Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 263 (Part 2):

Rescuing a boy exiled to the Forest of Roots was vastly different from extracting a bearer of the Seed of Darkness.

‘Is he still controlling his Dark Seed well?’

‘I’ve never seen any sign of it going out of control. He manages himself perfectly. Even when facing another bearer of the Seed of Darkness.’

Alea told him about what had happened to Helmut.

It was a story that could evoke sympathy even in Archmage Antiol, who had grown numb to most things after living so long.

Antiol clicked his tongue with a complicated expression.

‘I never imagined there was someone who escaped from the Forest of Roots. If I had known who he was looking for earlier, I would have told him. Nobles are utterly untrustworthy creatures. Especially the Renosa bloodline is ruthlessly cruel.’

‘What’s done is done.’

A look of concern crossed Antiol’s face.

‘But me helping you is a different matter. Of course, what happened to him is utterly tragic, but for the sake of the world, it might be better for that child to remain in the Forest of Roots. If a swordsman of his caliber awakens the Seed of Darkness and goes berserk, it would be no ordinary disaster. Countless lives could be lost.’

Alea shook her head. Her voice flowed out clearly and deliberately.

‘For the sake of the world. Small sacrifices are unavoidable for the greater good. That is the justice the Temple espouses. I was under the impression that you, Archmage Antiol, did not agree with such Temple doctrines.’

‘That is…’

‘Helmut is innocent, and was exiled to the Forest of Roots solely for possessing the Seed of Darkness. Those who return from exile to the Forest of Roots are forgiven of all crimes. But he was not even allowed that rule because he possessed the Seed of Darkness. He never committed any crime in the first place. Is what happened to Helmut just?’

‘It’s not just. But for nobles, their family has the right to decide the fate of its members.’

‘Helmut is not the official heir to Renosa. He never enjoyed any of the wealth or honor Renosa could offer. He was just a young boy trying to remember and find the mother who gave birth to him. But his mother abandoned him twice.’

A moment of silence followed.

Antiol’s brow furrowed.

Though he was an archmage who had lived realizing his desires, he could not easily participate in something that might bring calamity to the world.

But he did not deliberate for long.

‘…Your attempt to appeal to my sympathy was quite useful. Alright, I’ll help you. Perhaps my meeting him back then was my fate as a mage. In the end, perhaps it was meant to come to this.’

‘Thank you.’

‘No need for thanks. You may have moved my heart, but it was my decision to comply.’

With that, it was settled for now.

With Antiol’s help, Alea was able to make plans up until today.

*

As Alea’s story came to an end, everyone wore dazed expressions.

Asuka raised an incredulous look.

“Archmage Heike and Antiol, wow, real heavyweights just keep popping up.”

Sian chimed in.

“I feel like I just heard some incredible story.”

“Let me be clear, they won’t be coming with us to the Forest of Roots. We don’t know what will happen in there.”

“Well, we’ll just have to trust in the great Alea!”

“You do what you want. We’ll just follow orders when we get there.”

Are there such reckless fools?

Alea looked at them with exactly that kind of gaze. They had faith that the clever Alea wouldn’t head into danger without any plan.

Of course, there was a high possibility that if danger arose, Alea would try to save only herself.

Charlotte, who had come to her senses belatedly, opened her mouth.

“Then is Senior Alea a blood relative of Archmage Heike? I suppose your amazing talent was inherited from her.”

Alea frowned slightly. She was not keen on being associated with Heike in any way.

“Perhaps.”

Asuka and Sian noisily chattered beside her.

“That’s right, we didn’t know either!”

“We’ve been friends for years and we still didn’t know that!”

“Who said we’re friends?”

Alea snorted. She had spent time with them occasionally since Helmut disappeared, but that was just out of habit, not because she particularly thought of them as friends.

There was also the calculation that she needed to build some semblance of friendship to go together to the deadly Forest of Roots.

Alea immediately declared with a serious face.

“That’s all for the explanation. We’re going to meet Archmage Antiol right away.”

“Teleportation magic?”

“No.”

Alea took something out from her chest. It was a reddish gem. Inside was engraved a small oval.

As soon as Alea infused it with magical power, light spread outward from the gem.

That light expanded the oval inside the gem and drew it in mid-air. It was an entrance large enough for one man to stand and enter.

The scenery inside the oval shimmered hazily. As if a window to another world had been opened.

“This is a door leading to his residence.”

“This is amazing.”

“It feels like we’re being invited into a myth.”

Sian and Asuka exchanged comments. Both looked excited.

Alea approached the door first.

“Follow right after me.”

Asuka, Sian, and Charlotte quickly drew near. Asuka glanced at Charlotte and said as if just remembering:

“Oh, but going to the Forest of Roots is fine and all, but it’ll be uncomfortable for Charlotte. Being among all guys.”

Sian replied flatly.

“There won’t be any problem as long as you don’t do anything weird.”

“What weird things would I do! Don’t paint me as some pervert!”

“I’ll be fine. It was like that in the Swordsmanship Department too.”

Listening to their conversation, Alea realized there was still something she hadn’t told them.

Tilting her head slightly, Alea said nonchalantly:

“I’m a woman too.”

And she immediately stepped inside the door.

Just after her figure disappeared beyond the oval, chaos swept over the group.

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