The child's illness was even more severe than Steven had expected, almost reaching the same stage as Frostleaf when he had seen her back on Rhodes Island.
It was hard to imagine how she had endured it for so long. But when Steven saw her biting her lip, her gaze fixed on her infected mother—who was nearly being cradled by the iron golem—he found his answer.
Perhaps she simply didn't want to make her mother sad. Sometimes, just having a simple reason like that is enough.
"Alright, have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be better."
Completely ignoring the almost fully activated Originium crystals on the girl's skin, Steven gently stroked her dry, yellowed hair, which looked like a bundle of withered grass. His tone, for once, carried a hint of warmth.
Soon, Steven brought both of them back to his somewhat humble home. After lighting a bonfire and motioning for the infected woman to warm herself up and rest, he carried the child down to the basement.
The treatment that followed was quite simple. With the lingering-type Dragon's Breath potion provided by Talulah, Steven easily removed most of the Originium infection from the child's body, pulling her back from the brink of death.
As a bonus, he also obtained a pile of activated Originium crystals.
The entire procedure took no more than a few minutes. For Steven, it was only slightly more difficult than performing an appendectomy. But when he emerged from the basement carrying the girl, there was already a faint flush of health returning to her face.
He didn't hand her directly to the infected woman. In her current state, she wasn't much better off than the girl. If she held the child now, there was a risk of cross-infection.
Instead, Steven laid the unconscious girl on his bed and covered her with a blanket before finally turning his attention to the woman. Despite still suffering from the torment of Oripathy, she was watching the girl anxiously.
The fact that she hadn't collapsed yet was a testament to the sheer strength of human willpower.
"Sir, has my daughter's condition improved?"
Not daring to approach Steven, the infected woman asked in a respectful and low voice. She had only seen Steven take her daughter into the basement, but she didn't dare ask what had happened inside.
From the way the villagers treated Steven, it was clear he wasn't an ordinary person. That such a person was willing to take her and her daughter in was already beyond her wildest imagination. All she could do now was pray that this noble landlord truly had the power to save her child.
"She's fine now. You should come with me—I need your cooperation with something."
Steven glanced at the Ursus woman, whose entire being practically screamed the word "misery," then motioned for her to follow him into the basement. With a slightly troubled expression, he continued,
"As long as you can save my daughter, I'm willing to do anything for you, Sir—even if it means working like a beast of burden. No matter what you ask of me, I will have no complaints."
As she heard his words, the woman instinctively dropped to her knees again.
This time, Steven didn't bother stopping her.
If she wanted to kneel, let her kneel. He could bear it, and it wasn't exactly a loss for her either.
"No, what I mean is—can you pass out for a bit? It's hard for me to treat you while you're awake."
"Huh?"
The Ursus woman looked up in confusion, not understanding why Steven would make such a request.
Then, in the next second, her consciousness faded into darkness.
Steven lightly delivered a knife-hand strike to the woman's neck, knocking her unconscious without further explanation.
With the patient out cold, the treatment became much easier. Using the same method as before, he dealt with the Originium crystals on her body and then placed the unconscious Ursus woman beside her daughter.
He was getting quite skilled at this kind of healing procedure. At this rate, he figured he could probably open a small clinic and do a few appendectomies on the side to make ends meet.
As random thoughts drifted through his mind, Steven grabbed a chair and sat down.
He had done his part—the two infected were now stable, and all that remained was for them to rest and recover. Feeding them properly wasn't his responsibility.
The bed was already occupied by the mother and daughter, but Steven wasn't feeling sleepy anyway. Besides, he had a feeling that someone else was still awake—probably already on their way here.
Sure enough, not long after Steven settled into his chair and spent 500,000 WAP (World Acknowledgement Point) to install the Pam's HarvestCraft Mod, a knock sounded at his door.
Having anticipated this, Steven leisurely opened the door. Standing outside was a Draco girl who looked utterly drained, as if all the life had been sucked out of her. Without a word, he stepped aside to let her in.
"They're fine now. No more danger to their lives," he said casually.
He pulled some tea leaves from his Transmutation Table, brewed two cups of hot tea, and handed one to the girl while taking a sip of his own.
