After the unlucky male player was sent flying, Clara quickly realized her mistake.
Because it was done out of habit, she had forgotten her savior was behind her.
"D-Don't worry, Savior. I will never treat you like that." Clara hurriedly explained, almost as if she was afraid of displeasing Xu Feng.
Instead of replying to her, Xu Feng turned his attention to Allison. "Do you mind waiting in the lobby for a bit? I'll send you some guides about Riverwood Town and what you can do."
Nodding, Allison seemed to understand that he wished to speak with Clara privately. It was quite clear that the two had some history, especially when she had overheard some of the onlooker's words about something insurgent.
"Okay, I'll just read the guides you sent me in the meantime. I can take a break for the moment." Allison readily agreed and searched for a seat to make herself comfortable.
Once she left, Xu Feng turned to Clara and said, "We'll talk once in the private room."
Sometime later, as Clara brought Xu Feng to a private room, he had already sent some of the guides for Allison to spend time with.
"Please take a seat. I'll pour you some tea." Clara swiftly said, bringing him some tea to drink.
Watching her in a hurry, Xu Feng raised his hand and stopped her. "It's alright, Clara. Why don't you take a seat as well?"
Nodding, Clara didn't reject his suggestion and hastily found a seat to sit on. Her emotion was fluctuating quite a bit, clearly not anticipating meeting her savior on such an occasion.
Meanwhile, Xu Feng didn't beat around the bush and asked directly. "Have you been feeling some PTSD?"
"Eh… no, why?" She was startled by the sudden question. Her eyes seemed to be shifting toward the left, avoiding eye contact.
"Seems like it is." He muttered after seeing her reaction. Due to her experience, Xu Feng didn't expect her to develop PTSD (Post-Trauma Stress Disorder) because of her courage and bravery. But it appeared that she was merely hiding it real deeply.
"Why would I feel some PTSD, Wind?" Clara laughed awkwardly. "I'm speaking quite comfortably with you."
"Yes, but if I'm not the person you're speaking to, but another man, then you might have sent them flying by now, right?" Xu Feng calmly spoke, not trying to agitate her.
Silent, Clara lowered her head, her hands fidgeting somewhat.
Yes, she was a Tier 2 fighter now, but the past incident still probably haunted her. And Xu Feng suspected the reason for her fast growth was her desire to be able to protect herself from harm.
"Clara, one of my companions received your mission, Vanquishing Hideout. I was planning on helping her along the way, so do you wish to join us?" Xu Feng decided to change the topic after seeing Clara's condition.
"Can I really join?" Lifting her head up, Clara held a surprised look. Clearly, she didn't anticipate being asked to join Xu Feng.
'I can really join him?' She thought to herself, feeling joyful on the inside.
Although she was stronger than Xu Feng currently, her mindset still lingered in the time when Xu Feng heroically rescued them from danger.
Truth be told, Clara was really disappointed when she was brought to the Town Hall and barely managed to compose her emotions. And when she finally regained it, she went to Sandy and asked for Xu Feng's whereabouts, only to be informed that he had gone to a city.
When she received the news, she nearly panicked and wondered if it was because she was too weak to tag along, resulting in her striving her best to become stronger.
As she trained day and night, her effort finally bore fruit, but amidst that downside was that she had developed a fear of strangers— men in particular.
Aside from Xu Feng and his companion from back then, she perceived the men as similar to Rolph, and a natural disgust formed within her mind.
Thus, whenever they approached her too closely or even tried to flirt with her, she would instantly send them all flying, with the most severe people being detained on the spot.
This continued until the present when she finally re-encounter her savior even though he was in disguise.
She knew he was in disguise, but she didn't plan on prying into it. Her savior did not need to explain what he wanted to do, given it should be something righteous anyway.
While Clara was fully immersed in her own thoughts, Xu Feng crossed his legs and smiled lightly.
"Of course, you can join us. A tier 2 fighter isn't to be underestimated, but I must first warn you. I'm not a good guy." He calmly said, warning her in advance that he wasn't the type of guy who was filled with green flags and rainbows.
"You are a good guy in my eyes." Clara's expression turned solemn and she declared adamantly. "Good and bad is about the perspective of the person. I know that Rolph is a bad guy, so he deserved his ending, but you… my savior is a good guy."
"Oh, but what about the other men that you sent flying?" Amused, he curiously asked, pressing on the matter.
"They are neutral because I can't differentiate them." Clara respectfully and honestly responded.
"I see… so you automatically defaulted them as bad guys." Xu Feng lightly said and exposed her inner thoughts. By throwing her off course and changing the focus in her mind, Xu Feng effectively diagnosed the cause of her actions almost with relative ease.
Dumbfounded, Clara was rendered speechless, unable to believe she had just revealed her mindset. Embarrassed and ashamed, she nearly wanted to dash out of the room to flee.
Thankfully, she didn't need to when Xu Feng nodded his head and explained, "I also have such a mindset, Clara. People are unpredictable so it's hard to know if they are good or bad. But to be honest, everyone is just in the gray area. Just like you said, good and bad are about the perspective of themselves, so why don't we start giving others a chance before giving them the guilty verdict?"