"Eh? Don't you have any thoughts about finding that person to take charge?"
Steven scratched his head. Although he was curious why Kal'tsit used the word "dig out" to describe finding someone, he was more concerned about why the person was missing.
"Although I don't know how you learned that person's title, at least for now, Rhodes Island hasn't fallen to the point where we absolutely need her to step in to solve our problems."
Kal'tsit frowned deeply. She sensed a strange feeling in Steven's tone.
The young man before her seemed to know something about that person, but this understanding felt oddly shallow and deliberate.
He didn't even realize what it would mean if the "Ghost of Babel" were unleashed.
At the very least, if she were in charge of Rhodes Island, she would probably do whatever it took to capture Steven as a bargaining chip, even if it meant sacrificing far too many people.
"Eh, that's no fun. So, it's because I came too early, and the timeline is still before the main plot? Who the hell knows when this storyline will start."
Muttering quietly to himself, just loud enough for only him to hear, Steven didn't press Kal'tsit further about her reasoning. He wasn't really that interested in the matter; otherwise, he wouldn't have only thought of it now.
"Alright then, if you ever want to find that person, maybe you can contact me. I'm quite interested in the Doctor, and who knows, I might help you guys out for free."
He spoke earnestly to Kal'tsit, not bothering to hide his interest in that Doctor. It wasn't as if he planned to kill the protagonist—why worry about being misunderstood?
"Maybe, but I hope that day never comes."
Kal'tsit shook her head. Seeing that Steven had no more questions, she turned and left.
She was somewhat wary of Steven now. If he asked another strange question, Kal'tsit wasn't sure if she could handle it smoothly.
Meanwhile, Steven watched her leaving with a bit of disappointment, his mind preoccupied with a critical question.
—It's one thing for her tail to be missing, but where does she usually hide such a big MON3TR? Could it be, like him, she also has an extra-dimensional inventory?
With this doubt lingering, Steven walked toward his dormitory. Before he knew it, it was nearly midnight, and it was time to get some rest.
Yawning as he headed back, Steven wasn't at all worried about getting lost thanks to his mini-map. He could find his way home even with his eyes closed.
But clearly, the more you want something to go smoothly, the less likely fate is to let it happen.
Steven hadn't even made it back to his room when a hand reached out from around a corner and dragged him into a room.
"What's going on?"
Yawning, Steven, more curious than cautious, didn't resist. He let the slender hand toss him onto the bed in the room.
However, when he saw under the light who had performed this almost kidnapping-like act, he nodded as if he understood.
"Miss Gavial, even if you fell in love with me at first sight, isn't this a bit too forward? Dragging me into your dorm late at night seems a bit... open, don't you think?"
"Alone in a room with just the two of us—if you suddenly couldn't suppress your primal desires and took away the purity I've cherished for so many years, it wouldn't be good for either of us, right?"
Steven said this with a straight face, yet his posture on the bed was quite the opposite—arms spread wide, wearing an expression as if inviting her to "pick the fruit."
"Ugh! Can you not have such a twisted mind? Do I look like the kind of person you're describing?"
Gavial, clearly frustrated, scratched her green hair. She was struggling to deal with Steven's ridiculously cheeky mouth.
What puzzled her more was how earlier she couldn't move him an inch no matter how hard she tried. Yet just when she was ready to pull him with all her strength, he suddenly felt as light as a sandbag, allowing her to toss him onto the bed.
This was precisely why she hadn't controlled her strength and ended up throwing him so forcefully.
"But I am."
Steven's face remained calm, as if the word "shame" didn't exist in his dictionary.
"Come on, don't hold back just because I'm a delicate flower."
He puckered his lips, mimicking a kiss, showing a playful willingness to accept Gavial's "advances," even if she was a bit on the violent side.
"Delicate flower, my ass!"
Unable to suppress the urge to punch him, Gavial swung her small fist straight at Steven's face.
Though Kal'tsit had seriously warned her not to anger Steven, wasn't he clearly asking for it right now?
Unfortunately, her fist was stopped midway by his hand. The overwhelming sense of strength returned, preventing her from moving even an inch closer.
She couldn't even pull her hand away from his grip.
"If you didn't want to, you could have just said so. Why resort to violence? I'm telling you, girls who are too aggressive might find it hard to get married."
In an instant, Steven shifted back to a normal demeanor, as if his previous provocative attitude belonged to a different person. With a serious expression, he released Gavial's fist and sat up on the bed.
"So, what's up? I'm really sleepy. You're not seriously hoping I'll sleep here with you, right?"
"…How do you manage to be so shameless?"
Gavial was struggling to adapt to Steven's sudden shift in tone. She even put aside the question of how he had overpowered her so easily, as if his cheekiness was a greater enigma than his strength.
Compared to his physical prowess, she was now more impressed by Steven's seemingly impenetrable thick skin—perhaps even an Originium chainsaw couldn't cut through it.
"Hey, didn't you ask me to act normal? So now I'm shameless? You don't like me passive, and you don't like me serious—do you want me to take the initiative instead?"
His gaze, almost academic, swept from Gavial's long, slender legs up to her entire body, finally resting on her light golden eyes. Only then did Steven sigh with a tone of helplessness.
What did she want from him? Wasn't this already cooperating with her? Did she actually expect him to start taking off his clothes and jump straight to it?