Chapter 383: Shouldn't I Get a Salary from HR for This?
Margaret's cooking was far beyond anything Steven had imagined.
He'd thought she'd just throw together some rough, quick dishes at best—yet she somehow managed to whip up a whole feast for lunch.
Honestly, who would've guessed?
She looked every bit the cool, heroic "prince" type—yet deep down, she turned out to be surprisingly domestic.
After shamelessly polishing off the entire meal, Steven was promptly dragged away from the table by Zofia, who'd been giving him that kind of look all through lunch—the kind of look that said she didn't even know how to begin describing what she was thinking.
She pulled him into a quiet corner.
"You seriously had the nerve to sit down and eat with her? When you were fighting her, I don't remember you holding back—not even once, oh great knight."
To this day, she couldn't figure out what Steven was really after.
He'd caused such an uproar, torn through the entire K.G.C.C, and left a trail of dead capitalists behind him.
No matter how you looked at it, there didn't seem to be any benefit in it for him.
Even if his own consortium took over the K.G.C.C's assets afterward, he had more than enough money to do that without all the drama.
Steven just shrugged.
"That's different. I've gotta respect every knight's dream, right? There's no such thing as 'holding back' in a duel. Besides, that was what Margaret herself wanted."
He knew perfectly well that Zofia had figured out who he really was—and he wasn't the type to bother hiding it.
And besides, she didn't seem like the kind of person who'd go blabbing about it anyway.
Zofia sighed softly.
"I see… so in the end, Margaret was the only one who gave you the answer you were looking for?"
She still didn't know what to make of what Steven had done to Kazimierz.
He'd changed the country—maybe—and yet, at the same time, it felt like nothing had changed at all.
Steven shook his head.
"No. A lot of people gave me answers. But it was the Silverlance Pegasi that pushed me to act."
"Their existence proved something—that this country isn't completely beyond saving yet."
"There are still knights out there who live by the true meaning of knighthood."
He remembered Zofia asking him once what a real knight was.
He still didn't have a clear answer even now—but maybe, just maybe, he was starting to see a part of it.
The rest, he'd leave to time.
Whether Kazimierz would truly change or not… that was for the future to decide.
Zofia looked up at the rows of bodies still hanging from the lampposts. Her eyes dimmed slightly.
"So… that means the 'Knight' won't be showing up again anytime soon?"
She'd once fantasized about doing what he did—stringing up those filthy, greedy capitalists herself.
But seeing it actually happen, seeing Steven do it so coldly and without hesitation, was something else entirely.
It was closer to a massacre.
That broadcast of his—the one where the whole Grand Knight Territory watched as he calmly hung every last corrupt mogul—would probably haunt Kazimierz for years to come.
Steven stretched lazily.
"Hard to say. But for now, I'm setting off again. Kazimierz doesn't have anything left that interests me. It's about time I hit the road for my next stop."
He wasn't planning to stick around anyway.
With Czarny running the Block Consortium, and both the Pinus Sylvestris Knightclub and the Armorless Union keeping things in check, there really wasn't much left for him—the so-called boss—to worry about.
Wasn't the whole point of being the boss is to not have to do everything yourself?
A true boss just decides what needs to be done—then leaves the how to their subordinates.
If you had to personally take care of every single detail… then what kind of boss would you even be?
Steven smiled as he explained his upcoming plans to Zofia.
That was also why he'd come to find Margaret—to make sure Liz was fully healed.
Once everything here was wrapped up nicely, he could head off on his next journey without any loose ends holding him back.
"Well, I've kept my promise and treated you to a meal. If you've got any lingering questions, now's your chance to ask. After all, it's rare to find someone who knows so many of my little secrets. Don't you think it'd make sense for me to… you know, silence you while I can?"
Steven rubbed his chin with a teasing grin.
He really did like Zofia's personality—otherwise, he wouldn't have let her in on his identity in the first place.
Zofia gave a faint laugh.
"Maybe so. Even if you did, it's not like I could stop you. But if I'm only allowed one more question…"
There were still so many things she wanted to ask about him—but there was no way she could cram them all into this short goodbye.
And judging by Steven's patience level, she doubted he'd sit still long enough to answer everything anyway.
So she picked the one thing she truly wanted to know.
"Where's your next stop?"
Her sky-blue eyes met his directly.
She wasn't even sure why she'd asked that.
Normally, she didn't care much for anything outside of Kazimierz—but at that moment, she found herself genuinely curious about where this strange, fascinating man would go next.
Steven thought for a moment, rubbing his chin again.
"Hmm… I haven't really decided yet. It'll depend on where Rhodes Island sails next, I guess. A traveler like me doesn't need a fixed destination—the journey's scenery is what matters most, isn't it?"
In truth, Centaurea had been talking about taking a vacation in Lungmen, but whether they'd actually go there depended entirely on Kal'tsit's decision.
If he thought about it… didn't that mean his next stop was technically Rhodes Island itself?
"Rhodes Island?" Zofia tilted her head curiously. "That's the place Margaret mentioned—where she's working now, right? You're one of their operators too?"
She'd heard quite a bit about Rhodes Island from Margaret—the mysterious medical organization that treated Infected without discrimination.
The more she heard, the more curious she became.
Maybe… she could go there herself someday?
Margaret had once told her that Rhodes Island welcomed anyone willing to lend a hand—anyone who truly wanted to help the Infected.
And since her days as a competition knight were over, maybe it was time to stand at a new crossroads in life.
Steven chuckled.
"Of course not. If I really were one of their operators, someone would probably be overjoyed. But nah, I'm more like a freeloader hitching a ride."
He gave her a playful wink.
"Still, if you're interested, you should totally visit Rhodes Island sometime. I'm sure your dear niece would be very happy to see you there."
Steven glanced in the direction where Margaret was, then nodded slightly at Zofia.
Come to think of it… wasn't this basically him doing Rhodes Island's HR work?
Did that mean Kal'tsit owed him a little extra in salary for recruitment efforts?
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Ko-Fi[1]
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 426: Do You Even Hear What You're Saying?[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08[3]
https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter[4]
[1] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-426-Y8Y61PUP08
[4] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter