"Garty! You're here! What a surprise!!"
"Sorry for the intrusion."
"Don't be so formal with us! You're like our daughter too!"
It was 7 pm, inside the Maladin household. Proxer and Naytia had returned and was pleasantly surprised to see Garty sitting at the dining table with Zanphia, Zenover, and Suzannia. As for Jogrin, Kapel, and Fron, they were sitting on the couch while the latter two were having their dinner.
"Um, OK... Welcome back, Mr. Proxer and Ms. Naytia."
"Still too formal!"
Naytia especially adored Garty. She went to hug Garty from behind. Meanwhile, Proxer seemed a little down. It was the same for Zanphia, who was the reason Garty decided to come along in the first place.
"Why are you guys back so early?" Zenover was curious. He was able to tell that Proxer's current state had something to do with it.
"Oh, it's nothing major. It was just that something came up at the restaurant Proxer booked, and we weren't able to dine there."
"I'm sorry about that..."
"Hey! Something like that couldn't have been predictable! Don't beat yourself up over it, OK?"
Naytia released Garty and went to hug Proxer as she said the words of consolation. Suzannia stood up from her seat and did the same as Naytia.
"On the bright side, we get to share our happiness about our anniversary with everyone here! Even Garty is here! It's like fate!! So cheer up, OK?"
As Naytia continued to cheer Proxer up, Garty watched with embarrassment as her face was slightly flushed. One the other hand, the three men seated at the couch in the living room didn't make any noises, except some chewing noses from Kapel and Fron. And Jogrin became a statue again as he stared at the television, which was of course off. It seemed that everyone was used to this, as none of them commented on it.
"Don't be sad, Papa..." Suzannia gazed upward at Proxer with dejected eyes.
"What a sweet girl you are, Suzannia. Yeah, your Mama is right. We now get to celebrate together, so it's even better!" Proxer lifted up Suzannia and smiled genially.
Both Naytia and Suzannia returned with their own smiles in response to Proxer. Zenover also became relieved after seeing Proxer in a better mood. However, when he saw Zanphia again, he grew dour. It appeared that the words uttered by the girls earlier today took a toll on Zanphia's mental state.
"So uh, Jogrin...?" Naytia called out to Jogrin, as if there was something weird with him. In fact, there actually was.
"What?"
"Why are you carrying that huge backpack? And... your eyes..."
"Naytia. We have procured the items at your behest. The utensils have already been placed the kitchen, whereas the lubricant is in my hand. I would like to help with lubricating the door hinges, so please let me know which ones need the lubricant, and I can get it done swiftly. Proxer, if you could come with us as well." Kapel interrupted Naytia and changed the subject.
"... Alright." The couple replied unanimously as they looked at each other in confusion, before following behind Kapel, who gestured them to go upstairs after making sure Garty wasn't looking.
"Suzannia, go finish your food before it gets cold." Naytia urged.
"OK!"
Zenover wanted to know what was up with Jogrin too, but he decided against it since he was worried about Zanphia, who remained silent the entire time. Garty also gazed at her with her face colored with concern while sitting beside her.
"Jogrin. What are you thinking about?" Fron, while impressed by Jogrin not getting fed up with boredom, also found his behavior curious.
Jogrin turned to look at Fron without muttering a word, which caused the latter to flinch a little. Ignoring Fron's reaction, Jogrin turned to face the dining room, then looked at Fron again. Understanding what Jogrin was hinting at, Fron also stared at the television and became deep in thought.
"I wonder what was up with that..." He whispered to himself. He wanted to know so that he could help, but at the same time, it could be a sensitive topic, so he found it hard to inquire about the incident between the girls and Zanphia just now.
Perhaps it'd be better to leave it be and ask about it when Zanphia cheered up a little. An alternative would be asking someone close to her about it, namely Zenover. Jogrin recalled the strange emotions he felt when Zanphia was teasing Zenover.
'Though very minimal, I perceived that she felt guilty, not toward the fact that she was teasing him, but about something else entirely.'
And that something else could very well be the answer to the reason behind those girls' attitudes and words.
In other words, there was a possible link between Zanphia's attitude's hidden attitude towards Zenover, and the girls' attitude towards Zanphia. For now, there were no leads, but Jogrin hoped that he could figure everything out, bit by bit.
In the next moment, he perceived that the confusion within Proxer and Naytia disappeared. It looked like Kapel explained the reason for Jogrin's peculiar appearance to them.
"Zanphia?" Suzannia caught sight of Zanphia's expression and headed towards her. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh... It's nothing... I'm full now, so I'll go back to my room..."
'A clear behavior of avoidance. This might be more complicated than I gave it credit for...'
As Zanphia left her unfinished food and ran upstairs, Jogrin side-eyed her and pondered. In the meantime, Kapel, Proxer, and Naytia came back down from the stairs as they looked at Zanphia who ran past them.
"Is she feeling under the weather?" Proxer tilted his head, confusion reemerged from within him. It was the same case for Naytia too.
Once Proxer asked, the mood in the living room and dining room became gloomy, which worried him and Naytia. The only one who didn't seem to be affected by the mood was Jogrin, as he continued to stare at the television.
"Zenover, what happened?" Naytia wanted to know desperately what was going on with Zanphia.
"Well, uh..." Zenover didn't know what to say, and stuttered.
"Naytia. Please do not worry. She might be feeling down due to schoolwork, or an incident related to it. We should wait until she is willing to tell us. We can also pursue answers from her if we judge the situation to be dire. Give her some time to herself for the time being." Kapel stopped Naytia from prying further and explained.
"Alright. I'll listen to you..."
Naytia trusted Kapel deeply, and this was the proof of that. Meanwhile, although they still hadn't finished their meals, Zenover and Fron didn't feel up for it anymore, especially since they knew what actually occurred. Suzannia also didn't have the appetite anymore after seeing Zanphia's state.
"Zenover..." Suzannia wrapped her arms around Zenover's and sulked. The latter patted her head without saying anything.
It looked like Proxer and Naytia's anniversary didn't end on a high note. Without reminding each other, the couple's attention shifted from their anniversary to their own daughter, who had a drastic change from her usual behavior. As a pair of caring parents, they were really worried about Zanphia.
'It's obvious that what happened wasn't the first instance of it, but the fact that Proxer and Naytia are so surprised by it means that the past instances never came to light. On the other hand, Zenover and Garty were both guilty about Zanphia's low mood...'
From his own analysis, Jogrin thought that it'd be best to consult Zenover and Garty, who seemed to be more in the know. Jogrin stared at the two of them, who averted their gazes upon noticing him. From their reaction alone, Jogrin knew that he was right.