Chapter 338: Liking Is Just Liking
After soaking in the bath for what felt like forever—long enough to leave his body practically limp—Steven finally emerged with Talulah and Alina.
Once he had changed into fresh clothes, he returned to his room and sank onto a chair.
It was only a bath, true. But what had happened inside the bathhouse… was far more than he had expected.
Still, that wasn't a bad thing.
For one, he no longer had to worry about Talulah's unpredictable curse suddenly taking over. And two, both Talulah and Alina's Oripathy had finally been purged.
That meant he could freely roam the snowy wilderness without fretting about these two collapsing on him mid-journey.
Oripathy wasn't much of an issue when dormant. But once it flared up, especially in these remote frozen lands… there was no doctor other than him who could do anything about it.
Talulah and Alina, now dressed in clean clothes as well, soon joined him in his room. Together, the three gathered around the fireplace, enjoying the warmth as the flames crackled.
The scene almost looked like a family resting together after a long day.
Although, in truth, Steven's bond with the two of them was still only that of "friends."
—Friends he owed a lot to.
Talulah, now completely calm, sat silently staring into the flames. Every so often, her eyes would flick toward Steven's face, linger for a moment, then turn away again—always followed by a quiet sigh.
Alina, on the other hand, seemed oddly more relaxed. She leaned closer of her own accord, resting her head on the Minecrafter shoulder.
"Hey, isn't this the kind of moment when people usually start talking?" Steven muttered, breaking the silence. "If you've got questions, just ask. Stop sighing all the time—anyone listening would think I was already dead. And you—either lean in properly or don't at all. Just sticking your head over like that, your horns are this close to stabbing me in the face, you know?"
He had wanted to say that being like this wasn't so bad… but after Alina's antlers nearly jabbed his nose for the third time, he lost his patience. With one swift motion, he pulled her fully into his arms, hugging her like a pillow. Then he pressed her head firmly back onto his shoulder.
Much better.
Of course, Alina hadn't expected him to suddenly scoop her up so decisively. With a startled squeak—like a frightened rabbit—she froze for a moment, then quickly settled down. Her face flushed crimson as she buried her cheek against his shoulder, her whole body going soft in his embrace.
…She doesn't really mind this.
Talulah, however, finally reacted when she saw the two of them snuggling so shamelessly. At first, she just stood there, blank with surprise. Then, in the next instant, she shot up to her feet.
Steven and Alina both assumed she was about to scold them again, just as she had before—calling them shameless for clinging to each other so openly.
But instead, Talulah did something neither of them expected.
She strode over, pried one of Steven's arms away from Alina, and forced her own small frame into his embrace. Then, mimicking Alina, she rested her cheek against his other shoulder.
"There. Now you should be satisfied, right?"
Since her face was buried against Steven's chest, Talulah's voice came out muffled as she spoke. She even wriggled a few times in his arms, adjusting herself until she found the most comfortable position.
"I mean… I don't mind, but… are you two really okay with this?"
Even someone as dense as Steven couldn't play dumb now.
With the two of them going this far, pretending not to notice would be the kind of cowardice reserved for those stereotypical soft-spoken protagonists who fake ignorance to the bitter end. And he had no intention of being that kind of man.
If anything, he leaned more toward the "take it all and keep everyone happy" kind of guy. A proper harem idealist. If he actually had the ability to make it work, why wouldn't that be a good thing?
Of course, he knew perfectly well that not everyone could accept such a thing. That was why he always chose to let things flow naturally. If they could accept it, great. If they couldn't, then… they could part on good terms.
As for whether Talulah and Alina liked him—Steven had never had any doubt about that. What surprised him was how their relationship, which had until now remained on the level of "friends," had shifted so suddenly into this situation.
Was there some hidden side effect in the milk? Something that lowered people's inhibitions and made them face their feelings honestly? Otherwise, how was he supposed to explain what was happening right now?
