#74
Helmut
Episode 74
Chapter 6 Enmity and Friendship
In the new semester, Greta Academy was entering its most active period. Students who left Baden during the vacation returned, and new students filled the positions left behind by graduates. Diverse and excellent students from different countries, with different families, statuses, and opinions gathered at Greta Academy as a place of learning.
Among them, there was one student who particularly stood out. On the first day of the semester, a group of students gathered on campus. Navy blue school uniform with red trim on the collar and sleeves. There are two lines drawn under the crossed swords pattern on the chest. They were second-year students in the swordsmanship department. They were looking at one person and whispering.
“Is that the commoner who transferred?”
“Are you a commoner? A commoner like that… … .”
“Can you multiply it?”
Someone filled in what I lacked in expressiveness. There was a boy standing in front of them looking at them with suspicion. Greta Academy uniforms are known for being stylish. Even if the school uniform is changed so that even the famously ugly guy can be tolerated, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t get along with people.
Pure white skin and hair as black as a crow’s feather. Cold, sunken black eyes. The boy wore the Greta Academy uniform perfectly, as if it had been made just for him. They fit together so well that when his roommate saw him, he dropped the cup he was holding.
Helmut was by far the most outstanding student. Not only his appearance but also his aura is unusual. Even though he was a transfer student, rather than being intimidated, his indifferent face looked confident. Spotless, white skin is the privilege of those who do not work in the scorching sun. It was natural for him to find it strange that Helmut was a commoner.
However, Helmut did not really get used to the atmosphere of the academy. He frowned.
‘There are too many people.’
The clothes are the same, so I don’t think I can even remember who is who. In any case, there were few strong people who could be recognized by Helmut.
He wanted to live a normal life at the academy, but Helmut had no idea what to do to do that. He noticed that no one was talking to him and instead all eyes were on him. From existing swordsman undergraduate students.
“That’s a commoner. “He said he was a commoner.”
A blond man with a greasy expression joined their conversation.
“Are you a transfer student?”
“that’s right. Sabat Lu… … . No, I almost made this mistake.”
“be careful. “Now that you have entered the academy, your last name will have to be omitted from your introduction.”
“Well, that’s right. “I know.”
At Greta Academy, status is useless. It is mandatory to hide one’s identity, and sanctions are imposed on those who go around pretending to be others or discriminate against commoners. It was natural to be careful as there might be not only nobles but also royals mixed in.
However, the so-called noble people easily recognized each other. Speaking, attitude, swordsmanship. Because identity and origin are revealed in all of that. Even if you don’t ask outright, you can tell if someone is a commoner. Even without confirmation, commoners were implicitly ignored or ostracized. This tendency was particularly strong in conservative swordsmanship departments.
The proportion of commoners among academy students is less than 10 percent. Because of the different opportunities given to begin with, there were bound to be a small number of commoners. In the swordsmanship department, the number was even smaller. It can be counted on one hand.
In a swordsmanship school with a strong sense of hierarchy, commoners, who were a small minority, became good targets. Some who were known to be commoners could not endure and dropped out. Because of this, there was only one known commoner among the second years.
“My name is Sabbat. “I took the same transfer test as that guy.”
‘roo? Is it Rugal, the imperial swordsman?
‘Judging by his attitude, this guy is a nobleman.’
In any case, Sabat, who succeeded in making it known that he was a nobleman, was easily accepted by existing students.
“What kind of skills is that guy?”
“Well, quite a bit for a commoner? So, he must have transferred.”
Someone intervened next to Sabat. It was Aaron who became close to Sabbat while taking the transfer exam. It is a typical award where the strong are weak and the weak are strong. A guy like that really needed someone to target.
“But do you know who his guardian is? “This is Instructor Ethan!”
“Are you sure?”
“That guy lives at Instructor Ethan’s mansion. “How many people saw it?”
“I heard it too.”
When someone next to him supported Eren, he subtly became suspicious.
“It’s hard to believe that a guy who has a swordsman instructor as his guardian would have taken the test on par with us, right? Besides, the transfer exam was held in a place where instructor Ethan was in attendance?”
“Instructor Ethan is not that kind of person. “He is a renowned nobleman in Baden.”
“You are someone who treats the royal family fairly, so how much more would you consider the convenience of commoners?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. Ah, there’s a guy who has sparred with a commoner!”
“Andro! Please talk to me. Do you think that commoner has the skills to attend Greta Academy?”
Sabat asked Andro, who was walking. He was a sparring opponent who got another chance after being brutally defeated by Helmut. Meanwhile, with the exception of Helmut, the noble transfer students strengthened their friendship with each other, but with Andro, who had been living in the training center before the start of school, they remained in common contact. Andro’s expression twitched.
“Why does it make that noise? “That guy passed the test with us.”
“Yes, I passed the test. So, in your opinion, what was that guy’s level?”
There was no doubt in his eyes that Andro would win the sparring match. Andro is a descendant of the Sword Family. Among transfer students, he was by far the best. Andro didn’t want to say with his own mouth that he had lost helplessly. In fact, he still couldn’t half admit it.
“There is no need to doubt your skills.”
Those who paid attention to him became noticeably annoyed. They calmed down the mood with an expression of ‘As expected’.
“Class will start soon.”
“As for your skills, you can check them gradually.”
