Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 7 (Part 1):

“Wake up!”

Before the sun rose, Helmut jolted awake at a thunderous shout. Without even rubbing his eyes, a water jug was placed in front of Helmut as he got up from his bed.

“Fill it with water every morning and evening. It’s your daily task.”

The tone was commanding. ‘Does this man even sleep?’ Helmut thought as he picked up the bucket.

As Helmut, still half-asleep, left the house, a loud noise struck the back of his head.

“If you don’t come back quickly, there’s no meal!”

Helmut, who had gone all the way down to the water’s edge, avoiding the carnivorous fish, and filled the bucket, stopped in his tracks instead of returning.

His anger flared as he woke up. He had barely slept, and he was kicked out of bed from early morning. Standing still, Helmut kicked the ground with an irritated expression.

‘Why do I have to do this?’

Elaga didn’t raise him with tenderness, but he had not been so oppressive like this. Compared to Darien, she took care of him meticulously.

Darien, under the guise of training, tortured him all day, dictating tasks from morning till night.

For the first time in his life, Helmut felt the injustice of a situation.

‘I have to speak up.’

With a firm resolution, Helmut hoisted the filled water jug and walked back to the hut.

It didn’t take long, but wisps of smoke were rising from the hut when he arrived.

‘Is there a fire?’ Helmut, tilting his head in confusion, was gestured by Darien when he reached the hut.

“Come and sit down.”

A crude iron pot was placed over a blazing fire in the yard. Inside, a bubbling liquid emitted an enticing aroma.

The moment he smelled it, a growl emanated from his stomach. It was surprisingly hunger-inducing, a tantalizing smell. His cheeks tingled.

Feeling saliva pooling in his mouth, Helmut clenched his lips with his tongue. As if he had never been this hungry.

“Eat.”

In the forest of Roots, you can’t find a proper dish like this. Darien poured the contents into a bowl made of sturdy fruit peel. He called the slightly brownish, viscous liquid ‘soup.’

Helmut, rushing to taste it, burned his tongue. Darien handed him a spoon carved from wood.

“Eat it with this. You clumsy fellow.”

Helmut discreetly observed Darien, who was eating meat soup, and followed suit. Scooping a spoonful and blowing on it to cool, he put it in his mouth. The soup, with a mix of meat and fat, moistened his palate.

‘It tastes… really good!’

Helmut blinked his eyes. A shiver ran down his spine. It felt like he was tasting something this delicious for the first time in his life. Was human food always like this?

“How did you make this… huh?”

“I put chopped meat and yesterday’s roots and cooked it well. If you camp a lot, you get used to cooking. Even with simple ingredients, if cooked well, it becomes quite edible. I’ll teach you gradually.”

Encouraged by these words, Helmut looked at Darien. Darien, raising an eyebrow, looked at Helmut eating with unexpected interest.

A boy who grew up alone in the forest like an abandoned orphan. He probably never tasted human food.

Even Darien’s iron-like heart softened. Forgetting the whip after handing him a carrot, Helmut simply forgot his grievances.

He had never eaten home-cooked food, let alone tasted such a simple joy from a meat soup. The feeling lifted Helmut’s spirits.

If he could eat such food, if he could make such food, maybe following Darien’s orders isn’t so bad after all.

‘When I go out into the human world, I can eat even more delicious food like this?’

A determined resolution flashed in Helmut’s determined eyes. Like digging with a shovel, firmly.

Of course, what followed afterward was more grueling training.

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!

•