After introducing Talulah to Patriot, the rest of the process became much easier.
Even if Talulah hadn't come, the Guerrilla Fighters would have still taken action to deal with these Infected.
Now that Talulah served as a bridge for communication, discussions proceeded much more smoothly.
As a result, a considerable number of Infected chose to follow Talulah and undergo training under the Guerrilla Fighters.
The rest were escorted by FrostNova and her Yeti Squadron to the nearest Infected village.
Of course, none of this was of any concern to Steven.
He hadn't come here for the Infected, after all.
After just a brief glance, he quickly lost interest and turned his attention elsewhere.
While Talulah was talking with Patriot, Steven sidled up next to Yelena.
From Talulah's expression, it was clear she wasn't gaining the upper hand in their conversation.
It's understandable.
Trying to talk about ideals with someone who had witnessed the collapse of countless dreams over the years?
That was just asking for trouble.
But Steven didn't mind at all.
She needed to face setbacks.
She needed to struggle—only then could she truly grow.
At the very least, now she had someone better than him as a mentor.
And that meant she would finally stop pestering him.
A win-win situation.
"You sure treat her well—going as far as to ask my old man to teach her."
As she polished her weapon, Yelena shot a sideways glance at Steven, her voice carrying a subtle, inexplicable sourness.
Even she wasn't quite sure why she felt this way.
All she knew was that watching Talulah made her mildly irritated.
"Well, she's a close friend."
Steven shrugged casually.
He wasn't going to deny his friendship with Talulah—but it didn't mean anything more than that.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of colorful candies.
Now that he had the Pam's HarvestCraft Mod, making all sorts of sweets had become trivial.
Gone were the days of simple syrup-coated candies—he could now craft complex flavors with ease.
"Here, have some candy. Will that help you calm down?"
Steven grinned as he held out the assortment of sweets to Yelena.
He genuinely enjoyed spending time with this walking humanoid air conditioner.
If only she'd let him rub her ears—that would make things even better.
"Candy?"
Yelena blinked in surprise, eyeing the brightly colored sweets in Steven's hands.
After a small moment of hesitation, she plucked a milk candy from the pile with her slender fingers.
Unwrapping it, she popped it into her mouth.
A wave of sweetness washed over her, and before she could stop herself, her eyes fluttered shut in contentment.
But then—
Realization struck.
She immediately huffed, turned her face away, and refused to let Steven see the slight blush creeping up her cheeks.
Only her fluffy ears, twitching atop her head, betrayed her emotions.
And damn, was it adorable.
"I'm not that easy to bribe, you know, Mr. Steven."
Her voice was slightly muffled, thanks to the candy in her mouth.
"You won't even tell me your real name. Isn't that proof you don't trust me?"
Her words were full of grievance, and Steven definitely noticed.
"What do you want from me?"
He chuckled helplessly.
"Besides, I do have two names, you know. You just never bothered to ask properly."
The way she was acting…
It reminded him of childhood.
It felt just like when a close childhood friend would throw a petty tantrum.
And honestly?
It was kinda cute.
"Hmph. Well, you can't expect me to forgive you just because of a few candies."
Even as she pouted, her small hands continued grabbing more of the sweets—shoving them into her pockets as if someone might steal them.
Watching her, Steven grinned.
He already knew—she wasn't actually mad anymore.
But just to be sure…
He reached out and firmly grabbed her twitching fluffy ears.
"What are you doing?!"
The sudden touch sent a shiver down her spine.
Yelena whipped her head around, glaring at him with a look of mild betrayal and a hint of pink dusting her cheeks.
Steven didn't even hesitate—his hands were already on Yelena's fluffy rabbit ears, rubbing them with undisguised satisfaction.
The soft fur mixed with that delicate warmth? Absolutely addictive.
Since this girl insisted on throwing a tantrum, he sure as hell wasn't going to spoil her.
"I think you might be misunderstanding something, little Yelena."
His tone was casual, but his words carried a teasing sharpness.
"You actually owe me quite a few favors, yet here you are throwing a tantrum? Maybe you should just give me the candy back instead. Then you can be mad all you want."
As he spoke, his hands kept working, massaging those adorable ears like he was savoring some kind of luxury delicacy.
"No way!"
Despite being flustered by Steven's actions, Yelena clutched her candy-filled pockets as if they were life itself, her expression stubborn and unyielding.
"Well, there you go."
"Looks like this little 'argument' is over."
"If you keep pouting, I might start charging you."
"This candy is exclusive, you know. Not something I sell to just anyone."
Seeing her reaction, Steven couldn't help but chuckle.
But before she could get another word in, he swiftly changed the subject.
"Then you still owe me an apple candy! The one from before!"
"And—let go of my ears!"
She huffed, kicking Steven lightly in the shin.
Good thing there was no one else around.
If the Yeti Squadron or the Guerrilla Fighters saw their leader acting like this…
The rumors would probably spiral out of control.
Seriously.
How many years had it been since anyone had seen Yelena act like a normal girl?
"Alright, alright. Deal."
Steven reluctantly let go of her soft, perfect ears, sighing as if he had just lost something precious.
Honestly, he had no idea what she liked so much about these plain-looking sweets.
To him, they seemed completely unimpressive.
But since she liked them, he wasn't going to question it.
Yelena shot him a half-hearted glare, still rubbing her ears as if trying to erase the lingering sensation.
Then, after taking the apple candy from him, she wrinkled her little nose at him before finally taking a small lick.
And just like that, a soft, genuine smile appeared on her face.
Compared to the fancier, more complex candies, this simple treat felt more familiar.
More comforting.
Like a small taste of nostalgia.
The playfulness between them faded as Yelena inched closer.
So close that she could feel the warmth radiating from Steven's body.
She kept stealing glances at him, watching as he nonchalantly enjoyed his own candy.
And then, in a voice no longer teasing, but filled with a hint of concern, she finally asked:
"You said you're leaving soon."
"When?"
"And where?"
She tried to make her tone sound indifferent, as if it didn't really matter.
But she couldn't help sneaking peeks at him from the corner of her eye, trying to gauge his reaction.
Steven simply gazed at the sky, answering with nonchalance:
"Just heading back to check on my daughter first."
"After that? I'll keep wandering."
"Probably leave Ursus and visit some other countries."
His tone was calm, as if he was just discussing today's weather.
But Yelena?
She froze mid-bite.
Her brain completely short-circuited.
Did she hear that right?
Daughter?
Daughter?!
She slowly turned toward him, her face filled with pure disbelief.
She didn't care about his travel plans—that part made sense.
Steven was never the type to stay in one place for long.
But—
"Daughter?"
"You have a daughter?"
"How old are you even?! How do you already have a daughter?!"
Her voice rose, filled with genuine shock.
<+>
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/124859427?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/124859427?collection=55713
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