Only I Am A Reader

Chapter 504 Lagging Challenge

'They aren't single-minded after all.'

Once Leo encountered monster corpses in his path, he was able to confirm that a human was responsible for this. After all, the precise cuts could only have been made using a sword.

There was another pair on this stage, and they had actually taken the initiative to clear the challenge!

'It's probably her.'

The distinct wounds and the initiative already gave Leo an idea of who he was about to encounter. Unlike how things seemed so far, not all the scammers on Aurora's team were useless.

Although they were far from Aurora's caliber, there were one or two who had actual fighting strength. At the very least, the moderate monsters in this Gate wouldn't pose a challenge to them.

'Even then, they are as predictable as always.'

That being said, it didn't mean that they were proper members of the team. They were still a burden, and proof that was readily accessible to Leo.

'They… She already cleared the challenge.'

Leo could already sense the portal's existence. However, since he still ended up in this stage with that being the case, it meant that the challenge's clearers were lagging behind.

While this was at least better than the lazy and selfish attitude that Ken and Clara portrayed, it was obvious that whoever did this had no plans to contribute to this Gate Clear.

'Always a false mask.'

If one were to look at it from a calculative perspective, staying in place did make sense. However, the whole team had taken responsibility for clearing this Gate before it broke open, so this couldn't be used as an excuse.

If anything, being able to do something yet doing nothing made her worse than the tanky duo who were already captured by Leo.

'They aren't that far from the portal.'

Preparing himself for one more lesson, Leo put on his Ray disguise once more before walking towards the portal. He wasn't planning to spend too much time on this either.

"Hello?"

Sending out a greeting as he approached from afar, Leo could hear someone pulling out their sword, but as soon as his figure became clear, it was put back in its sheath.

"Oh, it's the newcomer. How did you get here?"

The one who still had her grip on the sword was just the person whom Leo was expecting. It was Miyu, the one who always liked to act as Aurora's right hand!

"I just did what the voice told me and went through that until I reached here. What about you?"

Leo showed a bit of confusion on his face as he pointed at the closeby portal.

"Were you on your own?"

Despite trying his best to look as friendly as possible, Leo could tell that Miyu was being careful with him. Compared to the reactions that he received so far, hers was surprisingly the most normal of them all.

He was a last-time participant who didn't even have an Association ID on him. If things were in reverse, Leo might have suspected that he was the one who caused this Gate's change.

"Ah, yes. I see that Alice is also here, did you join up later as well?"

Naturally, Leo kept a sufficient distance between himself and the Shadow Cocoons, so he didn't have to worry about being exposed.

Most importantly, unlike him who knew all the crucial details about this Gate, Miyu and Alice had no idea how it worked. Just because they ended up being paired didn't mean that the rest were the same.

"No, we were together when we came to… So this isn't the way outside?"

Miyu kept silent, but the other girl on her side was a bit more forthright. In short words, she was the team's healer.

Aurora herself had some healing applications, much more effective than Alice who could only heal minor wounds, but she wasn't the first useless member of the team.

From the looks of her face, it looked like she was trying to convince Miyu to use the portal in hope of it being an exit. Now that Leo had shattered her illusion of freedom, Alice's disappointment was apparent.

"Didn't you hear the sword at the start? We have to finish a hundred of these tasks before the Gate can be cleared. You don't plan to continue?"

Like an innocent true member of Aurora's team of Heroes, Leo immediately pointed at the elephant in the room. Just why were they staying still without doing anything?

'Well, Miyu's intentions are obvious.' 𝙗𝙚𝒅𝒏𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝙜

She could have done what Ken planned to do, but Miyu's acting wasn't as easygoing as the rest. Rather than just throwing excuses at Aurora, she always made sure to make it visible that she did her share.

She obviously wasn't going to participate in the challenge marathon, but Miyu definitely wanted to Show Aurora that she did handle the one challenge she was handed. With that as the basis, she could pretend to not know what she was supposed to do next.

"Can you confirm what you heard to be true? What if the monsters inside are more than we can handle? We are a team, not every one of us can handle themselves."

At first glance, Miyu's words made sense, but it was just a shallow generalization. While others could say that, not only was she the second-best damage dealer in the team, but she also had the only other healer.

"I'm sure Aurora-sama would also agree."

New teammates could get away with just taking care of immediate danger, but she was supposed to be a veteran to a certain degree. Miyu wasn't worried for her life, she just wanted to ride the Aurora bus.

As loyal to Aurora as she tried to appear, Miyu was actually the most materialistic one out of the whole group of scammers.

She was obedient in front of Aurora, but in reality, she had no qualms about selling her for the right price. The rest had a lower tone when compared to Miyu's inner thoughts. The dark contrast was truly eye-opening for Leo.

"Maybe."

Naturally, now that Leo confirmed that didn't change in reality either, his Enigma had already started moving!