The nights in Ursus were bitterly cold, and out here on the snow-covered tundra, the chill was even more relentless.
If not for the protection of his leather armor, Steven might have struggled against the freezing temperatures.
However, judging from the way the two people behind him were constantly tightening their thick winter clothes against the cold, it was clear that this was far from a comfortable environment.
What surprised Steven the most was that, despite these harsh conditions, a small village filled with signs of life actually existed so close by.
Even more unexpected—if he had simply chosen to explore a different direction earlier that day, he might have found it much sooner.
Steven scratched his head awkwardly, unsure of how to process this realization.
Once again, it seemed that his usual bad luck hadn't changed.
"This is where you live?"
Seeing the soft yellow glow of lights in the distance, Steven finally relaxed.
At least now, he no longer needed to worry about a wild wolf or a hungry bear suddenly leaping out from the darkness to attack the two physically weak people trailing behind him.
Pointing toward the village, he asked his question.
"Yes," Alina nodded. "If you continue several dozen kilometers further ahead, you might eventually reach one of the mobile cities that stop here from time to time."
She then added, "But that route is mostly deserted, and with wild beasts roaming the area, it's too dangerous to travel alone. Unless you're with a trade caravan, I wouldn't recommend going that way."
By now, Alina was fairly certain—Steven was indeed just a traveler interested in exploring the region.
So, she took the opportunity to point out the safest path to the nearest mobile city, knowing full well that someone like him was unlikely to stay put in that remote wooden cabin forever.
A simple reminder seemed necessary.
Though, truth be told, Alina had a strong feeling that Steven wouldn't have much trouble dealing with wild animals.
After all, from the way he had been completely unbothered by any potential dangers along the way, it was obvious—
Steven was genuinely unafraid of these things.
"Thanks for the warning," Steven replied, scratching his head. "But for now, I don't really have any plans to visit a mobile city. I'll probably be staying in this area for a while."
Alina's kindness was making him a bit unsure of how to respond.
She always spoke with such a warm and gentle smile, and each of her words was so thoughtful and considerate.
Honestly, it was making it hard for Steven to even joke around or tease her a little.
"You're not coming in for a visit, lad?" the old man suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"My wife makes some great bread, and if we pair it with the chicken soup you gave us, it'll be a delicious meal. Besides, it's already late—if you run into wolves on your way back, that could be troublesome."
Since Steven had been generous enough to share his chicken soup, the old man, not being stingy, naturally extended an invitation to his home.
He pointed toward a small, shabby wooden house at the edge of the village, where a light was still on, and welcomed Steven inside.
However, Steven had only come to check out the path leading to the village—nothing more.
And besides, visiting someone's home this late at night felt a bit inappropriate.
He had no intention of being a bother.
"No need," Steven waved his hand dismissively. "It's not that far, and besides, I'm a strong guy. Hunting is practically my side job, so you don't need to worry about me. I'll come back tomorrow morning to see if there's anything in the village worth trading."
As long as he knew where the village was, his goal had already been achieved. As for staying for a while—he really couldn't bring himself to disturb people so late at night.
If this were a village in Minecraft, Steven would have long since rung a bell, casually browsing the villagers like shopping for groceries, picking out the best trades.
After bidding farewell to Alina and the old man, Steven turned and made his way back toward his cabin.
The village wasn't exactly small—it seemed to have at least a hundred households. But if he were to live there? Steven would honestly prefer his tiny wooden cabin.
Judging by the run-down houses and the simple clothing of Alina and the old man, this wasn't a particularly wealthy village. The living conditions were probably worse than the dorms at Rhodes Island, let alone his cozy little home with built-in Nether brick underfloor heating.
<+>
"He's a pretty decent neighbor," the old man muttered as he watched Steven leave. "If only he wasn't so stingy about sharing his farming techniques. It's not like he'd lose anything by teaching us a little."
Seeing how Steven escorted them back, the old man was now even more convinced—this newcomer wasn't a bad person.
The only thing he still couldn't quite forget was the sight of those potatoes growing outside Steven's cabin.
Meanwhile, Alina glanced helplessly at the old man beside her.
Honestly, it might have been a good thing that his eyesight wasn't great.
If he had actually gotten a good look at Steven's appearance, who knows if he would have still invited him into the village so casually?
Because in his current state, Steven looked eerily similar to some of the monsters from old Ursus folktales.
"I'll be sure to tell Grandma everything you did today," Alina finally said after some thought.
She wasn't sure how to scold this childish old man. After all, Steven wasn't actually a bad person, so criticizing him too much would feel unjustified.
But she definitely wasn't going to cover for him when it came to the trouble he caused today.
