Chapter 257: What Kind Of Lunatic Would Even Think That Would Work?
"Mm... honestly, nothing that important really happened."
Skadi scratched her head as she spoke, her expression full of casual confusion. Even when she tried to recall the earlier events, she couldn't really think of anything worth fussing over.
"Then just tell me how you met her and why you brought her back. That's all I want to know."
Steven spoke while fiddling with the clothes on the shoulder of the red-haired girl lying nearby. He glanced back at Skadi with a hint of exasperation. Whether this airhead could even tell what was important or not was a mystery—but at the very least, she should know who she'd just rescued, right?
"Well, it started when I went out shopping for clothes with Laurentina."
She tapped a finger thoughtfully against her lips, lost in the memory.
"We started off in the commercial district, but Laurentina wasn't happy with anything I picked. She kept saying that everyday clothes didn't need to be practical for combat, and that I shouldn't worry so much about how easily they'd stain with blood. So we ended up going to this cheaper street market instead."
As she rambled on with her casual, matter-of-fact tone, Skadi didn't notice the look of pure disbelief forming on Steven's face.
'Why the hell is she choosing clothes based on how well they hold up in battle?! Does this girl have zero self-awareness?!'
"…And then?" he prodded, gripping the long arrow still embedded in the red-haired girl's shoulder, trying to stay focused on the matter at hand.
"And then, we saw her in this little alleyway. She was sharing food with a bunch of infected kids."
Skadi scratched her head again. That moment had stuck with her. Anyone who could get along with kids like that couldn't be all bad, right?
"As for how she got that injury... we don't know. By the time we finished shopping and came back, she was already like that."
She watched Steven's hands as he examined the wound, then shrugged and casually recounted the rest of the story.
"So you just picked her up and brought her back? No one tried to stop you or anything?"
Steven furrowed his brow, skeptical.
Is this real life? Just stumbling across a wounded pretty girl and bringing her home like it's no big deal? That kind of luck sounds totally fake.
"There were a few guys with masks who tried to stop me. Said I should hand her over, and even tried threatening me using Laurentina."
Skadi nodded, unfazed.
She hadn't expected Steven to guess that detail, but maybe people from land weren't completely useless after all.
"They… tried to use her. To threaten you?"
Steven blinked in disbelief, glancing toward the red-haired girl again before pointing at the grinning Specter who had crept up beside him, watching his medical treatment with a curious sparkle in her eye.
"You're telling me they tried to threaten you with her? Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?"
Just the idea of someone trying to use Specter as a hostage... What kind of lunatic would even think that would work?
"Yeah, I didn't really get it either," Skadi shrugged again, totally unbothered. "But of course, Laurentina just tore them to shreds."
"Ehehe~ Go on, praise me! I did good, didn't I?"
Specter beamed proudly, flashing a bright, innocent smile that was completely at odds with the fact that she had just been described as having ripped people apart moments ago.
"You did great. Keep up the good work."
Steven nodded without hesitation, giving her the praise she so clearly wanted.
"Then some woman with teal hair suddenly showed up and tried to snatch the girl from me. I didn't have any weapons on me at the time, so I had to settle for smacking her with my shopping bag and sending her flying."
Skadi gave a small shake of her head, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
She had no intention of showing mercy to anyone who launched an unprovoked attack on her.
Honestly, if she'd had a real weapon instead of just a shopping bag, that teal-haired woman probably wouldn't have escaped at all.
"…And then?"
Steven pressed on with his questioning.
To be frank, everything Skadi had said so far was vague. She hadn't provided any real details—just the surface of what had happened. From beginning to end, the only thing clear was that there had been some kind of ambush.
Who were those attackers?
What was their organization called?
What were their motives?
He didn't know any of it.
And judging by Skadi's carefree demeanor, it was clear she hadn't thought about any of that, either.
"After that, we just came back," she said, almost cheerfully. "But don't worry, Laurentina dealt with all the tails that tried to follow us. They shouldn't be able to track us for now."
She was trying to reassure him.
Back when she was still under Kal'tsit's command, she'd been told not to act recklessly—so as not to drag innocent people into trouble.
Skadi didn't want Steven getting caught up in a mess because of them.
"Wait, hold up," Steven raised his hand and waved it dismissively. "I'm not blaming you guys. Seriously, this is what I'd call a good deed! If it were up to me, I'd give you a banner of honor and a medal for bravery or something."
He was not the type to be afraid of trouble.
On the contrary, at his age, he actually craved a bit of chaos to keep life interesting.
