Brian shrugged and, turning his back on them, said, "Until the morning of the test, I was exempt from it." Dropping his spear on his shoulder, he said, recovering the normality of his voice.
Playing down his words seriously, he said, "Alister Payne and Kojiro Oda, they took me out of prison three months ago and put me in the system."
The girls looked at each other. Sofia covered her mouth.
While Rebeca and Neferet looked at each other, communicating in silence, they decided to resume the march in silence.
Brian, hearing the silence, walked back, saying, "I was given orders to approve in the most peaceful way possible, so you don't have to worry about me starting to attack the other knights as the archer did."
Brian turned his head a little, giving them a smile and saying, "The safety of the others applicants is a priority as long as my life is not in danger."
Neferet saw Brian's smile, and in it, there was no trace of the fangs that she had noticed in his fight with the archer and his eyes.
They did not have the oval pupil, and she could see for a few moments in his attacks, all his tone of voice returning to be calm, hoarse, and somewhat relaxed. He gave an air of tranquility while Neferet looked at Rebeca again, who nodded her head while Sofia was holding her by the arm.
Neferet stepped forward, walking over to Brian and standing next to him. Taking into account the difference in height, Neferet had to raise her face a little to see Brian's face.
At that precise time, he was able to observe her face and notice that she had angular features and a jawline that was fairly straightforward.
As they pushed forward, the crimson in their eyes shone with an ever-present brilliance.
It appeared as though their light never went out completely.
While Neferet was giving Brian a light pull on the back of his shirt, she noticed that his eyes were fixed on her.
This caused her to slightly drop her gaze and her pupils to dilate.
Because Brian's face was typically expressionless, it was impossible for him to conceal his feelings when they surfaced.
He was somewhat embarrassed to see her so close.
Speaking in a low and soft tone, Neferet said, "Would you mind telling us why you were in prison?"
Neferet took off Brian's shirt carefully as he paused, raised his face, and covered his lips with his left hand.
Brian turned his head to glance at Rebeca and Sofia while he was looking at her.
Brian observed as Rebeca fixed her sight on him in the same manner, lowering her own look and forming a contorted expression in which she buried her lips.
Even as she continued to do so, Sofia protected her mouth with her hand and stared at him with a terrified expression on her face.
Sighing, Brian leaned against a tree and dropped down, sitting on the ground. He said slowly, "Murder."
Brian wasn't looking at them intently as he said, "I don't want to talk about it, but I've got a lot more experience than everyone else here. Since I was nine years old, I have been fighting in different circumstances."
Brian pointed to a spot in the woods and said without looking up, "I hear voices in that direction. If you like, you can go, and I'll go my own way."
Rebeca released Sofia, reaching out to place her hand on Brian's shoulder. She said softly, "No need, Brian." While holding out his hand, she said, "My hands aren't clean either. That's what protecting pirate ships has to do."
Neferet knelt in front of him, saying, "I understand you don't want to tell us everything."
He extended his hand, and he said, "But thanks for your honesty, let's all go together."
Both girls looked at Brian with a smile, who held the hands of both girls while his face drew a small smile.
After carefully getting to his feet, he set off in the direction of the sounds he had heard in the distance.
When Brian first took his first steps, the girls started nudging Sofia in a direction that would put her walking behind Brian's back.
The distance traveled by Rebeca and Neferet is relatively short.
They looked at each other and then exchanged looks, after which they covered their hands with Sofia's back and then softly banged their fists while drawing a complicit smile on their faces.
As the young men made their way through the forest, the hours went by very rapidly, and before they knew it, it was four hours after noon.
As the young people make their way through the forest toward a solitary opening in the heart of the thicket, the daylight hours are rapidly coming to an end.
Sofia felt a sense of relief when spotting another group further on.
However, Neferet and Rebeca maintained their composure as they observed Brian's back.
Neferet couldn't stop thinking about the confrontation she and Brian had.
Thinking of the movements of his spear and his body, she said to herself, "I just have to unbalance the target for Brian to take them out, and he's fast and hard-hitting. I just have to keep my distance."
While looking at Rebeca, she continued calculating and thinking, "I need to see her more... I still don't know how well she shoots or what her green bullets do."