Chapter 5 concludes the dispute and the claim of Selenetnaes, and...
As soon as Turnas finished speaking, Ethan couldn't wait to open a portal and run away; he would feel uncomfortable if he stayed even a second longer.
He had just returned to Starfall's library when he found Starfall holding a book, reading it while using magic to send books flying out of the seemingly endless bookshelves.
After being sifted through in the air, a small portion landed at his feet, while the rest were put back. There were already more than a dozen stacks of books at Xingyun's feet, almost as tall as him.
Ethan's pupils trembled. He pretended to be busy looking around, but dared not look at the books.
His aversion to learning and resistance were practically written all over his face, although he wouldn't refuse if Xingyun asked him to finish the course.
"How are you feeling? How are things going with the other guardians?" Starfall noticed his arrival, closed the book, and asked.
He had never raised such a young child before. The book said that when a child enters a new environment, such as starting school or joining a new group, it's important to be aware of the child's development.
He might feel fear, resistance, and reluctance to go, but once he accepts, he'll chatter away with his parents about what happened during the day.
Therefore, he was prepared to listen before asking Ethan.
"...I couldn't say a word." Ethan thought back to his performance and felt that he should have performed better. Would he have left a bad impression on the others? Now it was too late to regret it: "I was too nervous. I couldn't hear much of what was being discussed in the meeting. Apart from some rules and informing them of my abilities, the rest was just a summary of the last meeting."
Xingyun recalled reading in the book about children returning home either with resistance or excitement. Why was his child so downcast upon returning? The book didn't seem to be very accurate.
To think that Ethan would recall some unpleasant memories from the past right there in front of so many people at a meeting filled him with despair. He could only say that he was lucky he didn't instinctively run away when he was woken up.
If he leaves halfway through the meeting for personal reasons, wouldn't that leave an even worse impression?
The more Ethan thought about it, the worse he felt. He glanced at the books on the floor, hesitated for half a second, and then collapsed into them, burying himself in the pile. After a while, a muffled voice came out: "I don't want to go anymore. I feel like I used up all my social energy today, and I have a feeling that my performance today will leave a bad impression on them."
Well, the book is somewhat accurate. Ethan developed a bit of an escapist mentality, and his self-deception of burying himself in the book was kind of cute.
“But you still have to go.” Starfall said coldly, “You can stay silent and not participate in the activities from the sidelines, but you must be present because you are the guardian.”
"……I see."
Seeing Ethan still looking sullen, Starfall was also at a loss as to how to educate him using the parenting methods he had learned from books. Those methods should work for an ordinary child, but Ethan was not an ordinary child; he was a guardian.
What is a Guardian? A Guardian is a knight who protects the city. This position was created to guard the city from invasion and harm, and also to deal with some crimes in the city. But Starfall knows what kind of people are in his city.
It's all rotten, everyone's a complete scoundrel. So Starfall isn't very enthusiastic about selecting Guardians. Anyway, before Ethan, no Guardian was a local, because their character was all subpar and they weren't selected.
How honest and simple are the people in this city? It's like a guardian rescuing an innocent woman from being harassed by a strange man late at night, only to be stabbed in the back by her. He's a villain in every way; doesn't he know whether he himself is a villain or not? Doesn't he know whether his residents are villains or not?
Ordinary, normal people like Ethan and Selene, people with a conscience, are rare.
Therefore, Xingyun felt that there was no need for the guardian to save him, but this was a hard requirement, and he couldn't keep putting it off.
Even though the chances of Ethan being killed are low, they're not entirely impossible.
How do you raise a normal child? After much thought, Xingyun thought of Selene. As the woman who raised Ethan, it was quite an achievement to raise Ethan to be so normal that he was out of place. Maybe he should go and get to know her?
By the way, speaking of Selene.
“Ethan.” Starfall flicked his finger, tearing through the void, and took out a crystal ball from it: “This is for you. You can look at it when you miss Selene.”
Ethan immediately looked up and got up from the pile of books.
“I remember you’ve studied this kind of magic.” Starfall handed it to him. “Would you like to see Selene?”
Ethan took it, hesitated for a moment, then used alchemy to conjure a coin and tossed it upwards: "Mom, is this a situation where it's inconvenient for me to disturb you? If so, the number side."
The coin was tossed up and down, and Ethan moved his hand away, only to find it was facing the opposite side. He divined that Selene was not in the bathroom and that there was no embarrassing situation.
After letting out a sigh of relief, he poured his magic into the crystal ball. The originally blank crystal ball slowly condensed a layer of mist. When the mist dissipated, it revealed Selene.
Starfall stood beside him with his arms crossed: "Why don't you ask me? I can sense everything that happens in this city. Wouldn't it be faster to ask me?" He was just joking, just saying it casually. If Ethan relied on him for everything, he would have a headache.
Upon hearing this, Ethan abruptly turned his head: "...You can know everything? So you can sense when my mother is taking a shower too?"
