Chapter 445: Has Your Boyfriend Ever Lied to You?
The filming of Shark Girl vs. Crocodile Chibi had officially announced a two-day pause.
The main issue wasn't actually Gavial—the lead actress—being absent. Rather, it was Nian herself. As the director, lead scriptwriter, and part-time cinematographer, she had far more important matters to deal with over the next couple of days.
After all, from the very moment Steven casually yanked Shoggy out, Nian's gaze had never once left it.
Shoggy's signature aura—something akin to a Collapsal presence—had all but vanished after being saturated by high-density Originium. Even if traces remained, it wasn't anything Nian couldn't tolerate.
What truly captivated her was Shoggy's current form: a semi-transparent, softly glowing body. It perfectly matched the properties she had once described as belonging to the highest-tier materials.
Filmmaking was merely a hobby for her, after all. As someone whose core Authority revolved around [Forging], she simply couldn't resist the temptation to personally craft a peerless masterpiece.
Meanwhile, Shoggy—who had previously been listless, like a fat cat too full to move—instantly sensed the scorching intensity of Nian's gaze. Acting purely on survival instinct, it wriggled its way back onto Steven in one smooth motion. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a small orange-yellow octopus and plopped itself onto his shoulder.
Inside its translucent body, the Originium core it had yet to fully digest rolled slowly around, creating a strangely beautiful sight.
Of course, those in the know understood the truth.
In this state, Shoggy was no different from a massive nuclear bomb that could detonate at any moment. With Originium crystallization at such terrifying density, a single uncontrolled release would likely reduce all of Rhodes Island to rubble in an instant.
If one had to describe Shoggy's current condition in a single phrase, it would be:
A walking nuclear firecracker.
And as an expert in making explosive toys herself, Nian was well aware of that fact. That was precisely why she didn't immediately reach out and try to snatch Shoggy from Steven's hands. Even if she could survive the explosion, Rhodes Island certainly wouldn't.
Fortunately, Steven seemed to understand her concerns.
He calmly tore off one of Shoggy's tentacles and handed it to Nian as crafting material. Only after that did he bid farewell to the girl—who had clearly fallen into a state of forging-induced madness—and head toward his room, accompanied by a visibly aggrieved Shoggy.
"Alright, alright, it's just one leg. Look at how big you've gotten from gnawing on that rock. I'll definitely make it up to you with something tastier later, okay? Just think of it as giving your master a little return on investment."
Steven reached up and poked the little octopus resting on his shoulder, completely unconcerned that the core inside Shoggy's body flickered violently from the impact.
Ever since it started digesting that thing, Shoggy's body had grown from smaller than a fist to about the size of an ordinary cup. Not only had it clearly grown larger, but its intelligence also seemed to have improved—at least a little.
Still, judging by the way Shoggy wrapped its tentacles around his fingers like a clingy puppy, Steven figured it hadn't grown a rebellious streak just yet.
At the very least, it was doing far better than that certain sword he'd already stuffed back into the Ender Chest.
He already had one poor sword-girl whose upbringing had gone horribly wrong. Steven really didn't want this pitiful little pet to end up becoming another twisted, fun-loving gremlin like himself.
After bantering and chatting idly with the Rhodes Island operators along the way, Steven finally dragged himself back to his room.
Judging by the situation, Nian was probably going to bury herself in forging for the next few days, which meant the film shoot was definitely getting delayed. And considering Rhodes Island's current cruising speed, it would still be a while before he had to disembark.
In other words, Steven found himself with a rare stretch of free time again—so free that he didn't even know what to do to kill it.
Just as he was wondering whether he should take advantage of the moment and go find someone to play a few rounds of uno, the communicator in his inventory suddenly rang.
He answered it almost without hesitation, already pulling out a Warp Stone at the same time.
There were only a handful of people whose contact information was stored in this communicator, and none of them were the type to call him casually. Under normal circumstances, whenever he received a call like this, Steven was already mentally prepared to teleport in and save the day at a moment's notice.
"Hello? What happened? Location, time, and incident—give me the details."
He hadn't even had time to check who was calling, so he fired off the most concise question possible.
"..."
"Can't I contact you even if nothing happened? Just to talk a bit, catch my breath, maybe?"
Contrary to Steven's expectations, what came through the speaker was a girl's slightly weary voice.
"Oh? No, it's just that I didn't expect you, my little tsundere dragon, to be the one taking the initiative to call me one day. What's wrong? Miss me after all these days?"
Realizing that there was no urgency in Talulah's tone—and that this wasn't a call for help—Steven finally put away the Warp Stone. His voice naturally returned to its usual teasing lilt.
"You could say that. Without you by my side, it feels like something that supports me is missing. Saying I don't miss you would be a lie—otherwise, why would I call you?"
Talulah's reply made Steven's eyes widen slightly.
No matter how he looked at it, those were not words he ever expected to hear from that little dragon. And yet, it also meant that she was having a much harder time than he'd imagined.
"Then… would you like a fairly sturdy and reliable shoulder to lean on for a bit?"
Steven's tone softened, and he dropped any intention of teasing her further.
He understood very well that compared to his own leisurely days on Rhodes Island, the path Talulah had chosen was burdened with an overwhelming weight of pressure and exhaustion.
"Really?"
A tired smile appeared on Talulah's face. To be honest, just the fact that Steven had answered her call immediately was already more than enough for her.
"Of course. When has your boyfriend ever lied to you?"
That familiar voice no longer came from the communicator.
Instead, it sounded right beside her.
Talulah turned her head, staring at the black-haired youth who had appeared at her side without her noticing when. And in that moment, the smile at the corner of her lips bloomed like a flower in full spring.
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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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