Compared to dealing with that grumpy cat Kal'tsit, Blaze was definitely more to Steven's liking.
The moment she realized that the young man in front of her was the person she had been sent to pick up, Blaze instantly shook off all traces of sleepiness and threw an arm around Steven's shoulder, pressing close like they were old drinking buddies.
"Well, well, you sneaky bastard. You run off without a word, and now you finally decide to come back?"
She shot a quick glance at Kal'tsit, after making sure that the woman wasn't mad at her for oversleeping, she grinned cheekily and started chatting with Steven.
Technically, this pick-up mission should have been handled by Outcast, but since she had other matters to attend to today, the responsibility fell to Blaze instead.
That said, she may have had a bit too much to drink last night, which resulted in her sleeping a little too soundly this morning.
Still, this wasn't exactly a life-or-death mission.
If there was any real danger, Kal'tsit would've woken her up, so she didn't stress too much about it.
What she didn't expect, however, was that the highly classified VIP she had been sent to pick up…
Was actually Steven.
This guy was mysterious as hell—disappearing and reappearing without a trace.
Even his personal records were classified as top-secret, meaning that even Rhodes Island elite operators like her didn't have access to his files.
Whatever this guy was involved in, it was on another level.
"Meh, I just took a little vacation in Ursus. But hey, I'm back now, aren't I?"
Steven made a toasting motion, grinning.
"I picked up a bunch of good stuff on the way. We should call up the old crew later and have some fun."
As he spoke, he subtly raised an eyebrow at Blaze, signaling for her to keep quiet about something.
Blaze immediately understood his meaning, and her grin grew even wider.
If Steven called something 'good stuff,' it had to be worth looking forward to.
Meanwhile, Kal'tsit—watching these two whispering conspiratorially—could only let out a long sigh.
She didn't say anything to rebuke them.
As long as Steven had people he could get along with, that was enough.
It wasn't necessary for him to have a good relationship with her personally—after all, Rhodes Island was an organization, not just one person.
At the end of the day, if Steven was happy, that was enough.
After signaling the pilot to start the return trip, Kal'tsit chose a seat farther away from Steven, deliberately giving him space to chat with Blaze.
She knew she'd have plenty of chances to deal with him once they got back to Rhodes Island.
There was no need to rush things now and risk annoying him unnecessarily.
Steven, of course, was more than happy to be left alone by Kal'tsit.
With that, he turned to Blaze and started bragging.
"Man, let me tell you—Ursus is a wild place. I ran into all sorts of crazy shit while I was there."
"Oh?" Blaze's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Like what?"
She leaned forward, genuinely interested.
As a feline, her natural curiosity was practically limitless.
And when it came to Steven's adventures, she was especially eager to hear the details.
Steven rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.
There were too many stories to tell, but…
Some of them probably weren't the best things to share with Blaze.
After all, their relationship was just casual friendship—they weren't close confidants or anything.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to keep it lighthearted.
"Oh, right! I met someone really interesting."
He suddenly grinned, narrowing his eyes mischievously.
"Take a guess—what's her race?"
The way he said it, it was clear that there was no way Blaze would guess correctly.
"Huh? A weird race?" Blaze looked puzzled.
"Rhodes Island has people from all kinds of different races. You think I haven't seen enough strange ones already?"
After all, as one of Rhodes Island's elite operators, she had seen her fair share of rare and exotic races among the infected refugees they took in.
"It's Draco. A little dragon."
Steven didn't hesitate for a second before casually exposing Talulah's race.
Just revealing her species wouldn't cause any real trouble for her, but it sure made for a great bragging point.
Blaze was momentarily stunned before she nodded.
That was a rare race.
As far as she knew, Rhodes Island had never recruited a Draco before.
The Draco were naturally strong, with bodies that were so resilient that even contracting Oripathy was difficult for them.
Given how few of them there were in the world, Steven really did have something worth bragging about.
"So what? Even if you met one, how does that benefit you?"
Blaze grinned mischievously.
"Don't tell me she was some Draco beauty, and you had an earth-shattering, soul-stirring romance with her?"
If that were the case, this guy wouldn't have come back so easily.
"Nah, nothing like that."
Steven shook his head, completely unaware of the look of disdain creeping into Blaze's eyes.
"She was a beauty, sure, but her personality was kinda fun. Romance? No thanks. Women are too much trouble."
Blaze narrowed her eyes.
"You do realize I'm a woman too, right?"
She rolled her eyes at him.
This guy seriously treats her like just another dude, huh?
"Oh, you're different. I never thought of you that way."
