Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 629: It's... Pretty Average, I Guess
After bringing the speeding vehicle to a stop using a method that could only be described as absurd, Steven finally walked over and lifted Irene out of the driver's seat.
Perhaps the impact of the whole experience had simply been too much for her. When she got out of the car, she was as limp and compliant as a doll, allowing Steven to move her around however he pleased.
As for the Penguin Logistics crew, they only began crawling out of the back seat after confirming that the car had actually stopped and that they hadn't already died and ascended to heaven.
Supporting themselves against the vehicle, they stumbled out with trembling legs and completely drained expressions.
Even when they noticed the Siracusans closing in around them, their faces remained as calm and emotionless as monks deep in meditation.
After all, having just survived a real-life version of Speed, it wasn't easy to get excited about anything anymore.
At least, their adrenaline levels weren't high enough to react to this.
Meanwhile, Steven looked completely unconcerned about the approaching Siracusans.
He didn't even seem interested in fighting.
Instead, he casually pointed at a building behind him and flashed them a welcoming smile.
Sure enough, after the Siracusans followed his gesture and looked up at the somewhat unusual building, their expressions immediately turned as ugly as if they had just eaten something foul.
One after another, they quietly put away the weapons they had been preparing to draw.
All they could do was shoot Steven and the others one last resentful glare before slowly retreating.
Only then did Exusiai realize where they had stopped.
They were right in front of the Lungmen Guard Department.
No wonder the Siracusans no longer dared to advance.
She even spotted the Oni police she was fairly familiar with approaching with a group of officers.
At least for the moment, they were safe.
Glancing at Steven, who was still comforting the visibly shaken Irene, Exusiai found it difficult not to wonder whether all of this had been intentional from the very beginning.
The driving.
The acceleration.
The destination.
Had he really planned all of it?
And if so...
What exactly had he been trying to accomplish?
Still wearing a puzzled expression, Exusiai was about to step forward and thank him when Steven spoke first.
"I've delivered everyone safely. No need to thank me."
"I still have a date to continue with the little bird here, so I'd appreciate it if you all could stop creating unnecessary trouble for me."
Before the approaching officers could arrive, Steven bid farewell to the Penguin Logistics team.
The crisis involving Irene was over now.
Their usefulness had been exhausted.
Keeping them around any longer would simply make them third wheels.
And Steven had absolutely no intention of having a whole crowd tagging along during his date.
As for why the Siracusans had been chasing them in the first place?
That was none of his business.
The moment he got involved, he'd inevitably end up stuck here answering questions from the Guard Department for who knew how long.
Maybe he'd come back later.
But definitely not now.
Before Exusiai could even respond, Steven and Irene vanished from sight.
Just as suddenly as he had appeared, he disappeared without warning.
"Is he always this impossible to pin down?"
Even Texas, who had remained silent the entire time, couldn't help but complain.
From beginning to end, she hadn't been able to figure out Steven's motivations at all.
He was like some incomprehensible bug in a video game.
You never knew when he'd suddenly pop up and surprise everyone with something completely unexpected.
"Maybe."
Exusiai shook her head as she watched the direction in which Steven had disappeared.
"Honestly, who knows? But I have a feeling we'll meet him again sooner or later."
"And somehow, I don't think it'll take very long."
With that, her attention shifted toward figuring out how to handle the questioning that the Guard Department was inevitably about to subject them to.
As for Steven?
By the time anyone realized he was gone, he had already half-carried, half-supported Irene back to the entrance of the very same food street where they had started.
It was almost as though the high-speed chase had never happened at all.
"Wake up."
"It's just a little joyride. Was it really that traumatic?"
Steven waved a hand in front of Irene's face, finally pulling her mind back to reality.
"Huh?"
Irene blinked.
"I wasn't dreaming just now?"
She looked down at her hands.
The sensation of gripping the steering wheel still lingered in her palms.
The feeling of soaring forward at impossible speed hadn't entirely left her body either.
Yet as she recalled what had happened, another emotion surfaced unexpectedly.
A strange sense of loss.
As though she had left something important behind.
"Of course it was a dream, my adorable Iberian little bird."
Steven smiled innocently.
"Do you really think you'd be tearing through the streets of Lungmen in a high-speed chase straight out of an action movie?"
"Come on."
"You don't even have a driver's license."
"So how could you possibly have had the chance to do something like that?"
Steven spoke earnestly to Irene, as though trying to reassure her.
If she felt it would be easier to think of everything as a dream, then he was perfectly willing to let it remain a dream.
After all, it was only natural that someone might have trouble fully processing an experience that intense.
