# 400
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400
“Look for me.”
Helmut’s reaction was a beat slow.
“…what?”
“There are 12 people. Find me among them.”
It sounded like a riddle. Helmut raised his eyebrows.
“If you find it, you win. If you don’t, you lose.”
Area gave a meaningful smile and did not offer any further explanation. Helmut waited with only questions in his mind.
After a while, the game finally started. Helmut moved his body reflexively.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, but once you subdue it, it’s over.’
The wizard is an easier opponent for Helmut. Because the movements to respond to attacks are slow.
Area was not far away. Helmut can be reached in half a breath.
No matter how fast the magic casting time is, there is no point in suppressing the magic before it is activated.
But Area’s suggestion made him pause for a moment. Although she has never agreed to a suggestion, Area will be angry if Helmut ignores her suggestion.
Area gets angry. Angry… It felt like someone had grabbed his leg. It was heavy.
But Helmut had doubts at that moment.
‘Isn’t this just a strategy to sway people’s minds so that they can win?’
Helmut distrusted Area in this regard. Anyway, he finished his worries in a short period of time and ran away.
This is a martial arts festival. This is a fight that must be won.
It is enshrined in a black waist belt. If I use force with my bare hands, I won’t hurt her too much, no matter what.
However, before his hand could even touch it, Area’s figure disappeared as if melting into thin air.
Helmut’s hand quickly scanned the empty space. Suddenly, darkness covered my vision.
It wasn’t magic that blinded him. Darkness covers the entire stage as if night had fallen.
It is a more sophisticated and powerful magic than the Dark Spirit of Xian.
‘Even if your vision is limited.’
Only the senses are intact. That sense would tell Helmut her location. The magic you can feel on your skin, the sound of the air flowing, everything.
But is Area’s magic limited only to vision?
I felt nothing, as if I was blind, deaf, and numb.
Completely pitch black. He would know if the other person was close, but he could not feel any movement towards him.
Helmut stretched out his hand and grasped the sword. Even this darkness is magic, so just cut it down. But at that moment, a white light flashed before my eyes.
12 people. Helmut finally understood what Area meant. A white human figure stood in the darkness.
There were exactly 12 people. One of them would be the real Area.
Her voice came from somewhere.
[If you answer incorrectly, you lose. Got it?]
It’s an offer you can’t refuse. Unless you are prepared to destroy the entire stage in this darkness, Helmut will not be able to find Area.
The option of cutting down everything at random is not an option in the first place. Helmut quietly put down his sword. 12 lights. Surprisingly, the sensation felt there was the same.
No matter how sophisticated the illusion magic is, there are loopholes. It is especially difficult to fool a prosecutor of Helmut’s level.
If the 12 people in Area had been standing in front of him without this darkness, Helmut would have found her body without difficulty.
But how can I know who she is if I numb her in the first place?
It was quite a difficult task. As he approached within a certain distance, the figure of light instantly retreated.
‘I can’t get closer than five steps.’
Helmut slowly looked around at the twelve shapes of light.
Finding the main body within a kind of barrier without attacking or touching it. It must have felt like an impossible task to most prosecutors.
‘But there must be a way.’
There must be some clue. If one of the 12 lights is the main body of Area and the rest are just hallucinations, there will be a difference.
It was an unrealistic and mysterious scene where only darkness and light existed.
The noise from outside seemed to be decreasing as well, and the murmur of the audience could be heard intermittently from outside.
It seemed like they had no idea what was happening on the dark stage. It was clear that this game would be a very boring game for them.
Helmut looked at the twelve lights and felt at a loss.
If there was substance, there would be a sense of substance, but in this space where there was no wind, the presence of all 12 shapes was blurred. I can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake.
‘hmm.’
Helmut, who was looking back at the 12 people with a frown, suddenly stopped. Something caught my senses. It was not visual or auditory and tactile.
smell. A scent that seeps into the tip of your nose. A very faint, refreshing lemon-like smell. be used to.
Helmut recognized that it was the smell coming from Area’s hair. It seems like she didn’t even think about the smell.
No, his sense of smell was too good. Area probably thinks that her body is close to odorless.
However, Helmut, who grew up in the forest, was sensitive to foreign smells. Even the smallest scent can be captured. Especially if it is the only smell in this large space.
‘Is it possible to decorate even incense with hallucination magic?’
Helmut’s doubts were immediately answered.
No, if that were the case, all 12 people would have had the same scent. It appears that only the sense of smell has been left untouched.
Helmut found the source of the smell and stretched out his hand without hesitation.
“Area.”
