Steven's charcoal-burning plan was a great success.
With the entire village—over a hundred people—mobilized to chop wood for him, he quickly produced a full chest of charcoal blocks.
Sure, if he had done it himself, it probably would've taken only half a day, but the joy of getting things done without lifting a finger was simply too satisfying to pass up.
However, when it came to iron for steelmaking, he couldn't rely on the villagers anymore.
According to Talulah, mining in this world was no simple task.
Most cases of Oripathy infection seemed to stem from working in the mines.
Besides, mining was far more complicated than chopping wood.
Cutting down trees was straightforward—just chop and be done with it.
But mining required planning tunnels, handling waste and debris, and transporting materials, each step more troublesome than the last.
If he left it to the villagers, who knew how long it would take?
Of course, Steven had no doubt that if he offered enough potatoes and steaks, they'd still be willing to do it.
But after thinking it through, he decided against it.
Not everyone could be like him—able to carry a bit of wood in his inventory, dig hundreds of meters underground, and mine minerals effortlessly.
This kind of hassle was better handled by himself.
Besides, he hadn't forgotten his true reason for coming to Ursus.
Extracting Originium ore—that was his top priority.
"If I remember correctly, Alina once mentioned that her father used to work in the mines. She often brought him food, so she must know how to get to the mining area."
Waking up early in the morning, Steven stroked his chin, already setting his plan for the day.
His relationship with Alina and Talulah had grown quite strong.
In such a small village, they were the only ones of similar age.
And since both girls were shunned by the villagers due to their status as Infected, Steven—who didn't care about that at all and even knew their secrets—naturally became their regular conversation partner.
Talulah even enjoyed bickering with him every few days, treating him more and more like a close friend.
As for Steven, he was easygoing by nature.
As long as people got used to his occasional odd ideas and sudden outbursts of weird thoughts, even Alina had to admit—he had a strange kind of charm.
So, Steven figured that if he went to Alina with his request, she had no reason to refuse.
However, when he entered the village as usual and informed the enthusiastic villagers that he wouldn't be buying any more wood for the time being, he spotted a familiar figure standing at a doorway—like she had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Why are you here alone? Where's Talulah?"
Steven glanced around.
The village wasn't that big, and the two girls were practically inseparable.
He could hardly remember a time when they weren't together.
But this time, Alina stood there alone, looking like an abandoned wife—pitiful in a way he couldn't quite describe.
As Steven stepped closer to the girl, he noticed that she didn't look too well.
His brow furrowed slightly.
Her skin, already naturally pale, now carried an unhealthy, almost sickly pallor.
Her lips, once soft and hydrated, were now dry and cracked.
With just one glance, Steven understood what was happening.
Without waiting for her to respond, he grabbed her hand and led her into the house behind her.
Fortunately, the villagers were already aware of the close bond between the three of them.
None of them seemed to find it inappropriate, and surprisingly, there wasn't even anyone gossiping about it.
That alone saved Steven quite a bit of trouble.
Pulling Alina's small hand, he guided her inside and gently pushed her onto the bed. Then, after rummaging through his inventory for a moment, he pulled out a bottle of plain water.
With a casual flick of his fingers, he summoned a small flame and began heating the water right then and there.
Alina, however, remained as passive as a ragdoll, letting Steven do as he pleased. Even when she saw him conjure fire out of thin air, she didn't react like Talulah would have—demanding an explanation.
Despite her evident weakness, the same gentle smile he was familiar with still remained on her face.
"Is your Oripathy worsening?"
After retrieving a chair from his inventory, Steven placed it beside the bed and sat down. As he observed the small room—clearly belonging to Alina—he also kept his gaze on the frail girl before him.
The house was old, but surprisingly clean and well-organized.
It's a typical girl's room, at least in terms of tidiness.
However, it lacked warmth.
Aside from a small desk with a few scattered books on it, there was nothing in the room that gave it a real "homey" feel.
As for Alina, Steven had seen her condition countless times back at Rhodes Island.
Oripathy didn't usually show obvious symptoms when it wasn't flaring up, but once it did, things could get troublesome.
At least Rhodes Island had medication to suppress it. But in this impoverished village? That kind of medicine was clearly out of reach.
"That's what Talulah said, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself."
The girl sitting on the bed first nodded, then shook her head.
"So Talulah went to get medicine for you? Didn't I tell you guys that I'm a doctor? If anything happens, you can come to me. I might not be great at everything, but Oripathy? I've seen it plenty of times on Rhodes Island."
It wasn't difficult for Steven to figure out why Talulah wasn't here.
Given how much she valued Alina, she had likely rushed off to a distant nomadic city in search of medicine.
From the looks of it, she was probably the only one in the village capable of making the trip alone.
But what confused Steven was that, logically, coming to him first would have been the best course of action.
Given Talulah's personality, she wouldn't normally hesitate when it came to such decisions.
"She said… you don't seem all that reliable when it comes to this, and she was worried you might make some unreasonable demands. So, she figured it'd be safer to get medicine from a proper hospital."
Alina pursed her lips, giving a reason that neither of them truly believed.
"And the real reason?"
Steven wasn't buying it.
There was no way Talulah would gamble with Alina's health like that.
Given how she had the guts to kiss him out of nowhere before, it was clear she was a decisive person.
Alina blinked.
"She said that if she came to you, then she wouldn't have a reason to go to the city. And either way, she knew you'd come by today. There was no way you'd ignore me in this condition."
If Talulah could see through that, there was no reason she couldn't either.
"Tsk, she really thinks she's got me all figured out, huh? What if I just up and leave, let you fend for yourself, and make her regret it when she gets back?"
Steven rolled his eyes.
Talulah had clearly seen right through him.
She knew that with his carefree personality, if she wanted to go to the city, he'd definitely follow—meaning her little secret would be exposed.
But now that Alina was sick, getting medicine was unavoidable.
At the same time, Steven would definitely stay behind to take care of her.
A win-win situation for Talulah.
"I think you should totally do that, Mr. Steve. We shouldn't spoil her, right?"
Alina covered her mouth, stifling a chuckle as she playfully echoed his words.
"Exactly, we shouldn't let her off so easily. The more she doesn't want me to go, the more I want to see what kind of interesting secret she's hiding."
Despite what he said, Steven still reached over to remove the now-boiling water from the fire.
He gently shook it, letting some of the steam dissipate before glancing at the frail girl beside him.
There were no visible signs of Oripathy on her skin—at least, none on the parts that were exposed.
She still looked clean. But Steven knew better.
Even though she kept smiling like always, the pain she was enduring was something most people couldn't even imagine.
"But I can't just sit here and watch you suffer. You didn't do anything to deserve this."
With Talulah, Steven often joked around, teasing her whenever he could. But with Alina, it was different.
She was like an angel—gentle, understanding, and endlessly kind.
Even he, someone who prided himself on being a carefree trickster, couldn't bring himself to make light of her situation.
There was no complicated reason behind it. Simply put, being around her just felt… nice.
She always listened quietly, always responded with a soft voice filled with warmth.
It was as if she could embrace all the sins of the world without judgment.
Maybe this was what a true angel was like.
If he had to put it into words, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her.
And that was exactly why he couldn't just stand by and watch her suffer.
"That being said, my treatment isn't exactly free. You'll have to do me a favor afterward."
As he spoke, Steven retrieved a healing potion and a bucket of milk from his inventory, lifting them slightly to show her.
"For example, how about taking me to that mine you mentioned before? That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"
It was barely even a request—certainly not something that could be considered "payment."
But as he made the offer, he returned her smile with one of his own.
<+>
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