Chapter 75 World D: 3 Ternas and Ethan...

Turner and Ethan teamed up to finish 20% of the food, while Ethan, who only ate a little and didn't actually eat any, finished the rest.

"My God, he looks like he hasn't eaten in years," Ethan muttered to himself, watching Ethan devour his food. Surprisingly, he frowned instead of smiling.

How much has Ethan eaten? He's tried every dish at every shop and stall down this street. It's been several hours, and he still hasn't finished eating on this street.

The amount of food was roughly enough to feed a dozen or twenty people until they were stuffed. In the end, Ethan and Turner were too full to eat anymore, but Ethan was still gulping down food like crazy.

Ethan finally finished eating around 1 p.m. and felt a little embarrassed that he had spent so much time eating, but the other two were understanding, so the three of them started shopping.

Ethan's first instinct was to take Ethan to his favorite store and pick out several bright and cute outfits for him, entirely based on his own preferences.

Ethan was deeply moved as he looked at the bags full of brightly colored clothes and picked out several dark-colored outfits for Ethan.

"Gothic style, huh? Interesting." Ethan looked thoughtfully at the dark-colored clothes in his hand, accented with blue, red, and purple. "How come I didn't know this store had clothes like this?"

"This is a great customer," the saleswoman said with a professional smile. "Our store is quite large. You always come to the west section, but these clothes are from the east section."

Since Ethan picked it out, even though he felt it wasn't suitable, he still put it on.

"How is it?" Ethan came out of the changing room, spun around in place, and showed Ethan his clothes.

"..." Ethan remained strangely silent for a while, while Turnas silently took a few more steps toward the corner, trying to make his already low profile even lower.

“I was wrong.” Ethan said to Ethan very seriously, “You don’t suit dark-colored clothes, but I don’t suit bright-colored clothes either. Let’s let each other off the hook.”

"My God..." Upon hearing Ethan's words, Ethan rushed to the mirror and was shocked by his reflection: "The last time I wore clothes that were so unsuitable for me was more than ten years ago."

To be honest, the clothes are gorgeous and exquisite, the colors are well-matched, and some details are cleverly designed.

However, Ethan's personality and style were completely unsuitable for this. He loved to laugh and was very lively. He still had those sparkly hair clips in his hair, which made his dark clothes look even more out of place.

"How about we change out first?" Ethan suggested.

"No! I won't allow this outfit to remain in my memory as such a bizarre combination! It's terrible, oh my god." Ethan unexpectedly refused, muttering to himself as he began to remove his bracelet, earrings, hair clips, and other accessories, asking the saleswoman standing next to him, "Excuse me, do you have any accessories to match this outfit? Headwear, necklaces, bracelets, and shoes too. This outfit really goes awry with these sneakers." He then pointed to his toes, which were clad in blue and white sneakers.

Fortunately, they also have them in the store.

Ethan still prefers hair clips, and was surprised to find star hair clips as well, so he picked out a few and added them.

Then I put on some rings, earrings, a choker, and a necklace, and changed into shoes in a similar style.

By the way, why does this store even carry shoes?

Ethan was lost in thought as he watched Ethan change his outfit.

Ethan was somewhat satisfied with the outfit after putting it together, but his face was too soft and didn't suit him very well. However, he really didn't like wearing makeup, so he had no choice but to go to this extent.

"How is it?" Ethan pinched the metal chain on his clothes; the coolness made him more alert. He turned to ask Ethan.

“It looks good,” his idiot counterpart replied. Ethan felt he shouldn’t have asked, since Ethan seemed like the kind of person who wore the same clothes every day.

"Do you think our faces match these clothes?" Ethan poked his face with his index finger.

Ethan observed carefully for a while: "...It seems a bit out of place, indeed."

Ethan: "..."

Turnas: "..."

Do you agree to everything I say? You quickly changed your tune.

Ethan turned his head back to the mirror, somewhat speechless, and smiled at it, but it looked very out of place.

Ethan slowly stopped smiling, his smile gradually fading, his lips turning down, and his eyes devoid of any emotion. Although he wasn't wearing makeup, his overall demeanor strangely harmonized with his outfit.

Ethan: "Great!"

Ethan: "..."

Turnas: "..."

Ethan turned to look at Ethan helplessly, closed his eyes and opened them again, his eyes becoming somewhat fierce, which made him even more imposing.

Ethan exclaimed, then abruptly changed the subject: "Now I understand why everyone didn't like me much at first. I guess I was a bit too gloomy." Seriously, can he actually give that fierce look? Did he also... oh wait, the cloak covered the upper half of his face, I forgot.

