Chapter 4: Social Anxiety Attack During a Meeting and Unpleasant Memories - Ethan...

Ethan felt like he wasn't starting a new job, but rather entering hell.

Many eyes were on him, and it was the first time he realized that his country had so many cities and all kinds of guardians.

A seemingly frail assassin, an easily angered healer, a smiling, fox-like commander, a cold-blooded warrior, and the guardian representative Tenas who tries to talk to him but receives no response.

Tenas, the guardian of Kagerou City, is a popular esper with long, golden hair that extends past his shoulder blades. His hair is parted in the middle, and his bangs occasionally cover his blue eyes. He wears a sleeveless bodysuit and loose jeans.

His first impression is that of a very popular playboy in bars. Although he is occasionally frivolous, he is mature and reliable most of the time, which is why he was chosen as the representative. He is not the real leader; he is the second in line.

Everyone sat in the seats representing their own city, and dozens of people sat around the large round table.

Some of them were discussing, while others were doing their own thing, but their gazes would occasionally linger on Ethan, making him feel extremely uncomfortable, his mind going blank, and completely unsure of what to do.

So many people, they're all looking at him... It's terrifying, why are they looking at him? Did he do something wrong? I'm so scared, why is it so quiet now? What are those two talking about? Are they talking about him? Are they laughing at him? Are they laughing? Ethan wasn't sure, he didn't dare to look, and he didn't dare to listen carefully.

Ethan felt as if he were sitting back in the classroom he had been in six years ago, surrounded by a large group of classmates.

Some of them whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing at him with strange looks, and sometimes letting out quiet sneers. Others didn't even bother to act, looking at him with scrutiny and disdain, as if they were seeing something dirty.

Young Ethan nervously clutched the hem of his shirt, his voice weak: "It wasn't me... I didn't take it..."

"Are you still going to try to deny it?!" The bespectacled teacher frowned and questioned, his gaze filled with the same disgust as everyone else's, as if he had already accepted the facts: "The facts are as they are, Jack's pen was in your desk, who else could it be but you?"

"No," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. "I wasn't there at noon; I didn't go back to the classroom."

The classmates next to him were pointing and whispering: "He's crying again. Ethan cries even more than a girl."

“Maybe he really is a girl?” his friend replied with a grin, not bothering to tone down his voice: “That face is cuter than a girl’s. We’ll see when we get there.”

The teacher did not stop him, but sternly asked him, "Are there any witnesses?"

Upon hearing this, Ethan looked at a female classmate in the crowd. She was one of the classmates he had met when he returned from lunch break. The girl looked left and right, and when she realized that everyone was looking at her, she stiffly said, "...I haven't seen you."

After he finished speaking, everyone turned their attention back to Ethan: "Is there anything else to say?"

Ethan's face turned pale in that instant, and he could no longer speak.

After the crowd dispersed, only Ethan and Jack remained in the empty classroom, Jack fiddling with his pen.

“I didn’t take it,” Ethan muttered to himself.

“I know.” Hearing him speak, Jack looked up and raised an eyebrow at him: “Because I put it there.”

Ethan looked up abruptly, staring intently at him, and asked incredulously, "Why? What have I done to offend you? Why are you framing me like this?"

“You don’t need a reason to hate someone.” Jack chuckled, but his smile twisted into a devilish image in Ethan’s eyes. He said casually, “If I can’t stand someone, I can destroy everything they have with just a flick of my wrist. For example, your teacher will talk to your parents, your classmates will assume you’re a thief, and that nickname will follow you for life. Even if they know you’re innocent, that girl won’t be ostracized in front of so many people just to prove your innocence.”

Finally, as if he had gotten tired of playing, he casually tossed the pen he had previously claimed was worth four figures into the trash can: "Nobody cares if you're innocent, just like nobody cares if this is really worth thousands of dollars. Everyone just likes to treat everyone with malice. Goodbye, Ethan."

After saying that, he waved and left the classroom, leaving Ethan silent.

Jack's words were too self-evident, but it was undeniable that the malice Ethan encountered among his peers was so natural. In this city, people's desires were amplified, and unwarranted malice became commonplace.

————

"Knock knock"

Finally, a crisp tapping sound on the table pulled him back to reality. Ethan looked up slightly and found everyone staring at him, some with confusion, others with impatience.

Six years had passed. He was no longer the boy who could be so easily framed; he was now a guardian. Ethan suddenly realized he was drenched in a cold sweat, and his fingers were growing even colder.

Sitting next to him, Turner withdrew his finger and asked patiently, "Are you alright?"

