“Are you trying to run away?” Yuri said before Alnea could finish his words. “Are you trying to shirk your responsibilities?”

“…I am not shirking my responsibilities, and neither am I running away. I truly do think that I am not qualified to be the Captain.”

“Because of the accident?”

“…It was not just an accident. If we had not been in the mansion, but out in the wilderness, with no safety measures, then…”

“Then you would not have made the stupid choice of attempting to inscribe a Glyph without complete assurance,” Cecilia said, staring at Alnea. “The Alnea that I know would never deliberately put the people around him at risk. Especially not the people whom he had taken a charge to protect and lead.”

“…You don’t know—

“We know better than you think,” Yuri said, glancing at Cecilia before turning back to Alnea. “Besides, are you not underestimating us a bit too much? No matter how much commotion your failure caused, it was just an Intermediate Stage Glyph at best. Even if we were to face the aftermath of the explosion head on, do you really think that it would have had any lasting impact on us?”

“Not you or Lia, but Karl—

“Do not listen to him,” Vestia said, sending a glare towards the grey robed man, before turning back to Alnea. “He was just exaggerating a little. At best, we would just have been a little injured. Nothing that a trip to the Blood Hall could not have fixed.”

“But—

“No buts. You are our Captain, and that is the end of the discussion.”

“…You have not even asked Karl—

“Karl does not have a problem, do you Karl?”

“…No.”

“See? He says he does not mind you being our Captain.”

“…You practically forced that out of him.”

“Did I?”

“…No,” Karl said in a solemn voice. Though that was most probably his survival instincts talking. If it had Zain who was asked that question, then his answer might have been a little different. Or maybe not. After a couple of weeks, ignorant as the man was, even he had figured out that it was best not to mess with the girls. Still, the mistake that he had made was not the kind that could be glossed over so easily. As a Captain—

“I know what you did made you doubt yourself, but that does not mean you should run away from your mistakes,” said, not giving Alnea any chance to express his thoughts. “Have you forgotten what big sis Nyssa taught you? Making mistakes is not bad thing. Everyone makes mistakes. It is only when we do not learn from our mistakes that we go astray from our paths.”

“…Did she say something like that?”

“…She did, and that is not the point here. You know what I am trying to say.”

“…Still—

“Stop squirming like a girl,” Cecilia said, reaching out to pinch his waist, making Alnea both relieved, and frustrated. Relieved, because it finally looked like she had returned to her usual self, and frustrated because she was pinching his waist a bit too hard. Enough to make him wince. Why did the Glyph Arrays on his robe always failed to work at times like this?

“My waist! It hurts! Lia—

“Will you still quibble?”

“I won’t! Stop twisting it! I won’t quibble!”

“Good,” Cecilia said with snort, as she let go of his waist. “Since everyone agrees on only you as their Captain, why have you been insisting on this farce? Were you trying to show off your popularity?”

“…I just thought that I was not considerate enough to be the Captain,” Alnea said, rubbing his waist, trying not to wince, only to be met with Cecilia’s snort once again.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“If you think that you could have done things in a better way, then just do it in a better way next time. That is what you have always done, right? Always improving yourself, moving forward despite all difficulties. Why are you hesitating so much this time?”

“…I have to think about everyone—

“So, you are indeed just running away from responsibilities.”

“…That’s not it. I—

“What is it then? Why are you refusing to shoulder your responsibilities?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Then think about it. Anyways, like the vixen said, you are our Captain, and that’s the end of discussion.”

“…You are so unreasonable!”

“And what are you going to do about it? Bite me?”

“…You… I will really bite you!”

“Come on then,” Cecilia said, extending her arm to Alnea. “Bite me.”

“Do you think I am joking?” Alnea said, grabbing Cecilia’s arm. “I will really bite!”

“I always knew you were a pervert.”

“…How did I become a pervert?”

“You are threatening to bite my arm. What should I call you, if not a pervert?”

“…Fine. You win,” Alnea said, letting go of Cecilia’s arm, just as he let out a defeated sigh. Moments later, he glanced at his teammates with a firm expression. “Although my inconsiderate behaviour caused you some inconveniences tonight, I promise you that it will not happen again.

“Sure, I may fail again. No, I will definitely fail again. And not just once. After all, even Supreme Wanderers cannot guarantee that they will never fail, and I am just starting out on my path. What I can guarantee though, is that I will take enough measures to ensure that my experiments, whether they succeed or fail, will not disturb your rest.”

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“…What else do you want me to say?”

“What about being our Captain?”

“Does that even need to be said?” Alnea said with a grin. “Of course, I am your Captain. Do not think that you can escape my command so easily.”

“…I wonder who was just trying to run away from his responsibilities of a Captain?”

“Huh? Is there really someone who would run away from his responsibilities? Such a person must be taught a good lesson. Of course, if he had some valid reasons, like almost blowing up his mansion, or almost disturbing his teammates’ Wanderings, then his behaviour can be excused. Especially if he has already realised his folly, decided to resume his responsibilities. Don’t you think so, Cecilia—who had been absent minded the whole time, and refused to share her worries—Serpia?”

“…Shameless.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“…It was not a compliment.”

“To me, it was.”

“…I am beginning to regret my words.”

“Too late. I am your Captain, and will always be your Captain. And as your Captain, I order you to…”

While Alnea was having fun teasing Cecilia, Vestia looked at them in a daze, and mumbled, “That’s it?”

“…That’s it,” Yuri said, echoing Vestia’s thoughts.

“…That’s all it took?”

“…I am afraid so.”

“All those things we said… all that effort… cannot compare to a pinch?”

“…Sometimes, it takes an unreasonable person to deal with a person who is refusing to listen to reason.”

“…Maybe we should have also been unreasonable. At least we would not have wasted our efforts.”

“…I have a hunch that had we been unreasonable, he would have become even more unreasonable than us.”

“So, only she is allowed to be unreasonable?”

“Why, are you jealous, vixen?” Cecilia said after she heard Vestia’s words, raising her chin as she did so.

“…Being unreasonable is not something to be proud of.”

“But being reasonable does not seem to work for you.”

“…That’s just because—

“Sorry to interrupt, but if we are done here, then can I go back to my room?” Karl said after mustering his courage. “I still have a lot of things I need to do.”

“…We have indeed wasted more time than we originally intended, not to mention that it was already late when we convened this urgent meeting,” Yuri said, as she turned towards Alnea, not bothering to hide the smirk at the corner of her lips. “What do you think we should do, Captain?”

“…You do not have to remind me,” Alnea said, trying his best to look compose and mature, like a Captain should. “I was about to get to it.”

“But you looked like you were having fun…”

“…It is getting late, and we have had a long day. Not to mention the surprises,” Alnea said, ignoring Yuri’s smirk and Vestia’s comment, while smiling awkwardly at Karl, before glancing at the girls. “Once again, I apologise for the accident that happened earlier. At the same time, I am also grateful that you still continue to trust me to be your Captain. Believe me when I say this, you will not be disappointed.”

“…How can someone be so immature at one moment, yet so reliable in the very next moment?” Vestia mumbled to herself, while Yuri and Cecilia smiled at him in pride. Only Karl chose to reserve his opinion to himself. Probably another manifestation of his survival instincts.

“…But that will come later. Right now, I am sure that you would all like nothing more than to return to your rooms, and continue with what you were doing when you disturbed by the explosion, or simply just have some rest. Regardless, continuing to stay here would be meaningless. So, if anyone has something they would wish to discuss, reserve it for the morrow. For now, let’s just go back to our room…”