His finger pointed to the third from the left. A question came from somewhere.
[Are you sure?]
Helmut said firmly.
“Are you sure.”
[Then let’s look at the answer.]
Eventually, the white light died down and the shapes disappeared one by one.
However, there was one figure that did not disappear. Right where Helmut pointed out.
The light covering my entire body faded, and a face that seemed to have been molded came into view.
The purple eyes shined as transparently as amethyst. Her voice pierced my ears.
“That’s correct.”
Eventually, the darkness cleared completely. Two people were standing facing each other on the stage.
Area looked a little angry and confused. Her eyes narrowed as if asking how she knew.
Helmut pointed to his nose.
“smell.”
I felt satisfied that I had found her right away. Alea frowned.
“That’s right… I didn’t even think about it.”
He spoke in a tone that made it seem like he didn’t know you could be such a bitch. Helmut proudly declared.
“I won.”
“Yes, I admit it. “I didn’t expect to find it so easily.”
Area gathered her eyebrows as if she was disapproving and turned her head.
Organizers were approaching the stage closely to monitor the progress of the game. Area raised her hand towards him.
“I lost.”
“yes? “Are you sure?”
Both Area and Helmut appear to be in good condition, without even a trace of damage, as it appears that they fought. Area nodded.
“He broke my spell, so he wins.”
“okay. Then I will check. Dark victory!”
After a while, a wave of dumbfounded applause poured out. It doesn’t seem like anything was done, but the game is over.
Unlike the semi-finals, it was a match that was neither loud nor fierce.
“congratulations.”
Area, who seemed dissatisfied just a moment ago, smiled surprisingly brightly.
Even though she may have never lost, she doesn’t look down. She shook her head excitedly.
“It’s strange, losing to you doesn’t feel bad.”
‘Thank goodness.’
Helmut thought to himself. If she’s in a bad mood, this is the one who stirs her up for no reason.
“Congratulations on advancing to the finals.”
Area spoke again. Finals. After she said it, the words suddenly felt real.
I didn’t think the road to the finals would be difficult. Because Helmut knew his own strength.
However, as soon as I got there, an unknown emotion came over me. Things like deep emotions and regrets. Feelings of hot and cold excitement intersect.
The finals were just around the corner. That place was the high ground.
He doesn’t know whether he will face a bright light or a thunderbolt will strike him.
But he got there.
“I’ll have to hope the sky is clear on the day of the finals.”
Helmut’s gaze moved upward. The day was dull. It is a cloudy sky with lots of clouds.
“It won’t matter if it rains a little.”
Area looked at him as if asking what he was talking about. But Helmut just looked up at the sky.
It won’t be long before we can take off this stuffy mask.
*
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, my daughter Charlotte.”
A gentle tone of voice that is neither hard nor soft.
But Charlotte felt the authority and power it conveyed.
She bowed willingly. What she faced was not her father, but Grand Duke Rinosa.
From the moment she was born until now, she has felt the latter more strongly.
“Your Majesty the Grand Duke, how have you been?”
A face that was strangely the same as before and also strangely similar to someone she knew.
Helmut looked just like the Archduke. Charlotte felt this keenly.
It was the face of Grand Duke Rinosa that was already familiar to her, showing age and the dignity of a ruler.
A faint smile appeared on the archduke’s lips.
“Yes, you have grown as beautifully as I heard. Charlotte, I heard your story from the Empire. As a father, I was happy but also sad. “I couldn’t watch you.”
A handwritten letter from the emperor had been sent to Linosa in response to the visit of the Grand Duchess of Linosa.
It was full of praise for Grand Princess Linosa, who was worthy of being associated with the royal family.
Archduke Farnese wanted to marry his son, but the Empire had no party in the marriage talks.
In that case, there is no law that it must be a marriage conversation between Archduchess Farnese and her.
What is important is the union between the imperial family of the empire and the Grand Duchy of Rinosa. The emperor also hinted that he wanted to marry his son to Charlotte.
“…I’m just sorry that I was so focused on my studies that I neglected my home country.”
Charlotte, who deliberately avoided meeting her family, including the Archduke, had nothing to say.
Moreover, didn’t the Archduke almost lose his life and go into long-term convalescence?
“I heard that the academy is achieving great results. “I miss you every time.”
Charlotte lowered her gaze as if embarrassed. It was the first time I heard something like this from my blunt father.
Although it was not obvious that his mother’s affection was towards Michael, the Grand Duke of Linosa was more pleased with Charlotte.
She was closer to the successor to Linosa that the Grand Duke of Linosa thought. Until I found out about his existence.
