga found their location by smell. They were terrified when Elaga spoke to them from outside the lab.

[Hey, humans in there. How are you doing?]

A beast intelligent enough to communicate with humans. Unlike the vicious Naho, they quickly opened up to Elaga, a beautiful white leopard.

In fact, Susan and Sarah had no choice but to rely on Elaga’s mercy.

There was no point in just holding out in the lab; once the food ran out, it would be over anyway.

“We, we’re okay.”

[So only you two survived.]

Elaga clicked its tongue. If it didn’t take care of these two, they would be eaten by demonic beasts like the other humans.

Without hesitation, Elaga took these two humans under its wing.

For some reason, it felt natural to Elaga.

Just as it had protected and raised Helmut, Elaga would do the same for them. It was Elaga’s hobby and habit.

‘I’ve raised a male, now it’s females.’

And the latter was certainly more enjoyable to raise.

While Helmut was an unlovable and arrogant fellow, Susan and Sarah were cute and gentle.

Above all, these two trusted and followed Elaga.

Seeing Susan and Sarah rushing out of the house to greet him whenever he brought back prey, Elaga felt like he had become a head of household.

It was a novel experience.

‘Wounds inflicted by humans should be healed by humans.’

Elaga thought simply. And it said to Susan, who was looking at it with eyes full of trust.

[You have a job to do.]

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