"Because you don't talk much." Turner didn't deny that initially, not many people liked him. Back then, the socially awkward Ethan truly didn't utter a single word. If he hadn't spoken during their first meeting, everyone would have thought he was mute. He'd run off after meetings, and otherwise wouldn't respond to anyone you talked to. He never chatted; how could you develop feelings for your colleagues? If they hadn't discovered that beneath the cloak was a socially awkward kid, Ethan's relationship with the Guardians would probably still be strained.

Even if you don't talk to anyone at school, you will still be isolated.

“I can’t say it… I don’t know what to say…” Ethan stammered, “Especially when everyone is looking at me while I’m talking, I often want to run away and can’t stay any longer.”

“You’re talking to me!” Ethan turned his head so he couldn’t see Turner, complaining, “I have a secret to tell you.”

"What secret?" Ethan's curiosity was piqued, and he didn't care that Ethan was pressing his face down quite hard, making his voice sound a little comical.

"Actually, I'm a big bad guy!" Ethan said mysteriously, then gave a sly smile. "I've ruled this world, believe it or not?"

Turner's expression changed.

Ethan: "Actually, I'm a big bad guy too. I'll block posts on our city forum."

"What article?" Ethan's curiosity was piqued.

"My story with Lord Starfall," Ethan said, almost praising it as he read aloud, "In it, I am any gender—I can be a man, a woman, an animal, a transgender person, or even a Walmart shopping bag. Occasionally, I'll have one, two, three, four, or five children, either born to me or to Lord Starfall, and then the children grow up to become the city's will... I can't understand it. Putting aside whether the city's will has reproductive capabilities, what makes them think that if the city's will can only give birth, the children can grow up to become a city?"

Ethan froze for almost ten seconds, then suddenly burst into a fit of violent laughter, clutching his stomach and nearly collapsing to the ground, the laughter rising higher and higher. Even though he covered his mouth, he couldn't hold it in any longer, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. In the end, he laughed until he fell to the ground, slapping the floor repeatedly.

“My God, the inhabitants of your world are truly talented.” Ethan wiped away the tears of laughter, his voice hoarse from the several minutes of maniacal laughter. He leaned against Ethan, his eyes still smiling. “It’s unbelievable that they could write something like this. And you didn’t even shut down that forum.”

“They don’t deserve this much trouble…” Ethan shrugged. “I’ll grant them freedom of speech, but they can’t write creative works.”

“If I were you, I would have sealed it off long ago.” Ethan’s eyes crinkled with laughter again: “Okay, I’m just kidding you. I’m just kidding. I don’t rule the world.”

"I know, I know." Although Ethan remembered Tenas from before and initially thought Ethan was telling the truth, he still dismissed his initial belief in the face of Ethan's lively and enthusiastic personality.

At this point, it's more like the costume was chosen to suit someone, and then someone made a bad face to joke with him. Just listen to it; if he actually believes it, Ethan has succeeded.

Moreover, this Lord Starfall looks like a typical office worker, and doesn't seem like the kind of person who could let Ethan rule the world. No offense intended, but I heard that the city will of Tenas, which he visited in the first world, had a very... capricious personality. He would kill anyone, no matter who they were. Fortunately, he was already asleep when he went there. If he were to rule the world, he would probably have that kind of personality, right?

“Actually… my gender is a shopping bag,” Ethan said very seriously.

"Okay." Ethan politely asked, "Which one?"

Ethan answered seriously, "I'm from Walmart, I'm a Walmart shopping bag."

"It was like I went crazy shopping at Walmart," Ethan commented. "Although I also tweeted on X that I was a Walmart shopping bag."

Ethan is so enthusiastic and has such a great personality that even Ethan, who knows him so well, can describe him like that.

The two Walmart shopping bags were happily affixed together, leaving Turner, who believed Ethan's claim of ruling the world, standing beside him, scrutinizing him with suspicion.

"...Speaking of which, I also use the word 'plastic bag' to swear." Ethan was halfway through pasting when he suddenly realized something was wrong and sat up in shock, as if he were on his deathbed.

"Oh?" Ethan asked curiously, "How did you curse?"

“You can hold more stuff than a Walmart shopping bag. Are you a shopping bag? How can you hold so much stuff?” Ethan chuckled, carefully choosing words that weren’t too offensive: “If one day you see a stranger grabbing you, don’t be afraid. It’s just that you’re so good at stuffing that people are treating you like a shopping bag, a real hog.”

Ethan: =O0O=

Turnas: "..."

...Why is Ethan looking at him as he speaks?

"Why are you so surprised?" Ethan suddenly sensed something was wrong. "You don't usually swear?"

After receiving Ethan's nod, Ethan couldn't help but tease him: "Good boy Ethan—"

“I don’t usually swear. My vocabulary is actually quite limited because I don’t go out much. Now when I do go out, I automatically filter out everyone’s swear words.” Ethan shrugged, unconcerned by his teasing. “Besides, my mom says that swearing is just an outlet for incompetence. Capable people don’t choose to swear; they solve problems instead.”

