"How about this, then?"
Stowing away the pumpkin head, Steven reached into his inventory and pulled out a new helmet—an Ender Dragon Head.
[/hat]
In an instant, Steven's relatively small human head, peeking out from his heavy purple-black armor, was replaced by a mythical, Draco visage.
Bright purple light radiated from the fierce dragon eyes, and atop the terrifying dragon's skull, a pure white, crown-like set of horns extended outward—adding to the sheer pressure of his presence.
Compared to the vision-blocking pumpkin, this was far superior.
Not knowing just how shocking his actions appeared to others, Steven merely felt satisfied with his choice.
"How did you do that?"
Outcast stood up from her seat, stepping closer to Steven.
If she hadn't seen it herself, she wouldn't have believed what had just happened.
The dragon head on Steven's shoulders seemed alive. With each of his breaths, thick, heavy Draco exhalations poured from his nostrils.
And even more unnerving—the menacing dragon face could clearly express Steven's inquisitive expression, as if it were truly part of him.
—Was this kid actually an Ancestral Draco revealing his true form?
"I just put on a helmet. What's the big deal?"
The supposedly terrifying dragon gave a perplexed look.
Through the glowing purple eyes, Outcast could see undeniable confusion—as if Steven genuinely didn't understand what was so shocking.
"Can I touch it?"
Curiosity flickering in her gaze, Outcast removed the glove from her hand.
"Go ahead."
Steven saw no issue with her request.
If anything, he was starting to wonder why no one was complimenting him yet.
Come on. A dragon-headed heavy knight was insanely cool!
Who wouldn't want to be a badass little dragon guy?
As Outcast's thin, slightly withered fingers touched the dragon's scales, she felt an unexpected cold smoothness, with a subtle organic slickness—as if she were touching actual skin.
Pulling her hand back, Outcast finally understood why Kal'tsit was taking this boy so seriously.
Even just this one minor thing proved that the secrets hidden within him could be extremely significant to Rhodes Island—and perhaps even to the entire continent.
This wasn't just a "helmet."
He had literally swapped heads.
"You better make sure no one from Victoria sees you like this. No—better yet, don't let anyone see you at all. It'll cause unnecessary trouble."
Kal'tsit, having masked the shock in her eyes, spoke up with her usual calm but firm voice.
Among Victoria's two great royal bloodlines, the Dracos had been considered extinct ever since the Aslans took the throne.
If Steven walked around with a dragon's head, it would immediately draw the attention of countless forces eager to investigate.
A living Ancestral Draco?
Even Kal'tsit herself couldn't recall the last time she had seen one.
In the last few hundred years, she had only seen the more-modern, mainstream 'normal' Draco, not the Ancestral one.
As for where Steven had even gotten such a thing, Kal'tsit didn't bother asking anymore.
At this point, it seemed like nothing was impossible for him.
"Huh? Is it really that serious?"
Steven raised an eyebrow.
He had assumed that in a world filled with anthro beast-folk, a dragon-headed guy wouldn't be that unusual.
After all, Outcast was literally a winged angel grandma.
"It's more serious than you think."
Staring directly into his glowing purple eyes, Kal'tsit's stern gaze made it clear—she wasn't exaggerating.
"Alright, then."
Steven originally wanted to argue, but then he remembered—his whole reason for wearing a helmet in the first place was to stay inconspicuous.
So, reluctantly, he gave up on the Ender Dragon head.
Removing the fearsome dragon helm, he rummaged through his inventory again and pulled out a Wither Skeleton skull, placing it over his head.
Then, with an expectant gaze, he turned to Kal'tsit.
Just moments ago, he had looked like a formidable Draco warrior—and now, in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a sinister skeletal knight.
The crushing dragon-like pressure was gone, yet somehow, this new look gave him an eerie, dark and malevolent aura.
His black, hollow eye sockets showed nothing inside—despite the fact that there should have been a visible face beneath. It was as if the skull was completely empty, nothing but an abyss.
Even more unsettling, as Steven spoke, the skeletal jaw opened and closed naturally, perfectly synchronized with his words—like a living undead.
"…Can you just act normal for once?"
Kal'tsit narrowed her eyes.
The dragon form she could at least explain as him having some sort of Ancestral Draco bloodline.
But this?
What the hell was this?
Some kind of necromantic technology?
Even Originium Arts couldn't achieve something like this—at least not to the point where a person could fully function as a sentient skeleton, with no muscles or brain, yet still speak and move normally.
"Sigh~ why is this so complicated? I just want to be low-profile, so I don't immediately stand out as someone really strong. Why is that so difficult?"
Steven let out a frustrated sigh, reluctantly removing the Wither Skull as well.
This world already had beast-folk, angels, and all sorts of strange creatures—so why couldn't it just accept a little dragon guy or a skeleton warrior?
"With that outfit, there's no way you can call yourself 'low-profile' to begin with."
Kal'tsit stated the harsh truth.
Turns out, when she actually wanted to, she could speak in straightforward terms instead of cryptic riddles.
After the initial adjustment period, she found herself adapting quickly to Steven's conversational style.
Being blunt and direct wasn't difficult for her.
After all, she's only being this cryptic in the last few hundred years or so, not since the start of her life.
Furthermore, when dealing with this absurd kid, every extra word she spoke just made her feel more mentally exhausted.
"No way. Heavy armor is the romance of men. You wouldn't understand."
Steven shook his head firmly.
Being wrapped in Netherite Armor gave him a sense of security.
He was just a weak, helpless, and pitiful little Minecrafter—how could he possibly go out unprotected?
"You don't need to wear it all the time. If you really insist on covering your face in combat, the pumpkin head from before will do."
Kal'tsit sighed, suddenly feeling like the pumpkin option wasn't so unacceptable after all.
At this point, she was afraid that if she let him keep going, he'd eventually pull out something even more bizarre.
Hearing Kal'tsit's reluctant compromise, Steven hesitated for a moment before finally putting away the Sentinel Head he was about to equip.
He had originally planned to try out a Piglin head next.
"Tsk, you should've said 'pumpkin' from the start."
"This is just like a client looking at dozens of design revisions, only to choose the first version in the end."