Helena thought it was strange that Luke had grown this much since the last time she saw him.
She had heard that the Hyun girls grew up really fast, but this honestly seemed to be a bit too much!
“You’re, you’re really Luke?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“That’s impossible! You’ve grown so much in such a short time!”
“……”
Luke scratched his head at Helena’s reaction.
Certainly, he had grown too quickly.
However, this was probably due to the fact that his growth had been suppressed because of the strong traits outside the circle, and he should realistically have the physique of a 15-year-old.
Still, he thought that with this much, it could be explained away by the growth potential of the Hyun, if he just brushed it off vaguely.
Since Luke had no experience observing Hyun growth spurts, it was difficult for him to gauge what level was acceptable; he was only guessing based on the example of Mary, who was the tallest in class.
Yerna and Dayton had also said nothing about their heights.
Did they not know much about Hyun growth either?
No, perhaps it was because Luke was a “chimera,” and they thought, “If it’s Luke, it wouldn’t be strange if something happened to his body…” that they didn’t comment further.
However, it seemed the children who saw him after a long time were different.
Especially Helena, who was originally short because elves mature later, would feel the growth even more.
But there was nothing to be done.
Now that everything was visible, it was impossible to shrink Luke’s height further with Polymorph.
Helena scanned up and down Luke’s body.
To be honest, she felt that the growth of Hyun children during their growth spurt was distinctly different from that of other races.
Every time she looked, the taller kids who entered the basketball or volleyball clubs were all Hyun.
On the other hand, Shirud and Helena, being pure elves, grew slowly as their lifespan was about twice that of humans, so the academy was quite a challenging world for elven children.
Filled with curiosity and jealousy, Helena blurted out, “What on earth do you eat to grow that much?”
Luke responded smoothly, “For height, it’s not just about eating; regular exercise and stretching are equally important. So, rather than just sitting and studying all the time, it would be good to go out for a jog. But don’t overdo it with extreme exercise.”
Unlike himself, who could eat a variety of foods, he couldn’t help an elf who couldn’t eat meat with dietary advice.
Although he had learned a bit about elven food while living with Yerna, the clinical results on whether that was effective for height growth were somewhat negative.
Because Yerna was on the shorter side among elves.
If Yerna’s preferred diet was one for “growing taller,” then she would have been tall.
So, Luke approached his answer from a more practical standpoint.
But Helena retorted with a subtle expression.
“……That’s kind of obvious.”
“Haha, I guess so.”
That’s how life is.
Everyone knows the answer, but executing it is difficult.
“By the way, Helena, you don’t look too happy. Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing really…”
At Luke’s question, Helena turned her head and muttered.
However, sensing the emotions hidden in her words, Luke didn’t miss the melancholy contained in Helena’s mumble.
“It seems like you have something on your mind, why not tell me? I can help if I can.”
What kind of worry could make a child look that heavy?
Luke wanted to help the child.
He had been living a life like that, so he may have grown accustomed to it.
“……”
But Helena remained silent.
Was it a dilemma that was embarrassing to talk about?
“Is it perhaps a worry that’s hard to share even with friends?”
“……Friends?”
At the mention of friendship, Helena’s reaction seemed to change slightly, and Luke seized that chance to nod and say, “Yes, friends.”
“……”
Luke’s words about being friends settled deep in Helena’s chest.
“Are we really friends?”
“Of course. From the moment you spoke to me, we were friends.”
Helena thought.
What had she first said to Luke?
She remembered not saying anything particularly nice.
At that time, she had been angry at Luke.
“B-but I always said bad things to you!”
“Words don’t really matter. Because you can’t fully understand someone’s heart by just words.”
Yes, words can plant the seeds of misunderstanding.
Sometimes, to truly understand someone’s inner self, one must focus more on their actions than on their words.
And from what Luke had seen, Helena was a purer child than anyone else.
Gently patting Helena’s head, Luke said, “I know you’re a really good girl.”
“……”
In that moment, Helena thought it didn’t matter anymore whether Luke was gay or not.
Because Luke was her friend.
“You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to. But know this: I want to help you.”
It might sound a bit cheesy, but it was ordinary for Luke.
After all, while living as a hero, how many times had he said that to children while saving them?
But for Helena and the others, it didn’t seem ordinary at all.
“Lu, Luke… you…”
Somehow, tears began to welled up in Helena as emotions surged through her.
“Uhh…”
Luke instinctively took out a handkerchief and spoke gently to avoid making her cry harder.
“Helena, why are you suddenly crying? Come on, stop it. We need to go into the classroom.”
That touch felt somewhat motherly, making it even harder for Helena to contain her emotions.
“I don’t know… I don’t even know why I’m crying…”
Luke couldn’t read the emotions behind Helena’s tears.
Unless it was just one or two feelings, her heart was full of a mix of emotions.
Originally lacking emotional empathy, Luke, thanks to the spirit language’s ability to read emotions from words, could only catch a glimpse of joy and sorrow.
“Haha, what to do…”
Luke looked around as if troubled, and then recalled what had happened on the rooftop during the exam.
“Well… Would you like to touch my tail?”
“……Yes.”
Helena didn’t refuse.
——
“Yeah, so that happened.”
“Mhm.”
With her eyes still red from crying, Helena stared at Luke’s back as she fidgeted with his tail.