Ethan: "..."

Ethan paused for a moment, then said, "Mom is right."

The atmosphere froze for a moment for some reason, until they went to look at other clothes.

Ethan then chose another set of dark-colored clothes in black and red, claiming that two sets would be enough. He couldn't really be a gloomy person; he could wear them occasionally when he felt like it, but he didn't want to wear them all the time.

Please, his wardrobe is already overflowing with brightly colored, dopamine-infused clothes that are more than enough to satisfy him. He prefers vibrant colors to dark and somber ones.

But unexpectedly, the three of them got stuck at the checkout step.

"What are you doing, Ethan! I'm here to shop, so of course I'll pay!" Ethan's hand was being held down by Ethan, and he was somewhat surprised: "You're customers, how can you let customers pay? Even if you say you're my...brother, it won't work. I'm not short of money." He swallowed the part of his body that he almost vomited, because there were other people present.

"How can you?!" Ethan's attitude was firm: "You've been paying for all the food we've eaten, that's fine. I don't have any change, only some hard currency. Buying all this stuff should be enough to get some money back." Ethan also swallowed the gold he was about to say and used other words instead.

“But this is my world. You don’t know how many more places you need to go… Save it for later. What if you need it later but don’t have it?” Ethan couldn’t understand. It’s just a meal. Just because Ethan is his counterpart, he would pay for everything. No joke. What if he really needs money later?

“I’ve crammed a lot of space into my room,” Ethan insisted. “I was worried about what I would do if I needed money elsewhere, so I’ve filled one-third of the space with stuff. The rest is some emergency medicine and supplies. I can afford to buy these clothes.”

Turner sighed helplessly.

"How can you do this! This is utterly unreasonable, Ethan!" Ethan broke free from Ethan's grasp and slammed his card onto the cashier: "I already said I wanted to go shopping, I have a need, I need you to accompany me and provide emotional support, that's all I want to do is go shopping with you."

“Then anyone can buy them.” Ethan tried to take Ethan’s card back, and then slapped his gold card on top of it: “You only bought two items for yourself, and all the others are for me. How could I let you pay for them?”

"Let me buy it!"

"I'll pay!"

The two pushed and shoved each other, vying to pay the bill, as if they were having a competition, and whoever failed to pay would lose.

"Um, gentlemen." The saleswoman reluctantly stopped the two men's fight. She gestured for Ethan and Ethan to look outside. Behind the transparent glass, Turner waved to them, carrying large and small shopping bags: "That gentleman has already paid."

The two people looked at each other.

"Next time I'll pay before you do!"

"That's not necessarily true. Let's see who's faster!"

Seeing the two men full of fighting spirit, Turner covered his face with difficulty with his hands, which were covered with many shopping bags.

Why don't you let him pay? He did bring some cash. You two shouldn't fight anymore. What's the point of arguing about this? Stop arguing, stop arguing. He's the oldest, he should pay.

Then they moved on to other stores, and Ethan still loved buying all sorts of things with star patterns.

“Maybe we could get some more with the moon on them?” Ethan suggested. “Since you like the name your mother uses to call us stars, it would be great to buy some moon-themed items to match! After all, Selene is the name of the moon goddess in Greek mythology, the only true embodiment of the moon, isn’t she?”

Ethan pondered for a few seconds and was convinced, then bought up almost everything in the moon-shaped area.

“Starting today,” Ethan announced to Ethan, “my favorite things are the moon and stars! From now on, besides stars, I’m going to wear moon hair clips, moon necklaces, moon earrings, rings, and bracelets! Let’s go buy some more clothes with moon and star patterns later! I should have realized it sooner; the moon and stars are inseparable.”

“Yes, just like us and Mom.” Ethan’s eyes softened considerably when he talked about his mother, and even he didn’t notice that a slight smile had appeared on his lips. “Mom’s name, Selene, means the moon, and she also said that I am her star. The moon and the star are meant to stay together. Although I don’t know why Mom called me Star, I know that the name Ethan is full of Mom’s expectations for us.”

“The name originally means strong and eternal. My mother wanted us to be resilient and strong. Ethan in the Bible is a wise man, and perhaps she also hoped that we could be intelligent and discerning like a wise man,” Ethan said.

"..." Ethan remained silent for a while before speaking: "As for the stars, it's probably because Selene is the moon goddess, Nyx is the dark goddess in ancient Greek mythology, and you are, we are the mother's children, so we are called stars. We are the stars next to the moon."

Ethan couldn't stand this statement: "I miss my mom."

