#9
Helmut
Episode 9
There were two pieces of meat packed. Helmut ate the remaining piece with relish.
Elaga squinted her eyes as if she was seeing something she couldn’t eat. The moment the food was pushed down her throat, Elaga blurted out.
-You seem to have grown a bit taller.
“is it? “Because it’s a growth period.”
Helmut rubbed his head. I guess I am growing taller because I train regularly and eat and sleep regularly.
I lost some of my breast fat, so my once pretty face became cooler and more handsome. Well, it’s only a subtle change.
Elaga snorted.
-So, it looks like the acorns have turned into chestnuts.
“I will be bigger.”
-How big can a human be?
Compared to Elaga’s huge body, Helmut seemed less than a bite away. Her height and bulk were similar to those of the rabbits that Ella was standing in front of.
Helmut blurted out, recalling a certain memory.
“Darian says he owes Elaga a debt.”
-Is that person’s name Darian?
“What happened with Darian?”
Since I don’t even know their names, it doesn’t seem like they are very close friends. It seemed like they only lived nearby and had rarely met each other.
Because Elaga didn’t know if he was alive or dead. It’s not a hostile relationship, but there is a sense of distance.
Elaga said bluntly.
-I allowed him to live here. I could have driven him away when he got close to my territory, but after talking to him, I decided to just leave him alone. That’s why that person was able to live here.
“You didn’t mean to fight?”
puck! At the sharp question, a thick tail struck Helmut on the head.
-I am Elaga! No matter who the opponent is, there is no reason to avoid fighting… … .
Elaga, who was shouting angrily, continued speaking shakily as if something had stung her.
-… … Well, you know. If I get injured while fighting that person, isn’t it obvious that other people will target me? I have to do something like that to please someone.
Actually, I had no thoughts at that time. Elaga roughly gave a reason.
-Of course, if that person had been making noise here, I would have kicked him out. But when I went to visit him, he said he asked my permission to live here.
I didn’t ask for permission very politely, but I felt like I was a formidable opponent. He didn’t show hostility to take over territory, so there was no need to fight.
Since we are humans, the areas required will be small. I bend it a little on that side first, then accept it on this side and that’s it. He doesn’t need to fight or risk any losses.
Of course, it was an unusual calculation for Elaga.
-Well, I thought it wouldn’t matter if at least one human survived. That disgusting snake guy will also want me to fight him and get him covered in blood. This is the perfect opportunity to grab them both, right?
“Disgusting snake? “You mean Naho?”
In Pahe Forest, there are monsters that occupy huge territories in each area.
Elaga was a monster that lived in a large area in the central forest. Naho is a monster that lives in the eastern area of Pahe Forest.
I don’t know how he gets along with other monsters, but Elaga particularly dislikes Naho.
Naho in the east. Naturally, these well-known monsters were at the top of the food chain in Pahe Forest.
-Naho wanted to eat that person. But he was also reluctant to fight with him. He was the one who destroyed my human farm, but I couldn’t retaliate.
“Human farm?”
-… … There is such a thing.
Elaga hesitated and turned her head. Helmut was lost in thought for a moment at the unusual words, but his attention was soon diverted to something else.
Naho is a monster that Elaga described as being on the same level as herself. Although they hate each other, if they fight, one of them will die or the surviving one will be seriously hurt.
They knew that if that happened, they would become targets for other monsters, so they didn’t provoke each other too much and just stayed on guard.
Naho is fierce and cunning. If it had been harmed by humans, I would never have left it alone. Both Naho and Elaga are opponents who avoid fighting.
“If Darian and Elaga fought, who do you think would win?”
Helmut did not hide his curiosity. For a ten-year-old boy, it is important to determine who is stronger and weaker than others.
Elaga growled. As if she was trying to say that of course she was stronger.
-… … I do not know.
But Elaga was a strangely honest leopard.
-Monsters like me can instinctively know whether the opponent is stronger or weaker than me. But what if the other person is a human? Unlike us, who can feel how strong they are when you look at them, they are good at conserving their strength, right? It means you have a feeling, but you can’t be sure. There are probably a lot of people who attacked that person and died. The important thing is that even Naho, who enjoys eating human flesh, couldn’t touch him.
Not knowing meant you could lose. In this forest of digs, he is a human that even the strongest monsters cannot touch.
Thinking back on what Darian said, it seemed like he had fallen into a trap and fell into the Forest of Pahe.
