Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 502: Special Cargo
Outside Lungmen City, Yan.
For the first time, Steven was being dropped off by a transport aircraft instead of crashing down violently like before. He had also ditched the hooded black outfit Alina had specially sewn for him. In its place, he wore a set of light-blue cloth robes, and the hood had been swapped for a Yan-style bamboo hat.
"So this is what you spent all afternoon yesterday preparing?"
Standing beside Steven, Centaurea—still dressed in her pure white coat, though without her signature bow—tilted her head as she looked him over. In the end, she couldn't resist making a comment.
She had come to tell him yesterday that they were about to reach Lungmen. Although she had spent most of her time on Rhodes Island eating and sleeping to recover, that didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to this trip to Yan.
Steven's excitement yesterday—like an elementary school kid waiting for a field trip—had made her think he was about to do something outrageous. Knowing him, that wouldn't have been surprising.
But in the end, all he did was change clothes.
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Steven asked confidently. "I'm going for cultural accuracy. Don't I look like a native Yan person?"
With obvious self-satisfaction, he brushed his short hair and casually pulled a bamboo stick from his backpack, hanging it at his waist as a short sword.
"Well, yeah, you look authentic. So authentic that it hurts. In Yan, only extremely remote villages still dress like that. Someone like you would probably be called a 'country bumpkin' in Lungmen."
A slightly unfamiliar female voice joined in from nearby, delivering the exact criticism Centaurea had been holding back—while also taking a jab at Steven.
Beneath long, dark-blue hair was a delicate, cute face. In Terra, where beautiful women were everywhere, she wasn't especially striking at first glance. What really drew attention, however, was the grayish-white halo above her head, glowing like an LED ring.
No one could quite understand how a girl who looked so much like an angel could deliver such sharp and merciless sarcasm.
"Ahem. Miss Mostima," Steven said, giving the girl beside him a sideways look, "I hope you understand one thing: you're still the person I'm escorting. If you don't want me to leave you outside Lungmen and walk away, you'd better not be so sharp-tongued, okay?"
Steven rolled his eyes at the girl. Being called a "country bumpkin" for his outfit was something he wouldn't tolerate. He had put real thought into these clothes, only to have them mercilessly roasted. That was not something that he's going to accept.
Especially since this girl was the one Kal'tsit had asked him to take to Lungmen. Officially, it was just "keep an eye on her along the way," and once they reached the city, someone there would take over. But he didn't buy that explanation at all. If it were really just along the way, Kal'tsit wouldn't have come to him personally.
More likely, this girl's identity was special, and the kind that attracted serious trouble.
That was precisely why he had chosen to travel with her. He was already bringing Centaurea along anyway; adding one more "extra baggage" wasn't that big a deal.
"I'm just stating facts," Mostima replied, the smile at the corner of her mouth impossible to hide. "Why don't you ask your girlfriend next to you what she thinks? She's been holding back laughter for several minutes already, you know?"
Mostima clearly didn't take Steven's words seriously. She had spent enough time on Rhodes Island to understand his personality. Setting aside his strength, at the very least, he was a man of his word. As long as she didn't actively try to harm those close to him, he wasn't the type to abandon her.
And as for the threat just now, it was obviously a joke. Steven's eyes made that much clear.
If anyone was enjoying this the most, it was definitely Centaurea. Even with her hand over her mouth, her laughter was obvious, not to mention the teasing look in her eyes.
"Pfft—mm… well, honestly," Centaurea said, finally forcing herself to stop laughing and straighten her expression, "from my perspective, that outfit of yours really does belong in a movie at best."
Steven fell silent.
"So…" she added, "you didn't actually grab that outfit straight from a film set, did you?"
Thinking about how Steven actually did have experience filming movies, Centaurea quickly followed up. This was absolutely something he would do, and it wouldn't surprise her in the slightest.
"Huh? Of course not," Steven replied, awkwardly shifting the topic. "Why are you bringing up movies again? Is it because I didn't manage to get you a role like I promised, and now you're feeling a little regretful?"
Steven's evasiveness was obvious. The clothes had indeed been made to his specifications—and yes, they were originally intended to be used as costumes.
As for the movie he had promised Nian, that delay really wasn't his fault. Nian herself had said the script still needed polishing and that the actors weren't fully relaxed yet, so filming had to be postponed. Honestly, Steven quite enjoyed the experience of making movies.
Of course, that was Nian's official explanation. Steven knew the real reason perfectly well. Once they reached Lungmen, she probably planned to let him go help her fulfill that old commission, so she temporarily put her "masterpiece" on hold.
"Don't. Do you have any idea that just hearing the words 'making a movie' now makes Doctor Gavial's legs go weak and sends her running away in tears?" Mostima said, her expression growing even more animated. "The psychological trauma you people left her is huge. You and Nian don't seriously lack that much self-awareness, do you?"
Just thinking about the so-called on-set footage that had somehow leaked out from Closure—those utterly unhinged scenes—was enough. Any normal person dragged into that kind of production as a lead actor would probably come out mentally unstable.
"Hey, that's not my fault," Steven said with a grin, clearly proud rather than ashamed. "What, are you interested too? I invested in that movie, you know. How about I give you a role? You could play a shut-in, fallen angel who never leaves the house… or maybe a pitiful white-haired angel whose halo gets ripped off by an evil god, forcing her to live on the streets and work odd jobs just to survive."
"Absolutely not," Mostima said, waving her hands quickly. "Just get me to Lungmen safely. Once we're there, the people coming to receive me can give you a place to stay too. Otherwise, in a city you're unfamiliar with, are you really planning to sleep under a bridge with your little girlfriend?"
Steven saying random nonsense didn't bother her much, but dragging her into one of those terrible movies was a hard no. She could risk her life, sure, but not her dignity.
"Well, that'll have to wait until we actually get into the city," Steven replied, narrowing his eyes as he cut off the conversation. He looked toward a point just a few hundred meters from Lungmen's entrance.
A convoy of vehicles was speeding straight toward the three of them.
"To think that we'd run into such an enthusiastic welcome from the local 'residents' the moment we arrive," Steven said, an intrigued smile spreading across his face. "I'm almost flattered."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M