Chapter 492: The Unruly Girl Who Caught Leon’s Attention

The Unruly Girl Who Caught Leon’s Attention

Her hands clenched into fists.

"You stole my food!"

"It wasn’t yours!"

"You took it from the old lady’s stall after she gave it to me!"

"You didn’t pay for it!"

"Then I’ll pay you back with my fist!"

The young man’s face went pale.

"That’s not how payment works!"

The woman grinned.

It wasn’t a friendly smile.

There was something almost feral about it. Something wild that made the young man instinctively take another step back.

"Then stop running!"

She lunged forward.

Her body shot ahead with startling speed.

Her footsteps hammered against the stone street.

Boom!

The ground cracked beneath her foot.

The young men nearly tripped over themselves as they scrambled away.

"Move!"

"Get out of the way!"

People nearby scattered in an instant.

A few pressed themselves against the walls. Others hurried into nearby shops or ducked behind stalls, wanting nothing to do with the trouble.

No one wanted to be caught in the middle.

Leon remained where he was.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

That wasn’t ordinary strength.

He had recognized it the moment she moved.

Mana had tempered her body.

Her muscles, bones, and physical strength were clearly far beyond those of an ordinary person.

But that wasn’t what caught Leon’s attention.

It was the way she used that strength.

There was no polished technique.

No refined Battle Art.

No carefully practiced movement passed down by some powerful Teacher.

She simply moved.

She chased.

She struck.

That was it.

There was nothing graceful about her movements.

Nothing elegant.

She didn’t waste time trying to make her attacks look impressive.

Every motion was rough and direct.

Yet somehow, it worked.

Leon watched as she closed the distance between herself and the fleeing young men.

She didn’t move like someone who had spent years studying combat.

She moved like someone who had learned through experience.

Through getting hurt.

Through making mistakes.

Through discovering, one painful lesson at a time, what worked and what didn’t.

There was no unnecessary movement.

No hesitation.

When she wanted to go forward, she went forward.

When she wanted to hit someone, she hit them.

It was crude.

Almost reckless.

But beneath that roughness was something Leon couldn’t ignore.

Instinct.

The kind that wasn’t taught by a Teacher.

The kind that came from survival.

Leon watched her for another moment.

His gaze remained fixed on the strange woman as she continued chasing the young men down the street.

She hadn’t noticed him yet.

Her entire attention was fixed on the two young men running ahead of her.

Her breathing was heavy.

Her hair bounced wildly with every step.

Her eyes remained locked onto her targets.

She looked less like someone chasing thieves and more like a wild beast that had finally cornered its prey.

The distance between them disappeared quickly.

Leon glanced at the approaching woman.

Then he casually stepped into her path.

The woman finally noticed him.

Her eyes widened.

Her pupils shrank.

"What—?"

She tried to stop.

She was too late.

The soles of her feet scraped hard against the stone road. The sudden friction threw her balance off. Her body pitched forward, carrying her straight toward Leon.

Leon reacted without thinking.

He reached out and caught her by the shoulder.

Her momentum stopped.

For a brief moment, neither of them moved.

She stood there, frozen.

Leon could feel the tension running through her body. She had clearly not expected him to catch her. Her breathing was slightly uneven, and her eyes remained fixed on him.

Once he was certain she had regained her balance, Leon slowly released her.

The woman immediately stepped back.

One step.

Then another.

The distance between them widened.

Her expression changed completely.

The carefree anger she had shown while chasing the young men was gone. There was no trace of it now.

Instead, her eyes became sharp and wary.

She studied Leon from head to toe.

Her shoulders tightened.

One foot shifted slightly behind the other.

Her hands lowered into a position that allowed her to react quickly if he made a sudden move.

It was instinctive.

She wasn’t trying to intimidate him.

She was preparing herself.

"Who are you?"

Her voice was rough.

Guarded.

There was nothing childish about it.

Every word carried a sharp edge.

It was the voice of someone who had learned to depend on herself.

Someone who had spent enough time alone to understand that strangers rarely approached without a reason.

Leon looked at her for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"That’s what I should be asking you."

The woman stared at him.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Her eyes slowly traveled over Leon.

They started at his face.

Then moved down to his clothes.

He wore midnight-black robes. Thin amethyst embroidery ran along the dark fabric, subtle enough to be missed at first glance. Whenever the sunlight caught it, however, the threads shimmered faintly.

His long black hair rested loosely around his shoulders.

There was nothing hurried about him.

Nothing nervous.

And those purple eyes...

They were calm.

Far too calm.

The woman’s gaze narrowed slightly.

She looked him over again, this time more carefully.

There was something about him that didn’t fit.

He didn’t look like someone who belonged in this town.

Neither did the two girls standing behind him.

Her attention shifted.

Selena stood quietly behind Leon, her silver-white hair catching the sunlight. Her clothes were clean and neatly arranged. There wasn’t a trace of dust on them.

Rias stood beside her.

Her long red hair fell over her shoulders, and her crimson eyes quietly observed the surroundings.

Neither girl looked frightened.

Neither looked exhausted.

