The sudden intrusion of two people out of nowhere while I was practicing with Rafaela surprised and irritated me at the same time. I hadn't expected one of them to suddenly jump over the fence and come running toward us, with his friend following almost immediately.
Little Rafaela became very nervous for a moment when she saw the two men behind us, her eyes hesitating for an instant. When she saw my firm gaze, she managed to calm down and continue moving her body normally.
The fact that she became nervous made me even angrier; the last straw was when they called me a brat. How dare they disrespect me in my own territory? How dare he call me a brat in front of these children?
The accumulation of all these things made me react violently. My ability to imprison people activated in an instant, so quickly that the two Ruby Ranks didn't have enough time to react.
One of them froze like a statue with a stupid expression on his face, the same one who had called me a brat. The other almost managed to react in time, and he was also the only one trying with all his willpower to break free, but I destroyed every one of his attempts.
My eyebrow rises in surprise when the man with black wavy hair, brownish-green eyes, and pale skin partially manages to break free. He continues struggling with everything he has to avoid becoming completely trapped again, and at least he manages to gain a tiny amount of mobility.
After hearing his excuse, I relax a little. It seems he only recognized me just now. My imprisonment ability uses a considerable amount of my oppressive Imra, so I use that same Imra to investigate them a little. I don't try to go too deep because they'll notice.
I can't sense even the slightest trace of malice from them. On the surface, I only feel surprise and excitement from the one who is still frozen like a statue; from the other, I sense something strange... Does that man feel respect toward me? I don't know how to describe that strange feeling.
Neither of them seems like a bad person when I look at them carefully, and they don't look like criminals either. Both are well dressed and have a logo on their clothing that probably belongs to their clan or team.
Was I too hasty in reacting so fiercely? No, my actions were justified. First, I'll release them and let them speak; they already know my identity, so I don't think they'll do anything stupid knowing who I am and how easy it would be for me to kill them.
That had been one of my first thoughts, to attack. I didn't do it because there were children around me. I didn't want to cause them any kind of trauma or make them afraid of me in the future.
"I'll talk with these guests for a moment. I'll be back as soon as possible." I gently stroke Rafaela's head. My voice is loud enough for all the older children to hear me.
Marcus already had his wooden weapon ready to make a move. This kid is terrified on the inside. Even so, he would've tried to attack these intruders despite knowing he wouldn't accomplish anything and might even die in the attempt; this kid has potential.
Marcus looks at his friends a couple of times before simply loosening his grip on his weapon. He doesn't seem to trust the two newcomers at all.
"Let's go outside." I tell both of them. I don't wait for an answer and simply walk between the two. I head in the same direction they came from and jump over the same fence they used to enter, with both of them quickly following me.
"I'm sorry for interrupting earlier. We shouldn't have entered a place without permission, we're truly sorry." The taller of the two men quickly lowers his head.
"I'm sorry, I acted without thinking because I got excited. It won't happen again in the future, I promise. I deeply regret my actions." The shorter man, with slightly darker skin and somewhat narrow eyes, apologizes as well.
The higher a person's rank, the easier it is to read their emotions because they have better control over their Imra; at the same time, it's also easier for them to lie to others. These people are allowing me to sense that their apologies are genuine and that they truly regret what they did.
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Am I a pushover? I'm no longer angry about what they did, just slightly irritated. I don't want to beat them up anymore, I just want to hear a good explanation.
"You already know who I am. Could you introduce yourselves? I also want to know why you did that." My voice is firm. Although it sounds like a request, they don't have the option to refuse. Did being kicked out of my own house today affect my mood too? I don't know.
"I'm Gink, and he's Taifu. We're both part of a group called Brissy. Our team arrived in the territory today, and we intend to stay here in the future. I promise we have no bad intentions. You can ask around about us and you'll discover that we're an honorable group." The taller of the two explains.
"Entering without permission was entirely my fault, and I apologize again. I wanted to get a closer look at the swordsmanship display in front of me. I couldn't contain my excitement and wanted to approach and recruit those two great talents. I didn't recognize you, Young Lord Maki. I'm sorry." Taifu continues with the explanation.
