Only I Am A Reader

"Brother Leo…?"

Leo was suddenly startled after momentarily losing focus, someone walking opposite to him called him out, and it was none other than…

"Oh, it's you, Jared."

"It's great to see you here, when did you move to the Capital? I thought you were based in Swordkeep."

The Capital's streets weren't exactly crowded, so even though Leo's horse carriage stopped in the middle of it, no one complained as the two conversed.

"Yeah I was, I just had to attend something around here."

"You should have told me you were coming here, I could have at least showed you around like a proper friend!"

"Well, I do plan to stay around for a while."

Although Leo hoped to stay away from the sight of any important character for the time being, especially if they were directly involved with Ray, he knew that his wish would never come true with Jared around. As such, Leo decided to be honest rather than sound dodgy. Compared to other people he could get involved with, Jared was one of the better options.

"Oh, perfect! I know a great place for lodging! I can show you there since it's on my way… May I come up?"

While it was risky to hang around a man whose fate was uncertain, Jared's qualities made him more reclusive and carefree than other nobles. Leo knew that trying to hide stuff from him would only make him curious enough to use his family's power to dig out information, being open had the exact opposite effect.

"Sure."

Leo already had a place in mind, but he had an idea about what Jared wanted to do, so he simply went along with it for now.

"So… Were you here for the Sword Garden Trial?"

"...Yeah."

"Sorry, it's just the only thing worth traveling to the Capital for at this time. Besides, this way, you staying for a while after makes sense."

As cheery as Jared appeared to be, he wasn't a happy-go-lucky guy who couldn't connect things. It was possible that he already knew about it, but Leo didn't think so.

"I heard this year's trial was a bit chaotic. Both my sister and her friend were in bad shape."

Leo could finally tell why Jared felt a bit off from the very start. It seemed like he was feeling a bit disoriented by everything that happened.

"Yeah, I tried to stay as far away as possible from the commotion. Are they alright?"

"They are okay now, it just feels strange that it was such a close call."

Jared was clearly out to clear his mind. However, that only made Leo curious, was Jared still a person now that he had run out of 'pages'? Was he a blank page that Leo could write on? Or was he now the one holding the pen?

Leo had kept himself from questioning everything, but every now and then, there is always something that jolts him out of complete immersion. Although his adventure in this world was supposed to be almost over, that only made it easier for questions to pop up.

"Here we are!"

Just when silence pervaded as Leo got lost in thought, Jared's voice made him pull the reins in front of a fancier than fancy-looking inn.

"Let me just go in and set you up."

Seeing Jared jump down from the carriage's front, Leo already knew what was going to happen. Jared was likely to be making his life easier by leaving a word at the inn that was probably related to the grand duke.

'It's close to their mansion, but…'

Despite knowing that, Leo took his time to get in. Friendly Jared probably wanted to 'make' a real friend, especially tonight. Pushing away his way of making it easier would only rebound. Besides…

'It's okay.'

Leo wasn't exactly the type to befriend someone for the sake of using them, but he decided to accept Jared's courtesy. In the end, the next year was something that he had to make good use of, so it would help for things to be easier.

In any case, Leo didn't mind getting all the help he could get. In fact, that felt better than being all cranky about not receiving favors.

"Here he is. They have a good room for you here just like I said."

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah, and you know what? Since I live close by, we can catch up every now and then."

"Sounds great."

Just like that, Jared made the print that he usually wasn't one to make. On the other hand, Leo let the receptionist guide him to his room after Jared left, ready to accept what was thrown on him for saving the young grand duke on his way.

'This is… okay.'

The room wasn't exactly up to royal or imperial standards, but it was big. The place almost felt like a decent hotel rather than an old 'inn'. Most importantly, there was a washing room on each floor.

With the fee being in the same range as the random inn he stayed in for the week before the trial, Leo could only 'park' his horse carriage in the similarly fancy stable and check-in.

"Will this really end?"

Lying in bed, Leo's stimulated mind could no longer stop its gears, with so many obstacles out of the way, the desired ending was just at hand. However, wasn't it always the endings that have so many surprises for you?

Leo wasn't even being pessimistic, he was just genuinely curious. Would he survive the Epilogue that he was planning to involve himself in? What would happen if he did and simply nothing happened? Did he really miss his life as Leo more than the new Arthur?

Undoubtedly, there were still no answers. Leo knew that one could make a hundred hypotheses only to miss them all when he truly experiences the situation. In the end, the only real answer was to move forward and deal with whatever comes your way. Planning was nice, but basing one's life on theories was nothing but a quick road to destruction or insanity. No matter what happened… life would go on, he just had to make it go his way!

"Let's get some sleep first...."