Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 268 (Part 2):

The moment the four companions passed through the sacred barrier, a faint ripple shook the Forest of Roots.

Zing! And that ripple soon became wind. Rustle.

It made a sound as it brushed past the trees and fell between the leaves.

“Hmm.”

He suddenly looked up at the sky. The gray sky was the same as yesterday. But he felt strange. A sensation he had never felt in the past four years. Like a sign of something.

‘Is it my imagination?’

He lowered his head. This is the Forest of Roots.

To outsiders, it’s a terrifying place where unknown dangers may strike, but to some, it’s as peaceful as a lake scenery.

A place that passes time without any drastic changes.

It was quite familiar to him, who had lived most of his life here.

‘…It’s been 4 years already.’

He, Helmut, suddenly counted the years that had passed. 4 years since he returned.

Living without being aware of the passage of time, he had already grown into a tall young man.

Black hair darker than the night of the Forest of Roots where even starlight barely penetrates, and eyes that held an abyss.

His skin, once briefly tanned, had turned pale white again.

His face, calm but holding sharpness, was now that of a young man with no trace of youthfulness left.

The calm yet imposing aura emanating from his eyes and entire body was also that of a swordsman who had reached a high level.

‘I guess that’s enough for today.’

Feeling odd, Helmut put down his sword. The Helmut who once feared even the smallest beast in the Forest of Roots had become so strong that he could now dominate as a predator with his bare hands.

Just as he was about to sink into contemplation, there was a voice calling him.

“Helmut, it’s time to eat!”

A woman appeared from the other side. She was a kind-looking woman wearing shabby cloth with leather patches.

“Helmut?”

“Yes, Susan.”

As he turned around from where he was standing in the shade, Susan flinched. Even though she knew he wasn’t dangerous, perhaps due to his appearance, she felt involuntarily intimidated whenever she saw Helmut in dark places.

His eerie and imposing aura, along with his expressionless face, gave an inhuman impression.

Even though she had seen with her own eyes that he was a human capable of feeling despair.

She remembered the boy who had collapsed like a corpse with empty eyes four years ago.

She had watched that boy get up again, grasp a sword, and grow up. For four years.

‘Yet he still feels unfamiliar at times.’

Is it because of the wounds he suffered from the human world? Or is it just his original personality?

Helmut was a man of few words, and he rarely revealed what was in his heart.

And while he thanked Susan for bringing food, he never asked anything more from her.

Their interaction was truly minimal, and the distance between Susan and Helmut was always maintained far apart. Neither getting closer nor farther.

A sense of distance as if a wall had been built.

Despite spending quite a long time together, it felt more like distant neighbors rather than family. Together, but not accepted.

However, her daughter didn’t seem to feel that way at all.

“Helmut! What are you dawdling for, I’m hungry!”

Sarah, who had run up behind Susan, waved her hands dramatically. Having grown considerably, she now had the appearance of a proper young lady rather than a child.

Originally, she should have grown up comfortably as a daughter of a noble family, but Sarah’s hands holding the sword were full of calluses.

While feeling sorry about this, Susan spoke sternly.

“Sarah, how dare you say ‘dawdling’ to your master. What kind of language is that!”

“What’s the big deal? Helmut won’t mind, right?”

As she said, Helmut didn’t seem to care. He looked at the mother and daughter with indifferent eyes and replied, “I’ll come.”

They soon sat down at a wooden table with food in front of them. Due to the once-existing human village, they had decent household items, so there wasn’t much inconvenience in living. Above all, there was always someone who supplied them with food.

Helmut suddenly asked.

“Where’s Elaga?”

Elaga, who always joined them at mealtimes like the head of the family, watching them even though it didn’t eat human food.

But today, Elaga was nowhere to be seen. Could it be related to the strange feeling from earlier?

“Elaga said it was going to check the territory for a bit. But is something on your mind, Helmut? You seem to be thinking.”

When Sarah asked what Susan couldn’t, Helmut responded indifferently.

“I don’t know.”

“You always answer like everything’s a bother! Why are you always like that, Helmut? So listless.”

‘How noisy.’

Helmut looked at Sarah, who was chattering beside him, with fresh eyes.

It was strange that her presence only now caught his attention, as Sarah had always been a noisy and bothersome disciple to Helmut.

His disciple. After all, Helmut is Sarah’s swordsmanship master.

‘A master, huh…’

In fact, although he was called a master, Helmut hadn’t really put much effort into teaching Sarah all this time.

His attitude was that she could learn if she wanted to, and quit if it was too hard.

But Sarah persevered and asked for more teachings. Unlike Susan, Sarah, being a child, easily approached Helmut and spoke to him.

In other words, she was constantly annoying him.

Otaku_Tensei

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