Getting up, Steven walked to the little white-furred fox girl's side, stroking his chin as he looked at her exposed, smooth shoulder.
He couldn't help but wonder—was her style of dressing influenced by a certain green-haired cat?
Why did she like exposing this kind of area?
Of course, Steven wasn't just admiring the view. He was merely trying to check on the spot where the Originium crystals had previously appeared on her body.
From what he could see now, she had recovered well.
Previously, the Originium on her skin had been quite visible, but now, all he could see was smooth, unblemished skin.
The girl, feeling a little self-conscious under Steven's gaze, instinctively shrank her neck. However, she didn't say anything and simply let him examine her.
She was very aware that there was no inappropriate desire in Steven's eyes.
"Good, looks like you're recovering well. If you take care of yourself, you should be able to maintain this condition for quite a while. Just remember to use your Originium Arts less often."
After confirming that her condition was stable, Steven clapped his hands and returned to his seat.
Since he had been the one to perform the surgery, it was only right that he provided some aftercare.
From her condition, he deduced that she was in a similar situation to Yelena—both had suffered further Originium erosion due to overusing their abilities.
However, Yelena clearly had a better constitution and could endure it more, whereas this girl in front of him would have likely died if he hadn't intervened.
"Huh? Dr. Steve, is there really nothing you want me to do? You're my savior—I'm willing to do anything for you!"
Frostleaf, not expecting him to say such a word and leave it at that, blurts out some words that are easily misinterpreted.
"I'm guessing you don't interact with people much, do you? How old are you?"
Steven chuckled at her reaction before asking a casual question.
She was obviously still a minor, which was one thing, but saying something like that without thinking about the implications? Either she had no idea what "anything" could mean, or she simply spoke without considering it.
Judging from the scars and calluses he had seen on her body during the surgery, she was at least at the level of a veteran soldier. And after ruling out the possibility that she was some old relic disguised as a young girl, Steven could tell she had very little experience communicating with others.
"Ah? I'm seventeen."
Her ears twitched slightly, showing her confusion as to why Steven was asking this.
"For a soldier, some luxurious things like friends are unnecessary."
"See? I knew it. That explains everything. Anyway, I don't need you to do anything for me—just focus on living well. Kal'tsit has already paid me, and I've received your gratitude. Now, can I go lie down on my bed?"
After saying this to her, Steven didn't ask anything more. He simply waved his hand dismissively, signaling that their conversation was over, and prepared to head back to his bed.
"This isn't logical… I need to repay you. What does that have to do with whether I have friends or not?"
To Steven's surprise, the girl stubbornly stood her ground, looking at him with determination, as if she wouldn't budge until she got a proper explanation.
She sincerely wanted to repay his kindness—otherwise, she wouldn't have waited in his room. However, Steven's reaction was completely unexpected to her.
Was there something wrong with what she was doing?
The girl, who had always upheld the simple principle that interactions were fundamentally based on mutual benefit, furrowed her brows.
She's baffled by Steven's reaction.
"It's not that it has anything to do with each other. I'm just saying, there are some things you don't need to say so lightly. Saying you're willing to do anything isn't something that should be thrown around so casually."
"But I mean it. This isn't just an empty promise."
A flicker of determination flashed through Frostleaf's crimson eyes.
No one understood better than her how fortunate it was for her to still be alive. Steven's kindness was not something she could simply let go unpaid.
At least, not in her eyes.
"Tch. So even if I asked you to sleep with me, you'd agree?"
Steven rolled his eyes.
She was supposed to be a little fox, so why was she more stubborn than an ox?
"...If that's what you truly want, then I wouldn't refuse."
To Steven's surprise, the girl actually unfastened her coat and sat back down on his bed.
Curling herself into a small bundle, she gazed straight at him with those dazzling, gem-like eyes.
"This is my first time... If you don't mind, Dr. Steve, please be gentle—"
"Alright, alright! That's enough! Any further and I would be thrown to jail!"
Steven covered his face and immediately motioned for her to get up and put her clothes back on.
She was only seventeen. Seventeen! Did she even realize what that meant? If this world were a novel, the moment he laid a finger on her, the story would be forcefully censored on the spot.
