Watching Centaurea walk away, Steven gave a slight sigh of relief—and a bit of gratitude. After all, she had handed him a ticket for free. No matter how you looked at it, that was a favor he owed.
He slumped into his seat, checked the ti, and quickly realized the match hadn't even started yet. With nothing else to do for now, he just sat there, montarily blanking out.
Back in his old world, this would've been the perfect ti to pull out his phone, hop into so stupid group chat, brag about nonsense, maybe scroll through manga, watch a few videos, or browse so random forum to kill ti.
But that was the thing—while he could probably build a phone here, there just weren't enough people around with phones to make it worth the trouble.
'Guess I really should find soone to talk to…'
Barely three minutes after closing his eyes, Steven was already fidgeting in his seat. He'd never been the patient, ditative type to begin with. Solitude was a luxury he wasn't built for—and in his case, it tended to lead to so questionable ideas.
He decisively pulled out his communication device and stared at the short list of contacts.
He had already pestered his dear adopted daughter just yesterday. Irene was probably still buried in work at this hour. And as for Kal'tsit… unless it was sothing really serious, he wasn't about to put himself through another round of riddle-speak with that cryptic feline doctor.
It was just too much effort trying to understand her even when she was being relatively normal.
Which really only left two viable options: Alina and Yelena.
"I wonder how those two are doing... They haven't reached out in a while. Don't tell they still haven't burned through the supplies I gave them?"
He muttered under his breath as he rubbed his chin in thought.
Yelena was probably doing fine—she was a tough kid. With her old man Patriot watching her back and the rest of the Yeti Squad acting like her extended family, she probably wasn't hurting for support.
But Alina and Talulah… that was a different story.
Those two poor girls only had each other to lean on. If he said he wasn't worried about them, he'd be lying.
Not to ntion, now that he thought about it… he really did kind of miss them.
So, rather than sit around second-guessing himself, Steven acted.
He was never the type to hesitate once his mind was made up—and it's not like this place charged for calls anyway.
He tapped on Alina's contact and pressed "call." After a few rings and a brief tone of static…
"Yes, Mr. Steven?"
That voice—soft, warm, and as gentle as a lullaby—slid into his ears like velvet. It was Alina's, no question. And despite the usual calmness in her tone, Steven could clearly hear the delight hiding just beneath the surface.
"It's . Did little Alina miss , hmm?"
A small smile tugged at his lips as he spoke.
"Oh co on, really? The first thing out of your mouth is teasing Alina? What, you think you're so kind of hotshot now? And since when is she little Alina, huh?"
Another voice suddenly barged into the line—Talulah's. Clear as day. But she didn't sound annoyed. In fact, there was a lilt to her words, one Steven imdiately recognized: she was smiling, too.
"Heh, soone's jealous~ What about you then, little Talulah? Did you miss ?"
Steven's grin widened. Just listening to their voices—so casual, so full of life—was enough to reassure him.
Clearly, they hadn't run into any major trouble lately. If they had, they wouldn't sound this relaxed.
Still, hearing Talulah chi in sparked a familiar urge within him: to tease her a little more.
After all, this tsundere little dragon was just too much fun to ss with.
"Miss you? As if. I only miss the day soone finally smacks so sense into you. You never act serious for more than a minute—aren't you worried karma's gonna catch up soday?"
Despite her words, her tone was nowhere near harsh. It was familiar, almost affectionate in its exasperation.
Even over the communication device, Steven could hear the disdain in Talulah's voice—but instead of being annoyed, he only laughed harder. This kind of honest, unfiltered banter, where no one had to put up walls or pretend to be polite—that was exactly why he liked chatting with Talulah so much.
No pressure. No acting. Just people being real with each other.
"How could I not enjoy myself?" Steven chuckled. "I'm in Kazimierz right now, waiting for a tournant to start. It's actually pretty entertaining. Sha you two can't see it yourselves... Maybe I should send over a whole livestream setup for you next ti."
He glanced at the arena, still bustling with last-minute preparations.
A random thought popped into his head—why not turn this into a video call? Sothing like this... it was ant to be shared.
"Wow, listen to this guy. Living it up in the middle of so high-end entertainnt while we're freezing our butts off in the middle of a snowfield," Talulah quipped, her voice laced with mock indignation—but underneath it, there was a clear trace of envy.
Of course she was jealous. Who wouldn't want to live freely, to travel wherever they pleased, to chase after what caught their eye?
But she couldn't.
Not with the blood of the Infected running through her veins. Not when she was seen as a symbol of their cause. Even if she wasn't infected, she could never bring herself to abandon the people who had rallied around her, who looked to her as a beacon of hope.
"I am checking up on you, aren't I?" Steven shrugged, his voice as casual as ever. "And let's not twist this—you chose this path. I never once said I supported it, you know?"
