"Miller, I'm telling you! Why did you bring strangers into the village? Don't you know how dangerous that is?" Nors heard a gruff voice shouting angrily as soon as he stepped outside.
"Yes, Miller! Have you forgotten about your parents...?" one of them began but hesitated, seemingly concerned about something.
"No, they're not those people! Listen to me..." Miller tried desperately to explain, but he was quickly drowned out by the noisy crowd.
"Hurry and drive them away! Otherwise, they'll cause trouble again!" A villager shouted angrily. "They uprooted my vegetables before!" Just thinking about those despicable outsiders ruining their crops made the villager furious, his eyes turning red with anger.
"And they harassed our village girls! They see a pretty face and start bothering them!"
"What! That's outrageous! Get them out of here!"
"Yeah, drive them all away!"
The villagers began to agree in unison. Ever since those people appeared, the village hadn't had a single peaceful day.
"But what if they have those strange weapons? We can't fight them!" a frail young man said, trembling slightly.
"I checked, they don't have any weapons. I don't believe we can't drive them out!" A hot-blooded young man shouted, brandishing an iron shovel menacingly.
Nors emerged from the house to find a group of male villagers gathered outside Miller's house. Some were unarmed but muscular, with fierce expressions. Some held pots and pans, while others had picked up shovels, ready to fight.
One of the villagers saw Nors and immediately shouted, "I'm not afraid of you! If you know what's good for you, go back to where you came from! We're not to be messed with!"
A muscular villager raised his fist, ready to fight at any moment.
Alex and the others heard the commotion and came outside. Celia approached Nors and asked quietly, "What's going on, brother?"
Nors patted his sister's head to reassure her. "Nothing, don't worry. Leave it to me."
He stepped forward and introduced himself confidently, "Hello, everyone. I'm Nors, this is my sister Celia, and these are my companions." He stepped aside to let everyone else introduce themselves.
Scarlett walked up and greeted the villagers, "Hello, I'm Scarlett."
Alex leaned against the wall and coolly said, "Yo, I'm Alex."
Hearing Alex's dramatic introduction, Scarlett barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Ethan introduced himself warmly, waving his right hand, "Hello, I'm Ethan."
After the introductions, Nors explained, "We are mages from the Shadow Academy, representing the Academy to investigate these strangers. We mean no harm."
Nors' calm demeanor made the villagers hesitate, but they remained wary. One of them said suspiciously, "How can you prove it? You're dressed just like those people, in those strange outfits!"
What!?
Strange outfits? These were the specially designed uniforms of the Shadow Academy!
The length of the scarf represented the mage's rank. Most boys wore it around their necks, while most girls tied it into a beautiful bow at the back. When they ran, the scarves flowed gracefully, looking very elegant.
How could these villagers call them strange? Everyone's expressions were hard to describe, but seeing the villagers' doubtful looks, they started to question the Academy's aesthetic standards.
Nors felt both helpless and amused. He wasn't too bothered since his interstellar world had all sorts of bizarre clothing. He pointed to the badge on his chest, "This is the Star Rank Badge, which proves our identity."
The villagers looked at the golden star-shaped badge on Nors' chest. The soft sunlight reflected off the badge, creating a faint halo, and the villagers were immediately impressed.
"What should we do? Maybe they're not bad people after all?" The villagers looked at each other and began to discuss in whispers.
"They don't seem like it," a thin villager hesitated.
"But what if they're tricking us?" another villager worried.
"No, I don't think they're lying," one villager suggested.
"Don't be naive. Bad people don't have 'bad person' written on their faces," another retorted.
The villagers debated for a while but couldn't conclude. After all, their world was limited to their small village, and they knew little about the outside world.
"That is indeed a Star Rank Badge, signifying their status as mages," an elderly voice said from behind.
"The village chief is here, make way!" The villagers' voices rose as they quickly cleared a path.
An elderly man, around sixty years old, walked with a limp, using a cane.
The village chief approached Nors and his companions, saying slowly, "I am the village chief. I apologize for their rash behavior."
