The Captain's Smile

"The inside of people's minds is a chaotic mess, filled with random thoughts and noise. If I kept the mental channel wide open, I'd get a headache from all the incoming thoughts. Most of the time, I don't use this power. Sending a telepathic message to someone also opens myself up to them. Still, there are times I need to use it—like now, when I have to understand someone's real intentions or thoughts. The thoughts carried by spoken words are usually clear and well-formed. They include images and meaning. All I do is catch them."

He stopped walking and looked up at Dominic. The dining hall seemed to be just around the corner. The sound of lively voices and clattering dishes echoed down the hall.

"When the magic beasts attacked, you called out my name, Dominic. Your feelings reached me. I could feel your concern for me. And I was really happy."

Making sure no one was around to see them, Shiao Yi stood on his toes and kissed Dominic on the lips. He was actually a bit too short to reach properly, so he secretly used a little telekinesis to lift himself—but he kept that to himself.

Then, leaving the stunned Dominic behind, he walked quickly toward the dining hall. He didn't want him to see his face, which had turned red.

When he had sent that telepathic message earlier... Just for a second, Shiao Yi had caught a glimpse of Dominic's feelings.

Can you believe it? Dominic actually liked him. He liked him. He likes someone like him!

He had been so happy that he couldn't stop himself from kissing him.

As Shiao Yi stepped into the dining hall, the soldiers and knights who are currently eating turned around to look at him.

"Hey! Shiao Yi! Did you sleep well? Welcome back!"

The huge-built Louis beamed at him and waved both arms happily. The other men around him also smiled and greeted him with cheerful faces.

The dining hall was filled with the delicious smell of food. The warm air buzzed with people's energy and a bit of dust.

Shiao Yi realized he had really started to like this world.

...

A small boy with black hair and black eyes peeked into the dining hall. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem like he was eighteen.

Just this morning, Shiao Yi had crossed the border and captured a soldier from the Dalmasca Kingdom. The enemy was badly injured and was currently being treated with great urgency.

They were still waiting for the man to recover enough to be questioned, but the news had already spread throughout the fortress. Bringing back a prisoner from the enemy side was a big deal on its own, but people were even more amazed to learn that Shiao Yi and the captain were the ones who wiped out yesterday's swarm of magical beasts. Word was going around that it had been a coordinated attack between the two of them.

Last night, everyone had thought they were going to die. That fear turned to admiration overnight, and Shiao Yi was suddenly seen as a bit of a hero. Because the captain had been guarding him so closely, most of the soldiers hadn't even seen Shiao Yi's face before.

This morning, too, the dining hall had been full of excited talk about the mysterious and cute boy.

Because of that, Louis couldn't even eat in peace, he was constantly pestered by people who are demanding him to spill the details. And just as the conversation reached its peak—Shiao Yi himself showed up, walking right into the dining hall like it was nothing.

A wave of loud surprise spread through the men as they laid eyes on him.

"Wow, he really does have black hair and black eyes!"

"He's so cute."

"How old is he? Isn't he still a kid?"

"What a pretty boy."

"Is this the guy who took down those magical beasts?"

The voices of amazement echoed even into Louis's ears.

He raised his hand and waved his hands toward Shiao Yi to come over and he started walking toward their group.

But then—

The air in the dining hall immediately turned frozen and tense.

Everyone went quiet.

The captain stood at the entrance, wearing an expression even more unreadable than usual. His face looked stiff, like it had turned to stone.

Before Shiao Yi could even turn around to see who had arrived, the captain rushed in and grabbed him from behind in a tight hold.

"Guh—!"

The sound Shiao Yi made was somewhere between a squeak and a croak, like a frog being squashed.

No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't a hug. The captain had wrapped him up and was squeezing the life out of him.

Shiao Yi's breath caught. His face started turning a dark red, almost purplish.

"C-C-Captain! Captain Dominic! You're choking him! You're seriously gonna kill him!"

Someone yelled out in panic, and only then did Captain Dominic seem to realize what he was doing. He looked completely flustered—an expression no one had ever seen on him before. It was the kind of reaction you would never expect from someone who is normally cold and stoic like their captain.

It's like aeeing a ghost.

Everyone in the room just stood there, their mouths hanging open in shock, like they'd just witnessed something terrifying.

And then came the surreal scene that followed.

Across the table from Louis, the captain sat calmly eating his breakfast—with Shiao Yi sitting on his lap.

Captain Dominic looked disturbingly happy. His usual cold and rigid face was replaced with a strange satisfied smile.

Shiao Yi that was still seated on his superior's lap, looked unsure of what to do.

It was like watching a dream that felt both funny and too weird to be real.

No, seriously. It was beyond creepy.

A man who never smiled—whose face looked like it didn't even have muscles for expressions—was now smiling.

That was a smile, right?