Chapter 10: Endeavor

Though the tense atmosphere was at an impasse, it wasn't the case for their progress through the tunnel.

"Oh, sorry for the late reminder, Grand Commander Kapel... in case you have not been informed of this, Jogrin is unable to pass through portals, so... we will have to go to our destination on foot..." Having suddenly recalled such fact, Proxer promptly spoke up with a somewhat bland voice. The reason for the bland voice was that he wouldn't dare display any emotions with the current atmosphere that was grueling for one's mind.

Proxer basically implied this trek was going to last a lot longer than one might have anticipated. Of course, Kapel, being well-informed, had already heard of that. Despite that, he still took out a portal device out of habit, hence, Proxer reminded him.

Jogrin, having caught what Proxer said, abruptly let out a deep yet quiet sigh. His already contorted face turned into a mild frown. To Proxer, who turned his head and glanced at Jogrin, he was quite amused that Jogrin could actually make facial expressions, as he had an impression that Jogrin was the type who only showed a poker face to others.

'He didn't have say it so directly, did he... Now they're all getting more jittery because of this... Could there possibly be some way to abate their unease, even if just a little bit...'

Jogrin yearned to gripe about the consequences of Proxer's statement on the soldiers and him alike, but he abstained from doing so, as he didn't want to exacerbate the unease of the soldiers.

The reason why this made the soldiers more anxious was due to the fact that the inability to go through portals would directly imply that more time was needed to traverse. In other words, more time to face Jogrin himself, whom the soldiers had already had quite the "experience" with.

On the other hand, Kapel was tapping on his thighs, gave a long "hmmm", while nodding upon hearing what Proxer said. It seemed he had similar thoughts as Jogrin albeit his facial expression couldn't be seen from behind.

'Hmm, alright. I shall proceed with this plan,' in the blink of an eye, Jogrin astutely came up with a plan that was possibly a ruse to remit the tension all around him.

His expression slowly returned to the usual one, and walked on for a while, before dropping on all fours without any given warning.

His abrupt action had everyone flabbergasted and they all froze up immediately. The soldiers turned into trembling statues with eyes that were wide open, while the Kapel raised his guard by adroitly pulling out his gun and pointing it at Jogrin. Witnessing Kapel, the soldiers then followed suit, though their movements were stiff.

In the meantime, Proxer turned around with a befuddled look, only to witness yet another stalemate. He was starting to be fed up with this recurring theme albeit underestimating it was far from a sensible idea in any sense. Notwithstanding his mild discontentment, he still expressed his concern to Jogrin who had collapsed.

"Hey... are you alright? Can you get back on your feet?" Proxer queried conscientiously as he squatted down to get to the same level as Jogrin. Though his concern was genuine, one could tell that he was hesitating a little, probably due to the immense tension surrounding him that seemed to have slowed down time.

Upon hearing a familiar voice, Jogrin moved his gaze toward the source of the voice, and a soft expression appeared before him.

It was hard to imagine how Proxer was not consumed by consternation despite the plight brought about by Jogrin's abrupt action which was very likely egregious in the others' eyes. Yes, the plight was that the possibility of another besiege of a smaller scale being incurred.

"I feel... weak... I cannot move at all... maybe it's due to the inordinate regeneration I used... urgh..." Jogrin confessed with a voice that sounded like a boy who just dashed across an entire city after months of sedentary life. The incessant stutter and wheezing was there, but not the panting as Jogrin had no need for oxygen according to the first dialogue between Proxer and him, and this detail was currently unknown to Kapel. Hence, he scowled in suspicion.

As he made such confession, his tail drooped even more, more than half of it was laid on the floor. This, of course, amassed everyone's attention. This didn't seem contrived or vexatious.

Hence, the atmosphere around Jogrin began to change. Proxer sensed it, but couldn't tell how the surrounding soldiers were feeling. Perhaps this was a question that Jogrin could answer, since he could precisely perceive emotions.

"Soldiers, please sheathe your guns, but continue exercising caution," Kapel said so firmly, and directed a stern gaze at Jogrin when he spoke the latter sentence.

