#144
Helmut
Episode 144
The Kingdom of Basor, where one-third of the entire country is made up of desert. Helmut arrived in the royal capital at the beginning of June, when the fever began to rise. It was a journey that was not easy, lasting about 15 days.
‘It’s hot.’
Helmut was in heat.
Pahe Forest maintained a cool climate all year round. Sometimes it was so cold that my body was so cold that I had to endure it by burying myself in Elaga’s fur. Because of that, Helmut barely caught his cold.
But the intense sunlight and this stifling heat that make your skin dry. It’s really hard to adapt.
‘I’m glad I’m not weak enough to get sunstroke.’
Thanks to the sprout of darkness, Helmut had characteristics somewhere between a monster and a human. Stronger than humans, but weaker than monsters. He rarely suffered from minor illnesses. No matter what I ate, I was strong, and no matter how I rolled, I recovered quickly.
However, Helmut was more helpless than his horse White in the face of the extreme heat.
‘It’s a mess now that we’ve arrived.’
Helmut’s plan was to rest well in a cool inn with an air-conditioning spell, no matter how much it cost.
On the way, I almost slaughtered people out of frustration. If he had done that, he would have been wanted before he even came to the martial arts club. The people of this kingdom had a knack for testing patience.
Since entering the Basor Kingdom, Helmut has suffered from frequent disputes.
“You must be a noble master. Do you think you can hold a sword with those hands?”
“Even if you dress up like a girl, you will still be fooled.”
“Would you like me to put a knife mark on your face so you can’t mess around with your lower body?”
The people of Basor Kingdom were large in physique and generous in temperament. Most of the men had muscular and bulky bodies. They were people with a rough temperament who lived their lives fighting against monsters that appeared in the desert from time to time.
So, it is natural to look down on white men who look like they are reading books all day.
Helmut already looks like the son of a nobleman, but the disguise made him even more handsome. A guy who looked like Helmut was the type they hated the most.
Additionally, the lodgings Helmut used were usually occupied by warriors or mercenaries.
They did not hesitate to argue with Helmut, who was alone. He looks weak, just because he’s handsome!
I knew that if I ignored it, the big inn owner or employee would stop me just as much as the people who were arguing.
But sometimes, there were times when I couldn’t stand it. For example, on a particularly hot day, after riding a horse all day to move, I entered a new inn.
Helmut’s eyes sparkled.
“If you can, do whatever you can.”
“Oh, look at this? “You mean you know how to use black on a face?”
“Look at that scabbard. It’s for decoration. “You little brat is showing off!”
Helmut drew his sword without saying a word.
Shock! With a sharp sound, the other person blinked. A pain arose in my earlobe. Straight-cut hair fluttered in the air.
“Huh?”
“Next is the neck.”
With the sound of the wind falling, the opponent retreated. Only then did the atmosphere change. Friendly.
“He knows how to use a sword!”
“Even though you look like a girl, your skills are quite useful.”
“He looks like a foreigner. Is he on his way to the royal capital?”
“Are you going to attend a martial arts festival?”
Helmut cut it off with a single sword.
“Don’t be a bother. “Unless you want to die.”
It was unusual for him to make such an overt threat.
There was murder in Helmut’s eyes. Heat sometimes kills people.
“He’s a tough guy.”
The other person shrugged his shoulders and obediently backed away. Only then did Helmut sheath his sword. This wasn’t the first time something like this happened.
The good news is that once you show your skills, it ends easily. The people of this country, regardless of gender, were weak against the strong and strong against the weak, just like the Forest of Pahe.
No, it’s a little different. They respected the strong. I looked up to a strong prosecutor.
Academy students from the Basor Kingdom were rare. That’s because in this country, swordsmen grow up fighting monsters in the desert.
There is no need to enter the academy, gain tension through competition, and practice sword training through teachings. Life itself is full of actual combat.
It was similar to Helmut’s life, but also different. Because he lived under Elaga’s protection, he didn’t have much need to fight monsters.
Countless strong men were born from this Basor. Darian was one of them. One of the most unique and legendary people.
The leader of the Knights of Palma, an order of knights directly under the royal family, said to have gathered only the strongest men in Basor.
One of his greatest achievements was returning the desert of Basor, which had been covered with monsters, to a human land. Numerous sacrifices were made, and over ten years were spent.
The great swordsman Darian Defert finally succeeded in slaying Scorpion, the giant scorpion monster that dominates the desert. As a result, the desert monsters lost their leader and their power weakened.
The momentum of the monsters that once seemed likely to invade the royal capital was clearly dead, and people began to come and go in the desert, which was once a land of death. The Kingdom of Basor rapidly regained stability.
Darian led the knights to periodically subdue monsters in the desert, and in the process, saved many people.
While traveling in the desert, Ethan Kudrow was unluckily attacked by a monster near a village and almost died, but was saved by Darian.
Even though his wife was already dead. Based on that relationship, Helmut came to Basor.
‘That statue.’
Helmut, who was walking along the main street, stopped abruptly. A huge and majestic statue holding a sword was occupying a place in the middle of the square.
He somehow thought he resembled someone he knew. Helmut checked the name written under the statue.
―Sword Saint Darian Defert.
It was a strange feeling. As soon as I arrived at the royal capital of Basor, what I saw was the statue of Darian. It seems that not even the traitors could do anything to that statue.
Remove Darian, leaving only his symbolism. May he be remembered forever only as a great swordsman and a symbol of Basor.
It’s such a convenient thing to do. Helmut once again wondered what Darien would have said if he had found out about this.
