Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 513: No Need to Be So Nervous
The wallet returned even faster than Steven had expected.
Centaurea had barely sat back down with him, still sipping the complimentary cup of hot water the fish ball vendor had given them, when the flower-selling girl from earlier peeked timidly around the corner of the street.
She shuffled forward, hands tucked awkwardly behind her back.
Her thin little face carried a clear trace of embarrassment—and guilt.
"Um… big brother, big sister… I found a wallet over there," she said in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "Could you check if it's yours?"
Step by hesitant step, she approached them. Under Centaurea's mildly scrutinizing gaze, the girl's head lowered further and further, as though she wished she could bury it in her chest.
Then she pulled out a delicate white wallet embossed with a small horseshoe insignia.
Centaurea's expression eased slightly.
Just as Steven had predicted, someone really had returned it.
Were thieves these days so professionally courteous?
With a faintly puzzled look, she took the wallet and quickly checked its contents. Nothing was missing.
She gave Steven a small nod.
"It's mine. Nothing's gone. Thank you."
Turning back to the girl, who still didn't dare meet their eyes, Centaurea originally intended to lecture her a little.
In the end, however, her words dissolved into a quiet sigh.
Regardless of the method, the result mattered too. The girl had corrected her mistake. And since no actual loss had occurred, Centaurea found it hard to press further.
Besides, there was still that little wager between her and Steven.
Though there had been no stated punishment for losing, the right to decide how to handle this situation now clearly rested with him.
Hearing Centaurea's thanks, the shame on the girl's face softened slightly. She risked a quick glance up at Steven and Centaurea, like a guilty rabbit peeking out of its burrow, before immediately lowering her head again.
"Th-then if there's nothing else, I'll be going," she stammered. "And thank you for buying my flowers. I'll thank you on behalf of my little brothers and sisters—and my big sister too."
She tossed the words out in a rush and made to dash past them, covering her face as if fleeing from a terrifying beast.
But just as she tried to bolt, her wrist was caught.
Steven had reached out and gently, yet firmly, grabbed her, cutting off any chance of escape.
"Why so eager to run?" he asked, eyes half-lidded, wearing what he believed to be a perfectly friendly smile. "There are a few things I'd like your help with. Of course, that depends on whether you're willing."
He was fairly certain his tone was gentle.
Approachable, even.
Yet when he looked down at her, the sight that met him nearly made him question his life choices.
The girl's face was already drenched in tears. Snot and tears mixed together in a pitiful mess, as if she had been grievously wronged.
"Waaah… big brother, I was wrong! Please don't hit me!" she sobbed, voice trembling.
Objectively speaking, she wasn't an especially cute child.
But paired with that tearful, terrified expression?
It was devastatingly effective.
Anyone who walked by at that moment, unaware of the situation, would probably conjure up an entire drama about Steven bullying a helpless little girl.
Steven stared at her, momentarily speechless.
"…I think you might have misunderstood something."
Steven scratched his head awkwardly.
He really wasn't about to lose his temper with a child who had admitted her mistake and corrected it, especially since he hadn't cared much about the wallet in the first place. He genuinely just wanted to ask her for a small favor.
But before he could explain further, he suddenly sensed something flying toward him.
Instinctively lowering his head, he saw a rope whip past just above him.
"Let go of my sister! You creep who lays hands on little kids!"
At the far end of the street stood the purple-haired girl Steven had caught a glimpse of earlier—the one who had stolen Centaurea's wallet. Her expression was grave and resolute.
The surrounding pedestrians, apparently used to this sort of disturbance, merely stepped aside to clear a path between the two sides, then gathered nearby to watch with obvious interest.
The purple-haired girl flicked her wrist, handling the rope like a whip. With a sharp tug, the rope that had just flown past Steven's head suddenly tightened—having somehow coiled itself around the little flower-selling girl. She attempted to yank the child away from Steven's grasp.
