Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 587: Aurora’s Premonition

"It's not your fault, Director."

Even though she felt like acting up, Aurora still had her facts straight. Whatever scheme was currently being cooked up, it was impossible for the Hero Association Director to be in on it.

'That's one of the few things that I never got confused about.'

Strangely enough, although this new side of hers seemed to always have a new bone to pick with every sentiment that she previously established, it agreed completely when it came to the sentiment she perceived from the kind Director.

'Though he could still be manipulated against his will.'

The possibility that the higher-ups might have threatened to take his life or even her own crossed Aurora's mind very quickly, an assumption she was fairly surprised about.

'Were the higher authorities always feel so distrustworthy to me before?'

Even as her worldview had starkly changed over the last 10 or so months, this was the first time Aurora felt so strongly against something.

Almost as if the new half wanted to warn her about something!

'If something much bigger is on the line…'

Had this been a year ago, Aurora would have easily disregarded her hunch when met with her dream project. However, having experienced more than one instant where her new instinct proved its worth, she felt even more suspicious.

'That being said…'

The intense emotion that she felt wasn't outright rejection, rather, it was more like a general alarm of caution.

At this point, she was far more curious about what the higher-ups had in store for her than she was afraid…

Fear?

Now that she thought about it, Aurora couldn't recall a single instance where she felt the tiniest bit of fear; now that she felt a hint of it, that fact felt strangely out of place.

'I couldn't possibly be that brave?'

Being fearless was often praised, but despite the bad reputation that fear got, its most basic form was none other than a basic form of self-defense.

Feeling fear and then suppressing it would have made sense, but not feeling it at all was certainly abnormal.

'Is that what this is all about?'

Was this new perspective she received meant to make her a normal person?

If that was the case, Aurora naturally welcomed it, but she had a strong feeling that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

"I'm sorry if our hasty planning has upset you, Miss Aurora. We sent a car to take you to the site, but we were told you weren't home."

Knowing that he was the recipient of Aurora's scorn, the suited gentleman took off his sunglasses and gently nodded his head as if to offer an apologetic bow.

"Since all of this was for the sake of the people of Enigma City, we just had to move as quickly as possible with this project. We simply acted as soon as we received permission."

Turning his eyes in the Director's direction, what the suited man was hinting at was very obvious.

This was all the Director's fault!

"..."

'Let's just play along for now.'

Regardless of whether she felt rebellious or not, this was still a project that Aurora strongly desired. Even the addition of her new perspective couldn't change that fact.

"I suppose I can let it go just this once. However, from this point on, you have to make sure that I'm aware of the entire team's schedule. Since you decided that I would lead the team on your own, that much should be obvious."

'Yeah. In the end, that's just what you are. A tool and a people's fool. You should have just obediently accepted the facts… Rather, you should have thanked us for making your dream come true!'

Although things played out differently from how he imagined them, the suited man was confident that Aurora couldn't say no. This whole conversation was nothing but a formality.

"Of course, we won't make the same mistake twice."

'Still, should I personally have a go at her once they are done roughing her up…? Yeah! That should teach her not to act up in front of me!'

He wouldn't dare say such things directly to any capable Ability User, not just Aurora, but he enjoyed looking down on them inside his head. In fact, he believed that this was one of the privileges that came with his position.

"Once again, we are very sorry to have caused you this much distress."

This was true beyond simple fantasy. After all, he got the chance to personally play a 'Hero' to her death once!

"Humph, as long as you know."

'It would soon be your turn.'

Up front, he always put on the facade of a gentleman, but deep down, he was as twisted as one could get.

As long as the blue chip that was his image remained clean in public, he would always abuse his power to its full extent when out of sight.

"Right. Now that the issue has been dealt with, should we start with introductions, everyone?"

"Of course."

Finally getting her chance, the silent Thorn Queen sprang up from her seat, politely offering her hand to Aurora.

"Very nice to meet you. The name is Yvonne, the leader of our little Thorny Rose Trio."

"Nice to-"

As soon as Aurora attempted to shake that hand, another strong alarm rang inside her head. One far stronger than the one she had felt a few moments ago.

'Just what…?'

The distress she just felt couldn't be more confusing. It still made sense to form different opinions about stuff she dealt with before, but…

'Right from the start?'

Forming an opinion about someone she had just met for the first time? How was she supposed to interpret that?

"Is something the matter?"

Seeing that Aurora's hand had stopped midway, the Thorn Queen barely stopped herself from frowning before tilting her head to the side.

"...Nothing. Nice to meet you."

Acting as if nothing had happened, Aurora suppressed her repulsion as she quickly shook the Thorn Queen's hand.

Although unsure of what all of this meant, she was definitely going to keep an eye on this new team member of hers.