"..." Xingyun wondered how Ethan could change so quickly? From being timid and hesitant at the beginning, he had become so rude now. His expression was so fierce when he mentioned his mother. He hadn't expected him to be a mother-obsessed person.
Before Ethan's expression worsened, Starfall cleared his name: "I'm not that idle. It's just that she's your mother. I usually keep a sliver of my senses to ensure her life isn't threatened. If you want to know her current condition, you'll have to go and see for yourself."
“Lord City Lord,” Ethan’s expression was still not good, and he said slowly and deliberately, “This is good enough. I will also leave relevant magic on Mother, so please do not pry into her life.” What if Selene is doing something private?
"What do you mean by that?" The city's will, which was usually free to do as it pleased and had never been treated like this before, narrowed its eyes: "Do you think I'm that kind of person? You need to understand, I am Starfall City. Everything they do to me will automatically harass me. I need to block them to get a little peace and quiet."
The atmosphere between them almost froze. Ethan knew he was acting impulsively. He was facing the city lord who had given him a new life, the will of the city where he was born and raised, but he just couldn't tolerate his mother's life, which might be completely devoid of privacy at any time.
He didn't know why he was being so tough on Xingyun. He couldn't say a word to anyone else, but now he was arguing with Xingyun.
Xingyun sneered, said nothing more, and vanished in an instant—he was gone.
Ethan paused, looking at where Starfall had been standing, then looked down at Selene in the crystal ball. She was working; she had found a new job after her divorce. Not long after, he chose to disconnect the magical connection.
Ethan knew that his attachment to his mother was abnormal, but it was all thanks to Selene's guidance that he was able to grow up in an environment with an abusive father, bullying classmates, and ignored teachers and still be considered kind.
Selene was his Achilles' heel. He used to think quite often that if Selene died, he wouldn't live either. He couldn't bear a world without his mother. Even if his mother forgot him, he could still endure it, but losing his mother was the only thing he couldn't bear.
Now that Xingyun has left, he has calmed down and reflected on the things he said in a moment of impulse. It was really his fault; he shouldn't have been so harsh with Xingyun. He should apologize to him afterward.
However, he was still forbidden from spying on his mother. Ethan reflected on his actions but remained firm. He had already decided to leave Selene with magic to protect her and monitor her safety. He might be a bit controlling, but he was genuinely worried about something happening to Selene.
Ethan Nix has reflected on his actions, but doesn't intend to change much.
After leaving, Xingyun became angrier and angrier. As she sorted out what had just happened, she became even angrier and angrier. She felt like she was laughing in anger.
Was he too good to Ethan? Did he let him get away with it? He was just raising a kid for the first time, no, he didn't plan to raise him in the first place, or was he being too indulgent in some way, leading Ethan to misunderstand that he could tolerate excessive behavior?
Xingyun smiled as he thought, but his hand unconsciously crushed the coffee cup's handle, spilling the remaining coffee all over the table and his suit. Xingyun's smile deepened.
Everything's going wrong. He originally wanted to get some fresh air and calm down at a newly opened coffee shop, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and now he's drunk all the coffee with his suit jacket.
Xingyun hadn't felt like laughing like this in a long time. He genuinely felt like laughing, so he burst out laughing.
The shop assistant watched helplessly as the man in the bespoke suit, seemingly lost in thought, squeezed the coffee cup handle harder and harder, eventually crushing it and spilling all the coffee.
And what was the result?
He laughed, and the laugh grew wider and wider until he laughed out loud. He didn't seem angry at all; on the contrary, he seemed to be in a very good mood.
But the shop assistant didn't think so. He felt that the dark aura behind the man gathered more and more with every laugh. It was terrifying. Could he be some kind of pleasure criminal?
He never seemed like a good person to begin with, and his smile made him even less so; it gave off a kind of beauty that seemed like he was about to kill everyone at any moment.
Xingyun laughed for a while before returning to his expressionless state. With a snap of his fingers, the coffee flowed back from the table and his suit into the cup, leaving the stem intact. The coffee looked as if it had just been poured, but Xingyun would not drink it.
He paid the bill and began to stroll around Starfall City again. His mood was getting worse and worse, so he decided to see if walking could calm him down. He didn't know how long he walked before he gradually calmed down.
He was about to turn around and leave when he realized that he had somehow ended up in front of a bookstore, with parenting books displayed right next to him.
Starfall felt that these books weren't what he needed; they were useless to Ethan, and he scoffed at them. Just as he was still being dismissive, a figure passed by him from behind. As if sensing something, Starfall turned around—it was Selene.
...Did he actually walk all the way to Selene's closing time?
A note from the author:
----------------------
Both Ethan and Starfall have problems. In fact, Starfall is still a bit arrogant at heart. The local customs and the personality of the city's will are not too different. As for Ethan, he has a mother complex.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
