Arknightcraft Modpack

Steven knew exactly what Talulah was trying to do just now. Any reasonably normal man from the modern age, upon seeing a young girl close her eyes, wrap her arms around his neck, and lean in, would know what she intended.

The problem was, Steven had neither the intention nor the preparation for it.

Sure, kissing a beautiful girl sounded great, but only when there was an emotional foundation between them. Talulah being a beautiful girl was undeniable, but in terms of feelings, the two of them were, at best, just friends.

And judging by her reaction, it was clearly a misunderstanding. If he went along with it, not only would it not progress their relationship, but it might destroy their friendship entirely.

Forcing a kiss from a beautiful girl might sound thrilling, but Steven still had some principles. He thought it best to wait for a moment when such a gesture would come from her heart. Right now, he was far more interested in whether she could breathe out a [Dragon’s Breath] than anything romantic.

Fortunately, after Talulah, startled by his command, instinctively exhaled into the bottle, the glass vial in Steven’s hand indeed turned a shade of purple-pink.

‘Hmm, it seems my guess was right. As long as it’s a dragon’s breath, it counts as [Dragon’s Breath]—it doesn’t necessarily have to come from an Ender Dragon, right?’

Satisfied, Steven put the bottle away with a nod, the smile on his face growing wider.

Now that he had [Dragon’s Breath], creating lingering potions wouldn’t be a problem. These potions were far more effective and wouldn’t be neutralized by milk. Whether for sustained healing or persistent poisoning, they were incredibly useful.

Talulah, meanwhile, only realized what had just happened after Steven removed the glass bottle—now coated in her saliva—from her mouth with a mischievous grin.

So when he said he needed her saliva… he really just meant saliva?

But why did he have to smile like that? Was he going to do something unspeakable with it?

Rubbing her slightly sore lips, she coughed lightly, trying to suppress her embarrassment. Just as she was about to complain about why Steven hadn’t explained himself more clearly, she saw him pull several identical glass bottles from behind his back.

“What are you planning to do?”

Her wide eyes stared at him in disbelief. Talulah couldn’t fathom how Steven could be so audacious. She didn’t even want to think about where he’d hidden all those bottles. She just wanted to keep them as far away from her as possible.

“Huh? Did you think one bottle would be enough? Let’s get more! It’s not like it’ll cost you anything. Or… do you want to drink some water first to moisten your throat?”

Steven helpfully pulled out a clean water bottle from his pocket and handed it to her.

“You—!”

Talulah stared at him, unsure whether to be angry or not. His every action caught her completely off guard, yet somehow, when she thought about it, they seemed… reasonable?

“Pfft, Talulah, I think you should just cooperate with him. After all, you did agree to his request, didn’t you? Blowing into a few bottles really isn’t such a big deal.”

Alina, who had been silently observing, finally understood what was going on. From the moment Talulah tried to initiate a kiss, she had realized that Steven’s earlier actions must have been at Talulah’s request.

What Alina hadn’t anticipated was how things would take such an unexpected turn afterward.

But she also noticed that Steven’s peculiar antics had effortlessly dissolved the awkwardness that had almost formed between him and Talulah.

Although she didn’t know why Steven wanted Talulah’s saliva, watching the usually strong-willed Talulah show such amusing expressions made Alina feel a mischievous urge to tease her.

Moreover, as Steven said, blowing into bottles really wasn’t a big deal—it didn’t harm Talulah in any way.

“It is a big deal! He shoved that thing in my mouth—how is that not over the line?!”

Her cheeks puffed up in frustration, Talulah glared at Steven and the pile of bottles in front of him. Just looking at them made her blood boil.

Steven muttered under his breath, “It’s not like I did it on purpose. You leaned in yourself. How is that my fault? Clearly, you’re the one who misunderstood.”

Suppressing his laughter, he watched the usually confident and commanding Talulah show such an uncharacteristically flustered demeanor. How could he not find it amusing?

“I…”

Talulah glared at Steven, her expression fierce. Was it really her fault for misunderstanding? It wasn’t like he had explained himself clearly! Asking a girl for her saliva out of the blue—how could anyone not get the wrong idea?

“Fine, you win. You’re so noble and amazing!”

Seemingly laughing out of exasperation, Talulah’s expression softened. Once her initial embarrassment subsided, she found herself accepting the situation.

After all, Steven wasn’t wrong—he had only ever asked for her saliva. The kiss? That part was all her overthinking.

And wasn’t this outcome what she had wanted in the first place? If she had gone through with the kiss—a full-blown French kiss at that—it would have left an unshakable awkwardness in her heart.

Compared to that, simply exhaling into a few bottles was far easier for her to accept.

Calming herself, she stopped snapping at Steven and instead obediently blew a breath into the bottles he handed her. As the liquid inside turned a peculiar shade of purple-pink, Talulah blinked in confusion.

She had never heard of her breath causing such an effect before. Judging by Steven’s satisfied demeanor, could this be used to create some kind of special potion?

After filling dozens of glass bottles that Steven pulled out one after another, Talulah finally slumped over, her cheeks sore from all the blowing.

“That should be enough for now. If I need more in the future, I’ll come find you again,” Steven said with a grin.

In truth, a single bottle would have sufficed for him to register it at the transmutation table and duplicate it endlessly. However, that cost EMC points, and with free [Dragon’s Breath] at hand, why waste resources?

If circumstances allowed, finding a Draco to endlessly blow [Dragon’s Breath] might even be a viable EMC farming method. But since [Dragon’s Breath] wasn’t particularly valuable, Steven dismissed the idea. It was far more efficient to set up EMC collectors at home, ensuring a constant supply.

That said, building such setups would turn him into a recluse, which went against his goal of seeking out excitement and fun.

“You’re already thinking about next time? No way, you rascal!”

Rubbing her slightly sore lips, Talulah shot Steven a glare. What did he take her for? Even if it didn’t cost her much, she wasn’t about to let him treat her like a convenient tool.

No matter what, she couldn’t let this become a habit. Otherwise, knowing his personality, he’d never stop pestering her. This time, she had reluctantly agreed, but under normal circumstances, she’d have incinerated his entire collection of bottles on the spot.

“Oh, don’t say it so definitively. Who knows? You might need my help someday,” Steven replied with a smirk, brushing off her words.

Whether she would come to him for help in the future wasn’t certain, but for now, he had more than enough [Dragon’s Breath] to meet his needs.

Besides, with Talulah’s strong-willed personality, it was only a matter of time before she encountered challenges she couldn’t overcome alone. By then, her requests would undoubtedly go beyond just providing a little [Dragon’s Breath].

Speaking of dragons, what other useful resources could he gather from them? Dragon blood, scales, teeth—those were common materials, but they weren’t exactly renewable. Plus, taking them might be a bit too extreme.

Did Dracos have anything like dragon pearls or celestial scales?

Glancing at Talulah with a gaze that seemed to evaluate her like a resource, Steven couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.