# 5
Helmut
Episode 5
“Say!”
The gunman did not let Helmut remain silent.
In the Forest of Pahe, you must not let down your guard even if you are dealing with a ten-year-old child.
The blade, which had a slight gap, stuck close to the uvula. Helmut hurriedly got the words out.
“This is my first time seeing humans here.”
Helmut is ten years old. Moreover, until now, Helmut’s only conversation partner had been Elaga.
It is a daunting task for Helmut to believably express what he thinks and feels.
But it seemed like he understood the meaning of those brief words. The gunman lifted his sword.
He didn’t seem to be happy with Helmut. The stranger waved his hand as if he was annoyed.
“Get out of my territory.”
“no.”
The gunman looked down at Helmut, who stubbornly responded, with absurd eyes.
“If you miss human warmth, you’ve found the wrong person.”
“What is human warmth? “Are you saying that humans are warm?”
Helmut asked a question out of habit. There was no way Helmut could understand such an abstract expression.
The stranger looked at Helmut intently. Observing eyes.
“Are you a human born in this forest?”
“No, I was sent to this forest after I was born.”
“It must be because of the sprout of darkness.”
“okay.”
“Any child would have been killed, so you must be of noble status.”
Helmut tilted his head because he couldn’t understand what ‘precious status’ meant.
It was through Elaga’s rare words that Helmut learned about the human world.
And through the memories of that brief moment when he was born and held in his mother’s arms, Helmut had only knowledge that was not even knowledge.
“It may be the child of an enemy or a comrade, but in any case, all the benefits are from the past. I owe that leopard. not bad.”
The stranger, who was mumbling as if he was talking to himself, suddenly asked.
“Do you have anything to prove your identity?”
“Something to prove your identity?”
When I asked the question clearly, the stranger raised his eyebrows. The look in his eyes was as frustrating as that of a child just learning to speak.
“The thing you had with you when you were thrown into this forest.”
Helmut searched for memories. There may have been something more in the wrappings surrounding the body. Elaga will know that.
However, given his personality, it seemed unlikely that he would have kept it well.
“I do not know.”
It means you are not sure. The gunman nodded as if he wasn’t expecting anything.
“I thought I would never have a human guest in my life. But since you are here, I ask.”
And asked Helmut with heavy eyes.
“Is there anything you want from me?”
It sounds like if you have something you want, they will grant it.
Helmut swallowed dry saliva. It was a difficult question because it was unclear.
Helmut spat out whatever he could. Without expecting those words to come out of his mouth.
“I want to go out…to the forest.”
Ah yes, according to Elaga, this human may know how to get out of the forest.
Helmut had never thought of that before.
But the moment I said those words out of my mouth, a heavy lump hit me somewhere inside. The vacuum in my chest rang like a bell.
Helmut discovered a longing he didn’t know he had.
I wanted to go out to the forest. It was an instinct, like a salmon swimming up a river. Returning to one’s origins.
No, this is what I came to wish for at this moment. why?
I have no particular complaints about my life now. It is a familiar life, neither difficult nor difficult.
However, humans are not creatures for which it is enough to have food, clothing, and shelter. Something more was needed there.
It was the same for Helmut. It’s a struggle like constantly asking questions and trying to learn.
It may be obvious. It was abandoned at birth and had no choice but to live in the forest of Pahe.
This is not human territory. Helmut was human. Humans must live in the human realm.
Elaga’s attitude was ambiguous. Helmut only said that he had to return to the land of humans, but he didn’t really tell me anything or push me away.
But he always reminded Helmut that he was human and about the existence of the outside world.
Was that something that was gradually being drawn to Helmut as well?
My eyes heated up. Helmut said, pressing down on his sore throat.
“I was abandoned as a baby and have been living in the forest of Pahe.”
“so.”
“What is there in the outside world? “What is the difference between the forest here in Pahe and the human world?”
Helmut asked. The gunman’s stubborn eyes softened slightly.
“The world of humans will not be as beautiful or peaceful as you think. The humans outside have no sharp claws or teeth, and their bodies are weak. But instead of being weak physically, they are cruel and cunning and know how to unite.”
Helmut tilted his head. I have never had any illusions about the outside world.
However, wouldn’t a world where humans have weak bodies and no sharp claws or teeth be safer than the Forest of Pahe? The gunman’s words didn’t sound like that.
