Only I Am A Reader

"I will step down. I don't think I deserve to compete with Yeon for the position."

Leo didn't take long to come to a decision despite the unexpected situation, this was just the only logical way things could go.

He was unlikely to take the seat unless Yeon stepped down, but that would do nothing other than beating the purpose of this. Regardless of how beneficial having the final say would be for the Society with his knowledge as a reader, his abilities could never mimic the special talent that Yeon possessed.

Most importantly, his stay in this world was almost at its end. Throwing the Society that had so many people he cared about in the lurch once more didn't feel right. Besides…

'It doesn't make that much of a difference.'

Whether it was him or Yeon that took the position, the result would be practically the same. With Leo standing as an advisor by her side, they could effectively prepare for the final confrontation without any trouble!

Since it would all serve the same purpose, there was no need to scramble the facts of the novel any further. Yeon was the right person to take the Heavenly Demon's place… At least until Leo found a way to take her along.

"But…"

Although Yeon looked like she wanted to protest, Leo calmly nodded to assure her that he thought this over. With the attention that had been poured at him, he could be said to have made the best use of this chance.

'A promotion might be just close by.'

"Seems like we might have already come to a decision. Does anyone have any objections before we proceed?"

"No."

With the sudden disappearance of the point of controversy, the matter was quickly settled as everyone approved of Yeon, both silently and verbally. The more the seat was left empty, the harder it would be for the Society to make any major move, and the situation outside was simply too unstable for that.

Having someone take the seat immediately didn't look that much better, but this was a state of transition. Even after Yeon takes the seat, the Scarlet Sky Council would still have some say for a short period of time, though they only had to make sure that no rash decisions would be made.

The more the successor's decision skills are proven worthy, the higher level of freedom they would obtain. As long as they weren't chosen wrongly, they would obtain the complete authority of the Society Leader before long!

"In that case, Yeon will have to undergo the succession process. We had almost lost the inheritance core since we were busy dealing with those stubborn monsters. Luckily, thanks to Baekho's quick response, he picked them up… Despite not knowing what they were."

The Four Pillars were naturally aware of the things left behind by both the Heavenly Demon and the Demon Lord, but their mutual death was too surprising for them to react in time. After all, if they did leave everything at hand to do so, then their formation against the Unrestrained monsters would have been broken, possibly turning the tables to their enemies' favor again…

Although they would still have moved towards them once they had the chance, the existence of a scavenger so close that he noticed the fact that only the higher-ups of the Heavenly Strength Society were aware of could have made things go south. Still, that posed the question of how Leo knew about this fine detail.

"There is no need to thank me, I just felt like we would be missing on something important."

It was true that the Leo prior to his promotion wasn't sure of the precise details about this matter, the information that he was allowed to browse after it also wasn't enough. However, when both pieces of knowledge were combined, Leo had basically figured out everything there was to know about the Society and its mechanics by connecting the dots together!

"You did well, so let's just forget about the details. You did choose to be left out as a candidate so…"

Accepting the point without getting to its bottom appeared unrealistic, but Cheon Jeong had just seen too much of Leo's 'feelings', he had simply gone past the point of being suspicious and had to be accepted as is.

"You get to be part of the succession process."

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

'Wait… I see.'

Having already been surprised once, Leo wasn't that moved when he heard about this abrupt change of plot. It looked like everything had been a devious test set by the departed Heavenly Demon!

He wouldn't have been chosen if he pushed on without abusing his relationship with Yeon, but if Leo stepped down by himself, then there would be something in store for him! Perhaps, there was no chance for Leo to take the seat from the very beginning!

Being part of the succession process wasn't something like watching from the side, it actually meant receiving a part of the benefits that came with the process. Baekho would have originally been sidelined when this was all taking place, but the Heavenly Demon that noticed that something was different with him had given Leo a chance!

Sharing wasn't always possible, but with a Demon Lord's core at the scene, a bit of leeway was allowed. Considering that Cheon Madang had left that test for Cheon Jeong to conduct, it meant that he was seriously contemplating the possibility of his death at the scene.

'It's really hard to understand that kind of mentality.'

If the character that Leo had become was that of the Heavenly Demon, he wasn't sure he could go out knowing that his death was an indisputable event like that. Yet, Cheon Madang even had the spirit to prepare for the phase after that inevitable death…

"No objections either, right? Then, before this meeting is dismissed, let us discuss a temporary replacement for the yellow-head that just left."

Some weren't completely sure about Leo being part of the process, but they could see how close he was with Yeon, so refusing him was unlikely to end well. As such, the meeting brushed through the core topic before quickly coming to a conclusion…