Reiji's heartbeat remained steady.
Outwardly.
Inside, however, countless thoughts collided with one another.
'How...?'
His crimson eyes remained fixed on the woman standing a few meters away.
Aoi Tachibana.
The neighbor who lived across the street.
The same woman he occasionally greeted whenever they happened to leave home at the same time.
The same woman who had just calmly called him the Night Empress.
'How does she know?'
His mind immediately began piecing everything together.
'Did she follow me?'
Impossible. He would've noticed.
Even if Detect Presence failed because she stayed far enough away, Shadow Step had allowed him to cover enormous distances every night. There was no way an ordinary C-Rank Awakened could keep up with him.
'Then... did she see me leaving home?'
That was more believable. He always left late at night.
Always returned before sunrise.
But even if she had noticed that...
That alone wasn't enough to conclude he was the Night Empress.
