Chapter 33 is still told from another person's perspective, although Lily's attitude is...
Although Lily was strongly opposed, she still attended the party. She was worried that if she didn't have a good opinion of Bertha, Bertha would lose her mind again, which would be terrible and not what she wanted to see.
This gathering took place at another of Lily's businesses, a restaurant that had been cleared out; there was no one else there except for her own people, oh, of course, except for the chefs and waiters.
Lily Garcia, an industry so vast that Bertha still hasn't figured out which sectors she doesn't include, is an ultra-wealthy self-made man.
Bertha's faction had quite a few people, and as the clock approached the agreed time, people arrived one by one to attend the gathering, which surprisingly filled about thirty or forty people, several times more than the last gathering.
Bertha waited anxiously at the door, while Lily, worried about her, waited beside her, feeling annoyed by her behavior.
Sister, I've never seen you care about her this much! Who is this "best friend" you've known for hundreds of years? She's going to cause trouble!
Bertha was still watching to see if Ethan had arrived, while Lily rolled her eyes wildly beside her, only becoming a little more subdued when she saw someone else entering the room.
Finally, to Bertha's expectant gaze, Ethan suddenly appeared around the corner, dawdling and somewhat reluctant to come over.
Bertha waited patiently until she saw Ethan turn around as if he wanted to leave. Instead of staying, she went up to stop him. Lily thought Bertha's behavior was really irritating. She wanted to leave but was worried that things would get awkward if Bertha started talking to Ethan.
“Mr. Nix,” Bertha subtly blocked his escape route, a genuine smile on her face, “Welcome to this party. Since we’ve met, it must be fate. Why don’t we go in together?”
Ethan was completely bewildered. Huh? Was it a coincidence? Miss Bertha had been standing at the door the whole time.
Lily found her excuse absurd. Bertha Manton, their leader, the organizer of this party, the party that was started just because you wanted to—what are you trying to fool people with? Do you think this person would believe you?
Ethan hesitated for only a few seconds before nodding in agreement.
...You really believe that? Dude, you're a weirdo. If you really believe it, then she really has to believe Bertha a little bit, which makes her seem a bit off-track-minded.
Bertha was subtly probing Ethan's conversation, while Lily watched from the sidelines, inwardly complaining, "Damn it, she's not supposed to be this kind of person!"
Bertha deliberately slowed down, dawdling even more than Ethan. She took a full three minutes to walk that short distance. During those three minutes, Bertha made good use of her excellent speaking skills, constantly bringing up topics to get closer to Ethan.
Ethan didn't seem to notice the probing. Bertha relaxed a bit when she saw that he didn't react, and they even talked about some bloody topics, and casually mentioned the octopus monster that Ethan and the other guardians fought last time.
Ethan pursed his lips, looking somewhat uneasy, and his tone became a little unsteady: "I don't really like overly bloody fighting styles. Last time was just an accident... I've improved now, and I can guarantee I can find weaknesses in a short time..."
He's really improved. Master Xingyun caught a lot of octopuses for him to practice on, which made him impotent. He also learned a lot about anatomy. Now, when he looks at a live creature, he thinks about its anatomical structure and where its weaknesses are.
He wasn't a novice or clumsy Ethan anymore, but he was a ruthless man who could dissect a live rabbit with his eyes closed. Although he accidentally cut his hand when he first tried to dissect with his eyes closed, he still had to be treated by Lord Starfall.
But none of that matters! In short, he has grown up.
Bertha nodded in understanding. That's how it is for beginners. That's why Ethan isn't the tyrant portrayed in the Starfall Man legends. He's just too normal and doesn't fit in with the Starfall Man's style. Even pushing for normal criminal laws is met with such fierce opposition.
Lily had only been distracted for a moment, watching as the last trace of wariness on her best friend's face vanished completely. She couldn't understand why, after only a few dozen seconds of distraction, her friend had been brainwashed again. How could she do that? She was a demon!
Is he really a demon who bewitches everyone? He succeeded, except for her.
Ethan Demon Nix suddenly stopped, sneezed softly, and looked around in confusion.
Strange, his body operates like Schrödinger's cat, how can he still sneeze? That's really strange, but Lord Starfall never said he couldn't sneeze, so never mind.
Because the distance was really short, Bertha and the others had already reached the door. Ethan was still encouraging himself before Lily pushed the door open.
It's okay, Ethan, you're not as socially awkward as you used to be.
He has been diligently catching criminals at night for so many days, and has communicated with them, even having close physical contact with them face-to-face. His speech should be considered normal, at most his speaking speed might be a little slow.
The so-called communication and face-to-face, even close physical contact, refers to the prisoner who confronted Ethan face-to-face, confessing his crimes, and then held him tightly to prevent him from escaping: ???
Because when Ethan puts on the hood of his cloak, he speaks to others in a hoarse, strangely chilling voice, slowly announcing the crimes a criminal has committed, as if Death himself were reading the life story of his spoils.
Criminals: Is his next step to just take our lives? It feels like he's assessing our worth by reading out the charges.
Ethan hasn't realized that he's been molded into a more sinister direction by the Starfall People, mainly because there are too many forum posts, including a huge number of low-quality ones, and he can't read every single one.
Before Lily opened the door, Ethan thought he would be able to get through the party without being too socially anxious, just like last time.