They simply stood there with a composure that felt strangely out of place.

The woman glanced around.

Then back at them.

The difference was impossible to ignore.

Most of the people living in this town looked worn down by life. Their clothes were faded. Their faces carried exhaustion. Even those who were still young had a certain heaviness in their eyes.

But these three...

They were different.

Too clean.

Too composed.

Too calm.

The woman’s eyes lingered on Selena and Rias for another moment.

Then they returned to Leon.

Something changed in her expression.

It was subtle.

A slight narrowing of her blue eyes.

A tiny shift in her posture.

Suspicion.

She had finally noticed him properly.

Her footsteps came to a stop.

She looked at Leon.

Then at Selena.

Then at Rias.

Her gaze returned to Leon once more.

This time, she wasn’t simply looking at a stranger.

She was trying to figure out exactly who he was.

Her blue eyes immediately grew cautious.

She didn’t say a word.

Instead, she quietly shifted her weight backward. Just a little.

It was enough to put some distance between herself and the unfamiliar group.

Leon noticed.

She was wary.

That was understandable.

Someone who had spent a long time surviving alone wouldn’t simply trust strangers. Especially someone who had clearly learned to depend on her own instincts rather than waiting for someone else to protect her.

Leon smiled faintly.

"Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you."

The woman didn’t answer.

Her eyes stayed on him.

There was no panic in them.

No obvious fear, either.

Just caution.

She carefully studied his face first. Then his dark robes. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the thin amethyst embroidery running along the fabric.

After that, she glanced toward Selena and Rias.

Neither girl looked hostile.

Even so, the woman didn’t relax.

Her guard remained firmly in place.

Leon found that interesting.

Most ordinary people couldn’t stay this calm when standing so close to him.

He wasn’t doing anything.

He wasn’t releasing his aura or deliberately pressuring her.

But his presence alone carried a certain weight.

An invisible pressure seemed to linger around him.

Most people would instinctively feel uncomfortable beneath it. Some might even take a step back without realizing it.

Yet this woman didn’t.

She simply watched him.

Quietly.

Carefully.

As if she were trying to figure out what kind of person he was before deciding whether he could be trusted.

Leon didn’t rush her.

He let her look.

After several breaths passed, the woman’s attention finally shifted away from him.

Her eyes moved toward the direction the boys had fled.

They were already gone.

Not even their silhouettes could be seen anymore.

She stared in the direction they had gone for a few seconds.

Then she clicked her tongue.

"Tch."

The sound carried a hint of annoyance.

She turned around, apparently ready to leave.

Leon watched her quietly.

For some reason, he found her rather amusing.

She was eighteen or nineteen, yet there was something oddly contradictory about her.

Her eyes and instincts belonged to someone who had already been through hardship. She knew what danger felt like. She understood loss. There was a certain sharpness in the way she watched the world, as though part of her was always prepared for something to go wrong.

And yet...

Then there was the other side of her.

The girl who chased after those boys just to argue with them.

The girl who could get genuinely upset over food.

The girl who proudly showed off her strength the moment she had the chance.

There was an almost stubborn innocence to those habits.

Not the innocence of someone who knew nothing about the world.

Rather, it was the stubbornness of someone who had refused to let the world completely take that part of her away.

She had grown up in some ways.

But in others, she still carried that mischievous streak.

Mature when it mattered.

Childishly stubborn when she didn’t get her way.

It was a strange combination.

And, strangely enough, it suited her.

She took one step.

Then another.

Leon continued watching her.

Just as she was about to walk away, he casually reached out.

His hand caught her shoulder.

She didn’t even have time to react.

"Eh?"

Her feet suddenly left the ground.

The sensation came so unexpectedly that her entire body stiffened.

For a moment, she simply hung there.

Then she looked down.

The ground was getting farther away.

Her eyes widened.

"Eh?"

This time, genuine confusion crept into her voice.

She lowered her gaze.

The street was already several meters below her.

Wind rushed past her face, whipping her blonde hair wildly around her cheeks. For a few seconds, she simply stared down.

Then it hit her.

She was flying.

Her eyes widened.

"When did I—?"

She quickly turned her head toward Leon.

Confusion filled her expression.

She had been walking only a moment ago.

So how had she suddenly ended up in the air?

Leon glanced at the young woman in his hand.

She still hadn’t fully processed what had happened.

Instead, she was flailing helplessly.

Her arms waved.

Her legs kicked.

She twisted around, desperately trying to break free.

"Hey! Let me go!"

Her voice rang through the street.

Leon simply stared at her.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

What kind of girl was this?

She was already eighteen or nineteen, yet the way she struggled was almost absurdly innocent.

And strangely enough, she didn’t seem afraid.

She wasn’t panicking about being several meters above the ground.

She was just irritated.

Someone had picked her up without asking.

That was apparently the real problem.

Behind them, Selena and Rias exchanged a glance.

For a brief moment, neither said anything.

Then both covered their mouths.

A soft laugh escaped them.

Rias tilted her head, her red eyes sparkling with amusement.

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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Grand Return System* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!

With love,

Scoturn777

Creator of Grand Return System

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