[Encounter]

Soon, within Claude's field of vision appeared a group of people numbering no more than a dozen. However, they appeared rather different from any people Claude had seen. They all had sickly pale skin and a stocky build.

While Claude was staring at the group before him, they were also watching Claude.

'Hmmm... A child? Here? By himself? Well, I'd be damned if there was nothing weird going on here...' A middle-aged man with ink-black hair stood at the forefront of the group as he tried to make sense of Claude's presence.

Nevertheless, his eyes narrowed as they drifted to behind Claude, where the corpse of the snake he had fought previously lay.

"Impossible! How in—?!" The man choked out his words, disbelief etching his rugged features.

"What's wrong, Karl?" Another man beside him asked worriedly.

Wordlessly, the man named Karl pointed his finger to the corpse off in the distance.

"That's...! A twilight cobra! We lost Hans last spring to one of these devils!" The second man immediately lost his composure as he shouted.

He wasn't the only one shocked; the others were too. Having lived here all their lives, they were intimately familiar with the dangers around them, including the twilight cobra.

Its amethyst scales allowed it to seamlessly blend in with the surrounding foliage, whilst its small and sinuous form granted it blinding speed.

That alone made it dangerous, not to mention its venom capable of sending a grown man to the afterlife within mere hours—thus came about its name.

Yet, here it lay, dead, its body riddled with numerous gruesome wounds. They couldn't even imagine what weapon could have inflicted such damage on the snake.

Their confusion only grew as they noticed Claude's current situation. Sure, the boy's clothes were dusty and stained with a copious amount of blood, but he was empty-handed, lacking any sort of weapon.

Unless... a weapon didn't cause those wounds?

On the other hand, Claude could feel the tension rise as all eyes fixed on him. Their expressions mixed with shock, fear, and a dash of confusion.

Karl, recovering from his initial shock, slowly approached Claude, his stance cautious. "You killed it? By yourself?" His voice carried a mix of scepticism and wariness.

Despite his questioning stance, Karl would be reluctant to believe that the boy before him wasn't somehow responsible for this scene.

'I mean... this can't just be a coincidence...?' He thought to himself.

Hearing Karl's words, Claude immediately found himself feeling conflicted.

He truly didn't want to expose his power to a group of strangers, especially in this unfamiliar world.

Yet, if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to predict how this encounter would develop.

Would they truly believe him if he just said that he, a child, without any special abilities, magically appeared and survived in this forest?

And then, this ordinary child just coincidentally came across the corpse of a venomous snake?

'I mean, at least they might be wary of my unknown abilities if I tell them the truth.'

"Yes," Claude after having an internal debate with himself, firmly responded.

The group exchanged looks, the weight of this revelation sinking in.

A woman with sharp features in the group stepped forward. As she approached, Claude tensed up.

He didn't know what this woman was up to approaching him all of a sudden.

'Did I say something wrong?'

Yet, he could only feel bewildered as the woman dropped to her knees before him.

"It's true! It must be true! A real divine emissary!"

Her words were laced with fanaticism and awe, tears streamed from her eyes as a smile as innocent and joyful as a child's adorned her face.

The rest of the group, hearing her words, looked at each other in shock as they soon followed suit in kneeling.

Watching this, Claude could only find himself wallowing in sheer and utter horror.

'A divine messenger?! Do they know something about Asteria and the subspace network? Is that the reason behind their behaviour?'

Feeling incredibly wary of this possibility, he soon stepped forward as he was about to say something, yet was interrupted by the woman in front of him.

"Dear emissary of Solhart. Forgive me for this blasphemous thought, but would it be possible for us to witness a divine miracle?" The woman asked Claude, her voice had calmed down, though it still held great enthusiasm.

"...?"

Thankfully, for Claude, the group in front of him had their heads bowed so they didn't catch a glimpse of his face that was filled with utter incomprehension.

With his head spinning, he began to realize what was happening.

'So they mistook me for some sort of emissary of a native God? This might be a chance...'

Claude heaved a sigh of relief as he understood that this had nothing to do with Asteria and the subspace network.

However, his eyes gleamed at the situation at hand as a plan started to form in his head.

He realized this might be his best chance at coming into contact with human civilization in this world.

Not only that, pretending to be some sort of emissary could allow him to explain his ignorance of the current situation of the world.

'I mean I'm a divine emissary. Isn't it expected for me to be devoted to my mission and ignore the state of the mortal world?'

As for Claude worrying about some divine punishment befalling him?

He already understood that the Gods had limited influence in the material world, therefore this God named Solhart wouldn't be able to harm him directly.

Even then, this is assuming he's alive or even exists in the first place.

Coughing into his fist, Claude spoke towards the group in front of him in a solemn tone.

"Of course that is fine. So long as you all assist me in the divine task I have been entrusted with."

Hearing his words, the people before him nodded their heads hurriedly as they were all filled with fervour.

'We're about to witness a miracle!'

That thought soon found itself taking root in all of their heads.

Rising from their knees, the group eagerly awaited a display of divine power, whispering among themselves, wondering what they would be seeing.

A spectacle of flames? Blinding light? Perhaps some sort of healing spell?

Unknowing of their thoughts, Claude stretched out his palms as he began condensing a ball of water. Once the ball of water had been fully formed, Claude promptly launched it at a nearby tree.

Crack!

The orb struck the tree with a thunderous crash, splintering its trunk and sending it crashing to the forest floor.

Yet despite that awesome display of power, Claude only felt pained.

'That's my fifth... At least I can cast it twice more, that should be enough for now...And it's not like it's for nothing.' As he consoled himself, he soon grew concerned at the apparent silence filling the air around him.

Looking around, he found the group of people indigenous to this world held a look of reverence in their eyes as they stared at the aftermath of his spell.

However, amidst their reverence...

'Why are they looking at me so weirdly?'

Claude found himself feeling greatly unsettled by the odd look flickering in their eyes.

Amidst his inner turmoil, Claude soon realized something.

'Solhart... Solhart... Solhart... No way?!'

As he repeated the name several times in his mind, something soon clicked in his head and his eyes widened.

'He wouldn't be the God of the Sun...?'

Upon his realisation, an overwhelming feeling of shame flooded his body.

He had just pretended to be the emissary of a Sun God... And then proceeded to cast a water-based spell.

Turning his eyes to the crowd, he hoped dearly that this minor thing wouldn't bother them or make them doubt him.

Hopefully...?