Chapter 269: The Only Eternal Thing Is Profit
'How long has it been since you last spoke? I was starting to think that an Admin has you unplugged.'
Thinking sarcastically inside his mind, Steven rubbed his chin, addressing the system that had been all but silent lately.
He honestly didn't expect that Kazimierz of all places actually had what you'd call a "Side Story."
After spending so long drifting through this world, he'd almost forgotten—it had all started as a game world.
He'd been struggling to get by out on the snowfields for so long without ever really triggering anything that resembled a proper event. He wasn't sure whether he'd simply never met the right conditions… or if the timing had just never been right.
He did recall earning some meager WAP (World Acknowledgement Point) when he flirted with Talulah and Alina, which at least proved that they were involved in the game's main storyline to some extent.
Still, most of those point totals were laughably small. The only one that had really caught his attention was when he treated Yelena—that big white rabbit had almost racked up five digits on her own. Now that made him raise an eyebrow.
Whatever role she had played in the original script… it had to be something massive.
'Well, whatever. I've pretty much blown through all the points I had saved up anyway,' he thought while flexing his fingers. 'Might as well make a big splash this time, rack up a bunch more, and coast on those for a while.'
That flashing red notification clearly hadn't come from his personal system—it didn't match the usual tone at all. It probably came from this world's own integrated system, maybe even its guiding will or some sort of narrative intelligence.
But that was exactly what made it interesting.
If this really was a world's will, wouldn't it want everything to follow the original story script? And yet, judging by the rewards it handed out, it clearly wanted him to stir the pot instead.
Then again… maybe as a fellow chaos-loving observer, it simply wanted the stage to be filled with unpredictable drama.
Steven chuckled to himself.
As a fellow connoisseur of chaos, he could kind of respect that. But wasn't it interfering just a little too much?
Shrugging off the philosophical musings, Steven gave his head a little shake and chose not to overthink it.
There's no point in obsessing over something he couldn't figure out.
Better to focus on the task at hand.
"...I really have caused you trouble, haven't I?" Sona's voice cut through his thoughts, full of quiet guilt.
"If it weren't for me, you and your companions probably wouldn't be caught up in all this," she said, smiling bitterly. "But with your strength… at least escaping Kazimierz alive shouldn't be too hard. As for the consequences, let me shoulder them. You three should leave this cruel country behind while you still can."
She had clearly misinterpreted his silence and subtle movements as hesitation or worry, and assumed he was troubled by being dragged into her mess.
From her perspective, it was only natural to think that way.
With Steven and Skadi's level of power, there was no way the General Chamber of Commerce could stop them from leaving Kazimierz safely. If they withdrew now, they'd be beyond its reach.
But Steven blinked, eyebrows raising in amusement.
"Wait, why don't you do that?" he asked, cutting through her logic with a simple counter.
"If you're so sure the General Chamber of Commerce can't reach past Kazimierz's borders, and you're pretty capable yourself—why not just leave?"
He glanced at the longsword in her hand.
Judging by her earlier movements, she wasn't just some delicate little girl who'd fall over in a stiff breeze.
She hesitated, then gripped her sword a little tighter.
"No… I still have people here—my friends. They're like family to me. Even if I run, the General Chamber of Commerce won't let them go."
Her voice was low, but her conviction rang out clear.
Sorrow flickered through Sona's eyes.
She knew—deep down—that the moment she chose to act, she'd already dragged her companions into this mess. At this point, whether she stayed or ran, the General Chamber of Commerce wasn't going to spare them.
So if she had to die… then she'd die alongside her friends.
Sona shook her head, but the grief was quickly replaced with a newfound steel in her gaze.
She had already come to terms with her fate.
If that was the case, why not gamble everything on one last desperate attempt?
If she, as an Infected, could leave even the smallest mark—a tiny contribution—for the sake of others… wouldn't that be enough?
At the very least, she couldn't let the General Chamber of Commerce carry out their plan without resistance.
Even if she could only save a handful of people, it would still be proof that her struggle wasn't meaningless.
Steven, on the other hand, watched her quietly with growing curiosity as her expression transformed from helpless to resolute.
He couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.
Wasn't she just like Talulah—standing at the crossroads of idealism and uncertainty?
So how had she managed to find her resolve so quickly?
If Talulah had come to her decision this fast, maybe she would've given him an answer already.
But… maybe it wasn't fair to compare them.
