Kapel, as well as the others including Suzannia, kept listening to Jogrin as he explained. Suzannia tried to understand to the best of her ability, but she was able to comprehend none of what Jogrin said.
"As I mentioned, Kron was taunting me to attack him by going for a preemptive strike, and I'm sure of it. The reason for that was because, right before I charged at him, 'mind tampering' turned off without warning. That means that he purposely let the victims witness the deadly power of my right hand."
Everyone was appalled to hear what Jogrin just told them.
"If I remember correctly, you said that the 'mind tampering' slowly wore off for the soldiers..."
"Yes, because of the previous experience, I didn't think he could just turn it off and immediately have his victims regain their consciousness. Therefore, I fell for his ruse because of such an immature prejudice, which was another thing Kron took advantage of..."
From the way Jogrin described how Kron tricked him, Kron seemed to be a cunning, callous individual who knew about Jogrin well, like the back of his hand. Even Jogrin found that unbelievable.
"What are his motives?"
"Unknown. But I can surmise that it has something to do with me, or Darkians in general, though this is not very likely. From what he said, his objective for coming to my home planet was only to get that girl out of there."
No one else made any noises. Most of the Knights couldn't catch up with what Jogrin was saying. Even Proxer was starting to fall behind. Kapel was the only one who was able to keep up with everything Jogrin'd said, but he still took a while to ruminate about it all.
Jogrin was able to deduce two possible facts from the words that came from Kron.
First, Kron wasn't the one who initiated the invasion, and only joined in the middle of it, only to take away Venrya, the Darkian girl. If he was the culprit, he would've taken her before the invasion commenced.
Second, Venrya was likely safe. He didn't know the reason for why Kron abducted Venrya, but if he had ill intentions toward her, he would've killed her on the spot. Besides, there was no reason for him to take her only during the invasion, but not any other time.
However, despite not being particularly against the Darkians, Kron seemed to hold some grudge against Jogrin, who didn't understand why.
Then, did he come to Zuta specifically to go after Jogrin?
'Come to think of it... Kron knew much about me, even about the pulverizing power my right arm has, but he didn't sound too familiar with "emotional perception..." So his knowledge of me was up to before I arrived here.'
"Jogrin? Did something come to mind?" Kapel, noticing Jogrin's zoning out, queried dubiously.
"Sorry. Let me think for a bit." Jogrin told Kapel so.
'One more thing... If Kron really was "a teeny bit weaker," making use of his victims to his aid made sense. However, while he did that, he was only floating as he enjoyed watching us getting cornered. Deriving entertainment from this is absolutely despicable... But...'
As Jogrin dived deeper and deeper into his own thoughts, those around him were getting uneasy. They had no idea what was on Jogrin's mind, as the latter had always been inscrutable. Even Proxer couldn't figure out what was running through Jogrin's head most of the time. For all the time Jogrin spent sitting on the couch, Proxer never knew, with only few exceptions.
Jogrin pondered on and on, it was only after about three minutes after he started thinking about Kron's intention of being on Zuta did he come to a conclusion that could possibly explain it.
"... Jogrin. Perhaps it would be better if we return to the encampment first." Kapel deduced that it would be better if they returned first, especially since the four youngsters needed a better environment to rest up.
He realized that he should've done that sooner, but he craved to gain knowledge about the incident with the bullies just now that he omitted it.
"Father. Is that really a good idea? Considering those victims are still there..." Proxer had such a concern, which was reasonable.
Kapel was so preoccupied with Jogrin that he'd failed to notice another obvious fact. No one could really blame him though.
Kapel's phone rang in the next moment. He picked it up swiftly. On the other side of the phone was Captain Ryov. After speaking for a while, Kapel decided to delegate the escorting duties of the Maladins, except Proxer, to nine of the Knights here. The rest of them, including Fron, would stay for further interrogation.
"Jogrin? Are you really alright...?" A voice of worry once again came from Proxer.
"Just struggling a bit to think of Kron's motives."
Proxer wished to take Jogrin back to the campsite, but it wasn't viable at the moment. Jogrin, who spent a little more time contemplating while staring at the pile of dust, let out a deep sigh. He looked up at Kapel's eyes. Kapel, noticing that, furrowed his eyebrows, and pursued for answers.
"So? Is there anything else you want to add?"
"If you think about it, if Kron's true intention to be here was to end me, why not do it when he 'regains his power?' Furthermore, there was no reason for him to disable 'mind tampering' and let those guy see my real identity, and potentially let the news spread among the other Zutans. So, I can conclude that he was here for another reason. It wouldn't be a surprise if I coincidentally crash landed here."
The Knights that stayed, on the other hand, felt dizzier and dizzier. Meanwhile, Proxer was scratching his head and Kapel was tapping his fingers on his pants.
"That leads me to the next questions: what is his agenda? And why did he feel the need to expose me? What do you think?"
"The only reason I can think of is that he wanted the victims to start spreading news about your identity to the public, to strike fear in them-"
"And ultimately, to let the Zutans chase me out of Zuta. Sounds like it."
"If that is the case, why would he feel the need to do that?"
"My presence here is threatening whatever agenda he has, which like I said, is something I have no clue on."
"Perhaps there is a need to commence an investigation regarding that."
"To chase Jogrin out of Zuta." It was a reasonable deduction according to what Kron said to Jogrin, as well as how he behaved.
Even though they were pressed for answers, rest should be given to the brain that'd undergone much pondering. Kapel thought so as he gazed at Jogrin who was still struggling. He halted the tapping of his fingers and spoke up.
"There is no need to dwell on this too much for the time being. It is more important to settle you first. The higher-ups have been informed of this incident. Of course, I will relay the information you have provided for us. Whether they believe you or not is up to them."
For now, they would stay in this space, until all of Kron's victims left the campsite and were sent home.
Jogrin recounted when his biggest desire was to leave Zuta and return to his home planet, but at some point in time, because there was not a single feasible way for him to achieve that, he had no choice but to stay. At the same time, he'd sworn to protect Proxer and his family, which he did just now, twice in a row even.
However, there were now even more unknown factors in the equation, to the point that a veteran mathematician would find it almost impossible to solve. The Darkian planet's destruction and Kron's goal on Zuta. Even with the mind of Jogrin's, he found it hard-pressed to comprehend the full story of either.
There was one more question Jogrin didn't mention, which was whether Kron's current target was related to the Darkian planet's invasion.