Only I Am A Reader

"Slowly… Slowly…"

The officers that were normally responsible for patrolling the plaza came forward to calm the people and organize their departure. They also checked for any obvious signs if someone among them was involved.

Although the intruder had vanished, Special Abilities weren't always what they looked like. She could have just used a flashy trick before disappearing into the crowd.

Most importantly, her trickery was too intricate for one person to do, so they suspected that she might have a collaborator.

"Are we… really safe?"

"Of course, don't you see all the Heroes that have come forward to help everyone?"

Naturally, catching the culprit or her collaborator wasn't these officers' job, they were just on the lookout.

"Even if Cassian himself comes here, no harm would befall you all."

The Heroes on the scene listened to the exaggerated praise with a smile on their face. Some of them felt like they deserved it compared to the imprisoned Villain, while a few internally ridiculed themselves.

Nonetheless, they were all focused on finding any foreign Enigma on the scene!

"Hello?"

As for the main star of the show, Aurora paid no attention to their efforts as if she had no intention of finding the intruder. It was only when she received a phone call that she stepped down from the podium.

"Hey, little May. It's always good to hear your voice."

The elderly caller's hoarse voice spoke of a different name, but it wasn't the wrong number. Rather, it was the more accurate one, May Nova was the protagonist's real name. Aurora Dawnbringer was only a moniker.

While not many Heroes did it in this day and age, Aurora was still one of those who maintained their identity as a normal civilian.

In fact, only very few people knew of her real name.

"Director?"

Although the phone had only shown a blocked number, Aurora was quickly able to identify the caller. It was her one and only true supporter!

Leo had no plans to monitor Aurora as of yet, but if he had done so, he would have identified the man just as quickly. The so-called Director was Aurora's support grandpa!

While most of the higher-ups and authority figures treated Aurora as a tool, he was someone who truly believed in what she was doing.

He might not have gone far enough to break her fantasy, but he always made sure to throw her some useful tips that allowed Aurora to survive till now.

Of course, as one of the factors that kept her going against the wall, Leo didn't look at him kindly. In reality, an undeadly stumble might have been what Aurora needed all along.

"I'm sorry about the timing, but I just heard about what happened at the announcement and I have something important to tell you."

Despite everything happening just a few minutes ago, it was only natural that a higher-up like the Direction would be one of the first to know about it.

"It's this urgent?"

However, he didn't call just to make sure that she was okay. His calls had to stay a few and short if he wanted to keep his position. He only risked calling now because he had important news to share.

"It's about Cassian. He escaped confinement."

It was only when the meals had been left untouched that Asterisk's Warden finally noticed what happened, so Cassian's escape was something that even the higher-ups had realized very recently.

"Well, he was never really confined. Still, his sudden choice to leave is definitely concerning. I wasn't going to worry you with this, but…"

Considering Cassian's behavior during his imprisonment, the higher-ups felt that he might have just left to crawl into a hole somewhere and die.

As such, they found it unnecessary to let anyone else know about it. They were going to keep it a secret.

Until a few moments ago, the Director didn't exactly disagree, but what just happened was just too worrying.

"I'm afraid this intruder might be actually under Cassian's order himself. It's too much of a coincidence that something like this happened not a few days after he left."

What were the odds that it would be a coincidence? Whatever they were, the Director wasn't going to bet on that. He preferred to let Aurora know what kind of danger might await her.

This supposed fan had not only infiltrated an event that was so heavily monitored, but she also possessed a strong enough ability to orchestrate all of this. In reality, it made more sense to the Direction if Cassian had a direct hand in this.

"But why would he target me? Everyone is saying that he helped me instead. Isn't this too far of a stretch?"

'Eh?'

The Director was expecting Aurora to complain about how they could have let such a dangerous Villain escape, putting the normal civilians at risk. Right from the start, however, she was actually focusing on the very core of it all.

Was she finally starting to outgrow her childish fantasies?

"Well, this might as well be our fault. For some reason, this Cassian seems to have an unhealthy obsession with your heroic persona, and we probably made it worse."

"Worse?"

"In order to keep him locked up, we have agreed to a few conditions of his, and they weren't all so simple…"

Once the Director got to the uncomfortable part, his voice turned awkward. He wasn't personally responsible for that negotiation, but him not trying to actively change the result later on was a fact.

While the higher-ups didn't all have the same goals, they all agreed that they needed to keep such a wild beast sedated so he wouldn't ruin any of their plans. What Cassian showed on that day couldn't be underestimated.

Although nothing much had happened yet, the Director felt like their complacency was already backfiring in their face.

"Interesting."

Hidden from the crowd's eyes, Aurora's lips curved into a strange smile as she didn't bother hiding her inner thoughts.

"Hmm? What do you mean by-"

"It's okay, the Director shouldn't worry too much about this. Thanks for the warning, but I have to get going now."

"Wait-"

Ending the call, Aurora silently left the plaza with a hidden destination in mind. Things were still foggy, but the pieces of the puzzle were already starting to come together.