Sabat frowned at the unexpected answer and tapped Andro on the shoulder.
“I didn’t know you would say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Well, that could be true. A commoner may have good skills. But he and we are different. “You know that, right?”
“of course.”
Andro’s answer was neat. Sabbat smiled.
“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s get along well from now on. “We’ll see each other even after we graduate, right?”
They come from the same empire and come from a sword family. There is a gap in the family, but it is not big. Although he didn’t like Sabat making a fuss for no reason, Andro nodded.
“good.”
Soon, an instructor approached them gathered on campus.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
It was a face I had seen before. The instructor who was next to Ethan during the transfer exam. Was your name Alan?
“Right now, stand in four rows!”
The students, who were looking at each other, moved quickly. Helmut, who did not know what the phrase ‘stand in four rows’ meant, saw them doing it and belatedly followed suit. When I stood in the last line, I couldn’t see clearly in front of me because the big guys were blocking my view.
“Take one step forward and back, and keep the string straight as if you were measuring it with a ruler!”
The line quickly adjusted to Alan’s shout. Alan said, standing in the front and center of the row with his back turned.
“My name is Alan Ferrell. Please call me Instructor Alan. From now on, when it is my class time, we will stand in four rows. Did you understand?”
“yes!”
A loud voice burst out. Her mind that was loose during her vacation was all caught up. The reason swordsmanship students attend Greta Academy is to become stronger. To build skills by competing with other students. A clumsy mind cannot survive in this academy where only bright students gather.
“Shall we start with the basics? Today, let’s do 20 easy laps around the playground! “Give the command and run!”
“one two three four!”
With loud shouts, four rows of swordsman students began running across the playground. For the swordsmanship faculty, this was routine. The speed around the playground was quite fast. If it were people from other departments, they would have been kicked out after less than two laps.
As the fifteenth lap passed, several students who had neglected training due to vacation began to sweat. But Helmut ran lightly, as if taking a walk. He was just in time to warm up. Standing right next to Helmut was Eren, who tried to badmouth him. He was pushed back in line, and next to him was Helmut.
‘Good.’
Eren, with a repentant smile on his face, purposely stuck to Helmut. He was displeased with the fact that he had the appearance of a nobleman despite being a commoner, and was transferred to the Greta Academy like him. I will inform him of the topic in the future.
On the 16th lap, when the speed of the front row slowed down, Eren swung his elbow roughly enough to hit Helmut. If his side was hit, he would be in tremendous pain. However, Eren’s elbow lightly cut the air.
‘what?’
Helmut was still running on the playground with even breathing. There wasn’t a single bead of sweat on his white face. It is a noticeably relaxed face.
‘There’s no way you wouldn’t get hit in this position, right?’
Eren tilted his head and swung his elbow hard again. He was faster than before.
‘There’s no way it won’t hit!’
But it wasn’t right. As his elbow split the air, Eren lost his balance. But he is a prosecutor. He tried to right himself by straining his lower body, but his ankle got caught on something. thud! Eren’s body bent in front of him and rolled on the floor. The procession ahead of us moved away. Standing in the last row, he was almost abandoned.
“What are you doing there!”
“S-sorry. “My foot got twisted.”
Eren gritted his teeth, got up and ran. The area where I hit the floor was sore.
‘That bastard tripped!’
It was a certainty. Otherwise, you won’t get anything stuck on your ankle.
‘Don’t let me go!’
Eren gritted his teeth. He barely caught up with the procession and ran, suppressing his anger. After the twentieth lap, the run came to an end. Just then, there was someone approaching from the other side. He approached Instructor Alan and bowed his head.
“hello.”
Her hair was as blue as the sea. It was an unusual hair color. Definitely smaller than the guys from the swordsmanship department. Although he did not look like a woman, he was a handsome boy with thin and delicate lines. In comparison, Helmut feels incredibly manly. If he wasn’t wearing the swordsmanship school uniform, he wouldn’t have thought it was a swordsmanship department.
“Asuka, why are you late?”
Not only did it look pretty, but the atmosphere was also unique. The slightly raised eyes were deep, and the marks under the eyes gave a strange feeling. In a group full of sword-wielding machos, this is something that stands out. In a bad way.
“I came here after meeting with Instructor Patricia.”
Actually, I knew this would happen so I took my time to avoid getting hit on the playground. The boy called Asuka smiled naturally. Instructor Alan, who knew he was a savvy guy, raised his eyebrows.
“It must be true, right?”
“Please confirm it.”
“Okay, then you can do twenty laps by yourself. “I was only planning on doing basic physical training today anyway.”
“yes?”
“What is the answer?”
“Okay, I understand.”
The guy with a blatantly dissatisfied expression headed toward the playground. The swordsmanship students looked at him accusingly as he walked around the playground alone. Helmut sensed a hostile gaze. He seems to have a bad reputation.
‘Does it matter? ‘It seems like my reputation is quite bad.’
Just because it was known that he was a commoner, no one tried to approach Helmut. I didn’t show it that much when Instructor Allan was around, but when Instructor Allan told me to take a break and left, naming a few people, including myself, I openly looked at Helmut as if he was a spectacle. It is not a favorable view.
The level of glare was minimal. Eren, who was watching for her opportunity, immediately approached Helmut with a grin.
“You bastard!”
