Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 583: Thorn Trio

"That being said, the director was insistent on making his own addition to the team."

Following the Governor's introduction, all eyes turned to look at the one person who suddenly stood out.

It wasn't that she was even more flashy than the Thorny Rose Trio. Quite the opposite, her getup was simple and practical.

Being the only person on stage who didn't wear matching clothes... This naturally made her the odd one.

"Everyone, please give a warm welcome to our new rising Hero, Star Pupils!"

Contrary to his tone that contained a subtle hint of mockery, the Governor still urged the crowd to cheer up for the newcomer.

However, as if it was a small match being thrown in the sea, the Governor's 'enthusiasm' didn't ignite anything in the audience.

Perhaps it was already great that a few 'boos' didn't jump out.

"I understand that many of you don't recognize this new face, but I assure you that she is a 'necessary' pick, undeniably so!"

The audience followed the Governor's eyes, turning back to the Director standing in the back.

"Even I was worried for her. After all, not just anyone can qualify for a mission this dangerous. However, the fact that the Director wouldn't have passed this project without her in the team speaks volumes of her capabilities."

Everyone turned to look back at the new face, giving her another once over. That second inspection still warranted her no cheers, though.

'Sly old man.'

Hearing the load of nonsense that was being broadcast on the screen, Leo couldn't help but complain to himself. Those higher-ups really didn't miss a chance to steer things their way.

After making sure to paint themselves as humanity's saviors, they made sure to throw most of the responsibility onto the Director's shoulders.

'I did expect this to a certain point, but I didn't think they would be this shameless.'

Having envisioned most of the announcement's content, Leo wasn't especially eager to hear it on live TV. A matter this big would definitely be re-screened several times more.

In fact, it just happened that he had been running some errands in the area and went into a random coffee shop for some milk coffee and a complimentary chocolate cake; the timing of the announcement was merely a coincidence.

Of course, having taken that much into consideration, this didn't sour his mood, the dopamine released by the chocolate cake had a much stronger effect compared to watching a few dirty tricks.

He was merely amazed at their shamelessness!

'If this was truly just a desperate gamble on his part, the Director would have really been thrown under the bus.'

On the surface, the Governor might have shown how strongly he believed in the Director's choice, but in reality, he was simply washing his hands clean of the disaster that the higher-ups were planning from the very beginning.

In fact, the person who received the Director's ultimatum could barely hold his laughter. He believed that the old man had truly gone senile.

In his last attempt to thwart their plans, he practically handed them a solution to their future problems on a silver plate, all at the cost of his very own neck.

"Most importantly, with Aurora at the lead and the Thorny Rose Trio having the whole team's back, Star Pupils can bring out her full potential."

'As expected, even Shadow Crow would have been better at this rate.'

While his poker face was still on, Leo's inner self was doing its best to hold back a laugh.

His naming sense wasn't that great, but Kara really had a talent for choosing the 'best' ones.

Due to the ambiguous messages that they could send, Leo had instructed that it would be better if she forget about using both her old and new nicknames.

However, Kara strangely clung to the name Leo bestowed upon her, only agreeing to changing it slightly.

Unfortunately, while the stars in her pupils really did match the name, it was the exact opposite of any name that a proper adult would use.

"Naturally, we will make sure to arrange proper orientation so that both Aurora and the Thorny Rose Trio can fill Star Pupils in."

'Lies.'

As if they were trying to prove the Governor wrong, the Thorny Rose Trio didn't bother hiding their blatant hostility as they turned to look at the younger and more vibrant Kara.

Fortunately enough for them, they were almost completely out of the camera's focus, so their murderous jealousy, laced with obvious disregard, was only seen by a few careful eyes like Leo's.

"Who knows? After all of this is over, perhaps all five of them would form one great team to truly eradicate the presence of Gates on our lovely Earth!"

Once again, the Governor shamelessly advertised his greatest fear as his biggest dream. In reality, no one wanted the Gates to disappear.

The wealth that could be excavated from it was one thing, but the true, most important benefit of having Gates was much simpler.

It was the greatest chewing toy, keeping the monstrous superhumans occupied enough so they wouldn't become a problem!

Everyone desired more Ability Users when humanity was on the brink of extinction, but once the true apocalypse was averted, these Ability Users themselves became the very next threat.

'The Thorn Trio are probably the greatest example of that.'

While it was true that the three old Ability Users were quite strong back in the days of the imminent apocalypse, they were anything but Heroes. Calling them thugs or outlaws was an infinitely better description.

In fact, the actual name that they were infamously known for was the Thorn Trio; the Thorny Rose Trio was only something that the Governors romanticized so they could appeal more to the civilians.

Just based on a few of their past deeds mentioned in the novel, Leo was confident that none of the people who actually remembered the Thorn Trio would dare appear in their presence, let alone cheer for them.

After all, they were known for abusing the unlimited authority during times of the old crisis to do as they wished, acting like queens in a world of peasants.

'Aside from a few psychopaths.'

Considering that there were quite a few people who believed in the superiority of Ability Users, treating normal humans like bugs, it wasn't that surprising that even the Thorn Trio had their fans.

In fact, Leo suspected that the majority of the audience gathered for this event were none other than these very few fans!

'This…'

For someone who had all the information they needed like Leo, the whole announcement, from start to finish, was a funny charade that was too sad for him to laugh at. However…

'They truly think the entirety of Enigma City is just their puppet station.'

By masterfully controlling the details of everything on the stage, up to the point of bringing together the only people who would cheer for the old thorny monsters, the ignorant were given the illusion that while they might be old, they were worth their weight in gold.

All while somehow ensuring that the PR nightmare that would befall them at the very end of this project would solely fall over the Director's head…