Ethan nodded, managing to squeeze out the words, "I'm fine. Where were we?"

As soon as he spoke, he realized that his voice was so dry and hoarse, completely devoid of his original tone; the memories he had just had still affected him.

Feeling heavy-hearted, he didn't want to talk at all, but he still had to answer when others asked him with concern.

“We need to know how to address you,” Tenas asked. “And you’re a magician, right? I’ve looked at your information, but it’s not very detailed. There are many kinds of magic. Which type are you most skilled in?”

"Mainly healing and spell attacks..." Ethan paused, trying to recall the pages of a book he had flipped through before coming here about how to interact with colleagues, but his mind was still blank and he couldn't remember anything: "...I'm better at spell attacks, I'm Ethan."

“Okay, Ethan.” Turner took out his phone: “Let’s add each other as friends, and I’ll add you to our group.”

Ethan was still thinking about running away when he finished scanning the QR code to join the group and then went through the friend requests of his colleagues one by one.

He'd never added so many people before, and he had no idea how to start a conversation. Even with the internet connection, he was socially awkward. What could he do? Oh well, he might as well just leave this friend list to gather dust.

The rest of the meeting was no longer about him; instead, it focused on the losses from the last battle, his own mistakes, and who he should cooperate with.

Ethan was so embarrassed that he slammed his fist on the table. He really wanted to leave. Couldn't he just go if it wasn't his business?

And will he have to reflect on his actions in the future? If he can't speak no matter how hard he tries, he can only avoid this by improving his own strength.

By the way, should we go back and watch their previous battles to observe their common fighting methods? That way, our teamwork should improve, right? And it should reduce the embarrassing moments he has to reflect on, right?

He awkwardly rubbed the ground with his toes, wondering if his mother should be up by now. Had he erased all traces last night? Would his mother notice anything amiss?

Ethan couldn't say whether he hoped Selene would become aware of his presence or completely forget about him.

As a guardian, he hoped that forgetting him would ensure his mother's safety. As long as his mother didn't remember him, he could erase all traces and then he could safely become a guardian.

As Selene's child, he actually hoped that Selene would realize something was wrong and discover that there was another version of him. But after thinking about it, reason prevailed over emotion. He only hoped that Selene could live safely, and live a bright and free life without any shadows in her heart.

This is simply a child's wish for their mother to be happy.

Ethan then thought of Starfall, so how long would it take him to read all the books in the library that Starfall had opened to him?

Learning is a long and arduous road. Even if you have a good memory, you will still feel dizzy from memorizing. After studying for a long time, you will feel like vomiting. When you get tired of studying, you will put it into practice, brew potions or create spells. Learning is about constant practice and innovation.

Then, after practicing until you feel nauseous, you go back to reading the book, and when you get tired of reading it, you continue practicing, creating a very stable cycle.

It's better to let him go back to his studies than to have this meeting here. He's suddenly become even more passionate about learning. Let him go back to his studies.

————

In fact, many people quickly noticed that the newcomer was distracted, looking down and seemingly lost in thought. The group called out to him several times but couldn't get his attention back, especially since they didn't know his name, so they couldn't get him to listen.

It was only when Turner tapped on his desk that he snapped out of his daze. He thanked Turner—the others were too shy to shout loudly because they weren't familiar with him.

Turner offered a polite expression of concern, and the newcomer finally uttered his first words: "I'm fine." His voice was hoarse and carried a chilling, sinister quality. Everyone could finally see his face, though only the lower half.

The upper half of his face seemed to be naturally shrouded in darkness, and no matter how he moved, you couldn't see a trace of it. He didn't look like a good person at all. He had the same kind of demeanor as the villains they had encountered before.

They ran off incredibly fast after the meeting ended.

The moment the meeting was declared over, he stood up quickly. Without a single extra movement, a portal opened beside him, and he walked straight in. Ternas, who had planned to talk to him after the meeting, didn't even have time to react before the portal, which resembled a miniature black hole, closed.

"The newbies are making me a bit uneasy," Rebecca rubbed her arms and complained to Nadia, "Don't you think so, Nadia?"

Nadia answered affirmatively, "I don't think so, but it's a bit annoying that he doesn't respond to what others say."

“Maybe it’s because we’re new here, we’re a little unaccustomed to it,” Turner said with a smile, defusing the teasing. “It’s not too late to draw conclusions after we’ve spent more time together.”

A note from the author:

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The setting of Starfall City is that the people are kind and honest, and everyone there is a villain. People like Ethan and Selene are the minority. By the way, the kind-hearted colleague is Turnas [cat emoji].