Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 609: I'll Go Have a Chat with the Emperor
Without giving her any chance to escape, Steven grabbed the little deer girl who had instinctively tried to flee.
A moment later, he deposited her onto the chair beside Talulah before unceremoniously seating himself between them. One arm around each girl, he pulled them both into his embrace.
If it had been Yelena who walked in, he might have felt a little embarrassed, but since it was Alina—the soft, gentle little deer—Steven had absolutely no intention of showing mercy.
Transforming into an unreasonable big bad wolf, he dragged her into the conversation and continued explaining why he had come back.
"The reason I came this time is actually pretty simple."
"I wanted to ask whether the two of you have time to go on a date."
"There's a festival going on where I'm traveling right now, and tonight should be especially lively. I promised before that I'd show you what ordinary people's lives are like, didn't I? This seems like the perfect opportunity."
For Talulah and Alina, there was no need for secrets.
The truth was that the relationship between the three of them had already long since crossed the line of ordinary friendship. The only thing left was the final step.
Honestly, if Steven simply asked, both girls would probably obediently wash up and climb into his bed without requiring any further persuasion.
Compared to that, worrying about formal dates at this point almost felt unnecessary.
"Eh? Is that really the reason?"
Curled up obediently in Steven's arms like a tame little rabbit after being caught, Alina lifted her head and looked at him.
She was naturally happy that Steven had come all this way to invite them.
However, she also knew the current situation wasn't exactly optimistic.
"If I remember correctly, the Infected Patrols are still tracking us, aren't they?"
"Even though you helped us shake off a lot of pursuers before, more and more Infected have been joining us lately. Our numbers are almost reaching a thousand people now."
"With so many Infected gathered together, there's no way the patrols would simply ignore us."
Beside her, Talulah wore a similarly troubled expression.
Her lips puffed out slightly as though she were holding back a grievance she didn't want to voice aloud.
When Steven looked toward her, she silently nodded.
The idea of Steven personally inviting her on a date made her genuinely happy.
But under the current circumstances, she simply couldn't bring herself to leave her responsibilities behind for something that felt so unrelated to the problems at hand.
Even if nobody blamed her for it, she couldn't accept it herself.
"Tch."
Steven waved a dismissive hand.
"That's even less of a problem."
"Leave everything to your boyfriend."
Since he had already brought up the idea, it was obvious he had thought things through beforehand.
"Worst case scenario, I'll just go have a chat with the Ursus Emperor."
"Besides, he still owes me a huge favor."
His tone was so casual that it sounded as though he were talking about visiting a neighbor rather than meeting the ruler of Ursus.
As far as Steven was concerned, this really wasn't a difficult issue.
The Emperor had never cared that much about the Infected problem itself.
What he needed was stability—an environment stable enough for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.
And if Steven helped solve the Collapsals while also dealing with the Zorah Magdaros currently lingering near Ursus's coastal borders, there was no way the Emperor would object to letting Talulah's group of Infected go.
If anything, being able to repay such a massive debt with a request this small would be an incredible bargain for both him and Ursus.
"...Do you even realize what you're saying?"
Talulah stared at the young man with an indescribably complicated expression.
Casually saying things like, "I'll go talk it over with the Emperor," was the sort of statement that only someone like Steven could utter with a completely straight face.
Talulah, however, didn't doubt the truth of Steven's words in the slightest.
After all, he had proven himself long ago.
If he truly set his mind to something, was there really anything left on this land that he couldn't accomplish?
"Of course. When have I ever gone back on my word?"
Steven nodded confidently.
"Anyway, all I need is your honest answer. Leave everything else to me."
Only after reassuring them once again that he wasn't joking did he wait for the two girls to give their response.
"...In that case, I don't have any objections."
Talulah lowered her head slightly, a faint blush appearing on her face.
Steven had already gone this far.
If she still refused, it would be a little hurtful.
The truth was that she had never disliked the idea of going on a date with him. The only reason she had hesitated before was because there were responsibilities she couldn't ignore.
Now that Steven had promised he could deal with those problems, she certainly didn't mind spending a romantic evening with him.
"Eh? Me?"
Alina blinked in surprise.
Unlike Talulah, she wasn't troubled by the larger issues.
Instead, her concerns lay somewhere entirely different.
"But... I don't have any nice clothes."
"And I can only speak Ursan."
Holding her cheeks with both hands, she looked genuinely worried.
"Wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to take someone like me along?"
The clothes she wore had been sewn by her own hands from wool distributed by the guerrilla forces.
Compared to Talulah's elegant dress uniform beside her, the difference was obvious at a glance.
Since Steven wanted to take them to a city capable of hosting a grand festival, it was surely a prosperous and bustling place.
If she showed up dressed like this, wouldn't people look down on her?
Her fingers nervously fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.
Alina didn't care much about what strangers thought of her.
But this was her first date.
She didn't want to leave behind any regrets.
"Of course not."
Steven smiled.
"My little Alina is one of the cutest and prettiest girls in the world."
Halfway through the compliment, he caught sight of Talulah sitting beside him and quickly inserted the words "one of."
"And if that's really a problem, I'll just buy you a new outfit when we get there."
"I guarantee it'll be no worse than someone's beloved dress uniform."
He grinned mischievously.
"Come on, we're talking about a mobile city like Lungmen. You aren't worried there won't be any clothing stores there, are you?"
Steven hadn't expected Alina to be concerned about something like this.
As he laughed, he suddenly noticed that Talulah, who had been comfortably relaxing in his arms moments earlier, had gone completely rigid.
"...Did you say..."
Talulah slowly turned her head.
"...Lungmen?"
The color seemed to drain from her face.
After a long silence, she quietly lowered her gaze.
"I think..."
"...maybe I shouldn't go after all."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 689: Impossible to Refute[1]
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