Nors understood, finally someone with authority. He shook his head and said immediately, "It's alright, we understand."
The village chief looked at each of them before focusing on Nors. "If you don't mind, please come to my house as guests. I'd like to properly welcome you." Nors knew the chief probably wanted to discuss something with them. He looked at his companions, and after getting their nods, he agreed.
The village chief's house was in the center of the village, a brick building with faded paint, showing its age.
In the living room, the chief sat on the sofa, deep in thought.
"So, the Academy was also attacked by these villains?" he asked.
Nors nodded, "Yes if I'm not mistaken, they probably came from the same place."
The chief stroked his beard, thinking, then frowned, "So what's your plan?"
Nors and his companions exchanged glances and shook their heads, "Unfortunately, we can't destroy the gates yet, so we can only seal them, but not now."
"Why not now?" The chief asked, puzzled.
"We need to rest first and also observe these people's behavior," Nors explained.
The chief's face darkened, "So you mean to let them continue causing trouble in our village?"
Nors understood the chief's discomfort but explained, "The situation is unclear, so we plan to observe for a while. Don't worry, if they act too aggressively, we will stop them immediately."
The chief closed his eyes, thinking for a long time before reluctantly agreeing. They had no other options, after all. They couldn't let more villagers get hurt.
"Alright, you can stay at my house for now. Miller's house is too small. My wife has already prepared dinner for you."
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms to rest. There were five rooms in the chief's house, and Nors was relieved to share one with his sister.
Scarlett decided to go for a walk after dinner and saw Alex squatting under the eaves, pretending to be deep in thought.
In the dim light, his handsome profile was faintly visible.
Honestly, besides Nors' top-tier looks, Alex was the second most handsome guy. Many girls in the Academy secretly admired him, trying to get close to him. But he was clueless about girls' feelings, always making them cry.
The only one who approached him was Scarlett, though it often led to arguments or fights.
As for Nors, he was a super sister-con, always talking about his sister. Many girls lost interest halfway through.
Ethan was a different case. It wasn't that he wasn't popular; girls said he was too gentle, like central heating, not special at all, which they hated the most.
So, Alex became unexpectedly popular, but he didn't know it. Scarlett was immune to his good looks.
"What are you doing? Pretending to be deep?" Scarlett patted Alex's head.
"Ow! I've told you many times! My smart brain will be ruined by your hits!" Alex quickly protected his head, preventing Scarlett from hitting him again. Scarlett rolled her eyes elegantly.
Scarlett waited for his retort, but when he stayed silent, she turned to ask him.
Here he was, pretending to be deep again.
Scarlett sighed and squatted beside him, "What's wrong?"
Alex hugged his knees, squatting ungracefully, and said in a low voice, "I just feel that Nors and Celia seem so distant."
"Really? I don't see it. They look the same." Scarlett knew what he meant. The afternoon's events had triggered his sensitive side.
Alex, usually not very bright, could be quite sensitive sometimes.
It wasn't just Alex; everyone knew. At the Academy, Nors was a polite, outstanding young man, except for being a sister-con. But Scarlett knew his smiles never reached his eyes; he was quite cold inside.
Celia, the strongest of their generation, was usually sunny and cute but also had a ruthless side.
People have their boundaries and secrets; there's no need to dig too deep.
Scarlett thought and then said, "But have you considered, maybe they weren't killed?" Alex looked at her, "When Celia shot them, there was no blood, and they turned into light."
Scarlett paused, then said seriously, "I suspect they were teleported, not killed."
Alex's eyes widened in disbelief, "Teleported? Where? Inside the gate? What's in there?"
"Who knows?" Scarlett shrugged.
"Ahhh! I can't figure it out!" Alex grabbed his hair in frustration.
Scarlett chuckled, stood up, and continued her walk. Before leaving, she said, "With your intelligence, it's too hard for you. Don't bother."
"What did you say? Say it again if you dare!" Alex exploded, running after Scarlett for another argument.
As their voices faded, Ethan stood quietly in the corner, his eyes thoughtful.