Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 568: Status Reversal

"Sorry?"

Although Leo was indeed shocked about being so easily countered, he was never afraid of being unable to catch his prey.

"Apology accepted."

Even if the special nature of this fangirl made her a slippery fish, Leo believed that he just needed the right tools to handle her specialty.

If a simple grip was no good, then perhaps a Shadow Nightmare would do the trick.

No? Then proper shackles made from Shadow Armament had to be effective.

Still no? It didn't matter; there were plenty of other methods to try.

'Still, quick and precise is better.'

That being said, Leo still preferred to use the sole foolproof method that he had in his arsenal. After all…

'Roughing her up was never my intention.'

With a time limit on his hand, going through the list of possibilities wouldn't be much different from turning the poor girl into a guinea pig.

Leo had no plan to use real violence from the very start, but now that his plans turned in a different direction, there were even more reasons to be gentle.

"I can't…?"

The eyes that the girl had previously closed in shyness opened up to reveal a shocked expression, but that expression didn't last long. Instead, she once again strayed away from the script in Leo's head.

"Amazing!"

It was just a visual illusion caused by her strong impression, but Leo could almost see stars shining in her eyes. Rather than being frightened by the confinement, the intruder was amazed.

"As expected of the Lord of Shadows, I thought I had managed to become your one true student, but it looks like I'm still very far off."

The words she spoke weren't very unexpected to hear from an obsessed fangirl. However, when they went through Leo's mind translator, he picked off an absurd possibility.

'Student?'

Was her Special Ability really related to his? If Leo's quick guess was right, then this fangirl's ability was far more crazy than all his previous assumptions.

"That being said, I really need to go. I can't stay in your vicinity for too long… At least not until I get used to it."

Unfortunately, the following words were still fangirl gibberish that had no specific direction. If Leo really had to, there was one more factor that he could deduce from them, but it would be a very shaky deduction.

'Considering her previous streak, she could just be a very shy person.'

Although her public display proved otherwise, Leo was fairly aware of fake personas. In order to achieve certain goals, shy or introverted people could act like great speakers as long as they didn't have to engage in direct conversations.

"You sure are speaking rather freely for a home intruder."

That being said, while Leo planned to be gentle, he wasn't going to reveal his hand right from the start.

It would have been nice if he could just trust her to follow his every word as his dedicated fan, but Leo wasn't that gullible.

If he was the kind of person who believed everything he saw to be the bare truth, let alone getting this far, he wouldn't have survived past the first book.

"I-I know I should have introduced myself, but it's really hard! So sorry!"

Regardless of his true personality, he had to make the right persona to deal with this new collaborator that he decided on.

"I wanted to at least show you satisfactory results. I was really planning to have our first meeting very soon!"

However, before Leo could even try to convince her, the fangirl was already treating herself like his subordinate. Although…

"Results?"

He didn't have the faintest idea about the task that she assigned to herself.

"The Followers of Shadow! I know you were probably too busy with more important things to know this, but I gave a few recruitment speeches not too long ago!"

'Speeches?'

Leo was aware of how she crashed Aurora's party almost a year ago, but it seemed like she had more activities out of his field of view.

"I don't recall giving you such an assignment. In fact, this is the first time that I heard about this group of followers."

"Like I said, I'm fully aware you aren't free to handle simple things like this, but every great person has to receive the support they deserve."

As a person who worked best when he was alone, Leo wanted to refute the fangirl's words. However…

'That makes things easier.'

He just happened to require her help with this matter. Rather than building up an entirely new narrative, this was the perfect entry point.

"I'm not sure if doing something that I never asked for can be considered support."

With Cassian's originally aloof personality as a guideline, asking for a direct favor could break the fangirl's immersion.

"...I know that we have yet to prove our value. However, this is all just in preparation for the real thing. Once the Lord of Shadows moves out to achieve his true purpose, the Followers of Shadow will be there to do your bidding!"

As such, reversing the situation was the way to go!

"I don't recall ever requiring extra numbers to achieve my goals, and honestly, I don't think that would be the case in the future."

"If-if it's the Lord of Shadows' will. I will spare no effort to disperse the members I have gathered…"

Although she was quick to answer, the fangirl's voice turned shaky, sounding a little choked as if she was about to cry.

"That being said, the quality of these numbers does make a difference. If it's you, I think your assistance could make things a bit more convenient."

As soon as the disappointed intruder heard the word 'You', her body shook as if she had been electrocuted. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The tears she was holding back dried off in an instant as a dozen stars took their place, the excitement overcame both sadness and shyness.

"Please ask! Anything!"

Just like that, the one making the request and the receiver switched places. If they didn't get to listen from the start, anyone would think that Leo was the one doing the favor.