Igwynt Upper City, Knight Street.
In the afternoon, inside House No.26 on Knight Street, the spacious living room on the second floor was filled with visitors who had come to check on Anna, who had just recovered from a serious illness. Having spent a long time in the hospital, Anna was overjoyed to see so many familiar faces all at once and happily chatted with each of them.
âHow have you been recovering these past few days, Anna?â Sitting by a window, Dorothy asked the girl beside her. Anna nodded obediently and answered,
âDonât worry, I was just scared by those vicious wolves back then. Thanks to the blessing of the divine, Iâm fine now. We must believe in the power of the gods, donât you think so, Miss Mayschoss?â
Anna smiled at Dorothy, and in an almost imperceptible moment, playfully winked one eye. Seeing this, Dorothy couldnât help but smile in response.
âOf course, letâs be grateful for the divineâs protection over each and every one of us.â
âLooks like Anna is well aware of her role now. She knows to hide the truth about herself and is doing her best to cooperate with the Serenity Bureauâs work.â
Watching Annaâs behavior, Dorothy thought to herself. A major reason she had come to visit was to confirm Annaâs current conditionâwhether she would panic or lose composure under the Huntersâ surveillance. But judging from what she had seen, Anna was handling it far better than expected.
âAs expected of an orphanageâs top student. Far more mature than the average unruly child of her age. Sheâs obedient and understands her situation. This is reassuring.â
After finishing her conversation with Anna, Dorothy had this thought, then prepared to head to the nearby table for some of the pre-prepared desserts, ready to enjoy the rest of the gathering.
At that moment, as everyone remained immersed in the warm atmosphere of the visit, an unseen, imperceptible presence silently slipped into the room.
Something invisible passed through the walls, drifting into No. 26. It floated through the spacious living room, weaving between the gathered guests, observing the scene, attempting to scrutinize every detail.
Yet⊠no one in the room sensed anything amiss. They continued their cheerful conversations, oblivious to any anomaly in their surroundings.
No one noticed the presence of this unseen entity, yet it lurked in the shadows, watching everyone, circling each person as it observed, even passing directly through human bodiesâyet those it passed through detected nothing unusual.
After finishing her conversation with Anna, Dorothy wandered around the living room, occasionally sampling the desserts and tea that had been set out in advance. She also tried chatting with other attendees to gather information about Annaâs inheritance.
âThis house isnât bad at all. I wonder how much it costsâŠâ Taking in her surroundings, Dorothy muttered in admiration.
A man who seemed to be a lawyer, who was speaking with her, chuckled and replied, âKnight Street is a prime location, Miss Mayschoss. Even though these are townhouses, theyâre still quite expensive. I doubt youâd find one for less than 500 pounds.â
âOnly 500 poundsâŠ?â
Hearing the lawyerâs response, Dorothy thought to herself in silence.
500 pounds was just enough to buy a single mystical book, yet in the secular world, that amount could afford a multi-story townhouse in a prime location. She couldnât help but marvel at how absurdly high the prices became whenever mysticism was involved.
âI wonder how much Gregor earns. As the captain of the Hunter Squad, his salary shouldnât be low. Otherwise, how could he have gone from a mere worker to a city-dwelling middle class, with enough savings to plan for a detached house in the suburbs? Still, he doesnât earn more than me.â
Dorothy mused.
Based on Gregorâs occasional complaints, she knew he had been saving for almost a year but still hadnât reached his goal. A detached house in the suburbs also cost around 400 to 500 pounds, meaning he hadnât yet saved that much in a year. Meanwhile, Dorothy could make that amount in just two quick jobs.
Perhaps this was the trade-off of being an official mystical agent. Dorothy had heard from Aldrich before that the authorities provided mystical agents with weapons and equipment directly. As long as they accumulated enough spirituality and merit, the government would even arrange their promotions and provide easy access to mystical knowledge. The downside, however, was the lack of freedomâno opportunities for side gigs like Dorothy had.
Sitting by a window, Dorothy sipped her tea, occasionally enjoying the view outside while lost in thought.
Just as she was soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, her expression suddenly stiffened, and her brows slightly furrowed.
âHmm⊠something⊠feels offâŠâ
Sitting by the window, Dorothy suddenly sensed a trace of something abnormal. A strange feeling crept up on her, though she couldnât quite pinpoint what was wrong.
âThis feeling⊠itâs unpleasant⊠something feels⊠off. Why am I suddenly feeling this way?â
Puzzled, Dorothy activated the passive ability granted by her appraisal skill, allowing her to perceive a limited degree of spiritual vision.
And thenâshe saw it.
Right in front of her, barely a meter away in midair, a faint, pale, translucent human face had appeared. Its hollow, withered eyes stared silently at her, while the hand holding her teacup had already passed through the white figure.
In that instant, Dorothyâs mouth slightly opened, her eyes widened, and she drew in a sharp breath as if she was about to lose control and scream.
âWhat a lovely street viewâŠâ
At the crucial moment, Dorothy forcibly suppressed the rising panic within her with sheer rationality. She made her already open mouth utter a calm remark, then continued sipping her tea and admiring the view outside, as if she hadnât noticed anything unusual.
Seeing Dorothyâs composed demeanor, the pale ghostly figure lingering before her circled around twice before quietly drifting away. In the corner of her vision, Dorothy watched as the entity resumed its observation of the other attendees, occasionally passing through their bodies.
âWhat the hell⊠What is this thing? Why is it here?â
Observing the ghostly figure that floated through the crowd, Dorothy thought seriously, beginning to speculate about what it could be.
âDid the Hunters place it here as a hidden safeguard for Anna? No⊠thatâs not right. Itâs even approaching the undercover house servants disguised as Hunters. If it were theirs, it wouldnât be investigating them.â
âIt can pass through physical barriers, it has a vague human shape, and itâs invisible to the naked eye⊠Drifting around like some kind of ghost⊠No, itâs not âlikeâ a ghost. It IS a ghost!â
Dorothy confirmed her suspicion internally. In a world imbued with mystical forces, the existence of ghosts was hardly surprising. This thing was a ghostâor more precisely, a spirit.
As she mulled over this realization, she also understood why she had felt that earlier sensation of discomfortâbecause the entity had drawn close to her, lingering at her side. The source of her unease had come from this spirit.
And she knew exactly why.
Anything related to death and spiritsâsymbols of decay and eternal restâwas linked to the spirituality of Silence. Silence, however, was the direct opposite of Revelation. As a Revelation Beyonder, when she neared or even touched that ghost, she instinctively felt the discord.
In her spiritual vision, the entity before her seemed to be composed almost entirely of Silence-aligned spirituality, mixed with a few other elements. Moreover, its spirituality wasnât contained within a body like that of a mystical creatureâit was fully exposed, making it easy to perceive.
âSo⊠why is there a ghost inside Number 26, this temporary residence arranged specifically for Anna?â
Sitting still, Dorothyâs expression grew increasingly serious.