Leiger asks Cecil if he could talk to Andrew in his room after she was finished interrogating him. She agrees with his request before sending Andrew to the dormitory section located on the second floor of the barracks.
The silence between the two of them as they make their way up the second floor is beginning to bother Drew, even more so now that they're walking across the quiet hallway lined with doors. He wants to talk to Cecil and explain to her what he's been up to in Aspen but decides to save it for the interrogation.
They reach the end of the hallway and Cecil opens the door to the guestroom that Andrew will be staying in until further notice. She gestures him with a turn of her head and a grunt to enter the room, which he does, taking a seat in front of a wooden table that has a chair parallel to the one he's sitting on.
The guestroom itself is quite small compared to the ones in Aranea's house, it's very much built and furnished for a soldier rather than a citizen as there's only a single bed, a table, two chairs, and a wall-mounted clothes rack packed into the small room.
Cecil sits down on the wooden chair in front of Drew while looking at him with that ever-present scowl of hers. It's as though she's looking at garbage itself.
"So? I'm waiting for you to explain yourself dumbass, what're you still doing here? You should've been long gone with that witch. Where is she by the way?" She voices her concern for Drew, as he did something as reckless as this for something she doesn't completely understand. She still comes off as harsh, and it's natural seeing as she's genuinely angry at Drew for not only still being at Aspen but rushing headfirst into a barracks for no good reason other than to see her.
"Melissa's safe and I've been doing fine myself," Andrew replies as he puts his hands on the table.
"Didn't ask how you were doing. I don't care." Cecil clicks her tongue.
"You probably know already, right? A demon attacked and-"
"Yeah, let me guess, you fought the demon. Big whoop. Where's the demon?" Cecil asks as she puts her right hand on the table and starts tapping it with her index finger.
A drop of sweat runs down Drew's left cheek as he realizes that Cecil was waiting for him to confess, and now that he's put on the spot and the topic is up, he can't escape. He needs to answer as his very life now depends on how good he'll explain himself to her.
"The thing is-" Before Drew could even begin to explain himself, Cecil leaps out of her chair and lovingly throws a left hook at Andrew, hitting him square in the nose.
Drew reels back from the pain, and while holding his nose he leans too far back against his chair, causing it to tip over and for it to fall with him on the ground. Unlike the chair, Andrew feels the pain of hitting the back of his head against the wood floor.
"Weren't you giving me a chance to explain myself!?" Andrew exclaimed as his nose turns red and blood begins to ooze out of it.
"I thought we'd jump a few steps since I can read you like an open book!" Cecil roared as she stomps towards Andrew and stands over him.
Normally this kind of upskirt would reveal what kind of panties a girl is wearing, but in Cecil's case, she's always had and always will only wear black spats underneath her skirt.
Andrew disinterestedly gazes at Cecil from his upskirt view.
"Let me guess, you saved the demon who terrorized this place and somehow got her to her senses. That right?" Cecil puts her right hand on her hip while letting out a sigh.
"Bold of you to assume they're a woman," Drew replies while crossing his arms as he's still lying on the floor, seated on his toppled chair.
"Well, are they?" Cecil asks.
"…"
"You're wrong about one thing though. I was actually thinking that it's a shame you were wearing spats- Bugh!?" Andrew wheezes out as Cecil stomps on his torso.
After a few more endearing stomps on the chest, Cecil finally lets Drew prop his chair back up and sit on it so that they can continue their discussion. Andrew's the first to talk, telling Cecil what he's been doing in Aspen since he got here. He tells her everything except his meeting with the Cerulean Witch, the magic circles, and the things he knows about Leiger.
Because Andrew kept the topic about the magic circles to himself, that made Cecil think that he's blissfully unaware of the murders that took place last night.
"Ah, no. I know that a slew of murders did happen last night, but what about it?" Says Andrew trying his best to feign ignorance.
"But, I do know that the reason you're here is to escort Leiger, right?" Andrew winces at his slip of the tongue. His hands clench in anticipation, hoping that Cecil doesn't pick up on it.
But by the sharp look Cecil has in her eyes, it's clear to Drew that she wasn't going to let that slip.
"You're right, but I don't recall ever telling his name to anyone in fear of him getting targeted by the murderer responsible for the deaths of his patients." Cecil is asking Drew in a roundabout way how he knows Leiger's name, and what else he's hiding from her.
Andrew stays silent which causes Cecil to slam her hand against the table and groan at him, to tell him that her patience is running thin. Drew, in all his persistence, only stares at Cecil with resolve while he keeps his lips sealed. He wants her to trust him, and to that Cecil could only let out a long sigh.
Cecil holds out three fingers in front of Drew.
"Three days from now, Mires will send a company of soldiers here with three orders to follow, and that's to increase the security around Aspen, help in the investigation of the murders, and recapture you and that witch." After explaining the situation to Drew, Cecil's surprised by how well he takes it all in, showing no signs of fear and disbelief.
That alone struck a nerve inside Cecil, causing her to clench her fist. Drew sees that and holds his hands up to block whatever punch she's about to throw at him, but instead what she hurls is something much more painful than what a punch could ever be.
"Realize the situation you're in! Why are you taking this lightly -aren't you scared!?
Do you know how it felt for me and Erize when Sir Fafnir gave us the order for your recapture!? No matter how noble you think you are for saving that witch, you're a criminal in the world's eyes!
I understand why you saved her because I felt like doing the same thing when I saw her!"
"Cecil, wait-" Drew's attempt to reach out to Cecil fails as her tirade has only just begun. He wants her to stop because any louder and she'll be heard.
"So why didn't you at least tell us what you were planning!? Why didn't you ask us for help!?
Why are you always like this! Sticking your neck out to save others and shouldering the burdens of other people, do you know how it feels for the rest of us!?
Erize feels responsible for what's happening to you, do you understand that!?
And you expect me to trust you while keeping secrets from me? Aren't we friends!? Why can't you do the same, why can't you trust me!? Why won't you let me help shoulder some of the things you're going through!"
Cecil delivers what Lucifia wanted to say to Drew about his self-sacrificing attitude to save those around him.
For Andrew, the way he handled the situation with Melissa and later Lucifia is something in the bounds of what he as a person can do in that circumstance. Because he believes that he's not enough of a hero that he takes sacrificing himself as second nature just so he could ground his unrealistic ideals into something that he could reach.
Because he's too focused on his goals that he couldn't see the full consequences of his actions. Cecil now stands in front of him, her shoulders trembling in anger.
"Erize and I wanted to help you if you reached out to us, so why didn't you? Speak up!" Cecil shouts.
"Because I didn't want to get you both in the same mess as me," Andrew replies with his voice shaking. It takes a lot out of him just to speak, and he feels that his composure will break if he loses focus.
He now understands the mistakes he's made but owns up to it.
"And you think that taking it all in by yourself was the right thing to do!? Just how self-serving are you!?" Cecil argues.
Knowing that Cecil's now just venting out her frustrations on him for not trusting her, for not relying on her, and for not considering her, Andrew could do nothing but look up at her and smile from his seat.
"I'm sorry, and thank you, Cecil. I'm blessed to have such amazing friends!" Says Andrew while smiling his most earnest smile.