Steven knew exactly what Kal'tsit was trying to convey with her words.
But as he had said himself—What does that have to do with me?
Sure, he had a bit of a soft spot for Outcast and the other elite operators, but that didn't mean he had to play the role of a savior and rescue the world because of it.
Steven never considered himself that noble.
Besides, Outcast and the others were doing what they chose to do. There was no way he would interfere with their choices.
He respected those who sacrificed themselves for lofty ideals, but that didn't mean he wanted to become one of them.
Living for others was exhausting, after all.
"I just want… you to understand what Rhodes Island is trying to do," Kal'tsit said.
"And let me guess, you're hoping I'll hand over that medicine for you to research, right?" Steven shrugged, directly stating Kal'tsit's ultimate goal. No matter how tactfully she phrased things, if he didn't have that miraculous milk, he doubted she'd be treating him so politely.
"Yes, that's right. Rhodes Island needs that medicine. The people of this land need that medicine. And I… need that medicine."
Kal'tsit didn't try to deny it any longer. Her gaze grew firm, and she openly admitted her intentions to Steven.
"If you had been this straightforward earlier, maybe I wouldn't have been so harsh with you. At least now, you sound much more agreeable."
Steven chuckled lightly, offering a bit of commentary on Kal'tsit's current approach. If she had been this direct from the start, perhaps they could've even been friends.
"So—"
"No deal."
Steven waved his hand, delivering a brutal conclusion.
"However, since your attitude just now pleased me, I don't mind telling you: even if I did give you that thing to research, you still wouldn't get anywhere with it."
"This stuff is my own unique creation. It can't be replicated, and thinking of spreading it across the entire land to save all those so-called Infected is nothing more than a pipe dream."
This time, Steven wasn't trying to mislead her. He had no idea how many Infected existed in this world, but it was clearly not a small number.
And based on what Blaze had told him, there was a deeply entrenched conflict between the Infected and the uninfected.
Even if he had a way to cure the Infected, promoting it widely would be nearly impossible.
Unless he could first conquer this world.
But that would be way too much hassle.
Steven had no interest in playing some grand nation-building, world-conquering strategy game. He was a survival game player—a completely different genre.
If anyone wanted to play that kind of game, they'd be better off finding a Paradox Interactive player next door.
Since he couldn't meet that prerequisite, exposing the existence of his milk would only make him a target. The risk far outweighed any potential gain for him.
"Believe it or not, I've told you the truth. Maybe I could perfect a treatment for Oripathy, but clearly, the world you speak of needs a lot more than just that kind of healing."
"Unless I see something worth fighting for, you should think more about how much you can afford to pay just to try treating a single person."
Steven stood up. After laying everything out, he walked past the stunned Kal'tsit, leaving her standing in place.
Kal'tsit stared at Steven's departing figure, lost in thought.
How could she not know about the things Steven mentioned? It was precisely because of this understanding that she so desperately wished for someone to break this deadlock.
"Oh, by the way, about earlier—since that girl blackmailed me, I demand compensation for my mental distress. Should I put it on your tab, or would you prefer to pay in cash? If not, a few Originium shards will do. I can use them to experiment—maybe make some fireworks or something."
The previously heavy atmosphere was abruptly shattered.
The same Steven who had just left with a deep and serious demeanor suddenly reappeared, but his words instantly squandered all the gravitas he had built up.
"Can't you be serious for once?" Kal'tsit said, looking at the boy holding out his hand, asking for money. She couldn't help but sigh with a wry smile.
"Come on, can seriousness fill my belly? Or are you paying me to be serious? If not, why live so exhaustingly? Also, don't change the subject—do you have the goods or not?"
Steven clapped his hands together, showing no sign of guilt. If he were truly being improper, he would have already used his milk as leverage to make Kal'tsit sit on his lap and hand feed him.
"This is extortion."
Kal'tsit sighed, no longer in the mood to argue. At least his antics had distracted her from her earlier frustration.
"Hey, you're slandering me. How is this extortion? I'm just asking directly. So, are you giving me some Originium or not?"
"Fine. Go find Closure, the girl who ran off earlier. Just tell her I sent you, and you can ask for whatever you need."
Though Kal'tsit had no idea what Steven planned to do with the Originium, considering how unpredictable his actions always were, she agreed.
Maybe going along with his whims would spare her some headaches—just like his sudden cure for Oripathy before.
"If you had been this straightforward earlier, I wouldn't have needed to talk so much. Don't worry, since you're giving me the stuff, if you need my help treating the Infected later, I'll give you a discount."
Steven grinned widely. Now that Kal'tsit was speaking more directly, he found her much more agreeable.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to ask you something."
Just as Kal'tsit thought Steven was finally leaving, he turned back again.
"Go ahead."
Kal'tsit, already worn out by Steven's antics, didn't have the energy for any more riddles.
"Isn't there supposed to be someone called 'The Doctor' on your island? Why haven't I seen them? I'm pretty interested—could you introduce me?"
Steven suddenly remembered he still needed to progress the main storyline. He had wandered around Rhodes Island but had yet to meet the protagonist of the game.
That didn't make sense. He recalled that the player-controlled character, known as "The Doctor," should be closely tied to that girl named Amiya. But so far, he had only seen Amiya and not the protagonist.
"...I don't know how you learned of that person's existence. But unfortunately, if you want to meet that person, you'll probably have to dig her out yourself. As it happens, Rhodes Island is passing through Ursus. Should we drop you off there?"
Kal'tsit narrowed her eyes, her gaze toward Steven growing even more curious.
How could this boy, who didn't even know what Originium was, know about that person's existence?