"Deep breaths, Proxer Maladin... Deep breaths..."
It was the next day, the day of Proxer and Naytia's 25th anniversary. While the sun had barely risen, Proxer was already awake, and was walking up and down the stairs tirelessly. If one didn't know what was going on, they might actually think that it was a new trend of workout routine.
However, that wasn't the case at all. With Proxer's build and job, that wouldn't even amount to a workout at all. Besides, the reason he was doing this was because he was nervous.
Since Jogrin didn't need any sleep, he'd naturally notice Proxxer's behavior, especially since he was seated on the couch which was close to the stairs. Of course, the two Knights who were on supervision duty saw him as well, but even Captain Ryov, who seemed to have had a blast talking with Proxer yesterday, didn't know how to strike a conversation with him in the moment.
They'd discussed the plan for today, and Proxer woke up early so that he could finish up preparations as soon as possible. The preparations comprised readying his mental state.
Jogrin, having no prior personal experience with this, wondered why Proxer was being so angsty. From what he heard, an anniversary was a celebratory event, which meant that positive emotions would be resulted from it.
"Why's he nervous?" Jogrin asked the two Knights.
"Probably because he's afraid of ruining it somehow, though I'd say it'll go smoothly." Captain Ryov replied.
"Oh I see."
So Proxer was scared of himself doing something wrong, instead of the event itself.
"Um... Do you really 'see?'"
Griston questioned whether Jogrin actually understood, and received a sigh from Captain Ryov. Jogrin stared at Griston without any expression on his face.
"Don't worry. There won't be a misunderstanding like yesterday."
"What you said yesterday was so shocking that I literally felt electric shocks all over."
"Griston... Mind your manners..."
"Ahem! Sorry, Captain Ryov! And Jogrin too!"
"Please also keep your voice down."
"S-sorry..."
Just as Griston apologized again, Proxer came to a stop. He gazed at the three of them, and showed a scowl of confidence.
"I've prepared myself! Everything will go smoothly, like Captain Ryov said!... But um... Can you guys watch over me?"
Proxer suddenly threw that request at them, as he put on a pair of anticipating eyes. Both Captain Ryov and Griston were taken aback. Frankly speaking, since they met up with Proxer at the neighborhood, he'd been acting moody, but at the same time, it wasn't like he was being frivolous either.
"We have supervision duty, sorry about that..."
"Jogrin can come along too!"
"Kapel told me it's not a good idea to have the public see me, so that's not something I can agree to." Jogrin recalled what Kapel warned him about.
"But..." Proxer seemed to insist.
"Well, perhaps Grand Commander Kapel could accompany you. I'm willing to work for an extra day." Captain suggested.
"There's no way I can allow that! I can't deprive you of your needed rest for my personal interest!!"
"Papa...? What's wrong? Why are you shouting..."
A voice came from above. Proxer turned to see who it was, and it tuned out to be Suzannia who was hugging a pillow with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. Having realized that he'd woken up Suzannia, Proxer felt guilty as he walked close to her, and began pampering her.
"Sorry, Suzannia. Did I wake you up?"
"Nn... Are you OK, Papa? If Papa is having trouble, I want to help!"
"What a good girl you are! But no need to worry. Papa isn't having trouble, and even if I am, there's... Yes, there's Jogrin! Look!"
Proxer pointed at Jogrin who displayed a look of resignation. Suzannia knelt down and poked her head out. When she found Jogrin sitting on the couch, she became exhilarated.
"Nn! Jogrin is my angel, so he's Papa's angel too! He'll help Papa no matter what!!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down, Suzannia. But you're right, Jogrin will help if there's trouble, but only if you're a good girl. And good girls go back to sleep."
"OK! I'm a good girl! Good night again, Papa!" Suzannia waved at Jogrin then Proxer before she returned to her room.
"Is that a kind of coercion?" Jogrin asked Proxer.
