Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 586: The New Aurora

"I'm glad that I managed to avoid publicly showing up once more, but don't you think it's strange that I'm the last one to know of this?"

Having belatedly seen the announcement concerning her deployment while walking in the streets, Aurora quickly rushed over to the Hero Association's headquarters, only to find out that everyone involved was sitting together in the main conference room.

"Even if we forget the fact that this is the project that I personally pitched, how do you expect me to act as the head of the team when it wasn't in your priority to inform me of this deployment?"

Normally, as long as it was for the sake of the people, Aurora was the type to endure all kinds of unreasonable situations such as this one, but for the first time in a very long while, she didn't feel like doing so anymore!

"Seriously, when was I supposed to find out? Was I meant to first meet these so-called great Heroes inside our first gate?"

In fact, a very bold and unfamiliar idea had popped up in her head.

"What if I were to say that I'm not going? Your team already looks great on its own. Why don't you let them head out just like that?"

Aurora could feel a part of her resisting as she said that, but once she said it, a strong wave of relief gushed over, making her feel that this was the right choice.

Ever since she left that strange Gate, she had experienced many things that were alien to her.

Ranging from small things like remembering that she enjoyed certain foods despite having never tried them before, all the way to bigger things like starting to wonder if the infamous Cassian's actions were actually justified.

Had it been the old her, such a thought would have been vanquished from her head before it even started to form, but now, it was like she suddenly received the ability to look at things from another perspective.

At first, that new perspective was weak and blurry, mostly easy to ignore, but over the months, it somehow managed to expand its territory, taking exactly half of her ability to process.

There was no longer anything that could be considered an unthinkable thought. Instead, whenever one half had a point, it had to present convincing arguments to persuade the other half to follow through.

Against the popular saying that no ship can survive having two captains, Aurora actually found her life changing for the better. At least, that was the case now that she could see things from two different angles.

Not one half was trying to emerge victorious for itself; rather, they were trying to find what was best for Aurora's sake, and somehow, that kind of dynamic worked out for the best.

'Though it gets a little tough sometimes.'

Naturally, when everything consisted of countless back-and-forths, life tended to get a little harder. As such, the usually busy Aurora freed up a part of her schedule to deal with it.

Though a long daily walk sounded far too simple a solution, she found that marching aimlessly without having to make any decisions for a little while was the perfect formula for her.

This was also the best time to disassemble the arguments that came to uncomfortable stalemates. After all, once such convoluted notes accumulated, Aurora found it hard to focus on anything.

In fact, she was just taking one such walk when the unexpected announcement destroyed her moment of precious freedom.

"..."

The sunglasses-wearing gentleman, here to represent the higher-ups, had no words to say. He was quite surprised that the famous Aurora was nothing like her profile in the Codex.

Almost everyone else in the room thought the same. Just where was the gentle and obedient tool they spoke of?

"Now, now, M- Aurora, no need to get so angry. You have every right to do so, but try to positively consider the situation for a few moments."

Only the old man was feeling far more indignant inside, but suppressing everything, he still tried to calm Aurora down.

He himself had just been manipulated to death during the recent announcement. Just to have his one demand met, he had to agree to take all the blame but none of the commendation that would come out of this whole project.

They even had him sign documents that guaranteed that!

Despite all of that, he still had the urge to throw it all to the wind and tell everyone watching all the dirty secrets involved with all these cheers, but only one thing held him back from doing so.

'I hate the fact that I let it come to this, but he is right.'

Be it a Villain or not, that guy had factually presented him with the perfect argument, even recounting certain details from his past that few others knew. Once the higher-ups decided on something, there was no stopping it.

Even if he tried everything he could, he could only delay things a bit before disappearing to who knows where, and then, Aurora would be put on the chopping block on their terms.

On the other hand, while nothing was absolutely certain, the plan that Cassian laid gave him actual hope for Aurora's escape. That was precisely why she couldn't act up against the higher-ups' demands.

Now more so than ever!

'Only by seeking death can you escape death.'

The only way out was to pass through the fire of tribulations; you could only truly attain freedom when everyone else expected you to die.

'As long as the fire is only an illusion…'

Once one had enough water to put out the fire, it no longer posed a real threat. On the other hand…

If you resist jumping into the fire, one would be pushed in even more strongly. The old man didn't want to see those sinister guys taking direct action to restrain and silence the now rebellious Aurora.

"It's not your fault, Director."

Unfortunately, the current Aurora didn't seem like she planned on submitting this time…