Not that he was afraid of anything—he just didn't see the point. He was only joking earlier. If there was no emotional connection, what was the difference between this and playing with a blow-up doll?
Before Frostleaf could finish putting her clothes back on, the door behind Steven was pushed open at the worst possible moment.
A green-haired crocodile girl stood at the entrance, her expression turning very complicated as she took in the scene before her.
"You told me to come here at night… You weren't planning to start some kind of shady orgy, were you? This joke isn't funny at all."
"If you'd shown up two minutes earlier, it probably would've looked even more convincing. Right now, doesn't this just look like the aftermath? Like you came in to take over the next round?"
Steven kept a straight face as he joined Gavial in mocking the situation. Thankfully, he hadn't actually done anything—otherwise, this mess would be even harder to explain.
"So? Am I supposed to take over for round two?"
"Can't you tell this is just a misunderstanding?"
"Oh, I can tell. If I couldn't, I'd be smashing your face in with a hammer right now instead of standing here and throwing out these useless comments."
Gavial gave him a deadpan stare.
She could clearly see that nothing had actually happened between them, but that didn't stop her from wanting to roast this absurd situation.
"Alright, go ahead and explain it to her yourself."
Steven rolled his eyes and stepped aside, revealing Frostleaf—who was still in the middle of getting dressed—directly to Gavial.
Now that she had calmed down and pieced the situation together, Frostleaf stood up expressionlessly and looked toward the doorway.
"I came here to repay Dr. Steve."
"Stop bringing up the 'repayment' part! Get to the point!"
Steven's mouth twitched.
"Understood. Mr. Steve said that if I was willing to do anything, I should just sleep with him."
The moment those words left her mouth, Steven felt a chill run down his spine. That's technically true, but you're really not emphasizing the right part here!
"You actually said that?"
Gavial barely spared Frostleaf a glance before tilting her head toward Steven.
She knew exactly what kind of person this little fox was—lying wasn't her strong suit. In fact, she wasn't even good at basic human interaction.
Which meant Steven had definitely said something along those lines.
"I did—"
Before he could even finish speaking, he felt a gust of wind rush straight toward his legs.
Luckily, the attack wasn't that fast—it was more of a warning shot than an actual attempt to break something.
Steven easily dodged the incoming strike and turned to look at Gavial, who was wielding her long-handled hammer-like "staff."
"You're actually going all out?!"
"Weren't you the one who went all out first? You damn perv, all you do is waste food and drive up grain prices! Let me rid the world of you today!"
Gavial swung her weapon with the determination of someone about to carry out divine judgment.
"Ahem, calm down. This girl doesn't even understand the situation properly—she insisted on repaying me, so I just teased her a little. How was I supposed to know she'd actually take it seriously?"
Steven sighed and caught Gavial's staff mid-swing, stopping her next attack. Only then did he take the time to explain the full context to her.
After struggling unsuccessfully to pull her staff back, Gavial finally huffed in frustration.
Why does this guy keep getting stronger? She had been actively training her strength over the past month, yet she still couldn't even budge her weapon from his grip.
Of course, she knew Steven wasn't actually that kind of person. She had just gone along with the joke. After all, if he really had those kinds of intentions, he wouldn't need to go through such ridiculous theatrics.
"Why were you two fighting?"
Frostleaf tilted her head in confusion.
Why had they suddenly started fighting, only to just as suddenly stop?
What was the point of all that?
She had almost stepped in to help Steven fend off Gavial, but judging by how things had ended, that no longer seemed necessary.
"That's exactly why you need to make some friends," Steven sighed. "Get out there, talk to people, have some fun. If you do that, you'll start to understand."
She was way too rigid—so much so that even teasing her felt dull.
Compared to her, Talulah was way more interesting to mess with.
Yeah, tsundere girls were definitely more fun.
"I've told you already, Frostleaf, it's fine to be grateful, but you don't need to go this far. He doesn't need anything from you. If you knew just how much Mon3tr sacrificed for you, you wouldn't be thinking this way."
Gavial let out a deep sigh.
She had no idea what Steven had done to Mon3tr, but considering how even mentioning his name made the creature freeze up for a few seconds, it was definitely nothing pleasant.
<+>
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