Only I Am A Reader

Even as he tried to be as nonchalant as possible about it, Leo's heart was close to flying off on its own as each passing minute felt like a week. Still, Leo could only bite the bullet and endure till the day he would finally be set free!

"It was great having you here, be sure to come hello if you pass by!"

"I will try to."

Expectations could do 'wonders' to one's emotions. Nothing special had occurred during the 10 shifts Leo spent at the guard station, so to pass the time, he sat still and kept practicing his control over Sword Breath. However, he almost immediately disappeared from the station the moment he received his 'proof of completion'!

The sun was already setting by the moment he left, but Leo didn't return to the inn, instead, he quickly made his way towards the Gigant Sword Association's building.

Tap.

Entering the quiet reception hall, Leo stopped in front of the man who served him before and lightly slammed the paper down.

"Oh, our newest member is done with his trial, congratulations!"

Since Leo had managed to successfully register, the receptionist knew that he wasn't someone to mess with just because he was young.

"I would like to check out the mission list."

Skipping the formalities, Leo kept his expression blank to hide the excitement in his heart as his target was just seconds away from his reach.

"Alright, you have earned it."

Lowering his hand a little to open a drawer in his side of the counter, the receptionist reached out before dropping a thick bundle of paper before Leo.

"Here you go…"

The thick bundle of paper was one that only included missions

Upon receiving the bundle, Leo's eyes turned serious as he meticulously browsed through it one paper after another, but in reality, he was just pretending.

The papers that he was going through were merely missions that the Association judged to be suitable for grade-2 Swordsmen and below, and also the only missions he could accept, but the silver lining laid somewhere else!

'Here it is!'

It was only when Leo reached the last ten papers that the glow in his eyes turned real. If there were no deviation from what he read in the novel then his target should be within these papers!

"I will take this mission."

'Taking Care of An Unknown Sword Beast', these words were written in large letters in the paper Leo had taken out from the middle of the bundle. Unlike the rest of the papers, there were no numbers to indicate the mission's grade as it was only branded with a question mark.

"Hm? You want to take an unranked mission? It's still up to you, but for a first mission, it's better to pick something else. Compared to ranked missions, ones like you chose hold too many uncertainties due to how limited our information is in respect of the target."

Even within the adequately arranged mission list, unranked missions that had no specific ranks were only separated into low, mid, or high and added to the relevant grades' mission lists. Although the mission Leo picked was just a low grade one, the degree of difficulty could still go up to grade-3.

"Yeah, you see, I still have some things I need to do, so I can only pick up this mission which is in the same direction. I know you are doing this out of goodwill, but don't worry, I won't hold someone responsible if I were to mess up."

Since he wouldn't be able to return quickly if he wanted to make use of the 'Hidden Piece', Leo had prepared an excuse long ago so as not to arouse any suspicion.

"Well, if that's what our dear member wants…"

Seeing that Leo was adamant about his choice, the mustached receptionist could only shrug before leaving to get the mission's relevant information. On the other hand, a faint smile formed on Leo's face, everything had been going according to plan so far.

"This is what we know about this mission, you will have to figure out the rest yourself."

"Thank you…"

Receiving the small paper bundle, Leo's eyes almost lit up as he gave it a quick scan but he held himself back and continued to keep his pretense. He might not be as stealthy as an assassin, but he could still control his complexion a little bit.

"Right, since I won't be coming back here soon. Can I get a relay pigeon to confirm the completion of my mission once I'm done?"

"Sure, but you will have to pay a deposit of 50 Silver Swords. You will be able to collect it along with your mission reward if the pigeon returns safely…"

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

Knowing that he would be separated from his bed soon, Leo somehow suppressed his excitement and forced himself to sleep as soon as he went back to the inn, only waking up to the sound of his new but temporary companion at sunrise.

Coo. Coo.

"Let's get ready."

Not following his routine for the last ten days, Leo went directly to the stable in order to prepare for his 'hidden quest'.

Since his destination wasn't as far as usual, Leo planned to leave the carriage to travel lighter and quicker. Thus, he started loading the things that he needed into bags that the horse could carry on his body before he went to shower and get some breakfast.

After checking out of the inn and settling his payment, Leo passed by a ration store to fill his storage up before he stopped by a storing company to put away the carriage and the rest of his belongings for the time being, only then did he finally set out of the city!

'I hope everything goes well.'

Checking the map for the route, Leo prayed that things would continue being as smooth. Although this world's mapping technique was still crude, he hadn't been reading maps in his free time for the last ten days for nothing, he would surely arrive at his destination without fail!