After leaving Gladiia—who was just as curious about Skadi—behind in the infirmary, Steven followed Kal'tsit's arrangements and headed to the room assigned to him aboard Rhodes Island.
Ever since stepping foot on this ship, he had been caught up in a whirlwind of all sorts of bizarre events. And while these kinds of amusing experiences were exactly the type of fun he sought after, dealing with them non-stop was beginning to wear him out.
Collapsing onto the bed—which seemed to have been repurposed from a regular operator's dormitory—Steven stretched lazily with a satisfied sigh.
This was the first time since arriving in this world that he had the chance to properly rest in a real bed.
Back in Iberia, with Gladiia—the biggest baggage of all—dragging him down, he had no choice but to sleep under the open sky, using the ground as his mattress.
A soft bed like this? It had been way too long.
"You really have to suffer a bit before you appreciate how comfortable life used to be, huh?"
After lounging on the bed for a while, Steven decided to take a shower and changed into the fresh set of clothes issued by Rhodes Island.
The outfit was primarily black, with hints of blue as an accent color. It came with a hooded trench coat, and when paired with his already handsome looks, he was practically the definition of a stylish young man.
"Everything's great—except I don't have any stubble. Makes me look too young and immature."
Admiring his reflection in the mirror with a slightly self-satisfied gaze, Steven chuckled at his own appearance.
Ever since he crossed into this world, his age and looks had been frozen at the moment he first arrived at Minecraft.
He had to admit—people's mindsets really do change based on their appearance. No wonder manga and games were filled with "loli grandmas."
But this wasn't the time to be admiring his own handsomeness. After taking a short rest, Steven was ready to resume his exploration.
There was no way he could ignore such a massive place like Rhodes Island and not go looking around. That would be completely unacceptable in his book.
Clipping the temporary work ID that Kal'tsit had given him to his chest—one that looked similar to the ones the other operators wore—Steven hummed a tune as he stepped out of his room.
His assigned guest room was fine overall—he had no complaints about the size or cleanliness, and it was definitely a comfortable place to stay.
But there was two thing that Steven absolutely could not accept.
There was no underground storage packed with chests.
There was no land for farming.
In Steven's eyes, such features were essential for a proper living space.
Still, since he wasn't planning on staying here for long, he could tolerate it. What mattered more was getting out and seeing how the other people aboard this landship lived.
Most importantly—what kind of fun stories and entertaining weirdos he could find.
After all, Steven knew from experience just how many strange and questionable characters could be packed into a place like this.
Forget that crocodile girl Gavial—he had already spotted a humanoid lizard earlier. And there was even a car-shaped robot telling bad jokes.
The more chaotic the place, the more stories and entertainment there were to uncover.
And Steven lived for that kind of stuff.
Sneaking out of his room like a thief, he took a few crouched steps before abruptly realizing—he was a guest here.
There was absolutely no reason for him to skulk around like this.
Maybe he had just spent too much time exploring castle dungeons in various mods—his stealth instincts were kicking in by default.
Shaking off the habit, Steven quickly switched gears—going from "sneaky dungeon explorer" mode to "old man taking a leisurely post-meal stroll" mode.
With his hands in his pockets, he swaggered down the halls of the landship, ready to see what kind of trouble he could stumble into.
It seemed that the area Steven was assigned to was part of the dormitory block. Every door was shut tight, leaving him with nothing worth exploring.
He couldn't just whip out a pickaxe and force his way in, right? If a guest went that far, wouldn't that be no different from being a straight-up burglar?
Sighing in disappointment, Steven reluctantly put his pickaxe away, ultimately deciding to abandon that rather morally questionable idea.
After wandering around for a bit, he quickly realized that, at least in this part of the ship, there was nothing but rows of dormitory boxes—it felt just like his old college dormitory, except without the kind of students who frequently visited each other's rooms.
Just as Steven was thinking about where else he could go, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure stepping out of a dormitory not too far away.
"Outcast, your Rhodes Island is so boring. Do operators not socialize at all? Doesn't anyone get sick of this?"
He greeted her first, taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.
Steven had a pretty favorable impression of this badass older lady—who looked old enough to be his grandmother on the outside.
At the very least, she was easy to talk to. Not to mention, her speech and demeanor had that carefree charm.
"Rhodes Island is just like this," Outcast replied casually. "Most operators have their own duties, and their rare moments of free time often don't line up. Plus, instead of visiting others, most would rather just lie down on their own beds."
Outcast had been informed by Kal'tsit to pay special attention to this guest. After dropping Steven off at the infirmary earlier, she had been busy with other matters, so she had no idea that his status had risen yet another level since then.
But she already had a good impression of Steven's easygoing personality, so she didn't mind answering his questions.
"That just makes it even more boring, doesn't it?"
Steven scratched his head, genuinely puzzled.
"Well... it's just how things are," Outcast sighed. "Most of Rhodes Island's operators are infected. Under the constant pressure of Oripathy, even if they want to relax, it's not that simple. Not everyone has the luxury of maintaining a lighthearted attitude."
Walking side by side with Steven, Outcast spoke with the kind of wisdom that came with age. She had seen too much over the years—so much that, when she spoke of such things now, there was no longer sorrow in her tone—just a quiet sense of resignation.
After all, in a world where even survival itself could be a struggle, who had the luxury to take it easy?
"Yeah, makes sense," Steven nodded in understanding. "Doctors and hospital staff messing around like they're at a party would feel a little inappropriate, huh?"
Outcast's explanation was reasonable—after all, not everyone could be as unconcerned about Oripathy as he was.
In the end, people feared death.
"But still, it's kinda dull," Steven grinned. "Say, Outcast, do you know any fun places around here? Kal'tsit said I could ask you if I had any questions."
"Hmm."
Hearing his question, Outcast paused for a brief moment of thought before finally making a decision.
"How about coming with me to an old folks' gathering? As long as you don't mind that everyone there is… well, a bunch of old-timers."
Since Kal'tsit had instructed her that Steven could be trusted with almost anything—except for extremely classified secrets—Outcast figured it would be fine to invite him.
With his personality, he'd probably get along well with her old friends.