Proxer was stunned upon hearing the sheathing sounds. The sudden alleviation of asphyxiating atmosphere caught him by surprise. His mouth was agape, and once he realized that, he pretentiously inhaled deeply.

It seemed no one paid attention to the commander's action, which was to be expected, considering the current scene where Jogrin was displaying his debilitated self.

What came after the diminution of the tension, was the soldiers eschewing their gazes. They couldn't look at Jogrin as a novel emotion arose from within them. Proxer quickly caught sight of the soldiers' behavior.

'Are they... feeling guilty...? Is this his ruse to wane the uneasiness of my comrades? Or is there something else he's trying to achieve?'

Of course, their apprehension didn't just fade away in the blink of an eye, unless an ability like "mind tampering" was involved. Having found Jogrin's skill to manipulate emotions of others with his schemes to be egregious, Proxer couldn't help but grew anxious about how he attained it.

'Did it go as he'd planned?' Proxer queried himself. He couldn't tell as Jogrin wasn't initiating a conversion nor any movement. He was facing the floor that Proxer had not an idea how he felt about the current situation, albeit he was likely expressionless.

"... Hmm..." while in a trance, Proxer heard a grumpy groan coming from Kapel. Bewildered, Proxer turned towards Kapel.

"This guy is... Ahem!" Kapel softly whispered, then cleared his throat as if correcting himself. "Maladin, would you aid him in walking?"

"Yes sir!" Proxer promptly replied with a robust tone, and turned back to Jogrin. "Hey, can you stand up now? I'll hold your arm, ok?"

Proxer expressed concern and amiability towards Jogrin, to which the latter accepted by nodding lightly, after hesitating for a brief moment.

Jogrin knew he couldn't witlessly accept his offer for help, or else his effort in proving Proxer wasn't under his control would be in vain, but he still needed to "remain his weakness", so he had to reluctantly accept.

Following that, Proxer helped Jogrin up, uncuffed him and wrapped his arm around the back of his neck.

"Let's move, shall we?" Genially, Proxer asked. Jogrin gave another reluctant nod to the query.

And the group set off once again...

'This Kapel fellow, is way more discerning than I'd anticipated... This may prove to be both a boon and a bane in the future...' Jogrin had such thoughts after re-embarking the trudge.

'A contingency change of plans needs to be devised first. Since going through portals is not feasible, the Royal Knights will need to wait longer on the surface... I will have to apologize for their time wasted. The amount of administrative work is finally getting to me...' Ignoring the ruse Jogrin just pulled, Kapel thought so while griping at the end.

It seemed that there were things that could slipped Kapel's mind.

...

"... Umm, captain? If I may, we have been waiting here for 15 minutes already, I believe it's way past the time needed to..."

"Hold. There could be a situation going on down there. Grand Commander Kapel's intel indicated that the target they're escorting might be capable of mass destruction. It wouldn't be too surprising if it slaughtered everyone along with him."

"Urgh... Captain... Do you always have to assume things in such a ominous way?"

"It's better..."

"Yeah yeah, 'it's better to assume the worst so you'll be fully prepared when that worst comes', right? We've heard that so many times..."

"... You guys... Just because we're out of the "Palacial", you're all acting without manners... *sigh*"

"Ahahaha... It's been a long time since we're outside, so we're a bit lax."

"I understand that. Not to be a stick in the mud, but what I said just now is definitely a possibility, just don't let your guard down... It's an alien that incurred a mass shooting after all... Hold on, I just received a message from Kapel.

"Target unable to pass through portal, rendezvous delayed for 20 minutes at central elevator of base"

Huh? Unable to pass through portal? What kinda peculiar ability is that?"

...

Right after the re-embarking of the trudge, Jogrin had set his eyes on Kapel. Proxer and the soldiers close to Jogrin were bewildered once they caught eye of Jogrin's gaze. They could tell he bared no hostility towards their Grand Commander, but one couldn't just simply ignore his action.

