Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 633: Anyway, Not as Good as Me
After the little incident came to an end, Steven simply used his Pokéball to transport the three girls—who were already fully prepared—directly to Lungmen.
As he released them from the Pokéball, Alina and Yelena experienced for the first time an atmosphere completely different from the perpetually cold air of Ursus.
Everywhere they looked were bustling crowds and busy streets. People from all walks of life moved through the city, and the lively, everyday atmosphere filled with the warmth of ordinary life caused both of them to wear expressions of utter unfamiliarity.
This was something that could never truly be experienced in the snowfields.
At least, that was certainly true for a village girl and the leader of a group of wanted fugitives.
Perhaps the nomadic cities of Ursus offered similar sights, but for them, such experiences had always seemed like something they might never encounter in their entire lives.
"So... this is a nomadic city?"
Yelena reached out and lightly clenched her hand before her.
The warmth she felt was completely different from the icy winds of Ursus. Yet the sense of reality carried by the city's lively atmosphere was just as undeniable.
Forget Ursus—she had never even left the border snowfields before.
This was the first time she had ever seen a place like this, and everything before her felt completely foreign.
Unlike Alina or Irene, Yelena was a genuine native of those snowfields. Having spent her childhood wandering alongside Patriot, she had very few opportunities to learn about other nations through books or other sources.
As a child, she couldn't even fully comprehend such things.
"Yes."
The one who answered Yelena wasn't Steven.
Instead, it was Talulah, whose expression had become strangely complicated the moment she set foot on this land.
While Lungmen might be unfamiliar to everyone else, it was the place that carried her childhood memories.
Even though those memories were distant, and even though she had been just a child back then, the experiences of living on this land remained deeply engraved in her mind.
Along with them came familiar names and familiar faces.
"Looks like you really did live here for a while. What, feeling nostalgic?"
Steven stroked his chin as he observed Talulah's demeanor, which stood out sharply from everyone else's.
It wasn't hard to guess that she was recalling many old memories.
Whether those memories were good or bad, however, was another question entirely.
"I suppose so. It brought back a few things."
Talulah looked around quietly.
"When I decided to speak out for the Infected, I thought I'd already abandoned my past. I even considered the possibility that I might never return to Lungmen for the rest of my life."
"And yet..."
She gave a faint smile.
"...I've come back so easily."
Back then, she had genuinely believed that returning here might be impossible.
Now she was standing here in person.
It was difficult not to feel emotional about it.
So many years had passed.
Lungmen was still the same Lungmen.
But she was no longer the same Talulah.
Being Infected meant being treated as lesser no matter where you went—bar Laterano, where you are told to leave the city, but otherwise still retain your rights of citizenship. And Kazdel, where the majority of them are an Infected.
And as a leader of the Infected, she was practically the head of a rebel movement if one wanted to put it bluntly.
With an identity like that, entering Lungmen openly as she was doing now would have been impossible without Steven's help.
"It's alright."
Seeing the melancholy on Talulah's face, Alina quietly walked over and took her hand.
"No matter what happened before, it's already in the past, isn't it?"
Her gentle voice remained as warm as ever.
"People live in the present. That's one of my favorite things Steven has ever said."
She accompanied her words with a smile so comforting that merely looking at it could put people at ease.
"Are those two always... um... this close?"
Feeling like an outsider among outsiders, Yelena subtly moved closer to the other outsider, Steven.
She had wanted to comment on Talulah and Alina's relationship for a long time.
If both of them hadn't made it abundantly clear that they were competing with her for Steven's affection, she might genuinely have suspected there was something going on between them.
"More or less."
Steven shrugged.
"Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm the third wheel here. You know, like the mistress who successfully stole someone's partner and became official."
Steven lowered his voice as well and whispered back to Yelena. However, the confidence and pride in his tone were impossible to hide.
"Could you two at least whisper a little more quietly? Maybe don't have this conversation right in front of the people you're talking about?"
Talulah, who had been immersed in a mixture of nostalgia, melancholy, and the warmth of Alina's comfort, found all of those feelings completely ruined by the two mood-killers.
All she could do was shoot them both a fierce glare before complaining irritably.
"And another thing—I am best friends with Alina. Best friends, understand? The kind of relationship that can only come from pure friendship elevated to its highest form. It's completely different from whatever nonsense you're imagining."
She made sure to add that clarification at the end.
The last thing Talulah wanted was for people to misunderstand her as being into girls. Her relationship with Alina was one of mutual understanding and support.
"Hey, I was complimenting how close you two are."
Steven shrugged.
"Anyway, enough about that. Since this is basically your hometown, how about I leave the tour guide duties to you? I'm practically a traveler here myself—I don't know this city at all."
It was only a teasing joke meant to lighten the mood.
As for where they should actually go on their date, Steven genuinely hadn't decided yet.
He couldn't exactly take them to another food street, could he?
That would be far too cliché.
Although Alina and Yelena had probably never experienced something like that before, he still wanted to try something different this time.
"You really think that after being away from this city for nearly ten years, I'd still know my way around?"
Talulah immediately shot back.
"What am I, some kind of genius child prodigy? Or do you think this city hasn't changed even the slightest bit in over a decade?"
Being able to bicker with Steven again felt strangely familiar.
And thanks to him, the lingering sadness and nostalgia that had weighed on her moments ago had completely disappeared.
Her mood felt much lighter now.
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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.
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