After saying goodbye to Kal'tsit, Steven wandered over to Gavial's infirmary, hands behind his back, just like an old man out for a stroll.
By coincidence, Warfarin was also there, seemingly discussing some medical issues with Gavial.
Steven casually squeezed himself between the two, but they didn't seem to mind. They were already used to his habit of showing up just to watch the excitement.
"Frostleaf's condition has completely regressed to the early stages of Oripathy. If it weren't for the trace amounts of Originium elements still detectable in her blood, I'd think she was never infected to begin with."
"And the Originium crystals that were originally exposed on her skin? Gone. Not even a single trace of surgical removal—no scars, no detectable cause."
"She keeps asking me which doctor saved her—she insists on thanking them in person, no matter what."
Steven, of course, knew who this "Frostleaf" was.
And from the way Warfarin spoke, it was obvious she wasn't really talking to Gavial.
She was talking to him.
But Steven only shrugged, refusing to take the bait.
Gavial, however, gave him a meaningful glance.
This miraculous recovery—didn't it sound exactly like that ridiculous treatment method he had mentioned before?
"I think we should keep this under wraps for now."
"If the person who performed the procedure doesn't want to be identified, we'd just be causing them trouble, wouldn't we?"
Gavial cast Steven a quick glance before answering Warfarin.
"Tch, what a waste—a pretty young girl, completely devoted to finding her savior. If she knew her life was saved by a handsome guy, wouldn't that make for a touching love story?"
Warfarin's eyes lingered on Steven, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
This guy was full of secrets, but he never shared any of them.
How could they not be curious about him?
"Oh, cut it out."
"I'm not in the mood for our little games today, and I don't feel like bickering with you two, either."
Steven grinned, crossing his arms as he leaned back into a chair, completely unfazed by their teasing.
He knew exactly what they were trying to do.
They were just trying to get a reaction out of him, hoping he'd accidentally spill something.
Too bad for them—he wasn't taking the bait.
"I'm leaving."
For the first time, Gavial and Warfarin were stunned into silence.
Their expressions were a mix of shock and disbelief—Steven, not in the mood to argue?
Was the sun rising from the west today?
Ignoring their bewildered looks, Steven calmly continued.
"I just came to let you guys know—thought I'd say goodbye before I go."
He spread his hands, tilting his head slightly as he waited for their reaction.
"Wait, you're joking, right?!"
Warfarin narrowed her eyes at him.
But when she saw the serious look in his eyes, her expression darkened.
"You're not playing around, are you?"
"Did something happen? Are you unhappy with Rhodes Island?"
If Steven really left, it would be a disaster for their research on treating Oripathy.
As long as he was still here, she could at least coax, pressure, or trick him into revealing bits and pieces of information.
But if he walked away completely…
The progress of their research would slow to a crawl.
In the very least, if they ever encountered another terminal-stage Oripathy patient like Frostleaf, they could always beg Steven to give them a sliver of hope.
Compared to a living, breathing life, no price was too high to pay for Steven's help.
"Nah, not really. Except for the food being kinda mid, the entertainment being pretty much nonexistent, the general mood being kinda depressing, and the sheer number of patients being a bit too much—there's nothing bad about it at all."
Steven casually listed Rhodes Island's downsides, then realized—other than the fact that there were more people here to talk to, it really didn't have much going for it.
Any random place he settled down and built a little shack would probably be way more comfortable.
"...Is it really that bad?"
"You tell me."
Steven locked eyes with Warfarin.
She quickly looked away.
Because honestly? He wasn't wrong.
Rhodes Island's standard of living might surpass that of most people struggling on this land, but in the end, it still only ensured basic survival.
If we're talking comfort… well, yeah. Not so much.
"But you haven't fulfilled your promise to me yet—you said you'd use me as your test subject, didn't you?"
Gavial finally spoke up, frowning at Steven.
He had only briefly examined the Originium on her body on the first day.
And then?
Nothing.
She had been a little worried about what experiments he might run on her, but now he was leaving before even doing anything?
"Ah, that? Well, I pretty much finished testing everything when I treated that girl you call Frostleaf."
"As for the rest… I think I need to leave Rhodes Island to find what I'm missing."
"Are you talking about the Draco saliva? In that case, shouldn't you be going to Victoria, not Ursus?"
Gavial remembered that weird question Steven had asked her before.