Perhaps it was better to treat it as a wonderful dream—one that would still leave behind fond memories even after waking up.
"Y-Yeah, right! My foot!"
Irene, who had almost absentmindedly accepted Steven's explanation, finally snapped back to her senses.
Without hesitation, she marched up and kicked the shameless man.
Only after doing so did she fully realize what had actually happened.
This guy had simply wanted to watch her embarrass herself!
Otherwise, how could things possibly have escalated into such ridiculous chaos?
"Haha~ Anyway, doesn't that mean you're not as angry anymore?"
"I let you go racing around. I even let you crash into me."
"So let's just say all the unpleasant feelings got thrown away along with everything else, alright?"
"How about I buy you some sugar painting candy?"
Steven allowed her foot to connect solidly with his shin.
An attack at that level couldn't possibly harm him.
She could kick him for a lifetime and never break through his skin.
"Hmph. If you think something that simple is enough to make me forgive you, then you're seriously underestimating me."
Irene crossed her arms over her chest and put on an expression of complete indifference.
Yet the curiosity in the corner of her eyes betrayed her.
Her gaze kept drifting toward the small street stall Steven had pointed out.
It was a sugar-painting stand.
The stall displayed all sorts of figures and decorative shapes crafted from hardened sugar.
As for the elderly vendor, he looked more like an artist than a candy seller.
Using streams of bright red molten sugar, he painted intricate designs in the air with graceful movements.
Like a magician, he continuously created one fantastically shaped candy after another.
This was something Irene would never have seen in Iberia.
To her, it was absolutely fascinating.
Seeing Irene's reaction, Steven immediately guessed what was on her mind.
Without saying anything, he simply led her over to the sugar-painting stall and smiled at the elderly craftsman who was busy creating another piece.
"Sir, could you make a little bird for me?"
"Try to make it match the temperament of the beautiful lady standing beside me as much as possible. Money is no object."
Reaching into his pocket, Steven pulled out a thick stack of Lungmen dollars and pointed toward Irene, who was still pretending to act aloof.
The old man followed the gesture and looked her over.
"I can... try?"
At first, he had wanted to say that Steven's request was a bit unreasonable. How was he supposed to draw a bird just by looking at a person?
But the moment he saw the stack of money, he immediately changed his tune.
For that amount of money, impossible had suddenly become possible.
"No way! If you're going to draw something, then draw a pig that looks exactly like him!"
Seeing Steven casually attempting to infringe upon her image rights, Irene naturally wasn't going to accept it.
Abandoning her pretense of disinterest, she immediately jumped forward and pointed accusingly at Steven.
"Preferably one that looks exactly like this shameless idiot!"
The old man glanced at Steven with a slightly puzzled expression.
After seeing Steven give a subtle nod, however, the old craftsman smiled knowingly.
Like a kindly grandfather indulging young lovers, he nodded at Irene.
"Of course."
"I can draw that too."
Still smiling at the pair, the old man skillfully began melting the sugar needed for the artwork.
Soon, he was moving his hands across the special work surface with practiced ease, creating his masterpiece.
As the old craftsman worked, Steven leaned closer to Irene, who was watching the process with complete concentration.
He gently took hold of the hand she clearly didn't know where to put.
Then he lowered his voice.
"So, who do you think he'll listen to in the end? Your request or mine?"
"Hmph. Obviously mine."
Irene turned her face away proudly.
"Someone as awful as you is bound to attract plenty of resentment from other people. Just looking at you makes me annoyed."
She still had no intention of forgiving Steven so easily.
Yet even as she said that, the hand Steven had taken was already unconsciously squeezing back.
Her fingers wrapped tightly around his palm.
And she showed absolutely no intention of letting go.
Before long, the old craftsman finished his work.
To Irene's surprise, the final product wasn't a pig.
Nor was it a bird.
Instead, the sugar painting depicted two adorable cartoon figures.
One clearly resembled her.
The other unmistakably resembled Steven.
The two little figures were leaning closely against one another.
Under the warm lights of the street, the delicate sugar artwork glittered like crystal.
And the scene it portrayed caused Irene's face to flush bright red almost instantly.
"My skills only go this far."
The old man handed the hardened sugar painting toward Irene.
As he looked at the two young people, his eyes were filled with nostalgia.
The sight of such sweet young love inevitably reminded him of his own wife.
"More than suitable."
Steven accepted the sugar painting with a smile.
"I think it's absolutely wonderful."
"This is art, sir."
Then he lowered his head and looked at Irene.
"What do you think?"
Irene's face grew even redder.
"W-Well..."
"It's... pretty average, I guess!"
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 689: Impossible to Refute[1]
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