# 266
Helmut
Episode 266
Amid the tension, they moved forward in silence. It looked quiet and secluded, but this was Pahe’s Forest. You never know what might pop out.
They proceeded cautiously and without haste.
“Ugh, what is this!”
At some point, Xian made a fuss and kicked into the air.
The caterpillar that was biting his shoe fell off.
There was a hole in the area where the caterpillar was biting, with white smoke rising.
Area said as if it was no big deal.
“It’s a bug that contains acid poison. “Watch your step.”
Although we managed to mask its presence with magic, direct contact is unavoidable.
After about half a day, monsters began to appear. It started with small and weak guys.
Sian looked around and said.
“Trees and grass all contain demonic energy. “How on earth do we supply food here?”
“I brought enough food and water. “You can think of it as just exploring.”
There are things you can eat in Pahe Forest, but you don’t live here, so there’s no need to go looking for them.
‘The further away you are from the sacred barrier, the more poisonous the demonic energy becomes. It’s to the point where I’m having trouble using magic.’
It feels like the magic that was spreading all the way has been caught in a strainer.
Just as divine power conflicted with magical power, demonic power also conflicted with magical power.
Unless you use black magic that fuses the two powers, there are some restrictions on using magic in Pahe Forest.
That means Area cannot demonstrate 100% of its abilities.
‘I guess I’ll have to endure it.’
As long as you come fully prepared, there won’t be any problems unless you encounter a very strong enemy.
Asuka asked Area.
“Where should we go anyway? “Isn’t there going to be a minimum standard?”
It was really ‘at least’ tidy. Area answered readily.
“First, to the center of Pahe Forest.”
“Why are you there?”
“Helmut said he grew up there. “I don’t know the exact location, but if I returned to Pahe’s Forest, I wouldn’t have gone back to my hometown.”
Helmut grew up in the arms of the leopard Elaga, the ruler of the central region.
If the meaning of the word ‘center’ in Pahe’s Forest is different from the outside world, then it would be somewhere in the center of Pahe’s Forest.
‘They said Elaga was a very large white leopard.’
Did you say it was a leopard as big as a house? He also said he could speak.
Elagara, where Helmut was raised in the central region, is the territory of the leopard, so Helmut is probably there as well.
Helmut, who lost his sword and fell into the Forest of Pahe, must have found the most trustworthy partner.
If he was in a condition to go find the leopard.
‘Yes, he will be alive. ‘It has to be that way.’
Area shook off the sudden ominous feeling and organized her thoughts.
“Clearly you know a lot about Helmut.”
Asuka grumbled with a somewhat dissatisfied expression. Neither Asuka nor Xian knew anything about Helmut until Area told them.
‘I only told this to my girlfriend.’
Asuka, who had been hiding things about herself, made a difficult decision to beat Helmut.
There are many things that interfere with magic in this place, so it is difficult to determine the direction.
The sky is always cloudy and gray, so the sunlight doesn’t shine through.
However, day and night could be sensed, and the position of the sun could be vaguely known, so all one had to do was use that to guess the direction.
Area was careful not to lose track of directions the entire way.
‘I guess I can just go straight this way.’
No matter if there is a cliff or something else in the middle, just use magic to jump over it. Reach the central area without losing direction. If everything goes as planned, everything will be smooth sailing.
Since there were no other means of transportation such as horses, they traveled only on foot. Of course, the pace of progress was not fast.
Xian glanced back and muttered.
“If you go a little further, you won’t be able to see the barrier.”
Visibility is not good in Pahe Forest. Because the sacred barrier had the property of repelling demon energy, it was visible from a distance. Even that becomes invisible.
“Slowly, the real forest of digging begins.”
Those words sounded like a sign of something.
And when the barrier was completely out of sight, it appeared. What first appeared was a huge, black shadow.
In an instant, the vision darkened and the wind blew from the sky. Whiiing!
“what? “Is it a dark cloud?”
“In the sky… look over there!”
Everyone looked up at the sky at the same time as the wind battered their entire bodies.
A bird with rainbow-colored, beautiful and dazzling feathers was coming down from the sky, flapping its wings.
It was a beautiful and overwhelmingly large bird that seemed to have come down from heaven.
But this is the forest of digging. That is a monster. A powerful monster that does not need to disguise itself with natural colors.
The gesture in which he landed was elegant and light. But as soon as it landed just ten steps away, a wind rose from it.
Faaaa!
Area’s hiding magic and the barrier erected by the dark spirit were instantly broken by the gust of magic energy.
They were exposed to the monster’s gaze in their raw form. Just like it was targeting them from the beginning.
[Is this four humans? I never thought such a blessed day would come in my life.]
A sonorous voice rang out.
“Ahh! “Birds talk!”
Asuka pointed and shouted. Xian nudged Asuka’s side to silence her.