“The reason you were abandoned in this forest is because of the ‘Sprout of Darkness.’ As long as it is inside you, even if you escape this forest of Pahe, you may be chased and fight with humans and face death. Do you still want to go out into the outside world?”
Helmut nodded without hesitation. There is no need to worry. In the first place, there were only two choices.
Helmut was destined to live and die in Elaga’s territory like this.
Of course, that might not be a bad thing. Living and dying like monsters born and raised in the forest of Pahe. It is not despair because it is natural.
But what if there is another option?
That moment engraved in my distant memory came back to me from time to time. Helmut remembered his mother. The blonde woman who was hugging him and shedding tears.
I wouldn’t know if I didn’t remember anything. That memory came up and touched him from time to time.
The place where Helmut fell away from that comfortable embrace was the Forest of Pahe, where it is said that no one escaped.
It is not a hasty hope. Helmut did not have the optimism of a child. Instead, there was will and strength.
If you can go, you should go. It was brightly filled like a mission.
Helmut raised his head straight.
“Still, I want to go out.”
He asked, squinting his eyes.
“Why don’t you want to leave? “Why do you live here?”
“If I leave, the world will be stained with blood.”
The stranger spoke in a low, heavy voice like the rumble of the underground.
“When I go out into the world, I must take revenge on those who sent me here. “For revenge, the blood of countless people will be on these hands.”
There was remorse in his eyes.
“But I am ninety-six. I have already seen so much blood that it flows like a river. Even if I do that, what will be left in these hands other than the anger that has turned to ashes?”
“…I do not know.”
Helmut, who understood what he was saying to himself as a question, shook his head left and right.
“Anyway, I want to go out to the forest.”
The more I repeated those words, the stronger the craving became. The feeling of a blurry world becoming clearer. It was soon engraved in Helmut’s mind as a goal.
Something sat in the empty space. A purpose in life that I have never had before.
It didn’t matter if it was possible or not. After all, it’s a miracle that he’s alive and breathing here.
It was a desire that burned within him. It was a spark I didn’t know existed.
Helmut’s eyes, which had been so quiet as to feel empty, were filled with heat.
The stranger, sensing the change in him, nodded.
“I don’t know exactly how to get out because I didn’t try to get out. But I know someone who would know.”
“Who is that?”
Are there other humans? Helmut opened his eyes wide.
“I can’t tell you yet.”
It was a word that still implied someday. Helmut knew it.
“The road to the sacred barrier is long. Besides, the one who knows how is dangerous. He won’t treat you differently just because you’re a human being or because you’re young. “He enjoys eating human flesh, so he might cut off the flesh and eat it alive from a young guy like you.”
“What should I do?”
“You have to be strong.”
That short proposition seemed like truth.
Helmut knows what it means to be strong.
growth.
Monsters became stronger as time passed or as they accumulated demonic energy by eating the corpses and cores of other monsters.
Humans also become stronger if they eat nuclear weapons. However, humans cannot accumulate magical energy as much as monsters.
Magi is a power that is not compatible with humans. If you keep accumulating demon energy, you will either go crazy or your body will explode.
Helmut’s magic energy was minimal, as he only ate to survive.
I learned how to hunt, but that was only recently. No matter how much he had the buds of darkness and a well-trained body, Helmut was only a human child.
A child who would have been eaten if it weren’t for Elaga, who is at the bottom of the food chain in the Forest of Pahe.
“How can I become stronger?”
“If you do as I tell you.”
The gunman spoke decisively.
“I assure you, you cannot cross the sacred barrier in your condition.”
Helmut opened his eyes wide. Because it sounded as if the divine barrier could be crossed if certain conditions were met.
Crossing the sacred barrier was previously said to be impossible. But the stranger in front of me was discussing that possibility!
“How can I overcome the sacred barrier?”
Question after question came back.
“Have you ever ingested the core of other monsters?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“That would make things easier.”
The stranger frowned and clicked his tongue and grabbed Helmut by the back of his neck.
“Before that, I need to do something about you.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Perfect! A huge fist hit the head. It’s tingling.
Helmut grabbed his head. Jet-black eyes stared vividly at the monster.
‘He’s a guy with character.’
Isn’t it better than being soft? That’s how prosecutors are supposed to do that.
“If you want to return to the human world, you must first become a human.”
In his eyes, Helmut was a child who had just escaped from being an unpolished beast. Is it fortunate that it is not vicious?
The gunman proudly declared.
“I will make you human.”
