At the end of the third class, Leo quickly took his bag and left the classroom. The break was only an hour-long, so he couldn't waste a minute of it for the sake of his preparation.
Although he had encountered an interesting situation at the beginning of the day, that didn't necessarily change his plan for the day. While Leo was undeniably curious about this instinctual interest, asking the one who shared the same question wouldn't magically give him an answer. Instead, it would only make things more complicated.
He wasn't as dense as harem protagonists to not guess that she was possibly someone special like him. However, that only made him more reluctant to interact with her for now. After all, he would only be exposing himself if she didn't make the same guess.
'Let's just remember the name for now.'
Arriving in front of the school library, Leo committed Yulia's name to memory before going in. Since he already downloaded quite a few things online, it was time to do a physical search!
"Oh! Hey Leo, not sparing any minute this time either?"
Noticing Leo's figure, the elderly teacher assuming the position of the librarian called out to him. This was one of the very few people that Leo was familiar with at school.
"Well, you know it, I just came to take a look at the new books."
With a quick nod as a greeting, Leo checked in using his library card. It wasn't much, but those that spent a certain amount of time in the library had some privileges when it came to latency and absence. Even if he no longer suffered from running late, Leo did the same as usual since he was here anyway.
As the biggest high school in Light City, 1st Light Highschool's library was anything but small, containing a large variety of books that was well-deserved of being Leo's secret stash in the case of emergencies. In addition, a certain number of books would be added during the break between each semester.
"S… S… Swordsmanship. Here we go."
It didn't take long for someone familiar with the place like Leo to reach the first bookcase that he needed to search in, taking out a few to browse through. However, a hint of disappointment couldn't help appearing on his face.
Although it was just a school library, the collection of books within it wasn't restricted to educational material or literary works, rather, anything that the students might have an interest in was there. As a library belonging to a school that not only had a kendo club, but also a fencing one, it naturally didn't lack books about swordsmanship.
'Nope.'
Leo felt like had just returned to Swordkeep city. The content was different, but they were still basics that he had mastered. The basic 'reading' effect was like adding a drop to the sea, almost contributing nothing.
Still, it wasn't something that Leo could complain about. The majority of cold weapon art had degraded from arts of killing to an entertaining form of competitive sport. Moreover, practical sports like this were mostly taught through instructions instead of text, this was why Leo's ability could never allow him to achieve omnipotence.
'Finally!'
Leo's eyes let up amid his search, he had already expected the lack of new content since this was where he 'learned' from when he tried out kendo, but this check was just to make sure he didn't miss something valuable. The real reason he came to the school library lay in the book of his hand.
Despite similarly containing rudimentary techniques, this book strayed from the conventional form used by most, explaining the use of an inefficient style, dual-wielding swordsmanship!
Dual-wielding was a style that quite a bit of protagonists specifically used to 'stand out' from the common mobs. Naturally, this wasn't what someone like Leo sought. However, it still had its value as reference material.
'This is worth a try.'
Without the assistance of his 'Skill Reading', Leo understood how ambitious the task of pushing his Advanced Swordsmanship beyond the zeroth page, but it was exactly the reason why he sought to fill the gaps rather than stretch himself even more.
While dual-wielding was a very impractical method, requiring ambidexterity as a basic prerequisite, Leo didn't plan on 'wielding' to begin with. He was an anomaly, so he simply wanted to fully exploit his ability.
The ability to turn both hands as swords gave him an incomparable advantage. However, it was nothing but detrimental without proper coordination. Learning the proper way to achieve that was barely the first step Leo planned to take!
"Did you find something interesting?"
Having found a book that he had in mind, Leo didn't even think about borrowing it as he finished it on the spot. Feeling more confident to reach his goal as its 'experience' integrated with him.
"Yeah, I will be borrowing these."
Even then, he still took a few other books, mostly pertaining to swordsmanship or martial arts. They were all materials that he required for his personal style research!
It wasn't like Leo arrogant, confidently wanting to create a personal style that perfectly suited him. However, this was something that his 'talent' demanded!
Without properly fusing both Swordsmanship and Close Quarter Combat, he would be squandering the staggering advantage that he had. Only a wild personal style that could leave the enemy incapable of reacting could cut it! This was already something proven by the Sword Demon himself!
'What should I get…'
Leo only had half an hour left to have his lunch, so he randomly chose a bowl of chicken noodles. He was just about to set down when he felt the familiar gaze locking into him once more.
'Hey there.'
Taking a look at Yulia's current state, Leo couldn't help smiling inwardly. Just like a standard main character, especially one with such striking hair, the table she sat at was crowded with students who were trying to get to know her. She looked like she was asking for help rather than being curious this time.
'Good luck.'
Not sparing another glance in order to avoid involvement, Leo silently finished his bowl of noodles.. A possible protagonist's trouble wasn't his to solve. Besides, wasn't it likely for a friend character to emerge from this situation to save her from her blight?