This man gives off different emotions. He's excited to meet me, as though he's seeing his greatest idol or has just met a celebrity.
I've never heard of the Brissy group; well, it's impossible to memorize every group on this continent, there are far too many to learn about. I look at these men again and let out an internal sigh. They don't seem like bad people, they've introduced themselves with almost the same courtesy a noble would use, and they seem honest.
"I'm going to investigate your group." The tone and strength of my voice are softer this time. "Don't go around causing trouble in the territory. Enjoy the food and the good weather." I don't have much else to discuss with them. I'll investigate them, and if they're good people, I'll let them stay.
"Thank you, Young Lord Maki. We'll accept your kindness." Gink answers almost immediately. "I hope you'll receive good news when you look into my group. I promise I'll keep a closer eye on my companion, and he won't get into trouble again." His eyes and voice are completely serious.
"I'll be more careful with my actions in the future. I hope we can meet again soon." Taifu also seems a little more serious, although he doesn't lose his smile.
Both men turn around and slowly walk away. I watch their backs for a moment before returning to the orphanage as if nothing had happened; in my mind, I store the word Brissy. I'll look them up when I get home.
The children seem a little overwhelmed by the entire situation, especially the older ones. The younger children didn't care much about the appearance of two strangers. Marcus and Mauricio are the ones who look the most worried, both of them are good older brothers.
"Relax, guys. They're not bad people. They're just a little strange and energetic, so there's no reason to be so tense." I give them the best smile I can. "You don't need to worry while I'm around either. No one could hurt you while I'm nearby. Trust me a little more, I'm very strong." I wink at all of them.
"Marcus and Mauricio will train against Rafaela now, then we'll keep switching partners." I offer them three protective necklaces and briefly explain how they work so they won't be afraid of hurting each other.
Rafaela needs a little more varied experience, and it'll be good for her to face more than one person at the same time. Obviously, they'll only use wooden weapons, regardless of whether they're wearing the protective necklaces.
Taifu's Point of View:
"That was a little terrifying... I felt like our lives were in danger for a moment." As soon as I finish speaking, I feel a hand smack the back of my neck. I don't say anything because I deserve that hit from the boss. "Those eyes gave me chills. For a second, I thought he was going to kill us."
"I felt the same thing. He only didn't attack us because there were children around him. It seems the rumors about his kind heart are true; we were lucky because of that kindness." The boss stares at me. "I hope this teaches you not to do anything stupid again."
"Once is more than enough. It won't happen again, Boss." I answer while raising my hands apologetically. "What was that ability? He trapped us in less than the blink of an eye. I couldn't move even a centimeter, and every attempt I made to do something was destroyed instantly." Just remembering those few seconds makes my skin crawl.
"I couldn't completely break free either. I only managed to weaken it enough to speak. If he'd wanted to, he could've attacked us and we would've been nothing more than training dummies." The dark look in the boss's eyes lets me know that I wasn't the only one who felt the enormous difference between us.
"I want to train with him someday. I feel like I could improve if I practiced with him every day." I say exactly what I'm thinking without holding anything back. For a moment, I thought the boss would give me a lecture, then I remembered what he's actually like.
"I want to train with him too. I hope we get the opportunity after he investigates our group. I told you I could smell a good future in this place, and within the first few hours, we got to experience it firsthand." The boss speaks with a huge smile.
This man has always been obsessed with intense training. Someone who was born with average talent and very few opportunities, yet pushed himself to the point of collapsing from overexertion countless times. I've never met anyone with as much hunger for glory as him. That madness captivated our group of friends when we were still very young.
"I think the same thing. Maybe if all of us fight Young Lord Maki at the same time, we'd have a chance." We've already killed or cornered a few weak Diamond Ranks, so maybe we'd have a chance to make him take us seriously. Just thinking about it makes my body tremble with excitement. I want to face him as soon as possible.