Only I Am A Reader

'My vacation ends today I guess.'

The two following days passed like a breeze as Leo's feelings about the mission were balanced. He was anticipating what he would find, but he was also apprehensive of how far it could go wrong.

Thankfully, since he had already over-prepared for the meeting, Leo didn't find the need to make any additional preparation for the mission.

He just needed to follow the instructions sent to him and get to the location on time!

The day itself was still a school day, so Leo had to attend for various reasons. His one source of distraction there was also different today.

"Hey, you have been awfully quiet lately. Is something on your mind?"

After fidgeting through the whole month to try and build an actual friendship with him, Leo thought that Yulia was on the verge of exploding and striking up a conversation at school.

However, she had been strangely quiet the last two days, even her annoying friend could tell that.

"Eh? It's nothing."

Obviously, that wasn't the case.

'Is the mission getting you that nervous?'

Naturally, Leo didn't personally know if Yulia had bothered to register for the mission or even check out the Roleplayer Forum at all.

At the same time, he couldn't tell if she had revealed her information like him or chose to withhold it, but it was obvious that Yulia was even more nervous than the day of the meeting itself.

'If it isn't another troll, 'that' could be her.'

Considering that only four people had shown up for Light City's meeting and two of them were already part of the World Reservation Council…

The fact that only one more person had applied from the same city potentially pointed at Yulia's username!

Of course, whether she was joining or not was irrelevant to Leo. While she was a great fit for the role of a protagonist, her existence wouldn't make much of a difference.

Once a protagonist's Growth Cataclysm started, it often affected everywhere else for the sake of maintaining some level of logic.

Sometimes, it would be more dangerous to follow the Main Character since only he or she would survive. Some other times, it could be more advantageous to be in the same place as them.

It was more like a game of chance. The meeting was a good example of the latter, but that didn't mean it would stay like that forever.

"Huh, there really is something! What is it? Hurry up and tell me."

"It really is nothing."

"You are even hiding it, now you are making me curious. Let's see, what could possibly worry our great beauty… I know it!"

"S-sure."

As nervous as Yulia was, she wasn't going to fall into the same pit twice. This girl was obviously clueless about her hidden life!

"Your heart is troubling you! Yulia must have feelings for someone!"

"Ehhhh?"

Although she felt she was ready for whatever her friend would say, Yulia almost fell off her chair. Conny seriously didn't think too much before blurting out whatever came to mind!

'Should I have picked a more quiet friend?'

Since the girl wasn't exactly discreet with her voice, almost all of the class turned to look at Yulia in surprise. The pretty transfer student was already taken?!

'Or is it my fault for being so obvious?'

They were waiting for the next teacher, so Yulia wasn't in trouble. However, she was bound to suffer from gossip for a whole week at minimum.

"Oh… Sorry for this. Hmm, looks like you dropped something."

Realizing her mistake, the friend awkwardly scratched the back of her head in apology, but she quickly bent down once she noticed something on the ground.

"A letter? Don't tell me- Ah, sorry, forget it! It's really nothing."

In reality, while Conny was pushy and curious, she wasn't that insensitive. The other students were just starting to look away again, so she tried her best to make it seem like nothing as she pushed the letter into Yulia's bag.

"This is…"

Yulia was suddenly even more flustered. This wasn't anything like what Conny had in mind, but she knew that everything just seemed to fit…

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me now."

Conny grinned like a know-it-all, patting Yulia's shoulder before moving in slightly closer and whispering something into her ears.

"You will still have to tell me all about it later when you are ready."

"... Maybe."

Yulia's eyes almost darted in a certain direction once she heard these words. However, she knew that would only make the misunderstanding even deeper, so she tried her best to focus.

She could face the consequences of her own carelessness, but she couldn't drag him into this. Otherwise, her minuscule chance of making the friend that fate guided her to would be blown into smithereens!

'Hmmm…'

This whole interaction was something that Leo barely watched from the corner of his eyes, yet he smelled something fishy, and without disappointment…

'It's there indeed.'

Leo found a folded piece of paper in his locker while putting away his books before leaving. Its contents were pretty self-explanatory.

[ You are going today as well, right? Want to meet up and go together?

Let me know. 01452… ]

Anyone who lacked context would think that their lucky day had finally come, but Leo already knew who put this and what they meant by it.

Just as she had been trying until now, Yulia was still trying to bond with him as a friend. Even though her number was there, this wasn't a confession, just a means of communication so they could meet up.

'Sorry, I still can't.'

Although he could understand Yulia's attempt at having someone who could share the awkwardness of first experiences together with her, Leo put the paper away with no intention to do so.

If not to avoid future misunderstandings, he would have just crumbled it and thrown it in the trash can.

'Not as Leo.'

Even if Yulia had absolute proof that he and his alter ego was one, there was no way Leo would readily admit that out of his volition.

'It's not just about me.'

Had he been like the countless orphaned protagonists who had no one to worry about or people who would worry about them, Leo might have been a bit bold and free, accepting help and collaboration.

However, that wasn't the case for him and Leo was thankful for it. He had already suffered enough in the early part of his other two lives.

As for whether he would act friendly in his Swordsman Player persona, that was still debatable depending on the situation. For now…

'Everyone is on his own.'

With these thoughts in mind, Leo was already riding his bike on his way home. He might not need extra preparation, but he still had to adjust himself.

Suppressing his energy and regulating his breath once more, Leo left as quickly as he came. Unlike last time when the location was fairly close. They almost had to go to the border of Light City this time around.

Even without the unnecessary detours, it would take a considerable amount of time to reach the target, but Leo still didn't give up on distracting any unwanted followers…

'Phew... made it.'

With a necessity like attending school on Leo's timetable, Leo's schedule was tight, but he still made it to the mission area on time.

"There you are."

Leo had now arrived at the mountainous border of Light City!