Chapter 82: It Must Be a Bug, the Red Moon Society’s Infiltration

Upon realizing Ron had arrived, Amelia knew she should inform Verna so Verna could arrange her own forces to deal with the Red Moon Society.

After all, she herself didn’t have any real power behind her; this was an area where Verna needed to step in.

Initially, Amelia pondered what reason she could use to explain how she learned of Ron’s situation. While telling Verna directly wouldn’t raise Verna’s suspicions, the audience would certainly be baffled.

Just as Amelia was formulating a few plans, another question struck her: was it truly necessary to hide the fact that she could see the bullet comments?

It didn’t seem… necessary, did it?

She had thought this before. But when she tried to tell the audience she could see the bullet comments, an inexplicable force overwhelmed her, and she fainted on the spot.

Since then, she had deliberately concealed her ability, masking any information she gleaned from the comments through other means.

But if she couldn’t tell the audience directly, what about hinting at it indirectly?

For instance, if she revealed something she logically shouldn’t know, would the audience begin to suspect something?

Letting the audience know she could see the bullet comments had no downside; it would allow Amelia to coordinate with them better. She could simply ask a question out loud, and the audience could provide answers through the comments.

Of course, she could do this already, but since the audience didn’t know she could see the comments, not everyone was willing to send them in response.

Now, it seemed this approach might actually be viable, because she hadn’t fainted.

【I don’t fully understand the situation, but my mind is blown. Maybe Amelia really can see the bullet comments (just kidding).】

【Seeing bullet comments is obviously impossible. The real answer must be that Amelia actually has subordinates we don’t know about, right?】

【How could Amelia have subordinates? Without a single shot of them, how would that make sense?】

【I think the development team messed up. They wanted to give Amelia subordinates, but it wasn’t in the original setting, so now it feels too forced.】

【It was going so well; how did the development team introduce a bug like this?】

The bullet comments buzzed with discussion.

Seeing these comments, Amelia was speechless.

No one actually believed an anime character could see bullet comments. If someone mentioned it, it was purely a joke, not a sincere theory.

Of the many possibilities, the audience leaned heavily towards the development team creating a plot hole.

Amelia didn’t know what to say. But thinking it over, if she were watching an anime and saw a similar plot point, she probably wouldn’t believe the character could see the comments either.

It seems this level of hinting is useless. As for a more obvious hint… hmm, I’d almost certainly faint from that.

Amelia mused to herself.

“Lily, what do you plan to do next? How will your people deal with the Red Moon Society members?”

Unaware of Amelia’s rapid, meandering thoughts, Verna continued their previous topic.

She assumed that since Amelia had so easily grasped the Red Moon Society’s situation, she would naturally set her people in motion to do something.

Amelia, however, shook her head. “I don’t intend to do anything. You should handle this.”

“Me?” Verna was somewhat surprised.

“Yes, my people have other matters to attend to. Their hands are tied.” Amelia said, maintaining an air of mystery.

“I understand. I’ll handle the investigation then. So, what are Ron’s distinguishing features?”

“Distinguishing features… what are they, indeed?”

Amelia looked thoughtful, waiting for the bullet comments to provide an answer.

But… nothing came.

The comments scrolled by, mostly filled with “Amelia thinking is so cute” and similar remarks. As for Ron’s features? Who, when watching an anime, would seriously start describing someone’s appearance just because a character asked?

Receiving no answer, Amelia could only say, “I’ve forgotten.”

Verna: “…”

“I’ll ask my contact again later. But they have their own tasks and aren’t easy to reach. I might not have an answer for you in a short time.” Amelia said apologetically.

“…Fine.” Verna had no choice but to accept the situation.

The two chatted about other matters until class time approached and they parted ways.

Verna returned to her own classroom, while Amelia went to the Art Department building and entered the harp classroom.

“Teacher Steven is here.”

Not long after Amelia arrived, a student murmured.

At the front of the classroom, an elderly man with graying hair ambled in. He looked gentle and kind, dressed in a white robe. He was Steven Leacock, the instructor responsible for teaching the harp.

Just as everyone assumed today would be a typical harp lesson, Steven spoke with a smile. “Before we formally begin our lesson today, there are two matters to address. First, we have a new student joining us—Lily Hicks. Lily, please introduce yourself to everyone.”

Hearing her name called, Amelia stepped up to the front, turned to face the class, and gave a greeting.

“Hello everyone, I’m Lily Hicks.”

With a smile, Amelia looked over the young men and women before her.

“Miss Lily, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“From the Hicks family, right? I recall that’s a Count’s family.”

“Miss Lily, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Fabian.”

“Miss Lily is truly beautiful.”

The moment Amelia stepped forward, the eyes of many students lit up.

Wavy, light blue hair cascaded down her shoulders, matching her lake-blue eyes. Her pristine white dress… By any measure, she was an undeniable beauty.

As everyone knows, beauties are universally popular, so the students’ reactions were quite enthusiastic.

Beyond her beauty, her status as a member of a Count’s family was also noteworthy.

While the students of White Maple Academy were all from wealthy or noble backgrounds, those with direct ties to a Count were still a minority, naturally drawing attention.

Seeing everyone welcoming Amelia so harmoniously, Steven was very pleased. As a teacher, seeing students without friction between them was a source of great comfort.

