章 43: A Hidden Threat With Watching Eyes

The day after the eventful date in the city, Alex and Lydia's life returned to normal. They resumed their daily routines and modest lifestyles in the Genesis District.

Or at least, it should have.

A few days later, Alex had just finished helping Crawson with routine things in the market square and was about to head home when he saw Lydia walking ahead, seemingly distracted by something. Smiling to himself, he decided to surprise her by sneaking up from behind.

"Lydia!" Alex exclaimed, jumping up and catching her shoulders. Instead of her usual cheerful reaction, Lydia turned and started striking him, screaming in fright.

"Ow ow! Lydia, it's just me!" Alex quickly defended himself, raising his hands.

"Eh?! Alex?" Lydia froze, staring at him with a mixture of shock and relief.

"Yeah, it's me. Didn't expect you to be so scared of surprises," Alex said, scratching his head awkwardly. "And man, you're strong. I didn't..."

Before he could finish, Lydia clung to his clothes, resting her head on his chest. "Oh my god, Alex...you really scared me...I thought..."

Alex immediately narrowed his eyes in concern, and alarms went off in his head. "What's wrong, Lydia? Did something happen?"

"Yeah... I've been feeling like someone's been following me since this morning. After we left the house, I felt it all day, especially when I was at school teaching the children. It felt like someone was watching me very closely."

Alex's brow furrowed. "That's concerning. Are you sure it wasn't just a curious child or parent?"

Lydia gave his words a thought but dismissed it quickly.

"I...don't think so. We already had all the children accounted for, and probably everyone who sent their children to the school definitely knew us and how things worked around the school. We're the only school teachers in the district."

"Do you still feel it now?" Alex asked, scanning their surroundings for anything suspicious, trying to spot anyone or anything suspicious that may be the culprit.

Lydia pulled away, looking around before shaking her head. "No, not anymore. It stopped when you surprised me. While I was walking home, I felt like someone was monitoring my every move. I hit you because I thought I was going to be attacked. Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine. A few hits won't break this body of mine." Alex said, heartily slapping his chest. "Besides, I'm more worried about you. I don't like the idea of someone following you around. Has this been happening for the past few days?"

"It might just be my imagination, but yes, this has been happening for a few days...since our visit to the city, in fact."

"That's not good at all. Should I follow you and Mom to the school from tomorrow onwards? Maybe I can catch whoever it is."

"I'd appreciate that," Lydia nodded with a smile. "Besides, you haven't visited the children at the school since two weeks ago now. You should come and play with them again. They've been asking for you."

"Haha, it sure is a mystery. I wonder what's about me that is attracting those children? They seem to want to hang around me a lot for some reason. Not that I mind, but I'm not exactly good with them."

"Maybe they find you fun to be with," Lydia teased with a wink. "I can understand that feeling, though."

"Well, I would be glad if that was the case. And man, I sure hope our kids feel the same," Alex said, oblivious.

"Eh?!" Lydia blushed.

"Hmm? What? I'm serious. Imagine how sad it would be if our own child didn't like me while the other children did. That's literally being loved by everyone else but your kin." Alex responded, still clueless about what he implied.

"Oh, Alex, isn't it too early to talk about children? We haven't even reached adult cycles yet!" Lydia playfully slapped his arm.

"Oh, Alex, isn't it too early to talk about children? We haven't even reached our adult cycles yet!" Lydia playfully slapped his arm as she laughed.

Alex blushed as he realized what she meant. He started laughing with Lydia, enjoying the moment. Then, they linked arms and continued home while conversing about their day, forgetting about the disturbing conversation.

Upon reaching home, right before Alex entered the house, he was surprised to hear Aoi's voice inside, having a seemingly serious conversation.

"...and this is why I said during the last meeting that we need to get some form of a security system working around our district! Why doesn't anyone ever take me seriously?" Aoi's muffled voice echoed, her tone annoyed.

Alex and Lydia entered the house, and Aoi immediately noticed them.

