Chapter 414: Things Steven Isn't Good At
Even though Steven kept calling Skadi a goofball, it wasn't like he disliked her at all. In fact, after dealing with those girls whose minds were more complicated than a beehive, he actually found it refreshing to hang out with someone straightforward like her.
At the very least, she was the type who said what she liked, what she didn't like, openly stated what she wanted, and never hid anything. Everyone loves to make fun of honest people, but everyone also hopes their own friends are honest. Maybe that's just how it is.
So of course Steven had no reason to reject her request. He couldn't help reaching out to ruffle her little head, and with a friendly smile, agreed to everything she asked for.
"Sure, I'll buy them. All of them. Even if you hadn't helped me, I'd still get them for you."
"That won't be necessary. I only want things I can earn through my own work and effort. An Abyssal Hunter doesn't need anyone's charity."
Skadi said this with a deadly serious expression, her small face stiff with conviction—but she didn't shake off his hand. She did, however, give her head a reluctant little wiggle.
"Yes, yes, yes, this is my bad. I shouldn't try to bind a noble little deep-sea fish like you with something as vulgar as money."
Steven let out a laugh. Her words should have sounded righteous and dignified, but coming from this tiny killer whale, something about it just felt… off. He still couldn't hold back the urge to laugh.
"Of course. No pain, no gain. So if I help you shoot your movie, you'll buy me those plushies, right?"
"No problem. A promise is a promise. I'll come find you when I need you."
Waving goodbye to Skadi, Steven followed Warfarin out of the hyper-reinforced medical room built specifically for Abyssal Hunters. When he met the gaze of the vampire beside him—the two locked eyes for a second.
"I've noticed something," Warfarin said, tucking away the single drop of his blood in a tiny glass vial as though it were a priceless treasure. "When you're dealing with simple-minded honest types like her, you're way less cheeky than usual. Could it be that you're actually bad at handling honest people?"
"Well, what do you think?" Steven shrugged. "These days, sincerity is the hardest thing to deal with. When someone treats you with genuine kindness, it's really not that easy to brush them off."
He didn't deny her guess—because for him, it was true. Sincere words were always the hardest to answer. To respond, you first had to face your own conscience. Lying to earnest people wasn't something just anyone could do.
"Then what if I tried acting like that too?" Warfarin asked, rubbing her chin as though seriously considering it. "Would you go easy on me too?"
What she got in return… was a look of pure disgust from the Minecrafter.
"If the day ever comes when you're hanging from the bridge and your brain's oozed out," Steven said flatly, "I promise I'll treat you even better than I treat Skadi. I would even spoil you."
Spouting nonsense that would never happen, Steven followed Warfarin through a few turns before they reached the Medical Department. Judging from the heavy thud echoing from inside—like something large hitting the floor—the doctor Steven was looking for was… probably working.
Warfarin had no intention of waiting outside with him. She pushed the door open without hesitation—and immediately saw a green-haired crocodile girl on the floor, pinning an unfortunate, yelping dog-girl with some kind of wrestling move.
Warfarin reacted like this was completely normal. She zipped past them at high speed and disappeared into her private research room. After finally getting her hands on a drop of Steven's blood, nothing in the world could distract her more than analyzing it. As for the brute crocodile suplexing someone? As long as she didn't dismantle the entire clinic, let her do whatever she wanted.
Steven, who had walked in behind her, took in the scene: Gavial had Ceobe trapped on the floor in a very familiar scissor-hold. His expression turned… complicated.
"You know," he said, crouching down, "with moves like that, it's a waste you don't compete in freestyle wrestling. And what did this poor mutt even do to deserve this? Anyway, let her go already. Can't you see she's about to roll her eyes back?"
He poked the unconscious Perro's cheek. Acting as her advocate, he raised the metaphorical white flag on her behalf and looked at the crocodile doctor.
"Hmph. If you knew she sneaked into the infirmary and chugged half the medical alcohol, you'd think this is too lenient. You think I choked her out? She knocked herself out. That stupid habit of stuffing anything she finds into her mouth is going to kill her someday."
Gavial grumbled as she released her hold, then grabbed the girl reeking of alcohol and tossed her onto a bed like a sack of potatoes.
"Yeah… sounds like something she'd do," Steven sighed. "Honestly, she really does need discipline."
He hadn't expected the dumb dog to actually pull off something so perfectly in character. Hadn't Gavial yelled at her for the same thing before? Clearly, she learned nothing.
He tapped the unconscious dog-girl lightly on the head, then shifted his attention to Gavial, who was straightening her doctor's coat. Even with just that brief glance earlier, he'd caught sight of the faint outline of her abs. On a girl, that should've felt odd… yet somehow, it suited her—giving off a kind of healthy, fierce beauty.
"So?" Gavial sat back in her chair and tapped her desk. "You didn't come looking for me, yet here you are. I'm guessing you want a favor?"
"Well…" Steven scratched his cheek. "I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in playing the Texas Chainsaw Massacre killer for a film."
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Ko-Fi[1]
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 426: Do You Even Hear What You're Saying?[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08[3]
https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter[4]
[1] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08
[4] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter