Raiyan stared at the man as the man stared back, his mind racing to make the best move in such a tense situation. Seconds ticked by as they did so, his hand still suspiciously held over Briar's body.

The memory of the man's arrival flitted through his mind, each detail making up a bigger picture as he thought it over. 

From the instant he arrived, the armored man didn't look at anyone but Raiyan. That was odd since most people didn't look to children to explain complex situations, but that was likely explained by Raiyan being the only one standing.

It was clear that the man was in a position of authority as well, explained by the fact that he instantly demanded an explanation. Of course, anyone could do this, but the fact that he owned a set of battle armor was indicative of his status.

Did… he watch the entire exchange from above? Yes, that has to be it. Raiyan slowly stood up, reluctantly stopping himself from harvesting Briar's soul.

Or, was this perhaps a common scare tactic? A way to make him think twice and blurt out everything that happened, as was typical of children his age in stressful situations.

In any case, there were too many variables for an accurate assumption. And Raiyan wasn't going to implicate himself in front of what seemed like a member of law enforcement.

Raiyan turned to the armored man, ignoring his question entirely, "Who… are you, even?"

The man blinked, his capable aura suddenly vanishing as he took on an expression of total confusion. He didn't answer for a moment, simply staring back at Raiyan with furrowed brows.

After a few seconds of awkward staring, the man shook his head and refocused his gaze, "You don't recognize my uniform at all?"

Shaking his head slowly back and forth, Raiyan's eyes flickered to Briar's corpse. 

There was a time limit on how long a soul would linger long enough for Raiyan to harvest it, and that time was quickly fading. From what he could tell, this limit wasn't set in stone, as each soul had their circumstances.

Some souls would get stuck in traffic, forced to dawdle around their bodies for even longer. Others would be so wrathful in death that their soul persisted after death, vainly raging against the pull of the afterlife.

Other times, a god may have a particular interest in a soul, and pull them to the afterlife effectively immediately. Or perhaps a soul would attain a fast track to heaven because of their high karma and purity of heart.

In other words, the time before he couldn't harvest a soul was random. So he wanted to harvest Briar's soul while he had the chance.

"Huh. That is… hard to believe, honestly. What sort of kid doesn't know about the Imperial Knights?" 

The Imperial Knights, huh? So I've stumbled upon an empire. However, that isn't indicative of much considering how advanced the Saiyans were despite being a monarchy.

"A knight, you say… Does that mean I'm in trouble? I don't have the energy to resist right now so I'd rather just get my death over with," Raiyan casually stated.

While it was the truth he likely couldn't fight this guy off, that wasn't the reason he said this. His initial impression made the man seem intimidating and strong, a person with a no-nonsense attitude. But on closer inspection, Raiyan couldn't help but think the man had quite a laid-back temperament.

The man's earlier words sounded forced and practiced, like a line he was forced to say a hundred times.

Plus, there was something about the entire scenario that was tickling the back of Raiyan's mind. Something that was telling him he was completely safe in front of this man, but he couldn't understand why.

"What? Why would I kill you?" The man's voice was genuinely perplexed, his head tilted to the side in a display of confusion, one eyebrow arched in mild incredulity.

"Well, I mean…" Raiyan raised his hands upward, gesturing at the scene around them. He couldn't help his voice from being tinged with exasperation. "As a knight, this looks terrible from your perspective, doesn't it?"

He didn't want to get himself killed but this almost felt comical. Some element was missing here, and he was bemused enough to try and find out what.

"I… don't see what you're getting at," the knight admitted after a few seconds of contemplation.

Raiyan squinted his eyes at the man in disbelief. Is this guy really this dense? Does he not see the bodies around him?

But before Raiyan could say another word, he watched as the knight's face gradually shifted, as if a light bulb had flickered to life above the man's head. With an almost dramatic flourish, his hand lifted and pointed a finger upward, as if directing the attention of his revelation to the skies above.

"Oh, I get it! You think that killing these people is a crime, don't you?"

With an open palm, the knight's hand crackled with an otherworldly power, a blue hue emanating from the dense ball of energy taking shape. Even if Raiyan wanted to, he wouldn't have been fast enough to stop the knight's next move.

"Hah!" the knight let out a shout as he unleashed the devastating blast–

-Boooom!!-

–utterly obliterating the two very much alive men in a whirlwind of debris and dust, zero traces of them left in its path.

As the echoes of the sudden destruction faded, Raiyan stared at the knight, dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of his actions. Before he could even think of a reply, the knight turned to him with a casual shrug, as if he'd just performed a mundane task.

"These people don't matter," the knight remarked nonchalantly, dismissing the lives lost with a flick of a wrist. "So don't be shy to explain in detail."

Raiyan stood speechless, struggling to comprehend the attitude of the knight. Gradually, the clues about his situation clicked in his mind, his expression becoming tranquil as he finally understood.

It was clear with that action, the knight saw the people Raiyan killed as less than dirt. He was a stone-cold killer without a single ounce of remorse. 

So why would someone like that, a supposed Imperial Knight, be merciful to only Raiyan?

Both the knight and Raiyan shared many similarities. The only difference between the two were their eye colors and shades of skin. While both had dark skin, the man's was that of a deep brown, like cocoa. Raiyan, on the other hand, had a lighter skin tone like that of mahogany or caramel. Plus, it was only if one looked closely that they could tell the two had different eye colors, Raiyan having bright amber pupils while the knight had dark gold ones.

It's because of the same assumption everyone here made the moment they saw me. They all think I'm a Faunilith. the same race as this knight. It was this realization that dawned on him, making the situation more understandable.

In her last outcry, Dahlia had screamed about how the Floradel would one day be seen as more than livestock. With that very blatant detail, and the hundred other subtle ones, it was obvious what the current situation was.

The Floradel must be either servants or slaves to the Faunilith, and those four were likely attempting some form of escape. 

"I see. It's a simple matter in that case. This one threatened to hurt me over an animal, so I killed him and his sister in anger," Raiyan admitted boldly, pointing at the impaled corpse of Briar.

This was only a half-truth of course, as there was no chance he would admit the only reason he'd provoked these four was because he wanted Briar's Lesser Soul.

The knight nodded before letting a smile grace his face. " Good, that's good! As a Faunilith, you can't let any weakling lesser race disrespect you, even an adult."

 But his smile vanished as quickly as it came, "However, what you've done has caused me quite a few problems. Although these people are worthless, they are still one of the families I'm in charge of. Since I'm stationed here as a guardsman for the time being, I'm supposed to protect these Floradel from monsters. Now that you've killed them, my captain's assessment of my capabilities will drop."

Raiyan's expression froze, comprehension glittering in his eyes. This form of extortion was very familiar to him, but he couldn't tell what the man wanted from him.

Either way, he wanted nothing to do with being extorted. "I'm not a part of whatever empire you speak of, as I've lived my entire life in these woods, so it's a fairly simple matter. Just report that you couldn't possibly choose a Faunilith child over the life of a few ingrates."

One of the man's eyelids twitched, his voice becoming quieter, "While that is cunning of you, it wouldn't suffice. Those not within the empire, even Fauniliths, are considered enemies. If I report that, they'll question why I did not… deal with you."

His words were an obvious implication. First, there was the threat of a greater enemy, and now the threat of immediate physical force. 

With his current power, all options to deny the knight would end badly. Even if he thought of some clever way to get around it with words, it was plain to see that Faunilith did not back down easily.

Another dreadful warrior race, it seems… Raiyan sighed, resigned to his fate, "I assume you have a perfect solution to this issue?"

"I'm glad you understand!" The knight's smile came back full force, a face that Raiyan was learning to despise. "To both improve my reputation and keep you out of trouble, we can enroll you into the academy with me as your benefactor. Just by attending you'll have citizenship, and if you graduate with high enough marks, I might even get promoted within my division."

Raiyan frowned, the man's angle finally coming out. School was something he desperately didn't want to go back to, as it would be both mind-numbingly boring and a waste of time.

"Just to make sure, this academy trains you to become stronger, right?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "Of course it does, what sort of academy doesn't make you a formidable warrior?"

Ah, so that's what it was. He had been wondering why the man asked him to explain the situation if he'd seen it all, but now he understood. The man didn't care about the situation at all, simply using it as a reason for scouting him.

There was likely a bonus for him if Raiyan graduated early or had a great amount of talent in terms of power and skill, like a referral program.

Though, this offer wasn't too bad if he thought about it. If there was an academy teaching him combat and giving him time to train, then they'd likely give him food and water as well. With the knight as his benefactor, he could probably afford health care as well if he became too unhealthy. These factors combined meant he could extend his dangerous training method even longer without facing severe consequences.

It wasn't an ideal situation, but he could exploit the safety of this cage to become stronger.

"...Fine." Raiyan rolled his eyes, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. "I'll do it, but I won't be happy about it."

Just as he agreed, he watched as the red mist that floated over Briar's corpse faded in the air, his soul finally moved on to the Otherworld. You have got to be kidding me.

What a terrible day to be alive.