Only I Am A Reader

Neighhh!

Unlike Leo's companion that brought him everywhere within the Sword Continent, the horses pulling their carriages weren't normal. Although they hadn't formed Internal Cores just yet, their bodies nourished with natural energy were enough for them to qualify as semi-true beasts.

'It's not that comfortable, but it's better than running all the way back.'

The semi-true beasts greatly increased their speed, but they didn't help with the troubles of past vehicles. In fact, the ride had become bumpier due to the speed. Still, Leo couldn't complain about the luxury of being driven back!

Just by appearing in front of that shop, the Heavenly Strength Society's hidden 'checkpoint' was basically already compromised. Exposing it wasn't exactly bad considering that some form of communication with the Righteous Faction was needed, but it wasn't that different from losing a pair of hidden eyes…

As Martial Artists who didn't need to rest in between, Leo and the rest spent the whole journey inside the carriage. With none other than Leo by her side, Yeon relaxedly slept on his shoulder for the greater part of the journey.

It was hard to tell if she was making up for the lack of sleep during the Mount Hua Sword Conference or if she was just making use of the opportunity. Either way, other than meditation, sleep was the only way to use up the boring travel time. Even Cheon Sohee slept leaning on her teacher.

On the other hand, Leo spent most of the journey awake in contemplation. The cost of the risk he took in changing so many major points was the hundreds of possibilities that could possibly stem from the butterfly effect. His advantage of knowing the future was no longer all-inclusive, but…

'It was worth it.'

If the cost of semi-omniscience was to let everything take the same course, then could that even be considered an advantage? Leo had already tried out the quiet route back at the Sword Continent, but he ended up embroiled through his hidden identity, something that even he as a reader had no knowledge of.

Since his character was bound to enter the cycle of conflict, then it was better to take the initiative. Creating the largest and most advantageous divergence point was the best way to make use of his knowledge!

'The overarching plot shouldn't change that much anyway…'

Just then, Cheon Chang's eyes suddenly sprang open. He had closed them ever since the start of the journey, sitting straight with his arms crossed, but it seemed like…

"We have arrived!"

Neighh!

The carriage driver who came along from Unnam spoke up as the carriage suddenly came to a stop. Their short trip had quickly come to an end.

'I wonder how would 'that' turn out for him?'

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

"I would like to try out a Night Star."

Back at Unnam, a youth draped in a gray cloak went into the Night's Curtain that had just been reconstructed. Just like any 'normal' business around, they received quite a bit of damage under the monsters' attack.

"...Here."

The bartender remained unaffected, but he threw quite a few glances at the cloaked youth. Even in such troubled times, a single branch never had that many clients…

"Not bad."

Gulping down the cup full of squid ink, Geochin rose from his seat. Hurriedly walking to the bathroom like someone who was about to leak. The small piece of paper was shredded into specks in the process, but no one was focused enough to see that.

"It's too depressing these days! There aren't even enough people left to drink away their sorrows with us!"

"Who knew that such a disaster would befall us like that? Even the Martial Artists couldn't completely stop it. A lot of those murim-ins who descended the mountain were dragging down corpses…"

'4th booth.'

Catching a few words of grief from the mouth of the few drunkards who still had the time to visit a pub, Geochin quickly found his destination, the stairs leading him to the small counter covered in shadow.

"Hello, dear customer."

For a moment, Geochin froze in mesmerization by the gender-neutral voice, but he quickly came to his senses. He knew that this wasn't a place where he could afford to be careless.

"Would you like to buy or sell?"

The veiled dealer mystically spoke, slightly curious about this new customer. A very recent deal had kept her expectations high for the next one, but…

"I would like to meet your manager."

'Eh?'

Wondering if something was wrong with her ears, the dealer's poker face showed hints of confusion mixed with hostility. Was this possibly one of the so-called enforcers?

"Oh yeah… Tell Byeol that Geom says hello."

Deja vu! The scene overlapped with the dealer's very recent experience. Why was Saja-nim contacting them this soon?

Things had been pretty strange at first, but as soon as the monsters' attack broke out. Everything suddenly started making sense! Neither she nor the higher-ups that she could interact with could understand how he predicted a surprise event like this. However, they all realized one thing… This customer wasn't normal!

Their first suspicion was that it could be a traitor of humanity who stood on the monsters' side, but the top brass confirmed that to be wrong according to the code words he spoke, which only made him more mysterious in her eyes!

"Are you… sent by 'him' to collect something?"

There was no reason for Saja Dokja or the one behind them to visit this branch to collect the rest of the upfront payment as they could directly claim it from the House of Finance. Something seemed… Off.

"Hm? You could say I'm sent by someone… But I'm not here to collect something, I'm here to strike a deal."

'Is this…'

"I would like to request your help to distribute martial ar-"

"Get out."

'A copycat!'

The dealer's face turned back frozen at the very awkward similarity. She didn't know how he did it, but this had to be an imposter trying to impersonate Saja Dokja!

"Huh?"

"Sorry, we can't serve you. You can try that out elsewhere."

"Really? You aren't going to ask someone else first?"

"Please get out."

'Didn't you say it was going to work?'

Being thrown out of the bar like this, Geochin complained to the Murim Lord who had remained silent throughout the whole thing.

<It should have… Forget it, let's try out another branch.>

A hint of suspicion was already budding in Namgung Geom's mind, but he decided to keep silent about it for the time being…