"Ah! Alex and Lydia! Perfect, just the people I wanted to see." Aoi greeted them cheerfully but with a tinge of urgency.

"Hey, Aoi. I didn't know you were visiting. Is everything okay? You sound upset," Alex asked.

For some context, Alex has noticed that Aoi visits them quite often across the four months he's been here. After all, Jeb said she has been visiting them since she was a child, and she's practically family at this point. But even Alex could tell that today's visit was different.

"Welcome home, my dears," Linda sighed deeply with exasperation. "Aoi has been talking about setting up patrols around the district..."

"Patrols? Why?" Alex asked, intrigued.

"Why, thanks for asking! Do hear me out, Alex! The geezers at the council and the other leaders won't let me and my people patrol around the district! It's so ridiculous! Don't they know it's getting increasingly unsafe around here?"

"Uh...in what way? If you mean the daily fights between the different communities, they are just minor inconveniences. I don't see much point in having a patrol for them." Alex scratched his head in confusion. "Besides, if you're talking about something like what the Psychos are doing near the edges of the district that prevent the Outer monsters from getting in, why don't you just talk to Scarface about it? I know he is always rather intense, but I'm sure he will be reasonable..."

"No, no, no! That's not what I'm talking about! It's more about our inner district's security! Like looking out for actual bad people who don't belong in our district and those who wish us to do us harm!"

Alex narrowed his eyes, and his thoughts floated to the conversation a while ago.

Lydia approached Aoi and asked her directly. "Is there...a reason for this? Have you seen anyone suspicious lately?"

"Nah, I personally haven't, but I've heard some reports from my people and some floating rumours about city dwellers looking around our district suspiciously," Aoi explained, "The consistent information we have is that these people always seemed to be looking for something..."

"Or someone," Alex interjected, figuring that this might not just be a coincidence. "Lydia, can you tell Aoi what we talked about earlier?"

"Hyuh?!" Lydia yelped in surprise and blushed.

Alex blinked his eyes and gave her a confused look.

Silence fell uncomfortably in the room, and as Lydia looked around, everyone was staring at her in confusion. She quickly shuffled to Alex's side and whispered into his ear, "You...wanted me to tell them about us having babies?"

"What?! No, not that!" Alex, taken aback by the embarrassing misinterpretation, quickly corrected her in a hushed voice, "I'm talking about the feeling of being followed for the past few days."

"Ah!" Lydia suddenly understood, her eyes lighting up. Then her face turned slightly grim, and she turned to Aoi, "Uh...Aoi, maybe the patrol is a good idea..."

"Oh, Lydia! I knew I could count on you!" Aoi hugged her, then paused, realising the implication. "Wait, did something happen, Lydia?"

Lydia sighed. "Yes, it has been happening for a few days now... since we came back from the city, actually..."

Lydia then recounted everything that happened in the city and spoke in detail about the strange feelings of being watched for the past few days.

Aoi listened intently, her expression shifting from concern to determination. "Hmm...this is what I've been worried about," she said firmly. "We definitely can't take this lightly now. Taking into account what happened in the city and if someone's been following you after that, this isn't a simple coincidence. It definitely has something to do with that officer or those city bastards."

Alex nodded. "So, what do you suggest we do now? We can't just let this slide. We have to ensure everyone's safety, especially Lydia."

"I agree," Aoi said. For now, I'll gather a few of my most trusted people and start a discreet patrol around the district. I need them to be careful not to alarm anyone, or we risk tipping off whoever is watching Lydia. We'll also need to keep an eye on anyone suspicious who is dressed like the city bastards."

As Aoi announced her temporary plans, Lydia looked relieved. "Thank you, Aoi..."

"Don't mention it," Aoi replied with a smile. "I'll do my best to keep you safe, Lydia. And Alex, I'll need you to always stick around Lydia's side for now. You're good at spotting and noticing people, so having you around Lydia will be most beneficial."

"Of course," Alex agreed. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect her."

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