It was the truth. Talulah had chosen her fight. He wasn't about to try and stop her—but he wasn't obligated to cheer her on either.
"That said… if you ever decide to give it up, just say the word. I'll elope with you. Anywhere you want."
His tone was playful, teasing as always, but there was sothing real behind it.
Deep down, he did wish she'd choose an easier life. One where she didn't have to shoulder the weight of a revolution.
"Oh, please—don't tell this whole ti, you've been harboring perverted thoughts about and Alina, huh? Now you're trying to tempt us with dreams of elopent? I'm telling you, it's not gonna work. We won't fall for your sugar-coated traps!"
Talulah didn't buy his words for a second. She knew how he was. If she took him seriously every ti he said sothing ridiculous, she'd have died from stress a long ti ago.
"But enough ssing around. What's the real reason a busy man like you would call us out of the blue? Finally rembered you owe us a supply shipnt or two?"
Her voice shifted into a sly tone, and Steven could practically hear her smirking on the other end.
"I'll go ahead and thank you on behalf of the infected in our squad."
Classic Talulah. Once she'd learned Steven was basically loaded, she'd started trying to squeeze every drop of value out of him—with zero guilt.
Not that it ever worked.
"Heh. Can't I just call because I care? I'm worried about little Alina," he replied, stretching lazily. "You dragged that frail girl all the way up to so frozen wasteland. Of course I'm going to worry. What if she's starving, or freezing, or worse?"
That part he wasn't joking about.
Steven didn't really know any of the Infected fighters with Talulah, nor did he care to. The real reason he'd made the call—aside from curing his boredom—was because he was concerned about Alina.
Unlike Talulah, who was born tough and had innate abilities to rely on, Alina was far more delicate. Sweet, soft-spoken, and not built for harsh climates—she was the one he worried about the most.
"I'm okay," a soft voice finally chid in again. "I've been helping out with the kids in the guerrilla camp. Teaching them to read and write, keeping them busy. It's been… fulfilling, in its own way."
A brief burst of static buzzed through the communication device, followed by the sa soft, gentle voice that Steven had co to know so well. Alina's calm words painted a picture of her current life—quiet, perhaps harsh, but not unhappy.
She seed… content.
"That's good," Steven said with a faint smile, leaning back in his seat. "If you ever run low on food or supplies, let know, alright? You're not exactly the toughest out there, so try not to tag along with Talulah to any dangerous places. And, hey… how's your Oripathy? Any better? If I get so free ti, I'll co check on you myself."
He wasn't kidding.
The place they were in was basically a hotbed for infection. Cross-contamination was a real risk, and with Alina's already fragile health, it wasn't sothing he could ignore. Watching soone like her suffer through that disease—it wasn't sothing Steven could take lightly.
"Okay," Alina replied simply.
No elaborate thank-you. No excessive politeness. Just a quiet acknowledgnt. But Talulah, sitting right next to her, could tell—she hadn't seen her friend smile this brightly in a long, long ti.
"…Seriously, are you two actually engaged behind my back or sothing?" Talulah grumbled, poking Alina lightly in the side with a suspicious look. "Why else would he dote on you this much?"
Her voice held a faint edge of playful jealousy. Not entirely serious, but… not entirely not, either.
"I heard that~" Steven's voice rang back, carrying his usual teasing lilt. "And you, little dragon girl—don't be so reckless all the ti. If sothing's troubling you, go talk to Patriot. The guy's been through hell and back—he probably knows more than you think."
There was a pause.
"And more importantly, take care of yourself. And take care of Alina too, got it?".
"Yes, yes, thank you so much for your concern, Sir Steven," Talulah huffed, her tone still laced with that signature pride of hers. But she didn't talk back this ti.
In fact, she almost sounded like… she appreciated it.
"…So?" Steven leaned forward slightly, glancing at the still-preparing arena. "It's been nearly a month since I left. Care to fill in? What's been happening since I've been gone? You've been traveling with the guerrillas all this ti—Talulah, have you found the answer you were looking for?"
Silence lingered for a mont.
"…It's not sothing you find that quickly," she replied, her voice quiet. "And even if I did find it—you wouldn't accept it, would you?"
"But no, nothing drastic has happened. We've been marching with the guerrillas across the snowfields, like always. What's strange is…" she hesitated, "the number of infected who chose to follow instead of the guerrillas keeps growing."
"They don't seem interested in joining the movent. Instead… it's like they want to follow ."
Her words were slow, thoughtful. Talulah rarely let her guard down like this, but Steven—and maybe Alina—were the exceptions.
"…Which makes wonder," she continued, "if maybe not everything the guerrillas are doing right now is sothing people can truly stand behind."
< >
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