"What? No! It's so that she goes back to sleep..."
"Then what is this expectant emotion I'm perceiving from you?"
"Urgh!! OK, I might've used Suzannia, but that wasn't coercion! Honest!!"
"First, keep your voice down. Second..." Jogrin let out a heavy sigh. "It's not like I'm against following you, but Kapel's got a point too."
"Then I'll go talk to him about it!"
"What do you wish to talk to me about?" A new voice was heard coming from behind the house's entrance door. He opened the door after unlocking it. Kapel and one Knight who had his helmet off appeared.
"Grand Commander Kapel. You're here early." Captain Ryov greeted Kapel.
"I would like to begin my shift early. And Mr. Fron, who is my partner for today, volunteered to come with me."
"Father, you're working yourself too much..."
"Leaving that aside, you still have yet to answer my previous question: what do you wish to talk to me about?"
"Uh... It's about today..."
"Now that you have mentioned it, I believe you mentioned a few days ago that today is the wedding anniversary between you and Naytia. Though belated, you have my congratulations."
"Congrats, Commander Maladin... Oh I'm Fron Urta, a Knight of the Second Order of the Royal Knights. It's a pleasure to finally speak with you."
Fron appeared to be a really polite fellow.
"Thank you. So um... it's indeed about the anniversary. I have all the plans, but I want someone to watch over me so I don't mess up..."
"If you have the plans ready, I believe you should do well."
"It's been two years, and I don't know how many it'll take for us to be able to have another, so I want to make it the best I can, without ruining it..."
"I understand your sentiment, but I think having another person following behind at all times would be counterproductive."
"Urgh... I hate that you're right..."
The Knights present were feeling apprehensive, because from their knowledge, no one could get away scot-free if they spoke to Kapel like that, even for someone who was close to him like Proxer, as there'd been precedence. However, maybe it was because Proxer speaking to Kapel as a Commander, Kapel didn't pay any mind to the way Proxer spoke.
"Grand Commander Kapel, may I speak my two cents about this matter?" Captain Ryov appeared to have an idea. "Will it be fine if Jogrin, as well as you and Fron, become Commander Maladin and Ms. Naytia's guardian for the day?"
"I do not follow. It would not be ideal if any person uninitiated to see Jogrin, it is very likely that a turmoil could be resulted. We have to avoid it at all costs."
"You make a point, but thinking from another perspective, Jogrin should be permitted to go outside form time to time. We should treat him like a person under supervision, but not a prisoner."
"I suppose you are right about that. However, that does not exempt us from the fact that we need to prevent potential public panic. It is a part of our regime, and there is no other way around it. I am certain that barely anyone has seen an alien with a tail, much less one with a tail with such a shape."
Kapel retorted, without sugarcoating his words, not for Captain Ryov's sake, nor for Jogrin's sake. From how Jogrin protected Kapel from getting killed accidentally, he could tell that Jogrin wasn't anyone nefarious. Hence, he hoped that Jogrin could live as normally as possible.
Jogrin, understanding Captain Ryov's intention, shrugged before approaching Kapel.
"Then, does that mean, if I can hide my tail, there won't be any problem?"
"Jogrin..." Captain Ryov was surprised that Jogrin decided to help him.
"... Supposedly, provided that you also do not activate your powers."
"Other than 'emotional perception,' everything else can be easily kept in check. All that's left is your judgement of me as a person: do you trust me enough to let me go outside, accompanied, of course. Adding to that, there's also no merit for me to assault any one individual. I've had enough of bombardments and people losing their minds from 'mind tampering.'"
"Do you really wish to go out?"
"Well, I'm interested in the daily lives of the residents of the neighborhood, or Zutans in general. I'm also interested in how Proxer's plans turn out. But it's not like I have to. I'm fine with staying in the house or the campsite."
"Please allow me to consider this."
It seemed Kapel's opinion wavered slightly. He became pensive and sat down next to Jogrin.