Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 457 (Part 1):

“Greta Academy?”

“That’s right.”

Helmut stared at the man’s face, tinged with awkwardness, and muttered suspiciously,
“Andro?”

The other nodded vigorously.

He was a guy Helmut had known since the academy entrance exams.
Truly, he’d changed so much. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be part of the Imperial Knights of the Deus Empire.

Elaga, perched on Helmut’s shoulder, tilted his head curiously.
[Is this guy your lackey from the academy days?]

“Classmate,” Helmut corrected.

“The cat’s talking!”

Andro pointed, clearly unaware of Elaga’s nature.

“Yeah, a talking cat.”

Speaking nonchalantly, Helmut tossed Elaga to the ground.

*Kyaaang!*

Landing on all fours, Elaga let out an indignant yowl.

“Go on.”

[This punk, just you wait!]

Leaving behind a villainous line, Elaga scampered off and vanished somewhere.

Only then did the atmosphere settle enough for conversation.

Andro, his expression stiff, opened his mouth.
“You can’t imagine how shocked we were when we heard about you. Everyone was.”

A classmate who’d attended Greta Academy for just a year before disappearing without a trace.

Asuka, Alea, and Sian had all stayed silent, leaving only rampant rumors in their wake.

The most persistent one was that Helmut had been killed by someone. As a commoner, it wasn’t unthinkable that he’d met such a fate if he’d rubbed someone the wrong way.

Or perhaps he’d left because academy life didn’t suit him.

But then, four years later, news of that vanished classmate surfaced.

His name had already begun to fade from memory.

Yet, the impression he’d left was so vivid that the moment they heard the rumors from the martial arts tournament, it clicked.

The champion of the tournament, the Grand Prince of Renosa who’d made a dazzling appearance—that was *that* Helmut!

But wasn’t he a commoner? What was going on? He had the Seed of Darkness?

It was a cascade of confusion. Asuka being royalty had already been revealed, but this was even more shocking.

The world had been thrown into upheaval, and they could only watch from the sidelines.

Each of them was bound to their respective factions, unable to act recklessly.

Fortunately, most of Helmut’s classmates belonged to the Deus Empire.
Naturally, the Empire sided with Renosa.

And so, time had swept by like a storm, leading them to this moment. They’d gathered here, no longer as academy classmates but as comrades fighting for their respective causes.

Helmut scanned his surroundings.
Approaching him were faces, all familiar.
He dredged their names from memory, one by one.
Dino, James, Basil, Wesley, Mitchell… and several others.
Truthfully, their faces had changed so much that it was hard to be certain who was who.

“They all seem to be doing well,” Helmut remarked.

Judging by their robust appearances, they’d clearly been eating and sleeping well.

“Helmut… sir.”

One of them, about to call his name casually, hesitated and added the honorific.

The other was the Grand Prince of Renosa. They’d known him only as a commoner until now. But they couldn’t blame Helmut.

Everyone agreed he must have had his reasons.

“We were so shocked when we heard what happened.”

Helmut calmly surveyed them, assessing the situation.
Their presence here meant one thing.

“Before we head off to die, are we supposed to reminisce or something?”

“Come on, it’s not like that.”

“We’re here to fight and defend the barrier!”

“I never imagined we’d meet like this at a banquet.”

The banquet, held to boost morale, had turned into a reunion.

As more joined the conversation, the area around Helmut grew lively.

Judging by their presence, it seemed these Greta Academy graduates had returned to their homelands and secured notable positions.

Ordinary soldiers couldn’t handle the demonic beasts of the Forest of Roots, so only elite knights from various nations had been summoned here.

These were the new recruits among those elites.

After all, it hadn’t even been a year since they’d graduated from Greta Academy.

‘This… might be a problem.’

Helmut wondered if the barrier would hold, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

They seemed to share the same concern, their faces betraying traces of unease.

“Fighting demonic beasts… I’m nervous.”

“I’ve never even seen a demonic beast in my life, and now we’re facing a horde straight out of a myth.”

“They say it’s the Demon King or something. It’s chaos. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

They’d come because their superiors ordered them to, but skepticism and doubt were evident.
Some even hoped this was all just a big commotion that would blow over.
After all, they hadn’t seen anything with their own eyes.

“By the way, Helmut, sir. You came from the Forest of Roots, didn’t you? What’s it like?”

All eyes turned to him. It was a potentially sensitive question, but Helmut answered simply.
“A place where none of you would last a day.”

Silence fell, and it took a moment for conversation to resume.

Hearing Helmut, who’d come from the Forest of Roots, say that so bluntly stirred a creeping sense of tension.

Helmut spoke coolly.
“You’ll have to fight for your lives. If you want to make it back alive.”

It wasn’t advice—it was a warning.

Otaku_Tensei

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