“It’s not just a bird, it’s a monster.”
‘A monster that speaks. ‘If a monster is strong enough to realize its demonic nature and has this level of magic, is it the ruler of an area?’
As if responding to Area’s suspicions, Igrel greeted her gracefully.
[Introducing humans. The name of this body is Ygrel. It is called Ygrel of the South.]
“Ruler of the southern area of Pahe Forest.”
[So, my name is also known in the human world?]
Igrel laughed. It was a clear and bright bird song that dazzled the ears.
Not only was her appearance beautiful, but even her voice was so beautiful that it seemed out of place in the forest of Pahe.
But apart from that, I felt a terrifying magical energy coming from him. A truly overwhelming demonic energy that explodes without being hidden. My skin felt tingly.
The eyes of the group, who had been thrown into confusion by his unexpected appearance, gained strength. Asuka and Charlotte both tensed up and placed their hands on their swords.
‘I never thought I would meet such a powerful monster so soon.’
But the crisis was an opportunity. Area stepped forward to the front of the group and opened her mouth politely.
“It’s called Area. Do you by any chance know a human named Helmut?”
[Oh human! Are you talking to me now? You are a human being as beautiful as my feathers. [Let’s call this body by its name.]
It was a harsh tone. But the monster in front of me is strong.
Area was not foolish enough to act arrogantly in front of a strong man. She had a pragmatic personality and was good at understanding situations.
She calmly asked more detailed questions.
“Yes, Ygrel. Master Ygrel, do you know anything about a human named Helmut?”
I had no place to ask, but I thought it was a good thing since we could understand each other.
[Helmutra…]
Ygrel blinked. Of course he remembered the name’s owner. There were few moments in Ygrel’s life that were so impressive.
[You know what you know. The first human to leave the Forest of Pahe! I’ve never seen someone so courageous in my life. Even though it’s small, its eyes are vivid. It’s an intense feeling of life. I felt the desire.]
From Ygrel’s words, Area understood that he had encountered Helmut before.
Did Helmut encounter this bird before leaving the barrier? And since Helmut had left the Forest of Pahe, it was highly likely that this bird would not have had a hostile relationship with him.
Area asked a question implicitly.
“He returned to the Forest of Pahe due to an unfortunate event. “It’s been a while since he came back, but have you seen him?”
There was silence for a moment. Ygrel nodded slyly.
[You came back? Well, that could happen. I don’t know if you know, but Pahe Forest is quite large, so you don’t hear news that quickly.]
Even if it wasn’t large, there was no way for monsters to have proper interactions with each other.
Ygrel lowered his head slightly and asked vaguely.
[So, are you the humans Helmut dated in the human world? So you came looking for that guy? To this forest of digging without fear of human subjects?]
“Yes.”
[that’s interesting. Is that human friendship? Affection? What kind of feeling is that?]
Ygrel looked at Area with meaningful eyes.
‘Are you Helmut’s mate?’
After removing her disguise, Area was a beautiful girl with flowing silver hair and purple eyes.
It didn’t matter to Ygrel that the woman in the white robe was a wizard.
What good is a wizard in front of Ygrel, the ruler of the southern forest of Pahe, a sacred place for both weak humans and monsters?
‘Your eyes really are like jewels. It’s rare to find a human being as beautiful as my feathers.’
Greed flashed through Ygrel’s eyes. Area calmly continued asking questions.
“Do you, Ygrel, know a leopard named Elaga?”
[That smelly and vicious leopard? Don’t know. The smell gets worse as the days go by. You can smell him even from afar.]
“You must be in trouble.”
[That’s right. Well, it’s not that my relationship with him is bad.]
For some reason, Igrel hesitated to speak at the end.
“okay. Thanks for answering my questions. If I ever meet Elaga, I’ll give her my regards. “Then let’s go.”
Area led the group and naturally tried to leave the scene.
However, it was not so easy for Ygrel.
[But when did I say I would let you go?]
‘If I had been going to let you go easily, you wouldn’t have shown up like that.’
Area asked with serious eyes.
“What do you want from us?”
[Hmm, I am.]
Ygrel paused, looking at them while flapping his wings.
[In the first place, they don’t eat humans. The humans in Pahe Forest somehow feel unclean. I feel like my noble beak is getting dirty when I peck at it.]
So what should I do? Except for Area, the expressions on the group’s faces all worsened.
[So, humans were originally lower-class creatures outside my area of interest. But seeing that Helmut guy made me think about humans.]
“What do you think?”
[I mean, Elaga raised that man named Helmut by following him around since he was a child. That was different from having other monsters as limbs. So…]
Igrel, who was tilting his head, spread his wings and declared triumphantly.
[You have to trim my fur. If I trim it to my liking, I can send it to you.]
