Chapter 9: Apprehension

With an apprehensive look, Kapel attempted to reach out to Proxer, but owing to the presence of other soldiers, and of course, Jogrin, he awkwardly withdrew his hand. However, it was too late to conceal what he was about to do, as most of the soldiers were completely taken aback having witnessed the soft side of the usually stern and serious Kapel for the first time in their lives. He was genuinely concerned for Proxer.

Somehow, the tension that had been welling up in the room was slowly subsiding.

'Why is he acting like this now? And just towards Proxer of all people... More than that, these people are starting to build up their tension again...' Jogrin became dubious.

"I suppose I have been too hard on you, Maladin. I did not fulfill my role as a leader properly by ignoring your feelings and only yearning to pursue the truth at all costs. I... apologize for my outspoken and... dour attitude," in a milder manner, Kapel formally and sincerely apologized while trying to coax Proxer who turned his head towards Kapel with a somewhat stupefied look after what the latter had said. The usually poised Kapel sounded remorseful.

"O... oh, i... it is fine, Grand Commander Kapel. Please pay that no mind. But please do not treat me like you used..." Proxer replied with a few stutters, but at the end there, he sounded... a little forceful. It seemed that he intentionally interrupted Kapel, with reasons unknown.

However, unbeknownst to Proxer, he was once again interrupted by Jogrin. Hmm, could this interruption chain be a pattern? Anyway, with both his hands behind his back, Jogrin let out a sigh before speaking up.

"I have a proposal to make. While the both of you are starting to become genial with each other, the others present are burning out my mind with their unanimous change in emotion. Please just quit it, apprehend me and put them all at ease already, please," Jogrin was complaining about the fickleness of emotions, and wished for it to be deterred.

Upon hearing his clear voice, all looked at his neck, realizing he'd fully recovered, and became gobsmacked, even though they had already heard of his regeneration capabilities. Moreover, They'd even witnessed it first-hand during the bombardment. Witnessing it for the second time didn't make it seem more acceptable, which was reasonable.

Other than that, not only was he willing to be apprehended, but also was he asking for it. One had to wonder whether he had another ruse.

While Kapel was pondering such, Jogrin took a step forward, and let down his arms. His eyes were basically pleading for what he requested.

Kapel was nonplussed. There was a sentence that didn't quite make sense, but since he offered, it wouldn't hurt to at least keep him in check for the time being.

On the other hand, Proxer was aghast at how Jogrin was saying Kapel and himself were getting "genial". He looked aside awkwardly, not making a noise.

In this room, the ones who knew of Jogrin's "emotional perception" were only Jogrin and Proxer. Hence, all but the dual were conscious of the reason for Jogrin's griping of the soldiers' fickle emotions, other than the fact that Jogrin was imploring to be taken in.

In Jogrin's mind, this could be a way to placate the soldiers present, as he knew this was exactly what they would've wanted, aside from brutally trying to take him alive, which they had failed to do so.

While he reassured himself that this was the best resolution he could come up with at the moment, he sensed "dubious" from Kapel. He gave Kapel a dull gaze, only to sense the change from "dubious" to "cautious".

That was when he realized that pleading to be apprehended, could incur suspicion, especially when the target was someone as adroit as Kapel, who was pretty much at the top of the military hierarchy. But he still wasn't aware of the fact that his interrogation on Kapel earlier incurred an even larger suspicion upon himself.

'What is he planning now... Is he planning to infiltrate the military camp?' Kapel spaced out for a split second while pondering

Though Jogrin could only read emotions but not minds, Kapel's thoughts were completely written on his face which became stern again.

"Grand Commander Kapel, I shall handle this... Jogrin, please kindly put out both your hands... Quickly, now," in a poised manner, Proxer instructed Jogrin. However, upon hearing Proxer addressing him by his name, he froze up, becoming wary of others' reactions, only to be urged by Proxer.

And so, Jogrin, who reverted back to his natural expressionless self, obediently did as he was instructed. Proxer then handcuffed him attentively with a golden-yellow brace which was in contrast of the blue light within the room.

"Please give the order, Grand Commander Kapel," pleaded Proxer solemnly. He, along with the soldiers were sending anticipating gazes at Kapel. As for Jogrin, he stared at Kapel at the corner of his eyes after covertly doing so to Proxer.

It appeared there was no choice but to go through with it at this rate. Though a little flustered, Kapel's maintained his composure, his demeanor remained poised.

Shutting his eyes, Kapel cleared his mind of any confusion and consternation. It's no good to have decisions manipulated by intense emotions after all.

He inhaled deeply, and let out the air in his lungs slowly and steadily, then opened his eyes, and was met with the lingering unease and anticipation that was emanated from the soliders' eyes. Meanwhile, Proxer and Jogrin were still giving a solemn gaze and wearing a poker face.

"Maladin, take him in and bring him to sector 16 of B-027. If he acts suspiciously, the other soldiers will aid you in subduing him. Understood?" With a demeanor befitting an apt leader, Kapel, with his stern voice that once again resounded in the room, gave the order to apprehend Jogrin. He waited for their reply as he glanced through the crowd.

"SIR, YES SIR!" Proxer and the soldiers replied with robust voices, and executed the order without a hitch.

With Kapel leading ahead, the other followed behind. The formation was improvised on the spot. The soldiers, which numbered about 30, were divided into half, with both halves sandwiching Jogrin from the front and the back, whom Proxer was subduing him using the brace from behind. Of course, the hands of each soldier were placed on the sheathed handguns, in case of any outrage and even mischief coming from their apprehended target. Simple yet effective... at least when dealing with a typical criminal, but Kapel couldn't think of a better formation for the time being.