Ethan didn't say anything, but simply gave him a hug that lasted longer than any hug he had ever given before.

Ethan and Ethan hugged, and Turner, feeling bored by himself, started chatting with the clerk at the counter, wondering how long the two of them could keep hugging while watching them maintain that position for so long.

After they finished hugging, they began a frenzied sweep, collecting every item with a star or moon pattern that they could see.

Then we went to the shop Ethan recommended. I heard that the shop owner makes very exquisite small accessories. If he has the materials, such as his favorite gemstones, he will choose to have the shop owner make them for him. Most of his accessories are either made by himself or made by the shop owner, and only a small portion are bought from other places.

“I really enjoyed shopping with you.” Ethan couldn’t help but chat with Ethan as they walked towards the next store he wanted to recommend, carrying several shopping bags.

“Me too, I don’t have any peers to get along with.” Ethan responded enthusiastically, and he was even a bit more lively today because of this peer: “When I became a Guardian, the youngest people, whether magicians or Guardians, were in their twenties. For example, before I joined, the youngest Guardian was Tenas, who was only twenty-five years old at the time.”

"...Hmm?" Ethan frowned, then suddenly sensed something was wrong: "Wait, Ethan, how old are you? How many years have you been a Guardian?"

“Me? I died when I became a Guardian, I was fourteen years old.” Ethan recalled, “It’s been almost four years since I became a Guardian, time really flies. It feels like I became a Guardian just yesterday. I was still very weak, I didn’t know anything, and I always knelt down instantly when I was training with Lord Starfall.”

“No wonder, I always felt you were a bit… childlike innocence.” Ethan laughed: “I’ve been a Guardian for almost ten years, you can call me brother.”

"Uh, that's weird, I don't want to. I thought you were about my age." Ethan complained, "Why don't you call me Dad?"

"Ugh, what a disgusting word. Please don't mention it. I don't want to think about it." Ethan's smile vanished, and he made a disgusted expression, touching his exposed skin, feeling goosebumps rise on his skin.

"Uh... I'm sorry, it was my fault, it really was disgusting." Ethan apologized very sincerely.

“We can talk about anything—Mom, Lord Starfall, the Guardians, or the magicians.” Ethan seemed to have calmed down. “But not him, okay?”

"OK, OK." Ethan was still apologizing: "It's my fault, it's my fault, so I'll pay the bill later."

"...? Don't even think about it!"

Ethan and Ethan ran off playfully, while Turner, laden with shopping bags, struggled to carry the pile of items. Watching the two tiny figures, so happy they'd forgotten about his shrinking form, he fell silent for the umpteenth time that day: "..."

Hey! Ethan! Don't forget he's here too! Otherwise, how could you be running around and playing like that? You've left all your stuff here.

In short, by the time Turner finally caught up with them, the two of them had finished shopping at another store, and had several more shopping bags.

Turnas: "..."

To be honest, he didn't seem to have shopped this much with Rena and Dia before. This was the first time he had carried so many things on his back, and he was surprised to find that he could carry so much stuff. Dozens of bags were hanging on his body.

Nadia and Reina are both pragmatists. The former prefers looking after her children to shopping, while the latter is too busy to shop. If the two of them go shopping together, they will at most buy a few clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes, some things they like, and then get their nails done.

Because of her work, Nadia has to remove her manicure after only a few days. Since she is a pure melee fighter, and her battles are all about hand-to-hand combat, manicures are very inconvenient and will crack if she gets hit.

The quality of her manicure wasn't as good as her body.

Reina also has another identity as a politician, and fancy manicures are not helpful in this regard, and if they are too long, they will be a bit inconvenient.

While accompanying other female friends shopping might be a bit exaggerated, it's not to that extent.

Hmm... when will they finish? He feels a little tired, his feet hurt. Aren't they tired?

With bags and packages galore, Tenas's eyes looked somewhat lifeless, much like the scattered gaze of a fallen star in this world.

Tenas felt a pang of longing for Reina and Nadia, wondering how they were doing. Had Reina quelled the conflict among the guardians in their world? Was everything going smoothly?

Is Nadia still alive? Is she safe in another world? Ethan said that one of the Guardians' beads has broken, proving that there are still many dangerous worlds. He hopes her friends are alright.

-----------------------

The author's note: This isn't an attempt at subculture, but rather a light subculture.

Ethan: This shopping trip is so much fun, but don't even think about paying. You're just there to keep me company.

Ethan: But you bought me clothes...you bought me so many! [Please!]

Ethan: I asked you to stay here for three days.

Then the two of them started arguing again.

Turnas, carrying almost everything: ...Help me! [slowly]

This world should be ending soon. I think I've written much better. Next chapter: If the method works, can Teacher Jun come back? [method.jpg]