Comic page | Chapter 5 | Page 38

There are 5 panels.

PANEL 1:Mako responds by slightly extending his arms, displaying a certain excess of tact and diplomacy: “I assure you we don’t plan on leaving while keeping you in the dark about what's happening in Elean. I beg of you, please do not leave us in the dark… with the rest of your story”.

PANEL 2:Gus reacts to Mako's gesture with a kind of secondhand embarrassment mixed with apathy on his face.

PANEL 3:Gefrei unwinds a bit more and adds: “For some months it seemed like we didn’t have to worry anymore, and that despite the high cost of the lieutenant, the situation had stabilized”.

PANEL 4:He explains: “Commander Frederick ordered us not to have any contact with the ones left from ‘the inadequates’, as we used to call them. He thought we had removed the spoiled apple from the basket before it irreversibly tainted the others, and that time would turn bad memories into just that”. The image shows Commander Frederick, in a shirt and trousers. He is standing with his arms crossed and leaning back against his desk, exuding relaxed authority. In front of him at the desk sits Co-Commander Gefrei, looking in Frederick’s direction. A woman with long black hair, presumably also a military officer, stands a few feet away, subtly turned toward the men, her arms clasped behind her back in a firm posture.

PANEL 5:Gefrei concludes: “A noble speculation, very in tune with his noble character”. The image illustrates in greater detail Commander Frederick’s serious and thoughtful expression. He has dark hair, quite short on the sides and longer, in wild clumps, on top and in the front. He has a modest beard with a barely grown mustache, and wears glasses with a thin strap. The curtains behind him are partially drawn, and the sunlight streaming in casts his face in shadows, backlit.