#49
Helmut
Episode 49
Xenia’s eyes narrowed and glanced half-heartedly at Helmut.
She immediately turned her head towards the wizard who had been talking so far and said.
“Oh, I guess mercenaries are good. If Gilton thinks it’s okay, he’ll do it. I have something to talk about with Area… … .”
At that moment, the wizard next to her stood up.
“We have to leave soon, so I guess I should just go in and get ready.”
A clear voice flowed from him. It was a neutral voice, low for a woman and sweet for a man.
“Oh my? “Of course, but without eating more.”
“That’s enough, that’s enough.”
He spoke as if drawing a line between being polite and turning towards the exit. It was the direction Helmut was standing.
Only then did the face hidden by the hood emerge. The silver hair that could be seen at a glance was transparent and shiny, and the neat and elegant face was as white and clean as snow.
The mysterious purple eyes on either side of the delicate bridge of the nose gave a feeling of being drawn in.
Her face is still young, but I can’t imagine how it will change when she matures.
The wizard was a boy around Helmut’s age.
The girl that Helmut had to protect, Xenia, was also a strikingly beautiful girl, but this wizard did not seem human.
It had an unrealistic appearance that seemed as if it could exist without magic.
If a monster were to disguise itself to possess a human, would it look like this? It was unfamiliar and mysterious.
“Ah, Area.”
Leaving Xenia’s disappointing call behind, the wizard named Alea passed by Helmut with an expressionless face.
It seemed like our eyes met for an instant, but he did not pretend to know Helmut.
‘Something is strange.’
Helmut pondered his feelings. Not only does he look good, but there’s something strange about that wizard. I can’t pinpoint it, but I feel something is out of place.
“I have to go back to my room now.”
Xenia passed by Gilton and Helmut, the hem of her dress fluttering.
“Area, let’s go together!”
Her shout, raising her voice to the fullest, shook the restaurant.
“I don’t know if you’ll fall if you run like that.”
Gilton sighed. There is an escort driver following behind her, so they will take care of Xenia on their own.
“That boy wizard, you always look unreal. “Is this what the different races of legends look like?”
Gilton stuck his tongue out. Helmut asked.
“Is that wizard also an escort?”
“No, I am Lady Xenia’s guest. They say he’s studying at the Greta Academy in Baden and he’s famous there. Her cousin was studying at Greta Academy, so she must have heard about him. “We ran into him by chance and she recognized him and we ended up together.”
“You’re also at Baden’s Academy?”
“You are going to take the entrance exam. “Because you’re turning fourteen soon.”
Baden has three famous academies. And you could enter the academy from the age of fourteen.
Helmut realized that he would soon turn fifteen.
It seems like it hasn’t been long since I left Pahe’s Forest, but time passed quickly without me realizing it.
“okay.”
“You have about two hours. Get ready as quickly as possible and go to Cedric you saw earlier. He will tell you what to do. “I have to get ready to leave.”
“yes.”
Helmut hesitated for a moment.
‘That wizard, it takes a while.’
But nothing can be certain.
Gilton, who understood that his hesitation was because he did not know where to go, called an employee and told him to guide Helmut.
Helmut put his doubts aside and followed the employee.
*
“As you may have heard before, my name is Cedric.”
“This is Helmut.”
‘Mid to late 20s, skills between level 2 and level 3 mercenaries.’
Helmut finished judging Cedric. Although his skills may vary depending on his actual experience and other factors, that was the impression I got.
“It’s a noble-like name. Well, there are many from fallen nobles.”
The mercenary’s past is not questioned. Cedric shook his head as if he knew all about it.
“Do you know how to ride a horse?”
Even though he had never ridden a horse before, Helmut answered confidently.
“yes.”
“What about personal use?”
“no.”
“I’ll tell the waiter. Follow him to the stable and he will give you your share of horses.”
If you are traveling on a rough road, you may end up on a path that horses cannot travel.
In such cases, it is expensive to throw away a horse and it is difficult to dispose of it midway, so you choose not to ride it from the beginning.
Such was the case with the request from the Butan Chamber of Commerce.
However, knights almost necessarily ride horses. If it was a nobleman’s request, he would often ride a horse.
Helmut had to leave town in a hurry and was being chased by Black Hawk, so he did not buy a horse. If he had known this would happen, he would have tried to get one.
‘Horseback riding didn’t seem particularly difficult.’
Helmut knows how to handle horses. It was easy if you just got on the horse and didn’t fall off. Because there is nothing I can say that can make him fall.
‘You can just watch what others do and follow along.’
Helmut thought leisurely. Cedric continued.
“Your position is in the back row of the carriage. The guards will mainly be knights, so all you have to do is be cautious of your surroundings. “There won’t be much to do.”
It seems like he only takes on easy missions since he was a level 4 mercenary. Is this luck? I’m curious.
“If the young lady talks to you, answer politely. Lady Xenia is the famous daughter of the Marquis of Zheringen, so be especially careful. “It is a journey that will not take her a few days, but she must not relax.”
“yes.”
Although it was a bit early, the number of carriages heading to Baden was slowly increasing.
Baden’s academies begin the new semester in about two months. Xenia is heading to Baden a little early for her entrance exam.
