Chapter 42: Please, Ethan, don't save the prostitute and stop fantasizing...
Ethan glanced at him, then lowered his head again, his mind a chaotic battle of thoughts, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to react.
"How many?"
My colleague... my buddy.
He can accept that you want to secretly replace the incompetent leaders at the top with new, reliable people because you can't stand them. He can also tolerate that everyone seems to dislike him, which is no big deal. He can even tolerate someone secretly saying one thing to your face and another behind your back, even though it hasn't been discovered yet.
But that doesn't mean they can tolerate you standing on this red-light district, encountering him who has changed his identity and is dressed as a woman to stand on the street for a mission, and after a moment of silence, asking how much he charges.
Ethan screamed inwardly.
Turner, your persona is off!! You're not the humorous and witty type, although you might be a bit of a playboy, but that doesn't mean you'd come here asking someone who looks like a real minor how much money they have.
Ethan felt that the image of Turner had completely collapsed in his mind, and he even couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't discovered his personality after a year of getting to know him.
Ultimately, it boils down to a lack of communication and familiarity... He was wrong.
Seeing that Ethan didn't answer for a while, he asked again, "How old are you?"
Oh, so that's what they were asking. I was so scared! Asking about the price and the age are two different things. The former means you want to buy it, while the latter means you feel it might be inappropriate.
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and replied softly, "21."
"...Are you serious?" His voice was a little strange: "You clearly don't even look over 18."
Ethan still didn't dare to look up, repeating, "I'm 21."
“Okay, you’re 21.” Turner paused for a moment, then spoke again, his tone one of helpless agreement: “May I ask why you chose this line of work?”
This is really too presumptuous; Ethan hasn't thought it through yet.
"Because of my father..." But to avoid arousing suspicion, Ethan blurted out his true situation before becoming a Guardian.
Ethan was silenced for a long time, and when Turner spoke again, his voice was somewhat hoarse.
He asked, "Do you want to go to school? I can sponsor your schooling."
Dude, are you playing the role of a rescuer of a prostitute?!
There's no need for that. Ethan doesn't really want to go to school. The main reason is that he still has some psychological trauma from dropping out of school before.
However, this is a matter of local customs in Xingyun. Everyone else thinks it's normal, but he thinks it's abnormal because the education he received from Selene was different from that of others; it was the same as that of people outside.
However, if he were to step back into school, he would be unable to overcome his fears. He would repeatedly recall the scene from six years ago and would be unable to attend school normally.
Let's set aside his own problems for now and talk about his education. When he was chosen by Lord Starfall, he was found to be illiterate. He was taught until he passed university courses before being allowed to learn the knowledge of magic.
According to Master Starfall, he couldn't accept Ethan constantly asking him about trivial matters.
Thinking this, Ethan replied firmly, "Thank you for your kindness, but no need. This is my own choice." He completed the mission voluntarily, although the clothes he was wearing weren't entirely voluntary.
"Don't give up on yourself," Turner said earnestly. "A child your age should be in school. I'm very wealthy and can sponsor you. If you feel it's too much trouble for me, you can pay me back slowly when you grow up."
Okay, you're overthinking it. Turner is still Turner, not the kind of person who would want to harm someone who is obviously a minor.
But there's bad news: Turner seems to be getting caught up in what he sees as a rescue plot for a prostitute, and even fearing it might hurt his pride, he suggests that the money can be repaid slowly when they grow up.
But he really doesn't need it. He has money too. The most useless thing in Lord Xingyun's alternate dimension is those treasures. Lord Xingyun treats them as a burden and lets him spend them as he pleases. He even claims that those books are more valuable than those treasures. He agrees, but he doesn't have anywhere to spend money.
“But I really don’t need it.” Ethan shook his head vigorously, trying to find the words to discourage Turner’s good intentions.
"Sir~" Terry, who was originally dozens of meters away, noticed the commotion at some point and subtly shielded Ethan behind him: "She's new and doesn't know any better. If she has any problems, she can come at me."
Upon hearing this, Turner replied decisively, "If you'd like, I can sponsor your schooling as well."
Terry: "..."
Ethan: "..."
Aren't you getting a little too carried away? You want to send everyone you meet to school.
Terry's smile froze: "I'm already 25, it's too late."
“It’s never too late to learn,” Turner replied to them.
Terrick, who had only graduated a few years ago, felt a chill run down his spine whenever he heard others mention sending him to school, recalling his own university days in Germany, which were truly the most unforgettable days of his life.
Terry shuddered: "Please don't disturb our business..."
But Turner persisted, seemingly determined to take them both to school, and Ethan silently stepped back.
Terry was almost unable to resist Turner's enthusiasm, and was nearly swayed by his words, almost nodding in agreement to Turner's funding.
But Ethan, with his sharp eyes, spotted the target in the distance and gently pinched Terry's arm, snapping Terry back to his senses.
"Please stop joking around." Trek feigned anger and stormed off, returning to his position to cooperate in taking down the target.
Turnas hesitated for a moment as he looked in the direction Terry had left, then turned his gaze to Ethan, as if he wasn't going to let him off the hook as the last one.
Dude, don't do that. Don't you know you look like you're up to no good? You're being too enthusiastic. People who are actually in this line of work are giving you strange looks. Haven't you noticed, buddy?
Ahhh, the target is getting closer and closer! Ethan was even thinking of begging Turner to hurry up and do his mission first, because his behavior was affecting their mission completion.
Perhaps noticing Ethan frequently looking in that direction, Turner followed his gaze and saw a burly, fierce-looking man with menacing eyes who looked like he was not to be trifled with.
"Did he force you?" Turner's gaze sharpened as he lowered his voice to ask.
“…What?” Ethan was speechless with shock.
“Don’t be afraid, I will help you get rid of him,” Turnas said, as if he had made up his mind, and turned to walk towards his target.
"Ternas, what are you trying to do?!" Ethan was about to collapse. He quickly grabbed Ternas's coat. The target hadn't noticed yet, and to avoid attracting his attention, Ethan lowered his voice: "...No, no, no one forced me to do this..."
Ethan, not wanting to miss Turner's reaction, stopped looking down and just watched Turner uneasily, afraid that Turner would alert him.
But clearly, he misunderstood something: "Then shall I take you away first?"
"What?" Ethan still couldn't understand his thought process, and was both surprised and refused: "No, I can't leave here yet... It's not time yet, can I... not go?"
Ethan really wanted to beg him, even to tears. If this mission failed, he would need to complete a dozen or twenty missions to earn back the points deducted. Earning points was hard, but losing them was easy. He should have some sympathy for this working-class guy, who even had two jobs.
Turner fell silent again, and Ethan was a little afraid of his silence, unable to imagine what he was thinking.
“I’ll take you away,” Turnas said, picking Ethan up and running off.
Ethan, whose fighting skills were inferior to his and who couldn't break free to avoid revealing his inability to use magic: Oo
The other magician colleagues, whose attention was focused on the target but who were also glancing around at the situation: !!
You're just causing trouble here, and now you've even kidnapped our colleague! Put Ethan down! He's not your rescuer, he's a colleague on a mission!
Ethan felt a slight sense of unease. Although he had magic to break free, he didn't want his colleagues to know his other identity at this moment—streetwalking, for example. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to run away.
Even though it was fake and for the sake of the mission, it still couldn't ease his embarrassment, especially since this colleague had even taken the script of rescuing a prostitute... Please, don't rescue her.
Turner was unaware of Ethan's inner turmoil.
Coming to Starfall City today was actually an accident.
Tenas initially came with a mission to solve some of his cases near Starfall City, but it got a bit late, and he originally planned to buy something to eat before heading back.
Because I was unfamiliar with Starfall City, I got lost and spent some time looking for a restaurant, but accidentally wandered into the red-light district.
He originally intended to pass by quickly, but then he accidentally saw the girl standing by the roadside.
On a chilly night, even he, with his robust physique, was wearing a coat, while the black-haired girl stood by the roadside in a thin dress, rubbing her arms, enduring the ambiguous glances cast at her by passersby.
She would occasionally look up, glancing left and right, as if waiting for someone, yet not quite. She fidgeted with her hands, her eyes lowered, avoiding eye contact with others.
When she encounters passersby asking questions, she gives them halting answers, but if the passerby seems dissatisfied with the price, they might grumble and walk away, at which point she lowers her head again and waits for the next person.
Tenas should have left first, but after observing carefully for a while, he noticed that the girl's face still had a youthful innocence, and her figure was thin and small. He knew without a doubt that she was a minor.
In that instant, his first thought was: How do the guardians of Starfall City manage the city? They just let a child do this kind of thing. Are they really supervising them?
I. Starfall City Guardian Sen sneezed and rubbed his arms.
Turner couldn't stand this.
If it were an adult, there might be some difficulties, all sorts of difficulties, and he wouldn't bother them. But this girl looks really young, she doesn't even seem to be 16 years old.
On this chilly autumn night, wearing only a piece of clothing that offered little protection from the wind and exposed a lot of skin, she looked somewhat embarrassed, having stood by the roadside for who knows how long.
Without much hesitation, Turner went up.
Turner first asked her age. The girl's expression became conflicted the moment he asked, and she hesitated for a long time before finally remaining silent.
Turner patiently asked again, "How old are you?"
"21." He seemed to have made up his mind and let out a sigh of relief.
21? Impossible, she's definitely not even an adult yet. Is she afraid that no one will look for her if she doesn't lie about her age? Turner's heart clenched painfully.
Turner expressed his doubts, but the girl insisted that she was already 21 years old, so Turner stopped pressing the issue and instead asked her if she had any difficulties and why she was doing this job.