After all, Talulah was burdened with far more.
And unlike Sona, she hadn't yet been cornered so completely.
"…Well, you don't have to be that pessimistic, you know," Steven said, scratching the back of his head, cutting into her solemn determination. "We—er, I—might be able to help you out a little."
Sona blinked, her determined posture faltering just a bit.
He wasn't saying she was wrong for resolving to go down fighting—honestly, that kind of resolve was rare. And with her strength alone, it was true she couldn't change much.
But all that was only true if he wasn't planning to step in.
Now that both WAP and entertainment were on the line, of course he was going to get involved.
Besides, he already didn't like the General Chamber of Commerce. Compared to those cold-blooded capitalists, he much preferred the strong, brave, and—yes—adorable squirrel-girl in front of him.
"Eh…? You… can help us?" Sona asked cautiously. "I know your healing abilities are impressive, but healing won't be enough to change the situation in Kazimierz…"
Her voice was still tinged with sadness.
It wasn't that she was being negative, she's just being realistic.
What good was even the world greatest healer in a country poisoned by corruption? Could he really save all the Infected in Kazimierz?
"Hmm, have you considered the possibility…" Steven said, grinning as he jabbed a thumb toward himself, "that I'm not just a healer, but also a warrior? Like, one that is way stronger than those two over there combined?"
He motioned toward Skadi, who had long since fallen into a deep sleep.
As if sensing she was being talked about, she blearily opened her eyes, gave a sleepy nod, and immediately dozed off again.
"Mmm… mmmhmm…"
She mumbled something that sounded like dream babble as she leaned even more heavily against Steven's shoulder, clutching her pillow tighter.
All in all, it wasn't exactly a convincing demonstration.
"…Right. Fighting ability aside," Steven added, smiling wryly, "what I can offer you is a lead—something to point you in the right direction. Since you don't seem to know where to start, that should be helpful, right?"
Sona stared at him, clearly still uncertain.
"…Eh?"
Sona looked at Steven in surprise, curiosity and confusion dancing in her eyes.
"I was fortunate enough to meet Durich before he passed," Steven said, his tone casual, almost light-hearted. "Right before he died, he gave me a piece of intel. Back then, I figured it was useless to me… but now? Well, I suppose it could help you out quite a bit."
He smiled faintly—no dramatic buildup, no demands or conditions this time. Just a straightforward offer.
"There's a document… one detailing how the General Chamber of Commerce plans to deal with Area 0. It's stored inside one of the rooms in the tower."
The moment the words left his mouth, Steven glanced at the squirrel-girl before him.
The information was brief, almost minimal—but for someone who had no direction, it was exactly the sort of thing that could guide her toward her next step.
"Durich also mentioned that the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi is very interested in that document," Steven continued. "If you could get it to them, you'd have a shot. Not just at protecting your companions—but at stopping the K.G.C.C's plan altogether."
He hadn't even finished speaking before he saw it.
Hope.
It lit up Sona's eyes like a spark catching on dry tinder.
She wasn't someone afraid of failure—what had crushed her earlier was the hopelessness of not knowing what to do next.
And now? Now she had a path.
It might be narrow. It might be dangerous.
But it was a path.
"T-Thank you… Thank you so much."
Overwhelmed, Sona reached out and grabbed Steven's hand, her grip tight and trembling with emotion.
She didn't question the truth of his words for even a moment. Maybe because, deep down, she had already believed such a document must exist. She just hadn't known where to look.
But the real gift in his words wasn't the location—it was the strategy.
If the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi and the General Chamber of Commerce weren't fully aligned… then there was room to maneuver.
The Adeptus Sprawiedliwi might not be trustworthy. They might not care about the Infected. But if helping her served their interests, then Sona believed—no, knew—they would act.
She'd lived in Kazimierz long enough to understand that in this country, there were no truly benevolent institutions.
There was only one eternal principle.
Profit.
And if it was profitable to help her… then the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi could become her strongest ally.
"So," Steven said with a grin, eyes narrowing as he looked at the now-energized girl in front of him, "do you know what your next step is?"
"Of course," Sona replied, her voice firm, her earlier despair now entirely gone. "Though… I'll still need a proper plan. We can't afford to rush into this."
Even in her excitement, she hadn't lost her composure.
Hope had returned—but she understood that hope alone wasn't enough. What came next… would be everything.
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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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