Due to the unstable situation in the Kingdom of Kinen, many people are taking different paths, but in their case, Xenia encouraged them to take the faster path.
Also, despite the unstable situation, one would not dare to easily touch the imperial marquis.
Besides Helmut, there were four other hired mercenaries. He was the last recruit.
Four third-level mercenaries. Level 2 mercenaries are a rare resource to obtain suddenly.
The mercenaries who came in first treated Helmut coldly. The mercenaries who took on requests from difficult nobles were neatly dressed and spoke little, giving them an experienced feel.
They just carry out their duties faithfully and do not get into fights or become territorial.
Guarding nobles was often more rewarding and less dangerous than hunting monsters or escorting missions. You should not lower your reputation by causing problems for no reason.
Helmut followed the waiter to the stable. In Cheringen he brought his trained horses at his leisure.
As it was not an ordinary inn, the stables were quite spacious. To the extent that they gathered all of Zheringen’s horses together and separated horses with owners from those without owners.
Knights drove their own horses that they had tamed themselves, and mercenaries often did the same.
It was important for those whose jobs required fighting to have their own words. Because chemistry with a horse sometimes determines victory or defeat in a horse fight.
“Please come this way.”
The stable keeper, who had been handed over by the employee, led Helmut to a corner of the stable and said.
“These are the only two horses without owners in Cheringen.”
The two horses greeted Helmut with snorts. One was a white horse with a black dot on the bridge of her nose, and the other was a chestnut horse with gentle-looking clear eyes.
As expected of horses carefully bred by noble families, both horses had shiny fur and appeared to be well-nourished.
“Which one looks better? “I’ll saddle whoever you want.”
“Which one looks better on me?”
Helmut’s advantage was that he knew little, so he was prepared to listen to what others had to say.
“Well, it depends on which aspect you view as better. “The white horse is more stylish and is strong and good, but this chestnut one is much gentler.”
A strong guy was more attractive to him than a gentle guy. Helmut chose to take it lightly.
“I’ll take a white horse.”
The stable keeper saddled the white horse with a worried look.
The guy who seemed gentle until then showed his temper as soon as Helmut got on his back.
Hee hee hee! As soon as the stable keeper let go of the reins, the white horse immediately raised its front paws and started running wild.
I was jumping around, shaking my whole body as if I was dancing. Helmut lowered his body and clung to the back of his horse to avoid losing his balance.
“Oh my, I knew this would happen!”
A stable keeper with a deathly wound ran after the galloping horse, trying to grab the reins. Helmut stopped him.
“Leave it alone. “I’ll take care of it.”
I’ve defeated monsters, so why can’t I tame even a horse? Rather, it went well.
Helmut pulled Vis out. As I tighten my legs and tighten my sides, my movements become sluggish. He will feel like there is a piece of metal on top of him.
Helmut spoke with determination.
“Stay still.”
The white horse, which stiffened and tried to resist for a moment, stopped with a purring snort. Sweat dripped from the bridge of his nose.
A wild horse like this is even more likely to obey the strong. Because instinct is alive.
Helmut spoke soothingly.
“Yes, we have to leave soon, so we shouldn’t lose strength.”
Helmut drove a white horse. He trudged and ran lightly. His stall was so small that he couldn’t run very fast, but he did just fine. He doesn’t seem to have any problems riding it.
The stablekeeper, who had been watching with admiration as Helmut tamed the horse, tilted his head.
“Well, you seem to be good at taming horses, but I guess you haven’t ridden them much. My posture is… … .”
“What should I do?”
After receiving some lessons from the stable keeper, I felt more comfortable.
Helmut thanked him by giving him some money.
‘With this, riding a horse is solved.’
It may not have been completely resolved. Helmut had never fought while riding a horse.
But then wouldn’t it be okay to just get down and fight? There was no problem.
*
Helmut finished preparing for departure and waited around the carriage. Finally, he saw Xenia and the wizard from before walking together. The deacon and several knights were following behind him.
“Area, hurry and get on the carriage. “I’m looking forward to what we’ll talk about today.”
In contrast to Xenia, who was clinging to him with a flushed face and chattering away, the wizard had a ‘only polite attitude’ and looked straight ahead as if annoyed.
The moment he passed by Helmut, it seemed like their eyes met for a moment like before. The wizard looked at Helmut.
He was conscious of Helmut’s presence. I don’t know why.
Is it an instinct to sense danger? As wizards become stronger, their extra senses develop.
‘A strong wizard.’
Helmut reevaluated a wizard named Area. He was a pretty strong wizard. So much so that he could hide his magical powers from Helmut.
The reason Helmut was able to feel his magic was because his magic leaked out from the center of his body and enveloped his entire body very finely.
Such a phenomenon was not normal. Before using magic, a wizard simply holds his magic inside like vis.
Even if you have a magic item, the flow of magical power does not work like that.
‘Then that wizard.’
Helmut found the answer. That person named Area is continuously embodying some kind of magic.
Others do not have as keen senses as Helmut. Not only was it difficult to sense magical power, but it was easy to take it for granted because he was a wizard.
But those are definitely traces of magic.
