From Alienation to Encounter (Part 3)

With a sudden warning from Jogrin, Proxer panicked and wondered what he was talking about. He just couldn't comprehend what went on in Jogrin's mind. As he was scratching his head so roughly that some of the hair was seen falling off, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Darling? It's you, Darling!" It was a voice coming from a woman with a longing and concerned face, dashing to the both of them.

She had long, slightly curly yet silky brown hair, blue eyes and medium stature and slim body and limbs. She was in a white frilly dress, emphasizing how stunningly beautiful she was. At the same time, she also gave off a mature and maternal aura.

"Naytia! Why are you here?" With his eyes widened in surprise, Proxer welcomed her with his arms opened, and caught the woman in his arms.

"I saw a flying vehicle take off, and thought you might've returned. I'm so glad I'm right!" It seemed Naytia was swept off her feet when she realized Proxer was back.

It was still morning when both Proxer and Jogrin had arrived at this flat, vast grassland. The woman, Naytia, whose arms were wrapped around Proxer's chest, gazed at Proxer with a bright hearty smile in return, followed by a pat on her head from Proxer. Ignoring everything around them, the two of them were exuding an inexplicable pink aura.

'What is this? Do they have some kind of resonating power that only activates when they're together?'

Jogrin, who somehow managed to see the aura, grew curious, but he soon realized that it was nothing more than what "emotional perception" was showing him. In other words, it was the "power of love".

Leaving this fuzzy scene aside, there was an issue Jogrin had currently: where Proxer would be taking him. He mentioned to the king that he'd be taking Jogrin back to his home. However, he noticed, during the journey on the flying vehicle, that Proxer was concerned about something as he was pondering. That something was definitely the safety of taking Jogrin in.

While it wasn't too wise to think about something like that after initiating it, but not beforehand, what was done, was done. Now that Jogrin followed Proxer into this neighborhood, he could only comply to whatever plans Proxer might have for him, as thoughtless and impulsive as they might be.

'Also, this woman seems to be too in love to notice my presence...'

Even though it was indisputable that Jogrin had an imposing presence, the woman called Naytia was so madly in love with Proxer that she completely omitted the scrawny boy with a tail.

Still, it was imperative to know the plans Proxer had for him as soon as possible. With that, Jogrin wore a look of impatience as he stared at the couple who were yet to release each other from their embraces.

"Wah!!" A girly scream resounded.

It wasn't until that moment that Naytia noticed Jogrin's presence. Aghast, she held Proxer tighter. Despite her slim arms, she was squeezing Proxer to point that he felt like suffocating. She let loose soon after, but only to grab Proxer's clothes even more tightly after Jogrin's tail caught her eye.

Her face went pale as she started trembling.

"U-um... Wha... Who may this b-boy be?"

Jogrin gazed at Naytia who appeared to be in a panicked and transfixed state. Nonplussed, he turned his gaze at Proxer who was making a similar expression to Naytia's.

"Proxer, you do the explaining." Jogrin felt doing the explanation was a pain in the neck, so he left it to Proxer who went speechless for a second.

Just a moment ago, love was literally in the air, it was so powerful that it could blind anyone nearby. However, as opposed to that, the ominous aura just beside it made it crumble. The air had become a little stagnant, for Naytia witnessed the peculiarities of the boy, whom she didn't notice before. He looked even more fearsome with a seemingly impatient expression.

"A... ah~ That's Jogrin right there yeah. No need to worry about him! He actually means no harm! He's now here since uh... things happened! Yes darling, it's all good." Proxer pampered Naytia as if she was a child.

'Does he really think such a vague explanation would suffice for her to calm down...' A wry thought emerged within Jogrin as he sensed Naytia's "consternation" not fading away much. Without noticing, his expression became even more impatient, while in fact, there wasn't even a bit of impatience within him, as he was just thinking.

He then noticed Proxer signaling him by repeatedly raising his eyebrows while "flustered". He quickly understood and relaxed his facial muscles.

Proxer was still sending him signals.

This time though, he couldn't figure out what Proxer was trying to tell him implicitly, so he ignored Proxer and approached the couple.

He was wearing his usual expressionless look, which posed even more intimidation to Naytia, especially when Jogrin was taller than her by approximately one and a half heads. Naytia grew paler and was trembling even more intensely as she stared at Jogrin. She had an impression that if she were to take her eyes off of him, he would eat her or something.

'An introduction that would leave a satisfactory impression...' As he was approaching Naytia, his thoughts were going wild in his mind. Various scenarios that could play out should he introduce himself in a certain way and wording. He was recounting some books he read about basic courtesy.

However, his pensive look wasn't exactly pleasant to look at, especially for someone who just met him for the first time.

'I could be 100% honest with her about the reason why I'm here, or keep some part of it unrevealed... But for now, I ought to have a proper stance. Then I can do this instead...'

Jogrin abruptly dropped down as if he collapsed. With his knees and hands on the ground, the back of his head was in plain sight for Proxer and Naytia. Both of them were startled by his action.

"My name is Jogrin. I'm here on behalf of Proxer as he has done so much for me since we first met. I have lost my home and he is generously taking me in, and I'm sincerely grateful for that... Also I do not originally dwell on this planet."

"Huh?" Naytia only was in a bigger panic upon hearing Jogrin's explanation, even though he was displaying his sincerity by groveling.

Though he kept it as brief as possible, Naytia couldn't help but be perplexed, especially the part where Jogrin told her that "he didn't originally dwell on this planet".

"A-an alien, you say...?"

"Yes, hence the body feature that Zutans don't have."

Jogrin was referring to his tail. Naytia glanced at the -not-so-pleasant-looking tail and understood what he meant.

Much like anyone else, to Naytia, who'd never seen a species like this, felt fearful of the unknown, though being visited by otherworldly creatures wasn't anything novel.

As Jogrin and Proxer were pondering what to say next, Naytia spoke up instead.

"Ah! I'm sorry for presenting myself like this! I'm Naytia Maladin. Proxer's wife. It's nice to meet you..."

As Naytia greeted Jogrin and introduced herself, she attempted to reach our her arm for an handshake, but hesitated as she stared at Jogrin's tail that seemed to be frozen in a curled position.

"Ah, sorry..." It appeared that Naytia knew that her action would offend Jogrin.

"Don't worry about it. I would've declined it anyway, so I should be the one the apologize." Jogrin courteously denied any offense taken.

"What do you mean by that?" Proxer chimed in and asked Jogrin.

"I'd like to avoid any direct contact. Again, I'm sorry about that." After replying to Proxer, Jogrin turned to Naytia and apologized again.

"Oh, no! I-it's fine!"

To the abnormally polite Jogrin, Proxer felt a little befuddled, but the main concern was...

'Why is he so defensive about making direct contact with others?'

Perhaps, it was yet another past of Jogrin's that had yet to be uncovered.