However, Talulah merely held the cup without drinking, her silver-gray eyes vacant and filled with endless confusion.
"Come on, pull yourself together. They're both fine—do you really need to be this shaken?"
Steven sighed.
He had chosen to treat the two infected mainly because he was worried about Talulah's state of mind. If she had arrived only to find them dead, she might have broken down on the spot.
After all, their deaths would have, in some way, been a consequence of the villagers' choices.
For a girl who still believed in the innate goodness of people, such a realization would have been devastating.
"Th-Thank you…"
Talulah turned her head slightly, glancing at the mother and daughter sleeping soundly on the bed. She covered her mouth, as if suppressing an overwhelming emotion, then nodded at Steven.
At this moment, she didn't even bother to question how Steven had managed to save people who had already reached the active Originium stage of Oripathy. His actions had lifted a weight off her heart, offering her a brief moment of solace.
"Your welcome," Steven said, taking another sip of tea and squinting happily.
Across from him, the girl hesitated for a moment before forcing a bitter smile and silently shaking her head.
"I'm here because I can't figure it out. I don't understand why things are this way. Is it really just because they're infected? I know that everyone made the logical choice, but… I just can't accept it."
Pressing a hand to her forehead, Talulah voiced her frustrations. This was why she had come to him. Even Alina couldn't give her an answer—because she, too, was one of the oppressed infected.
"So, you want to hear what I think?"
Steven set down his teacup. Just by looking at Talulah's expression, he could tell—she desperately needed an answer. An answer that would allow her to continue believing in her ideals.
"I just think that… you've probably seen more of the world than I have. So maybe you can give me something to use as a reference."
Talulah licked her dry lips, her eyes filled with expectation as she gazed at the boy in front of her.
Reality had dealt her ideals a heavy blow. She had known this path would be filled with thorns, but she never imagined that even the very beginning would already be so cruel.
"In that case, I'll put it this way—I have always lived in the moment."
Steven thought for a moment, then gave a bright smile as he shared his philosophy on life.
"I can't see too far ahead, nor can I see clearly. Naturally, I don't want to dwell on it. The past has already happened and can't be changed, so there's no point in worrying about it either."
"I just focus on being the best version of myself right now. That's enough."
"As for you… if I had to say something about you, I'd say you overthink things. And sometimes, overthinking isn't a good thing. If you already know the result of something, why waste time questioning why it happened? Shouldn't you be thinking about how to prevent that outcome from happening again?"
Steven shrugged, then lightly knocked on Talulah's smooth forehead.
"Live… in the moment?"
Talulah slowly mulled over Steven's words. He hadn't given her some grand speech, nor had he tried to persuade her with complicated reasoning. His words were straightforward and to the point.
Stop overthinking?
Talulah still didn't fully understand. But for some reason, the pain in her heart—the pain of having her ideals shattered by reality—suddenly eased a little.
Maybe Steven was right. She shouldn't be obsessing over why things were this way. Instead, she should be thinking about how to change this reality.
That was the real problem she needed to solve.
But as soon as she thought about it, she let out a bitter smile. The difficulties she faced weren't something that could be easily overcome.
"Starting to figure things out?"
Seeing the furrow in Talulah's brow relax slightly, Steven knew she had finally pulled herself out of that mental deadlock, at least a little. He then casually asked,
"I'm heading to the Guerrilla Fighter tomorrow. You coming?"
"Of course I'm coming."
"Then why are you still here? Go back to sleep—this is my house."
"Don't be so impatient. Lend me your shoulder for a bit. Let me relax for a while."
Talulah gave a soft, slightly vulnerable smile before resting her head against the boy's shoulder, closing her eyes.
Her heart was exhausted. Right now, she just wanted to close her eyes for a moment and rest.
Steven, on the other hand, turned his head to glance at the girl who had so casually leaned on him. As he took in her delicate, fair face, his brow twitched slightly.
Did this girl not realize that her horns were poking into his face?
Come to think of it, did she and Alina usually have to sleep on their stomachs or lie flat on their backs? Or did they have some kind of horn-shaped hole in their pillows?
<+>
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