We return to the day of Jogrin's arrival to the neighborhood where Proxer dwelt in.
After a long haul from the house where Jogrin was left in, Proxer reached the front gate of his house. However, instead of opening it and stepping in the front yard with a tired look like a typical worker who just returned from his shift, or with an amicable look of a cordial father who had been looking forward to seeing his family for an entire day, Proxer simply stood there and stared blankly at the doorbell.
Who could blame him, really, after having been through such eventful days. Needless to say, those events definitely emasculated the usually rejuvenated commander, but that was of no concern to him.
The setting sun was hiding behind the hills, clandestinely overseeing the diminutive creatures that lived under it, and the the same time, as if urging Proxer to take the final steps to reach where he belonged - his family, the sky grew ever slightly darker to signal Proxer. But of course, there was so much on Proxer's mind that he didn't even pay heed to his surroundings. That was why, he didn't notice...
"Huh? Dad? You're home early! What are you doing in the front gate looking so down? Hey... Don't tell me you're feeling guilty because you cheated on mom, hmm???"
A young girl appeared next to Proxer without warning, and made a bold statement that could shatter a marriage between a loving couple. But she said so with a smug while leaning forward and looked up at Proxer.
In response to that, Proxer turned to see the girl with a familiar voice. She had a face that somewhat resembled Naytia's, but what struck the difference was the blonde ponytail. She was in T-shirt and shorts which were azure and dark red respectively, which made her appear boyish. The energetic nature of hers could catch the eyes of many who walked past her.
"Oh... Zanphia... Why are you... Wait, sigh... you with your tongue-in-cheek again. If you keep kidding like this, you'll never get a boyfriend, which is quite a shame, since you're blessed with a good look..." Proxer put his hand on his forehead as he closed his eyes resignedly.
"Mhm! Because of my good looks, no boys dare to approach me! Oh! How saddening! It is but a curse in disguise!" Zanphia replied as she wiped the imaginary tears off her face.
"I don't remember teaching my daughter to talk to shamelessly... Oh! I'm such a failure of a parent!" Proxer teased back Zanphia, who pouted in response. "Thank you for brightening the mood, Zanphia. I feel better now."
"Ha! You can always count on me! I'm the best daughter in the world after all!" Zanphia puffed up her chest proudly.
"Alright, now you're kind of worrying me..."
"Hey!... Anyway, where's Mom? Did you see her on the way back?"
"I did. She told me that she was going to order some takeouts herself since she didn't have time to cook today."
"Aw~ I was looking forward to having Mom's homemade cooking today!"
"Learn to cook yourself if you crave it so badly..."
"But it's so much work!"
"So you're saying you'd rather leave the work to your Mom?"
"I didn't say that! It's just... Yes! Mom's really good at cooking, so it's better to leave it all to her so everyone's taste buds can be satisfied! That's too tough a task for the humble little me!"
"You mean 'too much work', right?" Proxer sneered.
"Urgh!" Zanphia let out a dissatisfied groan and gritted her teeth.
Then, both the father and daughter began bursting into laughter unanimously after a short moment of silence. It resounded in the area around them. Luckily their house was quite far from the neighborhood, lest they would've been displaying their inane interactions to nearby pedestrians.
Suddenly, a car appeared from the distance and rapidly approached the household. After stopping, Naytia came out of it. As soon as she saw Proxer and Zanphia bursting into laughter, she let out a deep sigh.
"Seriously you two... Just what do you thinking you're doing out here? Darling! You're a commander! You ought to show some humility when you're outside! And Zanphia! Act more demure!" Naytia appeared grumpy.
The dual cackled at Naytia's remarks while looking at each other.
"I swear you guys are a hassle sometimes..." Naytia added more complaints, but she was smiling heartily. "Sorry for showing you something like this, Mr. and Ms. Baham..." She bowed at the two people in the car.
"Haha! Don't worry about it!"
"Yep, your family is always so feisty, and that's what's best about it!"
Both Mr. and Ms. Baham seemed amused by the scene Proxer and Zanphia were displaying, and joined in on their laughter.
"This is embarrassing..." Naytia sighed again.
"Come on, Mom! We're showing them the family's warmth. Isn't it oh so fuzzy?" Zanphia was smug as she addressed Naytia.
"She's right, Ms. Maladin! Don't feel so embarrassed about this! Anyway, we'll take our leave, see you soon!" Ms. Baham waved at the Maladins.
"Thank you very much for the ride. I hope I'll see you soon." Naytia bowed at the Bahams again and expressed her gratitude, before the car began moving.
"Come on, you two, let's head in."
Naytia stood in front of the gate and put her hand on the fingerprint scanner and had access granted to her. The comedy dual followed behind her and she entered the household.
Just as they reached the front door of the house, it opened. The one who came out of the door was a boy.
"I knew I heard some bickering outside... Welcome back, Dad." He greeted Proxer.
The boy, Zenover, had messy, overgrown hair and disheveled clothes. His body was comparable to that of another scraggly boy, except he was shorter and his arms had more muscle mass. Despite that, he still had a delicate and good look. It seemed the looks ran in the family.
"Hey! Greet me too!" Zanphia grabbed Zenover by shoulder.
"I'd rather not, big brother." Zenover turned his head away, dismissing Zanphia.
"What an impolite little kid, treating his big sister like that! Let me teach you a lesson! Hyah!!!"
Zanphia pinched Zenover's cheeks as she showed an evil smile.
"Shtaph!" Zenover was barely audible thanks to Zanphia.
"Haha! I see you two are the same as ever!" Proxer laughed heartily when he witnessed the interaction between the siblings.
"As the world's best big sister, I have to always took after the young ones. Mhm!"
"So you're both the world's best daughter and best big sister, huh... That's really impressive..."
"You can say that again, you know!" Zanphia became smug again. At this point, getting smug would be her signature move.
"Hmm..."
"Naytia? Something the matter?"
"Zenover, is your little sister inside?"
Naytia appeared to have noticed something, which piqued Proxer's curiosity. Upon Naytia's mentioning, Proxer's attention was also drawn towards the missing little sister, and he had a sudden revelation.
"Oh yeah~ She should've come running at me the moment I step foot in the household... Has she not returned yet?"
"She's still not back. Where could she have gone?" Zenover replied while scratching his head.
"That girl, always staying out so late... It's almost time for curfew. I hope she'll be back soon."
"No one can stop her, to be honest. And it's not like I can go to her school, tie her up and drag her back... It's not legal anyway... Let me dial her."
"Dial...? She's got her own phone now?"
"It's only recently though! Like a week ago!"
Caught off guard by this news, Proxer couldn't help but query as Naytia took out her phone. Since Naytia was busy, Zanphia answered in her stead.
"Kids sure have it easy these days." He then muttered something only an old man would say.
"Hello? Suzannia? Where are you now?... On your way back now? Alright. Come back soon. There's a surprise waiting for you at home... You'll find out when you're back~"
"Looks like that's settled then! It's been so long since all 5 of us are here! It's a shame we don't get to eat Mom's homemade food though..."
Zanphia stood in a stooped posture, while Naytia smiled wryly. They all entered the house and awaited the little girl to return home.