After Jogrin's explanation on the powers of the Darkians, the others only had one conclusion: too much information. The only exceptions to this were Kapel and Suzannia. The former was because he managed to comprehend everything Jogrin said, while the latter was because she slept through it all.
To Jogrin, it was unbelievable how carefree Suzannia was.
Nonetheless, he said everything he could. Whether Kapel and the others believe in him was all up to them.
"Demonstrate to me, the part about Dark Matter being repelled by portals."
"How can I do that?"
Kapel suggested so, and Jogrin questioned its feasibility, until Kapel took out his own portal device.
Not everyone could own a portal device. No matter how wealthy one was, they needed permission from the king and the ministers. Kapel having his own could attest to how much the higher-ups valued and trusted him.
Well, it was a little special in the king's case, as he pretty much had no choice but to go along with the ministers who unanimously consented to letting Kapel have his own portal device.
Anyway, Jogrin understood how Kapel wanted to test it out, so he followed Kapel to an open area, with Proxer and the others in tow.
"After I turn on the portal device-"
"I just try to walk through it and you'll see what happens, is that right?"
Just craving to get this over with, Jogrin finished the second half od Kapel's speech for him. Though annoyed, Kapel nodded calmly.
With one press of a button, a portal appeared in front of Jogrin and Kapel. The others stood at the side, baring witness to what was about to come.
This scene was really eye-catching, even Zanphia who seemed down a moment ago was curiously awaiting Jogrin to pass through the portal. Even the Knights who were told to rest by Captain Ryov came along.
It was like they were watching some kind of circus act.
"I'll go now, alright?"
Jogrin sought confirmation from Kapel, who nodded once again in response.
The other side of the portal was the tree that was standing in the middle of the campsite. And of course, there were more Knights congregating around the other end of the portal.
Ignoring all the onlookers, Jogrin strode towards the portal in a slow pace.
As soon as he came into contact with the portal, there was a rebound reaction. His entire body was pushed back by some kind of force. Once again, when he was about to fall, he stood back straight without any problems at all.
On the other hand, the portal looked a little distorted. Only after a moment did it return to normal.
Everyone, including Kapel, became wide-eyed after witnessing this happen before their very eyes.
"That's the first time I've seen something like that..." One of the Knights exclaimed, aghast.
"Yeah..." Another Knight concurred.
"Now that you've seen it, do you believe it?" Jogrin, with two trails created by his feet in front of him, turned to look at Kapel and addressed him.
"Yes. While this and a few other details you had given us are believable, that does not mean the matter about 'mind tampering' is."
"I know. Unfortunately, I have no way to prove it... Well, I just hope it stays this way in the future too."
If Jogrin was given an opportunity to prove its existence, that'd mean that, another incident involving people losing their minds from "mind tampering" would have to take place. That was the last thing not only every soldier and Knight, but also Jogrin wanted.
"I have to agree with you, that is, if 'mind tampering' actually exists."
At Kapel's reply, Jogrin showed a shrug of resignation.
"Grandpa Grunmyt already always speaks in riddles, and now we have... Jogrin to add onto that. I don't think I can handle this." Zenover mumbled as if he was about to break down. He looked to Zanphia for affirmation.
"Hahaha... Yeah..." Zanphia let out a dry laugh in response.
Seeing that, Jogrin walked toward Zanphia and stood in front of her. Zanphia looked up at him, and a sudden surge of fear struck her due to Jogrin's expressionless face.
"Um... I'm sorry-"
"No, I think you need to take a look at my head again."
Jogrin pointed at his head which had been hit by the nail and showed it to Zanphia.
"Ah! Um!" Zanphia didn't know how to react to Jogrin's sudden behavior, and could only let out confused noises.
"Jogrin. Enough. She is scared of you."
"There's no fear I'm sensing from her. Just remorse, which I'm trying to get rid of."
Kapel interpreted Jogrin's behavior as being his antics and warned him, but Jogrin told Kapel what he perceived from "emotional perception."
"It's because of my rashness that got you hurt still, so... I'm very sorry!"
"Apology accepted, so stop worrying about it."
"Thank you..."
Relief was what Jogrin perceived from Zanphia next, albeit remorse not being completely dissipated. Jogrin left it at that anyway.
"Jogrin!" Zenover grabbed Jogrin's arm. "I'm sorry too..."
"Why are you apologizing too?!" Zanphia exclaimed.
"It's because I'm a slow learner that you had to help me. I'm the cause of all this!"
'Why are they putting the blame on themselves? It's like they don't want each other to feel guilty.'
"It's all in the past now so-"
"Guys. Calm down please. Zenover, you did nothing wrong, so don't blame yourself. Zanphia, although this accident was caused by you, the silver lining is that no one actually got hurt. Then, why not use this as a lesson to teach yourself to be more careful next time?"
Seeing the two siblings acting like that, Naytia, as their mother, stepped in to soothe them both.
"As siblings, you can always help each other out. Being a slow learner is fine, let your sister, who's a fast learner, to teach you! Being rash is also fine, but slow down sometimes, and think twice. Your brother can speak up if he thinks you're acting too rashly!"
"Nn..." Both of the siblings replied in soft voices.
"As expected of my son and daughter!" Naytia held them in her embrace as she praised them.
"Um, don't do that please... Mr. Ryov and Jogrin are here..." Zenover protested.
'As expected of Naytia, being able to resolve this so quickly... But still, why do Zanphia and Zenover act like that with each other? Did something happen between them in the past?'
Jogrin suspected that they shared a past, which caused them to try and shift the blame to themselves so the other wouldn't be blamed, or hated.
Perhaps, that would be a story for another time.
...
"I shall return to my post for now. Grand Commander Kapel, please inform me when it is my turn to watch over Jogrin. Knights! Back to the campsite!"
Captain Ryov bid farewell to Jogrin and the rest before bringing the Knights with him.
"Jogrin." Kapel called out to Jogrin."I would like to express my gratitude for saving Proxer back at the hospital, and me a moment ago."
Kapel bowed at Jogrin, which shocked Proxer and the other Maladins. As for Jogrin, he only looked at Kapel with his usual expressionless face.
"Sure." He gave a curt reply.
Nevertheless, Kapel didn't get mad at him, as his glare was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, that didn't mean Kapel trusted Jogrin yet.
"Sorry for bothering, everyone. I am Tyron Hopper. I'll be in charge of watching over Jogrin with Kapel for today and tomorrow. It's a pleasure to finally talk to you all face-to-face."
A Knight named Tyron greeted them courteously. He took off his helmet and bowed at them. He swiftly donned the helmet afterwards.
Immediately, Jogrin understood that his hypothesis about "emotional perception" was correct.
"Emotional perception" could only recognize the presences of people whose faces had been seen by Jogrin. And even if they covered up their faces again, "emotional perception" had already "registered" them, so they wouldn't be "forgotten."
There was an effective range for this ability, but even after someone who had been "registered" left the range, and then return within it, "emotional perception" was still able to recognize the person.
This had been proven thanks to Captain Ryov and Kapel's recent arrival to the neighborhood.