Chapter 44: Someone’s Following Us

Several days passed just like that.

Campus life remained calm and beautiful, as if nothing had ever happened.

During this time, Luna devoted herself entirely to training with Eliza.

Her progress was astonishing—now, she could barely absorb magic on her own without Eliza’s help.

And miraculously, her absences from class hadn’t been discovered by Xiao Xi and the others.

Before each class, she would always leave a note, briefly explaining that she had gone to the Training Room ahead.

Then she would quietly leave with Eliza.

As for her ‘sneaking off’ like this, Xiao Xi and the others would only ask a few questions, but never pressed further.

As time went on, they all grew used to Luna’s habit of going early.

However, behind this peace, the Hunter Association of Water City had fallen into unprecedented turmoil!

In the Hunter Association Meeting Room, the atmosphere was heavy and tense.

A newspaper was slapped onto the table with a crisp “pa” sound.

The one who slammed the table was the President of the Water City Hunter Association, [Eye of Heaven].

At this moment, his face was filled with seriousness and worry.

Those attending the meeting included Principal Tan and several Elder Hunters from Water City.

They sat around the meeting table, the mood somber and focused, every eye on [Eye of Heaven] and the newspaper before him.

The front page headline drew everyone’s attention—the image and the bold title burned into their minds.

In the picture, a Hunter stood beside the corpse of a Demon, facing the camera with a victorious smile—a smile full of satisfaction with the situation.

And the striking title, “[Demon Infighting]!” was like a sword piercing the heart, impossible to ignore.

“Another one! What on earth is going on?!”

[Eye of Heaven]’s voice exploded in the meeting room, his eyes full of deep dissatisfaction and doubt.

He glared sternly at every Elder Hunter present, clearly displeased with the newspaper report.

The Elder Hunters exchanged glances, secretly speculating, but none dared to speak lightly.

In just a few days, Water City had seen a flood of reports about Demon corpses being discovered.

When the Hunter Association intervened to investigate, they were equally perplexed.

Surveillance footage had captured segments of the incidents, and the images made it clear—the ones who killed these Demons were also Demons.

Because of this, [Eye of Heaven] was furious—these incidents were not the work of Hunters.

“President, isn’t this good? Let those Demons kill each other—we can reap the benefits.”

One Elder Hunter spoke up, naively believing that the infighting was good news for the Hunter Association.

However, [Eye of Heaven]’s anger ignited instantly at those words.

“Idiot! I’ve already investigated these Demons one by one—they’re nothing but ordinary Black Households with no backgrounds! This must be the work of those Empire Secret Guard scum behind the scenes!”

He declared.

He had already dispatched people to thoroughly investigate the dead Demons.

The results revealed these Demons were just ordinary Black Households, nothing more.

As for the Demons who killed their own kind, [Eye of Heaven] was certain it was the work of the Empire Secret Guard behind the scenes.

“Why… would they act like this…”

[Eye of Heaven] could not understand.

Why would the Empire Secret Guard take such actions?

This became the greatest doubt in his heart.

He speculated that there must be a massive conspiracy lurking beneath the surface.

Yet what [Eye of Heaven] could never have guessed was that Hanmos did all this because of the failure of the previous capture operation.

He wanted to track down the true identities of those assisting ‘Traitors’.

Because of this, he launched a citywide hunt for these ‘Traitors’.

Even those with no direct or indirect connection to the incident would be mercilessly killed.

He had to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again.

He was determined to eradicate any potential threats.

But these facts were unknown to [Eye of Heaven] and the others.

They were still trying to discern whether there was an even deeper conspiracy at work.

“All of you, report any recent developments!”

The President ordered loudly.

He wanted to know if there had been any unusual activity aside from these incidents.

However, the Elder Hunters all reported that there were no other special activities in their territories aside from the Demon infighting.

“Other than Demon infighting, nothing else…is that so…”

The President propped his chin with his hands, anxiety all over his face.

“What are they thinking…?”

He was full of confusion, unable to comprehend why the Empire Secret Guard would take such actions.

“Sigh…”

Thinking of this, the President let out a helpless sigh, troubled.

“…All Elder Hunters, be sure to notify the Hunters in your regions to strengthen patrols. Report any sign of trouble immediately.”

After giving these instructions, the President dismissed the Elder Hunters back to their territories.