The story then unfolds about her miserable past: bullying by classmates, an unhappy family, her mother wanting a divorce but unable to do so for her daughter's sake, and the fact that both mother and daughter would be beaten.
She even said she left her mother for some reason, but the teacher didn't know if this was an excuse to escape her family or some other more tragic reason, and he didn't want to ask any more questions.
His heart softened, and he asked the girl if she would like to accept his financial assistance to go to school.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the girl refused. She looked somewhat panicked, as if she had heard something terrible.
At first, Turner thought the girl was afraid of troubling him or something, so he kept persuading her to accept his financial aid and go to school, saying that she could have a better future, and if all else failed, she could work for him to pay back the money. He told her to go to school and escape this quagmire.
But to his surprise, the girl kept refusing. Their conversation was so loud that a woman not far away noticed and shielded the girl behind her to deal with him, as if he were an unreasonable and troublesome customer.
This is actually quite easy to handle. The two of you should know each other, so you should go to school too.
He was trying to reason with her, but suddenly the woman got angry and left, leaving the girl and him staring at each other.
Turner wanted to try again, but noticed that the girl kept glancing outwards, as if she was a little nervous.
What was she so nervous about? A guess had already formed in Turner's mind: what if the girl was forced into this line of work?
Following the girl's gaze, Tenas saw someone whose first impression was that he had taken several lives—no, more than that, probably many more.
"Did he force you?" Turner asked the girl.
"What?" The girl looked up in shock. Turner interpreted this as surprise at being guessed, probably because she hadn't expected his quick thinking.
Turner guessed that the person was probably an experienced criminal, sending children out to earn money, which might indicate a group crime, or a sizable organization.
He wondered how many people, like the girl in front of him, were forced to do things they shouldn't be doing. These children should all be allowed to grow up properly.
Wait a minute, thinking about it this way, I wonder how long this kind of organization has existed. What if the adults in it were forced into this kind of thing before, growing up in this terrible environment...?
Turner dared not think any further and could only hope that he had guessed wrong.
He decided to go and meet them, but the girl stopped him.
“No…” The girl’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she timidly said, “Nothing like that happened. Nobody forced me to do it.”
Seeing the girl's pitiful state, Tenas's impulsive thoughts calmed down a bit. Perhaps the girl's fear was caused by long-term oppression. Should he take her away first before coming back to settle things?
Oh right, this is Starfall City, not his Sunfire City. It's not good to make a move in someone else's city. What if Tenas thinks the guardians of Starfall City are provoking him?
Thinking of that taciturn, gloomy weirdo in the team, Tenas frowned. He didn't even get along with him. It wasn't the right time to take action. The Starfall people were rather xenophobic.
But would Ethan really handle it? No, wait a minute. Those are just his guesses, not facts. What if it hasn't existed for a long time? But would he really do something like this right under the Guardians' noses?
Turnas had no doubt about Ethan's strength; his addition made the battles of the Guardians a bit easier. He possessed a wide variety of powerful magic, but he lacked confidence in handling matters.
His character is probably acceptable, but whether he's capable or not is another matter.
"I'll take you away from here first," Turner said to the girl, his mind racing with various thoughts.
Let's take her away now, away from this person who might be spying on the girl.
The girl was reluctant, hesitant, and her expression was so tense that she broke out in a sweat. A mix of emotions made her look rather unwell.
Are you worried about being implicated? I'm leaving now.
Tenas simply picked the girl up and, without making any rash moves to find that person, left with the girl.
Kidnapping instead of buying. Although it was wrong to take the girl away without her consent, Turner was more afraid of the girl's dangerous situation. A child of this age should grow up normally instead of standing on the street.
The girl struggled for a while on the road, but stopped struggling once she left Starfall City and quietly stayed in the car looking at her phone.
Looking up from the world of my phone, I gazed at the starry sky outside the window, stunned for a long time, and silently shed tears.
Perhaps he was happy about his escape; the future was clear and bright, and he would sponsor the girl's schooling.
Tenas has empathized with Nadia. The children are indeed pitiful, and he wants to see them escape the shadows, grow up happily, and freely grow into lush, towering trees.
Thinking this, Turner took off his coat and draped it over the girl, but the girl was so cold that Turner didn't feel any warmth at all.
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Author's Note: Ethan: True heartbreak isn't about making a scene.
Ethan received a message saying that the mission had failed and he had worked for three months for nothing, and that Mary and the others had also been implicated. The mission failed because the target became suspicious before they left. Now he couldn't escape, and he was too afraid to reveal his true identity. He felt hopeless and couldn't see the future.
Speaking of 520, I wanted to write a product review the year before last, and I thought I could write one last year, but this year I still haven't written a single word. [glasses] I'm the king of procrastination.
Do you think the new cover suits you? If not, I'll change it back. I personally think it looks weird.
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