“There is another matter to announce today,” Steven said to the class with a cheerful expression. “Today, our harp class will welcome a new teacher. Please join me in welcoming him.”

As Steven spoke, the classroom door opened, and a man walked in.

A new teacher?

Curious, the students looked over, seeing a gentlemanly man enter.

He had wavy brown hair and emerald-green eyes. His features were sharp and well-defined, and his impeccable attire made a positive impression instantly.

“This is your new harp teacher, Weber Jopar,” Steven introduced him.

Jopar?

The surname made Amelia glance at the man an extra time. The Red Moon Society member who had arrived in Bild City was named Ron Jopar—the exact same surname.

But it’s just a shared surname, probably nothing to worry about, right?

As she thought this, Amelia glanced at the bullet comments and was instantly stunned.

【Holy crap, what’s that guy doing here?】

【Isn’t that the Red Moon Society guy? Damn, changed his name and waltzed into White Maple Academy?】

【Didn’t he just get to Bild City yesterday? How did he become a teacher overnight?】

【This guy works fast.】

【He’s definitely here for Amelia. I’m a bit worried if she’ll be able to guard against him.】

Watching the comments scroll past, Amelia’s heart tightened.

This newly arrived harp teacher was actually Red Moon Society’s Ron Jopar?

Amelia was just as shocked as the audience. She hadn’t expected that in just one night, he would successfully infiltrate White Maple Academy. His efficiency was terrifying.

After Steven introduced Ron, Ron greeted the students with a polished smile. His sufficiently gentlemanly demeanor earned the students’ approval.

“From today onward, teaching your harp class will be left to Weber,” Steven said, and with that farewell, he exited the classroom.

Everyone’s attention then focused on this new, parachuted-in “Weber” teacher.

Ron’s gaze swept across the crowd. When it landed on Amelia, he smoothly shifted his focus away without a trace, but even while looking elsewhere, his peripheral vision remained locked on her.

This is the target!

Finally found her. It’s fortunate that we had so many contingencies in place from the past cooperation between the Red Moon Society and Dwight. Otherwise, infiltrating this White Maple Academy wouldn’t have been so easy.

Ron thought to himself.

These so-called contingencies involved Dwight providing the Red Moon Society with identities to infiltrate various venues—membership clubs, theatre staff positions, and even White Maple Academy teaching roles.

For the Academy, Dwight fabricated a teacher’s identity in a distant city and completed all the paperwork for their transfer to White Maple Academy, but without having them arrive immediately. Instead, he informed the administration that this person would report for duty within a year. This allowed the Red Moon Society to activate the identity at any time within that window.

If a year passed without their arrival, the identity would become void, but other contingencies were always kept in reserve.

Although Dwight was dead, this prepared identity remained. Ron simply activated it, arrived with the forged credentials, and effortlessly became a teacher at White Maple Academy.

But even after infiltrating the Academy, Ron knew he couldn’t act rashly. His understanding of Amelia was limited to surface-level information; he needed more time to study his target.

Therefore, he had to play the part of a harp teacher convincingly.

Fortunately, I do know something about the harp.

Ron smiled and began asking the students what they had learned so far. Based on their feedback, he quickly determined where he needed to start teaching.

Ron meticulously played the role of a teacher.

Amelia just as meticulously played the role of an ordinary student.

As teacher and student, they inevitably had some interaction during the lesson, but the conversation remained strictly about harp knowledge—as if neither knew the other’s true identity.

Soon, break time arrived.

Ron approached Amelia again, a smile on his face. “Lily, I hear you just joined the academy today?”

“Yes, Teacher Weber,” Amelia nodded.

“In that case, you wouldn’t have covered the material the others have. Are you perhaps feeling a bit lost?”

“Actually, I’ve studied the harp on my own before. I should be able to keep up.”

“Is that so? I’m still a little concerned. As a teacher newly arrived at this academy, I wouldn’t want my negligence to cause gaps in a student’s knowledge. That would be a dereliction of duty.”

“What are you suggesting, Teacher…?”

“Lily, let me tutor you privately.”

Ron maintained his smile.

With private tutoring sessions, it would be much easier to learn more about Amelia’s situation.

Even if he needed to make a move against her, it would be far more convenient. After all, this “Weber Jopar” identity was expendable; achieving his objective was paramount.

Looking at Ron’s smile, Amelia’s mind filled with caution.

“Private tutoring? I don’t think I need that. My harp knowledge is quite extensive,” Amelia immediately declined.

“Lily, I’m only thinking of your best interests. Tutoring isn’t a bad thing, and it won’t take up too much of your time.”

“No, thank you. I’m confident I’ll be fine on my own.”

Amelia refused again.

She didn’t know Ron’s exact rank, but as someone sent by the Red Moon Society to Bild City to investigate the annihilation of their other members, his strength was at least at the Mid-Rank Apostle level. She couldn’t risk being alone with him.

“Lily, the teacher is going out of his way for you, yet you refuse so bluntly. Don’t you think you’re being a bit too rude?”

A female voice sounded from behind.

Surprised that someone had interjected into her conversation with Ron, Amelia turned around. She saw a girl with chestnut-colored long hair standing by a harp, arms crossed, looking at her with undisguised hostility.