Leah is very interesting. She's a very compelling character, but also for me one of the hardest to understand. At least she's one of the hardest to understand without conscious effort and thought. She is the most traditionally Japanese character both by upbringing and by her ethnic heritage (She's almost full Japanese with some Chinese ancestry while most of the cast is between 1/4 and 1/2 non-japanese, usually with the other being western/white). She's been raised in a strict traditional household to be obedient and polite, all while training herself to suppress her rebelliousness and rage. She lies as naturally as breathing. She always keeps her mask up, even around her closest friends. She's absolutely the character whose experience is least similar to my own experience growing up, and that means that the way she reacts to situations and her instincts are the absolute farthest from my own. And so the drama in her arc largely revolves around her own inability to trust herself, to let down her guard about how she's really feeling and show vulnerability, and to actually allow herself to rebel against her mother against an entire lifetime of suppressing that urge (rebelling in ways that were "safe" or indirect). So her arc can be incredibly frustrating from the perspective of the reader because we know there's an obvious solution from her. "Gosh this drama would be so easy to resolve if she just did the obvious thing." But like, for her, its not. Its hard. And when you think about it, it feels earned, justified. Its not just another low effort drama plotline caused by people not talking honestly to each other.
Leah's arc is probably best swallowed as a whole than by parts. I did that and I can see how most probably felt through the updates.
I agree with a lot of your take, but one thing I want to add: Is how self aware she is. Her problems are obvious and easy to solve in her position, and she bloody knows it. She can legit just let Jaime send her to study overseas and then take a position in her company.
Through the chapters all her friends are settled on nthe issue, to the point Jaime points it out and how she "wants to be done with this marriage issue so they can focus on saving the world"
Leah almost breaks down then and there because she knows the stakes. She knows a bloody Goddess can tear through her torso at any moment, and do the same to the rest of the world, and only her friend group can solve that.
I like that she also feels guilty over it, and that's also why she kind of tries to distance herself from the group at times, thinking she's the problem and she's dragging them down with her (again, despite them being settled on the solution)
I just thought this when writing this post, but this is also when she learned why Vic's dad's on jail.
Once again, "bigger problems" are right in front of her, and she can't bring herself to solve her "tiny" problems.
Dunno how to put it into words, but she has a sort of need to be on top, but at the same time, feels impotent and puts herself down a lot of the time.
Tbh, CJ honored his name whenever he came up to help her. Gotta love the girl, and man does what he gotta do alright.
EDIT: Thank bros for the tip, I was thinking 1 GB was a lot for a part 2 update, so now it makes sense!
