Only I Am A Reader

'To think that simply wandering around would end with something like this…'

On his way back home, Leo pedaled slowly after calming down a little. He couldn't tell yet if it was a good or a bad one, but this whole day was undeniably a big surprise!

Despite having returned ten days ago, Leo hadn't discovered anything special with the world. Whether it was the news, the internet, rumors, nothing had shown on his radar. The whole world seemed to go on with their usual life, making it feel like he was truly the only special one around.

However, just when he was about to put aside his search for the time being, Leo ended up encountering two oddities within the same day. First, there was the harmless Yulia, then there was the shocking poster.

'Is this poster-specific or…'

Wracking his mind, Leo ended coming up with a few theories as usual. It was impossible for the poster to show the same thing to every person without it turning into a school legend. It could only be a selective case that would show up to certain individuals.

Leo obviously didn't have any concrete guesses as to how this was achieved, but someone like him could turn his hand to a sword after 'reading' a book! The existence of an illusionist of sorts wasn't something abnormal at this point!

Even then, Leo was still trying to figure out the scope of this ability. Was every poster supposed to transform in that manner when he looked at it? Or was the kendo club's poster the special one? Was there a particular reason this ability was applied in his school? Or was it spread everywhere and he was the one to only notice it now?

Leo wasn't simply playing puzzles for entertainment, rather, he was just trying to narrow down the odds. All in order to discover if he was exposed or not!

The bigger the scope of this 'illusion', the more confident Leo would be regarding his safety. This was also the direction he leaned towards. After all, the invitation was a very general one, seemingly made to pique the curiosity of newbies with supernatural experiences…

'24 days from now.'

Despite his doubts, Leo didn't forget to memorize the date and the address mentioned at the end of the poster. This might be a trap, but it was also the only way for him to get any answers at the moment.

Most importantly, the main lead that Leo had lied in that very address. The fact that it was situated in another city supported his guess of its being a wide-ranged ability, though that didn't exclude the fact that it might be a reverse-psychology method of diversion.

'I will check it out soon!'

Considering how critical this could be, Leo didn't plan to rush out his investigation. Going around checking out posters around the school or even the whole city would only make him more suspicious if someone was actually watching. As such, he only planned to casually take a look when the opportunity arose…

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

'Am I the slow one?'

Entering his room after a rejuvenating shower, Leo collapsed to his bed as he stared at his Personal Book. The Energy Bar had already increased by another tick, and this 'World Reservation Council' came out of nowhere as well, making him feel like he was the one who couldn't keep up the pace.

Meowww…

Dark jumped out of who knew where and started rubbing his head on Leo's arms, where was the attention it usually got after school! Not to mention that it had been eagerly waiting to play the 'disappearance' game!

"Awww… You are right, it's not time to get depressed over nothing."

Leo let out a sigh as he lightly caressed Dark's hair. He was only one person, so controlling everything was impossible. Since he was already doing his best, he could only keep going while hoping for optimal results.

"I will come back soon."

Deciding to make use of his momentary resolve, Leo left the bed and changed into his casual clothes. It was time to go shopping!

Meow?!

Looking at Leo's departing figure with widened eyes, Dark was overcome with confusion. It was just asking to play, why did the human suddenly leave?

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

'Should be around here…'

Within the shopping district, Leo looked around to confirm that he had reached his destination. He originally didn't plan to visit this shop soon despite having looked up its location earlier.

"Umm… How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for an electric furnace. Something… that can go up over a thousand degree Celsius?"

Exchanging glances with the shopkeeper after taking a quick look around, Leo stated his unusual request!

He was naturally looking for something to melt down the gold coins piled up in his Reading Space!

"Sure, we have a few models if you want to take a look."

Despite Leo's unusual request, the shopkeeper didn't seem surprised one bit. Even though Leo looked young, he could be buying it for someone. Besides, with how strange things had spread on the internet, people buying stuff like this to make some sort of content was something he was familiar with.

"Just give me one with a reasonable price."

Leo's casual words affirmed the shopkeeper's guess. This young man was probably buying it to play around.

"A sec."

Someone else might have been responsible enough to convince Leo to not buy something dangerous like this, but the shopkeeper didn't care. As long as the customer paid, he would sell whatever he had in his shop!

'As expected.'

Leo had specifically come to this shop because of the reviews, the guy in front of him was as easy going as he could be.

"This one is worth over 4k, but I will round it up for you. Cash or card?"

"Cash."

Leo opened his backpack to take a fat roll of banknotes, this was more than half his savings over the last few years. However, he wasn't pained to take it out!

Compared to the amount of money he could get from transforming the useless coins he had into actual currency, this was nothing. Leo had ignored this matter since he wasn't particularly lacking money at the moment, but the 'invitation' he received today changed his mind. The appearance of a visible threat on Earth required him to make preparation that required this wealth.

"Thanks for your patronage!"