Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 581: A Simple Trade

"Let's not get into another misunderstanding. Let me explain first."

Leo could see himself tripping in another pitfall with his choice of wording, so he quickly stopped the old man's wild imagination before he went into another panic attack.

"...Go ahead."

The director wanted to protest, but it wasn't like there was much he could do. Although he was in an internal fit of rage, he still remembered that the person in front of him could end him in the blink of an eye.

"First of all, we have to agree on something. This is not something you can stop, isn't that right?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"So what, do you also want me to give up just like everyone else?!"

"Of course, not. If that was the case, I wouldn't have bothered coming here."

The plan going online was already a forgone conclusion; the original novel made that blatantly obvious. No matter what, this event was meant to happen.

Technically, while the higher-ups were simply too out of reach to stop it from their end, trying things the other way around was much more plausible. Unfortunately…

'The one we are trying to help isn't exactly the cooperative type.'

If she could be convinced with reason, Leo would have attempted to take away Aurora, effectively cutting off the puppet strings attached to her back.

However, based on everything that happened so far. Even in this altered reality, Aurora was very likely to accept the higher-ups' commands despite seeing the knives pointing to her neck.

The reality of the plan was a sick guillotine with an extension cord that allowed the scene of the execution to last days, but in name, it was still an ambitious move to rid Enigma City of any kind of immediate danger.

Under the influence of her 'Light', Aurora was bound to accept that arrangement no matter the cost.

'After all, she was the one who pitched that idea all year long.'

To suddenly have your unreachable number one goal within your grasp? One would willingly take a disadvantage or two for the sake of their dreams!

"So… What exactly are you suggesting?"

"The way things are at the moment, the scales of the game are too out of balance, simply unfair."

Be it a lion or a deer, being ganged up on was usually a one-way ticket to the grave. In order for there to be a fighting chance, a new variable had to be added to the hunting game.

"I say we patch things a little in our great hero's favor."

Finally mouthing out his objective, Leo threw a piece of paper onto the Director's desk.

"Patch things…? Who is this?"

As the paper landed right in front of his eyes, the Director realized that it was actually a paper copy of a Hero's identification card, one that he had never heard of before.

"Like I said, this is the variable that will help balance the game board."

Although in a rough mental state, the Director quickly understood what Leo was getting at. However…

"This is the variable?"

Considering the ID in front of him, this sounded more like an afternoon prank.

Not to mention that it held the picture of a face that was completely new to him, but the remaining information made things even more absurd!

"You expect a new Hero to save Aurora?!"

The creation date on the ID only went as far as two days ago!

While the Director wasn't gullible enough to think that he knew about every decently strong Hero, he was pretty sure that a newbie was useless no matter what.

Even if the ability they awakened was actually strong, without experience in handling it, let alone others, new Ability Users couldn't even save themselves in Gates.

"Come on, do I really have to spill it out for you? Things aren't always what they seem to be."

Perhaps because it was a sensitive manner, the Director found himself to be slow on the uptake, but with Leo's last hint, the complete picture came to mind.

'An Outlaw.'

The nature of the person in front of him was his biggest hint. After all, even if he was trying to help, why would a Villain recommend an honest Hero?

That being said, an Outlaw wasn't always a bad person.

Most new awakened opted to register with the association in fear of the punishment they would face if they were discovered to have hidden their ability.

In addition, being a registered Hero was always a one way ticket to ascend both the social and financial ladders.

However, not everyone was molded to follow the rule of the carrot and the stick; some preferred to keep to themselves and act accordingly.

And unlike the common misconception, such people didn't always turn out to be villains; part of them just didn't believe in the ruling system.

Most importantly, if such Outlaws decide to finally register, the experience they accumulated while being on the down low usually turned them into prodigies.

"You sure they are trustworthy?"

The Director wasn't sure if even Cassian could be considered trustworthy, but he was running out of options.

"You have my guarantee. In fact, I believe their presence on the team wouldn't be any different than mine. Of course, if I could, I would be there myself, but you know how our little Hero views me after the last incident."

Remembering his last discussion with Aurora, the Director was pretty sure that Cassian's point of view differed greatly from reality, but he didn't inform him of that.

As the acknowledged strongest Villain, it was always the safer bet to keep the big bad wolf away from Aurora.

That being said, the Director wouldn't have even considered Cassian's suggestion if not for the sudden trust that Aurora showed towards him.

"Alright, I'm on board, but how exactly do you plan to convince them of this addition?"

"Hmm? I'm not the one who will do so, you are."

"Huh? If my words meant anything, wouldn't their atrocious plan already be out of sight?"

"That's exactly the problem. Rather than raining on their entire parade, you just have to make a trade."

"A… Trade?"

"Yup, a very simple one. After all the trouble you put them through, I'm sure they would happily accept the addition of a newbie hero in exchange for their plan's instant approval, don't you think?"