"Whew~~ Mondays are tough~~"
Finally reaching home, Zanphia threw her bag on the ground and jumped onto the couch. On the couch, sat Jogrin who still hadn't moved an inch ever since morning.
"And since when did we have a statue in our house?" She waved her hand in front of Jogrin's eyes to catch his attention, but to no avail. "Um... Is he dead?"
"Zanphia. Why do you alwasy talk like this." Zenover also whined, but for a different reason.
"I mean, come on! How is that not a statue?!"
"Jogrin is a statue!" Suzannia leapt on Jogrin's lap gleefully.
"Suzannia chose the statue over me!" Zanphia pretended to sob.
"Ever the ruckus with you both here..."
"The statue talked!!!"
"Stop giving me any more aliases..."
"Angel statue!!"
"A what now?"
Jogrin, unable to withstand the noise made by the two sisters, complained, but he was given another absurd alias, it seemed. Zenover chuckled at this scene.
"Sorry Jogrin, but looks like they've found a new plaything for themselves." Elation overflowed from him.
"Who said you're free?" Zanphia showed a devious smile.
"Forget I said anything, please just focus on Jogrin..." Zenover rued that he even made a sound.
"Too late! Hehe~"
Zanphia hopped towards Zenover and wrapped her arm around his neck.
"Suzannia can have the statue, and I will have Zenover!!"
"Someone please save me!"
Zenover cried for help as he looked at Proxer and Naytia, but they let out gentle smiles instead.
"I want Zenover too!!" Suzannia pouted at Zanphia. She stood up from Jogrin's lap and chased after Zanphia who was dragging Zenover with him.
Proxer walked towards Jogrin and sat down next to him, while Naytia headed to the kitchen to prepare for dinner.
"That's the first time since, I don't even know, that Suzannia spontaneously return straight home after school... Looks like she really likes you."
"Yeah, for whatever reason."
"Well, as expected of her angel. You can do something that even I can't do..."
It appeared that Jogrin had hurt Proxer's pride as a father, albeit unintentionally. Suzannia was undoubtedly a lively girl that was extremely extroverted, to the point that she'd even befriend Jogrin. However, Jogrin wondered about something regarding that.
"Are all kids her age like that? Or is she a special case?"
"Hmm... Sorry, I lied."
"Lied? About what?"
"About how I don't know when she started doing that... The truth is, I do, very much so."
If he was going to reveal that he was lying right after doing it, why lie in the first place? That was what Jogrin thought as he listened to Proxer. But at the same time, he perceived regret and melancholy from Proxer.
That was when Jogrin was able to surmise the cause of Suzannia's behavior. The indirect cause that he was able to meet with Suzannia at the abandoned house.
"Is it related to the disaster five years ago?"
"... You're really sharp, you know..."
And it seemed like Jogrin hit the nail on the head. Proxer was showing him a wry smile.
Trauma wasn't something anyone could cope with and come to terms with it, especially if that someone was alone. Having support from your loved ones could greatly aid them to overcome it. They had to be understanding, as well as commit to helping with rehabilitation. The effort was never a single individual's.
In Proxer's case, from Jogrin's understanding, everyone played a role in his mental rehabilitation. Naytia, Zanphia, and Zenover stayed with him when they were the most needed, despite Proxer ostensibly rejecting them. On the other hand, Suzannia tried to be more outgoing. The exact intention for that wasn't certain, but it could be something like looking for something that could help dig Proxer out of the trauma. As headstrong as she might appear.
Last but not least, there was also Kapel, who continued to care for Proxer in his own logical way.
They were the reason why Proxer was able to stand back on his on two feet. Of course, Proxer couldn't have achieved this if he wasn't resolute enough. For Jogrin, Proxer was a highly admirable person.
He wondered that, if he'd able to recover, if he found that every last of the Darkians had been wiped out, and that he was the only one left alive. The girl that was abducted by some kind of monster... He also was clueless as to whether she was fine or not.
The other Darkians didn't deserve that, in spite of what they'd done, let alone her, who was kind even to Jogrin.
"Venrya..."
"Jogrin?" Proxer called out to Jogrin, who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Sorry. I was distracted. Anyway, you have a good family."
"... Where did that come from?" Proxer was bewildered by the abrupt comment.
As Jogrin and Proxer were having their exchange, Captain Ryov and Griston were standing a few steps behind them. They both caught a glimpse of Jogrin's expression, and was left dumbfounded. That was the first time they saw Jogrin making any kind of expression.
Jogrin turned his head and stared at him with his usual look, as if that expression just now was an illusion.
"Don't worry about it." He looked back at Proxer and said so, then glanced at the two Knights, implying that those words were also meant for them.
As Griston was about to speak up since he interpreted Jogrin's action as disrespect toward Captain Ryov, the captain himself stopped him and shook his head at Griston. He immediately stood down and didn't cause any commotion.
'He really is a person full of enigma. I've managed to read what other people are thinking with just observation, even Grand Commander Kapel was no exception... but this guy... I can't get a hand on what he's thinking at all... I've never met such an inscrutable person. Fascinating...'
Captain Ryov, the captain of the Second of the Royal Knights, was a person that others found easy to get along with. That was because he possessed superb observational skills and could tell what they were thinking by their facial expressions and behaviors. With that, he could easily cater to them, act like it when he didn't mean it at all. He was a man with a thousand masks.
Despite that, his admiration toward Kapel was genuine.
For Captain Ryov, Jogrin was nothing but a work of wonder. He could never read through Jogrin unless the latter intended to.
"Captain Ryov, got a minute?" Before Captain Ryov knew it, Jogrin was already next to him.
Slightly startled, Captain Ryov froze for a moment, before answering Jogrin.
"Is there something you want talk to me about?"
"Yes. Care to go outside for a bit?"
Captain Ryov looked toward the couch, and realized that Proxer was already gone. Apparently he went to help out Naytia.
"No problem... And as for Griston..."
"You decide whether he should come along or not. Either way doesn't matter to me."
"I see... Griston. Sorry about this, but can you wait here?"
"Yes sir!" Without a single doubt, Griston obeyed.
...
"Is something the matter?"
Unsure of how he should talk to Jogrin since this was their first time directly interacting with each other, with just the two of them, Captain Ryov used a courteous tone to be safe.
"You've been observing me the entire time I was thinking. Do you know what's been on my mind?"
"Huh? Let's see... I'm quite certain it'd be about the matter you told us about yesterday in the tent."
"Yes."
"I want to ask something. I'm convinced about the authenticity of what you said, but considering the amount of time you spent contemplating about it... Could there be more regarding this matter?"
"Not exactly. It's not exactly about this matter, but instead, this matter led me to think about something."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"You can choose not to answer me, but what's your opinion on the king?"
"... His Majesty? Like... what I think of him as a ruler?"
"Mhm... I see, you don't want to answer. That's fine. I understand it'd be unwise for you to do that."
Jogrin was being really inscrutable while talking with Captain Ryov. While the latter found being unable to read Jogrin fascinating, he felt a little frustrated in this instance.
'What exactly is he talking about?' He thought.
"Captain Ryov. I don't care what you'll think of what I'm going to be telling you. I also don't care what your true nature is, but I want you to keep this in mind..."
As soon as he heard Jogrin speak so, his face went pale. Before he could read Jogrin, Jogrin had already seen through his disguise. Captain Ryov regained his composure, and decided to hear Jogrin out.
"W-what do you want to tell me about?"
"Keep any eye out for the king."