One week had passed. Zanphia, Zenover, and Suzannia went to school again, just like the previous weekdays. What was different, however, was the fact that Proxer looked as if he had butterflies in his stomach, as he walked back and forth between the living room and the dining room. Seeing such a Proxer before them, both Captain Ryov and Griston were a little confused and concerned.
Speaking of those two, while it was Captain Ryov turn again today to be on duty, Griston volunteered to exchange shifts with someone else. After much heated debate, Griston won. The on-day shifts began a while back, so Griston would only be here for a day, and tomorrow would be Kapel and another Knight's shift.
With that in mind, Captain Ryov was worried about whether Kapel could really put up with this for who-knows-how-long, even though he should have the same problem as well. But perhaps they should try to figure out what was wrong with Proxer now. Like always, Captain Ryov decided to observe first, before going and talking with Proxer. Griston also remained silent.
"Urgh... I really can't decide..." Proxer muttered to himself.
Jogrin, as usual, sat on the couch, and in front of him was a pitch black screen of the television. In fact, it hadn't been turned on since Jogrin'd arrived at the household. It made Jogrin question the purpose of this giant block of cuboid, but he didn't care enough to ask.
Proxer began scratching his head. Some strands of hair could be seen on the floor around where he walked. He was relatively young, despite being a father of three, but it appeared that he already starting to have balding problems, but that was beyond the point.
What Proxer had in mind currently was...
"Jogrin! You've got to help me!! Before Naytia comes back!!"
Proxer finally called out to Jogrin who was blankly staring at the black cuboid. The latter turned to Proxer immediately.
"It's tomorrow, isn't it? And you still haven't chosen anything?" Jogrin asked in a flat tone.
"Well, it's not like there's been no progress... I've got some options in mind, but I don't know which one is the best..."
"Why not all of them?"
"No way! They're all pricey, and Naytia is definitely going to scold me for that! Besides, the time for these are overlapped with each other."
Captain Ryov and Griston sent Jogrin curious gazes as Proxer rambled on. Perceiving that, Jogrin explained briefly.
"Proxer and Naytia are having their anniversary tomorrow. He'd asked me which gift to choose to Naytia, so I gave some advice, and now here we are."
"Oh, I see. Congratulations, Commander Maladin." The two Knights said unanimously.
"Thank you... Sorry for displaying something so unbecoming of my rank..."
"Don't worry about it. Frankly, I understand the struggle... too well." Captain Ryov's eyes lost their colors when he said that.
"You just can't help but overthink things."
"You can say that again..."
It seemed both Proxer and Captain Ryov had reached an agreement that Jogrin wouldn't understand.
"Captain Ryov, do you mind helping me choose?"
"Absolutely!"
Proxer told Captain Ryov all the options he had in mind. In the process, Captain Ryov nodded repeatedly and showed understanding. After Proxer'd laid out everything, Captain Ryov would speak of the pros and cons of each option, and Proxer was completely awe-struck by his insight.
It appeared that Captain Ryov had had many experiences with this before. Both Jogrin and Griston watched on while they had their discussion which seemed to a matter of life and death.
"Man... I wish I get a girlfriend soon... Do you want one too, Jogrin?" Griston attempted to initiate a conversation with Jogrin, and made use of what was being discussed as a topic.
However, Jogrin only looked at him and didn't say a word. Griston immediately dropped cold sweats and flinched. It seemed his idea of striking a conversation with Jogrin was a failure.
"Oh... Sorry. Did I say something wrong...?"
"What's 'girlfriend?'"
To Griston's surprise, Jogrin just didn't know what the word mean, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Jogrin ignored the emotional alterations from Griston.
"Uh..." Griston was thinking of how best to explain it to Jogrin.
"A female friend?"
It was ironic that Jogrin, who could figure out someone's real intentions just from a few words from another person, was clueless about something so simple.
"Yes, but it's more than that..."
"Huh..."
"Like, dating the girl you like before marrying her?"
"I see." Jogrin displayed a look of comprehension.
"Thank you so much, Captain Ryov!! You're a lifesaver!!"
"N-no need to thank me so vehemently. I was just sharing what I know with you..."
"That's precisely why you're a lifesaver!!"
It appeared that Proxer's problems had been resolved, as Jogrin perceived relief and elation from him. However, Jogrin wondered about something. He turned to Griston again, and raised a query.
"If I'm interpreting this correctly, are Proxer and Captain Ryov boyfriends?"
Upon hearing it, Proxer, Captain Ryov, and Griston stared at him, with their jaws dropping on the floor. None of them spoke a word, and just stared at Jogrin without blinking even once.
"Hm. Judging from your emotions, not only did I get it wrong, I also should've never said anything like that... Sorry about that." Jogrin apologized in his usual flat tone, which made him sound less apologetic.
"Jogrin..." Griston spoke up. "You don't 'see' at all..."
"Well, I guess there won't be marriage since Proxer and Captain Ryov are already married, so that means they can't be in that relationship in the first place?" Jogrin realized he shouldn't have talked about it, yet he still continued.
"Jogrin! I'm begging you, please stop talking for a moment!!!" Griston was on his knees.
"Huh? Sure?"
"Jogrin... We need to have a serious talk. Now." This time, it was Proxer who lost color in his eyes. He dragged Jogrin's arm so he'd stand up, and dragged him to the kitchen, leaving Captain Ryov and Griston behind.
"Wait, we need to follow them since we're on supervision duty." Captain Ryov instantly came to this conclusion and ran after Jogrin. Griston followed in a panic.
With an unexpected turn of events, a brand new discussion between Jogrin and Proxer had commence in an unexpected way, as Captain Ryov and Griston watched them in the dining room through the see-through glass door of the kitchen awkwardly.
...
"Umm... May I ask what's going on here?"
As soon as Naytia returned with a few bags in her hands, he noticed the commotion brought about by Proxer who was in the kitchen, and asked Captain Ryov.
"Well... It's nothing important, but... I think it's better to let Commander Maladin decide whether to tell you or not..."
"Huh? I see..." Not comprehending the meaning behind Captain Ryov's words, Naytia became extremely perplexed.
"How long has this... gone on?"
"An hour..."
"I see... Thanks for telling me..."
With that, Naytia put down her bags on the table in the dining room and watched Proxer, who was frantically speaking, and Jogrin, who was listening attentively and pensively, after joining Captain Ryov and Griston.