Whatever kind of organization those attackers belonged to, if they were coming for him, he was ready to greet them—with fists or flames.
After Skadi finished her brief rundown, Steven chuckled and turned his attention back to the injured girl. Without warning, he reached out and yanked the long arrow out from her shoulder.
Now, it was up to the girl herself to explain the rest—if she could.
The moment the arrow came free, the girl—already deathly pale from exhaustion—flinched violently, her brows twisting in pain. The sharp agony radiating from her shoulder wound shot through her like lightning, jarring her nerves.
But her frail, battered body didn't even have the strength to wake her up.
Blood poured from the freshly opened wound.
And that wasn't the only one—her body was a patchwork of injuries: slashes, stab wounds, even more arrows.
It was hard to imagine someone so young—someone who still looked like a child—had endured this kind of brutality.
Still, if nothing else, her luck hadn't completely abandoned her.
At the very least, she'd ended up in his hands.
That alone might've been the one stroke of fortune that kept her from dying today.
With rough but practiced movements, Steven pried open the girl's mouth and poured in a vial of healing potion. He clamped her jaw shut with his hand to make sure she wouldn't spit it out.
The potion worked like magic—as always.
The girl, who had just been writhing from the pain, suddenly fell still. The strain left her face as the potion took hold, and within seconds, the gaping wound in her shoulder began to close.
Even her ghostly pale complexion was slowly returning to something closer to normal.
Her breathing grew steady and calm.
Only then did Steven finally release her mouth and take a closer look at the bloodstained arrow he'd just pulled out.
The arrowhead was a cruel, tri-edged design—meant for killing, no question about it.
Steven turned it slowly between his fingers, expression grim.
It was sheer luck the arrow had pierced clean through the girl's body.
If the arrowhead had remained lodged inside her, she probably would've bled out before anyone could've saved her.
Aside from its lethality, the arrow's craftsmanship was impeccable—sleek, deadly, and utterly without flaw. But most notably, it bore no identifying marks or insignia.
Which meant... someone didn't want to be identified.
Steven rubbed his chin in thought.
Even without a clear symbol, the arrow looked very familiar.
He'd seen something just like it before.
And then it clicked.
The design, the make—it was nearly identical to the specialized ammunition used by Centaurea. Same build, same engineering. Probably even came from the same factory.
That, paired with where Centaurea worked, gave Steven all the confirmation he needed.
The Armorless Union.
It made sense.
And yet—why would the Armorless Union target an infected person?
That didn't add up.
Kazimierz wasn't perfect, sure. There was still a clear social hierarchy, and Infected citizens often faced discrimination and worse—but technically, they were still protected under the law.
This wasn't Ursus, where the government turned a blind eye to brutality.
Even public harassment could stir backlash in Kazimierz, let alone a full-on assassination attempt in broad daylight.
What the hell was going on?
Well…
Only the little squirrel lying unconscious in front of him could answer that.
All he could do now was wait.
Steven gently laid her back onto the bed, making sure she was comfortable before rising to his feet. His gaze turned to the two Abyssal Hunters standing nearby.
"You're sure there were no tails on your way back?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
Purely in terms of combat strength, he trusted them.
Ever since arriving into this world, he had seen plenty of powerful people—but these two were in a league of their own.
Barring Patriot, the purebred Wendigo, the Fallingstar Beast, and those 4 Feranmut girls, maybe no one else could go toe-to-toe with them.
Even Yelena—the fluffy white bunny with all her Originium finesse—would probably have a hard time taking these two down if they ever turned hostile.
He didn't know much about Ægir technology, but when it came to body modification?
Yeah.
They'd nailed it.
Every Abyssal Hunter he'd met felt like a walking bio-weapon. They were all built like marine versions of Captain America.
Just to be safe, Steven glanced at his minimap.
No red blips.
No pursuers.
At least for now, it seemed Skadi had been telling the truth.
"You want me to describe how Laurentina tore those guys apart?"
Skadi's tone was neutral, almost detached—like she was reading off a shopping list.
"…Yeah, no thanks."
Steven waved her off, suppressing a shiver. "I haven't had dinner yet. Also, could you two try being a little more ladylike? Next time, at least give me a heads-up. I'll get you some proper weapons. Ripping people in half with your bare hands is seriously lacking in aesthetic appeal."
He cast a sidelong glance at the nearby Specter, who was giggling innocently as if she hadn't just dismembered several armed pursuers.
Steven massaged his temples.
Honestly, even if he did arm her with her usual weapons… would a chainsaw-wielding maniac really qualify as "ladylike"?
…Nah, not even close.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
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