Although he came to the Forest of Pahe already strong, Darian is human. Humans are different from monsters. A weak being from birth. Helmut alone would never have survived if Elaga had not raised him.
However, here was a human that even monsters were wary of.
Helmut felt his skin prickling. An exception that turns stereotypes into prejudices. Could he become like Darien himself?
“Why didn’t you tell me that Darian lived here?”
-I thought I would die soon because I was old, and I lived as if I was dead so much that I forgot. Is it any different if humans are just as strong? It seemed like a correction.
Elaga, lost in her own thoughts, muttered.
-But is it surprising that they accepted you? Humans live in groups. In this forest of digging, they come together even more. Because I’m weak. But he lived alone. It doesn’t seem like it likes humans very much.
‘You don’t like it?’
Helmut tilted his head. At least he didn’t seem to dislike teaching Helmut.
-If you had the heart to be with other humans, what would you have done with that human farm? I was hoping that when that person showed up, he would crush Naho’s bad taste, but he was only half done. What is Naho doing to a subject who is not even human? He said he was a hairless snake.
“What is a human farm?”
Elaga said, her face twitching as if she was thinking about something.
– Yes, it’s messy and disgusting.
For a leopard, Elaga was easily offended. She may be exaggerating. But why does she want to hide it? Helmut asked again.
“What is dirty and disgusting?”
-… … Are you curious?
“huh.”
-Okay, then I’ll show you.
Elaga looked as if she had made up her mind. Her thick tail snaked around Helmut’s torso and lifted him up.
-I’ll take a quick look, so don’t make a fuss. There are a lot of humans there, so even though it’s fascinating, just hold your breath and watch.
“okay.”
-Because it’s Naho’s territory, you have to go there secretly. Anyway, now is the time for him to start sleeping a lot.
The time was approaching when the forest of Pahe, which belongs to the cold zone, would be hit by a cold wave. Winter soon.
Elaga, with Helmut hanging on her tail, jumped out of her seat and ran.
The direction was east, and the leap distance was enormous. Every time it jumped, it split the air as if a huge body was flying.
Every time Elaga’s foot hit the floor, the shock shook her insides. Helmut’s face turned white. Elaga warned.
-When you open your mouth, bite your tongue.
Helmut had to endure an equally arduous time as during training. Quite a long time.
As soon as Elaga, who had stopped standing tall, placed him on the floor, Helmut gasped and covered his mouth.
-Look carefully over there.
I was fortunate that my recovery was good. Helmut barely came to his senses and looked around.
The place where they were standing was a cliff surrounded by bushes. Elaga bent down and stuck her head out over the edge of the cliff.
Helmut followed suit, lowering his body to the floor with his elbows.
Far below, I could see cabins nestled in the woods. There were dozens of huts similar to Darian’s living quarters crowded together. And the creatures moving around there.
Yes, it was a human.
Helmut opened his eyes wide.
It was unfamiliar. People wearing clothes made of a different material than their own, thinner than leather, carrying water jars on their heads or carrying something.
Although they were of the same race as themselves, they were different, forming one group. Helmut was the first to realize what the word group meant.
“That… … .”
-Yes, that is a human farm.
Helmut tilted his head. The expression human farm. weird. Isn’t a farm a place where humans raise crops or animals? A place where humans live in groups would be called a village.
“Why ‘farm’?”
-Just watch.
A skinny man who was moving a pile of cut wood stumbled. He is a man who appears to be weaker than the rabbit monster that Helmut caught not long ago. In this forest, the weak can never survive alone.
-clattering.
The fallen pieces of wood scattered on the floor. The huge man standing next to him screamed and swung his whip at him.
The skinny man opens his mouth and hugs his body. It seemed like a scream could be heard. Having been whipped several times, he gathered up pieces of wood and moved around in a huff.
The men of similar build standing around him continued what they were doing in silence. A familiar exterior.
My eyebrows furrow. There is no place where the saying, “The fit of the jungle” fits better than the Forest of Pahe. But the sight was somehow uncomfortable.
“Why are you bothering me?”
-Because I can’t do my job properly.
Helmut kept his mouth shut and watched them. A rigid and bloody atmosphere.
A door opened in the building next door, and white, pretty, and soft-looking humans poured out.
Helmut realized. That it is a creature classified as a ‘woman’. Like his mother. Same human, but different gender.
-Are you excited?
“huh.”