Knowing this tactic might not come to fruition in terms of holding Jogrin down in case he acted up, the soldiers were highly tensed before even setting off. Even without "emotional perception", one could sense the unease from the soldiers.

That was to be expected that something like this wasn't enough to absolve them of such emotion, especially after what they'd gone through. But the immense "uneasy" was quite irksome to Jogrin, as his face contorted slightly, though not very conspicuous, since no one would dare directly gaze at him.

'I just need to tolerate this until I find a way to make them leave me alone... Then... What do I do next? My arrival has caused much uproar within this planet's people. There's absolutely no way they'd allow me to remain on this planet.. I guess it's safe to say that my fate is on the hands of these people...'

The group proceeded through the aisle lit with blue light.

...

"Your Majesty, I have received a "verbally written report" from Grand Commander Kapel about an event that just took place yesterday. Please scrutinize it."

"Hmm? Kapel... Anyway, yesterday? Did something happen yesterday?"

"... Yes... it was when explosions were heard from afar, at a military hospital in the south of here..."

"Wasn't it just a drill? What's there to report about? Oh lord, how thick is this document? That's too much even if it's that Kapel."

"Your Majesty... all due respect, that being a drill was what was announced to the public in order to avoid mass panic..."

"Ah right of course, it just flew over my head. So that's how it is huh... And you know what to do next."

"Yes, Your Majesty... As mentioned before, this report described the reason and cause of the chain of explosion at the military hospital yesterday. Referring to three of the soldiers that reported to Grand Commander Kapel, they mentioned that... an alien has arrived at Zuta and was about to bring upon the area around the hospital mass destruction, as Commander Maladin had warned. And... they could not recall how the besiege was carried out, and only remembered the aftermath of their bombardment, which Commander Maladin was embroiled in and hospitalized after. Afterwards, the alien was transferred to the basement of military base B-027 and to be executed, which was not under any instruction of any personnel of rank Commander or higher. That concludes the report from the soldiers according to Grand Commander Kapel... He continued by adding his feedback to this case."

"What? There's more? And an alien? Does something like that even exist? Are the soldiers just being delirious?"

"... Ahem, Your Majesty, I humbly and sincerely believe it is essential that Your Majesty listen on. I beseech your attentiveness on what I will be reporting next."

"... Ah whatever, just spit it already."

"You have my gratitude, Your Majesty. As mentioned, the following will be Grand Commander Kapel's personal feedback. It is unknown whether the explosions, as well as the crater caused by them were the work of the soldiers' rocket launchers, or by the alien itself, as the capabilities of said alien is not known. It is possible that the alien was liable for the memory loss of the soldiers. Furthermore, he believed the soldiers losing control and fired at the alien even when Commander Maladin was near him could also be caused by some unknown abilities of said alien, albeit with its reason behind such act being unknown as well. Due to the above, he went to the basement of military base B-027, with the three soldiers in tow, in order to investigate, as well as quelling any similar occurrence that may take place. He... "strictly demanded" that Your Majesty deploy the Royal Knights to station at and rendezvous with him at Exit Delta of said military base, in case any additional manpower is required to subdue the alien."

"The Royal Knights?! Now he wants to use my men too? This is ridiculous!"

"He concluded the report with the following sentence:

"The alien might be related to the incident known as "Telestrophe" 4 years ago."

Your Majesty, please think twice."

"... Telestrophe, huh... As much as I hate to admit it, this appears to be a serious matters, as Kapel said... Fine then, give out the order to the Second Order of the Royal Knights. Tell them to do as Kapel told! And get ready as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

...

Step by step, the group of soldiers tread with the to-be prisoner. The tension and unease showed no signs of fading away, as cold sweats incessantly seeped out of the soldiers' skins. Many of them had their hands on their greenish-blue guns that were used in the besiege from before.

As a victim, Jogrin should've been badly traumatized by the weapon which put holes in his body, extending from one end to another, but he appeared unshaken, even after catching sight of the soldiers' unsettling yet logical behavior. He was instead more disturbed by the "anxious" emanated from the soldiers as his face maintained its contortion. Such a fact, to most, could be even more unsettling than how the soldiers was acting.

Perhaps to the soldiers, Jogrin acting amenable was merely a scheme to escape should an opportunity came by. Their gait became ungainly as they pondered such possibility.

The nuance in their steps quickly caught the attention of Proxer and Kapel alike. They focused their gazes on the legs of the soldiers, then on their faces. They were more stiff than when they began treading.

This situation was similar to when a new guy joins an already-existing group, and awkward silence pervaded the atmosphere during an icebreaker. The difference, however, was that the "new guy" here had established that he was a threat, though unintentional. Some icebreaker would be far from sufficient to shatter the awkwardness, or rather, dour asphyxiation. Normally, such situation would be solved by simply taking the initiative and speak up, but not in this case.

While Kapel and Proxer understood the soldiers' sentiment, they couldn't help but feel troubled and nonplussed, as Kapel tapped on his thighs with his fingers while simultaneously, Proxer gazed at Jogrin who was obediently following the lead of Kapel. And of course, this implicitly meant that their emotions changed, but it seemed Jogrin couldn't pick that up, as he was completely preoccupied with those of the soldiers.

'This is unbearable... I need to do something to remit the existing tension. If possible, I want to eliminate all of it...'

With that in mind, Jogrin began devising a plan that could lead to a desirable result for himself, while not having it foiled by Proxer taking his side. That was one thing, but the other was, as much of a schemer as he was, he didn't want to impair the relationship between Proxer and the soldiers and Kapel.

'Just why has Proxer been taking my side?' He pondered this very question once again.