Steven grinned shamelessly, making Blaze feel a sudden urge to punch him.
"Wow. What an honor. Should I thank you for that?"
"No need."
Steven waved her off, still wearing that infuriating smirk.
Blaze sighed, deciding to drop the banter and focus on what really interested her.
"Anyway, you still haven't told me—what the hell were you doing in Ursus?"
She leaned in slightly, watching him closely.
"You were gone for so long, I was starting to think you bailed on Rhodes Island completely. Drinking alone sucks, you know."
She wasn't just curious about his trip—she wanted to know what could've made him suddenly disappear in the middle of a mission.
According to what she knew, Rhodes Island never stopped at any ports during the time Steven vanished.
That meant… he must have jumped ship while they were still moving.
"Oh, that?"
Steven tilted his head like it was no big deal.
"I just went mining. Ursus is known for its rich mineral deposits, right? So I figured I'd play miner for a few days and collect some ores I needed."
He answered so matter-of-factly that Blaze had to take a second to process it.
"…Mining?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Hold on. Do you even know what an Ursus mine is like?"
She wasn't from Ursus, but even she had heard about the infamous 'man-eating mines' they ran.
For Steven to casually claim that he went to work in an Ursus mine for a few days…
It definitely wasn't as simple as he was making it sound.
"What's there to know?" Steven shrugged.
He patted his chest confidently, as if completely oblivious to the danger he must have been in.
"Look at me—I'm standing here perfectly fine. Nothing happened."
"By the way, do you need any ore? I've got a ton stocked up right now|
He grinned, switching topics.
He's not lying, as of right now, he probably has way more than even Rhodes Island.
After all, he had an entire Guerrilla Fighter helping him loot mineral deposits.
Blaze twitched at his words.
She didn't doubt that he was telling the truth, but it was still absolutely ridiculous.
"No thanks. You should keep them for yourself."
She sighed, shaking her head.
There was no point questioning the absurdity of what he had just said.
She had long since accepted that Steven was just… like this.
"Shame. Guess I'll just have to treat you all to some drinks instead."
Steven grinned again.
"Food and booze is something I got plenty of. We're in for a hell of a party."
Steven patted his pocket again.
Drinking and eating alone was boring, no matter how much he had.
The real fun was in the gathering.
And obviously, the best drinking buddies on Rhodes Island were this group of seasoned elite operators.
"Well then, I'll be waiting to see what kind of 'good stuff' you've brought."
Blaze grinned, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
She was about to say more when, out of nowhere, Kal'tsit appeared beside them.
Blaze immediately caught the look in her eyes and got the message.
Without a word, she stood up and swapped seats with Kal'tsit, moving away without hesitation.
Judging by her expression, she had something serious to discuss.
Steven wasn't surprised.
But he still almost lost his composure at her very first question.
"About that mining site that turned into a wasteland of dust…"
"Mr. Steve, do you have any idea what happened?"
Mining sites getting attacked in Ursus wasn't exactly unheard of.
But an entire site reduced to dust, coupled with a massive Originium energy fluctuation—
That wasn't just the work of some guerrilla fighters.
And considering how close that location was to where Steven disappeared…
Kal'tsit couldn't not suspect him.
"Hey, hey, don't go accusing me now."
Steven whistled nonchalantly.
"What does that have to do with me? The mine probably just collapsed or something."
It didn't take a genius to see through his blatant lie.
That mine was definitely his doing.
Kal'tsit didn't react immediately.
Instead, she smiled.
The kind of smile that is not really a smile.
"Alright, then what about the so-called 'Headless Horseman of the Snowfields'?"
She tilted her head slightly, watching his reaction.
"The one who has a pumpkin as his head? The one that sounds suspiciously like a certain someone?"
Steven froze for a split second before snapping back.
"Huh? No clue. What Headless Horseman? Don't slander me—I could sue you for defamation, you know."
Even if Kal'tsit knew that he did it, what would it matter? Could she still send him to the Ursus police station?
Kal'tsit's expression remained neutral.
But deep inside?
She was beyond exasperated.
"…Forget it. I have only one question for you."
She let out a long sigh, her face turning noticeably more serious.
"The Ursus Royal Guard encountered someone in the snowfields, was that you?"
This information was top-secret information, something that normally, only the Emperor's Blade and Ursus top brass would know.
If possible, Kal'tsit hoped the person that the Royal Guard encountered was not the boy in front of her.
But logically speaking…
There was only one possible culprit.
Steven grinned.
"Huh? What? Royal Guard? Never heard of 'em."
He flashed his most innocent smile.
Kal'tsit's face darkened instantly.
<+>
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