[ Re-translated on September / 11 /2025 ]
Chapter 7: Not Bad at All
With his next steps clear, Steven finally felt the weight lift from his shoulders.
At first, he'd worried this might be some kind of high-magic, high-fantasy world. But from what he remembered, in Arknights most of the characters were still operating at… let's call it "street-brawl tier."
Which meant with his current physique, even without mods, he should have no problem handling a fair share of trouble.
That said, becoming some overbearing "Xianxia Protagonist" wasn't really his style. After all, his knowledge of this world was paper-thin—and with how murky Arknights' lore already was, there was no telling what kind of monsters might pop out to blindside him.
Better to keep a low profile.
"Guuhhh…"
A strange noise snapped him out of thought. He checked his own hunger bar first—full. Then his gaze shifted toward the girl lying on the bed.
…
Right. Before he could sneak his way onto that Rhode-something Island, he needed to deal with his new "daughter."
He flipped through his inventory—only to find a few raw potatoes.
Sure, he could gnaw on those no problem. He'd been doing that for years. But feeding a sickly patient raw potatoes? That was pushing it.
Maybe he should check if the village had anything edible. Worst case, he could trade for some coal and cook the potatoes himself.
Not a bad excuse to sample the "local cuisine," either. After years of nothing but steak and potatoes in Minecraft world, he'd grown sick of them.
He tried to get up—but his hand, the one Gladiia had been using as a pillow, wouldn't budge. Even in her amnesiac state, she clutched his fingers like iron.
It wasn't that Steven couldn't overpower her. But yanking free risked hurting her, and needless trouble wasn't his thing.
Besides…
Being relied on like this—it wasn't a bad feeling.
After so many lonely years in that square, empty Minecraft world, it had been a long, long time since someone had held onto him like this.
"…Not bad at all," he muttered.
He crouched down, gently patting the girl's head as her brows furrowed from the loss of contact. A faint smile curved his lips.
'If she ever finds out I kept patting her head while she was out cold, she'll probably kill me.'
He had no idea what Gladiia's true personality was like. But judging from her sharp outfit and the cold, arrogant look she'd worn while awake, she was definitely not the soft, clingy type she seemed now.
"Mm. That reminds me—I should get you some normal clothes. What you've got on is… how do I put this? Sexy? Sure. But practical? Not a chance."
Her snug little dress beneath the cloak, paired with those skin-tight white leggings that looked like something out of a fetish shop… yeah, there was no way this counted as casual wear.
Modern gacha character design really outdid itself sometimes.
No way was he walking around with the flashiest waifu in town at his side.
He tugged the blanket higher to cover her, but froze mid-motion.
Not because his inner beast suddenly woke up—but because her curled-up posture had shifted her collar. It revealed her pale, slender neck, the perfect line of her ribs… and a certain patch of skin that was impossible to miss.
Beneath what should have been a flawless, pale neck, several patches of scales had emerged, like fish skin growing where it didn't belong.
They were a dull gray, like a disease spreading under her skin—ugly, unsettling, and enough to make anyone flinch.
Anyone but Steven.
Out of all the things he could worry about, this was the least. His initial surprise faded quickly, and he reached out, brushing his fingers lightly across the strange scales.
Smooth. The same slick texture you'd expect from a fish or a lizard. And yet… seeing it growing on a human body was undeniably strange.
Still, considering this world was crawling with people who sprouted all sorts of animal parts—ears, tails, you name it—maybe a girl with a few scales wasn't such a big deal after all.
He almost let it slide as nothing more than a personal quirk. After all, poking at someone's body while they were unconscious—especially when she'd already lost her memory—wasn't exactly polite.
But then it clicked.
That sense of wrongness wasn't just his imagination.
These scales… they looked far too similar to the ones he'd seen on those grotesque ocean creatures he'd killed earlier.
And hadn't those monsters called this girl "kin"?
The more he thought about it, the more it reeked of one of those gacha tropes—the enemy and the heroine share the same origin.
"…Don't tell me she's gonna mutate into one of those ugly bastards later. That'd be boring as hell."
Steven exhaled through his nose and shook his head.
'Better to wait until her memory comes back. It's her body, her choice. She's the one who decides what to do about it.'
Not that he lacked solutions. With his full set of mods unlocked, there wasn't much he couldn't fix. As long as someone was still breathing, he could drag them back from pretty much anything.
But that was a "someday" problem.
For now, all he could do was tuck away his suspicions and wait.
He'd been the one to knock her memory loose. That meant he'd take responsibility. That was one of the few principles he had always lived by—if he caused it, he'd see it through.
As for what would happen when she woke up?
Not his problem.
All he'd done was bump her into amnesia. Everything else had nothing to do with him.
He adjusted her collar back into place, hiding the patches of scales from sight, then stood and made for the door.
'First things first: food. Everything else can wait.'
But the moment he slid the door open, he froze.
Right outside, several shadowy figures had been sneaking toward his room. Their eyes locked with his.
Steven tilted his head, lips curling into a half-smile.
"…Looking for me? Or were you planning to come in for a little chat?"
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M