"Enough with this. I'm already running of patience. I did not expect the report to be of such length anyway... Whatever, the report can be postponed, not that this insolent boy can do anything anyway." Letting out a heavy breath impatiently, the king expressed how toilsome it was for him to keep listening.
'... So that's how it is, huh?'
As if fate was playing a trick on Jogrin, before Proxer even got to the part where he woke up from the blackout, the king appeared to be fed up with Proxer's recounting.
'But aren't reports supposed to be long...' Proxer had such a wry thought as a conundrum once again arose for Jogrin. His scheme was foiled simply because "someone has run out of patience".
'This is ridiculous...' Jogrin complained secretly.
The disclosure of the truth might have been eluded, but it was just for the time being. Frankly, what mattered most right now was to let Kapel know about "mind tampering." Getting Proxer to disclose here was just one method, but even if this failed, there'd be more chances to do it. Of course, the most direct way was to have Jogrin himself speak of it to Kapel, but he doubt that Kapel would be as trusting as Proxer.
"As for him, keep him in custody. I have questions for him, even though he didn't answer earlier as if he was a mute. I will get my people to use any means possible if he remains silent like an annoying little brat that he is." The king glared aggressively at Jogrin.
'... It certainly looked like this alien boy was orchestrating something just now... What is he planning? Could it be related to the incident at the hospital? The reason behind why all the soldiers simultaneously broke the protocol?' Kapel, after taking some time to interpret intention behind the gaze sent by Jogrin, thought to himself. His tapping became more pronounced.
Luckily for him, the king's full attention and rage was on Jogrin, so the tapping of his wasn't noticed.
On the other hand, the Knights acted immediately by turning their gazes at Jogrin upon the king's order. With their swords and spears closing in on him, Jogrin showed no intention to resist and was simply standing still, not even batting an eye on the Knights, and had his eyes shut.
'Is he looking down on me?!' Jogrin's actions gave the impression of belittlement in the king's perspective, as he became even more infuriated.
"Your Majesty! Please pardon my rudeness once again! But with all sincerity, I humbly hope you can remain composed. This child's ignorance may be immeasurable, but would Your Majesty, who is magnanimous, please forgive his impertinence once again?" The one who spoke up was Proxer, who earned the king's praise just a moment ago. Bowing to the king, Proxer spilled every flattering word he could think of at that moment.
"Hmph... Very well. I shall forgive this plebeian's misbehavior, but this will be the last time. There will not be next time even if it's for you... Dalamin." The king turned aside his head and started walking back to his throne.
Upon hearing that, Proxer's eyebrows twitched a bit. Not remembering another's name was disrespectful, especially when it was introduced just some moments ago.
"Your Majesty, if I may... I have a proposal to make." Putting aside the fact that he was disrespected, Proxer called out to the king.
Proxer was doing something even Kapel wasn't capable of, as he appeared to yearn to express his opinion on the matter of Jogrin being kept in custody.
"It is true that he needs to be restrained and kept in custody, but what is also necessary is he be supervised as well. While there are Knights who can fulfill such duty, I believe I, Proxer Maladin, can prove to be a better choice to do so. I am aware of why this child was in a frenzy, and to figure out the exact reason, I wish to deal with him for a longer time. This is for the sake of preventing anymore similar destructive situations from taking place... So I implore Your Majesty to delegate this duty to me..."
At that moment, as if having precognition of what Proxer would propose next, Kapel snapped back to reality and appeared "flabbergasted." His eyes were a little widened, as his tapping stopped. Having perceived that, Jogrin turned his gaze at Kapel, wondering why he has become so flustered. Little did Jogrin know, that he too, would have a similar reaction after hearing the end of Proxer's proposal.
"Also, it would not be wise to keep him close to Your Majesty or within any military facilities. Therefore, my proposal is to... keep him beside me as much as possible, even if not all the time." A solemn look was worn on Proxer. And as if Jogrin's eyes were copycats, they copied Kapel's.
Truly astonishing. Even someone like the king wouldn't possibly believe it to be a good idea. This was beyond absurd.
"In other words, you are taking him with you?" Impatient yet slightly astonished, the king replied with an assumption to make Proxer cut to the chase.
"Yes, in a remote area, where I live in, so should anything happen, the causality will be minimized." Added Proxer.
"But... but what about your family?! What if they are caught up in his frenzy?!" Unable to contain his worries, Kapel, who finally lost his composure, blurted out.
'It looks like Kapel is more familiar with Proxer than I'd initially imagined. What relationship do they have?'
The way Kapel said it, it sounded as if he was someone close to Proxer, their relationship transcending beyond two people of higher and lower position in the same working space.
"... I believe Dalamin has his own way to deal with this matter... Fine then, do as you wish, Dalamin. This plebeian is in your hands. In the meantime, you shall be on paid leave." The king, whose patience was in the negatives, shooed languidly as if to urge the group to leave.
The Knights put down their weapons after the announcement made by the king.
'There is a limit to how reckless you can be!' Kapel gritted his teeth as his tapping hastened. 'I absolutely cannot allow this!'
Tremendous "stress" emanated from Kapel.
"Your Majesty! I implore you, please reconsider this! We cannot have Maladin's family be tangled in this mess! The risk is terribly high! Please, Your Majesty!" Kapel was losing more and more of his composure by the second.
He was the reasonable one here, but with the flow of things here, it didn't seem like his words would get through to either the king or Proxer.
"Kapel. The decision has been made... Or are you questioning me, the king?" The king imposed his authority on Kapel, who could only helplessly grit his teeth even harder upon hearing the king.
To Kapel's dismay, Proxer's proposal seemed to be getting approved.
"Grand Commander Kapel, I understand your concern, but I am well aware of what I am doing, and I believe I am the safest option here. Besides, His Majesty needs his respite now. It is in our best interest to not interrupt him." Proxer bowed at Kapel who looked as if he was about to burst and walked out of the throne room while urging Jogrin to do the same by pushing his back. Kapel could do nothing but quietly follow.
As soon as Jogrin turned around, he perceived "flabbergasted" from the king, which then turned into "relieved" the further he was away from the king. He covertly stole a glance at the king, and realized the reason for his emotions: the tail which he just noticed.
'Huh... So he really did think I'm just a measly plebeian before he noticed my tail. I guess he really is unintelligent, not to mention petulant.' Jogrin directed a satire at the king surreptitiously.
Perhaps, the perception of the king on Jogrin wasn't just "a weak looking boy" anymore...
Nonetheless, he didn't care about the king whatsoever, so he simply let it be and left.
"Commander Maladin, we shall escort you back to your neighborhood. Please fill in the necessary documents for your leave and the Secretary shall handle the rest." Captain Ryov politely addressed Proxer.
"I shall do so. Thank you for the reminder." He responded in kind.
Kapel, disgruntled as he was, kept silent and followed Proxer and Jogrin. Jogrin side-eyed Kapel again, and decided that the reveal could be left for later, since Kapel undoubtedly was coming to Proxer's neighborhood shortly after.
Even though he yearned to leave Zuta as soon as possible, it was a tall story without finding the shuttle first. In other words, it was better to just go with the flow and stay here for now.