Steven had initially intended to stop her, but considering that a child probably wouldn't withstand his strength—and worrying that resisting might accidentally injure her—he loosened his hold and allowed the girl to be pulled back.
"I already told you," Steven said helplessly, raising his hands, "I just wanted to ask her, since she grew up around here, whether she could recommend a place to rent. Somewhere decent. Money's not an issue."
He calmly explained himself to the rabbit-eared purple-haired girl, whose soft violet ears reminded him a little of Amiya's.
That was honestly all he meant.
Compared to booking a room in some high-rise hotel, staying at a small rental in a place like this slum might be a far more interesting experience. Steven had always had a strong curiosity for new and unfamiliar things. And obviously, if he was going to do that, having a local guide who knew the area well would be essential.
"Besides," he added with a friendly smile, "why are you two so worked up? It's not like you did anything guilty. You returned my girlfriend's wallet, I should be thanking you."
The words made both girls' expressions subtly change.
Whether or not they had done something guilty… that was something they themselves knew perfectly well.
After all, they were fully aware of how the white haired Kuranta wallet had gone missing.
Otherwise, the younger girl wouldn't have reacted so dramatically just because Steven grabbed her wrist. She had assumed he had seen through everything—but now it seemed she might have overthought it.
Even the rope-wielding girl's expression softened slightly. The earlier tension between them and Steven gradually faded.
"…Just for that?" she asked cautiously.
"What else would it be?" Steven replied with an easy shrug. "Don't worry. If you work as my guides, I won't treat you badly. You'll probably earn quite a bit more than selling flowers."
As if performing a magic trick, he casually produced several Longmen banknotes from his pocket.
His face radiated pure sincerity.
The purple-haired girl standing opposite him frowned.
She had just confirmed earlier that this man's pockets were empty—otherwise she wouldn't have targeted the Kuranta wallet in the first place. So where exactly had he pulled this money from?
Even though confusion flickered across her face, it did nothing to dampen her fondness for money. At the very least, there was no reason for her to refuse the job this man was offering.
The stack of Longmen banknotes in his hand already exceeded a thousand. If she could earn that much just by recommending a guesthouse, there was no way she would let the opportunity slip by.
That amount was something she might not even be able to scrape together after several jobs in the slums. After all, this was a slum—people moving around here rarely carried much money on them.
That was precisely why she had set her sights on Steven and Centaurea in the first place. Setting aside Steven's rustic appearance, the white haired Kuranta polished and elegant attire clearly marked her as someone who wasn't short on cash.
If Steven hadn't shown genuine kindness toward the flower-selling child earlier, pricking her conscience, she definitely wouldn't have returned the wallet.
Fortunately, the current outcome seemed fairly good.
If she could earn this thousand-plus Longmen dollars, then at least for the next week or so, she wouldn't have to worry about food for her younger siblings.
"I'll take the job," she said, walking over and taking the stack of cash directly from Steven's hand. "But if you've got money, why not stay at a hotel in the city district? I should warn you—the conditions here in the slums aren't great. And public security is… questionable. Flashing money around like that could easily attract trouble."
Though the onlookers had already dispersed after realizing there would be no spectacle, the fact that he had openly taken out such a large sum of Longmen currency would undoubtedly catch the attention of ill-intentioned people.
There were plenty of people like her in the slums, but she could guarantee one thing: most of them did not possess the unnecessary burden of conscience she still carried.
In the slums, conscience was the cheapest thing there was.
Only money and supplies were real.
"Ah, just think of it as us wanting to experience life," Steven replied with a smile, nodding lightly. "You don't need to worry about anything else. My girlfriend and I know how to handle ourselves."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted downward, settling on the black Originium crystal growing conspicuously from the exposed part of her calf.
"Oh, right," the purple-haired girl added, noticing where he was looking and glancing at her leg herself. "I should remind you—there are plenty of Infected in the slums. People like you, pampered and wealthy… you really don't mind that?"
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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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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 617: A Bold Guess[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628