Leaving the clearly unwell Gladiia in Skadi's care, Steven walked out of the medical room.
Considering how he had completely strayed from his initial plan of healing Gladiia and then making a swift escape, Steven could only smile helplessly.
But whatever—this wasn't the first time he'd acted on impulse. As long as it made him feel better, why not? No one could stop him anyway.
Besides, even with this decision, it didn't seem to have any real impact on the current situation.
The main storyline hadn't begun yet, and Steven felt he still had plenty of time to explore this world at his leisure. As for Gladiia, with her two companions around, he was confident that at least on Rhodes Island, she wouldn't suffer any mistreatment.
Judging from their performance in battle, they might stand no chance against him, but against regular people? Steven was willing to acknowledge their strength.
The strong don't have to worry about being bullied.
So as long as it didn't interfere with his entertainment, there was no problem.
Having come to this conclusion, Steven returned to his usual idle, carefree demeanor, strolling leisurely toward the Trade Station.
It had been too late last night to visit, but he remembered Kal'tsit mentioning that he could pick up some Originium there for research.
Currently, Steven already had two types of Originium in his possession. One came from those strange fusion-like monsters he had first encountered, while the other was cut from the dying infected person just moments ago.
There were quite a few differences between the two, but Steven didn't mind having more research samples.
The route from the infirmary to the Trade Station wasn't far. Along the way, Steven saw many people with unusual physical features—some wore Rhodes Island uniforms with ID badges, while others were clad in thick hospital gowns, their bodies visibly bearing those strange, mineral-like Originium crystals.
This only reinforced Steven's impression of Rhodes Island being filled with all sorts of inhuman oddities, as well as Kal'tsit's statement that many people in this land were afflicted by Oripathy.
But the more he realized this, the more Steven was unwilling to reveal that he could cure Oripathy.
Just thinking about it was terrifying—there were countless infected people in this land. If he had to heal them one by one, wouldn't he work himself to death?
That said, Steven did gain a deeper respect for the Rhodes Island medics who tirelessly dedicated themselves to their work.
No matter what, these people deserved his respect. At the very least, they were doing something he wasn't willing to do. Steven felt he had no right to criticize their actions.
With a complicated mix of emotions, he arrived at the Trade Station.
The first thing he saw was a black-haired girl, her face wearing a highly professional smile as she conversed with a Rhodes Island elite operator whom Steven found somewhat familiar.
That smile—he had seen it on every merchant's face before. Not a single one was innocent.
It was the expression of a swindler waiting for a fool to take the bait.
"Blaze, you all know how serious things got yesterday. If I hadn't stepped in at the last moment to stop Kal'tsit, your whole elite operator mess would've been exposed. Do you even realize that, just to clean up after you guys, I was forced to tidy up this entire Trade Station?"
"So, Miss Closure, what exactly are you trying to say? We already paid for the drinks and the venue rental."
Hearing the conversation between the two, Steven's lips quickly curled into a smile, and he took the initiative to join in.
"I think Miss Closure's meaning couldn't be clearer, right? She wants more money."
"The real question is, though—has Miss Closure also brought up this additional charge with Kal'tsit?"
Stealthily sneaking up like a ghost, Steven suddenly appeared beside the two and interrupted their whispered conversation with a grin.
Closure jumped up like a startled cat whose tail had been stepped on. Right now, she had full-blown PTSD from hearing Kal'tsit's name. After Kal'tsit had spoken with Steven yesterday, she had turned around and given Closure a thorough "lesson."
Her salary had been docked until next year—who could handle such injustice?
And it was all thanks to the boy standing before her.
If Kal'tsit hadn't come looking for him yesterday, she wouldn't have even had a reason to step into the Trade Station.
"Huh? Steve? What brings you here? You mean Kal'tsit didn't chew you out yesterday?"
Compared to Closure's reaction, Blaze's was even more pronounced. After all, sneaking up on someone like Closure, a scatterbrained merchant, was one thing—but doing so to an elite combat operator like her? Even professional reconnaissance operators would have a hard time pulling that off.
Then again, now that she thought about it, Outcast had addressed him as Kal'tsit's "friend." Having this level of skill actually seemed pretty reasonable.
"Of course not. She wouldn't dare reprimand me. But you, Miss Closure, I imagine you didn't get off lightly, huh? And yet, here you are, still pulling the same tricks. Are you really that eager for me to report this to Kal'tsit?"
Steven turned to Closure, still smiling. The moment he arrived, he had already caught her extorting people. It looked like this wasn't her first time, either.
"Wait, no, hold on! I was just joking! Come on, you guys aren't seriously taking me at my word, are you? We're all friends here, right? Why even talk about money? And why drag Kal'tsit into this? You both know how much of a pain she is!"
Closure's entire face fell, and she forced out a smile even uglier than crying.
"That said, Steve, right? What brings you here at this hour? If you're looking for Blaze, then I'll just be on my way."
Wanting nothing more than to escape this harbinger of misfortune, Closure came up with a random excuse and tried to flee.
But Steven wasn't about to let her go. After all, he had come specifically to find her.
"Oh, don't be like that. I really wasn't looking for Blaze. Kal'tsit said that if I needed resources, I could come to you to pick them up. If you don't believe me, feel free to go ask her yourself."
With one hand, Steven grabbed Closure by the back of her collar—just like picking up a kitten by the scruff of its neck—and placed her back in her original spot.
"Alright, then—I'm heading out. Rhodes Island will need to dock for resupply soon, and I'm in charge of security and patrols. Ursus isn't as safe as Iberia, after all."
Seeing that she wasn't needed here, Blaze briefly explained to Steven before stepping out of the Trade Station, leaving him alone with a now-hunched-over Closure, who looked as though she were about to be taken advantage of.