The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 44: Chapter 31: Book Signing (Part 1)

It was noon.

Since it was the weekend, the downtown commercial pedestrian district was quickly filled with people out shopping on their day off, becoming lively and crowded.

For the local residents who had long lived in Old Segal City, this level of congestion was something they were used to. The ones who found it unbearable were the tourists from smaller cities.

"Why are there so many people?"

"If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the Day of Abstinence started early."

A young man in a baseball cap, squeezed by the massive crowd, couldn’t help but complain.

The Day of Abstinence was a global religious holiday commemorating the birth of the Gods. After morning prayers at Elderidge Cathedral, people would pour out into the streets to celebrate. The month-long holiday brought every city to a fever pitch, making it the most bustling time of the year for the entire world.

But even on the Day of Abstinence, the young man had never been this crammed. All he could see was a sea of heads and backs, making it hard to even find his way. To put it dramatically, he felt that even if he stood still, the tide of people would push him forward.

Not everyone enjoys the hustle and bustle.

"If it weren’t for that damn author’s book signing, I wouldn’t have bothered coming," the young man muttered.

He noticed police officers stationed every few meters along the street but didn’t think much of it. frёeωebɳovel.com

’With so many people in the pedestrian area, it makes sense to have more police to maintain order.’

He followed the signs and billboards, weaving his way laboriously through the crowd. It wasn’t until he finally arrived at the mall hosting the book signing that he realized something seemed a bit off...

’So many police officers.’

’And they’re carrying guns.’

’It’s like robbers are holding hostages in the mall or something.’

’Maintaining order is important, sure, but isn’t this deployment a bit excessive?’

Many passersby who had stopped were also discussing it amongst themselves.

"What’s happening here?"

"Is it a crime scene?"

"I don’t think so. If it were a crime scene, would they let us get this close to gawk?"

"I heard some author is having a book signing here today... Look, the poster is right there."

A very conspicuous spot—the mall entrance.

Not just anyone could get a promotional spot that visible, one that every passerby would notice. Previously, such spots were reserved for major brands and their celebrity spokespeople. This was the first time an ad for an individual had appeared there.

The poster had a classic design featuring the book cover and the author himself, so the book, the author, and what he looked like were all clear at a glance.

"Moon and Knight? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere..."

"This book is really good," a girl said.

The person next to her asked, "You’ve read it? What’s it about?"

The girl replied, "No, but he’s so handsome! How could a story written by a guy that good-looking be bad?"

Everyone: "?"

Ignoring their scornful looks, the girl stared at Sean’s poster with sparkling eyes. "From this moment on, I’m his fan. I wonder if he’s... into his fans..."

The others continued their serious discussion. "I still think this is overkill. It’s just a book signing. No matter how famous he is, he wouldn’t need this many cops, right? This is almost on par with the mayor’s election speech a couple of months ago."

"Besides, he’s so young. I’m a bookworm who’s been reading for ten years and I’ve never even heard of him. What fame?"

"Maybe he has powerful connections?"

The young man caught two keywords—"young" and "handsome." A bad feeling instantly rose in his heart, and he pushed through the crowd with renewed effort, finally getting a look at the poster displayed at the mall entrance.

"Damn it, isn’t that Sean?!"

The young man was none other than Charles.

His eyes widened. ’That damn author, not a single word out of his mouth is true,’ he thought. ’He even lied to a die-hard fan like me. Who else could that be but the Sean from the Void Technique Space?’

’This is bad. This is really bad.’ Cursing Sean for being a liar, Charles quickly pulled out his phone. He tried to private message Sean through the group chat, but got no response. He then @’d Sean in the group chat.

"@InnocentCollegeBoy, don’t come to the book signing!"

Charles knew very well that these police officers... no, all the police officers in the entire Siracle State were in league with that gang of Witch Hunters. He had once personally witnessed a townswoman being accused of being an evil Wizard. Her appeal was fruitless; instead, the city police department itself sent people to take the woman to a field, tie her to a cross, and burn her alive.

These sanctimonious bastards were far more brutal and insidious than ordinary people could imagine.

Charles sent three messages in a row to warn Sean, but they were quickly pushed off-screen by other readers’ posts.

"@everyone, bros, our damn author has made it big!"

"Look at this!"

Someone posted a photo from the scene in the group chat, immediately causing a flurry of messages.

"OMG, why are there so many cops?"

"They can’t all be here to protect the damn author, can they?"

"Did he get into trouble, or did someone else get into trouble in the mall?"

"Could it be he wrote something he shouldn’t have and got arrested?"

"No, no, no, definitely not," another reader said. "I’m here at the scene too, and I can tell you for a fact, there’s no active incident. These cops are just here to maintain order."

"What do you call prestige?"

"This is prestige!"

"Even the city council doesn’t have as much pull as our damn author!"

Clearly, Charles wasn’t the only fan who had come to attend Sean’s book signing.

Many readers who were too far away or couldn’t make it for other reasons were starting to feel regretful watching the grand scene unfold. They began @’ing people at the event: "Get a copy for me!"

"Me too!" freёwebnovel.com

"I want three copies! Make the damn author sign a few extra times!"

Sean never replied. Charles was at a loss. He couldn’t just enter the Void Technique Space right then and there to find Sean—not that Sean would necessarily be there anyway. Watching his fellow book fans, who were oblivious to the truth, excitedly gossip and flood the chat, all he could do was pray for Sean in his heart. He prayed that Sean would get hit by a truck on his way over and not make it to the book signing.

But it seemed the Master had not heard his silent plea.

Sean still came.

Not only did he come, but he was also dressed to kill.

Clad in a sharp suit, with an outstanding air about him and his hair neatly combed, he looked every bit the equal of a movie star on set.

The moment he appeared, many women cheered, including some who had no idea what was going on.

"So handsome! No wonder the movies he’s in are so good!"

"? He’s a fucking author."

"What? He writes books too? So he’s cultured? Isn’t that way better than those illiterate celebrities? I’m a fan, I’m a fan!"

"..."

The book signing hadn’t officially started yet, but judging by the enthusiasm of the onlookers, it could already be considered a great success.

People are visual creatures; they usually only bother to learn more about something if it appeals to them at first glance. And capital knows how to create buzz—who knew how many people in that shouting crowd were plants hired by the publisher?

It was foreseeable that after today, the popularity of both Sean’s work and Sean himself would increase dramatically.

The new fans were full of enthusiasm, but some of the old fans were already thinking of running for the hills.

For example, Charles.

He watched Sean smiling, gracefully and calmly greeting the crowd, and screamed internally: ’You’re about to die, and you have time to interact with the crowd?’

’Check your fucking phone!’

Charles was dying of anxiety.

"Dammit, you damn liar!"

Not only did he trick him into spending money to buy and read his book, but he also toyed with his emotions.

If he had known earlier that *this* Sean was *that* Sean, he definitely would have stopped him from coming to the book signing.

It was too late to say anything now.

Watching the large wave of people follow Sean into the mall, Charles really wanted to turn around and walk away, pretending he didn’t know Sean and had never read his book. He hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he grit his teeth, cursed under his breath, and followed them inside.

...