Would it have been better for his honor to be mired in the mud?
‘I hope you bring at least Darian’s ashes.’
I didn’t have the energy to do that. Also, at that time, I didn’t know much about human funeral methods.
But Darian’s sword and swordsmanship now belong to Helmut. Wouldn’t that be enough to bring back meaning?
Twenty years have passed since Darian fell into the Forest of Pahe. He didn’t know if anyone would recognize him, but he still had to be careful.
It may be difficult to recognize the sword since it has a new sheath.
‘I have to win this martial arts competition.’
Even for Darian’s sake. Helmut made up his mind. However, I hoped the martial arts event would end sooner. Because Basor was too hot. So much so that he wants to escape to a cooler country.
Helmut fanned his hands around his face.
‘There must be a shop in the royal capital that sells magic items. I just can’t bear it. ‘Let’s buy some things there.’
I heard that in regions with such hot climates, there are clothes that keep you cool. That way, you will be able to live comfortably.
Perhaps because of the martial arts festival, the entire street was crowded. It was full of not only martial arts attendees, but also their families, relatives, and onlookers.
Even in this hot country, the martial arts festival held during the particularly hot summer was a festival of the Kingdom of Basor.
Since there were no vacancies at the cheap inn, Helmut did some digging and found a room at an expensive inn.
A cool room with clean water supplied by the tap. Luxurious furniture and beds. There was carpet on the floor and the room was cozy.
Similar to a training room, there is a separate vacant lot, but it is spacious enough to accommodate training. A room worthy of a great nobleman.
Helmut realized that people are treated differently depending on their attire. If he had been dressed shabbily, this inn wouldn’t have let him in. Fortunately, his cloak was luxurious and he spoke well, so he was not treated particularly poorly. Although I had to pay half of the inn fee.
‘It would be difficult if I didn’t get the prize money at the martial arts competition.’
Receiving a large amount of money from Talon also helped. The Basor Kingdom used a common currency. The inn fee is 2,000 marks per day. Even though it was a high-end inn, it was too expensive.
However, the inn did not even allow bargaining. Because there are a lot of customers anyway.
Helmut obediently paid the price. I’ll have to stay here for nearly a month for the martial arts club, so including this and that, I’ll probably be at a loss of about 100,000 marks.
Can not help it. Enjoying luxury is something worth experiencing at times like this.
As soon as Helmut found the inn, he immediately asked for the location and went to a famous store connected to the Wizards Association. It is a large magic store that only exists in large cities.
As I entered and looked for clothes that would maintain a cool temperature, an employee spoke to me.
“It seems like the cloak you are wearing now has magical functions.”
Helmut looked down at the clothes I was wearing.
“Ah, space expansion magic.”
“Then it would be a product made by the Wizards Association, and it would be easy to add features to it. Would you like me to do that for you? “I will also recharge your used magic power.”
“How long will it take?”
“It only takes 3 hours. “If you come back from running errands, I’ll add it right away.”
“I will. “In 3 hours.”
It truly is a store in the royal capital. The speed at which work was done was extraordinary. In the meantime, Helmut decided to apply to participate in the martial arts competition.
‘The deadline was until tomorrow.’
Although I didn’t take on the request, I came up with a generous schedule. Because she couldn’t run a horse in the scorching sun.
After registering for the martial arts club, the preliminary round will be held three days later. Since the opponent was announced on the day of the preliminaries, there was nothing special to prepare before then. All you have to do is go at the start time.
The tournament-style martial arts club of Basor Kingdom was very famous. The winning prize is a whopping 2 million marks. For this reason, it is known that even first-class mercenaries often participate. A considerable number of members of the Knights of Basor also participate. They were exempt from the preliminary round.
‘If I win, I’ll be rich.’
I suddenly became greedy for money. Helmut was not born without greed. He just didn’t know the joy of getting something.
Helmut arrived at the Mutu venue and filled out the application form. The receptionist took the deposit of 1,000 marks and the documents and checked the contents carefully.
“Is your name Mr. Hyde?”
“yes.”
It was a roughly made-up pseudonym. Personal information was also slightly twisted. He had heard that since they wouldn’t check unless he was a wanted criminal anyway, he could use it however he wanted.
“Those who belong to a knight order from another country or are level 1 mercenaries or higher may be exempt from the preliminary round. If you have anything to prove, please submit it.”
The moment the receptionist said that, laughter erupted from those around her.
“You’re asking me all sorts of things. There’s no way that little guy could do something like that. “You look like a master from a wealthy family!”
The people of Bashor are rough. In particular, this country had more freedom in upward mobility than other countries. For that reason, they were not given special preferential treatment even though they were nobles from other countries. That too, if you are alone and look young.
The receptionist looked slightly confused and quickly checked the rest of the document.
’16 years old, from the empire, mercenary, swordsman.’
“Registration has been completed. Here is your confirmation. “Please come back here by 10 a.m. in three days.”
As if he had caught his target, as soon as he woke up, a sarcasm came to him.
“You don’t have to come. Even if you come, you will be eliminated in the first game. “You’ll just lose your money.”
Helmut looked at the man who said those words. Now that the application process is over, there is no reason to let the chatter go on.
Just like Helmut, people who had come to register for the martial arts club were gathered nearby. They openly laughed at Helmut.
“f*ck, look at those blue eyes! “If you hit it hard, it makes a noise like it’s going to cry.”
“Look at that. What is that shiny hair on that guy? “I thought there was a doll walking around that girls play with.”