'Could it be another ruse? Is there going to be no end to it?' Proxer, like Kapel, more or less figured out Jogrin's capability to manipulate others by words and actions. That was why he inadvertently had such a thought. However, unlike Kapel, he wasn't quite skeptical of the purpose behind Jogrin's actions, as he believed Jogrin to be harmless for valid reasons, as well as his own convenience...

Nonetheless, it was true that the atmosphere was less mentally straining, to the soldiers and Jogrin alike, as currently, "guilt" is the primary emotion emanating from the soldiers.

Having perceived himself drawing some unwanted attention, Jogrin cast his gaze aside, and on the floor, in order to prevent another emotional outbreak from the soldiers. It appeared that amassed "jittery" was highly daunting for Jogrin.

'Hmm... doesn't look like he's planning anything for the time being, but something about Kapel is on his mind... most likely. I'll ask about that when it's opportune, along with other questions.' As a person driven by insatiable curiosity, it was only natural that Proxer would desire to unveil the reason why Jogrin protected him in various ways, and most importantly, why he would resort to manipulating others' emotions.

The fact that Jogrin went out of his way to protect Proxer could suffice as proof that he wasn't nefarious at the very least, but his way of doing so, was undoubtedly reckless, and sly. Proxer frowned wryly once such an impression on Jogrin emerged in his mind. He deftly reverted his expression back to a composed one though.

Time had swiftly elapsed as a surprisingly uneventful trudge reached its end, as the group arrived at a light brown, metallic double door. What followed was a rusty looking camera that seemed to have had a lack of maintenance lowering from the ceiling, and scanned Kapel's face, and the rusty looking door automatically opened.

Behind the door was a large vacant space that was more well-lit than the corridor they traveled through just now.

'I have no idea what kind of metal they are made out of, but if it's not properly maintained, that means there's no need for them for a long time. I surmise the cause of this are the devices that create what they refer to as "portals"... While I have no evidence, I feel that these devices are powered by something... tumultuous. I can sense it from "emotional perception", but at the same time the kind of presence isn't quite the same. Just what is it?' Jogrin wondered as he sensed a faint, blank presences coming from the breast pockets of the camo shirts of both Proxer and Kapel. He figured they were portal devices as Kapel just took his out. 'Their presence also feels... identical...'

Without any words, the group entered the space before the door closed. Then, the space began moving upwards. Due to a lack of maintenance as well as usage, the elevator was making all kinds of creaking noises that one would find in a horror movie while tremors were bring generated. It felt like a elevator to hell.

Those only furled the tension of the soldiers, as they could do nothing but stare blankly at nothing in an unfamiliar situation. Inadvertently, they completely froze up, and their tension was once again perceived by Jogrin with his "emotional perception". Of course, he was annoyed by it.

The soldiers, who had somewhat thick green camouflage armour put on, were dripping sweat, which had a hinge of ambiguity for Proxer and Kapel. Whether the sweat was due to the heat from wearing the armour for long periods, or was from the soldiers being jittery was unbeknownst to them. Either way, as leaders, they were adept at perceiving their subordinates' feelings.

Jogrin could do the same, albeit with a different, supernatural method. The incredulity of him from the soldiers hadn't faded, but it certainly had diminished a fair bit. As for Kapel, he was as on guard as ever, that was to be expected of a commander, although another certain commander seemed to have dropped his too soon and warmed up to Jogrin to a moderate extent.

Enduring the tension was a walk in the park compared to when they set off, so Jogrin thought, as he discreetly stood still. It would be sheer folly should he act suspiciously. Having nothing to do, the others were sure to catch any movements from Jogrin. That was all the more the reason he should stay put. So he simply gazed at nothing as if he was stupefied.

'Now that I think about it... why this elevator when there are ones that are closer to where we started moving? Hmm... This can only mean Kapel has already planned something... like rendezvousing with other units?' Proxer concluded so after a short pondering.

Jogrin sensed a light "enlightened" from Proxer.

'It seems he's figured something out. I'm not sure if he guessed correctly, but I perceive a few dozens of angsty people awaiting our arrival... So Kapel did plan this ahead. Urgh, This could spell trouble (for my sanity)'

It appeared Jogrin became concerned about what may transpire thereafter.