"Go ahead and tell her! You think I'm afraid of her?" the old man huffed. "It's just a basket of mushrooms! And I brought back a bottle of chicken soup for her too, didn't I?"
His words sounded tough, but the way he instinctively shrank his neck made it clear—he wasn't nearly as fearless as he claimed.
"Sure, sure," Alina sighed, shaking her head. Then, her voice turned serious.
"Bu, Grandpa, please stop going into that part of the forest. We were lucky that Mr. Steve happened to be a good person today, but if you ran into actual danger, we'd be really worried."
There was something strange about the direction Steven lived in.
According to the village hunters, the wild animals that once roamed that area had all disappeared for some unknown reason, and the hunters themselves avoided going there.
Unlike Steven, her Grandpa wasn't strong—if something happened, he wouldn't be able to escape.
The old man opened his mouth as if to argue, but before he could speak, he spotted two figures rushing out from the village to meet them.
At that moment, he wisely chose to stay quiet.
That might be true, but the declining harvests were an undeniable fact. If he hadn't been trying to gather some wild mushrooms to trade for a bit of extra food, why would he have gone to such a place in the first place?
And with those so-called "Infected patrol squads" constantly raiding under the pretense of searching for the infected, life had only become more difficult.
Of course, everyone understood this reality all too well. There was no point in saying it out loud.
"Grandpa, you're finally back! Grandmother has been nagging my ears off!"
One of the two figures who had come to greet them—a lively young girl—immediately rushed forward from the old woman's side. She enthusiastically took over supporting the elderly man from Alina and then whispered a complaint to him.
"You little troublemaker—just waiting for him to come back so you could tattle, huh?"
The elderly woman who had arrived a step later shot the girl a glare before huffing and handing a thick fur coat to her husband.
"You're always causing trouble! Poor Alina had to drag you back just to apologize to that young man. And now what? You lost the mushrooms, and now you've given back the stuff you took—why did you even have to be so greedy in the first place? Weren't you the one who said not to take other people's things?"
Her words were full of complaints, but even as she scolded him, the old woman gently took his cold, withered hands and led him back toward their home, where the fireplace was still burning.
"Sorry, I was wrong," the old man admitted meekly—nowhere near as defiant as he had been earlier with Alina. But then he grinned sheepishly and added, "But my dear, that young man living out there—he's actually a really decent guy. He even gave me something good. I'll let you try it when we get home."
Still grinning, he lifted the flask in his arms to show her.
Meanwhile, Alina and the girl who had come to greet her walked side by side, watching the two old figures ahead of them—leaning against each other as they made their way home.
"You should've waited for me to come back first before going," Said the white-haired girl beside Alina, whose head was adorned with peculiar, curved horns.
Though her voice was tinged with complaint, there was also a trace of concern in it.
"What if you ran into danger?"
"I still believe that there are more kind-hearted people in this world than not. And that gentleman turned out to be just as I thought—he even helped bring Grandpa and me back home."
Alina cradled the still-warm flask in her arms, her smile growing wider at the thought of Steven—that strangely odd-headed yet incredibly friendly man.
"That's only because your kindness made you lucky this time," the tall, elegant girl beside her sighed, rubbing her forehead as if she had already grown tired of these discussions. "But that doesn't mean you'll always be so fortunate."
"Maybe," Alina replied lightly. "But then again, Talulah, weren't you the one who secretly ran off to the city? If I hadn't lost track of you, I wouldn't have made that decision in the first place."
Calling out her companion's name, Alina subtly shifted the blame back onto her.
"Oh? So now it's my fault?" Talulah raised an eyebrow, pretending to be offended. "You're the one who made a mistake, yet you're pushing the responsibility onto me? Sounds like you're quite unhappy with me, hmm?"
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she suddenly jabbed her slender fingers toward Alina's waist.
"Ahh! Stop that!" Alina yelped, twisting away like a startled fawn.
"I just mean that if you're worried about me, you should also consider that I'm equally worried about you. At least I tell Grandma and the others what I'm doing. Can you honestly say what exactly you went to the city for?" Alina dodged Talulah's playful attack with some difficulty and then answered seriously.
At that, Talulah fell silent.
What she had been doing… was not something she could share with these kind and innocent villagers.
"Anyway, back to your situation," she quickly changed the subject. "You said that this man actually went out of his way to bring you both back? And he didn't even ask for any sort of compensation?"
She frowned slightly. "Is he a local from Ursus? As far as I remember, that area was nothing but a vast, barren snow field. Since when did a new resident pop up there?"
"No, he didn't ask for anything," Alina replied, shaking her head. "He was very kind. If I had to say there was something strange about him…"
She trailed off, furrowing her brows in thought, then turned to Talulah with a puzzled expression.
"Do you know of any race on this land that has a glowing pumpkin as a head?"
<+>
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