Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 6 (Part 2):

Helmut, carrying a water bucket as instructed by Darien, descended to the water’s edge when he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He bent over to pour water when a massive leopard playfully flicked the surface with her tail. Splish! Water splattered, and Helmut wiped his face in annoyance.

“What are you doing?”

– What does it look like? Trying to amuse you?

“Darien told me to fetch water.”

– Why would you listen to a human like him when you don’t even listen to me?

Somehow, he ended up becoming independent from Elaga, unable to speak properly anymore. Feeling apologetic, Helmut said,
“He taught me good things. And he said he would make me stronger.”

To leave the Forest of Roots, one must become stronger.

Darien might have been lying, but Helmut vaguely sensed that he was not the type to deceive and manipulate others cunningly.

So, it probably wasn’t a lie.

– You want to become stronger to leave the forest?

“I am a human, aren’t I?”

Elaga’s words always reminded him of that. Elaga looked at Helmut with a somewhat discontented expression.

– Do you think there will be something good outside?

As a baby, Helmut, who had a Seed of Darkness, had been abandoned in the Forest of Roots.

Returning wouldn’t change anything. Once his true identity was revealed, humans would treat him as an enemy and try to kill him.

Leaving the Forest of Roots wouldn’t provide him with a better place to go.

However, Helmut simply redirected the question, “There’s nothing good about staying here.”

Living in the Forest of Roots meant just surviving.

Helmut now had a goal. With a goal in mind, Helmut’s life felt more worth living.

Leaving Elaga, who had become mute, Helmut silently filled the bucket.

“I’m going. See you next time.”

Helmut, who had picked up the bucket, waved his hand. Elaga watched the departing boy blankly.

– Well, take care.

A moment later, Elaga muttered discontentedly. The giant leopard, who had been casting side glances at the boy who left, eventually wandered away, wavering.

*

“Splash! Cold water splashed over his body, instantly jolting his fading consciousness back to full alertness. Darien was watching him with his arms crossed.

“Straighten your back!”

For several hours now, Helmut had maintained the horse-riding posture, bending both legs and extending his arms forward in what they called the ‘horse stance.’

His limbs trembled, racked with cramps, and his body was drenched in sweat.

“Maintain this position for another ten minutes,” Darien declared without mercy as he sat down on a chair. It was rigorous training for a ten-year-old.

But Darien had a way of motivating Helmut with just one sentence.

“Don’t you want to leave the forest?”

It was an effective reminder.

Darien had subjected Helmut to various grueling and bizarre tasks under the guise of training. He made him repeatedly throw a thick branch and retrieve it from the dark hillside, tossing a leather ball down a steep hill and making him pick it up several times. It pushed his endurance to the limit. He had experienced near-death situations before, but this was an entirely different feeling.

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

Helmut had never received such training before. He’s just a ten-year-old child. It’s natural to be hard.

‘But I can endure it.’

Helmut endured to the end. If patience was a talent, Helmut was a genius.

It was also a learned behavior. Having grown up in the harsh environment of the Forest of Roots from infancy, Helmut had endured many hardships.

‘He’s holding up quite well. Someone who survived in the Forest of Roots must be different.’

Darien raised an eyebrow as he watched Helmut, who was struggling to keep his trembling arms up.

He had innate strength, no doubt influenced by Elaga’s protection or the Seed of Darkness, but surviving in the Forest of Roots from the very beginning had toughened him mentally and physically.

He had determination too. In his pitch-black eyes, there was an unyielding spirit that was anything but ordinary.

That was something an ordinary boy could never possess.

If he didn’t have the Seed of Darkness, he would have grown up to be a swordsman who would leave his mark on the world.

But no matter how good the raw material, it would remain a lump of iron if not carefully forged and sharpened.

Darien intended to refine Helmut, like a sturdy and sharp blade.

He didn’t know if he would be alive by the time this good quality lump of iron became a sword, but meeting Helmut in this cursed forest was an opportunity given to him.

An opportunity to do something meaningful in life. An opportunity to leave something behind.

The more remarkable the achievements, the more he hoped to leave his mark on the world. Darien Deferth, the Swordstar, was no exception.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your arms horizontal!”

Darien yelled out loud.

As night fell, the training came to an end. Helmut, who had collapsed on the floor, spat out a thunderous sound.

“Today’s training is just the beginning. As your body gets used to it, I will increase the intensity of the training, so be prepared!”

Darien had made his judgment, looking at Helmut’s skeleton, muscles, and physical condition.

But for the first time in his life, Helmut felt dizzy.

‘Is this… just the beginning?’

His entire body ached and throbbed. Helmut frowned, his fatigue evident. He wanted to lie down and sleep.

“Do you intend to go to bed with that smelly body?”

Darien turned Helmut around. He gestured towards the bucket of water that Helmut had scooped up earlier.

“Wash up and then sleep.”

Helmut looked at Darien with an expressionless face. His eyes revealed an underlying defiance.

“Yes.”

Helmut was gradually getting used to the ‘polite way of speaking.’

Gritting his teeth and holding back his anger, Helmut took off his clothes and poured water from the bucket to wash his body.

It felt similar to when he was dunked into the water up to his hair, clinging to Elaga’s tail, who loved to bathe.

His damp body dried quickly after shaking it a few times. Helmut changed into new clothes that Darien had given him.

Only then was he able to finish the cumbersome process and lay his tired body on the newly made bed.

The training that lasted all day exhausted Helmut that day. The soft bed, which he was lying on for the first time, was unfamiliar yet comfortable.

Otaku_Tensei

I'm currently Translating the following novel: Helmut: The Forsaken Child. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

•