Only I Am A Reader

"Big Brother Leo is back again!"

Having heard the familiar clopping of the horse's hooves, Annie ran out of the Orphanage just as Leo was getting down from the horse's back.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Taking the dashing Annie into his embrace, Leo felt his abnormalcy even further but enjoyed the heartwarming reunion regardless.

After so many years, little Annie had finally grown to Arthur's age just as he woke up as Leo. Although the height difference between her and Leo only increased further, she was the one who accepted his abnormal change the most as if it was nothing out of the ordinary!

"Welcome back."

Nonetheless, even if it wasn't as easy as Annie did, the rest of the family still got accustomed to Leo's growth. Coming out of the little shack, Ria warmly smiled as she watched the agglomeration of siblings into one big hug.

Normally, she would join in, but now that Leo looked no different from an adult, Ria felt that it would be somewhat inappropriate. Besides, a simple exchange of looks was all she needed to feel the connection once again.

"Big Brother Leo, we need to visit the forest before you leave, you promised me so last time!"

Unlike Arthur who had to mature early to adapt to their unfortunate situation, Annie still maintained her childhood innocence to this moment. Although she would no longer play all day, doing her best to learn something for her future, Leo's return was the same as a surprise break for her! Not only did she get to make up for the time he was away, but she also got to listen to all kinds of fantastical stories that Leo never ran out of!

"Brother Leo! We also…"

Naturally, the rest of his siblings all wanted their own time to spend with him. Somehow, Leo felt like the 'cool uncle' who only visited between his travels yet somehow managed to get all of the young people's attention…

"It's okay, I'm planning to stay for much longer this time, we should be able to do everything you have in mind!"

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

In the morning of the next day, Leo left the small Orphanage after a long night of having fun as he headed to the Blackbird.

While it was true that Leo did want to go back to his world, he still had a lingering attachment towards what he could 'obtain' from his adventure in this world.

No matter how special he was, Leo's ability still had its limits, so he didn't let his imagination go too far. However, there was one thing that was guaranteed to stay with him in the event of leaving this word no matter what! That was none other than his 'Personal Skills'!

Compared to the fantastical 'Sword Breath', or his abnormal physique, both abilities were things bound to Arthur's body, but when it came to pure knowledge and 'experience'...

No matter how one looked at it, Leo was its true owner!

Unless his ability was as useless as to erase his memory of everything he experienced in this world, Leo was confident in this one gain of his. As such, he naturally had to make the most of this free time of his!

As for the skill that Leo wanted to spend this precious time learning, it was smithing!

Knock. Knock.

"You are here…"

Regardless of the excessiveness of Leo's request, Crane had actually agreed to teach Leo by hand only to be stunned by the reminder of Leo's words.

"So, did you do it?"

Despite the word skeptical 'written' all over his face, Crane handed Leo a small notebook before shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not sure why you would want to learn this way, but here you go, this was what I managed to finish last night."

Naturally, Leo didn't plan to lose on efficiency as his time was limited. Rather than learning the normal way, he would do so as a 'Reader'! It was just that instead of searching for smithing books, he asked Crane to write his teachings for him!

"Don't worry, I will make sure to join you in the forge soon enough."

Compared to other skills that Leo had learned so far, Leo still believed that smithing was the one that had the highest value of them all.

The reason for that was simple, compared to 'Swordsmanship', 'Horsemanship', and 'Close Quarter Combat' that were reserved till modern days in the form of sports and had enough materials covering it, smithing had almost been neglected due to the emergence of factories.

On the other hand, personal smithing had almost gone extinct under the emergence of factories, even if Leo wanted to read about it, he would barely find anything.

Only when he was in a fantastical world like this would it be possible to find actual teaching. Most importantly, the existence of the kind Crane naturally played a great role, as long as Leo 'Read' all of his teachings, just the activation of 'Skill Reading' would be more than enough to set down the basics!

'Nothing is confirmed, but there is nothing to lose from preparation.'

Undoubtedly, smithing didn't hold that much value at modern times if not for vanity creations, but Leo never knew if this would be the last 'book' he would be sent to considering that the first page was named 'Book 1'. In the end, being able to rely on oneself was better. After all, there was no guarantee that Leo would encounter other people like Crane…

"Suit yourself. It's less troublesome for me this way."

Crane still didn't understand Leo's thought process, but he didn't mind. It was only right that this friend's abnormality didn't stop at his growth. Since he decided to help him, he might as well do it his way. Writing might seem more cumbersome, but it was easier than actual teaching.

"Thanks…"

As tsundere as Crane appeared to be, Leo greatly appreciated his contribution towards reaching this point. In order to repay Crane's earnest effort, he would naturally do his best to digest everything thrown his way!