Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 588: Wait, There's Gossip?!
"Huh?"
Steven stared at the shapeshifter girl standing politely before him, clearly caught off guard.
"Shouldn't important figures like you usually be ridiculously arrogant? Like, the kind who walk around with their noses pointed at the sky and look down on everyone?"
"This is kinda different from what I imagined."
Just as he said, Steven had originally assumed someone like the Shapeshifter King—a figure occupying the upper ranks of an entire nation—would naturally possess at least some degree of pride and superiority.
Yet instead of acting domineering, the other party had come over and immediately shown goodwill.
That honestly surprised him.
"We do not know what sort of people you have encountered in the past," the green-haired girl replied softly.
"But at least for us… if there exists a problem even we ourselves cannot resolve, and you are willing to lend your aid…"
"Then you are a benefactor to the entire Damazti."
As she spoke, she slowly straightened her waist.
Every movement she made carried the elegance and refinement of a true noble.
Yet what truly made one think was the meaning behind her words.
Just how rational did a race have to be to possess this level of unified execution?
After all, from what she'd just said, she wasn't merely speaking for herself—
She represented the attitude of the entire Damazti species.
"Well, alright then." Steven shrugged casually.
"I'll accept the goodwill. I mean, I deserve it anyway."
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"So this also represents Kazdel's stance?"
This wasn't exactly bad news for him.
They were here to make peace, not declare war.
And honestly, if they happened to bring some tangible sincerity along with that goodwill, even better.
However, the Damazti's answer completely exceeded Steven's expectations.
"No."
"The Royal Court itself has little interest in the matter."
"Most members remain skeptical regarding whether this land truly faces destruction. After all, the information originated from Lady Kal'tsit, and they cannot verify its authenticity."
"And a very small portion of them…" she continued,
"—such as the faction led by the current Regent—believe that even if it is true, then this cruel land that has long tormented the Sarkaz deserves to be destroyed and remade from the beginning."
"Heh…"
Steven raised an eyebrow.
"That's pretty anti-humanity, huh?"
Just how horribly did they have to be treated and discriminated against to genuinely hope for total world destruction and a reset?
This wasn't the tantrum of some childish kid whining about life being unfair.
These were the thoughts of a nation's ruling elite.
Yet upon hearing Steven's evaluation, the Damazti merely shook her head lightly.
That was not something their race could truly understand.
After all, very few people could ever identify a Damazti's true identity.
Naturally, they almost never experienced the discrimination and oppression suffered by ordinary Sarkaz.
In a sense, among all of Kazdel's races, the Damazti were perhaps the only ones who had never truly borne the hatred attached to the Sarkaz name.
That's the reason why the vengeance and resentment currently carried by the Royal Court was something they could never fully empathize with.
"Well, whatever." Steven waved his hand dismissively.
"We can deal with those guys later."
"At least from my perspective, I'm pretty satisfied with your attitude."
He grinned.
"Putting you guys on the whitelist shouldn't be a problem."
As if they were already old friends, Steven casually stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the so-called "girl"—whose actual gender was probably impossible to determine—twice.
When someone spoke to him properly, Steven was usually pretty easygoing himself.
Then, suddenly, he hooked an arm around the Damazti's shoulders and leaned closer with an extremely suspicious grin.
"So anyway…"
"According to you, I'm basically your race's benefactor now, right?"
His fingers rubbed together in the universal gesture for money as he raised his brows meaningfully.
"Then where's the reward? The gratitude?"
"You gotta show at least a little sincerity first, don't you?"
At that moment, Steven looked exactly like one of those delinquent students extorting protection money at school.
Lin Yuhsia, watching from the side, couldn't help rolling her eyes.
At this point, she genuinely couldn't understand why Steven was still acting so goofy.
She might not fully understand the secrets being exchanged between Steven and the Sarkaz before them, but even the scattered fragments revealed throughout the conversation already contained an overwhelming amount of information.
And yet, despite being involved in something so critically important, this guy could still casually make ridiculous extortion gestures like some street thug.
She truly could not comprehend Steven's thought process.
Ironically, the Damazti herself seemed to find nothing strange about it at all.
"You are correct. Verbal friendship alone carries little meaning."
The green-haired girl nodded calmly.
"However, we currently possess nothing capable of satisfying your desires."
"But there is one thing."
"If you are truly connected to Lady Kal'tsit, then when Rhodes Island inevitably enters into war against the Regent…"
"The Damazti Cluster can choose to stand on your side."
Without even realizing it, she casually revealed yet another enormous secret—one neither Steven nor Lin Yuhsia had ever heard before.
Yet throughout it all, her expression remained so calm and emotionless that she almost resembled a machine.
"You mean…" Steven blinked.
"Kal'tsit and Kazdel's Royal Court are actually in conflict?"
The moment he heard that, his face instantly filled with the expression of someone discovering an absolutely premium-grade piece of gossip.
Compared to the Damazti Cluster's promise of political support, this secret involving Rhodes Island and Kazdel was infinitely more interesting to him.
"Yes."
"If you are interested, we are willing to share the details with you."
The Damazti glanced at Steven calmly.
"Consider it an advance display of sincerity."
She didn't understand why Steven was suddenly so interested in what was, by Royal Court standards, no longer even considered highly classified information.
But that didn't matter.
As far as she was concerned, there was no reason to hide anything from him.
"Good, good! Please do!"
Steven's eyes practically lit up.
"You should've said there was gossip involved earlier! Why bother being all polite before this!?"
He looked like he wanted nothing more than to immediately drag the girl somewhere private and spend the entire night discussing secrets by candlelight like sworn confidants.
But after glancing at Lin Yuhsia nearby, he scratched his head and reluctantly suppressed the urge.
Some things were fine for her to hear.
After all, they mostly involved his own secrets. As long as he personally didn't care, nobody else had any right to object.
But if the matter involved Kal'tsit too… Then perhaps it was better to preserve at least a little privacy for her sake.
"How about this?" Steven grinned.
"We'll find a time and place later to properly talk things through."
"I'm extremely interested in everything you just mentioned."
As he spoke, he casually grabbed the Damazti hand.
The bizarrely soft, slime-like texture he felt only further convinced him that this person might genuinely be some distant relative of his own Shoggoth.
"Then…"
The Damazti slowly withdrew her hand from Steven's grasp.
"Please forgive us for committing one final act of disrespect."
"If possible…"
Her voice remained incomparably polite and respectful.
"Could you demonstrate your strength for us?"
At the same moment, a strange translucent blade extended outward from her body itself and formed within her hand.
Clearly, for this emotionless Damazti, Steven's verbal answer had already become irrelevant.
Yet Steven—currently in an exceptionally good mood thanks to the promise of delicious future gossip—found her actions entirely understandable.
After all, he was practically the world's future savior at this point.
Receiving a little trial or test from the other side was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?
So, smiling brightly, Steven nodded toward the Damazti who'd rushed toward him before he'd even finished answering.
And to show proper respect, he actually drew Yamato.
Then, as Steven and the charging Shapeshifter crossed past one another, a silver flash of blade-light cleaved the very space itself cleanly in two.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M