But the moment Lily opened the door, almost everyone in the room looked towards the doorway at the same time, their eyes fixed on her with a sense of unease. In particular, the lively and cheerful atmosphere that had been filled with conversation vanished the moment the door opened.
Ethan glanced at it but didn't have the courage to stay for another second. He opened a portal under his feet and breathed a sigh of relief as he fell. But he soon realized that he hadn't breathed a sigh of relief yet—Lily, who was both cheeky and quick-witted, grabbed his collar and yanked him out.
What a joke! Don't even think about escaping like a coward before she figures out how this guy bewitched Bertha! What a coward, trying to run away at this level?
Ethan felt like he was about to faint, and the illusion he had built up over this period that his social anxiety wasn't that bad shattered.
He genuinely thought he had fainted, only to later realize that Lily had been too strong, and her clothes had tightened around his neck, causing him to feel short of breath and unable to catch his breath.
Ethan: QAQ
My sister is so strong.
Lily pulled him aside and made him stand still. With a sharp click of her high heels, Ethan's portal closed.
Ethan didn't care about any of that. He felt so uncomfortable in front of so many people that he wanted to bury himself in a hole, but Bertha, who had come to her senses, grabbed him and pushed him inside.
“Don’t be shy, Ethan,” Bertha whispered to him with a smile. Ethan didn’t even realize that Bertha was calling him Ethan, not Mr. Nix, but the more intimate Ethan. He just lowered his head and pretended to be a quail. “They’re all family here. You’ll get to know them quickly. I promise they’ll like you too.”
“Ethan is just a little uncomfortable.” Bertha looked up and raised her voice to explain to everyone, “Our new partner is a bit socially awkward and not used to being in crowded places. He’ll be fine once he gets to know people.”
These words sound so familiar. Did she say something like that last time?
Ethan didn't hear what Bertha said at all. He just lowered his head even further when she raised her voice. Bertha could even feel Ethan's body trembling. Oh, that was probably because Ethan was trying to run away and Bertha held him down.
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then smiled knowingly, and the atmosphere quickly returned to its previous relaxed state. People chatted and laughed in small groups, as if they were very familiar with each other.
"He looks kind of familiar." Someone muttered to themselves, looking at Ethan's back, but they just couldn't find the key memory point.
“He looks like that guy?” Her companion also thought he looked familiar: “Doesn’t he look like that newly debuted Starfall City Guardian? Sister Bertha also calls him Ethan, so that must be him.”
Jenny, the first to speak, clicked her tongue in amazement. She hadn't expected that this guardian, who had only been in the game for a few months, would be accepted by Bertha to come to this gathering. What did bringing him signify? It meant that he was to be accepted, and the guardian of Starfall City was to become one of them.
“But I really didn’t expect that.” His companion nodded in agreement: “The rumors online say that Ethan is cruel and capricious. He forcibly changed the laws of his city because he didn’t like them, which caused many people to die. Now his comment section is full of Starfall people cursing him. I haven’t seen any comments from other cities. I really didn’t know he was socially awkward. Sure enough, the rumors on the internet are not credible.”
She hesitated for a moment: "Is he really socially awkward?"
“Of course.” His accomplice nodded again and patiently analyzed for his friend: “You see, when he opened the door and saw so many of us, his first reaction was to run away. Socially anxious people are very likely to have this kind of thought. When Bertha pushed him over, he didn’t dare to look up. Socially anxious people really can’t look people in the eye. At least I used to be able to pretend to be playing on my phone when I was walking on the street and avoid making eye contact with people.”
Jenny listened with great interest and found herself being persuaded.
"Sister Bertha and Sister Lily reacted so quickly, this shouldn't be the first time something like this has happened." The companion nodded seriously. "It seems that the guardians of Starfall City have been brought to more than just this gathering by Sister Bertha and the others. You can't judge a book by its cover. Shall we go and get to know them?"
“It doesn’t seem like the right time.” Jenny looked at Ethan, who was surrounded by everyone and was trying to escape again, but was being suppressed by Bertha and Lily and was trembling. “He looks too socially awkward. Look, he’s still shaking. He’s bending over to pry Bertha’s hand open, but he can’t move it.”
Following her words, her companion looked at the poor Ethan, who was surrounded by people, and hesitated for a moment: "Never mind then, I've also had social anxiety, I understand that kind of unease."
Jenny patted her shoulder understandingly, then her attention was drawn to the desserts. She picked up a blueberry cake from the table, forked a small piece containing blueberries, and asked, "Want some?"
Her companion struggled for only half a second before taking a big bite from Jenny's hand, immediately conquered by the soft cake.
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Author's Note: I recommend reading the next chapter in conjunction with "Cloud Garment and Feather Robe Melody".
Oh right, I suddenly remembered that I gave them surnames and added some background information, such as Turnas and Reina also having surnames.
I imagined something happening in a parallel universe, and I think the friendship between Turner and Ethan is really captivating. I even slacked off a bit, but there are spoilers, so I'll wait until I finish writing before posting [starry eyes]. Also, Bertha in this parallel world is pretty damn good, Ethan, you have so many wild mothers!
When will I finally get some plot details from the script? I haven't posted anything from last year's slacking off.
These few images feature a high percentage of the magician's colleagues, because they don't have as many scenes later on.
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