Now, only the Principal and [Eye of Heaven] remained in the meeting room.

The President slumped in his chair, clearly unhappy with the outcome.

“You saw it too, Principal Tan.”

“Yes… The actions of the Empire Secret Guard are truly hard to understand.”

The Principal replied, also finding the whole thing strange.

Why would they target Black Households with nothing to their names?

It was completely unlike the usual methods of the Empire Secret Guard.

“Did you check carefully? The Demons who were killed.”

The Principal asked [Eye of Heaven] again.

“Yes. We conducted a thorough investigation of their identities, workplaces, and residences. All confirmed—they were Black Households who escaped from the Demon Realm without any legal status.”

The President confirmed.

From the first case, he had investigated deeply, concluding that these dead Demons were not spies or important figures—just ordinary Black Households.

Principal Tan listened, deep in thought, even more puzzled about the Empire Secret Guard’s motives.

“Could it be…to silence them?”

The Principal voiced his own speculation, considering it a likely motive.

“Silence… It’s possible. But we didn’t find any useful clues on the Demons’ corpses, let alone any connections.”

[Eye of Heaven] responded, a helpless expression on his face.

“How are things at your Academy?”

The President turned to ask about the Academy, whether there had been any incidents.

“Nothing. There have been no incidents at our Academy. No matter how mad the Empire Secret Guard are, they wouldn’t step foot into the Academy.”

As a school for human Espers, the Principal was confident that no matter how crazy the Empire Secret Guard became, they wouldn’t risk their lives by entering the Academy.

“Hmm… Then let’s leave it here for now, Principal Tan. If anything happens, we’ll be in touch.”

“All right…”

The meeting ended inconclusively, with no valuable leads.

For a moment, it seemed humanity had fallen into a passive state…

***

Meanwhile, on Luna’s side…

Luna was still sitting in that forest, meditating and absorbing magic without Eliza’s help.

Eliza sat not far away, watching her practice.

She had somehow found a table and chairs, even set up a sunshade umbrella, and was leisurely enjoying sweets and tea bought from Sweetland.

During this time, Luna had been deliberately avoiding Dai Lina.

She still didn’t know how to explain things to her.

But fortunately, when Luna went to the store, Dai Lina wasn’t there, so she managed to avoid her by chance.

As for why she went to buy sweets…wasn’t it to pay respect to her ‘Master’?

Eliza took a light bite of her sweet, then sipped her tea, her face full of contentment and comfort.

“Ha~”

She couldn’t help letting out a long sigh, savoring the rare peace.

Enjoying…

The feeling of leveling up a Little Account is really nice.

She murmured to herself, her eyes filled with satisfaction and pride for Luna.

In her heart, Luna was her carefully cultivated “Little Account”.

Watching Luna’s growth and progress brought her immense achievement and joy.

However, as Eliza gazed at the vast land, her feelings suddenly grew complicated.

A vague sorrow and pain quietly surged in her chest, as if this land held too many memories and wounds.

“This is the place…”

She whispered, complex emotions flickering in her eyes.

Here was the intersection of her own path and the history of the Demon Realm—the place that witnessed great upheaval.

But…to Eliza now, those past events no longer mattered.

She only wanted to cherish the peaceful life before her, and spend every simple, beautiful moment with her beloved child.

“All right, little one. That’s enough Training for today.”

After finishing her last sip of tea, Eliza gently called to Luna.

Hearing this, Luna slowly stood from her mat and walked over to Eliza’s side.

She poured Luna another cup of tea.

“What time is it, Eliza?”

After taking a sip, Luna asked.

“Almost six. Let’s head back.”

Eliza replied with a smile, her tone full of doting affection.

With a little tidying up, they returned to the dormitory bedroom.

***

After dinner, as night fell, Luna walked alone along the Academy streets.

Moonlight poured over her like water, draping her in a silver veil.

Eliza quietly walked beside Luna, both of them basking in the tranquility of the night.

As for why she wasn’t walking with Xiao Xi—it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but because she hadn’t seen her sister since returning to the dorm.

So she had to go to the cafeteria and eat alone, then wandered the Academy streets by herself.

At least Eliza was still with her…

“…Little one.”

Walking along the road, Eliza suddenly called out softly to Luna.

“Hm?”

Luna turned her head, seeing Eliza’s serious expression.

“Someone is following us…”