"What's the point of minding? It's already like this. Liking someone is just… liking someone." Talulah sighed. Almost like venting, she jabbed her fingers hard into Steven's shoulder. "Besides, before you came back, Alina and I already talked it over. And as you can guess—it was all because of you."
That was why the two of them hadn't hesitated to share a bath with him earlier.
During Steven's absence, the two of them had finally had the time to sort out their feelings and be honest with themselves.
And when it came to love, whether it was Talulah or Alina, they both shared that distinct Ursus trait—fierce, straightforward passion. They didn't need a hundred reasons. Liking someone was enough reason for them to move to the next step.
The only real question left… was whether Steven liked them in return.
As for the fact they had both fallen for the same man—that wasn't a problem for them. They were close friends who could talk about anything, after all. And with the shadow of Oripathy always looming over them, they had once believed their lives would be cut short anyway. That made them even less hesitant to embrace their feelings.
With such short lives, why should they give up love?
—Which was also why Talulah now felt torn.
Originally, she had accepted that life as an infected was fleeting, so naturally she wanted to live without regrets. But now that her Oripathy had been purged… what then?
Wouldn't that mean she was fated to be entangled with this infuriating man—this man she loved and hated in equal measure—for the rest of her life, until old age finally claimed her?
Draco lived long lives to begin with. And Steven? He clearly wasn't going to drop dead anytime soon. He didn't look like the short-lived type at all.
Alina, however, saw things much more clearly. To her, it didn't matter whether she still had Oripathy or not. Steven's simple act of pulling her into his embrace was already his answer—a response to her feelings. For this girl, that alone was more than enough to fill her with happiness and contentment.
Her world was small, her knowledge limited. She didn't think about things as deeply as Talulah did. For her, as long as she could be with the person she loved, her life would be complete.
As for the rest? Alina neither cared, nor wanted to.
What does it matter who's infected and who isn't? Being able to spend more time like this with a person that she love—isn't that a far better kind of happiness?
"All right, all right, blame me, blame me. I guess I'm just too charming."
Steven forced a smile. As the one enjoying the situation, he naturally went along with whatever Talulah said—after all, holding warm, fragrant beauties in his arms was a burden he would gladly bear.
"That said, let me make this clear: even if we're… whatever this is now, the milk thing—I'll tell you this much. If you want to use it, fine, I'll give you enough. But if you're going to use it to save everyone and become some kind of savior, I'm not handing it over. If you want to be this land Jesus, go do it yourself—don't drag me into it."
Steven stroked the silver short hair at Talulah's crown while he laid out the facts bluntly. Saying it now might sting a little, but it was better than trying to explain later.
"Of course, if you mean another kind of 'milk,' then we can find a night to talk properly."
He pinched his chin and grinned a crooked, borderline indecent joke. Judging by the baffled faces Talulah and Alina turned on him, neither of them had caught the innuendo.
He had clearly underestimated how innocent these two were.
"Ahem—what I mean is: do what you want. I won't interfere with your ideals. In fact, I'll support you. But that support isn't unconditional. First, you need to understand why you're doing this."
"If you don't know where you're going, even if I help you, I'll only be making your confusion worse."
He shifted the topic awkwardly and gave Talulah's shoulder a light pat.
He knew well that even if she fell in love, it wouldn't change her ideals.
Don't let the soft pose fool you; the moment something threatened the people she wanted to protect, she'd be the first to charge out with a sword.
That was exactly the part he liked about her: an ideal-burning beauty. Who could resist that?
He didn't want their relationship to undermine her convictions, so he said what he said.
Hearing him, the conflicted look on Talulah's face eased somewhat. She turned that bitter reluctance into something else—an action of emotional release.
She bit down hard on Steven's shoulder, not holding back at all, sinking her teeth in with everything she had. Before that, she'd given him a glare—an unreasonable little warning—as if to say he'd earned it.
"I hate you, you bad man—I'll bite you to death!" she snapped.
"Don't tense your muscles! If I chip a tooth, I'll hate you forever!"
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
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