She immediately assumed he was leaving to hunt down that bizarre ingredient.
"Uh… who's to say I won't find it in Ursus?"
"It's not like Dracos are required to live in Victoria, right?"
"I've got a feeling—I'll definitely run into one."
Steven didn't bother explaining.
Gavial's reasoning actually sounded pretty decent, so he just went with it.
Dragon's Breath wasn't necessary for him, but Originium?
Yeah, he was running low on EMC points.
So, in a way… she wasn't wrong either.
"And what about your 'adopted daughter'? You're just gonna abandon her?"
Warfarin frowned, sensing that Steven was dead set on leaving.
Wasn't he here to treat his daughter?
She wasn't even fully healed yet, and he was already trying to skip town?
Rhodes Island didn't even charge him any money—was there really a need to run away this fast?
"Gladiia? She's got her two teammates looking after her—she'll be fine."
"Besides, I'm not her real dad."
"And I'm not 'running away.'"
"I just wanna go sightseeing in Ursus."
"It's not like I won't be back."
Steven shrugged.
Once the main storyline kicked in, he'd definitely come sprinting back.
That much, he was serious about.
Kal'tsit knew that too—that's why she had let him go so easily.
Rather than forcing him to stay and making him resent Rhodes Island, it was better to let him explore the world.
Eventually, he'd come to understand things on his own.
"Oh, you'll be back?"
"Well, in that case, no problem then."
Warfarin rolled her eyes.
She was a long-lived species—she had all the time in the world.
As long as Steven promised to return, she could afford to wait.
Just like Kal'tsit, they all understood one thing—solving Oripathy was not something that could be rushed.
"If you're asking to draw my blood, then absolutely not."
"But since I've been hanging around you all for so many days, I do have a little gift for you."
"Consider it something to keep you occupied after I leave."
"Wouldn't want you accusing me of breaking my promise to help with your Oripathy research."
Steven pulled a small vial from his pocket, its contents glowing with a soft pink light.
Compared to milk—which wiped out afflictions with absurd efficiency and zero logical explanation—this healing potion was much easier to rationalize.
There were probably already similar things in this world, so Steven wasn't worried about attracting too much attention.
They already had healing arts here, right?
So something like a healing liquid wouldn't be that hard to accept, would it?
"Drink it when you're on the verge of death—it'll pull you back."
"But don't expect it to cure Oripathy."
"And I've only got this one bottle—so don't come looking for me when it's gone."
He pushed the vial toward the two medical officers, whose eyes were practically sparkling.
Yeah, he figured they'd react like this.
"Well then, that's that."
"We'll meet again if fate allows."
Steven got to his feet, but before he could take a step, his sleeve was grabbed.
He turned to see Gavial standing as well, her crocodile tail swaying restlessly behind her—betraying the unease in her heart.
But when she looked into Steven's eyes, her gaze was filled with determination.
"Can I go with you?"
She had said it before—she wanted to learn how to cure Oripathy.
And now, it seemed like the only way to do that was by staying with Steven.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"You still need to learn."
"If you come with me, you'll just end up learning all the wrong things."
"Just stay here and focus on what you actually want to do."
Steven shook his head.
He knew exactly what Gavial was thinking.
And that's precisely why he couldn't take her with him.
What, was she gonna follow him to a mine and start digging?
Did she really think he could teach her how to treat people?
Steven was not a doctor.
The most he could do was send people up to heaven so that they are saved from their pain.
"Now, if you told me you wanted to come because you liked me, and you wanted to elope with me from this shady medical company… I wouldn't say no."
"But unfortunately, we're not at that point yet."
"Besides, I don't think I can handle your hair color—it's a bit much for me."
Steven grinned.
Before Gavial could retort—her face tinged with a hint of annoyance—he suddenly disappeared.
A flash of soft purple light, and he was simply gone.
A real, honest-to-goodness teleportation.
Warfarin blinked in shock.
Then, she sighed in regret.
Just how many secrets was this guy hiding?
If she weren't physically outmatched, she would have strapped him to an operating table and dissected him by now.
Gavial, on the other hand, was still touching her neatly-maintained green hair.
She had no idea what Steven meant by that last comment.
But just as the melancholy of his departure started to settle in, the medical bay doors suddenly swung open.
Steven poked his head back in.
"Uh… so, how do I get off Rhodes Island?"
"Do I need to call the driver to stop the car or something?"