Moth

The applause lasted for a dozen seconds before slowly dying down.

The atmosphere in the assembly hall was noticeably different from when it had started.

Originally, many of the girls had come with the mindset of just listening.

Now, quite a few of them were actually taking notes, especially the students from ordinary families in the back rows.

They knew very well that what Ryan had just said was far more valuable than the teachers' usual lessons on etiquette, refinement, and character.

Because those were things truly related to making a living.

Survival.

Earning money.

Finding a job.

These things were never elegant.

Yet they were more important than anything else.

Ryan closed the last page of his documents.

His gaze swept across the assembly hall.

Some were bowing their heads to take notes.

Some were whispering in discussion.

A few female teachers were also exchanging glances.

They were clearly very satisfied with the outcome of this presentation.

Just then, a slight prickling pain suddenly came from deep within his left eye, as if something had gently brushed against a nerve.

Ryan's movements paused for an imperceptible fraction of a second.

Lantern's glow.

It was reacting.

He did not immediately search for the source. Instead, he bowed his head to organize his documents first. This was a habit he had recently developed: do not look right away, do not show any abnormality, and do not let others know you have noticed anything.

Three seconds later.

He raised his head naturally, just like an ordinary person.

His gaze casually drifted across the assembly hall.

In the next moment, he saw a woman sitting in the corner of the very back row of the assembly hall.

She wore a long black dress and a wide-brimmed hat.

She was unusually quiet.

The surrounding students were all applauding and talking, yet she remained completely still, as if she had been sitting there from the very beginning, or perhaps had only just appeared.

Ryan's heart sank slightly, because he actually could not recall when this person had entered.

As a holder of the Lantern aspect, his observation skills far exceeded those of ordinary people.

An adult suddenly appearing in the assembly hall should have been impossible to ignore.

Yet the reality was that until his Lantern's glow reacted, he had not noticed her at all.

Ryan only took a single glance before immediately averting his eyes, not continuing to observe her.

Never stare at a strange extraordinary being for long, especially when their aspect is unknown.

Some things, when you look at them, will look back at you.

The assembly hall gradually grew lively. Many students began to stand up, while the teachers busied themselves with maintaining order.

Ryan pretended nothing had happened and continued to tidy his documents, but a portion of his attention remained focused on that direction.

The woman in the black dress still sat there.

Quiet.

Silent.

Like an ordinary parent.

But Ryan knew she was not, because the Lantern's glow was still fluctuating slightly.

Though the amplitude was small, it never stopped.

The feeling was like seeing a blurry fire in the dark.

Even if one did not know what it was exactly, they could be certain something was there.

By this time, Irene and Lucy had squeezed their way through the crowd to him.

Lucy was clearly still immersed in the speech from earlier, both of her eyes shining brightly.

“Mr. Ryan!”

“You actually know how to give a speech!”

Ryan glanced at her.

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course it is.” Lucy nodded seriously. “I thought you would be too nervous to speak.”

Irene chimed in from the side. “Me too.”

Ryan: “...”

The two girls immediately burst into laughter.

The surrounding students left one after another, and the assembly hall grew emptier. Under the cover of their conversation, Ryan glanced back at the rear row again. It was already empty. The woman in the black dress was gone, as if she had never been there.

Ryan frowned slightly. Had she left? Or had she changed locations? He did not continue to search, but silently noted the incident in his mind. This was the correct approach: record and observe, rather than immediately rushing in.

Just then, Lucy suddenly lowered her voice. “But there was someone really strange in the back just now.”

Ryan's heart stirred, but his face remained expressionless. “Who?”

“A lady in a black dress.” Lucy recalled, “I saw her when I turned around earlier. I thought she was some student's parent, but she was gone in the blink of an eye.”

Irene was also taken aback. “Was there?”

“Yes, there was,” Lucy said. “Right in the back row.”

Irene shook her head. “I didn't notice.”

Ryan did not probe further, but he was already certain in his heart that it was not his imagination.

Lucy was an ordinary person, yet she had also sensed something unusual. This meant the woman indeed existed and was not a pure hallucination; she had simply used some special method to minimize her presence.

Thinking of this, Ryan actually relaxed a bit. At least for now, the other party showed no hostility; otherwise, she would have had plenty of opportunities to strike in the assembly hall.

Outside the assembly hall, the clock tower chimed in a low tone. The afternoon classes were about to begin, and the students were returning to their classrooms.

Irene organized her books. “We should go.”

Ryan nodded. “Yes.” Then he added, “Go home with Lucy.”

Irene gave him a strange look. “We always do.”

“I mean after school, don't wander off.”

Irene found this even more baffling, but she still nodded. “Got it.”

Lucy blinked from the side. “You suddenly sound like my father.”

Ryan did not bother to explain and simply waved his hand. “Go to class.”

After the two girls left, the assembly hall gradually fell quiet, leaving only a few workers tidying up the chairs.

Clutching his documents, Ryan stood in place and fell silent for a moment. Ultimately, he did not chase after her, because he knew very well that he was not a hunter—at least, not yet.

His experience at East Port had already proven that he was still a long way from being a true extraordinary being. Rashly tailing an unknown entity was no different from seeking death.

Yet just as he was preparing to leave, the Lantern's glow deep within his left eye suddenly vibrated gently again, even more noticeably than before.

Ryan instinctively looked up. At the end of the second-floor corridor of the assembly hall, a black figure was standing quietly, watching him.

A black dress, a wide-brimmed hat—it was indeed the woman from earlier. She did not hide herself, nor did she leave. Instead, she stood there in plain sight, as if deliberately letting him see her.

In the next second, the woman slightly raised her hand, gently adjusting the brim of her hat with movements as elegant as a noble lady's. She then turned and vanished at the end of the long corridor. The entire exchange took less than two seconds, but Ryan's heart suddenly sank.

Ryan frowned. He did not chase after her immediately, but waited a few seconds first to ensure there was nothing abnormal before quickly heading up to the second floor.

The wooden stairs creaked softly, his footsteps echoing in the empty assembly hall. Soon, he arrived at the spot where she had stood.

The corridor was completely empty. He could see all the way to both ends. No doors had been opened, and there was no sound of footsteps going downstairs.

Standing in place, a sudden sense of familiarity rose in Ryan's heart. Moth. It was that feeling again.

His gaze slowly swept across the corridor, the railings, the floor, and the windowsills. There was nothing. No footprints, no lingering aura, not even a trace of her having stood there moments ago.

From beginning to end, he was the only person here.

Ryan remained silent for a moment before finally withdrawing his gaze, no longer searching.

The Moth aspect was inherently adept at disguise, concealment, and misdirection. If she did not want to be found, his current meager abilities made it absolutely impossible to discover anything.

With that thought, he turned and walked toward the stairs.

The setting sun streamed in through the high windows, casting long shadows across the corridor.

The very moment he left, an extremely tiny, grayish-white speck slowly drifted down from the air, resembling the powder shed from a moth's wing, or perhaps a torn corner of a page.

It quietly landed on Ryan's shoulder, then slid past his collar into the interior of his coat, vanishing from sight.