The sun was fully visible to anyone's eyes currently, and the light emitted by it gave rise to the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood. More and more people and cars were moving in areas close to the town center. As for the Maladin household, only some cars passed by from time to time, like usual.
At the campsite, the Knights were having a training session. Some were doing push-ups, sit-ups, or squats, some were jogging, some were even having a 100-meter race.
Jogrin, Kapel, Fron, and Captain Ryov gathered at one of the tents used for storing equipment including guns, rations, and clothing, and prepared for setting off.
"Are you sure this is your final decision?" Jogrin turned to Kapel and asked.
"Yes. I believe Captain Ryov's words have their logic, and yours give enough reason for me to concur to this. But I should remind everyone here again: we will not be following Proxer and Naytia, since, as I have said, it will more likely to serve to ruin their time rather than help with it."
"Grand Commander Kapel, I'll come with you too, after all."
Captain Ryov was advised to rest since he'd gone for two whole days without sleep. Griston, on the other hand, was chased away by Captain Ryov so that he could rest, but it seemed Captain Ryov himself couldn't comply to the command that he himself forced on his subordinate.
"Captain Ryov, you really should rest. You look like you could be knocked out in any moment..." Fron, seeing the bags under Captain Ryov's eyes, suggested so.
"Half more day is fine!"
"I believe you really should rest up for now. Mr. Fron and I should suffice for today's outing."
"Jogrin! Use your 'emotional perception' on me and prove that I'm not exhausted!"
"I can't tell about your physical state exactly with 'emotional perception,' but it's clear to me that you're mentally exhausted. A number of things occurred when you were with me after all. Sorry about that." Jogrin abruptly apologized to Captain Ryov, which took him aback.
He understood what Jogrin meant, and it was indeed a fact that the warning about the king, Jogrin having figured out his true nature, and that ridiculous misunderstanding had worn him out mentally. He also hadn't gotten over what Jogrin said about his higher-ups and their ulterior motives behind the operation. It'd be more weird if he wasn't mentally exhausted.
"Please go rest, and leave it to Mr. Fron and me."
"... Well, I guess I have no other choice... See you guys later then." Captain Ryov begrudgingly took off and left the tent.
"This bag should work." Jogrin pointed at one of the backpacks on the top layer of a shelf.
"Let us measure it first." Kapel looked at the direction Jogrin was pointing at and took a backpack down.
Jogrin spontaneously turned around and had his back faced to Kapel, while the latter held the backpack close to the former's back.
"It is barely enough to cover down to the base of your tail."
"Oh, I thought that was the one."
"Have you always been able to accurately guess measurements such as length and distance with just your eyes?"
"Hmm... Not always, I'm not a Neural type after all."
"I see."
"How about this one? We don't have a lot of these since its practicality isn't all that high, but I remember that we did bring a few along for the purpose of training."
Kapel walked towards the shelf that was next to Fron after the latter seemed to have found the right backpack. Kapel took it from the bottom shelf.
"Oh? Could this be used for jogging?"
"Yes. Well, it's what it's mainly used for actually."
"Wait, is this backpack heavy? I can't carry something like that..."
"Do not worry, the bag itself is very light. Here." Kapel opened the zippers and took out the weight inside. "These weigh approximately 60 kilograms in total. I see that you all are quite extreme when it comes to training."
"Ahaha... Some of us are avid joggers. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not one of them. Tyron is one of them."
"Regardless, I see that the Second Order are not inferior to the First Order in terms of training... Please forgive me for looking down on you before..."
"No! Don't worry about it! We've already reconciled, haven't we?"
"You are right. I am grateful for your forgiveness."
The topic somehow evolved from the weights in the backpack to the two of them being humble to each other. Jogrin had always been mesmerized by how rapidly it could change since he arrived at Zuta, as he didn't have a lot of people to talk to back on the Darkian planet.
"Jogrin. Turn around and let me measure."
The topic returned to finding Jogrin a suitable backpack. As for the reason, it should've become plainly obvious.
"Looks like it's long enough." Fron breathed a sigh of relief.
"Indeed. Now let us move onto the next step... Speaking of which, is it really fine for me to cut it?"
"It's fine. We have more here and back at the 'Palacial.'"
"I see. Thank you for giving up this backpack."
With that, Kapel took out a dagger from the sheath on his waist and cut open a circular hole on the backpack.
"Now them, Jogrin. Put your tail into the backpack through this hole, then I will help you put on the backpack."
"Sure. Make sure not to touch my tail."
"I know."
"Let me help."
Jogrin, Kapel, and Fron coordinated so that they could create the final product: Jogrin carrying a backpack which stored his tail. The goal of this was to make Jogrin look like an ordinary Zutan as he walked down the streets. As it turned out, their efforts had come to fruition, except for the fact like Jogrin looked a little weird with such a huge backpack.
"Jogrin, I asked Mr. Tyron to go out and buy this earlier, put these on." Kapel handed Jogrin a small box, and Jogrin opened it after receiving it.
"This is?"
"Contact lenses. Your eye color differs from Zutans, so it would be best if you could put these on."
"... This feels uncomfortable."
"You will become accustomed to it soon. For now, just bear with it."
"... Sure."
It was as Kapel told him, Jogrin managed to adapt to the contact lenses in a few minutes. Now, his normally light gray eyes became blue.
"Allow me to reiterate. The purpose of this outing is to purchase some brand new cooking utensils, lubricant for the hinges of some of the doors in the house, as requested by Naytia. Then, we will help the Knights procure more rations, as well as takeouts for tonight's dinner for the siblings. Considering that we will be going on foot, it will take approximately five hours."
It was currently almost noon, so if they set out right away, they could be back about an hour after Zanphia, Zenover, and Suzannia returned home. As for the couple, they would be having dinner at a luxurious restaurant which Proxer was fortunately able to book just yesterday.
"If there are no inquiries, we shall embark now. Proxer was kind enough to lend us his car, despite him needing it more today... Let us get in then."
At Kapel's words, Fron nodded, while Jogrin waited for the both of them to move and to follow after them.