A trace of confusion flashed across her face. "What do you mean?"
I slowly continued, "It is considered very romantic to keep intimacy private. It's possessive and very sweet. It means they want you all to themself."
Her brows furrowed. "I don't understand."
I smiled, "He's trying to help others have a good impression of you, and maybe even bring you in more suitors. A forever partner means happiness. He has given up on his happiness with you to try and help you find happiness. He's showing others that you are a good match and that he is willing to still chase you even after being rejected. So the crossers who've felt you up or smacked your butt are hitting on you."
I glanced at her expression and laughed, "No need to look so sour. This is a good thing. You have many suitors. Congratulations." I laughed again, "By human standards, you would save the congratulations until the wedding but by our standards having many marriage candidates is a good thing."
"He wants to… make me into a player because he can't have me?"
"He wants to give you choices so you can choose the best and most suitable for yourself. And therefore leading you into a happier, more fulfilling, and longer life." I looked at her expression over the rim of my tea cup. "As you know, it is customary to only choose a forever partner after your prime. It is usually the last partner still showing mutual interest in you. With so many suitors you can play around until you are old and wrinkly. This is a very impressive feat. By human standards as well. Your status among the crossers must be quite high.
"He's not trying to make you into a player. He's just expressing that he thinks you are worth wasting his youth away for. He is showing that he is willing to give up his chances of finding a forever partner for a chance for you to find yours. And not everyone will want to partner with you. Showing goodwill in public can also help with business deals if it's with an influential person.
"Because you have many suitors, it doesn't matter your appearance, disposition, status, or character. You have become that type of influencer. Anyone who interacts with you and receives reciprocation will have a higher status. Particularly so in public." I sighed, "A saying we grew up with is 'perfection is unachievable without touching hearts'. One meaning is finding a forever partner. Another is how many hearts you touch. In other words, how many suitors you have. It refers to how highly you are regarded within the community."
"How can I get him to stop and move on?"
I know she was only doing something human. Knowing the whole story gave me a prick in my chest when I heard that. I give her a smile that isn't a smile. "Well… I don't suggest you do." Honestly, if anyone else had heard that question… I shook my head and let out a big breath to try to calm down.
Mr. Jaquiline cleared his throat. The conversation that had derailed was brought back on track. Mr. Jaquiline told me about the mix-up and apologized that they didn't have a classroom set up.
I purposely distorted my face. I changed my posture and put down the tea I was relaxing with. My eyes became cold and detached. The surroundings became silent and awkward.
Inwardly, however, I was curious as to the change in their attitude. They went from giving tests to bowing their heads. Now especially so. It seemed Elissa's problem was the test they'd given this time. Was this why she was allowed to sit in on the conversation this time? Her body language showed me she was way out of her league.
They were in a tight spot. They didn't have any crossers to keep the balance this time. Not even me, supposedly. They would very likely lose ground during this wave.
I purposely overlooked their attitudes and coldly stated, "According to the crosser agreement ver. 18 of con year 279 we are not held liable in any regard for situations directly or indirectly related to the anti-faction. In paragraph 47 it states--in simplified terms--if such a situation were to arise, 'all for yourself' as you may say. Therefore I can only hope that you are not trying to push me into any unsavory positions. I hate to think about what might happen to our relationship if I were to have to activate the 12th paragraph. Which states-"
"I know what it says, miss crosser. You don't have to worry about me pushing you into dungeons." Mr. Jaquiline tried to calm down my 'upset' state. "We were informing you of the situation."
I purposefully changed my expression to awkward and shifted in my seat. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath before speaking. "Excuse me. I'm not the best at reading human intentions from emotions yet. 90% of your language is without words. While it can be studied to some extent I must admit that I am lacking in this area. I did not suspect that experiencing it in person would be so difficult-"
"It's alright. I understand. I can tell you are a researcher. Nothing more. You even had an assistant for these things, did you not?"
I nodded stiffly. "Yes. Thank you." I cleared my throat, "I will try not to jump to conclusions in the future." I pulled the subject back on track, "So what do you intend to do now?" I wouldn't have any say in how they handle the dungeons. I'm sure they have a backup anyway. Nor was it my place to speak on the situation at hand. They had to deal with these things themselves. Instead, I was asking what they intended to do with a researcher who had no job. In other words, what to do with me.
I crossed my fingers behind my back--another human thing other crossers wouldn't understand--and hoped they just let me do whatever I want. If they let me go out to study humans up close I could use it as an excuse to find my lifetime mate-
I paused. I felt as if there was something wrong. My thoughts stopped at one point. It was as if it was trying to tell me something. What was it?
"If you don't mind, we'd like you to help with our crosser program. We know the fields are different. However, maybe you've picked up on something that-"
I stopped listening. Oh crap, now what? I was only planning to trudge along for a while before sneaking out. After all, I still needed to find Cleo. My deterioration was getting worse as time passed. And through each life, it lowers my levels drastically. They wanted me to help with creating more efficient crossing. I'm just a soldier for god's sake!