"Alright," he said quietly. "Now my next question."
"What is it? Hurry up already."
"Are you going to join Ryen’s team?"
Ahh! Fuck I know that this was his real purpose!
"That again? I already said, I’m not. And why are you asking this again?"
Leo gave a small shrug, but his eyes didn’t leave mine.
"Because you keep giving answers like you’re trying to convince yourself, not ."
I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed—and maybe a little cornered.
He didn’t say anything for while. Just sipped his macchiato and looked out the window for a mont, like he was trying to gather his thoughts.
"You’re changing," he said finally.
"Is that a complint or a warning?"
He gave a wry smile. "Both."
I leaned forward on the desk, tapping my fingers lightly. "Look, Leo. I’m not joining Ryen’s team. Not because I hate him or anything, but because I just want to get through this without the extra drama. Simple as that."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "You think not joining him keeps you away from drama?"
Touché.
"Point is," I muttered, brushing it off, "I’m not cut out for that kind of spotlight. Let Ryen play the hero. I’m fine in the background."
There was silence for while as Leo’s gray eyes look at .
And after while...
"You haven’t said no to him."
Now we are on back to step one again.
"Does that bother you?"
"No," Leo said imdiately, and then after a pause, "...yes."
I glanced at him, and he shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but the tension in his jaw said otherwise.
"I get it," he continued. "Ryen’s not bad. He’s smart, reliable, and annoyingly persistent. But..."
He didn’t finish the sentence.
"But you don’t like him," I said for him.
He exhaled through his nose, clearly holding sothing back.
"Is it because you lost to him in the entrance exam duel?"
Leo’s expression darkened imdiately, his brows twitching as he narrowed his eyes.
"I admit I lost," he said, jaw tight, "but it was because luck was on his side. Next ti, it’ll be different."
Yeah, sure.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, as if trying to bury so particularly unpleasant mory I had just dug up. After a mont of stillness, he let out a slow breath and opened his eyes again, calm but a bit more serious now.
"So, in short... you won’t join his team."
"Right. I won’t."
"Really? That’s good to hear," Leo said, a hint of relief slipping into his voice. "But it doesn’t seem like you’re all that interested in joining my team either."
"Correct again."
"I see." He shrugged, pretending it didn’t bother him. "Can’t force you to join, of course. Anyway, that brings to the real reason I called you out here."
So there was another reason. I tilted my head slightly, curious now. What was he getting at?
He looked dead in the eye.
"Tell —how did you recover?"
"...What’s that supposed to an?"
"The last ti I saw you," Leo said slowly, "you were on the verge of death. After using that talent of yours."
My curiosity peaked.
I didn’t realize Rin—the original owner of this body—had nearly died. I got his mories when I took over, sure, but there were gaps. Huge ones. Blank spaces I couldn’t fill in, like pages torn from a book.
It also explained why I didn’t recognize the voice on that phone call from Rin’s sister.
But Leo—he seed to know more than I did.
"I heard your doctor told you never to use that talent again," Leo continued. "That even just living normally would shorten your lifespan."
He took a step back, assud a stance.
And then he punched.
It ca fast. Too fast for an average person to react. But I wasn’t average. I kicked in Enhancent, focused on his movents, and narrowly dodged it by reading the trajectory.
"You know this is school violence, right?" I said dryly.
"It’s not violence if no one gets hit," Leo shot back. "And the CCTV in this area is conveniently under maintenance. No proof."
"Guess I’ll start carrying a recorder from now on."
"You should’ve been doing that already. With your value, you should be taking precautions."
He shrugged again, like it was nothing.
"So?" he said, looking at . "Have you recovered?"
I t his gaze evenly.
"What if I have?"
Leo didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, staring at with that unreadable expression of his—arms crossed, posture stiff like always. It felt like he was asuring sothing, or soone.
Then, finally, he spoke.
"...That changes things for ."
"Huh? What does?" I asked, blinking.
"Originally, I wasn’t going to make you do any heavy lifting if you joined my team," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "I wasn’t planning to let you use your abilities either."
"...Thanks?" I said, not sure if I should be offended or flattered.
"But now that you’ve recovered," Leo continued, "that changes things."
I stared.
Wait, what?
Did Leo Taylor just say that?
The sa Leo Taylor who was basically the personification of pride and power in the original World’s Greatest Hero novel?
The sa guy who would rather chew glass than willingly accept soone he deed weak?
For soone like him, weakness wasn’t just a flaw—it was a sin. He didn’t tolerate it in others, and he sure as hell didn’t tolerate it in himself.
...And yet, here he was, calmly talking about recruiting a forr cripple.
I almost wanted to check if he had a fever.
Was this really Leo Taylor?
"If you join, our team will be complete," he added, like he was stating the weather. "Think about it carefully."
"Okay," I said automatically.
I would think about it carefully.
And then probably say no.
Leo nodded once like that settled things. But just as he turned to leave, he paused and looked back.
"...I heard about your involvent in the recent incident. I’m glad you pulled through."
My eyes widened slightly. "What?"
He shook his head. "Forget it. I shouldn’t have brought that up."
Wait, no—why not? That was actually useful. Couldn’t we keep going? This was the most human you’ve sounded in days, Leo!
But by then, he was already walking off, leaving frozen in place with my thoughts spinning.
Leo Taylor... what the hell’s gotten into you?
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