On the very same day, at the abandoned house. Since it was the weekend, Proxer and Suzannia came early.
"Jogrin's coming to live with us?! Yay!!!"
Suzannia, who heard about the original plan that Proxer had by bringing Jogrin here, hopped in joy. Nevertheless, that was an "original plan," meaning there was no intention to dod that, at least for now, as both Naytia and Jogrin were against the idea.
"No, I'm not. I was supposed to, apparently, but things changed, so I'll just be staying here."
"No!!!"
Suzannia, after hearing Jogrin's refusal, held his left arm tightly, seemingly not wanting to let go any time soon. Of course, Jogrin tried his utmost to minimize the opportunities for her to come into contact with his right arm.
"Suzannia, don't trouble him too much..." Proxer said wryly while attempting to pull her away.
"NO!!!"
Towards a child who was thorwing a tantrum, Jogrin and Proxer alike could do nothing but let her do as she pleased for at least a while.
"Childish behavior. She'll grow out of it soon." Jogrin indifferently muttered to Proxer.
"Well, I'm not sure about the 'soon' part..."
Proxer, who honestly couldn't see that happening, replied so.
"Suzannia, let Jogrin sit down at least..."
"That's not a good idea. Chances are, she's going to jump onto my lap, and this chair is definitely going to collapse because of it." Jogrin readily rejected.
"Then carry me! Give me a piggy-back ride!"
"We've tried this before, and the conclusion of that is that I don't have to strength to lift you up, nor hold you in place."
"Then, Jogrin and Papa together!!"
Suzannia just wouldn't give up, which posed quite a bit of annoyance to Jogrin. Playing with her daily wasn't something preferable for Jogrin either, but he still went along with her whims. He didn't comply with the carrying since he really was incapable of it.
"You can stand on your own two feet, there's no need for that."
The next moment Jogrin threw his logic at Suzannia, she sulked as she looked down and pouted.
"Suzannia! Alright, we'll hold you up together! Don't be sad!"
Couldn't endure watching his daughter like hat for even a second, Proxer pampered Suzannia by patting her head. Suzannia leapt toward Proxer and hugged him instead.
"So you're the reason why she's acting so willfully." Jogrin stared at Proxer with a slight scowl.
"Ahahaha... What can I do, when this cute daughter of mine is about to cry... I just instinctively did what I did..."
Proxer, with a hint of regret, spoke as he continued to pamper Suzannia.
"Whatever. So, hasn't Naytia been saying anything about you two coming here for three days consecutively?"
"Oh, well... She said I shouldn't be spoiling her too much by letting her do everything she wants, and she scolded both Suzannia and me..."
"Mama is a meanie!! Big sister and brother are better than Mama! I love them more!!"
"So basically what I just said to you. Then you should heed her advice, don't you think?"
"But..."
"I'm not saying you should fully restrict and monitor everything she does, but you need to let her know what's acceptable and what isn't. For better or worse, the one she met was me, but what if she encountered some abductors and she never returned? What if something worse were to befall her?"
"Every child deserves to be spoiled..."
"If they don't learn about the cruelty of the world sooner, you'd only be making them suffer in the long run."
"That's a bit..."
"It's not a coincidence that Naytia and I share the same opinion."
"Well... you were speaking more like Grunmyt..."
"Grunmyt?"
"Oh! Grandpa Grunmyt! I miss him so much!!"
"Kapel, huh?"
Suzannia, unable to comprehend the conversation between Jogrin and Proxer, only gazed at them back and forth as they took their turns to speak. She chimed in as soon as Kapel was mentioned.
"You two are really alike... Except the part how one should treat those who committed misdeeds. He's less... intense about that."
"Hmm?"
"Enough about that. I've spoken my piece, whether you listen is another matter, but I do hope you'll consider, since two individuals who are close to you says the same."
"I know..."
"Papa, Jogrin. What are you talking about?"
Albeit the topic being inane for her as she didn't understand it, Suzannia knew it could be something important, so instead of urging them to play with her, she asked that.
Jogrin, who saw through that, was impressed by Suzannia.
"Nothing, my cute little daughter. Let me give you that piggy-back ride!"
"Nn!!"
Suzannia became chipper at Proxer words and extended both her arms. Proxer then lifted her up and let her ride on his shoulders.
Witnessing this scene unfold before him, Jogrin was reminded of one of the two people who treated him kindly back on the Darkian planet. He used to do this with Jogrin when he was still small, but as time went on and Jogrin stayed outside more and more, they eventually grew distant.
Despite that, when the moment came, he still prioritized Jogrin over himself.
He could remember the face of the man who saved him from being purged after he was born. To save his own son, he was even willing to become a criminal himself.
'If only I wasn't born, they would be living happily for 597 more years, maybe even longer than that, since he wouldn't have had to save me.'
Regaining his focus on the father and daughter in front of him, he stared at them for a few more seconds before looking away.
'That's something I don't deserve to have, nor even bare witness to...'
He had a self-deprecating thought, but there was also something else he had to keep in mind.
'And I'll never allow any misfortune befall these two... and their family.'
Even though he still hadn't met with the remaining two members of the Maladin family, Zanphia and Zenover, he knew they'd have similar natures as Proxer, seeing as how Suzannia was also fond of them.
And even though Suzannia called Naytia a "meanie," he knew she also meant well, according to when he first met her and what Proxer told him.
Kapel was a serious, erudite, and strait-laced person, but his intentions weren't evil whatsoever. He even specified that he'd come to the neighborhood for Proxer's sake before they set out.
Jogrin believed that there would be more good-natured individuals whom he hadn't met on this planet yet, or that he still hadn't discovered their good natures for those he'd already met. In any case, he thought that those people should also be protected.
'The one who doesn't deserve goodwill, is me.'
As Proxer and Suzannia were having their parent-child bonding session, Jogrin sat back down on the chair as it let out a creak, except that, the creak sounded duller and heavier than usual.