The encounter might have lasted only a moment, but it did not disappear as easily as the crowd swallowed it.
Arthur did not look back again after they passed, yet the image lingered in his mind with an unusual clarity.
It was not the face itself that held his attention, nor the expression, but something less defined—something that resisted immediate understanding.
“…You noticed it too.”
Edward’s voice broke the silence between them, calm and measured as always.
Arthur exhaled quietly, his gaze fixed forward as they continued walking.
“Hard not to,” he replied, his tone casual, though the slight tension beneath it remained.
“He wasn’t just standing there.”
Edward nodded slightly, though his eyes remained distant, as if replaying the moment with more precision.
“No,” he said.
“He was observing.”
The difference mattered.
Arthur frowned faintly.
“You’re saying he was watching us?”
“Not exactly.” Edward’s expression shifted just slightly, thoughtful rather than dismissive.
“It felt… mutual.”
Arthur let out a quiet breath, somewhere between disbelief and reluctant agreement.
“That’s not normal.”
“No,” Edward said simply.
“It isn’t.”
They walked in silence for a few steps, the noise of the city filling the space around them, but neither of them paid it any real attention.
Their focus remained on something that had already passed, something that should have been insignificant, yet refused to settle into that category.
Arthur spoke again first.
“…He’s not a registered hunter.”
It wasn’t a question.
Edward didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he considered it, his mind moving through possibilities with quiet efficiency.
“No,” he said at last.
“If he were, we would have known.”
That only made it stranger.
Arthur’s gaze narrowed slightly.
“Then what was that?”
Edward didn’t answer right away.
Because he didn’t have one.
Across the city, Aiden continued walking without changing his pace.
The encounter had been brief, but not meaningless.
He could still recall the exact moment their gazes met, the subtle shift in awareness that followed, the way the air itself seemed to sharpen for just an instant.
“…They noticed.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Not fully.
But enough.
Aiden’s expression remained calm, his thoughts settling quickly as he moved forward.
There was no reason to dwell on it.
The encounter had not led to conflict, nor had it revealed anything immediately useful.
But it had confirmed something important.
He was no longer invisible.
A faint flicker passed through his awareness.
Aiden’s steps slowed slightly.
The system.
It appeared without warning, the translucent interface forming at the edge of his vision once more.
“Synchronization: 29%”
The number had increased again.
But that wasn’t what caught his attention.
For a brief moment, the display distorted.
The characters shifted, overlapping in a way that did not belong, as if something behind the interface had failed to stabilize.
It corrected itself quickly, returning to normal before anyone else could have noticed.
But Aiden had seen it.
“…Still unstable.”
The error had not disappeared.
It was becoming more visible.
Aiden’s gaze lowered slightly as he continued walking, his focus turning inward.
The system was functioning, but not perfectly.
It was skipping something, forcing itself to continue without resolving the underlying issue.
That meant—
There was a gap.
Something missing.
Or something hidden.
Before he could examine the thought further, another message appeared.
“New Mission Available”
Aiden stopped.
Not abruptly, but enough to separate himself from the flow of the crowd.
“…Already.”
The system did not wait.
It did not give him time to prepare.
It simply continued.
The message expanded.
“MISSION: TRACE”
Condition: Do not lose synchronization stability
Failure: Target loss / system instability increase
Reward: Information unlock
Aiden read it once.
Then again.
“…Follow.”
Not fight.
Not survive.
Observe.
Track.
A faint pulse appeared at the edge of his vision, subtle but distinct, pointing in a direction he had not intended to go.
Aiden’s gaze shifted.
The direction—
Led back.
Toward where he had come from.
Toward them.
“…So it’s connected.”
Not coincidence.
Not random.
The system had recognized something.
Or someone.
Aiden exhaled softly.
Then moved.
Ahead, Arthur slowed slightly, his expression shifting just enough to signal awareness.
“…We’re being followed.”
The words were quiet, but certain.
Edward did not turn.
“I know.”
His gaze remained forward, but his attention sharpened, his mind already adjusting to the situation.
“…Same person.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“…That makes this more interesting.”
The distance between them closed.
Not quickly.
Not obviously.
But steadily.
And this time—
It was not chance.