And Luke walked ahead, offering his tail to Helena while deep in thought.
Perhaps it was the reassuring touch of the tail that made her feel calm?
In the end, Helena began to spill out all the worries she had been keeping inside.
After sharing her concerns, Helena seemed a bit relieved.
‘I never expected to share this with Luke…’
At first, her feelings towards Shirud were somewhat of a desire for revenge.
Because of her jealousy toward Luke, she wanted to take away the boyfriend he had; she knew it was a bad thought…
But it wasn’t as easy as she’d thought.
After all, stealing someone else’s partner is a difficult thing, even for adults, let alone for Helena.
Especially since there was nothing notably lacking about Luke.
In fact, it turned out that it was Helena who fell for Shirud first.
Subjectively and objectively, Shirud was a pretty good-looking kid, maintaining himself well due to the circle of his heart, and although his overall scores were lower than Luke’s, he was, at the very least, capable of matching Luke in magic, and was quite good at sports too.
He truly appeared to be an ideal existence without any negative aspects.
Actually, Shirud didn’t know it, but his reputation was pretty good among the girls in their class, barring the part where he awkwardly avoided them out of shyness.
So it was perhaps understandable that Helena, trying to strike up a conversation, ended up falling first.
Luke murmured, “Not close, huh…”
Hearing that Shirud said they weren’t close, while it might seem insignificant to an adult, it was quite a serious issue among children.
Luke was also aware of that point, so he didn’t dismiss Helena’s worries as trivial.
At least not this time.
“Haha, I used to not understand that and would mediate fights among kids only to make them cry even more.”
But that’s all in the past now; Luke had probably become more understanding of children’s feelings than back then.
…Probably.
However, to Luke, it somewhat seemed like Shirud and Helena were already familiar enough with each other.
“Why would Shirud say you weren’t close? You two seemed to talk quite a bit.”
“I don’t know, what if he really thinks we aren’t close? Does he hate me?”
“Hm, not sure. If he did, he probably would have shown it given his straightforward personality.”
Shirud had a more candid personality than he appeared to have.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have argued with his classmates who used to tease him because of his family situation.
If Helena was truly that annoying and unpleasant to him, he would have shown it more actively.
Shirud was someone who was quite firm in his expressiveness.
Then it could be assumed that Shirud also had some level of affection.
As Luke shared his assumptions, Helena seemed to quickly understand.
“Really…? Well, you know him, so…”
Luke gently patted Helena’s head, who nodded with a bit of relief.
But how could Shirud not even notice the goodwill from this girl trying to approach him?
Did he not catch on at all?
Of course, since all the information Helena could know was conveyed to Luke, it did emphasize Shirud’s cluelessness a bit, yet it still felt a bit excessive.
“Hm.”
Luke thought.
“Maybe Shirud…”
“Doesn’t understand indirect speech?”
That was a typical behavior pattern seen in children who were not adept at social interactions.
It felt like looking at a version of himself from back then.
At that time, Luke indeed couldn’t think of someone as a friend until he had that confirmation.
So, Luke felt he could suggest the solution to this situation better than anyone else.
“Helena, I think you need to be a bit more honest in your communication.”
“Honest…? How?”
Luke shrugged and replied, “Just say you want to be friends. Also, it’s not a bad idea to confess that you like him.”
At Luke’s suggestion, Helena immediately went blank.
Then, her cheeks flushed red as she shouted, “W-wait! How can I do that?”
“Just do it. What’s the big deal?”
“B-but… it’s so sudden!”
“Hm.”
Well, in this day and age, such conversations come with a certain mood.
Whether from the dramas he had seen on TV or from Yerna and Dayton’s example…
It seems the formula remained unchanged even in the world of children.
Luke nodded.
“Alright, then I’ll help a little.”
“Help? How?”
“That’s simple.”
Luke briefly shared his plan with Helena.
In reality, it was just a simple excuse.
“I’ll invite you guys over to my house today. Since I’ve just moved, it’s a perfect excuse. How does that sound? This way, you can surely get closer.”
“Really…?”
It was a pretty solid suggestion, but Helena looked at Luke with a confused expression.
She thought Luke had liked girls and wondered why he was offering to help her.
Wasn’t this the time to seize that opportunity instead?
“Seize the opportunity when you have one,” at least that’s what Helena had been taught in the Luspind House.
“But why are you being so nice to me…?”
What kind of answer would Luke give? Helena anxiously asked.
But without any hesitation, Luke smiled and replied, “Because I want you to be happy.”
‘How joyful it is to see the children happy.’
That was one of the advantages of this era.
In the past, the laughter of small children was incredibly rare.
There had been far too many young lives that had to be sacrificed and forgotten.
Could it be because he remembered those times?
For some reason, a hint of nostalgia crept into Luke’s smile.
And upon seeing that subtle smile, Helena felt her emotions swell once again.
Perhaps because she now understood how painful it is to suppress your emotions?
When she didn’t know what love was, she couldn’t understand it at all, but experiencing it made her realize it was something truly transcendent.
Yet Luke, who liked her, was such a wonderful boy that he could sacrifice himself for the happiness of the person he liked.
“…Ugh! Thank you, thank you…! Huh–!”
Once again, as Helena burst into tears, Luke was taken aback.
“Uh, huh? Was that really that good? Ah, wait! Don’t wipe it with your tail!”
