Chapter 256: Birds of a Feather Flock Together
After spending the better part of the day in the bar, Steven had finally gotten a clearer picture of how the public viewed his actions.
He didn't really have much to say about the General Chamber of Commerce's propaganda machine—if it were him pulling the strings, he'd probably do the same.
Still, if nothing else, this only reinforced his desire to keep playing this little game with them.
'Fighting? I've got all the time in the world for that.'
"Hey," he said after finishing the last sip of his drink, "when's the next Major match happening?"
He wasn't exactly well-versed in the event schedule, but the folks in this bar? They lived for this stuff.
The bartender, wiping down a glass, looked up.
"There's one tomorrow at Roar Arena. Are you thinking of showing up in person again? I'll tell you now—tickets are going to be pricey. Real pricey."
He tapped the counter.
"First of all, both the Candle Knight and the Wind Knight are set to appear—huge names. Second... well, after what happened today, everyone's gonna be dying to see if that guy shows up again."
Steven gave a light chuckle and nodded.
"Yeah, I figured. I can't afford to miss it, now can I?"
As one of the people involved in today's spectacle, he had no plans of backing down.
Across the table, the old bear of a craftsman set his drink down with a sigh.
"Still, without Zofia competing, I can't say I'm that excited... Why don't we swing by the hospital and check up on her instead? Could use a visit from friends."
The old knight didn't quip back like he usually did.
Instead, he thoughtfully stroked his thick beard and nodded.
"I'm with you there. But let's not show up smelling like a brewery. We'll go tonight. I'll stop by my place and see if I've got any of that salve from back home—works wonders on bone injuries."
Even the bartender chimed in now, unusually sincere.
"Yeah... I should probably check on one of my best customers too. What do you think, Steve?"
He turned to Steven, who was already halfway out of his seat.
"Me? Of course I'm going. Why wouldn't I?"
Steven tapped the table lightly, casual as ever.
"I promised her I'd bring a phone, remember? So she can talk to Nearl. Figured I'd follow through on that."
He really had nothing better to do, and he didn't mind keeping busy.
Besides, he had some other errands to take care of—like letting Kal'tsit know he'd "borrowed" two of her Abyssal Hunters off the island.
'...Though the part about fixing Specter? Yeah, let's keep that to myself.'
If that big cat found out, he'd be in for a whole mountain of headaches.
"Alright then, it's settled. Let's meet back here tonight."
With their plans set, Steven stood up, waved casually, and stepped out of the bar.
He didn't really mind visiting someone in the hospital. Zofia's injuries weren't technically his responsibility—but she had bought him a drink. That made her a drinking buddy, at the very least.
And, honestly, he does like her personality.
Still, before he went to the hospital, there was something else he had to do—namely, check in with the two Abyssal Hunters staying with him.
By his estimate, they should've already returned by now.
With a faint scent of alcohol still clinging to him, Steven headed back to the inn. Sure enough, even before opening the door, he spotted them both on the minimap.
What he didn't expect was that… they weren't alone.
Just as he stepped up to the door, Skadi swung it open and pulled him inside without a word.
She—and Specter, lounging nearby—had changed into casual clothes. Gone were their battle uniforms, replaced with something far more ordinary and… girlish.
'Guess they went shopping,' Steven thought.
He wasn't surprised—they had the coin he'd left them, after all. No way they'd sit indoors all day.
Even dressed down, their natural beauty still turned heads. If anything, the casual look made them feel more youthful and vibrant—less like killing machines from the deep and more like, well, girls.
Not that their Abyssal Hunter uniforms weren't cool… but let's be real, they do look kind of weird after a while.
"Nice outfit," he said, glancing at Skadi. "You pick it out yourself? Or was it Sharky? My money's on her."
He knew Skadi's fashion sense—or lack thereof. Trusting her to put together a decent outfit was… optimistic at best. Specter, on the other hand, had been doing a lot better since her recovery.
"You guessed right. Want a reward for it?"
Specter practically floated to his side and clung to his arm, leaning against him like a contented bird.
Steven didn't react to her clinging, only raised an eyebrow and asked, "So… did you bring back any local specialties for me?"
He shot a glance toward his bed—more specifically, toward the lump on it. Someone—or something—was curled up under a blanket.
'Pretty small. Could be a kid… or a doll. Either way, I clearly remember only three people coming down from Rhodes Island. So who the hell's the fourth?'
Steven's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to the two Abyssal Hunters, clearly waiting for an explanation.
Well—waiting for Skadi's explanation. Specter might be doing better, but she still wasn't all there mentally.
"You really don't miss a thing," Specter said with a grin, patting Steven on the chest. She was clearly getting way too comfortable around him.
Steven wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.
Skadi, meanwhile, rubbed her head awkwardly like a kid caught sneaking snacks before dinner.
"Well… Amiya told me a lot…. She said that if we ever ran into infected people who were in trouble, we should help them out if we can."
Compared to that grumpy old cat Kal'tsit, even someone like Skadi—the classic airheaded musclehead—was more inclined to listen to little Amiya's words. And as soon as Skadi finished her explanation, Steven had already more or less guessed who the mysterious person on his bed was.
'Seriously? These two fish go out for a walk and somehow bring home more trouble?'
Just this morning, Centaurea had been teasing him about being a walking disaster magnet—and now look at his "companions," bringing home bonus problems like it was a souvenir sale.
'Birds of a feather sure flock together, huh?'
Steven could only let out a helpless chuckle as he walked over to the bed and pulled off the blanket that was covering the guest.
The first thing he saw was a wild tuft of crimson-red hair—like a flicker of flame. But it wasn't just her hair. The large, fluffy tail tucked beside her was the same vivid shade, eye-catching and unmistakable.
But for all the volume of that striking tail, its owner was surprisingly small and delicate. The girl lay unconscious, her brows furrowed in pain. And worse still—an arrow was still embedded in her shoulder, clean through.
Thankfully, the arrow's clean pierce meant she hadn't lost much blood, and from the looks of it, her collapse was more from exhaustion than critical injury.
Steven turned around and gave the two Abyssal Hunters a big thumbs-up.
"You two are just… something else."
He really didn't know what else to say at this point.
Looking more closely, he spotted the telltale signs of Originium crystals protruding from the girl's arm—confirming her as an Infected. And her large, matching red ears and fluffy tail? Those immediately reminded him of a squirrel—a cute one, to be fair.
Still... a squirrel rescued by a killer whale? That's definitely a weird mental image.
And Skadi… she wasn't exactly the "charitable stray animal rescuer" type.
Steven shot her a sideways glance. She clearly had no idea he was not praising her. In fact, she looked like she was basking in the attention—blushing, even.
'Why does this orca act like such a golden retriever sometimes?'
Steven sighed wearily.
"Alright," he muttered. "Someone explain what happened. This shouldn't be that hard, right?"
As he spoke, he gently propped the unconscious girl up and pulled a vial of healing potion from his inventory.
Yes, Skadi was a bit of a dumb muscle sometimes—but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't just drag home some shady stranger for no reason. If she brought this girl back, there was probably a good reason.
And if there was one thing he trusted in Skadi, it was her instincts. After all, those instincts had kept her alive all this time—out there bounty hunting, alone, without getting killed or sold off.
So first things first: stabilize the squirrel girl. From the looks of her, things weren't exactly sunshine and rainbows.
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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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